Bo - בוא - "Go"
Torah: Exodus 10:1-13:16
Prophets: Jeremiah 46:13-28
Gospel: Mark 3:7-19
At midnight the Lord struck down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sat on his throne to the firstborn of the captive who was in the dungeon, and all the firstborn of the livestock. And Pharaoh rose up in the night, he and all his servants and all the Egyptians. And there was a great cry in Egypt, for there was not a house where someone was not dead. Then he summoned Moses and Aaron by night and said, “Up, go out from among my people, both you and the people of Israel; and go, serve the Lord, as you have said. Take your flocks and your herds, as you have said, and be gone, and bless me also!” (Exodus 12:29-32)
As we go through this week's Torah portion, I cannot help but to notice the pattern of salvation. Israel, as a people was prospering in the land of Goshen, and then they began to get oppressed and eventually enslaved by Egypt. In their distress, Israel cried out to God for help, for salvation, and He answered their plea for help through a man named Moses.
When Moses first appeared to Israel they were filled with joy that God has come to help them, but salvation did not come right away. Moses went before Pharaoh and began the campaign to free Israel but their problems increased. First Pharaoh increased their workload, and then as God began to punish Egypt, everyone was affected, including Israel. When Egypt was hit with the plague of blood (Exodus 7:14-24) Israel suffered with Egypt. Israel also suffered through the plague of frogs (Exodus 8:1-15) and gnats (Exodus 8:16-19). But once we get to the plague of flies, God begins to make a distinction between Israel and Egypt. From the plague of flies, Egypt begins to suffer most of the plagues alone with the exception of the plague of boils and hail. (Exodus 8:22, 9:6, 9:8-12, 9:26, 10:1-20, 10:23).
After going through 9 plagues, God frees Israel on the 10th plague and it had to be done through the blood of the lamb. Notice how Israel is not saved by the works of Torah, in fact Torah does not come into effect until later, after Israel goes through the water onto the Mountain of God. So far, everything that we've read in the book of Exodus has shown us the process of salvation.
God had chosen Israel when He chose Abraham, so when Israel cried out to Him, God responded because he remembered the promise He made with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. When God answered Israel’s prayer, the heat was turned up, they began to get refined. When God punished Egypt with plagues He wasn’t just punishing Egypt, He was also refining the hearts of Israel to prepare them to be His people. Every plague that God threw at Egypt represented things that they worshiped; He was using their own gods against them. While God was casting judgment on Egypt, He was showing the world just a fraction of the things that He can do and He was also showing Israel that there was no other god but Him.
God is not just a decision that you make, He is an experience. God is an experience that you must witness in order to begin to understand Him. At this time in the Bible, Egypt represented the world. Egypt was the world power at that time. Before Israel could be freed from Egypt, freed from the world system, they had to experience God and that experience refined their hearts. Once their hearts were refined, they were covered by the blood of the lamb which freed them from Egypt, then came the water and then the walk. It is the same process for us today.
God is not a last resort or a revelation; you don’t just wake up one day and say, “I will give God a try today.”
God is an experience, a life changing experience that cannot be explained just as much as His name cannot be defined.
Many people out there believe that they are saved because at some point in time they chose God but these people are wrong. Real salvation can only start when the Father chooses you and draws you to the Son. Just as Israel had to be saved by the blood of the lamb, we too, must be saved by the blood of the Lamb and that can only happen once we’ve experienced the Father. How do you know if you’ve experienced the Father? If you have to ask, I suggest that you pray diligently for YHWH (Yod-Hey-Vav-Hey) to reveal the answer to you.
I will take you as my own people, and I will be your God. Then you will know that I am the Lord your God, who brought you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians. (Exodus 6:7)
I will give you hidden treasures, riches stored in secret places, so that you may know that I am the Lord, the God of Israel, who summons you by name. (Isaiah 45:3)
It is only through experiencing YHWH that you can know that He is real. It is only through experiencing Him that you can truly love and fear the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. If you are not sure if you have experienced Him, then I encourage you to earnestly pray to Him that He will give you the experience of who He is. He will answer your pray.
Never miss an article, subscribe now and received email updates when a new article or news item is posted.
Better yet, become a Messianic Discipleship Institute student and learn the Hebraic Roots of your faith and become a life-long learner.