Scriptural
Reflections from Exodus
by Don Schwager
I
will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great acts of judgment
– Exodus 6:6
God made a seven-fold
promise to Moses and the people of Israel (Exodus 6:6-8):
1. I will
free you from the burdens which the Egyptians have laid upon you.
2. I will
release you from slavery to them.
3. With strokes
of power I will deliver you.
4. I will
adopt you as my own people.
5. I will
be your God.
6. I will
bring you to the land I swore that I would give to Abraham, Isaac, and
Jacob.
7. I will
give this land to you for your inheritance.
This seven-fold promise
forshadows the fulness of redemption which Jesus Christ fulfilled for the
human race when he delivered us from slavery to sin and death through his
victory on the cross.
The ten plagues demonstrated
God's power and presence in a land that worshiped idols and oppressed the
people of God. Pharoah was worshiped as a divine person in Egypt. His defiance
and refusal to submit to God is a type or symbol of the Angel of Light
(also called Lucifer and Satan) who was thrown out of heaven for his defiant
refusal to serve God.
The plagues brought
judgment on Pharoah and the Egyptians for enslaving Israel, and judgment
on all the gods of Egypt. They demonstrate that the Lord is the only true
God and greater than all other gods.
They also demonstrated
for Israel, and for all believers, both the depravity of sin and our need
for God's redemption.
The Book of Revelations
also describes plagues which will take place at the end of the age, when
the Lord Jesus returns to judge the world and to usher in his kingdom of
righteousness and peace. See Revelations 15:1, 16:3-7. |
Art
work by Yvette Rock
Artist Statement
My work revolves
around biblical themes, imagery and language. I am drawn to the truth
and beauty found in the Old and New Testaments – from the harshness and
awesomeness of the ten plagues, to the glory and compassion of the crucifixion.
I connect scripture
to everyday life – using painting, drawing, collage and mixed media to
reflect universal experiences such as love, anger, violence, hope, disparity,
poverty, sickness and redemption.
Yvette
lives in Detroit, Michigan, USA. She and her husband, Joshua, now have
three children. They are leaders of Youth-Works
Detroit, an inner city youth outreach of the Sword of the Spirit. To
see more of Yvette's art work, vist her website: http://www.yvetterock.com/
|
