THEOSISCyrill of Alexandria
The blessed prophets, who showed deep concern for our spiritual state and delivered precise judgments, fervently prayed for the Word of God to serve as a guide and shield for those living upon the earth. They recognized Him alone as God, capable of rescuing those who had sunk to the depths of despair. As wise and discerning instructors, they illuminated the path of salvation. What venerable qualities did they lack? Their attributes surely warranted admiration. Yet, they could not liberate us from the brutal reign of Satan or dispel the malevolent hordes of demons that mercilessly exploited our misery, treating us like captives and enforcing upon us the burdensome yoke of enslavement, compelling us to think and act in ways that gratified them.
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Like callous tax collectors, they demanded our service and sought to corrupt our earthly endeavors, caring only for the fleshly and temporal. Thus, it was the magnificent work of the indescribable nature of Christ to shatter the arrogant and wretched power of the devil, to free those dwelling on earth from such harmful and vile bondage, and to ultimately reveal them as practitioners of virtue. This profound and longed-for good was made manifest in time for those who inhabit the earth, as the Only Begotten willingly condescended to human exhaustion (Philippians 2:7-8), a truth confirmed by Holy Scripture: "After a long time, the king of Egypt died. And the children of Israel groaned from their labor, and cried, and their cry from their labor went up to God. And God heard their groaning, and God remembered His covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. And God saw the children of Israel, and God looked upon them" (Exodus 2:23-25). The Egyptians harshly oppressed the Israelites, imposing upon them the yoke of relentless slavery and appointing harsh overseers who made their lives bitter through rigorous toil (Exodus 1:14). Overwhelmed by such brutality, they finally began to petition for mercy from above, and indeed God took notice, as Scripture recounts: "God saw the children of Israel, and God looked upon them" (Exodus 2:25). Thus, when we dwell in ignorance of God, we fall prey to offenders, sinking into the mire of sin, held captive by unclean spirits. The knowledge of God invariably brings the grace of freedom. This transformative reality is conveyed in our instruction, as noted (1 Corinthians 10:11). The example within one nation, Israel, effectively teaches us that the objective of unclean spirits and the devil is to ensnare those on earth in futile labors and the works of the flesh, lest they transcend their entanglements, ascend to the divine knowledge of the God of all, and ultimately turn to deeds that please Him, casting off the chains of the devil’s tyranny. Human nature inherently yearns for freedom; therefore, at times, we reject our passions and even detest them, momentarily waking from our stupor to shun the allure of fleshly pleasures, seeking help from above and mourning our involuntary servitude (Exodus 2:23). In essence, this captures the meaning behind the Israelites' groans directed toward God.