by Reuven and Mary Lou Doron
email: OneNewManMail@aol.com

"Say, therefore, to the sons 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 their bondage. I will also redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great judgments. Then I will take you for My people, and I will be your God; and you shall know that I am the LORD your God, who brought you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians. And I will bring you to the land which I swore to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and I will give it to you for a possession; I am the LORD.'" Exodus 6:6-8.

By faith in the redeeming power of the blood of Messiah, we enter into a privileged and highly favored position with God. Our new life in Him now holds many blessings; some of which are present realities, and others are promises that are yet to come to pass. All of these blessings are summed up in God's covenant promises to the sons of Israel as He spoke to them through Moses to stir faith, hope and courage in their hearts.

During the traditional Passover observance, called the SEDER, participants partake in four cups of wine during key moments throughout the ceremony. The four cups are not a biblical mandate, but rather are traditionally drawn from the verse above, with each cup celebrating one of the Lord's four great promises. These promises are 1. I will bring you out. 2. I will deliver you. 3. I will redeem you. 4. I will be your God.

As you consider this Passover observance in the Spirit of God, by faith drink deep from each of these cups of blessings. They are yours in the Messiah's redeeming love!

I Will Bring You Out

The Hebrew word which the Spirit uses in the original text is "HO'TSAI'TI" which speaks of exit, departure, and the physical removal of one entity out from another. God's first promise to His embattled people who were in slavery was that He would bring them out of the danger zone and physically remove them from their oppressors. The promise was to bring them out from under the burden of suffering and oppression.

As you may remember from the Exodus story, bringing Israel out of Egypt was not a simple matter. In fact, by purposeful design, the Lord hardened Pharaoh's heart again and again and set the stage for dramatic confrontations that shook the heavens and the earth. The ten plagues were God's way of challenging and exposing the fallacy of the deities which the Egyptians worshiped (the river, the sun, the creatures, etc), proving to the observing world who the true God is!

However, once the judgments were complete and anguish gripped each Egyptian family grieving the death of their first born, Israel was allowed to exit and the promise was fulfilled. Not only did they leave Egypt with all their possessions and cattle, but, as the biblical account testifies, they left with much of Egypt's wealth and treasures (Ex. 12:35-36).

Take to heart then, that in God's rescue plan for your life He promised to start by getting you out of the reach of your oppressors, breaking their power over you, and often funding the "expedition" from the treasuries of the world. Yet, as fantastic as that rescue was, it only spelled relief from the external oppressive circumstances Israel was under. Internal transformation is a whole different matter that required a different promise.

I Will Deliver You

The Hebrew word the Spirit uses in the original text to signify the second phase of the rescue plan is "HEE'TSAL'TEE," speaking of saving from harm, rescuing from destruction and providing full deliverance. This deliverance, according to the text, was from the bondage of Egypt, and is referring not only to rescuing God's people from external oppression, but from the long term impacts of this bondage in the soul of those being delivered.

In other words, God is intent not only on getting us out of trouble, but getting trouble out of us. Extricating Israel out of Egypt by great judgments and miracles was just the beginning of the rescue plan. Transformation and spiritual rebirth were to follow as they are always God's ultimate purpose for us; rather than merely changing our outward circumstances.

For lasting healing and transformation to occur, drastic and long-term changes had to take place in the life of God's people. They were evacuated out of their homes overnight, uprooted from their lifestyles and the familiarity of Egypt, and thrust into a wilderness journey where everything was radically different. Their diet changed as did their purpose in life, and they had to learn to follow the pillar of fire and of cloud rather than the commands of men. For transformation to take affect, the nation had to die to the old ways and be born again to the new life they now had in God.

As deliverance followed the exodus, so inner transformation follows external change. In fact, deliverance took a whole lot longer than the exodus did as it reached much deeper into the national soul of Israel. Be not deceived, God has promised to set us free not only from slavery to sin and lawlessness, but from their affects as well. He promised to deliver us to the utmost and present us before Him white as snow. In God's rescue plan there are no short cuts, but He has promised to carry us through the long haul to the end.

God's Word promises, saying, "Listen to Me, O house of Jacob, and all the remnant of the house of Israel, you who have been borne by Me from birth, and have been carried from the womb; even to your old age, I shall be the same, and even to your graying years I shall bear you! I have done it, and I shall carry you; and I shall bear you, and I shall deliver you." Isaiah 46:3-4.

I Will Redeem You

Redemption is entirely different from either finding shelter from harm or being delivered from its affects. The Hebrew word used by the Spirit in the original text is "GA'AL'TEE," speaking of being set free through the act of being legally purchased, redeemed, and lawfully taken out of the devil's power.

We had to be legally purchased for the rescue plan to take affect. Having been born in sin and conceived in unrighteousness, we were all condemned men and women. Since the fall, the devil had a legal right to us all. Gaining authority over the cursed planet through Adam and Eve's failure to abide in God's Word, the prince of this world has legitimate authority over everything that belongs to this world. For the rescue plan to stand, then, we had to be bought with a price and become God's own possession as Israel had to be redeemed by the blood of a lamb in order to enter God's domain and be freed from Pharaoh's rule.

That price was paid on that terrible night of Passover as the blood of an innocent lamb provided shelter and passage for God's people. This lamb was a symbol, foreshadowing the reality, and was offered by faith for the redeeming of the people from Egypt's ownership. Nearly 1,500 years later the true Lamb of God was offered in Jerusalem as Jesus the Messiah gave Himself up as the ultimate redeeming sacrifice. With His blood He purchased for God men and women from every tongue and tribe and people and nation under heaven.

The Apostle encouraged the early disciples with this revelation, reminding them that "… you were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold from your futile way of life inherited from your forefathers, but with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ." I Peter 1:18-19.

Our salvation, while motivated by the highest form of love, compassion and sacrifice, is in fact a legal transaction whereby we have been purchased with a price and now belong to a new master. As you contemplate this third cup of blessing, the cup of redemption, remember that you are not your own!

I Will Be Your God

This fourth cup of celebration signifies the fourth covenant promise God made. In it the heart and the ultimate outcome of our salvation shines brightly even in the darkest of times, declaring that God will take us to Himself and will become our God. The Hebrew word used in this text is "HA'YEE'TEE," "I shall be," which is a derivative of the root word "HAYA" that provides the basis for the holy name of Jehovah.

This fourth cup speaks of a holy God taking a people for Himself the way a husband would take a wife. The promise "I will take you" precedes the promise "I will be your God," as it speaks about the blessed union of the Lord and His bride, God and His people, when He becomes all in all unto us.

The Rabbis often call this fourth cup the "Cup of Praise." We call it the "Cup of Completion" or of fulfillment. The end of our journey is not merely about entering a place called the Promised Land. Rather it is primarily about entering a relational oneness with the One True God. This union will last forever as it will make the two into one as we, His people, become part of God's Kingdom for all eternity. In that eternal union, the Bride of Christ shall become the Wife of Christ, to reign and rule with Him by His side forever.

Remember then, as you ponder by the Spirit these four Passover cups of blessings, that we are all on a journey with God. He who brings us out of trouble has also promised to deliver us, heal us from our past, and transform us into His own likeness. He does this wondrous work in us by obtaining legal rights to our lives, having purchased us through the shed blood of His resurrected Son. Ultimately, His goal is to bring us to Himself in an eternal and glorious bridal union which is motivated by His great love for you and us.

We bless you, then, during this special season of redemption and new life. Wherever you may be in the journey, we pray you'll make the progression from one cup of blessing to the next, ever growing in love and adoration for the One who carries and leads us along this blessed path of life. We also thank you for your prayer and support. One New Man Call is a faith ministry supported by friends and partners. Tax deductible donations can be sent to the address below.

In His grace,

REUVEN AND MARY LOU DORON
(C) 2007 One New Man Call

One New Man Call
P O Box 164
Hayfield, MN 55940 USA

Ministry Contact: OneNewManMail@aol.com

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Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, taken from the New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. www.Lockman.org