He has become my Salvation!

Mar 29, 2015

Father, I pray for a transformation in the nation of Israel, to open the door for many who privately have been coming to a deeper and more complete understanding of their history and heritage; that they will no longer be constrained in publicly sharing these things; that they may freely acknowledge their Messiah; that He has come; that He is their Rock and their Salvation.

Exodus 15:2 (Moses)
The LORD is my strength and my song;
he has become my salvation.
He is my God, and I will praise him,
my father’s God, and I will exalt him.

2 Samuel 2:2-3 (David)
“The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer;
my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge,
my shield and the horn of my salvation.

Psalm 27:1 (David)
The LORD is my light and my salvation—
whom shall I fear?
The LORD is the stronghold of my life—
of whom shall I be afraid?

Isaiah 52:7
How beautiful on the mountains
are the feet of those who bring good news,
who proclaim peace,
who bring good tidings,
who proclaim salvation,
who say to Zion, “Your God reigns!”

The Old Testament concept of salvation, in which Moses and David and Isaiah put much hope – was a salvation from enemies – from evil men. Moses recounts the awe-filled experience of having just watched the Lord’s salvation as He delivered them from the Egyptian army. But at the birth of John, the one appointed to prepare the way for Yeshua’s coming, through his father Zechariah the priest, the Spirit reveals a dual meaning for this concept of salvation:

Luke 1:67-79
His father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied:
“Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel,
because he has come and has redeemed his people.
He has raised up a horn of salvation for us
in the house of his servant David
(as he said through his holy prophets of long ago),
salvation from our enemies
and from the hand of all who hate us—
to show mercy to our fathers
and to remember his holy covenant,
the oath he swore to our father Abraham:
to rescue us from the hand of our enemies,
and to enable us to serve him without fear
in holiness and righteousness before him all our days.

And you, my child, will be called a prophet of the Most High;
for you will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for him,
to give his people the knowledge of salvation
through the forgiveness of their sins,
because of the tender mercy of our God,
by which the rising sun will come to us from heaven
to shine on those living in darkness
and in the shadow of death,
to guide our feet into the path of peace.”

He ties together the Old Testament meaning of salvation which has been promised to Israel and which is still to come, with a deeper meaning of salvation which Yeshua poured out at Pentecost after His resurrection – the mystery of the gospel which had to be hidden from all eyes until the appointed time had come – forgiveness of sin; deliverance from the enemy of our souls – the principalities and powers; the forces of darkness; and from the power of death itself.