\n<\/p>\n
\u201cI will make you my people, and I will be your God, and you will know that I am the LORD your God, who brought you out from under the burden of the Egyptians\u201d (Exodus 6:7).<\/p>\n
After Israel was freed from captivity, what happened next? This is a question that God answered even before he freed them: “I will take you as my people, and I will be your God.” After rescuing them from four centuries of slavery, God will make a \u201ccovenant,\u201d a special two-way agreement, with them. He would be their God in a unique sense, but as his people, they would have certain responsibilities along with their blessings. “You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and that I carried you on eagle’s wings and brought you to myself. So now, If you will truly obey me, and keep my covenant,<\/em> You shall be my inheritance among all the nations, for the whole earth is mine\u201d (Exodus 19:4,5). Israel must keep its part in the agreement.<\/p>\n In Leviticus 26:12, God told Israel, “I will walk among you, and will be your God, and you will be my people.” Surrounded by the moral and religious corruption of Canaan, they would need to free themselves from those influences, so that they could truly become God’s people in behavior as well as in name.<\/p>\n Paul quotes Leviticus 26:12 in the New Testament and applies it to Christians living in an environment like Corinth: “For we are the temple of the living God; as God said, ‘I will make my dwelling among them and will walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people'” (2 Corinthians 6:16). If this was true of Israel, it is also true of Christians \u2013 if God is to “walk” among us, we must do more than rely on the privilege of special status; we must maintain A purity in our real life<\/em> Which identifies us as belonging to God. God said then what He says now, “You shall be holy, for I am holy” (Leviticus 11:45; 1 Peter 1:16).<\/p>\n Here’s the truth of the matter: We have not truly been freed or “saved” if, for all practical purposes, we continue to live in “Egypt.” God requires us to leave our chains behind, not only as a group, but also internally, privately, and individually.<\/p>\n Oh you, whose all-exploring vision Gary Henry – WordPoints.com AreYouaChristian.com<\/a><\/p>\n
Darkness shines like light!
Search, prove my heart; It is ready for you.
Oh, break these bonds, and set her free!
(Gerhard Tersteigen)<\/p>\n