Colossians 1:12-14, Giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light. 13 He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, 14 in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins.
Our God is a good, good Father! Give Him abundant thanks for look what He has done: He adopted us, has given us direction out of the dark and into love, and forgiven us our sins! WOW!! What a good, good Father! Adore Him!
Let’s follow the Israelites in and out of Egypt as an example of these verses just cited.
The Jews were captive slaves having no hope or help for centuries when God declared through Moses that they were His people when He said through Moses, “Let My people go!” They had done nothing to merit His adopting them yet He adopted them – they were His people! The slaves, responding to God’s messenger and message, were required to take a perfect lamb, kill it, and apply its blood to the doorframe of their house.
Then verse 1:13 – God then provided a pillar of fire by night and a cloud by day and led the adoptees out of their hopelessness – seemingly endless night – with a light toward a new land. He moved them into a world ruled by His love rather than the rule of a Pharaoh.
And verse 1:14 – God then drew the Egyptian army after them, so He could destroy it. With the army being intact, the people would have been constantly looking over their shoulder for a dust cloud – was Pharaoh coming? He redeemed His people by taking them through the sea and then drawing the enemy into destruction effectively destroying the Israelites’ past pain and fears. Yes, God is a good, good Father!
Once on the east side of the Red Sea, God did not turn them loose. He did not let them dictate the direction or the speed of their journey. He put them in His yoke meaning they were bound to Him and thus had to go His direction and at His speed. Matthew 11:28-30, Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. Consider the cloud – when it moved, they moved, when it stopped they stopped. They were bound to the cloud – to God’s leading. They were yoked to a good, good Father!
It would have seemed logical for the freed nation to move north and east from the Red Sea for it was the shortest way to the Promised Land and the easiest as it would have used the shore of the Mediterranean Sea as a roadway. But God took them southeast into the terrible wilderness (Deuteronomy 8:15). Why?
1. Between their place on the east side of the Red Sea and the Promised Land were the fearsome Philistines who had giants! The freed slaves would have mostly likely been defeated or destroyed.
2. Furthermore, God wanted time alone with His people to establish their relationship much like a honeymoon. So He led them to a remote location where they had special fellowship. He was a good, good Father to them!
And so with us – being adopted, brought into the light of Jesus’ love, forgiven and then yoked to Him, to be led to a special place and time with Him – what a blessing!
Indeed, our God is a good, good Father!
a PK Musing 
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