Do Not Go Back There

Isaiah 30:1-7

“What sorrow awaits my rebellious children,” says the LORD. “You make plans that are contrary to mine. You make alliances not directed by my Spirit, thus piling up your sins.

Can you hear the sadness in God’s voice as he considers what is in store for his children the Israelites. “What sorrow awaits”. He is saddened about their rebellion. The rebellion is that after all he has done for them, they have chosen to no longer listen to him.

Has that ever happened to you. Your friend or family member needs to make a choice or are beginning to go down a path that you can see is not good for them, you give them good advice. Advice that will save them a lot of trouble and heartache and they do not follow it. Things get worse and they don’t know how it happened.

 The Israelites are God’s “rebellious” children. They consider themselves to be his special nation. But they are not following his laws. When they offer a sacrifice, it means nothing, they are just going through the motions. They do not care about God’s feelings and yet they boast and take pride in being his children.

They are adding to their sins, by making alliances with those who God tells them not to. God is all they need but they still look elsewhere.

Isaiah 30:2-3

“For without consulting me, you have gone down to Egypt for help. You have put your trust in Pharaoh’s protection. You have tried to hide in his shade. But by trusting Pharaoh, you will be humiliated, and by depending on him, you will be disgraced.”

How ironic that God’s people thought they could find something better than they already had. But craziest of all they thought it was better, over in Egypt. The place where their ancestors had been slaves. A place of death, starvation, sorrow and suffering.

Hadn’t God rescued them from Egypt when they cried out to Him? Did they not commemorate what God had done by observing the Passover meal each and every year? Now, they were going to be allies with Egypt, without even asking God.

Rather than seeking safety under the shadow of the Almighty (Psalms 91:1 “Those who live in the shelter of the Most High will find rest in the shadow of the Almighty.”). Instead of that, they had looked for safety under the shadow of Pharaoh who was just another man, like them.

What drew you to Jesus? What did you need to be rescued from that led you to become a child of God?

What was the darkness that you needed to be brought out from? Are you now living in the light?

For me it was the meaningless of life. Without God, has your life got meaning? Is there any substance to your existence? What makes it worth getting up in the morning? These days people chase after fame and fortune but from the news we know that it is an empty promise. I left school and went to work when I was 15 years of age. The older people just wanted to make it to the weekend because they could get drunk and not have to get up early the next morning. It dulled the pain of the meaningless jobs we had. What do you have in mind that if you could just get this, or own that or live there or have the life of someone else everything would be fine. Egypt was the place that offered so much but gave so little.

Then it was the pain of grief. I had never known grief like it. There was no comfort without God. Many things are available to numb the pain or make it go away for a while. Drink, drugs, sex without a proper relationship, but then when you sober up, or end the relationship not only is the grief still there other problems have been added. Don’t go down to Egypt with your grief.

For some it is the crushing guilt of wrong that they have done. Perhaps you can ignore it for a while. Maybe engage in the activities already mentioned to numb the pain. But again, the guilt remains. Do not go down to Egypt with your guilt.

The apostle Paul had fame, he was no doubt wealthy because of it. Then the time came when he needed forgiveness, his guilt was overwhelming and he was grief stricken at the things he done. The people he had hurt, the families he had torn apart. He wrote this to the Christians in Ephesus.

Ephesians 2:1-5; “Once you were dead because of your disobedience and your many sins. You used to live in sin, just like the rest of the world, obeying the devil—the commander of the powers in the unseen world. He is the spirit at work in the hearts of those who refuse to obey God. All of us used to live that way, following the passionate desires and inclinations of our sinful nature. By our very nature we were subject to God’s anger, just like everyone else. But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much, that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God’s grace that you have been saved!)

Having been shown such love and forgiveness would Paul ever find his former life attractive? Would he be pulled back to Egypt? What would he need there that he hasn’t already got.

What about you and me, what have we received because of Christ’s love? Is it worth giving up? Is there something better on offer?

Having been forgiven, had your tears wiped away and finding a purpose in life because of what God has done for you through Jesus. Would you ever go back?

The safety that the Israelites searched for would prove to be a delusion. The supposed protection that Pharaoh offered would result in disappointment. All hope would be lost. Peace would disappear. The shelter that Egypt promised would be flimsy.

The Pharaoh at this time was Shabaka, the British Museum has much from archaeology on display about him. He was a Nubian, not an Egyptian. The Egyptians therefore were not even strong enough to provide a native Egyptian to rule over them. It is like having the English national football team coached by a non-Englishman, only worse. Look what continues to be said:

Isaiah 30:4

"For though his power extends to Zoan and his officials have arrived in Hanes, all who trust in him will be ashamed. He will not help you. Instead, he will disgrace you.”

God’s own children Israel, were looking to Egypt to help them, but even Egypt had a foreigner on the throne because they had been invaded and taken over.

Who would you replace God with? Let me tell you what people are replacing God with today.

A big bang! They say we did not originate as the creation of an intelligent being, we came from a puff of smoke. Are you going to trade in your relationship with God for a puff of smoke.

Perhaps instead of dignifying ourselves as the work of an all-powerful God, we can put our existence down to a billion years of improvements of sludge and slime until we get monkeys which eventually became us. Would you rather have that as your ancestry. Imagine being on the show, “Who do you think you are?” And at the end of it you discover that your great great grandad a hundred years over was a drop of slime. You’d think it was ridiculous but people prefer that idea to giving allegiance to God. What sorrow awaits his children. They are so close to the truth. We did come from the dust of the ground but we were created from it by an all powerful God.

