Out of Egypt to
Canaan
In
Exodus 3:8, the Lord God spoke to Moses about His plan
to deliver Israel, "And I am come down to deliver
them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring
them up out of that land unto a good land and a large,
unto a land flowing with milk and honey; unto the
place of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the
Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the
Jebusites." Moses, together with Aaron, went back
to the children of Israel to proclaim the good news.
Exodus 4:31 - "And the people believed: and when they
heard that the Lord had visited the children of Israel,
and that he had looked upon their affliction, then
they bowed their heads and worshipped."
As
soon as the people heard them speak these words,
their natural response was worship unto the Lord. You
can sense the excitement, the hope and the joy that they
were experiencing after four hundred years of slavery.
And it so happened by ten grand miracles that they left
Egypt to their destination, Canaan. Notice that they
knew nothing about what they were about to go through
between Egypt and Canaan.
Let us
take these three phases of life in the journey of the
Israelites; Egypt, wilderness and Canaan.
Egypt -
Slave Mentality
For the family of Jacob, it
was a shelter from the famine that was upon the land.
God brought them to preserve a nation from destruction.
As days went by another king came to power who didn’t
know Joseph. Then the persecution began. Israel was so
infant that they needed to depend upon God's power for
their deliverance.
What does Egypt represent?
1.
Infancy.
Galatians 4:1-3 reads "Now I say, That the heir, as
long as he is a child, differeth nothing from a servant,
though he be lord of all; But is under tutors and
governors until the time appointed of the father. Even
so we, when we were children, were in bondage under the
elements of the world."
Immaturity restricts us from having access to our
inheritance.
2.
Bondage. Exodus 1:13-14 - "And the Egyptians made the children
of Israel to serve with rigour: And they made their
lives bitter with hard bondage, in morter, and in
brick, and in all manner of service in the field: all
their service, wherein they made them serve, was with
rigour."
3.
Irresponsibility.
Notice that accountability and dependability are natural
evidences of responsibility. Pharaoh forced them to
fulfill their work out of fear. Therefore, they never
cultivated a sense of responsibility. Their basic need
was met by Pharaoh: food and shelter. They had never
been worried about what they would eat because it was
provided.
4.
No
vision. While
they were in Egypt, they had no vision for their daily
life but to fulfill the dream of Pharaoh. No slave could
have a vision but fulfill his master's wish.
Wilderness
- Character Workshop
When
Israel left Egypt, it was with great triumph. Then, the
Bible continues to record the story in Exodus 13:18,
"But God led the people about, through the way
of the wilderness of the Red sea: and the children
of Israel went up harnessed out of the land of Egypt."
Though it was God who delivered them out of bondage, it
was also God who led the people to the wilderness. One
might say, "Why God?" This question is common to every
person, but rather ask, "Why wilderness?" and then you
can find out the reason.
God's
plan was to take them out of Egypt and in the process to
take Egypt out of them. Unless our thoughts and
attitudes are not transformed, displacement by itself
won't bring us any change.
Wilderness
was God's set-up, not an accident.
In
Exodus 13:17, "And it came to pass, when Pharaoh had
let the people go, that God led them not through the
way of the land of the Philistines, although that was
near; for God said, Lest peradventure the people
repent when they see war, and they return to Egypt."
Watch
these three things:
-
God led them the way to the wilderness -
It seemed like it is the wrong map! Or somebody must
have tuned in to the wrong station.
-
The way was not near - Something that causes
one to say, "Where did I miss this whole thing? I
got to go back!"
-
He avoided war - Nobody is winning! Why?
God has to win your heart before you ever become a
winner!
What does wilderness represent?
1.
A
Training Ground.
It is where they began life afresh with God.
He intentionally took them to a place where there was
nothing and they had no one to fight with. It was very
important for God for them to be alone with Him once
again.
What was the Purpose?
a. To
help them know God.
Jeremiah 2:2, "Go and cry in the ears of Jerusalem,
saying, Thus saith the Lord; I remember thee, the
kindness of thy youth, the love of thine espousals, when
thou wentest after me in the wilderness, in a land that
was not sown."
b. To
shape their character.
Deuteronomy 8:2, "And thou shalt remember all the way
which the Lord thy God led thee these forty years
in the wilderness, to humble thee, and
to prove thee, to know what was in thine heart,
whether thou wouldest keep his commandments, or no."
c. To
teach them responsibility.
They were heading from bondage, Egypt, to blessing,
Canaan. God wanted them to be matured enough to handle
their blessings. You might say, "Do I need to mature to
receive a blessing? and why?" If you are not matured,
you would run off with the blessings of God and forget
the source of your blessing. Never forget in your
life that every blessing without God is a curse!
d.
To
give them a vision.
He wanted to give their life a purpose and give them a
mission to accomplish.
2. Deprogramming and Programming.
It was time for the Lord to take Egypt out of their
heart and fill them with Himself, i.e., to remove the
thinking pattern, traditions, wisdom, worship,
life-style, nutritional regime, fashions, etc. out of
them and plant His own.
3. A Life
of Freedom.
Since they were in bondage for four hundred years, they
never knew what it means to be free. Freedom is like a
license - you have to prove your sense of responsibility
before you enjoy its privileges.
4. A
Miraculous Life. Their basic needs were met by
God in miraculous ways. They were fed manna,
their clothing never wore out, neither their shoes, and
they were in perfect health.
Canaan -
Productivity
"For the Lord thy God bringeth thee into a good land,
a land of brooks of water, of fountains
and depths that spring out of valleys and hills; [8] A
land of wheat, and barley, and vines, and
fig trees, and pomegranates; a land
of oil olive, and honey; A land wherein
thou shalt eat bread without scarceness, thou
shalt not lack any thing in it; a land whose stones are
iron, and out of whose hills thou mayest dig
brass. When thou hast eaten and art full, then thou
shalt bless the Lord thy God for the good land which he
hath given thee."
(Deut. 8:7-10)
What does Canaan represent?
1. A
Renewed Mind.
The generation that entered Canaan had no
Egypt-mentality.
2. People
with Vision.
God's purpose flooded their heart and they were so eager
and ready to fulfill it.
3. People
with Godly Character. It was
a generation:
-
humble
enough
to say "Ok God!" when He said "Hear, O Israel: Thou
art to pass over Jordan this day, to go in to possess nations greater and mightier than thyself, cities
great and fenced up to heaven" (Deuteronomy 9:1)
-
obedient enough
to stand with their feet in the river of Jordan even
though it was overflowing.
-
Joshua
3:15, "And as they that bare the ark were come unto
Jordan, and the feet of the priests that bare the ark
were dipped in the brim of the water, (for Jordan
overfloweth all his banks all the time of harvest,)"
-
Joshua
1:16, "And they answered Joshua, saying, All that
thou commandest us we will do, and whithersoever thou
sendest us, we will go."
-
that
trusts God.
Song 8:5, "Who is this that cometh up from the
wilderness, leaning upon her beloved? I raised thee up
under the apple tree: there thy mother brought thee
forth: there she brought thee forth that bare thee."
4. Responsibility.
Exodus 16:35, "And the children of Israel did eat
manna forty years, until they came to a land inhabited;
they did eat manna, until they came unto the borders of
the land of Canaan." It was time for them to work
with their hands that the Lord would bless it. They
started to be productive.
Conclusion
Your
willingness, trust and a right attitude will usher
you into the place of fruitfulness. Find out where your
life is at and apply the principles of God. Remember,
ability comes out of your fellowship with God.
|
