What is my Egypt?

Isaiah 30:1-5

As I read these five verses a question entered my mind; what is my Egypt, and how often have I gone there without asking God for His council?  Egypt fulfills a dual role in Scripture, both as a place of refuge and a place of oppression, a place to "come up out of" and a place to flee to.  As a follower of Christ, we need to understand what Egypt looks like.  What is your place of refuge, it will be different for each person, for a few it’s our home, but for others that may seem or be a place of oppression.  I believe for many it’s our occupation, and for some it may be your church, temple, or Synagogue, but is that where you are in the will of God?

We are told in Scripture to examine ourselves to see if we are in the faith found in 2 Corinthians 13:5, should we today begin with an examination before going any farther down this road?  My Egypt’s are found in wanting security, friends, and contentment, a life without risk, but often I find God calling me out of that Egypt into a life of uneasiness, where there is risk, where rejection is more than a possibility.  

You may find the word “Woe” or “Ah” each is a warning to the Child of God, and in verse one of this chapter it is followed with stubborn children.  This is what the Lord is saying; we the stubborn children, “Ah, stubborn children,” declares the LORD, “who carry out a plan, but not mine, and who make an alliance, but not of my Spirit, that they may add sin to sin; who set out to go down to Egypt, without asking for my direction, to take refuge in the protection of Pharaoh and to seek shelter in the shadow of Egypt!” (Isaiah 30:1-2 ESV)

As a follower of Christ we come to understand something has changed, it goes back to the verse in 2 Corinthians 13:5 about examining ourselves, and applying the Scriptures to our life, Scripture like 1 Corinthians 6:19-20,  ^“Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.”  So taking that to heart, we look and understand that God is in charge, we exchanged our fleshly desires for Spiritual desires, and our Egypt should no longer be our refuge, but we should be seekers of His will, the plan He has for you.  The prophet Jeremiah gave the chosen people of God some great news; “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for wholeness and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.”  (Jeremiah 29:11)

The good news is we have a choice, and good choices bring blessing.  The bad news is bad choices bring shame and humiliation and disgrace as found in verses 3-5.  Your Egypt’s will be as unreliable today as in the time of Isaiah, it is a source of help that will not be there when needed, where as God is always there, always faithful, for you are His, paid for by the blood of Jesus, and no one can remove you from His hand.

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice