This is the cry that the people of Israel cried out for centuries, as they were captives in Egypt.
Despite all of the promises of their blessing, they had become slaves, and captives. Chained, controlled, threatened and punished. No freedom, and little hope of change...except for their God, YHWH (Yahweh) who had promised their patriarch, Abraham that "all the nations of the Earth shall be blessed through you" (Genesis 22:18).
They knew a better day was coming...now they were just crying out for Deliverance!
Today, thankfully, we don't have that kind of slavery (at least, not in our part of the world).
...but we still need deliverance.
We still have shackles, and we are slaves--to our sinful nature.
As much as we try to resist the idea, our sinful nature trips us up all the time. We are stuck in sin, separated from God. We don't want to sin, but we still do. We are powerless to change it on our own.
"The trouble is with me, for I am all too human, a slave to sin. 15 I don’t really understand myself, for I want to do what is right, but I don’t do it. Instead, I do what I hate.16 But if I know that what I am doing is wrong, this shows that I agree that the law is good. 17 So I am not the one doing wrong; it is sin living in me that does it.
18 And I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature.[d] I want to do what is right, but I can’t. 19 I want to do what is good, but I don’t. I don’t want to do what is wrong, but I do it anyway." (Romans 7:14-19)
Were it not for Jesus Christ, we would remain there, stuck in slavery to sin.
'Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death? Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord." (Romans 7:24-25)
The GREAT NEWS is that Jesus came--born on that first Christmas--to deliver us from our slavery to sin!
He gives us new life--IF we will open up to Him and receive Him!
Yet, sometimes we choose to remain in slavery. We choose the 'freedom' to sin rather than obedience. We tell ourselves it is freedom, when really we're simply choosing to remain shackled.
We need Him to Deliver us! To apply the work of Christ to our lives!
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