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Remember that you were slaves Deuteronomy 5:15, 15:15, 16:12, 24:18, 22: winning sermon in the 2005 Baptist heritage preaching contest: when we celebrate the Fourth of July, we are reminding ourselves as Americans that we have not always been free.

Article Excerpt
That's why we have an Independence Day--to keep us from taking Freedom for granted, to make us teach our children that once we were not independent, once we were under tyranny. There was a time when we did not have the liberty to gather in Baptist churches and to worship as we felt led by God. It is essential to being a Baptist that we remember our history.

In the book of Deuteronomy, Moses is speaking to the people of Israel just before they cross over the Jordan River into the Promised Land, just before they really become a nation. One of the themes of that book is the command to remember. When you become rich, when you become powerful, when you live in freedom, don't forget God who gave you that freedom. Don't take freedom for granted, as if you deserved it or had earned it for yourself. Five times, Moses says to the people, "Remember that you were slaves in Egypt." Don't forget where you came from. Don't forget that you yourselves were oppressed, that for three hundred years you had no freedom to come and go, no freedom to choose your work, no freedom to worship God as he commanded. This became the basis for ethics in the Promised Land. When you think of how you will treat the powerless in your own country--the fatherless, the widows, and the foreigners who come to your country to work because the economy in their own countries is so poor--remember that you were slaves yourselves in Egypt. Let's review those five commands to remember that you were slaves.

First, Deuteronomy 5:15 is about the Sabbath day. This is part of Moses' restatement of the Ten Commandments. This verse provides the rationale for not working on the Sabbath. It's not enough to stop working yourself. You must not make your male and female servants work either. Don't even make your animals work. And don't make the aliens who are among you work either, whether they worship me or not. Why? "Remember you were slaves in Egypt and that the Lord your God brought you out of there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm." You were once in the shoes of those who work for you, and you know what it is like to long for rest. So give...