Living in Egypt
Greetings in the Lord!
Do you ever have situations that go so array you say, "OK, what else could possibly go wrong??" The Israelites had many situations like that--in fact, the whole book of Jeremiah pretty much goes along that way. Jeremiah was sent as a youth to speak words of warning to Israel about changing their ways--and they ignore and mock him, including his own family. Next he had to warn them about Babylon coming to devastate Jerusalem and tells them that they should just submit to go into exile and it will go well for them---and they abuse him for speaking the word of the Lord and call him a traitor. Then after Babylon comes and destroys Jerusalem and takes many into captivity, the remnant of Israelites left in Jerusalem come to him and inquire of the Lord; so, Jeremiah tells them to stay in Jerusalem and trust God. They reject his words and go to Egypt for "safety." Finally, Jeremiah tells them that God is sending Babylon to Egypt to overrun them there and it is reputed in Judaic teaching that Jeremiah was killed by the exiles in Egypt. I mean seriously, it couldn't get much worse for Jeremiah at that point...but so too, for the Israelites. Things went from bad to worse for them (for about 400 years) as a result of their insolence, while Jeremiah was surely rewarded in Heaven for his faithfulness.
That passage from Jeremiah 41-42 is pretty telling of how badly people can act when they really don't want to listen to God. They reject and abuse those speaking the truth, arrogantly make up lies to try and drown out divine counsel, and create excuses for following their own will instead of following God's will. In the long run things will not go well for them, spiritually and quite often in the natural, too. "Going back to Egypt" is not really an option for a Christian--it only leads to spiritual bondage and worse. It's only in Egypt where we find Christians trying to serve God on their own terms: leading Bible studies without attending church anymore or singing praise songs from stolen songs books from church. There is no real relationship with God while we "live in Egypt." "Death, captivity, and sword" are the only destiny in Egypt.
This passage also gives more insight into the purposes of prophetic words from the Lord. Many prophetic words are not so much "predicting the future" as they are guidance for God's people. As we can see from the whole book of Jeremiah, Israel heard the words of the Lord from Jeremiah and rejected them. They, and we, always have this option--free will, right? So it would be better to think of many prophetic words this way: if you keep on this path, this will be the consequence; but if you follow the words of the Lord, this will be the positive result. That is why prophecy as a whole cannot be separated from faith; in fact, it is a revealer of a person's faith, and why the Word says that the "spirit of prophecy is the testimony of Jesus."
~Be blessed and be a blessing.
Do you ever have situations that go so array you say, "OK, what else could possibly go wrong??" The Israelites had many situations like that--in fact, the whole book of Jeremiah pretty much goes along that way. Jeremiah was sent as a youth to speak words of warning to Israel about changing their ways--and they ignore and mock him, including his own family. Next he had to warn them about Babylon coming to devastate Jerusalem and tells them that they should just submit to go into exile and it will go well for them---and they abuse him for speaking the word of the Lord and call him a traitor. Then after Babylon comes and destroys Jerusalem and takes many into captivity, the remnant of Israelites left in Jerusalem come to him and inquire of the Lord; so, Jeremiah tells them to stay in Jerusalem and trust God. They reject his words and go to Egypt for "safety." Finally, Jeremiah tells them that God is sending Babylon to Egypt to overrun them there and it is reputed in Judaic teaching that Jeremiah was killed by the exiles in Egypt. I mean seriously, it couldn't get much worse for Jeremiah at that point...but so too, for the Israelites. Things went from bad to worse for them (for about 400 years) as a result of their insolence, while Jeremiah was surely rewarded in Heaven for his faithfulness.
That passage from Jeremiah 41-42 is pretty telling of how badly people can act when they really don't want to listen to God. They reject and abuse those speaking the truth, arrogantly make up lies to try and drown out divine counsel, and create excuses for following their own will instead of following God's will. In the long run things will not go well for them, spiritually and quite often in the natural, too. "Going back to Egypt" is not really an option for a Christian--it only leads to spiritual bondage and worse. It's only in Egypt where we find Christians trying to serve God on their own terms: leading Bible studies without attending church anymore or singing praise songs from stolen songs books from church. There is no real relationship with God while we "live in Egypt." "Death, captivity, and sword" are the only destiny in Egypt.
This passage also gives more insight into the purposes of prophetic words from the Lord. Many prophetic words are not so much "predicting the future" as they are guidance for God's people. As we can see from the whole book of Jeremiah, Israel heard the words of the Lord from Jeremiah and rejected them. They, and we, always have this option--free will, right? So it would be better to think of many prophetic words this way: if you keep on this path, this will be the consequence; but if you follow the words of the Lord, this will be the positive result. That is why prophecy as a whole cannot be separated from faith; in fact, it is a revealer of a person's faith, and why the Word says that the "spirit of prophecy is the testimony of Jesus."
~Be blessed and be a blessing.
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