Monday, July 20, 2009

The Goshen Effect











Exodus 8:22
'But on that day I will deal differently with the land of Goshen, where my people live;

Exodus 1: 13 - 14
So the Egyptians made the children of Israel serve with rigor. And they made their lives bitter with hard bondage—in mortar, in brick, and in all manner of service in the field. All their service in which they made them serve was with rigor.

Exodus 1: 15 - 16
Then the king of Egypt spoke to the Hebrew midwives, of whom the name of one was Shiphrah and the name of the other Puah; and he said, "When you do the duties of a midwife for the Hebrew women, and see them on the birthstools, if it is a son, then you shall kill him; but if it is a daughter, then she shall live.”

Exodus 14:11-13
Then they said to Moses, “Because there were no graves in Egypt, have you taken us away to die in the wilderness? Why have you so dealt with us, to bring us up out of Egypt? Is this not the word that we told you in Egypt, saying, ‘Let us alone that we may serve the Egyptians’? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than that we should die in the wilderness.” And Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD, which He will accomplish for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall see again no more forever.

Exodus 16: 2 - 4
Then the whole congregation of the children of Israel complained against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness. And the children of Israel said to them, “Oh, that we had died by the hand of the LORD in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the pots of meat and when we ate bread to the full! For you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.” Then the LORD said to Moses, “Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you. And the people shall go out and gather a certain quota every day, that I may test them, whether they will walk in My law or not.

Numbers 11: 4 - 6
Now the mixed multitude who were among them yielded to intense craving; so the children of Israel also wept again and said: “Who will give us meat to eat? We remember the fish which we ate freely in Egypt, the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic; but now our whole being is dried up; there is nothing at all except this manna before our eyes!”

~IN SERVICE TO PROSPERITY AND COMFORT~When the children of Israel were free, they still looked over their shoulder at what they had in Egypt. Even though it meant the sacrifice of their own children, rigorous toil, bitterness and bondage, they called for a return to Egypt. Why ? Was it some perverse sense of satisfaction, sameness, or even security provided by the Pharaoh. God called them to a new freedom, as He calls us even today. In a world marked by abortion, moral decay, economic collapse, and a false sense of government sponsored "welfare".... do we not choose bondage over freedom still ? Have we turned back to Egypt ? Do we know what real freedom is ? It's not about our comfort or prosperity, it's about trust in Him, no matter what. Oh, how God is calling us to it. (Genesis 6:3 Then the LORD said, "My Spirit shall not strive with man forever, because he also is flesh;...). Today, resolve to walk tall and free. Seek to know true freedom in the Lord.
How should we walk ?
LIFE, LIBERTY and the pursuit of HAPPINESS
or
LIBERATE LIVES and pursue HOLINESS.
~Chris

2 comments:

  1. Amazing... you're so right... we're walking / running back to Egypt... God help us! ~Maria

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  2. Hi Chris-

    Thanks so much for stopping by! Your words made me smile. Be blessed!

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