Acts 7:30-34
“Now when forty years had passed, an angel appeared to him in the wilderness of Mount Sinai, in the flame of a burning bush. When Moses saw it, he was amazed at the sight; and as he approached to look, there came the voice of the Lord: ‘I am the God of your ancestors, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.’ Moses began to tremble and did not dare to look. Then the Lord said to him, ‘Take off the sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy ground. I have surely seen the mistreatment of my people who are in Egypt and have heard their groaning, and I have come down to rescue them. Come now, I will send you to Egypt.’”
As we look at this passage, ponder for a moment the words God speaks to Moses: “I have surely seen…I have heard…I have come down…I will send you…”
The enslaved people of God did not realize they were the people of God. Their enslavement was all that they could see.
But their inability to see God did not prevent Him from seeing them!
God heard the groanings of His people. Their worship was not what attracted His attention. The sound of their singing or the piousness of their prayers were not heard. God heard the groanings of His people; the sounds made by those who are so burdened they have no words to speak, no prayers to pray.
God came down to rescue them.
Do you see the reflection of the Gospel story in this passage? We read about God’s response to the suffering of His people and how He chose Moses to be their rescuer. And we see a picture of what is to come.
From the beginning, God has seen the affliction of His people. He has heard their groanings. And He has come down to rescue us. This is Jesus. Jesus has come to rescue us. We don’t have to see God – sometimes we can’t see anything beyond our own situation. We don’t even have to sing the right songs or pray the right prayers – God hears our groaning. He has come down to rescue us.
Jesus has broken the power of the sin that enslaves us and has set us free.
“…I will send you…” to tell what God has done in your life, to share the message that we no longer must remain slaves. The price has been paid for our freedom. The power of God is available to all of us, if we will just receive it. We can be free.