Recognizing Our Need for Divine Deliverance

The Israelites were in a terrible predicament at this particular point; things, in a sense, could not be worse with them in every respect. They had gone down religiously, they'd gone down morally, and now there was the acute problem of their military condition also. The mighty Chaldeans were preparing to attack them and to destroy their city and to take them captive to their land of Babel. [00:01:25]

The supreme tragedy was that in that position, they were refusing to turn to the only one who could deliver and provide them with a way and a means of salvation. The extraordinary thing that we have here is that God Himself, the one whom they are ignoring in this way, comes down as it were to them in the person of the Prophet Jeremiah and tries to awaken them to the realization of the utter folly of what they're doing. [00:02:05]

The message is you are doing everything except the one thing that can deliver you. Why are you so foolish? Why are you so stupid? Why are you so unreasonable, so utterly irrational? God takes them through the whole situation and He analyzes it, places it before them, dissects it as it were, and says, "This is what you're doing. Can't you see this thing?" [00:03:36]

The greatest tragedy in the world at this minute is just this: that God has already done the one thing that can save either the individual or the entire human race, and yet the world won't have it. The world ridicules it, the world scoffs at it, even as these children of Israel did of old. [00:08:43]

The captivity of Egypt and the deliverance out of it is a perfect portrayal of the sinful state of mankind and the salvation which God has already provided in the person of His only begotten Son, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and Him crucified, buried, risen again, ascended, seated at the right hand of God's glory and power. [00:09:48]

The life of sin is a miserable life; it's an unhappy life. Now be frank and honest, am I not saying the truth? Are you happy? Are you happy when you behave like an animal? Don't you have a conscience of a sense of shame and of unworthiness? The Bible tells us that most sins are committed at night and in the dark. [00:25:37]

The result of this is there is suffering and there is misery. Oh, the misery! God looked down and said, "I have seen the misery of my people," and they were utterly miserable. You know, the life of sin is a miserable life; it's an unhappy life. Now be frank and honest, am I not saying the truth? [00:25:28]

The world is out of position; it's out of place, and everybody that is in it. We've all become unnatural. Man, as he is, is a travesty of what man was meant to be. I think I once quoted a saying of an older preacher of some three centuries ago who said this, which is nothing but the simple truth about man as he is by nature. [00:17:29]

The world is in a state of spiritual bondage, unable to free itself from sin. Yet, God has provided a way of deliverance through Jesus Christ, emphasizing that salvation is entirely His work. The rejection of Christ's sacrifice is the height of irrationality. It is a refusal of the only true solution to our spiritual predicament, highlighting the tragedy of human ingratitude. [00:31:56]

The call to recognize our spiritual state and turn to God is urgent. In doing so, we find true freedom and salvation, escaping the bondage of sin and entering into a life of gratitude and purpose. This is God's greatest action. God Himself can do nothing beyond that. He gave His only begotten Son to that death of the cross. [00:47:49]

The Israelites' failure to seek God in their time of need is a reflection of humanity's tendency to ignore divine deliverance. We often turn to empty pursuits, neglecting the one true source of salvation. The deliverance from Egypt is a foreshadowing of the salvation provided through Jesus Christ. This historical event points to the greater spiritual reality of Christ's sacrifice for humanity. [00:09:53]

The rejection of Christ's sacrifice is the height of irrationality. It is a refusal of the only true solution to our spiritual predicament, highlighting the tragedy of human ingratitude. The call to recognize our spiritual state and turn to God is urgent. In doing so, we find true freedom and salvation, escaping the bondage of sin and entering into a life of gratitude and purpose. [00:36:19]