Well, the title for our next study is "My People." This is Exodus 3:7-8.
Then the LORD said, "I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters. I know their sufferings, and I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land to a good and broad land, a land flowing with milk and honey, to the place of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites.
"Then God said to Moses, 'Here's the reason I am talking to you from this bush. I've seen the afflictions and suffering of my people, and I've come down to deliver them'" (Paraphrase). Notice how God describes the Israelites: They weren't just Israelites; they weren't just people in a foreign land; they weren't just slaves-they were God's people!
One of the things that I like to do as I'm studying passages is look for themes, themes that trace their way throughout Scripture. And the phrase, "My people," is one of the dominant themes in the Old Testament. Again and again, that's how God characterizes people and characterizes his relationship to them. That phrase, "My people," is used around fifty-eight times in the Old Testament. God is constantly reorienting his people about how they think about who they are.
And the Egyptian captors had no idea who these people were, and they had no idea who they were dealing with. You see, the slavery of Israel is personal to the Lord because this is his family; these are his children. He chose to place his love on them. He chose to give them his great and precious promises. And he was not about to lose them to the Egyptians. What Israel desperately needed, they could not provide for themselves. They were powerless to defeat Egypt and redeem themselves from slavery. If salvation would come, it could only come from the LORD.
And the same is true for us. Sin is enslaving; we have no power to defeat it on our own. So, like God came down to Moses to free the children of Israel, Jesus had to come down to earth. He had to live the life we could not live, to die the death we would have died, and to rise again, conquering sin and death! You see, every one of these Old Testaments preaches the gospel of God's love, his grace, his presence and his power that he willingly exercises for the good of his children. You're never outside of his care if you're his child. You're never outside of his promises. You're never away from his presence because God looks down on us, you today, me today, and says, "These are my people, these are my children!"
And everything that you go through is personal to your Lord-he cares! Just like a father who deeply loves his children would care for his children, the Lord cares for you. And if there is any freedom for us, any hope for us, any future for us, it will only ever come from the Lord. Salvation is from the Lord, and we have hope because God looks down from his throne at you and me and says, "These are my people!"
Questions for Personal Reflection or Group Discussion
1. Before today, would you have described yourself as a beloved child in the family of God? If not, what was preventing you from identifying in this way? Why is your identity as a child of God so important in relation to how you view yourself, view the other people you interact with, and how you live your life each day?
2. What makes it difficult for you to believe that the Lord truly cares about you? In what ways can you intentionally remind yourself of God's love, care, and faithfulness to you in the past? How has God's faithfulness in your past stirred up feelings of gratitude within you?
3. How does the fact that Jesus had to come down to rescue us help you to understand that you could never free yourself from the enslavement of sin? In what ways do you forget about the rescue mission of Jesus and try to work to gain your salvation? How does your freedom in Christ rescue you from your own attempts to rescue yourself?
For Younger Children:
1. What does it mean to be faithful? Why is it so important to understand and believe that God will always be faithful to us?
2. What is the best proof that God loves us, cares about us, and is faithful to us?
For Older Children:
1. What does it mean to be enslaved to something? How are people enslaved to sin?
2. Why should our enslavement to sin intentionally push us toward a desire for freedom from sin? In what ways is sin enslaving you right now? Why is Jesus the only way to true freedom from sin? Why do we have a need for Jesus, whether or not we understand our need?
3. What do you think it means to be a child of God? How does being a child of God directly impact the way you and I live our daily lives?
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