It’s God and Not Us

Rabbi Ken Alpren
Sermon Notes by Teresa Bennett, Pharm.D.
1/21/12

Exodus 6:6-8, ‘"Therefore, say to the people of Isra'el: 'I am ADONAI. I will free you from the forced labor of the Egyptians, rescue you from their oppression, and redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great judgments. 7 I will take you as my people, and I will be your God. Then you will know that I am ADONAI your God, who freed you from the forced labor of the Egyptians. 8 I will bring you into the land which I swore to give to Avraham, Yitz'chak and Ya'akov - I will give it to you as your inheritance. I am ADONAI.'"

Traditionally, this passage is remembered during Passover as the four statements or expressions of redemption. When looking more closely at this Scripture, we see there are really seven statements.

He will bring them out ‘yatsa’, deliver them ‘natsal’, redeem them ‘gaal’, and acquire them ‘laqach’ are the four statements and continuing, He says He will be their God ‘haya’, bring them into the land ‘bo’ and give the land as their possession ‘natan’.

Similarly, these statements of redemption signify what God does with those who have put their trust in Messiah! He brings us out of captivity, sin, death and slavery and brings us into Himself.

Colossians 1:13, ‘He has rescued us from the domain of darkness and transferred us into the Kingdom of his dear Son.’ See also Romans 8:15, 17, 29-30.

Before the Israelites were freed from Egypt, the plagues occurred beginning with the Nile being turned to blood and the plague of frogs.

Exodus 8:13-15, ‘ADONAI did as Moshe had asked -the frogs died in the houses, courtyards and fields; 14 they gathered them in heaps till the land stank. 15 But when Pharaoh saw that he had been given some relief, he made himself hardhearted and would not listen to them, just as ADONAI had said would happen.’

Can you imagine the smell in Egypt after the Nile had turned to blood and the frogs were gathered in heaps?

Pharaoh promised under duress to allow the Israelites to be freed, but when the plagues were relented, he didn’t follow through.

The same can be true for us. The principle is that making a promise under duress usually results in a promise broken. We need to be careful what we promise so that we do not attempt to make promises under duress or in our flesh.

Ecclesiastes 5:4, ‘If you make a vow to God, don't delay in discharging it. For God takes no pleasure in fools, so discharge your vow!’

How do we get victory over sin? By being made aware of sin or something more?

1 Corinthians 15:56, ‘The sting of death is sin; and sin draws its power from the Torah.’

Romans 7:8, ‘But sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment, worked in me all kinds of evil desires - for apart from Torah, sin is dead.’

Colossians 2:20-23, ‘If, along with the Messiah, you died to the elemental spirits of the world, then why, as if you still belonged to the world, are you letting yourselves be bothered by its rules? - 21 "Don't touch this!" "Don't eat that!" "Don't handle the other!" 22 Such prohibitions are concerned with things meant to perish by being used [not by being avoided!], and they are based on man-made rules and teachings.b 23 They do indeed have the outward appearance of wisdom, with their self-imposed religious observances, false humility and asceticism; but they have no value at all in restraining people from indulging their old nature.’

The power to say ‘no’ to the wrong thing comes from being around the right thing, including the Word of God and fellowship of believers. Doing the right thing can never be accomplished through the power of the flesh. Being told not to do something or what is wrong does not stop you from doing it.

We want to be infused by Life rather than eliciting guilt!

Victory comes through the Power of the Spirit of God and His Grace! Being around pure and holy love will give you the strength to avoid sin. The flesh is not the answer!

Who hardened Pharaoh’s heart? Did God harden Pharaoh’s heart or did Pharaoh harden his own heart?

It was mentioned that Pharaoh’s heart was hardened nineteen times. It is really not clear whether the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart outright or did God respond by hardening his heart based upon Pharaoh’s decision to harden his own heart?

The question really posed here is the question of Predestination versus Free Will. Volumes upon volumes are written on this subject.

Many Scriptures can be cited on this subject including one that should give us great comfort:

Ephesians 1:4-5, ‘In the Messiah he chose us in love before the creation of the universe to be holy and without defect in his presence. 5 He determined in advance that through Yeshua the Messiah we would be his sons - in keeping with his pleasure and purpose.’

Both His choosing us and us choosing to obey are taught in Scripture.

Deuteronomy 30:14-15, ‘"Look! I am presenting you today with, on the one hand, life and good; and on the other, death and evil - 16 in that I am ordering you today to love ADONAI your God, to follow his ways, and to obey his mitzvot, regulations and rulings ; for if you do, you will live and increase your numbers; and ADONAI your God will bless you in the land you are entering in order to take possession of it.’

Revelation 22:17, ‘The Spirit and the Bride say, 'Come!' Let anyone who hears say, 'Come!' And let anyone who is thirsty come - let anyone who wishes, take the water of life free of charge.’

Both Predestination and Free Will are juxtaposed in Scripture!

2 Thessalonians 2:9-14, ‘When this man who avoids Torah comes, the Adversary will give him the power to work all kinds of false miracles, signs and wonders. 10 He will enable him to deceive, in all kinds of wicked ways, those who are headed for destruction because they would not receive the love of the truth that could have saved them. 11 This is why God is causing them to go astray, so that they will believe the Lie. 12 The result will be that all who have not believed the truth, but have taken their pleasure in wickedness, will be condemned. 13 But we have to keep thanking God for you always, brothers whom the Lord loves, because God chose you as firstfruits for deliverance by giving you the holiness that has its origin in the Spirit and the faithfulness that has its origin in the truth. 14 He called you to this through our Good News, so that you could have the glory of our Lord Yeshua the Messiah.’

Free Will and Predestination can be compared to a railroad track. Where we stand now, each track is separate, but in eternity, they are together. Also, we can view this issue as passing through a door. The entrance of the door would say, ‘Whosever will may come’ and then once through the door the backside of the door would say, ‘Chosen before the foundation of the world’. It is a mystery.

In conclusion, did Israel get delivered because of their faith? No!

2 Corinthians 1:8-10, ‘For, brothers, we want you to know about the trials we have undergone in the province of Asia. The burden laid on us was so far beyond what we could bear that we even despaired of living through it. 9 In our hearts we felt we were under sentence of death. However, this was to get us to rely not on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead! 10 He rescued us from such deadly peril, and he will rescue us again! The one in whom we have placed our hope will indeed continue to rescue us.’

God had to teach the Jews that He did not need their faith in Him. God breaks our faith in Him, so that we will know what He does is not based upon our faith in Him but His power and will and Spirit.

The end of us is the beginning of God
Further Reading: Isaiah 42:9, 46:9-10, John 1:12-13, 1Peter 1:2, Ephesians 1:3, 2 Peter 1:3-4, Colossians 1:13, Romans 8:29, John 15:16, Acts 4:29, 2 Timothy 1:9, 1 Peter 1:20, Psalm 40:7-8, Exodus 19:4-5, Joshua 24:15, Genesis 2:17, John 1:12-13, 2 Timothy 2:13, Zechariah 4:6