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Introduction

The year 1989 marked the beginning of the end of the communist system. Although a number of communist regimes still survive, their time is coming to an end. We do not know if this is a matter of months or years, nor is there an absolute guarantee that it will happen, but the signs we see in these contexts clearly point to the imminent end of communism as a system.

In the present section we are dealing with the short period of time that marks the final phase of the communist system. The way we understand this period may determine the extent to which we will be able to take advantage of the opportunities brought about by freedom, so that we may incarnate the gospel of Christ in our communities as fully and completely as possible.

We will use the biblical story of Exodus as a metaphor to help us understand what freedom is, how we can prepare for it and what the price is that we need to pay in order to fully enjoy it. Here are a few observations from the biblical text that could serve to open up the conversation:

• God’s solution is not necessarily a quick escape from the problems, but often a progressive delivery through the problems; he allowed the Israelites to suffer for a long time before he intervened and never explained to them why this was;
• even when those who oppose the oppressor are called by God to do so, there is a risk that the people they are fighting on behalf of will not understand and will blame them for the temporary increase of oppression that their actions may bring (Ex. 5:21);
• the danger of rejection by their own may be the greatest test of a person’s trust in God’s calling for them to fight for the freedom of their people (Ex. 5:22–23); in such times of doubt, the only solution is holding firmly to the promise of God;
• when the time for the end of the oppression comes, things may get worse before they get better (Ex. 5:5–9);
• sometimes God uses miracles (such as the ten plagues) in order to save his people, but there is never a guarantee that he will do so unless he has explicitly promised that he will;
• when people have been slaves for generations, it is very difficult for them to understand and value freedom (Ex. 14:12);
• in God’s economy, the time spent under oppression is not time wasted; as in the case of the Israelites, who were allowed to ‘spoil the Egyptians’ (Ex. 3:21–22; 12:35–36); those who had lived with God under tyranny were able to emerge with a wealth of spiritual experience that was to enrich the lives of many in better times;
• oppression is not over until God says it is over; it is in the nature of the oppressive beast to try to strike a last mortal blow even in the final moments of its life; so therefore it is not wise for God’s people to let down their guard too soon and become complacent (Ex. 14:5–7);
• it is in such moments, when the future hangs in a precarious balance, that the people of God are in peril of being overcome by despair (Ex. 14:10–12);
• all the same, God always has the last word in history (Ex. 14:26–31).