Renewed Promise of Redemption: Freedom from Bondage

In the Torah portion, Exodus 6-9, God proclaims "I am the LORD". He is the Promise Keeper, sovereign, faithful and covenant remembering. Ex 6:6-7: "I am the LORD, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will deliver you from their bondage, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm, and with great judgement; and I will take you to Me for a people, and I will be to you a God: and ye shall know that I am the LORD your God,..." We discuss God's ultimate covenantal redemptive plan and grace through Yeshua who is our Redeemer, who saves us from the bondage of our sins. In Ex 8:18-19, the LORD states his purpose, "And I will set apart in that day the land of Goshen, in which My people dwell...; to the end that thou mayest know that I am the LORD in the midst of the earth. And I will put a division between My people and thy people..." Moreover, in Ex 9:13-16, the LORD tells Moses to tell Pharoah, "Thus saith the LORD, the God of the Hebrews: Let My people go, that they may serve Me...that thou mayest know that there is none like Me in all the earth. But in very deed for this cause have I made thee to stand, to show thee My power, and that My name may be declared throughout all the earth." God's grace and favor is His alone, not earned. In Romans 9:15, Paul reiterates what God says to Moses, "I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion." In Romans 9:17-18, "For the Scripture says to Pharoah, 'For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I may show My power in you, and that My name may be proclaimed in all the earth.' Therefore He has mercy on whom He wills, and He hardens whom He wills. We discuss Pharoah's response to the LORD's call to him to let His people go so that they may serve the LORD their God. "Pharoah hardens his heart", "Pharoah's heart is stubborn", and Pharoah in arrogance "exalts himself". Initially, Pharoah denies God, then bargains with God after receiving mercy and makes vows in vain. Pharoah continues down a path of disobedience and unrepentance, refusing to humble himself. Egypt is a type of our life in the flesh. How are we going to respond?