CHAPTER 10
THE LAND OF BONDAGE (EGYPT)
Jesus is Lord and God has raised Him from the dead! These Words are the first step in our Walk in the Spirit. Once you receive the revelation that Jesus Christ has power over all creation, then you will no longer be in darkness. The Israelites served as special examples to all believers.
NOW THESE THINGS WERE OUR EXAMPLES, TO THE INTENT WE SHOULD NOT LUST AFTER EVIL THINGS, AS THEY ALSO LUSTED. I CORINTHIANS 10:6
The Israelites were in bondage in Egypt and under the authority of Pharaoh. While they remained in Egypt, the Israelites were under Pharaoh’s authority. The Israelites in Egypt are an example of the unbeliever in bondage to the devil prior to salvation. The unbeliever is in cruel bondage to the world and to the flesh and to the devil.
EGYPT. 4714. Mits-rah’-yim; dual of 4693; i.e. Upper and Lower Egypt: - Egypt, Egyptians, Mizraim. (The New Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible, James Strong, LL.D., S.T.D., Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1984.)
BESIEGED. 4693. Maw-tsore’” the same as 4692 in the sense of a limit; Egypt (as the border of Palestine); - besieged places, defence, fortified. (The New Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible, James Strong, LL.D., S.T.D., Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1984.)
BESIEGED. 4692. Maw-tsoor’; mound (of besiegers), (abstract) a siege, (figuratively) distress; or (subjective) a fastness; - besieged, bulwark, defence, fenced, fortress, siege, strong (hold), tower. (The New Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible, James Strong, LL.D., S.T.D., Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1984.)
We see from its meaning that Egypt is a type of spiritual stronghold or prison surrounded by besiegers (demons). While we are imprisoned by our flesh and by our carnal desires, we are in constant distress and limited in our ideas, our circumstances, our hopes, and our dreams. If the carnal unbeliever desires something, he or she strives with all their might to pursue and capture whatever is their heart’s desire, whether it is good or evil, only to suffer disappointed hopes continually. Nothing ever seems to work out right for an unbeliever. Even if an unbeliever is seemingly successful, they cannot enjoy their success.
How often have we done or said something that we regretted afterward? While in bondage, we continue to do the wrong things over and over no matter how hard we attempt to stop, no matter how much we desire to stop?
Pharaoh is an example of Satan, the god of this world. When we are under the world’s authority or Satan’s authority, he demands the impossible from us and when we fail, we are punished without mercy.
There is only one reason why everyone does not enjoy all the blessings of God. There is only one reason people do not enjoy health, wealth, wisdom, peace, love and joy! They do not believe God’s Word.
God’s greatest desire is to set our spirit free. He wants our spirit to be one with His Spirit. He wants us to be eternally free. He wants us to let loose of our fleshly desires and to let ourselves flow with His Holy Spirit. He can then lead us to the destination He has prepared for us. He can take us to the Promised Land. He can take us to our resting place.
People may ask, “Why do I pray for my child, or my sister, or my brother, or my father, or my mother, and they are not saved?”
The answer is simple: because there are so many people who, by their own free will, are in open rebellion against God and consequently they are in bondage to Satan. If you do not serve God, you serve the Devil. It is that simple. People who are serving the Devil are destroying the earth, they are destroying themselves, and they are destroying the inhabitants of the earth. They do not consider themselves stewards of God’s creation.
They are at war with the light, they are at war with life, and they are at war with God. The world is under the law and under the curse. Most people believe they can make it without God. The world believes there can be justice, and peace, and love apart from God. The world does not believe the Word of God. The world calls God a liar and that is why the world is condemned.
The Book of Hebrews explains why believing God is so important to us and also illustrates why God’s spoken Word is so special. When God says something, you can consider it done. You don’t have to wait on God to perform His Word, you can consider it already performed. God and His Word are not bound by space or time. By faith, we can hear God’s future promises and know those future promises can be our today!
BY FAITH MOSES, WHEN HE WAS COME TO YEARS, REFUSED TO BE CALLED THE SON OF PHARAOH’S DAUGHTER;
CHOOSING RATHER TO SUFFER AFFLICTION WITH THE PEOPLE OF GOD, THAN TO ENJOY THE PLEASURES OF SIN FOR A SEASON;
ESTEEMING THE REPROACH OF CHRIST GREATER RICHES THAN THE TREASURES IN EGYPT: FOR HE HAD RESPECT UNTO THE “RECOMPENSE” OF THE REWARD.
HEBREWS 11:24-26
Recompense is something given or done to make up for or compensate for a loss. Moses had everything that Egypt had to offer. He was the adopted son of Pharaoh’s daughter. However, he understood that what Egypt had to offer could not be compared to what God had to offer. In Egypt, Moses could have indulged in all the pleasures of the flesh, but he would never have attained the greatness that God had planned for him. Somehow, possibly by reading scripture that he had in his possession, possibly by listening to his Hebrew family, and very probably by revelation, Moses knew that God had something great in store for him. See Acts 7:25. Moses knew that God was going to use him to deliver Israel from bondage.
He knew that the riches and glory of Egypt paled in comparison to what God had waiting for him in Christ. At first, Moses must have believed God had placed him in the House of Pharaoh to be in a position to deliver Israel. However, that was not the case. It was not Moses’ position in the House of Pharaoh that would deliver Israel, but Moses’ belief in God’s Word that would deliver Israel.
Moses had to reject his Egyptian family and his status as the grandson of Pharaoh and flee to the wilderness. Moses understood that eventually, God would more than compensate him for everything he would leave in Egypt.
