Jewels Of Freedom

Picture by Caprice Miller

“The Israelites did as Moses instructed and asked the Egyptians for articles of silver and gold and for clothing.  The Lord had made the Egyptians favorably disposed toward the people, and they gave them what they asked for; so they plundered the Egyptians.”  - Exodus 12: 35-36

Pretty!  Many a girl would appreciate an array of colorful bracelets like this.  Something in us just seems naturally drawn to colorful, sparkly things.  And if we can wear those things, even better! 

Something about this picture made me think of the Israelites though.  Colorful, sparkly things would not be something that you would think they would have among their possessions when they were finally allowed to leave Egypt.  And yet,  we read in Exodus 25 that these types of things are what was brought before God to construct God’s dwelling place among them in the desert – the Tabernacle.   How did they come up with all of that gold, silver, colorful thread and precious stones?

It is fascinating the way God orchestrates things.  If we didn’t already know the rest of the story of how the Israelites were finally released from slavery, then we might think this prospect would be pretty hopeless.  The pharaoh was not budging no matter what plague was thrown at him.  In fact, he made life even more miserable for the Israelite slaves.  But Moses carried on.  You might imagine the conversations going on at that point.  “Moses needs to leave!  Compared to what we’re  enduring now, we were living just fine before Moses stuck his nose into things.  Just leave it alone or Pharaoh will just make it worse.”  Things had been pretty much “status quo” until Moses decided to obey God and be the man to lead them out of the slavery they had been in for 400 years.  Sure they had prayed for so long to be freed, but perhaps they didn’t expect the “birth into freedom” to be so painful on them.   

In very similar ways, we have probably experienced similar circumstances in our lives.  Chances are we have not gone through 400 years of slavery, but there may have been very real circumstances that we have prayed and possibly even begged God to release us from.   Perhaps it’s an addiction or a harmful relationship, no matter the circumstance, it has you in its grip and won’t let go.   In order to experience freedom there may be changes in our lives that must occur.  Many times those changes not only affect us as individuals, but also others around us.  This could cause conflict in addition to what we may be trying to gain freedom from.  And because of this additional conflict, too many times we decide just to stay where we are instead of pushing through to the other side.  But if we continue to follow God’s guidance and finally experience that freedom, we can look back on the experience and discover something.  If we had avoided the pain of the “birth into freedom” we would have missed the lessons offered to us along the way.  Lessons that helped us grow in our faith in God to carry us through and courage to face whatever may come our way next.   Ultimately, if we are following God’s guidance, His glory will be shown through our victory and freedom. 

Back to the Israelites.   When the time FINALLY came that Pharaoh said “JUST GET OUT!  But bless me before you go.”  (Paraphrase of Exodus 12:32)  God directed the hearts of the Egyptians in a way that they were more than ready for them to go.  In fact, they were so ready that they gave the Israelites gold, silver, precious stones, clothes, whatever they asked for and more just so they would leave quickly.   At first we may think this is great for them – they are leaving with all sorts of riches!  But in pondering how I would feel in the shoes of the Israelites at the moment, I’m not sure I would want to have anything to ever remind me of my slavery.  I would just want to leave as quickly as possible and never look back.  Besides, what were they going to do with it?  They were going to be in a desert where there wasn’t exactly a lot of commerce going on.   But God had other things in mind.  These items given from the very ones who had been their captors ended up being the materials God directed them to use for building His dwelling place so that He could be with them.   

The things we gain freedom from in our lives are also probably the very things we don’t want to ever revisit.  But know that God brings beauty out of ashes (Isaiah 61:3) and uses the circumstances in our lives to draw us closer to Him.   As we are drawn closer to Him, we can’t help but also shine with the light of His love that DWELLS IN US – a light that shines brighter than jewels.  And as with things that shine like a jewel, it draws in others - others who need freedom for themselves.  The lessons you were taught through your own experience can now be used to help someone else begin their own “birth to freedom”.    

True freedom begins with accepting God’s gift to us – Jesus.  God sacrificed His Son, Jesus, so that we could always be with Him.  Take your first step into freedom,  Just pray this simple prayer and make it your own:  “Dear God, I admit that I am a sinner and that I have messed up from time to time. I believe that Jesus died on the cross for my sins and that God raised Him from the dead. I choose to follow You, Jesus, and I confess that You are my savior. Thank you, Jesus, for saving me. I love You. Amen.”  Now, tell somebody so they can celebrate with you!