Isaiah 30:5

"This message came to me concerning the animals in the Negev: The caravan moves slowly across the terrible desert to Egypt, donkeys weighed down with riches and camels loaded with treasure, all to pay for Egypt’s protection. They travel through the wilderness, a place of lionesses and lions, a place where vipers and poisonous snakes live."

Who are you paying and how much are you willing to pay to get meaning into your life? It has never been any different. “donkeys weighed down with riches and camels loaded with treasure”? But they are taken through dangerous places that they might not survive to pay for something that isn’t real. Pay for a ticket to the UK and all your dreams will come true. People are still trying to get compensation. People in the UK pay for a ticket to Australia and all your dreams will come true. People are still trying to get compensation. Pay for a ticket to go to America newly discovered and all your dreams will come true. The American Indians, the native people of the land are still trying to get compensation. When will we learn.

Where are you looking to make your life better and what are you willing to pay for it?

What are you spending your life on? Is it temporary or is it something that will last.

The Israelites were willing to become poor by giving all they had to Egypt for its protection. But they were spending it in the wrong place. Egypt could not and would not deliver what the Israelites paid for.

Why are the Israelites chasing after something that is weaker and less satisfying than God. Notice what Isaiah goes on to say:

Isaiah 30:6-7

“All this, (talking about the wealth on the donkeys and camels) and Egypt will give you nothing in return. Egypt’s promises are worthless! Therefore, I call her Rahab the Harmless Dragon.”

Sounds like a children’s cartoon, “Rahab the harmless dragon”.

Do not go down to Egypt.

This means if you came from a background where you did not know God and now know him. Do not go down to Egypt. Atheism has nothing but despair to offer. They have cleverly devised arguments however the bottom line is, there is no hope in thinking there is no god. It is attractive to people only because they do not want any moral constraints. It is an empty life with no hope for the future.

Our responsibility is not to give anyone an excuse for not believing in God by our not keeping God’s commands. The ultimate proof of God is our love for one another, there is no argument against that. You do not need to know science to defeat atheism we just need to love one another like God loves us.

If you followed a false pattern of religion and then found the living God, do not go down to Egypt. Worthless idols are spoken of in scripture. Out of a block of wood someone fashions an idol, bows down and worships it yet uses the wood that was chopped off to make a fire and heat up their food. The idol cannot even move itself. False religion is like that. It gives you something to do but is meaningless if it is not of God. Why come to the living God and then turn away to worship someone else’s ideas?

Our responsibility is to follow the commands of God. The ultimate proof of our being right with God and accurately following scripture is our love for one another, there is no argument against that.

If you turned from a life of sin, addiction, and found forgiveness. Do not go down to Egypt. It is much better to be clean than dirty. To be pure rather than polluted. Why go back to those things that disgusted you and brought shame and guilt to you. That you wanted to turn away from. Now, you can hold your head high, look at yourself in the mirror and sleep well at night.

To keep ourselves from those temptations that are specific to us and help others avoid what tempts them is to remember what it felt like to be forgiven. The ultimate proof that God has forgiven us and is willing to forgive others is our love for one another, there is no argument against that.

Hebrews 6:4-6

“For it is impossible to bring back to repentance those who were once enlightened—those who have experienced the good things of heaven and shared in the Holy Spirit, who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the power of the age to come and who then turn away from God. It is impossible to bring such people back to repentance; by rejecting the Son of God, they themselves are nailing him to the cross once again and holding him up to public shame.

Concerning this passage we often concentrate on the wrong thing. We spend time debating the impossibility of someone returning who has turned their back on the Lord. What we must ask instead is, how can I ensure it does not get that far. What do we do to prevent ourselves and others ever going down to Egypt.

Hebrews 6:9-12

“Dear friends, even though we are talking this way, we really don’t believe it applies to you. We are confident that you are meant for better things, things that come with salvation. For God is not unjust. He will not forget how hard you have worked for him and how you have shown your love to him by caring for other believers, as you still do. Our great desire is that you will keep on loving others as long as life lasts, in order to make certain that what you hope for will come true. Then you will not become spiritually dull and indifferent. Instead, you will follow the example of those who are going to inherit God’s promises because of their faith and endurance.”

We can ensure we do not go down to Egypt by caring for each other and loving each other. The best way I can help encourage you to not go down to Egypt is to not go back myself. The best way you can care for me is to not go down to Egypt yourself.

Hebrews 12:15-16a

“Look after each other so that none of you fails to receive the grace of God. Watch out that no poisonous root of bitterness grows up to trouble you, corrupting many. Make sure that no one is immoral or godless…”

Care for one another, look after each other.

Prove there is a God in heaven by loving each other. Where there is no love people are godless. It follows that people will know we are Christians and there is a God by our love.

Do not be immoral, in whatever form that immorality takes. It is empty and meaningless it offers so much and gives so little. In fact it is worse than a little. It takes away true happiness. It takes away our dignity. It takes away our integrity. It takes away our hope. It takes away our peace. It takes away the security of salvation. It takes away our fellowship and friendship. It replaces God with the fleeting pleasures of sin and does not deliver what it promises.

Let us care for one another, let us look after each, let us love one another, so that not one person here fails to receive the grace of God. Let no one have to look elsewhere to find love and acceptance.

Isaiah 30:18

“So the LORD must wait for you to come to him so he can show you his love and compassion. For the LORD is a faithful God. Blessed are those who wait for his help.”

If you are still in Egypt, come out of it today. Confess your faith in Jesus, repent of your sins and be baptised into Christ for the forgiveness of your sins.

From this day forward, decide with the rest of us that because of our care and love and the way we look after each other no one, but no one will ever need to go down to Egypt.