Gods Sabbath

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E NTERING INTO G OD ’ S S ABBATH R EST

to demonstrate His merciful ways. They could not have been giv en clearer, more convincing evidence of His love and care for them. This should have been sufficient to teach them to trust in His ways, and to protect them from self-confidence, from turn ing to their own plans and finding their own solutions to their problems. Deliverance from Egypt Furthermore, Israel also had abundant evidence of the disas ters that befell them when they mistrusted God’s leading and put their faith in themselves instead. As slaves in Egypt, the Israelites were oppressed under a fearful problem of their own creation. Had they looked to God alone as their Guide, they would never have been in such a pre dicament. So powerful were the Egyptians in contrast to them, that they recognized they had no hope of delivering themselves. Their only option was to leave their problem entirely in God’s hands. This gave the Lord an excellent opportunity to demon strate His ways. When God had schooled Moses in His ways for forty years in Midian, He sent him back to Egypt under His divine command. God was allowed to take complete control of the operations there, since the Israelites were not physically able to take charge, and Moses possessed no disposition to do so. Moses was so utterly submitted to God’s will that he was no longer prepared to take the initiative in any action. Therefore, the events that transpired in Egypt are an excel lent example of God’s procedures. Because the people were in no position to interfere, Jehovah was able to demonstrate His pro cedures and how He expects His people to co-operate with Him. He showed that it is not His way to give the plan making and problem solving to a committee of apparently wise, leading men. This is never God’s way. Whenever such a procedure is intro duced, we may be sure that it did not originate with the Lord. There was no human devising in the escape plan from Egypt formulated in Jehovah’s mind when, from eternity, He had fore seen the problem and its solution. Without asking any human counsel, He informed Israel through Moses just what they were to do and He expected them to do it. Their successful departure