Why Egypt?

Why Egypt?

Egypt has always been considered by the Christian community as an “evil” place.  Maybe it’s time to take another look at that?  Yes, there are numerous warnings about lusting after the “fleshly” things of Egypt as well as examples of oppression and evil committed against God’s people.  There are also examples (see below) where God’s people went to or were sent to Egypt as a place of safety and plenty.  There are also many examples of God’s people prospering and having favor in Egypt.

I believe we need to look at this with “Kingdom” thinking, especially at this time of impending “famine”.  Remember that we are to look at revelation “spiritually” first and then see what application, if any, there may be literally.  I believe that the impending “famine” is a Spiritual famine.  I also believe that the Lord is raising up Abrahams, Jacobs, Josephs and Moses’ to lead and protect God’s Kingdom people.  In addition to God’s people being covered, I believe that, just as in Egypt, the worldly people will also be affected and will be “spiritually” and literally fed by the Kingdom people and thus the Kingdom will receive favor and support from the “world”.

Our assignment, therefore, is to completely free ourselves from non-Kingdom thinking and seek after, listen to and walking in the leading of God the Father through the love and name of Jesus Christ and the guidance, anointing and supernatural power of the Holy Spirit.  We can not do this in a vacuum, apart from the rest of the Body of Christ that He has placed us within.  We must 100% completely understand the following commands of the Lord Jesus:

Matthew 6:33 But seek (aim at and strive after) first of all His kingdom and His righteousness (His way of doing and being right), and then all these things taken together will be given you besides.

as well as:

Matthew 10:38 And he who does not take up his cross and follow Me [cleave steadfastly to Me, conforming wholly to My example in living and, if need be, in dying also] is not worthy of Me.

Matthew 16:24 Then Jesus said to His disciples, If anyone desires to be My disciple, let him deny himself [disregard, lose sight of, and forget himself and his own interests] and take up his cross and follow Me [cleave steadfastly to Me, conform wholly to My example in living and, if need be, in dying, also].

Mark 8:34 And Jesus called [to Him] the throng with His disciples and said to them, If anyone intends to come after Me, let him deny himself [forget, ignore, disown, and lose sight of himself and his own interests] and take up his cross, and [joining Me as a disciple and siding with My party] follow with Me [continually, cleaving steadfastly to Me].

Luke 9:23 And He said to all, If any person wills to come after Me, let him deny himself [ disown himself, forget, lose sight of himself and his own interests, refuse and give up himself] and take up his cross daily and follow Me [ cleave steadfastly to Me, conform wholly to My example in living and, if need be, in dying also]. 

1 Corinthians 15:31 [I assure you] by the pride which I have in you in [your fellowship and union with] Christ Jesus our Lord, that I die daily [I face death every day and die to self]. 

The following are passages regarding the “half full glass” side of Egypt:

1. Abraham:

Genesis 12:10 Now there was a famine in the land, and Abram went down into Egypt to live temporarily, for the famine in the land was oppressive (intense and grievous). 

Acts 7:17 But as the time for the fulfillment of the promise drew near which God had made to Abraham, the [Hebrew] people increased and multiplied in Egypt,

Even though the circumstances were less than “holy” Abram was blessed with (vs. 16) sheep, oxen, he-donkeys, menservants, maidservants, she-donkeys, and camels.

2. Jacob:

Genesis 45:9-10  Hurry and go up to my father and tell him, Your son Joseph says this to you: God has put me in charge of all Egypt. Come down to me; do not delay. You will live in the land of Goshen, and you will be close to me–you and your children and your grandchildren, your flocks, your herds, and all you have.

Genesis 46: 3-4 And He said, I am God, the God of your father; do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for I will there make of you a great nation. I will go down with you to Egypt, and I will also surely bring you [your people Israel] up again; and Joseph will put his hand upon your eyes [when they are about to close in death].

Gen. 47:28 And Jacob lived in the land of Egypt seventeen years; so Jacob reached the age of 147 years.

Gen. 50:1-3 THEN JOSEPH fell upon his father’s face and wept over him and kissed him. And Joseph ordered his servants the physicians to embalm his father. So the physicians embalmed Israel. Then forty days were devoted [to this purpose] for him, for that is the customary number of days required for those who are embalmed. And the Egyptians wept and bemoaned him [as they would for royalty] for seventy days.

Gen. 50: 7 And Joseph went up [to Canaan] to bury his father; and with him went all the officials of Pharaoh–the nobles of his court, and the elders of his house and all the nobles and elders of the land of Egypt–

Deut. 10: 22 Your fathers went down to Egypt seventy persons in all, and now the Lord your God has made you as the stars of the heavens for multitude.

3. Joseph:

Genesis 41:47-54 In the seven abundant years the earth brought forth by handfuls [for each seed planted]. And he gathered up all the [surplus] food of the seven [good] years in the land of Egypt and stored up the food in the cities; he stored away in each city the food from the fields around it. And Joseph gathered grain as the sand of the sea, very much, until he stopped counting, for it could not be measured. Now to Joseph were born two sons before the years of famine came, whom Asenath daughter of Potiphera, the priest of On, bore to him. And Joseph called the firstborn Manasseh [making to forget], For God, said he, has made me forget all my toil and hardship and all my father’s house.  And the second he called Ephraim [to be fruitful], For [he said] God has caused me to be fruitful in the land of my affliction.  When the seven years of plenty were ended in the land of Egypt, The seven years of scarcity and famine began to come, as Joseph had said they would; the famine was in all [the surrounding] lands, but in all of Egypt there was food.

