LIVING WATERS
For the proclamation of the Gospel and the edification of the Body of Christ
The Language of Slavery
In Exodus chapter 5, one can clearly notice the difference between the language of faith and the language of slavery. The language of faith there is that of Moses; the language of slavery is that of Israel. Moses enters Pharaoh's presence with his message from God. The Lord commands him to say: "Let my people go". And Moses says to him: "We will go and offer sacrifices to the Lord our God". God recognizes in them his people, and Moses recognizes in the Lord his God. All is well.
But what about Israel? They do not know that language, because they are slaves. They are not yet aware of who they are. When they appear before Pharaoh, oppressed by the double labor imposed upon them, they say to him, "Why do you do so to your servants? No straw is given to your servants, yet they say to us: Make the brick. And behold, thy servants are beaten, and thy people are guilty".
These expressions show that they handled the language of slavery, not that of faith, not that of the dignity of God's chosen ones. They see themselves as servants of Pharaoh, not of God. Obviously, in those conditions, God could not be believed by them.
When things begin to go wrong, they rise up against Moses, saying: "You have made us an abomination before Pharaoh and his servants, putting the sword in their hand to slay us". Instead of joining their deliverer, they oppose him.
The language of slavery is still heard on the lips of many of God's children. The years under the dominion of the devil and sin have caused great damage to the way of thinking. This being so, it is easier to continue to use the language of unbelief than that of faith.
Therefore, the Word urges us to a renewal of the spirit of our mind (Eph. 4:23), and to a change of language. For this to be possible, we must be nourished with the words of faith and of good doctrine (1 Tim. 4:6), and the word of Christ must dwell in us richly (Col. 3:16). The dignity we have as children of God makes it necessary for us to act and speak as such.