“Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘Go onto Pharaoh and say to him, thus says the Lord, let my people go, that they may serve me.'”
– Exodus 8:1
So we’ve read similar statements like this already in Exodus, as we’ve been praying through this book. And this is the second plague that we see in the Book of Exodus. And yet another time where God is saying to Moses, “Go to Pharaoh and speak on my behalf.” So we’ve talked about that. We’ve prayed according to that. I want to camp out on the last part of Exodus 8:1, as we pray, according to this word today, “Thus says the Lord,” is what God is telling Moses to say, “let my people go.”
In the midst of suffering, God is in our story.
Where I want us to camp out is on these next five words, “That they may serve me. Let my people go, that they may serve me.” And I want to make just a very simple, significant connection here. God is in this story of plague after plague, after plague, delivering, saving his people from slavery in Egypt. Why? The language is crystal clear. There’s a purpose clause here, “Let my people go so that…” Why? “So that they may serve me.” And in some versions, the word is, “So that they may worship me.”
Created by God
And really that’s the picture we see over and over and over again in the Book of Exodus, God saying to Pharaoh, “This is my people who I have created,” now follow this, “Created to enjoy my grace, my salvation, my deliverance, my promises.” You think of all that we prayed through in Exodus chapter six. “This is a people that I have created, called to enjoy my grace and to exalt my glory.” You see it, both those there, “Let my people go.” That’s the grace of God, the mercy of God, love of God, care of God, the deliverance of God’s salvation of God. “They might enjoy my grace, that they may serve me, that they might exalt my glory, that they might know and enjoy, and worship and walk with me.”
I just want you to think about both those things in your life today. For all who have trusted in Jesus. If you’ve never trusted in Jesus, may today be the day, because this is what it means to be a part of the people of God. It means to enjoy his grace, to know his salvation from sin, from death, from eternal death, from eternal condemnation, to be saved by God, to enjoy his grace, his mercy, his promises, his faithfulness, to enjoy his grace. You have been created to enjoy the grace of God and to exalt the glory of God. You have been saved to serve. Yes, you have been delivered to worship. You have been given grace for his glory. This is the way Christianity works from cover to cover in the Bible. God beckons people to enjoy his grace and exalt his glory.
Exodus 8:1 Praises God for His Salvation
So, God, we pray today on both of those accounts. Yes, yes, yes. We praise you for your salvation. God, we praise you for saving us by your grace. We praise you for delivering us from the penalty of our sin, from the power of sin. God, we praise you for loving us so much to send your Son Jesus, to die on a cross. Not just plague after plague, after plague as we’re reading in the Book of Exodus, but you’ve sent Jesus to die on the Cross for our sins to pay the price for our disobedience to you. God, we deserve to be in hell right now.
And here we are praying to you and enjoying your grace. All glory, be to your name. Yes, we want to exalt your glory. Yes, we want to serve and worship and praise you. We want to make your glory known in our lives. We want to make your glory known among the nations, among the Nagda people in India, almost four million of them. God, no followers of Jesus among them.
Exodus 8:1 Thanks God for Being the Perfect Father
God, we pray that you would help us to glorify your name among the Nagda people in India. Among all the peoples of the world that you would use our lives, our churches, to make your glory known in the world to glorify you. Even as we have the privilege of serving and worshiping and glorifying you for us to say to others, enjoy the grace of God and exalt the glory of God, because you deserve the praise of every single person, every single people group in the world.
We praise you, God. We exalt your glory as recipients of your grace, as children of you. God, our Father in Heaven, we say hallowed be your name in all the earth. God, we pray you’d help us to see each of our lives in this light as called to enjoy your grace and exalt your glory today, tomorrow. To enjoy your grace and exalt your glory in the next day and the next day and the next day. Help us to live, to fully enjoy your grace, and to maximally exalt your glory. We pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.
David Platt serves as a pastor in metro Washington, D.C. He is the founder of Radical.
David received his Ph.D. from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and is the author of Don’t Hold Back, Radical, Follow Me, Counter Culture, Something Needs to Change, Before You Vote, as well as the multiple volumes of the Christ-Centered Exposition Commentary series.
Along with his wife and children, he lives in the Washington, D.C. metro area.
