(April 30, 2024) Jesy Veena Sam shares encouragement… and challenges!

‘Saviour’ is sótér meaning deliverer. The good news in these dark days is that our Saviour Jesus will listen to our cries, and help us, deliver us!

God has always heard people’s genuine prayers, listened to their supplications, brought them though dangers, and granted them saviours (Note… lower case ‘s’).

Let’s look at how God used some ‘ordinary’ biblical individuals to rescue – deliver – needy people who called on Him for help them in their troubles.

Moses
A reluctant Moses became a saviour to the people of Israel enslaved in Egypt, subjected to harsh treatment and great sorrow (Exodus 1:11-14).

God chose him as Israel’s deliverer – designated saviour – to lead them to freedom from the heavy-ruling hand of Pharaoh. Exodus 2 tells us about Moses’ birth… how he was miraculously protected when all male Hebrew babies were ordered to be killed. His mother hid him for three months old, at which point it became impossible to conceal her baby any longer. She then placed him in a box made of bulrushes and, trusting God, pushed it into the Nile River where he found and then reared by Pharaoh’s daughter.

Raised as a prince in Pharaoh’s palace, Moses later fled to the desert after killing an Egyptian who was mistreating a Hebrew slave (Exodus 2:11-12) and had discovered his own Hebrew identity.

Verse 23-24 tell that later God heard the groanings of the enslaved Israelites and, remembering His covenant with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, would respond to their cries for help (v25).

Exodus 3 records His response… He miraculously drew Moses, now many years a shepherd (‘a foreigner in a foreign land’) towards Him. Moses was intrigued by a burning bush with leaves untouched by fire, prompting him to wonder how such a phenomenon could occur.

As he approached the bush, God called him by name –  ‘Moses, Moses…’ and told him that He had heard the cry of the people of Israel and had ‘come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey.’ And that ‘I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt’ (v7-8).

What a vision – and surprise – that was to Moses! Initially hesitant, he raised questions, expressing concerns of disbelief and about his lack of eloquence and slowness of speech. Despite his reservations, God assured him, saying, ‘I will be with you’(v12).’ And He was… with various supernatural demonstrations and later that miraculous crossing of the Red Sea! There the released Israelites were about to descended on by pursuing angry Egyptians and they were trapped.

Moses, seeking divine guidance, was instructed by God to miraculously divide the Red Sea. As he stretched his rod, the waters parted on either side and stood like a wall, creating a path for the Israelites to walk safely through on dry land. The pursuing Egyptian army would drown in the returning sea, showcasing the might of God.

Thus, Moses, acting as a saviour, delivered God’s people by parting the sea (Exodus 21:14-31).

He had learned to rely on God, to trust Him and ultimately ‘The Lord would speak to Moses face to face, as one speaks to a friend’(Exodus 33:11).

Lesson: At times, like Moses, we find ourselves making excuses when God directs us in specific ways, or prohibits certain actions due to our selfish motives. Who knows what kind of saviour we can become to those who are bound in harsh deceptive slavery today – if we dare accept assignments, even strange ones, from our miracle-working God!

Othniel
As recounted in Judges 3:1-8, despite witnessing wonders, the Israelites repeatedly fell into sin, serving foreign gods in Canaan.

Verse 7 tells that they sinned and did ‘evil in the eyes of the Lord; they forgot the Lord their God and served the Baals and the Asherahs.’ The result was that God’s anger led to their subjugation under Cushan–Rishathaim, King of Mesopotamia, and enduring eight years of suffering and sorrow as slaves.

But our Lord didn’t abandon those who sinned; when the people of God cried out for deliverance, He responded. It was as Isaiah 54:8 would later record: ‘“In a surge of anger I hid my face from you for a moment, but with everlasting kindness I will have compassion on you,” says the Lord your Redeemer.’ 

Judges 3:9-10 tells how God raised up a Spirit-filled saviour for the subjected Israelites: ‘… when they cried out to the Lord, he raised up for them a deliverer, Othniel … who saved them. The Spirit of the Lord came on him, so that he became Israel’s judge and went to war. The Lord gave Cushan-Rishathaim king of Aram into the hands of Othniel, who overpowered him.’ 

Consequently, the land experienced peace for 40 years. Othniel’s name, by the way, means ‘force of God’… he certainly was!

Lesson: We too can be a force for God if we’re willing to accept His commissioning, whatever it may be. Born again Christians have the Spirit of God within us and we can war against our enemy, Satan, and whatever else may come again us. And help release others.

Gideon
Israel would again commit evil, resulting in being delivered into the hands of the Midian for seven years (Judges 6:1). 

Faced by the power of the oppressive Midianites, the distressed Israelites sought refuge in clefts and caves in the mountains (v2,4-5). Enemies like swarms of locusts would ravage their crops and livestock. In their distress, they cried out to the Lord, who responded by sending a prophet to remind them of His past deliverance from Egypt and oppression, urging them not to fear the gods of the Amorites (v8–10). 

Even though the impoverished Israelites were a people strayed, their cry prompted God to send a chosen saviour for their salvation.

