God Had a Plan to Save His People

Verses for today:

Whenever the Lord raised up a judge for them, He was with the judge and saved them out of the hands of their enemies as long as the judge lived; for the Lord relented because of their groaning under those who oppressed and afflicted them. — Judges 2:18

The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation. He is my stronghold, my refuge and my Savior... I called to the Lord, who is worthy of praise, and have been saved from my enemies. In my distress I called to the Lord; I called out to my God. From His temple He heard my voice; my cry came to His ears. The earth trembled and quaked, the foundations of the heavens shook; they trembled because He was angry. Smoke rose from His nostrils; consuming fire came from His mouth, burning coals blazed out of it. He parted the heavens and came down... He reached down from on high and took hold of me; He drew me out of deep waters. He rescued me from my powerful enemy, from my foes, who were too strong for me. They confronted me in the day of my disaster, but the Lord was my support. He brought me out into a spacious place; He rescued me because He delighted in me. — 2 Samuel 22:2–4, 2 Samuel 22:7–10, 2 Samuel 22:17–20

A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from His roots a Branch will bear fruit. The Spirit of the Lord will rest on Him — the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of might, the Spirit of the knowledge and fear of the Lord — and He will delight in the fear of the Lord. He will not judge by what He sees with His eyes, or decide by what He hears with His ears; but with righteousness He will judge the needy, with justice He will give decisions for the poor of the earth. — Isaiah 11:1–4

The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears them; He delivers them from all their troubles. The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. The righteous person may have many troubles, but the Lord delivers him from them all. — Psalm 34:17–19

Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. — Romans 10:13

Meditation

God had a plan all along to save His people and deliver them from their sins. The judges modeled the role of deliverer, but their work was always temporary. They may have been able to defeat an oppressive army who had conquered the Israelites, but they could not save the people from their own sinful tendencies; they couldn’t even keep from sinning themselves.

But Jesus could. And the name Mary and Joseph gave their Son — our sinless Savior — tells the whole story. The name Jesus, in Hebrew, means Yahweh saves. There could be no clearer message.

God is a saving God.

Yet the problem the people in Jesus’ time had in receiving Jesus is the same problem we face now. We all want a deliverer, someone to help us out of our financial struggles, our troubled relationships, our sickness. But no one can keep God’s required end of the agreement.

Instead of daily living for Him, we break God’s commandments and go our own way. We seek our own righteousness, ignoring the fact that the blood of a sacrificial death is required as payment for our sin.

Sin leads to bondage. Our God, who has control over all powers and authorities, over all of the spiritual forces in the world, over all of the rebellious people throughout the course of history, hears our cries for help. And nothing can stop Him from saving us except our own foolish rejection of the Deliverer Himself.

Prayer

Lord Jesus, You are my hope and my deliverer. In spite of my folly and waywardness, You hear my prayers and work in ways that are too marvelous for me to understand. I give thanks that You really care. Though I live in a broken world of sin, disease and death, I know that nothing can ever separate me from Your love. In spite of the uncertainties of this life, I know that You will never leave or abandon me. You have set me free from the bondage of sin and death. May I freely lay hold of the benefits of prayer and seek Your wisdom and power amid the adversities and uncertainties of this life. In Your powerful and saving Name I pray. Amen.