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Dripping Springs Weekly Bulletins
ESCAPE!
They dug tunnels. They bribed their guards. They plotted day and night. They used everything they could find in order to accomplish their goal. Every waking moment—every ounce of energy was given to the task at hand—ESCAPE! They talked about it daily, and went to sleep with it on their minds. This describes those in war-time prison camps as well as similar efforts in jails and prisons in any country. One thought possesses a prisoner’s mind: ESCAPE!
Why is such an attitude commonplace in prisons and jails the world over? It is obvious—men want their freedom. Freedom—from loneliness, the stigma of being a prisoner, bad company, or just—freedom. Whatever the motivation, they want freedom, and they will do almost anything to get it.
“Escape” is a common word in the Bible as well, found over 100 times therein. It is used in many ways and in many circumstances. But in every text the word is filled with emotion and with the suspense you would expect to find in it.
Jacob and Esau; David and King Saul
In Genesis 27-32 we read of the enmity between Jacob and Esau. Having “bought” Esau’s birthright for a “bowl of chili,” Jacob fled for his life upon the threats of Esau. Years later Jacob wanted to see his estranged brother Esau but was fearful for the
safety of his family. He made sure his wife and children could “escape” in the event of hostilities.
In 1 Samuel 18 a series of close calls occurred between Saul the King and David, the shepherd-boy-turned-hero. Saul’s jealousy resulted in many attempts to kill David. The word escape certainly describes David’s relationship with Saul.
Rahab the harlot
This woman of Jericho is mentioned by name eleven times in the Bible because she gave aid to Joshua’s spies, helping them escape. Her former life was hardly pristine, but when given the opportunity to escape with her life, she took full advantage of it. She is mentioned three times in the New Testament, including her place in the ancestry of Jesus, Matthew 1:5. Her good “works” contributed to her redemption, James 2:25. She is also mentioned in Hebrews 11:31.
New Testament applications of “escape”
- Romans 2:3 “Thinkest thou this, O man, that judgest them which do such things, and doest the same, that thou shalt escape the judgment of God?”
- Hebrews 2:3 “How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him.”
- 1 Corinthians 10:13 “God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.”
- 1 Thessalonians 5:2-4 “Yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. When they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape. But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief.”
- 2 Peter 2:20-21 “If after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning. For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them.”
Escape? Yes, from the most dangerous foe of all—SIN, from which there is but one escape: only through the blood of Jesus. Sin is worse than a man seeking to kill you. It’s worse than the threat of imprisonment. It’s worse than anything man can use to threaten you, for sin has eternal consequences.
Sin will haunt you, tempt you, follow you, tease you, stick to you, demean you, control you, destroy you and render you useless to self and others. That is exactly why sin must be avoided—at all cost
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“Justice and power must be brought together, so that whatever is just may be powerful, and whatever is powerful may be just.”
“Whom the heart of man shuts out, sometimes the heart of God takes in.”
“Remember them that are in bonds, as bound with them; and them which suffer adversity, as being yourselves also in the body,”
“Let your love of justice be exceeded only by your love of mercy.”
“The punishment shall fit the offense.”
“The Lord is my light and my salvation; of whom shall I be afraid?”
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An Onion is a Rose?
The preacher reached into a paper sack and pulled out an onion. He held it up for all to see, and he said, "This is a rose."
In an age when being cool is hot and being bad is good and being really great is wicked, this is a rose.
When you have to be a low life to lead the high life, and children choose to take their own lives, this is a rose.
When a so-called Christian nation refuses to pray, when heaven can be had only on earth, and when hell is only a joke, this is a rose.
To a generation that thinks that fornication is love and being in a drunken stupor is a good time, this is a rose.
When the right to kill an unwanted baby is called the right to choose, and when what God calls an abomination, we call "gay," this is a rose.
In a place where a liquor referendum is a restaurant referendum, and more sin means more prosperity, this is a rose.
When fathers no longer try to be Dads and mothers refuse to be Moms, and when families are defined as homeless, this is a rose.
When shepherds scatter the sheep, when the blind see the light but choose darkness, when the stained can be washed but the individual returns to the mire, when the thirsty refuse to drink from the fountain, this is a rose.
"Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter! Woe unto them that are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight!" (Isaiah 5:20-21).
Dear Lord, help us to know the difference between your truth and the lies Satan tells us every day.
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