Submitted by Visitor (not verified) on Mon, 07/12/2009 – 12:31
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Bible Book: Exodus / Eksodus
Chapter: 12
Verse: 1 – 51
Text: Exodus 12
When I was a child I was told that the story of Israel’s liberation from slavery is symbolic of the redemption of believers from the slavery of sin. There is a very important thread that runs from the introduction of the Passover in Exodus right through Jesus’ celebration of the Lord’s Supper in the New Testament to believers of the 21st century. The Lord, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, is the God who sets free. One of the many images of God’s redemption is the liberation of his people from the power of the Pharaoh who held them in bondage.
When we take a closer look at the liberation of Israel from Egypt as it is told in Exodus 12, for example, we must be careful not to simply apply all the detail directly to our own situation. Take, for instance, the theme of life and death that runs through this chapter. In verses 12, 13 and 14 Moses warns that God will “strike down” the firstborn of all the Egyptians and their animals. The Israelites who celebrate the Passover, however, will not be affected by this “destructive plague” (verse 13). According to verse 27 Israel had to remember each time they celebrate the Passover that God had touched Egypt with death, but spared them. Verse 29 describes the “destructive plague” that struck Egypt. This line is completed in verse 42 when the author says, “It was a night of watching by the LORD, to bring them out of the land of Egypt”. The people of Israel are saved and their firstborn not harmed.
Exodus 12 paints a black-and-white picture: the Egyptians die and the Israelites are spared. We don’t live in such a black-and-white world any more. We can’t assume that the people who die in car accidents are the “unbelievers” or the “sinners”, while those of us who have arrived safely are the “true children of God”! Neither can we claim that it is only “unbelievers” or “sinners” who get cancer and die while the “true children of God” retain their good health.
Why then do these thoughts crop up when believers talk and think about HIV and AIDS?
We live in a broken world and believers are not swaddled in cotton wool. This reality becomes clear whenever we study the facts of the AIDS pandemic honestly.
In our broken world we have the Lord, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the God who saves. Even though we can’t draw this redemption in “black-and-white” pictures, it doesn’t take away any of its reality. In our broken world (and that includes the AIDS pandemic) God’s redemption can be seen in a kaleidoscope of startling dimensions.
Author: N du Toit (Ds)
Language: English