Remove the yoke of the nations
Exodus 2:23-25, Psalm 137:1
Take away the yoke of the nation
1. The Hebrew Nation Sing the Song of Sorrow
We now hear "Chorus of Hebrew Slaves" sung by the choir. This chorus was a song of sorrow sung by the Hebrew people during the torment of slavery in Egypt. It was a sad song asking for God's comfort. "Lord, give us comfort, and relieve the pain of slavery." It was a song of tears crying out for the yoke of slavery to be removed. “Take off the yoke of the people of Judah, take them off the yoke of the people of Judah, and set them free.” Exodus 2:23 tells us that the Hebrew people groaned in agony and cried out to God. “The children of Israel groaned and cried out” (Exodus 2:23). The Hebrew people were a people of pain and sorrow. They were slaves in Egypt for 400 years, and after 600 years, they were taken back to Babylon and lived as slaves for 70 years. Even then, the Hebrew people sang a song of sorrow in their suffering. He said he cried in pain. “We sat there by the rivers of Babylon and wept over Zion” (Psalm 137:1).
2. Jehovah God Hearing the Pain
God heard the suffering of the Hebrew people. And he decided to save them. “When God heard the sound of their affliction, he urged the children of Israel” (Exodus 2:24,25). God sent Moses to save them from slavery in Egypt.
God also heard the pain of the Korean people. And he decided to save the Korean people. God sent the Allied Forces in 1945 to save the Korean people from slavery under Japanese rule.
God also heard the suffering of the Romanian people. And he decided to save the Romanian people. God saved the Romanian people from the communist dictatorship of Ceausesque by overthrowing Russia in 1989 and starting a reform and opening movement in Eastern Europe.
3. Jehovah God who saw the blood of the Lamb and saved it
When God decided to free the nation of Judah from the yoke of slavery, he used a special method. It was that the Israelites were to slaughter the Passover lamb from house to house, put its blood on their doors, and roast the meat and eat it. "Your servants shall take a lamb from each family, slaughter it, and smear the blood on the left and right posts and lintels of the house, and roast the meat and eat it" (Exodus 12:3-7). The Israelites did as God commanded. Eventually, the Hebrew people were freed from the yoke of slavery by the sprinkling of the blood of the Lamb.
Even when God saved the Romanian people, He saw the suffering of the Romanian martyrs and the blood they shed and saved them from the hands of the communist dictatorship. Of course, the blood of Jesus is the source of all salvation, but God sees the blood of martyrs and saves an individual or a nation.
Now let's wrap things up. We still live with the pain and sorrow of the nation. We are living through years of sorrow with the tragedy of division and the pain of separation in our hearts. There are two things we need to do now. The first is to sing a song of sorrow, like the Hebrew people. It is a cry of pain and a cry to God. It is to sing a song of sorrow while praying, “Take off the yoke of the nation.” Singing "Chorus of Slaves" in tears with our northern compatriots. “Lord, give us comfort, relieve the pain of slavery, take off the yoke of the nation, take off the yoke of the nation, and set us free.”
The second is to apply the blood of the Lamb on the door and wait for God's salvation. Applying blood to the door means not relying on our own strength, but only on the power of God. Of course, you don't have to put blood on the door right now. Just take the blood and drink it. Just take the flesh and eat it. We hold the ritual of taking blood and eating the flesh this morning. We hope that we will celebrate the ordinance of the sacrament this morning not only as a request for the remission of individual sins but also as a plea for the salvation of the nation. "Take off the yoke of this nation. Save this nation. Not in our own strength, but with the precious blood you shed. Forgive our individual sins and the sins of our nation. The yoke of our nation Peel it off."
Before the Holy Communion, I would like to introduce you to the live worship service of the Romanian Church, which enjoyed the joy of liberation years ago and fervently prayed and praised it. I would like to introduce you to the Romanian Church, which I like the most and that impressed me the most. This is a live part of the morning worship service during our second visit to Oradea Immanuel Baptist Church, the largest in Romania in 1994. What we need now is a prayer of such passionate emotions and tears. "Mulz Mesk, Mulz Mesk Thank you, thank you. Revive Romania, please revive Romania." We should cry out with fervor in the same way. May God give us such fervent prayers. We pray that God will have compassion on our nation and save us.