Old School: Part 1

April 2, 2023

Pastor Patrick presented "Salvation" as the first of God's Old Testament promises (the four "I wills") in our current series, "Old School." A video of the message is here.

[Conversation Starters will begin again with the start of the next official life groups session this summer.]

Today's message was both an introduction to the four "I wills" of Exodus as well as a deeper discussion of the first, "I will bring you out."

Here are the (first) four (Exodus 6:6-7):

• I will bring you out (free you from current situation), sanctification
• I will deliver you (from your own issues), deliverance
• I will redeem you (restore you to My original intent), redemption
• I will take you (as my own), completion

In addition to the four "I wills" noted in the Passover Seder (4 cups of wine), there are three more promises immediately following (Exodus 6:7-8):

• I will be your God
• I will bring you into the land
• I will give it (the land) to you as a possession

It's not a coincidence that there are a total of seven promises. Seven is a very important number in the Torah: seven days of Creation, the Sabbath is the seventh day of the week, every seven years is a sabbatical year, festivals are seven days long, etc. All this rests on the notion that God created the world. If you don't start with that belief, the whole thing crumbles.

Today's focus is on the first promise, "bring you out." As in English, "bring" is a frequently used word in Biblical Hebrew (1069 times in the OT, yatsa, יָצָא) with many nuances as to its meaning, also like in English. It can mean: born (came out), brought forth, brought about, bulges, come out (from a house), departs, become, go forth (freely), bring water from a rock, refine (bring out the gold), say (bring out words), lead out, bring out from a place or a condition, draw out, pay (bring a payment), and more. While it's got many nuances, the basic meaning is quite simple. It's simply "bring out." There's no suggestion of changing anything else in the process; just bring out. It's a primitive root with tons of applications meaning-wise. (Strong's Concordance)

Bonus

While we're on Passover and Easter, it's good to remember the importance of remembering. Just a little later in Exodus (10:2), it says to recount to your sons and your sons' sons what God did in Egypt. Without remembering, there is no wisdom or gratitude. See Prager's Rational Bible: Exodus pages 111-112. The Torah is packed with wisdom and life lessons.