 

Genesis 41:57  And all countries came to Egypt to Joseph to buy grain, because the famine was severe over all [the known] earth.

Genesis 39:2,21  But the Lord was with Joseph, and he [though a slave] was a successful and prosperous man; and he was in the house of his master the Egyptian. ²¹But the Lord was with Joseph, and showed him mercy and loving-kindness and gave him favor in the sight of the warden of the prison.

4. Moses:

Exodus 1:17-21 But the midwives feared God and did not do as the king of Egypt commanded, but let the male babies live. So the king of Egypt called for the midwives and said to them, Why have you done this thing and allowed the male children to live? The midwives answered Pharaoh, Because the Hebrew women are not like the Egyptian women; they are vigorous and quickly delivered; their babies are born before the midwife comes to them. So God dealt well with the midwives and the people multiplied and became very strong. And because the midwives revered and feared God, He made them households [of their own].

Acts 7:22 So Moses was educated in all the wisdom and culture of the Egyptians, and he was mighty (powerful) in his speech and deeds.

Acts 13:17 The God of this people Israel selected our forefathers and made this people great and important during their stay in the land of Egypt, and then with an uplifted arm He led them out from there.

Exodus 11:3 And the Lord gave the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians. Moreover, the man Moses was exceedingly great in the land of Egypt, in the sight of Pharaoh’s servants and of the people.

Exodus 12:13,23  The blood shall be for a token or sign to you upon [the doorposts of] the houses where you are, [that] when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and no plague shall be upon you to destroy you when I smite the land of Egypt. ²³For the Lord will pass through to slay the Egyptians; and when He sees the blood upon the lintel and the two side posts, the Lord will pass over the door and will not allow the destroyer to come into your houses to slay you.

Exodus 11:2-3 Speak now in the hearing of the people, and let every man solicit and ask of his neighbor, and every woman of her neighbor, jewels of silver and jewels of gold. And the Lord gave the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians. Moreover, the man Moses was exceedingly great in the land of Egypt, in the sight of Pharaoh’s servants and of the people.

Exodus 12:35-36 The Israelites did according to the word of Moses; and they [urgently] asked of the Egyptians jewels of silver and of gold, and clothing. The Lord gave the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they gave them what they asked. And they stripped the Egyptians [of those things].

Psalms 105:37 He brought [Israel] forth also with silver and gold, and there was not one feeble person among their tribes.

4. Kingly Period:

2 Kings 25:26 Then all the people, both small and great, and the captains of the forces arose and went to Egypt, for they were afraid of the Chaldeans.

1 Kings 11:40 Solomon sought therefore to kill Jeroboam. But Jeroboam arose and fled into Egypt, to Shishak king of Egypt, and was in Egypt until Solomon died.

Jeremiah 26:21 And when Jehoiakim the king, with all his mighty men and all the princes, heard his words, the king sought to put [Uriah the Prophet] to death; but when Uriah heard of it, he was afraid and fled and escaped to Egypt.

5. Jesus:

Matt. 2:13-15 Now after they had gone, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, Get up! [Tenderly] take unto you the young Child and His mother and flee to Egypt; and remain there till I tell you [otherwise], for Herod intends to search for the Child in order to destroy Him. And having risen, he took the Child and His mother by night and withdrew to Egypt and remained there until Herod’s death. This was to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet, Out of Egypt have I called My Son.

In closing, we should remember that we are to be “Kingdom People”.  The following is intended to help us to understand and to read God’s Word regarding the Kingdom and the world.

“What is the Kingdom of God?” The kingdom of God is the rule of an eternal sovereign God over all creatures and things (Psalm 103:19; Daniel 4:3). The kingdom of God is also the designation for the sphere of salvation entered into at the new birth (John 3:5-7), and is synonymous with the “kingdom of heaven.”

The kingdom of God embraces all created intelligence, both in heaven and earth that are willingly subject to the Lord and are in fellowship with Him. The kingdom of God is, therefore, universal in that it includes created angels and men. It is eternal, as God is eternal, and it is spiritual—found within all born-again believers. We enter the kingdom of God when we are born again, and we are then part of that kingdom for eternity. It is a relationship “born of the spirit” (John 3:5), and we have confident assurance that it is so because the Spirit bears witness with our spirits (Romans 8:16).

God is sovereign, omnipotent, omniscient and the ruler over all of His creation. However, the designation “the kingdom of God” compasses that realm which is subject to God and will be for eternity. The rest of creation will be destroyed. Only that which is part of the “kingdom of God” will remain.

Kingdom of God: Luke 17:21 Nor will people say, Look! Here [it is]! or, See, [it is] there! For behold, the kingdom of God is within you [in your hearts] and among you [surrounding you].

The World and the Believer: John 3:16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

Galatians 6:14 May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.

Colossians 2:8 See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ 

Colossians 2:20 Since you died with Christ to the basic principles of this world, why, as though you still belonged to it, do you submit to its rules:

2 Corinthians 10:3 For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does.

1 Cor. 5:9-11 I have written you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people— not at all meaning the people of this world who are immoral, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters. In that case you would have to leave this world. But now I am writing you that you must not associate with anyone who calls himself a brother but is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or a slanderer, a drunkard or a swindler. With such a man do not even eat.

Romans 12:2 Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

John 17:9 – 18 I pray for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those you have given me, for they are yours. I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name—the name you gave me—so that they may be one as we are one. “I am coming to you now, but I say these things while I am still in the world, so that they may have the full measure of my joy within them. I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world.  My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one.They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world.

John 16:33 “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

Matthew 5:14 “You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden.