The history of the Exodus provides us with powerful symbolism on the Passover and the Days of Unleavened Bread: redemption from God’s wrath by the blood of Jesus Christ and being brought out of spiritual slavery from sin. But the rich similarities between the ancient Exodus event and our personal exodus do not end there.

There was a particular moment during Israel’s affliction in Egypt when God's attention turned toward His people. God acted in response to a cry for help, being stirred with compassion: “The children of Israel groaned because of their bondage, and they cried out; and their cry came up to God . . . so God heard their groaning” (Exodus 2:23-24). This moment was crucial: It was the first time that God's people recognized their need for a Savior, and they desperately called out!

Unknown to them, their God was listening—what an incredible revelation of His holy, righteous character! As they lifted up their voices, “God looked upon the children of Israel, and God acknowledged them” (Exodus 2:25). God said, “[I] have heard their cry . . . for I know their sorrows” (Exodus 3:7-9).

This demonstrates the deep and abiding love of God, but it also speaks to our own responsibility to recognize the need for spiritual deliverance. 

A Change in Perspective

If we fail to rely on God and do not cry out to Him, then there is no deliverance. As James put it, “You have not because you ask not” (James 4:2).

Therefore, crying out for help takes more than just learning knowledge: it requires a shift in thinking. Jesus contrasted two perspectives when He said, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick! I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance” (Luke 5:31-32). God wants us to humbly discern our own insufficient spiritual state and to see ourselves as we truly are as we look into the mirror of His law. This involves recognizing not only that we have sinned, but also that we are under the power of sin and death apart from the saving work of Jesus Christ and His righteous way of life.

Before we were baptized into the Body of Christ, we were indeed slaves to sin (Romans 6:17). Those of us who have been baptized and freed from that bondage began by admitting our sins while realizing the truth of where they would lead—suffering, meaninglessness and death. When the full gravity our transgressions against God strikes us, we are “cut to the heart” and must turn back from our evil ways (Acts 2:37-38). Being set free from sin, we become “slaves of God, [having] fruit to holiness, and the end, everlasting life” (Romans 6:22).

Sigh and Cry

It is important to realize that God’s redemptive work is not yet complete. As we struggle to completely overcome sin and rely on God, we often fall short and feel inadequate. At those times, we must declare: “O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? I thank God—through Jesus Christ our Lord!” (Romans 7:24-25). As long as we are alive, we are still pulled by the flesh as we strive to follow the Spirit of God, and we put our hope in the day when we will be completely transformed to spirit according to God’s promise! As Paul put it, “We also who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body” (Romans 8:23).

However, just as God Himself is outwardly focused, our groaning before God does not end at our own salvation. We join in with the whole creation, which “groans and labors with birth pangs until now,” waiting to be “delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God” (Romans 8:22-23).

Being enlightened about the affliction that we ourselves suffered under sin and having been set free to serve God, we must empathize with the world, which continues to suffer an overflowing abundance of evil that will soon reach a boiling point. Ezekiel 9:4 describes those who are spared from God's wrath as those “who sigh and cry over all the abominations.”

In the upcoming Passover and Days of Unleavened Bread, let’s remember how God has heard us in our distress. Let’s take to heart the commission to preach the gospel to the entire world—a warning message to anyone who will turn from sin, to urge them to take hold of the same Lifeline extended to us, Jesus Christ! The message of hope for the Kingdom of God is desperately needed. May the God who hears bring it to pass—sooner rather than later.

“The Lord is near to all those who call upon Him . . . He will also hear their cry and save them” (Psalm 145:18-19).