Deliverance from Egypt, deliverance from sin
Almighty God, you show those in error the light of your truth so that they may turn to the path of righteousness: Grant that all who have been reborn into the fellowship Christ’s Body may show forth in their lives what they profess by their faith; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
(Collect for Easter Thursday, Book of Common Prayer)
Exodus 14:10-14, 21-22, 30-31 NRSV
As Pharaoh drew near, the Israelites looked back, and there were the Egyptians advancing on them. In great fear the Israelites cried out to the Lord. They said to Moses, “Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? What have you done to us, bringing us out of Egypt? Is this not the very thing we told you in Egypt, ‘Let us alone and let us serve the Egyptians’? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness.” But Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid, stand firm, and see the deliverance that the Lord will accomplish for you today; for the Egyptians whom you see today you shall never see again. The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to keep still.”
Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea. The Lord drove the sea back by a strong east wind all night and turned the sea into dry land; and the waters were divided. The Israelites went into the sea on dry ground, the waters forming a wall for them on their right and on their left.
Thus, the Lord saved Israel that day from the Egyptians; and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore. Israel saw the great work that the Lord did against the Egyptians. So, the people feared the Lord and believed in the Lord and in his servant Moses.
Exodus 15:1-3, 17-18 NRSV
Then Moses and the Israelites sang this song to the Lord: “I will sing to the Lord, for he has triumphed gloriously; horse and rider he has thrown into the sea. The Lord is my strength and my might, and he has become my salvation; this is my God, and I will praise him, my father’s God, and I will exalt him. The Lord is a warrior; the Lord is his name. You brought them in and planted them on the mountain of your own possession, the place, O Lord, that you made your abode, the sanctuary, O Lord, that your hands have established. The Lord will reign forever and ever.”
Heavenly Father,
You saved a headstrong, resistant, ungrateful, and uncooperative people when you delivered ancient Israel from Egyptian slavery. You delivered them from anguish and abuse to a place of joy and triumphant song; from a people who only knew Pharoah’s bondage to those who celebrated the “horse and rider thrown into the sea.”
This catches my attention, Lord, because I, too, am one of your stubborn and defiant people. I want to receive the freedom you offer through the death and resurrection of Jesus, but too often find myself unwilling to yield my will and receive your grace.
“Forgive my sins. Forgive my many failures in the face of temptation, and those times when I have been stubborn in the face of correction. Forgive the times I have been proud of my own achievements and those when I have failed to boast in your works. Forgive the pain I have caused others and the indulgence I have shown myself. Jesus, have mercy on me and make me whole” (Pastor Brad Anderson, Cayce Presbyterian Church).
Amen.
God Moves in a Mysterious Way
If you have found this meditation helpful, take a moment and give thanks to God. Then share what you learned with a friend. This is how the grace of God spreads (2 Corinthians 4.15).
