Exodus 3:8, “I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land unto a good land and a large, unto a land flowing with milk and honey…”

Oh what blessed words. Although God is high and lifted up above all, yet He comes down to where we are.  Psalm 113:6 tells us that He “humbles himself to behold the things that are in the heavens and in the earth.” David the Psalmist is in awe as he asks the question, “What is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you visit him? (Psalm 8:4) God wants to become personally involved in our lives.

When God came to deliver the children of Israel, He “came down” to them. He came right down to where they were suffering and made bare His mighty right arm on their behalf. God will also “come down” to you, into the midst of your life, your home, and your circumstances. Yes, dear mother, He will come down to you, right there in your kitchen.

Are you feeling despair, frustration and helplessness? Cry out to the Lord. He will come down to you. He will manifest Himself to you. He wants to fill your kitchen and your home with His Presence and His glory.

There is no situation too low to which God will not come down!

How far will He come down?

• He comes down to the dunghill for the needy and beggar. 1 Samuel 2:8; Psalm 113:7

• He comes down to the dust for the poor. 1 Samuel 2:8; Psalm 113:7

• He comes down into the horrible pit to those who are stuck in the slimy mud of despair. Psalm 40:1-2

• He comes down to the broken-hearted. Psalm 34:18; 51:7; 147:3, Isaiah 61:1; Luke 4:18

• He comes down to those who are held captive by Satan. Leviticus 26:13; Psalm 68:6; 107:13-14; 146:7; Isaiah 42:7; 61:1

• He comes down to those who are mourning. Isaiah 57:18; 61:2-3; Matthew 5:4

• He comes down to the lonely and forsaken. Psalm 68:6; 46:8

• He comes down to those are bowed down and overwhelmed. Psalm 145:14

• He comes down to those who are hungry and need food. Ruth 1:6; Palm 146:7

• He comes down to those who are infertile. Genesis 21:1; 29:32; 1 Samuel 2:21

Why does God come down? God said in Exodus 3:16-17, “I have surely visited you, and seen that which is done to you in Egypt: and I have said, I will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt unto… a land flowing with milk and honey.” He came down to the children of Israel to deliver them out of their bondage and bring them into a large place. God comes down to your need, not to grovel there with you, but to lift you up! To bring you out! To set you free!

Love from NANCY CAMPBELL

PRAYER:

“Oh Lord, I thank you that you come down to meet me in my need. I thank you that you are such a wonderful and personal God. Lord, please help me to keep a soft and humble heart before you, because even though you dwell in the high and holy place, you promise to come down to revive the heart of the contrite ones. Thank you, Lord. Amen.”

QUOTE:

Exodus 3:7,9, “And the Lord said, I have surely seen the affliction of my people which are in Egypt, and have heard their cry by reason of their taskmasters; for I know their sorrows; and I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians… behold, the cry of the children of Israel is come unto me: and I have also seen the oppression wherewith the Egyptians oppress them.”

Read also Genesis 50:24-25; Exodus 4:31; Deuteronomy 26:6-9; Nehemiah 9:9; Psalm 106:43-45; Isaiah 63:9; Acts 7:34.

“I know your sorrows!” There could not be any more comforting words that you could hear from your loving Heavenly Father.

Are you going through a time of sorrow in your life? Dear one, God says to you, “I know your sorrows.” He feels touched with the feeling of our infirmities.” He sympathises with your weaknesses. Your heartache. He has not forgotten you. Hebrews 4:15 reminds us that we have a High Priest who is "able to sympathize with our weaknesses."

Have you been crying out with anguish and grief? God says to you, “I hear your cry. I see your tears.” His ears are open to you. Psalm 56:8 TLB says, “You have seen me tossing and turning through the night. You have collected all my tears and preserved them in your bottle! You have recorded every one in your book.” Read also Psalm 116:8, 126:5-6 and Isaiah 25:8.

Are you in a situation where you feel under servitude? Do you feel like you are in a prison from which you can’t escape? Are you groaning under hard bondage as the children of Israel? God says to you, “I see your oppression.”  The eyes of the Lord run to and fro over the whole earth. He sees what is going on in your life and in your home.

“But”, you answer, “If God sees my heartache and hears my cry to Him, why doesn’t He do something about it?” I’m still suffering.

God had not forgotten His people in Egypt. He knew their sorrows. He watched over their afflictions year after year. Although they lived in Egypt for 430 years, historians believe that their persecution began about a hundred years before their deliverance. They could have lived under persecution for a whole century, although it intensified in the latter years. But God was not deaf to their cries of anguish as they endured their bitter slavery. He had His perfect timing. In fact, He was already working! He was preparing a leader and it couldn’t be done in a moment. He spent 40 years preparing Moses out in the desert, and at the right moment, He brings His deliverer upon the scene.

