Exodus 6:6-7. 6Say therefore to the people of Israel, ‘I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will deliver you from slavery to them, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great acts of judgment. 7 I will take you to be my people, and I will be your God, and you shall know that I am the Lord your God, who has brought you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians. 8 I will bring you into the land that I swore to give to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob. I will give it to you for a possession. I am the Lord.’”
In yesterday’s reading, we heard God tell Moses his personal name. Yahweh – I Am, or I Will. When God says I am we confess right back to him He will. But He will what?
God’s name always comes with a promise. A plan to act. God is I Am – being. But he is also I Will – action. As Moses prepares to meet Pharaoh and demand the release of his people, God promises him the greatest of all comforts, himself. His presence. Exodus 6 contains seven promises from God to Moses rooted in the promises that he made to Abraham centuries earlier. Seven promises that ultimately will be fulfilled in us through Christ.
Promise #1: I will bring you out from under the burden of the Egyptians. In Christ, we are brought out of darkness and into his kingdom of light. We live daily in the hope of this new citizenship.
Promise #2: I will deliver you from slavery to them. In Christ, we are forgiven and free from sin’s control. We live daily from this freedom, choosing to put off the sin that once held us in bondage.
Promise #3: I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great acts of judgment. In Christ, we are redeemed, bought back as God’s possession. We no longer live for ourselves but for the glory of the One who possesses us.
Promise #4: I will take you to be my people. In Christ, we are God’s people. His holy nation. We live daily in service to him.
Promise #5: I will be your God. In Christ, we are not only possessed by God but we also possess God. He is ours. Now we live from this most comforting of salvation truths – our mutual union with God in Christ. God in us and us in God.
Promise #6: I will bring you into the land that I swore to give to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob. In Christ, we are awaiting a glorious inheritance. We can live free from the daily temptations and trappings of earthly cares and fears that seek to steal our hearts from God.
Promise #7: I will give it to you for a possession. In Christ, we are the co-heirs of the universe. Everything is ours. We can stop freaking out and take a breath. It’s all made good in the end.
To live is Christ is to live in the confidence of knowing that every promise of God has been fulfilled in Christ. These promises are not just “pie in the sky,” they are our daily reality. Our hope. Our joy. Our peace. Our reason and our power for living.
Yahweh is our God and we are his people. That’s a promise, a love, a loyalty you can count on today and every day.
You: Which of the seven promises above stands out to you?
You in Christ: For all the promises of God find their Yes in [Christ] (2 Cor. 1:20). Are you experiencing the promises of God in Christ right now in the present?
Christ in you: What is one specific way you can live from the promises of God today? More hopeful? More peaceful? More joyful?
To Live is Christ 