Leaving Egypt Behind: Bible Study blog for October 23

Photo courtesy of Photokanok / courtesy of Freedigitalimages.net

As the Israelites journey through the wilderness following the Exodus, they develop a very bad habit—they astoundingly look back favorably on their slavery in Egypt!  When food and water become scarce, they grumble and complain that back in Egypt, they ate their fill of the choicest foods (which could not have been further from the truth).  Facing the harsh reality of the desert, and the Promised Land still far off in the distance, they long to be back in the familiar world of slavery.  

Facing difficult and uncertain times, there is always the temptation to look upon the past with rose-colored glasses; to ache for the familiar world of yesterday.  Today’s church is a prime example of this—we look back nostalgically on the world of first half of the 20th century as the golden age of the church.  Back then, the church was central to community life; Christianity was the heartbeat of America; businesses were closed on Sundays; students prayed in public schools; and so on.  Things are profoundly different now.  The future has never been more uncertain for congregations like ours.  Can we recreate the present world in the image of the past?  Do we resign ourselves to the belief that the best days are behind us?  Or do we move forward, facing our fears and uncertainties, trusting that Jesus is leading, that God is providing, and the Holy Spirit is empowering?

It’s hard to believe that God’s people resisted God’s liberation—but we do the same thing, too.  We accumulate and hold onto possessions that not only leave us empty, but burden us.  We resist trying new things out of fear of failure.  We do not challenge each other to new ways of worship and serving for fear of resistance and rejection.  We avoid challenge and change in all levels of our lives—and in so doing, we fail to experience God’s faithfulness.  What’s worse is that we reject neighbors whom Jesus calls us to serve. 

God’s greatest gifts so often come to us wrapped in challenges and changes.  God’s greatest gifts come in unanswered prayers.  God’s greatest gifts come as we follow Jesus through the wilderness.  God’s gifts come when we are liberated from attachments and commitments that bind us in slavery to sin.  When there’s nothing else left to trust, God will be faithful.  The only way to the Promised Land is through the wilderness.  The wilderness is always a place of testing and trial, but God will always prove faithful.