What Does The Bible Say About God Our Deliverer?

 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son,
that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.
John 3:16

When you think of God as your Deliverer, what comes to mind?

It might be when He rescued you from a difficult situation or the pit of despair. Maybe He saved you from a financial burden by providing the needed resources.

Another way you can see God as your Deliverer is by thinking about how He sent His one and only Son to save you from sin. Or the deliverance you know is coming in eternity.

The Bible has a lot to say about God as a Deliverer. Namely, when He rescues, saves, or redeems a person, nation, or world.

The Exodus

God is seen as a Deliverer throughout the Old Testament, but most notably when He rescued His people, the Israelites, out of Egypt (Ex 6:6).

After leaving, Pharoah changed his mind and sent an army after the Israelites. The people had nowhere to go because the Red Sea was blocking their way of escape.

The Israelites cried out to God in their trouble, and He delivered them by parting the waters so they could walk across on dry land. Then, the waters came back over the Egyptian army while they pursued the Israelites (Ex 14:10-31).

Once the Israelites were across and their enemies were destroyed, they sang a song of victory to the Lord for His deliverance (Ex 15:1-21).

After forty years of wandering in the wilderness, the people were finally ready to enter the land God had promised them.

They encountered more problems, and God continued to deliver His people on their way to the Promised Land (Num 21:1-3) and after entering it (Josh 6:1-27).

Throughout Israel’s history, they often rebelled. However, God was always faithful in rescuing them when they repented (Judg 10:6-16).

David, A Man After God’s Own Heart

David was Israel’s second king and a man after God’s own heart (1 Sam 13:14). David referred to God as his Deliverer more often than anyone else in the Bible (2 Sam 22:2; Ps 18:2; 40:17; 70:5; 144:2).

Besides outright calling God his Deliverer, David said things like:

• He delivered me from my strong enemy (2 Sam 22:18)
• He rescued me because He delighted in me (2 Sam 22:20)
• I call upon the Lord…I am saved from my enemies (Ps 18:3)
• The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit (Ps 34:18)
• Rescue my soul from their ravages, my only life from the lions (Ps 35:17)
• God will redeem my soul from the power of Sheol (Ps 49:15)
• Deliver me from the mire, and do not let me sink (Ps 69:14)
• Bless the Lord…who redeems your life from the pit (Ps 103:1, 4)
• Let the redeemed of the Lord say so, whom He has redeemed from the hand of the adversary (Ps 107:2)
• Deliver me, O Lord, from my enemies (Ps 143:9)

The Messiah Prophesied

God’s plan from the beginning was to send the Messiah to save people from their sins. He first mentioned it in Genesis 3:15 when He told the serpent that He would put hostility between him and the woman and between his offspring and hers.

God said about her offspring (a reference to the coming Messiah), “He will strike your head, and you will strike his heel.”

Jesus Christ fulfilled this prophecy and many other OT prophecies) some 4000 years later. You can read more about this at What Old Testament Prophecies Reveal About Jesus.

The Messiah Arrives

The New Testament begins with the birth of Jesus, God’s Son. We find out right away that God sent Him to be the Deliverer with statements like these:

She will give birth to a son, and you are to name him Jesus because he will save his people from their sins. (Mt 1:21)

And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah: Because out of you will come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel. (Mt 2:6)

…You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give him the throne of his father David. (Lk 1:30-31)

At Jesus’ circumcision, Simeon took the child in his arms and said, …For my eyes have seen your salvation. You have prepared it in the presence of all peoples–a light for revelation to the Gentiles and glory to your people Israel. (Lk 2:28-32)

When the wise men came searching for the” one who was born king of the Jews,” King Herod was told about the prophesies surrounding the coming Messiah. He told the wise men to let him know when they found the child and pretended he wanted to worship him, too.

But an angel warned Joseph in a dream that the king wanted to kill Jesus and told them to flee to Egypt and stay until he told them it was safe to return. Joseph, Mary, and baby Jesus didn’t return until Herod died.

The Messiah Dies and is Resurrected

Jesus, the boy, “grew up and became strong, filled with wisdom, and God’s grace was on him.” (Lk 2:40).

At the age of 30, Jesus begins His three-year ministry. He gathered twelve disciples and traveled from place to place, teaching and healing. He healed people, in part, because He wanted them to know who He was–the Son of God.

Many followed Him as long as they thought He would set up His kingdom but turned on Him when they realized he would not. The majority of the religious leaders never believed He was the Messiah and finally found a way to arrest Him.

It wasn’t long before the crowd was yelling, “Crucify Him!” and that’s exactly what happened. Jesus was hung on the cross between two criminals; He was buried and rose again on the third day.

But make no mistake, Jesus willingly gave His life because it was the salvation plan from the beginning.

Jesus defeated Satan on the cross and conquered sin and death. His death may look like a defeat, but it’s victory because He rose again and defeated sin and death.

This was God’s ultimate act as Deliverer: to offer us salvation. God says that anyone who believes in His Son, Jesus, will have eternal life (Jn 3:16).

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Israel’s Exodus From Egypt Parallels Jesus’ Victory At the Cross

• The Israelites were in bondage to Egypt; people are in bondage to sin.
• While living in slavery, the Israelites didn’t know God as a Deliverer; as sinners, people don’t know God as a Deliverer.
• The Israelites had no way of leaving Egypt on their own; people have no way of escaping the consequences of sin on their own.
• God rescued the Israelites from slavery in Egypt; God rescues people from slavery to sin.
• God’s ultimate deliverance of Israel happened at the Red Sea; God’s ultimate deliverance for sinners happened at the cross.
• God showed His love to Israel through the exodus; God shows His love to sinners through the cross.

God loves you, and He proved it to you when He sent Jesus to die on the cross for your sins.

The Messiah Will Return

When Jesus defeated Satan at the cross, the war was won. Jesus overcame sin and death. He conquered the grave.

Because Jesus became obedient to death, the Father exalted Him to the highest place and gave Him the name above all names. That one day, every knee will bow, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father (Phil 2:8-11).

That day will happen when Christ returns. And this time, He will set up His kingdom. He will rule on the throne of His “father,” David, for a thousand years.

At the end of the thousand years, sin and death will cease. All those who have believed in Jesus will be with Him forever. What a glorious day that will be!

God As Deliverer Today

For those who have believed in Jesus, God can and will be your Deliverer as you go through difficulties in this life.

You are like David, a person after God’s own heart. You belong to Him, and He listens to your cries for help.

For those who have not yet believed in Jesus, that is your first step in experiencing God as your Deliverer.

Third Day – Our Deliverer

Final Thoughts

As you can see, the Bible has much to say about God as our Deliverer.

In the Old Testament, He rescued Israel from the Egyptians and gave David many victories when he cried out to him for help. He also prophesied of the coming Messiah, who would save people from their sins.

In the New Testament, we learn the Messiah is Jesus and all about his birth, life, death, and resurrection. Furthermore, we’re told how He will return someday to set up His kingdom.

Today is the day to believe in Jesus if you still need to. You can’t know God as your Deliverer until you first put your trust in Jesus and what He did for you on the cross.

For believers, cry out to God when you need His help and wait for His deliverance. Look forward to His return, and while you wait, tell others of what He has done.

How have you experienced God as your Deliverer?