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What were some of your favorite Bibles stories as a kid?
David and Goliath? Daniel and the lion’s den? The 10 plagues? Esther?
What do these stories have in common? They are all stories of God’s deliverance.
In this first lesson, we will look at general evidence that Deliver is a true characteristic (action) of God. We’ll also connect it to several other characteristics of God (in italics).
Just like the Bible stories we learned as a kid, the best way to see evidence of God’s characteristic of Deliver is to read stories of deliverance. Throughout the Bible, we see God act in mighty ways to deliver his people. Here are just a few well-known examples.
1. God delivered Noah and the animals from the flood.
God saw the evil on the earth, but Noah found favor in his eyes. So God set up a plan to deliver Noah and his family from the flood. He gave Noah instructions for the ark that would save him from the flood, provided food for him during the flood, and remembered Noah when he made the flood waters recede. (Read Genesis 6-9 for the full story)
In this story, we see God’s deliverance connected to his care and favor for his chosen people and to his power over life and death. We see that in God’s deliverance, he is in control and has a plan for the world, his creation, and his people. He gives guidance to his people so that they know how to best receive God’s deliverance, and he establishes his covenant with them so they know they can trust in his deliverance. We also see that sometimes when God delivers his people, he chooses not to deliver those who reject him, instead displaying his wrath for sin and allowing them to suffer the consequences of their actions.
2. God delivered the Israelites from slavery in Egypt.
God heard the cry of his people in bondage, called Moses to speak for them and lead them, and delivered them from 400 years of slavery in a mighty and powerful way. Not only did God use the 10 plagues to deliver them from Pharaoh’s hand, he split the Red Sea so the people could walk across on dry land, then closed the waters again to deliver them from the pursuing Egyptians. (Read Exodus 3-15 for the full story)
Once again, in this story we see God’s deliverance connected to his favor for his chosen people. God used his omnipotence and transcendence to send the 10 plagues on Egypt, working outside the normal bounds of physical laws to deliver his people. He showed his power over life and death in several plagues, but most prominently during the 10th plague when the Lord passed through Egypt and killed the firstborn of every family and livestock that didn’t have blood on their doorposts. He spoke with Moses to give him guidance on how to handle Pharaoh and how to instruct the Israelites about preparing for the Passover, showing that his protection and his deliverance go hand-in-hand. God also guided them on their way through the pillar of cloud and pillar of fire and fought for them by conquering the Egyptian army at the Red Sea. Throughout this story, we see that during God’s deliverance, he expects his people to obey him during the deliverance and to worship him once they are delivered.
Many verses throughout the Old and New Testament remind God’s people of this act of deliverance.
Judges 6:7-9: 7 When the people of Israel cried out to the LORD on account of the Midianites, 8 the LORD sent a prophet to the people of Israel. And he said to them, “Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: I led you up from Egypt and brought you out of the house of slavery. 9 And I delivered you from the hand of the Egyptians and from the hand of all who oppressed you, and drove them out before you and gave you their land.”
Acts 7:30-34: 30 “Now when forty years had passed, an angel appeared to him in the wilderness of Mount Sinai, in a flame of fire in a bush. 31 When Moses saw it, he was amazed at the sight, and as he drew near to look, there came the voice of the Lord: 32 ‘I am the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham and of Isaac and of Jacob.’ And Moses trembled and did not dare to look. 33 Then the Lord said to him, ‘Take off the sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy ground. 34 I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt, and have heard their groaning, and I have come down to deliver them. And now come, I will send you to Egypt.’
3. God delivered David from the hands of Saul.
David was selected as the next king of Israel, and this immediately made him the enemy of Saul, the current king of Israel. Saul pursued David and tried to kill him many times, but God delivered David from Saul’s hand because God had selected David, a man after God’s own heart, to lead Israel and to be the line through which Jesus would come. (The story of David and Saul is in 1 Samuel 16 to 2 Samuel 1.)
David wrote Psalm 18 after the Lord delivered him from the hand of Saul and his other enemies. In this psalm, we see God’s deliverance connected to several of his other characteristics, such as God strengthens us, God is a Rock and refuge, God is the Savior, God is worthy of praise, God hears us, and so many more. How many characteristics of God can you identify in this one psalm?
4. God delivered Paul and Silas from prison.
God didn’t only do the work of deliverance in the Old Testament. He also delivered his people in the New Testament. We’ll look at just one—the story of Paul and Silas being set free from prison (Acts 16:16-40). Paul and Silas were thrown in prison because they delivered a slave girl from an evil spirit and her owners weren’t happy about it. Around midnight, Paul and Silas were praying and singing in prison. Suddenly, an earthquake shook the prison and their bonds were unfastened. However, they stayed instead of escaping, leading to the salvation of the jailer and his whole family. The jailer brought them to his house, and the next day Paul and Silas were set free.
We can’t read this story without seeing God’s act of deliverance linked to his other characteristics. God is in control and has a plan, even when everything seems to be going wrong. God has the power and transcendence to enact his plan, even controlling the timing of the earthquake and the opening of the shackles with Paul and Silas’ praise to him. God calls people to himself, offering salvation to the jailer and his family, often using his people to do that work. He protects his people, even going so far as to have their enemies issue the order for the jailer to keep them safely. In the midst of all this trouble, God sent people to encourage Paul and Silas.
Because of these stories of God’s deliverance, especially the story of his deliverance of the Israelites from Egypt, God’s people would call out to him to be delivered from their troubling situations. If they didn’t believe he could deliver, why would they ask him for deliverance? They knew that God had delivered in the past, and they believed he would deliver them too.
Psalm 71:1-2: 1 In you, O Lord, do I take refuge; let me never be put to shame! 2 In your righteousness deliver me and rescue me; incline your ear to me, and save me!
In these verses, we see that God’s deliverance is connected to his righteousness, his role as a refuge, and his acts to rescue and save us.
When God’s people remembered his past acts of deliverance, they had confidence when they spoke of God’s ability to deliver them—they knew that “he will deliver.”
Psalm 34:17: When the righteous cry for help, the LORD hears and delivers them out of all their troubles.
Psalm 91:1-3: 1 He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. 2 I will say to the LORD, “My refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.” 3 For he will deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the deadly pestilence.
Proverbs 20:22: Do not say, “I will repay evil”; wait for the Lord, and he will deliver you.
Finally, we see that true deliverance comes through Jesus, who is the truth.
John 8:31-36: 31 So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, 32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” 33 They answered him, “We are offspring of Abraham and have never been enslaved to anyone. How is it that you say, ‘You will become free’?” 34 Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin. 35 The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son remains forever. 36 So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.”
Conclusion
God’s deliverance is more than just him delivering the Israelites from their enemies. His deliverance extends to you and me if we trust in Jesus to deliver us from the bondage of sin. We must understand the truth about who God is and believe in his power to deliver, just like the Israelites did. We can have confidence that if the Son sets us free, we will be free indeed.
Premium Resources
Each individual characteristic of God study will come with two resources: a word search just for fun (including an answer key), and a list of verses for if you want to investigate that individual characteristic of God more completely.
You can access these resources by downloading them here: