Christians understand that freedom is not ornamental, but necessary for us to flourish as God intends. We see this in the gospel itself, which calls us out of spiritual bondage and into the freedom of knowing and loving the living God. In the Exodus narrative, spiritual liberation is also worked out in the civil sphere, as the children of Israel are delivered from excessive external control (tyranny). Pharaoh’s claim on the children of Israel is exposed as legally illegitimate because the Lord Himself has already laid claim to their lives. They are His.