Dear mother, do not despair as you wait for God to answer your cry. God is already working, although you may not see it yet. He will bring His deliverance in His perfect timing. Wait for God’s moment for then it will be a true deliverance. God does not always do His work in haste. He does a thorough work and it often takes time. It takes time for Him to complete His work in us. It takes time for Him to perform His work of grace in those who affect our lives.

I pray that you will be comforted and encouraged by these beautiful promises:

Psalm 22:24 NLT, “For He has not ignored the suffering of the needy. He has not turned and walked away. He has listened to their cries for help.”

Psalm 31:7 NLT, “For you have seen my troubles, and you care about the anguish of my soul.”

Psalm 34:18 NLT, “The Lord is close to the broken-hearted, he rescues those who are crushed in spirit.”

Psalm 40:21-2 MLB, “I waited and waited for the Lord; then He bent over to me (Oh how tender! Oh how personal! Oh how wonderful!) and heard my cry. He brought me up from a destructive pit, from the miry clay, and set my feet on a rock, steadying my steps.”

Trust Him, dear one. He knows and understands your sorrows.

Love from NANCY CAMPBELL

PRAYER:

“Thank you, dear Lord, that you know and understand the grief and heartache I am going through. I thank you that you are my faithful High Priest and you feel my oppression. I thank you that you are working on my behalf right now. I trust you, Lord. I submit my life to you, knowing that you understand my sorrow, and that you will work out your perfect will in my life. Amen.”

QUOTE:

“God hears thy sighs and counts thy tears;

   God shall lift up thy head.

   Through waves and clouds and storms

    He gently clears thy way;

Wait thou His time, so shall this night

   Soon end in joyous day.”

From a hymn by Paul Gerhardt, translated by John Wesley.

Exodus 12:13, “When I see the blood, I will pass over you.”

It is imperative that we live under the covering of the blood of Jesus. The word for ‘atonement’ in the Hebrew is ‘kaphar’ and it means ‘to cover.’ It is only blood that can cover sins. Under the old covenant, they shed the blood of animals. Now, it is the blood of Jesus Christ, the spotless Son of God that covers our sins.

In the old covenant, not only was the blood sprinkled on the people, but also the tabernacle, and their homes. The writer of Hebrews reminds of this in Hebrews 9:18-22, “Moses… took the blood of calves and of goats, with water, and scarlet wool, and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book, and all the people, saying, This is the blood of the testament which God has enjoined unto you. Moreover he sprinkled with blood both the tabernacle, and all the vessels of the ministry.” Do you notice? He sprinkled the people, and the tabernacle, which was God’s house, the place where God dwelt between the cherubims in the Holy of holies!

God gives us another picture in Exodus 26:14 where he told Moses to “make a covering for the tent of rams’ skins dyed red…” They were commanded to die sheepskins red, which is a picture of the blood, and cover the tabernacle with them. Over this they had to place another covering of badgers’ skins, which protected the red sheepskins from being bleached by the sun.

If God wanted His dwelling sprinkled with blood, shouldn’t we need it over our dwellings? If God wanted a covering of red sheepskins, which was a type of the blood, over His tabernacle, shouldn’t it also be important for us?

We no longer sprinkle literal blood, but by faith, we can sprinkle the blood of Jesus Christ (which continually avails for us today) over our homes. The blood of Jesus delivers us and protects us.  We all know the story of Passover where they had to kill a lamb and apply the blood to the two doorposts and the lintel above the door. God said, “The blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where you are: and when I see the blood, I will pass over you… and will not suffer the destroyer to come in unto your houses to smite you.” (Exodus 12:13, 22-23)

The blood was a sign to the Destroyer that the home was protected by the power of God. The Avenger could not get through the power of the blood. The enemy hates the blood. He cannot break through the power of the blood of Jesus.  It is our weapon against Satan in our personal lives. It is our protection over our homes. 

Do you remember the story of Rahab? What protected her home from being destroyed when every other house was desecrated? It was the token of the blood! The spies told Rahab to bind a line of scarlet thread in the window and she and all that were in her home would be spared.  God miraculously caused the walls of Jericho to crumble, including all the homes that were built into the wall. But not Rahab’s. Rahab’s home was left standing and she and all her family were rescued. Read the story in Joshua chapters 2 and 6.

Live under the protection of the blood. By faith, daily sprinkle the blood of Jesus over your own life, the lives of each member of your family and your home.

Love from NANCY CAMPBELL

PRAYER:

“Lord, I come to you again today, in the precious name of Jesus. I thank you for the precious blood of Jesus Christ that was poured forth on the cross for me. I thank you that the blood of Jesus is now sprinkled on the mercy seat in the heavenly tabernacle and is miraculously available for me today. By faith, I sprinkle the blood of Jesus Christ over our home, my husband, and each one of our children. I pray that you will keep us from accident, harm, sickness, danger and all evil. Thank you for the covering of your precious blood. Amen.”