We see from chapter 11 in the Book of Hebrews that Moses foresaw the reproach of Christ hundreds of years before Jesus was ever born?
We also understand that King David and all the prophets in the Bible knew that one day God would send a savior and a kinsman redeemer. Because it was God who promised a future Messiah, the saints of old knew that God’s promises were as good as done. They trusted that because God had made a promise to them, they could walk in that promise even before it was fulfilled. They could Walk in the Spirit.
How much more should the saints of our generation Walk in the Spirit when Jesus has already been raised from the dead?
Why do we have to go into the wilderness after our salvation? By force of habit, prior to our salvation, we have spent a lifetime relying on our own knowledge, our own strength, our own connections, our own resources. God drives us into the wilderness to put us in a place where we cannot rely on ourselves any longer. God puts us into a place where we must rely on God! Moses fled into the wilderness. King David fled into the wilderness. Jesus Christ was led by the Spirit into the wilderness and He is our perfect example. Jesus Christ only relied on the Word of God!
This is a promise that Jesus made to everyone who will believe God and Walk in the Spirit.
AND JESUS ANSWERED AND SAID, VERILY I SAY UNTO YOU, THERE IS NO MAN THAT HATH LEFT HOUSE, OR BRETHREN, OR SISTERS, OR FATHER, OR MOTHER, OR WIFE, OR CHILDREN, OR LANDS, FOR MY SAKE, AND FOR THE GOSPEL’S,
BUT HE SHALL RECEIVE A HUNDREDFOLD NOW “IN THIS TIME”, HOUSES, AND BRETHREN, AND SISTERS, AND MOTHERS, AND CHILDREN, AND LANDS, WITH PERSECUTIONS; AND IN THE WORLD TO COME ETERNAL LIFE.
MARK 10:29-30
I believe that Jesus is telling his disciples, and every believer, that most people spend their time and energy pursuing the wrong things. People pursue after money and houses and lands and relationships and they end up not reaching their goals. However, if a person spent their time and energy knowing God and pursuing after God’s plan for his or her life, God would more than compensate them for anything in the World they might lose.
The time you spend meditating on God’s Word and seeking God’s plan for your life will pay huge dividends. The end result will be all the things the world promises and more, most importantly it finally results in eternal life! God is not a skinflint and God is not Ebenezer Scrooge. God wants us to have houses and lands and relationships, but he wants us to have them the right way, His way. Trust in God!
TRUST IN THE LORD, AND DO GOOD; SO SHALT THOU DWELL IN THE LAND, AND VERILY THOU SHALT BE FED.
DELIGHT THYSELF ALSO IN THE LORD; AND HE SHALL GIVE THEE THE DESIRES OF THINE HEART.
COMMIT THY WAY UNTO THE LORD; TRUST ALSO IN HIM; AND HE SHALL BRING IT TO PASS.
AND HE SHALL BRING FORTH THY RIGHTEOUSNESS AS THE LIGHT, AND THY JUDGMENT AS THE NOONDAY.
PSALM 37:3-6
I have heard many people put down the prosperity gospel and the Word of Faith gospel, probably because they are either ignorant of the power and promises of God’s Word, or they cannot admit that if they are sick and poor, they must be on the wrong path. Therefore, they attack those who preach health, wealth, and wisdom for Christians. I understand where they are coming from, it is hard when you are poor, sick, and foolish to admit that you might not be on the right path.
Like I said before, I was mostly on the wrong path for twenty years and when I heard Kenneth Copeland, Creflo Dollar, or Kenneth Hagan preach the Word of faith, I just figured they were trying to con dumb people out of their money, even though they rarely asked for money, which is probably why I continued to watch them. It is easy to be envious of people who are healthy, wealthy, and wise, especially when you are sick, poor, and foolish. The Gospel means, Good News! It does not mean remaining sick, poor, and ignorant; which would be bad news as far as I am concerned.
Finally, by the grace of God, I figured out that true prosperity: in health, wealth, and wisdom, can only come from spiritual maturity. Spiritual maturity can only come from meditating on, memorizing, speaking, and hearing the Word of God. Spiritual maturity can only come from having God’s Word become a part of your spirit. Spiritual maturity will only come when you are Walking in the Spirit.
THE HEART OF THE WISE TEACHETH HIS MOUTH, AND ADDETH LEARNING TO HIS LIPS.
PROVERBS 16:23
How do wise men and women teach their mouth and add learning to their lips?
They memorize and repeat wise words. They repeat God’s Word over and over and over again! By constant repetition, by constantly speaking God’s living Word, by continual meditation, we teach our mouth and add learning to our lips. We become wise in the sight of God and in the sight of men!
HAPPY IS THE MAN THAT FINDETH WISDOM, AND THE MAN THAT GETTETH UNDERSTANDING.
FOR THE MERCHANDISE OF IT IS BETTER THAN THE MERCHANDISE OF SILVER, AND THE GAIN THEREOF THAN FINE GOLD.
SHE IS MORE PRECIOUS THAN RUBIES; AND ALL THE THINGS THOU CANST DESIRE ARE NOT TO BE COMPARED UNTO HER.
LENGTH OF DAYS IS IN HER RIGHT HAND; AND IN HER LEFT HAND RICHES AND HONOUR.
PROVERBS 3:13-16
I have heard some preachers say that we are under a different covenant from Abraham, he was under the old covenant and we are under the new covenant, but I believe are under the same covenant as Abraham, we are under the covenant of grace, and Abraham was also under the covenant of grace. Abraham is the example for all true believers.