By: Curtis Baker
Most great cultures in the history of civilization have a story that serves as their foundation. These stories help shape a shared sense of identity, and root in history (even if in a somewhat legendary way) the events that gave rise to a particular people. For the Greeks it was Homer’s “Iliad and Odyssey.” For the Romans it was Virgil’s “Aeneid.” For the United States it is the Revolutionary War. But among all those foundational stories, there is an even older story that pre-dates these great civilizations. It may not be the oldest story ever told, but it is ancient and it gave a sense of identity and purpose to one of history’s most storied people–the Israelites. The story I am referring to, of course, is the story of the Exodus.
The Exodus tells us how the people of Israel got their beginning as a nation. Several generations after their founder, Abraham, had died, the people of Israel found themselves led into Egypt during a great famine. For years they were looked after in Egypt and taken care of because of the memory of Joseph, an early Israelite who had ruled in Egypt as a vice-regent of Pharaoh. Israel grew in Egypt and became a very prosperous people, which in turn led the Egyptians to fear them. So, in order to keep Israel from becoming rebellious and taking over Egyptian culture, the Egyptians eventually enslaved them. For 400 years the people of Israel served as slaves, doing increasingly hard labor.
Israel’s destiny, however, was not to remain as slaves–God had a purpose for them. Nearly four thousand years ago God raised up a man named Moses to lead the Israelites out of bondage and into the land of Canaan he had promised Abraham five hundred years earlier. So through a series of extraordinary events, God freed the people of Israel from slavery, and brought them into their new found freedom. This story, which is commonly referred to as “the Exodus,” became the defining story of the people of Israel. It is told in the Old Testament books of Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy.
When you go back and trace that history out, there are four main elements that make up “the Exodus” narrative. First there was slavery in Egypt. Then there was God’s divine deliverance executed through the leadership of Moses. This was most demonstrably seen as God parted the waters of the Red Sea to safely deliver the Israelites out of the Egyptian territory. Then there is a period of wandering in the wilderness for 40 years where God gives the Israelites “the law” and tries to teach them how to live under it. Finally, there is entrance into the promise land where Israel lives in freedom. Each element of the story is very important, and teaches distinctive truths.
As Paul continues his writing in Romans chapter five, he is going to take that story, which was so foundational for the people of Israel, and over the next four chapters he is going to recast it in such a way that it becomes the foundation story for the whole human race. We have already seen in Romans how human sin has created a problem for God. God had a grand purpose for creation that was disrupted by human sin. But sin was not only a problem for God. It was a problem for human beings. Sin created a new kind of slavery that held people captive to their weaknesses and the fear of death.
In Romans 5:12-21, Paul teaches us how the human race found itself in slavery to sin. Much like the Israelites who went to Egypt in search for security and found slavery, so also the original human beings went in search for their own kind of security. Abandoning God’s command, they sought to be the master of their own lives. Unfortunately, by doing this, they unleashed something in the world they did not fully understand– the power of sin and death. So captivating was the power of this force they unleashed, not only did they reap the negative consequences of it, but so has every human being that has ever been born. All people are slaves to sin and death! None can avoid it! Only a redemptive act of God could save us from our slavery in the land of Adam. It was this very thing that God did for us in Jesus Christ. More on this next week.
(Don’t forget to join me for A Message From the Heart radio program Sunday evening at 8:00pm on KJAK 92.7FM, or streaming live at www.kjak.com)
(curtisbaker@hotmail.com)
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