Our God is a god who delivers us from slavery into freedom. In the Old Testament, God delivered the Israelites from slavery under Pharaoh. It is an amazing account of God’s power, deliverance, judgment, love, and keeping a promise to Abraham. Pharaoh refused to let them go, and God sent the ten plagues. God delivered them out, and after Pharaoh pursued, God parted the Red Sea and delivered the Israelites in a miraculous way that only God could.
But after the Israelites were living in the desert for a while, they complained and wanted to return to Egypt. Even after all the miracles the Israelites had just witnessed, they still did not trust God to provide for their needs. But we know that God continued to provide for their needs. He provided enough water for a nation in the desert, he provided manna from heaven, he provided meat, and he provided the Ten Commandments and the tabernacle.
In the book of Deuteronomy, we read “ The king, moreover, must not acquire great numbers of horses for himself or make the people return to Egypt to get more of them, for the Lord has told you, ‘You are not to go back that way again’.” Deut. 17:16 (NIV)
Why would the Israelites want to return to the land of their slavery after such a miraculous deliverance? I believe this concept remains true today.
We now know that God’s ultimate deliverance has freed us from the slavery of our sins and will deliver us as the Bride of Christ. God’s deliverance from Egypt was a precursor to his deliverance through the Blood of Jesus.
But all too often, we want to return to Egypt; we want to return to our sins. Why do we want to return to what brings us slavery and death, and not leave that life behind? I think this modern world makes it even more difficult. Egypt will come directly to us in the form of technology. We have, at the touch of a button in our pocket, gambling, lust, material goods, and overindulgence.
We need to keep our hearts focused on Jesus and his sacrifice. It is essential to acknowledge sin for the evil that it is. We are not to look at Jesus’ blood as an excuse to live as we choose and use his blood as a magic eraser. We are delivered for a better way of life, a life of freedom. Egypt has nothing for us.
Jim Nolt – Executive Board