And to save them, God sent an angel to appoint Gideon who was hiding from the Midianites in a wine press threshing wheat. What a shock to Gideon was the Angel’s greeting, calling him ‘a mighty man of valor, a warrior.’ And what a bigger shock when the Lord Himself commanded him to ‘Go in the strength you have and save Israel out of Midian’s hand. Am I not sending you?’ (v14). 

Like Moses, Gideon had doubts. Verse 15 tells that ‘Gideon replied, “but how can I save Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family.”’ God’s assurance was ‘I will be with you, and you will strike down all the Midianites, leaving none alive’ (v16).

I encourage you to read the full story – how that willing young man achieved so much in accepting God’s commission.

• He tore down his father’s altar to Baal and cut down the Asherah pole beside it.
• Then he dared built a proper altar to the Lord (v25-26). 
• The Spirit of the Lord came on him: he blew a victory trumpet, and sent out messages summoning many to follow him (v34-35).
• He gathered many men to fight Israel’s enemy but heard the Lord cautioning that he had too many soldiers, and Israel would claim the glory for themselves (7:1-2).
• Boldy he announced, ‘Anyone who trembles with fear may turn back and leave…’ Twenty-two thousand men did, while ten thousand remained (v3). 
• ‘There are still too many men’ said God and the obedient Gideon, following the Lord’s guidance, tested them and retained only 300, sending the rest away (v8).
• Now he had only 300 against a vast enemy that ‘had settled in the valley, thick as locusts. Their camels could no more be counted than the sand on the seashore’! (v12).
• Yet, despite lacking conventional weapons, Gideon led this little band of trumpet-blowing men down into the valley.
• He scored a miraculous victory over Israel’s enemies who fled in fear, even turning against each other (v22).

Gideon’s triumph, a gift from the Lord, established him as a saviour for Israel, ushering in 40 years of peace (Judges 8:28).

Lesson: Amid our troubles, praising God holds transformative power, turning sorrows into joy. Gideon  showcases that God responds to the cries of His people. In times of great trouble, our prayers prompt God to send a saviour to protect and deliver. If we dare heed the voice of the Lord and do whatever He asks –even strange things – He will rescue us from our troubles. And enable us to help others.

Jonah
God tasked Jonah to go to Nineveh and warn the people about their wickedness (Jonah 1:2). Disobeying, he boarded a ship to Tarshish, trying to flee from God and His commission (v3). But ‘the the Lord sent a great wind on the sea, and such a violent storm arose that the ship threatened to break up’ (v4). 

Realising Jonah’s disobedience (v10), the men on the ship threw him into the sea, where God sent a great fish to swallow him – this fish became Jonah’s saviour. After three days, it vomited him onto Nineveh’s dry land (Jonah 2:10). 

Having learned from his mistake, Jonah taught the people to abandon sin, leading them to repentance, and thus becoming their saviour (v10).

Lesson: Jesus’ great commission of Matthew 28:18-20 calls for us His servants to share the gospel wherever and to whoever He asks of us. But… are we trying to flee from our God?

Jesus (No ordinary deliverer!)
All the saviours above rescued people suffering under godless rulers and those facing consequences due to disobedience. Although these saviours eventually passed away and were buried, people continued in sin.

Sometimes, when we travel alone through our lifetime, discomfort may settle within us. But when we worry, God often speaks to a ‘fellow passenger’ to help us and at that moment, that person becomes our saviour. Many of us have experienced such divine interventions in our lives… even when admitted to hospitals, God has sent unfamiliar doctors or nurses to assist us lovingly. These individuals are God–sent saviours who too will pass away.

But the really good news is that God sent a living Saviour (capital ‘S’ here) who will always be there – His Son, Jesus! (John 3:16-17).  Although sinless He was crucified on Calvary’s cross, sacrificing His life for our sins. Having miraculously risen from the dead on the third day (Easter’s real message), He lives among us, loving us, guiding, correcting when we err.

Today Jesus serves as our shade at our side, offering protection – and commissioning us to achieve for Him until we reach heaven.

Those who sincerely look to Him are enlightened. Despite our mistakes, we can acknowledge them, ask forgiveness and be reconciled with God. Jesus our living Saviour will lead us according to His will, always watching  over us on life’s journey.

Furthermore, He has pledged significant blessings for those who sincerely follow Him and uphold His commandments. ‘… everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life (Matthew 19:29).

That’s all-great news indeed and I wish to convey one other important message to every loving reader: ‘Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you…’ (James 4:8a). We should earnestly follow this Saviour willingly accepting whatever challenge He speaks to us, knowing from scripture that He will miraculously back us to help others!

And… whenever trouble arises, remember that we have a Saviour, a heavenly deliverer! May the Lord bless you and guide you. Amen!

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Sister Jesy Veena Sam assists in administration, Echo of His Call, India’s Spiritual Newspaper, and is Dr S Sam Selva Raj’s wife. In furthering Echo of His Call ministries, established 1969, Dr Sam daily broadcasts 5–minute messages in Hindi, Tamil and English on YouTube, trusting the Lord to provide for the costs. Link: sam@echoofhiscall.org  
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