Day 2 | The Cup of Deliverance
The first cup of Passover comes from God’s promise that He will bring us out, meaning he will remove us from the presence of our oppressor. He begins by taking God’s people out of Egypt.
The subsequent three cups are God’s promise not just to take his people out of Egypt, but to get Egypt out of the Israelites. Even as they left the presence of their oppressor, God still had to cleanse them of the power and the effects of the oppressor.
The second cup is the Cup of Deliverance, which comes from God’s promise “I will set you free.” No longer will Egypt have any power over you, no more will Egypt have a say over your life.
Freedom is one of our highest values. Freedom in the biblical sense is not the ability do whatever you want so long as it doesn’t hurt anyone. True freedom is the ability to live free of sin and vice that leads us to destruction.
The freedom that God leads us to is the ability to resist Satan, say no to the flesh, and live differentiated from the values of the world. God sets us free to live the kingdom life that is not subject to anyone other than Jesus, not even ourselves.
It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.
Galatians 5:1
“Very truly I tell you, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.”
John 8:34-36
As we submit to Jesus, sin loses its power. As we choose to trust and follow Jesus, our habits, thoughts, feelings, and attitudes lose their grip on us.
The question becomes: will we believe that the God keeps his promise to us? When God says that he will set us free, will we throw our lot in with him and trust him, or will we not listen because of a broken spirit and a trashed identity?
Our confidence cannot be based on our feelings or even our experiences. We can only have confidence in the cross of Jesus Christ.
But far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.
Galatians 6:14
We do not put our confidence in our feelings. We don’t let our feelings determine our identity or the truth about our destiny. Far too often we listen to our feelings and we are led to doubt, to fear, to disbelief.
What areas of your life do you need to bring to the Lord, asking Him to set you free? Our confidence cannot be in anything other than the blood of Jesus poured out for us. And by his blood alone can we have the assurance that he will bring us out. He will set us free. He will redeem us. And he will take us to be his people, and he will be our God.
Drink the second cup.