Egypt

Leviticus (NLT) 

18 Then the Lord said to Moses, 2 “Give the following instructions to the people of Israel. I am the Lord your God. 3 So do not act like the people in Egypt, where you used to live, or like the people of Canaan, where I am taking you. You must not imitate their way of life. 4 You must obey all my regulations and be careful to obey my decrees, for I am the Lord your God. 5 If you obey my decrees and my regulations, you will find life through them. I am the Lord.

The people of Israel had lived in Egypt for 430 years. Exodus 12:40 (NLT). In time, Joseph and all of his brothers died, ending that entire generation. But their descendants, the Israelites, had many children and grandchildren. In fact, they multiplied so greatly that they became extremely powerful and filled the land. So the Egyptians made the Israelites their slaves. Exodus 1:6-8 (NLT). I live in Australia nearly five years now. I used to live in almost totally different country before I came here. It took me a while to cope with the entire new situation. Different language, different culture, different perspective, different life style, different value system, etc. as time goes by I started adapting myself with the new situation. In the same manner the Israelites had lived in Egypt for 430 years, born and grew up there. The only value system that they have known by them was the Egyptian value system. But, God gave them a clear command not to act like they used to be. No more Egyptian value system. Surprisingly, He also told them not to act as the people of Canaan. He wanted them to obey only his commands. Adapting to the new life He gave them. 

Paul in his letter to Romans explained about the old and the new man (Adam and Christ), and he says “Previously, you let yourselves be slaves to impurity and lawlessness, which led ever deeper into sin. Now you must give yourselves to be slaves to righteous living so that you will become holy. ” Romans 6:19

Our journey of Christianity started from our personal Egypt. We cry out to God to deliver us from slavery of different captivities. It may be sin, illness, addiction, hopelessness, pride you name it. The way we used to live back then were quite the opposite of what we experience after God set us free. We clearly noticed that our value system differentiated. But, there is always “BUT” in the journey. I feel like I am going, BUT where am I? In my study of the exodus of the Israelites, I found two views on Egypt after slavery. The first one is, when they were between the Red see and the Pharaoh’s army. At that time, they were plainly on the dry land of Egypt. The first tough moment after the Passover, and they said to Moses, “Why did you bring us out here to die in the wilderness? Weren’t there enough graves for us in Egypt? What have you done to us? Why did you make us leave Egypt? Didn’t we tell you this would happen while we were still in Egypt? We said, ‘Leave us alone! Let us be slaves to the Egyptians. It’s better to be a slave in Egypt than a corpse in the wilderness!’” Exodus 14:11-12(NLT). Some of us may be in that condition. What I can say for those who are in this situation except repeating what Moses told to them. “Don’t be afraid. Just stand still and watch the Lord rescue you today... The Lord himself will fight for you. Just stay calm.” Exodus 14:13-14(NLT).

Second, the Israelites repeatedly went back to Egypt in their thoughts even when they were way far from the land of Egypt and made God unhappy. Some of us might be in that kind of situation. I sometimes find myself using the old value system in my new life. Since it is a spiritual journey, it is hard to notice where we are unless we take time to examine where we are, using the map, the word of God. For those who are in this situation, I again repeat what Paul said in Romans 6. “Since we have been united with him in his death, we will also be raised to life as he was.” Romans 6:5 (NLT). Read all Romans 6.

John 8:36 (NIV) 

So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.