Who is the Lord and why should you obey Him?
In Exodus chapter 5 verse 2, we find a ruler ask one of the most important questions anyone could ever ask. He asked the question…
“And Pharaoh said, Who is the Lord, that I should obey his voice to let Israel go?”
Who is the Lord and why should I obey Him?
What a powerful question! A question that the Lord thought was worthy of an answer.
Throughout the rest of Exodus, and even the rest of the Bible, God answers that question for Pharaoh and the reader.
Even before the question was asked, we see God is already answering the question of Who He is!
In Genesis 1:1 –
– He just “is”.
And….
– He is Creator.
In Exodus, as God is answering Pharaoh’s question, we see more of His mighty power through ten plagues. Not only was He answering Pharaoh’s question, but He was also giving His people a message. That message was “I’m coming, and when I do, I will set you free.”
If you look, you can see a hint of this message back in Genesis 3, but it is clearer here.
As the Lord was getting ready to deliver the last plague to Egypt by taking the eldest born of man or beast, He told Moses to make sure everyone was ready to go. Because He was coming, and He was going to set them free.
After the last plague, Pharaoh lets Israel go. And we see that now This God is a Deliverer.
But back in Genesis 3, we see disobedience to this God. We also see a punishment.
So what was the cost of sin and what was the price that needed to be paid to be set free?
The answer is death. The cost was death and the price was a sinless spotless Lamb.
In Genesis, they were covered by the coat of an animal that had shed its blood and died.
In Exodus, to be saved from the last plague, your house had to be covered by the blood of a spotless lamb.
So how could this God be a Deliverer as well? Well, take a look with me at Exodus 34:6-7.
And the Lord passed by before him, and proclaimed, The Lord, The Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth,
Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children’s children, unto the third and to the fourth generation.
As the Lord is passing by and talking about Himself, we see so many wonderful things about this amazing God! But I want you to see something specific.
God says I will forgive sins… BUT!! Also, it will by no means clear the guilty.
This doesn’t make sense! How could He be a Forgiver, but also a Just Judge? You can either have one or the other but you most certainly can’t have both!
God doesn’t answer that question for Moses then, all He kept saying was “I’m coming. And when I do, I will set you free.”
As we fast forward, we see this group of Israelites going back and forward from freedom to slavery. This loving God keeps showing Himself is wonderful ways and His message is always the same in every book.. “I’m coming. And when I do I will set you free.” Why? Because He is the Deliverer!
All during this time in the old Testament, you will also see that God continues to answer the question that Pharaoh asked.
In Judges – He is the Ultimate Judge
In Kings – He is the Greatest King
In Easter – He is there even when you can’t see Him
In the major and minor Prophets – He is the One they are pointing to.
When you open to the NT, we see a great Mystery take place. We see everything that we have read about this AMAZING God becomes flesh!
The coolest thing is, in Matthew 16:13-16,
When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Who do men say that I the Son of man am?
And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets.
He saith unto them, But who say ye that I am?
And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.
Did you catch it? Jesus Christ asked the question that is very similar to Pharaoh’s, only He asked, “Who do you say I am?”
The answer from everyone else was you are a prophet, or John the Baptist, or maybe even Jeremiah.
But Peter says… You are THE ONE THE OT SPOKE OF.
He is the ONE!! The Creator, Deliverer, Judge, and King!! He was finally there!
…. But wait. The next thing they knew, He was on the cross and dead.
How could this be? How could this be the One that said He was going to come and set them free?
Three days later we find two men walking in Luke 24:13-35
And, behold, two of them went that same day to a village called Emmaus, which was from Jerusalem about threescore furlongs.
14 And they talked together of all these things which had happened.
15 And it came to pass, that, while they communed together and reasoned, Jesus himself drew near, and went with them.
16 But their eyes were holden that they should not know him.
17 And he said unto them, What manner of communications are these that ye have one to another, as ye walk, and are sad?
18 And the one of them, whose name was Cleopas, answering said unto him, Art thou only a stranger in Jerusalem, and hast not known the things which are come to pass there in these days?
19 And he said unto them, What things? And they said unto him, Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, which was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people:
20 And how the chief priests and our rulers delivered him to be condemned to death, and have crucified him.
21 But we trusted that it had been he which should have redeemed Israel: and beside all this, today is the third day since these things were done.
22 Yea, and certain women also of our company made us astonished, which were early at the sepulchre;
23 And when they found not his body, they came, saying, that they had also seen a vision of angels, which said that he was alive.
24 And certain of them which were with us went to the sepulchre, and found it even so as the women had said: but him they saw not.
25 Then he said unto them, O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken:
26 Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into his glory?
27 And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself.
Jesus begins with the books of Moses and walks all the way through the OT to the cross. Oh what
I would give to have heard that Bible study!
Jesus was and is the Deliverer of Our sin! He was and is our covering! He is the reason God could
be forgiving and just! Jesus took the punishment and we got the forgiveness!
OUR JOB:
Because of this, He is our Judge, our King, and our Lord! And we have but one job!
There is a lost and dying world out there asking the question, “Who is the Lord and why should I
Obey Him? We have that answer!!! We need to point everyone we know to this Christ! If you
truly believe He did what the Bible says, and you have accepted that, you are no longer your
own! You belong to Him! Your dreams are His, your passions are His, your job is His, your
money is His!
You are bought with a price and therefore not your own anymore. He did come! He
allowed us to be set free! It’s time you ask yourself the same question. “Who is the
Lord, and how should I obey Him?” What is your answer? And how will your answer affect what
you do next?