That he would grant unto us, that we being delivered out of the hand of our enemies might serve him without fear, [75] In holiness and righteousness before him, all the days of our life.
Luke 1:74-75 KJV
In the old covenant, the parting of the red sea was one of the greatest displays of God’s power among the Israelites. Here God fulfilled His promise to Abraham that He would make him a great nation, Genesis 12:2. To do this, God had to deliver them from their slave master of 400 years with a mighty hand. Israel was meant to serve God as their King and no other. When God demanded of Pharoah to release His people and Pharoah refused, God, in His jealousy, freed His people that they may serve Him without fear of their enemies. In the new covenant, we and all creation were created to give God pleasure, Revelations 4:11. We were created for the service of God. However, due to sin, Adam sold himself and all his generation to the devil as a slave. The death and particularly the resurrection of Jesus was the greatest display of God’s power in the history of all creation. God, the Eternal One, who could not die, took on flesh and died. The immortal God died! The power with which the Father raised Jesus from the depth of hell (the grave) to a place far above all heavens, from death to endless life is called the resurrection power, Ephesians 1:19-21.
In the death of Jesus, we were taken into Him and in His resurrection, God did not just raise Jesus alone, but all of us in Him, Ephesians 2:5-7. In essence, the death and resurrection of Jesus delivered us from bondage to sin and set us free that we may serve God without fear of our enemies. After the deliverance from Egypt, the Israelites were brought to Sinai where the Laws of God were given, to show them how to serve God acceptably. In our case, after being set free by the Son of God, we are faced with a decision to serve God or not. This is why Joshua asked the Israelites to choose who they will serve. If we are to serve God, it must be by His terms. Our only reasonable service is consecration (separating ourselves to the service of God, holy and acceptable).
There are three major motivators that inform a man’s decision to serve God acceptably: Godly fear, Mercy, and Love. Godly fear is not an oppressive fear, at least not to the believer in Christ. It is a fear inspired by a revelation of the person and the judgment of God. Our God is a consuming fire as much as He is a loving Father. An understanding of God’s hatred for sin can be seen in the way Christ was brutally crushed when He became sin for us, Isaiah 53. It can also be seen in God’s interaction with the Israelites in the book of Exodus and how He would smite His own people when they entertained sin. It can be seen in the death of Nadab and Abihu, priests of the Lord who offered strange fire before God, Leviticus 10:1-2, and also in the death of Ananias and Sapphira, new testament believers in Acts 5:1-11, when they thought they could lie to the Holy Spirit. This fear, however, drives a person to Mercy.
When a man realizes that someone who is so powerful and fearful, someone who could crush him in an instant would stoop low to live inside of Him, he is driven to consecrate himself. Jacob’s encounter with God in Peniel, Genesis 32:10, was an encounter with Mercy and this is why He said “I am not deserving of the least of Your mercies”. A cry for mercy is a cry God never turns away from, Psalm 147:11. God is a God who hates sin and destroys sinners, yet He came to live among men because of the riches of His mercies towards us. His mercies swallow up our weaknesses and replace them with His strength. He deals with us with new mercies every morning, Lamentations 2:22-23. A revelation of this Mercy provokes us to Love God. A man who has gotten to the point of serving God out of love has gotten to the level of perfection in His walk with God. In the old covenant, it was not lawful that a Hebrew would own another Hebrew slave. However, there was an exception. if this Hebrew slave said, he loved his master and would not leave, the master bore a hole in his ear and this servant belongs to this master forever, Exodus 21:1-6. This was the point Paul got to, where He said “Paul a bondservant (a slave) of Jesus”. This is the strongest and purest service to God, based on pure love and not anything God would give to us.
Final thought: God has a need of you. The bible that the harvest is ripe but the labourers are few, Luke 10:2. However, God will not accept just anyone to serve Him. There are those who will labor in His vineyard, heal the sick, hear His words, etc and will be cast out in the end, Matthew 7:21-23. If we must serve God, we must do so out of pure reverence and love. This is our reasonable service and the Will of God for us, our consecration.
Prayer: Lord Jesus, thank you because though I do not deserve the least of Your mercies, you have lavished your love and favour upon me. Thank you for your sacrifice on the cross for me. This day, I declare that me and my house will serve You! Teach me how to serve You acceptably! Help me to serve you out of pure Love! I love You and belong to You forever!
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