Let Me Out of Here!

     A news item told of a homeless person who lowered himself into a utility hole that led to shelter in a basement room of a large building. That room had no other exit! Without adequately checking the hole and its layout, a work crew came along, bolted a steel grate over it and went on their way leaving the man trapped. His anxiety increased and his body weakened over the ensuing days as he made futile attempts to separate the bars of the grate

     That story is reminiscent of the Israelites’ bondage in Israel. During a long famine, their ancestors had gone down to Egypt to seek food. Genesis 41-47 narrates the period from Egypt’s preparation for a seven-year famine until the Israelites settled in Egypt. They needed help. Just as the dry basement shelter had been a welcome sight to the homeless person, the desperate Israelites gladly received King Pharaoh’s offer of a safe home and an abundance of food in Egypt. However, their prosperous life changed when a new Pharaoh ascended to the throne and enslaved them. Their home in Egypt became a trap. The book of Exodus chronicles the display of God’s power in freeing them from Pharaoh’s merciless rule.

     --and that story reminds us of God’s grace that offers humanity freedom from the entrapment of sin, Titus 2:11. Jesus said that everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin, John 8:34. The apostle Paul thanked God that those of his acquaintances, who were once slaves of sin, had become obedient from the heart to the teaching which had been given to them, Romans 6:17. Continuing, Paul stated clearly in terms the people understood. He said they had allowed their bodies to be slaves of impurity and of lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, but now their bodies should be slaves of righteousness, Romans 6:19. God provided an escape from the horrible trap of sin.

     We must ask ourselves, “Am I obedient from the heart to the teaching which is available to me in the scriptures?” We can enjoy freedom from sin’s trap. Click Bible Stories #28 and #29 which tell of some of the teaching which we should heed.

     What happened to the man in the utility hole? A gracious passerby, who saw his feeble and clawing fingers tugging at the steel bars, rescued him from his entrapment and supplied him with food and clothing.

 Cucumber bloom in

my Florida vegetable garden.