QUOTE:

There is a fountain filled with blood

Drawn from Emmanuel’s veins;

And sinners, plunged beneath that flood,

Lose all their guilty stains.

William Cowper

1 John 1:7,9, “The blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanses us from all sin… If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

Are you tormented with guilt? Is there some sin in your life you feel God can’t forgive you? Or perhaps you can’t even forgive yourself? Dear friend, I want to remind you that there is no sin that God cannot forgive. Jesus shed His powerful, precious, pure blood to atone for all sin. He is the Scapegoat who bore all your iniquities so you could go free. (Leviticus 16:22) Not some sins, but all of them. There is nothing that is too bad for the blood of Jesus. His life-giving blood has power to wash away all sin.

I think God must have known that we would have trouble believing this truth. Therefore, He gives us different pictures in the Bible (not just one, but many) to show us how the blood of Jesus completely eradicates our sins when we repent and confess it to Him. Shall we look at what happens to them? They are…

WASHED CLEAN!

Revelation 1:5b, “Unto Him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood.” (1 Corinthians 6:11, Titus 3:5)

AS WHITE AS SNOW!

Isaiah 1:18, “Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord; though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.”

Psalm 51:7, “Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be whiter than snow.” Although this Scripture does not mention the blood, it refers to it because it was the hyssop that was used to sprinkle the blood.  (Revelation 7:13-14)

CLEANSED!

1 John 1:7, “The blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanses us from all sin.” (Jeremiah 33:8; Hebrews 9:14) In the New Testament, the Greek word for ‘cleansed’ and ‘purged’ is the same. It means ‘to purify from the pollution and guilt of sin’.

PARDONED!

Micah 7:18, “Who is a God like unto thee, who pardons iniquity, and passes by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage? He retains not his anger forever, because he delights in mercy.” (Jeremiah 33:8)

FORGIVEN!

Ephesians 1:7, “In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace.” (Colossians 1:14)

TAKEN AWAY!

When John the Baptist saw Jesus, He called out, “Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” (John 1:29) God not only forgives, but He takes our sins away out of sight.

We looked at two pictures of this last week – the bird that flew away into the open fields, and the scapegoat that was taken into an uninhabited wilderness.  Other translations of the Bible use different descriptions such as “a land of separation”, “a desolate region”, “a land where no one lives”, “a solitary land”, “a barren waste” and “an isolated place”. They are taken away where we can’t see them any more – into oblivion. The Hebrew word for scapegoat is ‘azazel’ which means ‘an entire and utter removal. It is derived from a root word, which means ‘wholly to go away’.  (Leviticus 16:22)

Dear one, don’t keep looking at your sin and groveling over it. God has taken it out of sight, so why try to retrieve it back again? It is out of sight, beyond the track of man, unseen and forgotten.  Because Jesus paid your price, you are now as free as a bird! (Romans 11:27)

AS FAR AS THE EAST IS FROM THE WEST!

Psalm 103:12 “As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.” As we move closer and closer to the west, the horizon keeps shifting. We never come to the end. It’s the same if we go east. Our sins have been taken so far away that we cannot find the end.

BEHIND GOD’S BACK!

Isaiah 38:17, “You have cast all my sins behind your back.” God can’t see them when they are behind His back.

REMEMBERED NO MORE!

Jeremiah 31:34, “I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.” (Isaiah 43:25) God remembers everything, except our sins. One writer says, Faith transfers them; Christ removes them; God forgets them.”

BLOTTED OUT!

Isaiah 44:22, “I have blotted out, like a thick cloud, your transgressions, and like a cloud, your sins.” (Isaiah 43:25)

LOST! CAN’T BE FOUND!

Jeremiah 50:20, “In those days, and in that time, saith the Lord, the iniquity of Israel shall be sought for, and there shall be none; and the sins of Judah, and they shall not be found…” Once they are under the blood of Jesus, there is no way of finding them again. No matter who looks for them, or how long they look, they will never find them. They are lost forever!

BURIED IN THE DEPTHS OF THE SEA!

Micah 7:19, “You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea.” They have been buried too deep to recover.

Oh the power of the blood of Jesus. It is too wonderful. By faith, live in the blessings of His precious blood that was shed for you.

Love from NANCY CAMPBELL

PRAYER:

“Dear Lord, I thank you so much for your precious blood that was shed for my sins. I thank you for the power of your blood that totally cleanses me from all sin and all guilt. Help me to have a repentant heart and to daily confess the spots that tarnish my heart. I want to keep washed clean, pure and white, by the power of your blood. Thank you in Jesus name, Amen."

QUOTE:

“I hear the accuser roar

Of ills that I have done,

I know them well and thousands more –

Jehovah findeth none!”