7 And I will take you to me for a people, and I will be to you a God: and ye shall know that I am the Lord your God, which bringeth you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians.

8 And I will bring you in unto the land, concerning the which I did swear to give it to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob; and I will give it you for an heritage: I am the Lord.

God does not only promise the Israelites their freedom, but He also claims them as His own. “I will take you to me for a people, and I will be to you a God.” This was God re-establishing His special relationship to the current Israelite generation. He was creating with them the covenant and the union that He had with their forefathers.

Last of all, God also covenanted to bring the Israelites to the promised land that He had designated to their forefathers. God had promised this land as the eventual inheritance for Abraham’s children, but that had not yet been fulfilled. For many Israelites this promise wasn’t meant for them personally, but for some future generation. Now, though, God was saying that it was this generation was the first that could see the realization of these promises. It could be meant for them, not just their children. Though, as we will see, while the deliverance from Egypt was a sure promise, receiving the promised land was contingent upon their obedience. By their rebellion and faithlessness they would end up pushing the promised land back one more generation.

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