One of the ones I found from a while ago:
"They said to Moses, 'Is it because there are no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? What have you done to us in bringing us out of Egypt? Is not this what we said to you in Egypt: 'Leave us alone that we may serve the Egyptians'? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness."
-Exodus 14:11&12
I am reading through the book of Exodus in the Bible and have gotten to the part where the Israelites are finally being delivered from Egypt. It occurred to me as I was reading Exodus 14:11 that we are often like the Israelites (BIG surprise!). When the Israelites saw the Egyptians coming after them (after Pharaoh had changed his mind and decided to go after them to keep them from leaving Egypt) they doubted God and inquired of Moses why he had led them out in the wilderness to die. We do this, too. We follow God to a certain point where we feel comfortable and then when the going gets rough, we question whether He is taking care of us or just leading us to die. It is then we must trust He has a plan and it will be fulfilled and He will bring us through. But we have to have faith that He does all things for the good of those who love Him and that no matter what circumstances look like to us, in the end it is for our best. But what if our "Egypt is all we know?
The Israelites had known nothing else for years. They had been in bondage for so long, they did not know from their small scope of life that there was anything better. They were actually under the impression that it would be better to live enslaved than to die free. Are we not the same way? We live so long in this world of pain and suffering, where people's hearts are devoid of God and it's all we know. And when we have the chance for something better, we balk at it. Instead of stepping forward and going through the discomfort of refinement to freedom (dying to ourselves), most of us would rather stay in our dark, dank, smelly world and rot away perhaps with only the hope of possible love from another person who is still preoccupied with themselves no matter how they try to convince us otherwise, or our next cigarette or shot of whiskey after a long day, or the next party we can go to and forget our troubles and trick ourselves into believing we are happy. But we know deep down that at the end of the day, when we are alone and lonely, none of those things satisfy. We are in bondage, in slavery. But on our way out, when God is in the midst of delivering us, we cry out to go back because what we've known seems to be a better option or we don't want to give up the sex, drugs, and parties that we think of as freedom. It is not until we see, with knees quivering in fear in the midst of our doubting Him, His awesome power break through and wipe out our bondage and open our eyes to the promised land, to the better place to which He is taking us, that we see and believe and are free. And even then we doubt sometimes. But once we are His, truly living for Him and not our selfish desires, He will always bring us back, bring us out of the desert, even through all our complaining. He will bring us out on the beautiful, glorious other side where eternity lies and we can rest in Him. Are we going to continue to prefer to live enslaved to these things, or are we going to see that dying free is the better portion? We must see that when we die to ourselves and live for God, THAT is true freedom.
"And Moses said to the people, 'Fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will work for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall never see again. The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to be silent.'...Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the Lord drove the sea back by a strong east wind all night and made the sea dry land, and the waters were divided. And the people of Israel went into the midst of the sea on dry ground...and as the Egyptians fled into it, the Lord threw the Egyptians into the midst of the sea. The waters returned and covered the chariots and the horsemen; of all the host of Pharaoh that had followed them into the sea, NOT ONE OF THEM REMAINED. But the people of Israel walked on dry ground through the sea...Thus the Lord saved Israel from the hand of the Egyptians...Israel saw the great power that the Lord used against the Egyptians, so the people feared the Lord, and they believed in the Lord..."
-Exodus 14:13, 21, 22, 27-31
"They said to Moses, 'Is it because there are no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? What have you done to us in bringing us out of Egypt? Is not this what we said to you in Egypt: 'Leave us alone that we may serve the Egyptians'? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness."
-Exodus 14:11&12
I am reading through the book of Exodus in the Bible and have gotten to the part where the Israelites are finally being delivered from Egypt. It occurred to me as I was reading Exodus 14:11 that we are often like the Israelites (BIG surprise!). When the Israelites saw the Egyptians coming after them (after Pharaoh had changed his mind and decided to go after them to keep them from leaving Egypt) they doubted God and inquired of Moses why he had led them out in the wilderness to die. We do this, too. We follow God to a certain point where we feel comfortable and then when the going gets rough, we question whether He is taking care of us or just leading us to die. It is then we must trust He has a plan and it will be fulfilled and He will bring us through. But we have to have faith that He does all things for the good of those who love Him and that no matter what circumstances look like to us, in the end it is for our best. But what if our "Egypt is all we know?
The Israelites had known nothing else for years. They had been in bondage for so long, they did not know from their small scope of life that there was anything better. They were actually under the impression that it would be better to live enslaved than to die free. Are we not the same way? We live so long in this world of pain and suffering, where people's hearts are devoid of God and it's all we know. And when we have the chance for something better, we balk at it. Instead of stepping forward and going through the discomfort of refinement to freedom (dying to ourselves), most of us would rather stay in our dark, dank, smelly world and rot away perhaps with only the hope of possible love from another person who is still preoccupied with themselves no matter how they try to convince us otherwise, or our next cigarette or shot of whiskey after a long day, or the next party we can go to and forget our troubles and trick ourselves into believing we are happy. But we know deep down that at the end of the day, when we are alone and lonely, none of those things satisfy. We are in bondage, in slavery. But on our way out, when God is in the midst of delivering us, we cry out to go back because what we've known seems to be a better option or we don't want to give up the sex, drugs, and parties that we think of as freedom. It is not until we see, with knees quivering in fear in the midst of our doubting Him, His awesome power break through and wipe out our bondage and open our eyes to the promised land, to the better place to which He is taking us, that we see and believe and are free. And even then we doubt sometimes. But once we are His, truly living for Him and not our selfish desires, He will always bring us back, bring us out of the desert, even through all our complaining. He will bring us out on the beautiful, glorious other side where eternity lies and we can rest in Him. Are we going to continue to prefer to live enslaved to these things, or are we going to see that dying free is the better portion? We must see that when we die to ourselves and live for God, THAT is true freedom.
"And Moses said to the people, 'Fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will work for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall never see again. The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to be silent.'...Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the Lord drove the sea back by a strong east wind all night and made the sea dry land, and the waters were divided. And the people of Israel went into the midst of the sea on dry ground...and as the Egyptians fled into it, the Lord threw the Egyptians into the midst of the sea. The waters returned and covered the chariots and the horsemen; of all the host of Pharaoh that had followed them into the sea, NOT ONE OF THEM REMAINED. But the people of Israel walked on dry ground through the sea...Thus the Lord saved Israel from the hand of the Egyptians...Israel saw the great power that the Lord used against the Egyptians, so the people feared the Lord, and they believed in the Lord..."
-Exodus 14:13, 21, 22, 27-31
