Exodus 6:6-7 Therefore say to the children of Israel: ‘I am the LORD; I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, I will rescue you from their bondage, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great judgments. 7 I will take you as My people, and I will be your God. Then you shall know that I am the LORD your God who brings you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians.
I’ll be doing a series on the “Arm of God,” beginning with this first message — The Arm that Redeems. The Hebrew Z’roah (זְרוֹעַ) means “arm” or “strength,” and in ancient Hebrew culture, the arm symbolizes active power in motion — strength applied for a purpose. In the Exodus account, God tells Moses He will redeem Israel “with an outstretched arm” (bizroa netuyah). This was not poetic metaphor; it was God’s declaration of decisive intervention. The Z’roah is the covenant-keeping arm that moves history, enforces promises, and breaks oppression. Every Pesach (Passover), during the seder — the festive meal of remembrance — the roasted lamb shank bone, the Z’roah, rests on the plate as a silent yet powerful witness to God’s mighty deliverance.
Israel was powerless under Pharaoh’s grip. The people could not free themselves, and their cries seemed swallowed by the weight of slavery. But God’s arm was not shortened; He reached into the darkness, crushed Egypt’s false gods, and led His people out. The Exodus was not won by Israel’s might but by God’s own decisive action — the Z’roah moving in history.
Prophetically, the Z’roah is twofold: it brings judgment to the oppressor and salvation to the oppressed. Egypt was struck while Israel was shielded. This dual action foreshadowed the cross, where God’s judgment against sin and His mercy toward His people met in one act. The blood of the lamb on the doorposts and the outstretched arm of God are inseparable.
In Messianic fulfillment, Yeshua is the Z’roah revealed in human form. He is the arm by which God’s eternal plan was executed. On the cross, His arms were stretched wide — not in defeat, but in victory. His blood marked the doorway of our souls, and His resurrection became our Exodus from death.
For us today, redemption is not a distant memory but a present power. The same Z’roah that shattered Egypt’s grip still moves with unstoppable strength to break every chain and silence every enemy. Each Pesach, the shank bone proclaims without a voice: You are here because His arm reached for you; you live because the Lamb was slain for you. This is not mere history — it is the living story of the Arm that redeems, the blood that speaks, and the Shepherd who still carries His people toward the final rest. So stand in faith, lift your head, and walk in freedom — for His Arm still fights for you, and His embrace will never let you go.
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[worthy_plugins_devotion_single_body]When David was anointed king over Israel, he didn’t take his place at the throne immediately. He had to wait, and bide his time, until Saul was removed from power, before arriving at his destined place as King. Like His father David, Yeshua (Jesus) was received as Israel’s king/messiah at the triumphal entry, (often called “Palm Sunday”), and then, “anointed” King of the Jews, ironically receiving His true title from the Romans, while hanging on a cross. But He is still waiting to reveal His identity as King on earth, during the Millennial reign when His kingdom will replace the kingdoms of this world at His second advent. [Rev. 11:15].
In today’s world of Smart Phones, tablets and instant Internet access, there are many things that we can “know.” “How long is the Golden Gate Bridge?” Pop out your iPhone, ask “Siri”, the golden-voiced digital encyclopedic genius, and you’ll have the factual answer in seconds.
The Jewish leaders of His time rejected Yeshua (Jesus) when He first came. He didn’t meet their expectations. They were expecting a Messiah who would bring relief from the Romans, restore the Kingdom of David, and usher in an era of tranquility throughout the world. It is probable that their intense jealousy of Yeshua blinded them to the numerous passages in the Tenach (OT) which describe Messiah as a suffering servant, since they were certainly aware of those passages.
As thousands of believers around the world will celebrate Palm Sunday, I thought I’d offer some additional historical insight into the day Yeshua (Jesus) entered Jerusalem. Most people associate Palm Sunday with the fulfillment of Zechariah 9:9, “Behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass”. But there is another significant detail associated with this beautiful fulfillment…
I could tell you about countless difficult and drawn out circumstances over which we have tried to stand firmly in faith until they finally came to pass. Sometimes we made it and sometimes we were weak and began to doubt. But God mercifully came through for us on most of these things, despite our lack of strength to stay faith-ful.
New Testament genealogies of Yeshua Ha Mashiach (Jesus the Christ) all identify Him as the son of king David. It was universally understood from the Tenach (OT) that the messiah would be descended from David and that he would restore the Davidic monarchy to its ultimate and most universal expression, even that this king would reign and sit on the throne forever.
This weekend, the Jewish people will celebrate the festival of Purim. This holiday commemorates Israel’s amazing reversal in Persia during the reign of King Xerxes (Ahasuerus) when Queen Esther and her uncle Mordecai gained victory for the Jews and protected them from annihilation at the hands of the evil Haman.