I have come down to rescue them

Our focus for today will be on God’s rescue plan – his concern moved him to action:

• coming down to where his people were: God himself is seen as 'coming down’' even though he is everywhere, every time, and was already present.
• rescuing them from the hand of the Egyptians: 430 years in Egypt, 300 of these under the yoke of oppression, was not a fleeting time; what is depicted in Scripture indicates that Pharoah had perfected the art of oppression. They were under his bondage, and he was satisfied with that. But nothing was beyond God’s power and ability… 'I have come down to rescue them' is definitive - it was going to happen irrespective of who was in power and what he was putting God’s people through.
• making his deliverance clear from the onset: God was moving his people from a state of oppression to a place of prosperity and plenty, where they would be in their own land.
• speedy deliverance by methods out of the common ways of providence: God would use whatever means to ensure his people were delivered.

God’s concern was love in action. In Matthew 25: 21-30 true Christianity is going beyond knowing to doing, the opposite of many governments that make promises during election campaigns which they often fail to fulfill, resulting in disillusionment for millions of people who live in misery.

Reflect

• Discuss the meaning and implication of 'I have come down' .How does this encourage us in our personal lives and areas of responsibility?
• Share some experiences of how God has come down for your family, yourself, and your community.
• What advocacy strategies can we engage that would challenge and encourage governments on issues of practical care for their constituents?
• Review the lists you compiled during the first day of reflection of the things we have seen and heard. What actions can you engage in that would alleviate the miseries of the children, young people and the communities we serve?

Pray

• Pray: for God’s special intervention in situations where definitive action is required in the world.
• Pray: for those who work in restricted nations or under great persecution, that they would know God coming down into their situations.
• Pray: for wisdom and clear strategies for Scripture Union movements around the world, that will move children, young people, and families from pain to a future that is bright and filled with hope.
• Pray: for Christian leaders in positions of influence in politics, business, education, religion, and others… for clarity about their calling as God’s representatives and that they would be agents of change.