Pining for Egypt I. Introduction A. Article on Stalin ("Russians Observe Stalin's 126th Birthday", AP, 12/21/2005) 1. Apparently, some Russians in the Caucasus are pining for Stalin 2. Stalin! 3. The most conservative estimate of Russians killed on his order is about 20 million! 4. Apparently, this is forgotten: what is remembered is his "consistency", his industrialization of the USSR, and his leadership against Germany B. How is it that people could so willingly forget such evil...and would actually want to elect a known totalitarian tyrant? C. This concept is nothing new! 1. The idea was perhaps best expressed by Thucydides, a Greek historian of the Peloponnesian War in the late fifth century BCE 2. "Hatred and unpopularity at the moment have fallen to the lot of all who have aspired to rule others; but where odium must be incurred, true wisdom incurs it for the highest objects. Hatred also is shortlived; but that which makes the splendor of the present and the glory of the future remains for ever unforgotten," ("Pericles", Thuc. 2.64.5). 3. This is true of Pericles himself: despite the fact that it was his policy to bring all citizens into Athens, thus worsening the plague that later came, he was remembered as one of the best Athenian generals ever because of his wise plans that were not followed later D. We can probably think of other examples in our own history 1. Thomas Jefferson: many religious conservatives in his day thought that his election as President would lead to the end of the Republic; no such thing happened, and now he is appealed to by many religious conservatives 2. Abraham Lincoln: ended up being very unpopular during his administration, and who feared greatly that he would lose to McClellan in 1864, now idolized as one of our greatest presidents E. We can see, then, that many times, the follies and foibles of political leaders can be forgotten by later generations, while their positive attributes are memorialized and idolized 1. This is especially true when later rulers are not as effective 2. How else can it be explained that some Russians want Stalin back? F. This is not only true in political terms 1. The Scriptures provide examples of this same type of thinking 2. Let us spend some time examining them II. God and the Israelites A. The Scriptures demonstrate that the Israelites held this same type of attitude while they were in the wilderness B. To understand the example fully, we must first examine the sequence of events that led to the Israelites being in the wilderness C. After sojourning in Egypt for a bit of time, the Israelites begin to cause concern in the Egyptians, who begin to enslave them and compelled them into forced labor (Exodus 1:9-14) 1. Not only were they forced into hard labor, but Pharaoh ordered their male children killed at birth (Exodus 1:16) 2. It got to the point where the Israelites called out to God on account of their slavery (Exodus 2:23-25) D. God then began to work salvation for the Israelites 1. He commissions Moses and Aaron to speak to Pharaoh (Exodus 3-4) 2. He sends ten plagues upon the Egyptians (Exodus 7-12), with the final plague being a clear sign of deliverance: the killing of the firstborn, save those of Israel 3. The LORD parts the Sea of Reeds for the Israelites to pass through, but returns the sea when Pharaoh presses hard with his army (Exodus 14:14-31) E. God provides for the Israelites while in the Wilderness 1. He directs the people with a pillar of cloud or fire (Exodus 13:21) 2. He provides water (Exodus 15:22-25) 3. He provides bread: manna: from Heaven (Exodus 16:4-35) 4. God provides them victory against their enemies (Exodus 17:8-16) F. In short, God delivers them from their enemies and provides them with everything they would need, and does so miraculously III. The Israelites in the Wilderness A. With all of the signs and wonders God wrought, and the continual daily reminder of His care, you would think that the Israelites would be thankful B. The Scriptures, however, demonstrate that the opposite is true! C. Exodus 16:1-3 1. Note the time: around 45 days after the Israelites had left Egypt: 45 days from when God parted the Sea of Reeds 2. 45 days after their deliverance, 45 days after God led them away from slavery and hard service, the Israelites wanted to return! 3. Since they did not have food at the moment, the memory of the pain and suffering was supplanted by the memory of food 4. They preferred slavery over a bit of hunger! D. Exodus 17:1-3 1. Despite the fact that God had recently provided them water (Exodus 15:22-25), the Israelites again grumble when there is no water in Rephidim 2. Now it is not because of hunger, but thirst, that the Israelites want to go back to Egypt! E. Numbers 11:1-10 1. Despite the fact that manna was given to the Israelites without fail, it wasn't good enough! 2. Now the Israelites want meat! 3. First it was hunger, then thirst, and now it's variety in diet that causes the Israelites to pine for Egypt! F. Numbers 14:1-4 1. Having heard the report of the spies, the Israelites consider the situation as futile 2. Despite the fact that God had already demonstrated His power over earthly authorities, they still feel that they are being led to Canaan to perish! 3. Not only do they pine for Egypt, they now seek for a leader to guide them back there! 4. This last act of impiety was too much: God decrees that all those who grumbled must perish in the wilderness (Numbers 14:21-23) G. Thus we have the conclusion of the matter: because the Israelites kept looking back to Egypt, and used any cause for suffering as an excuse to return, they all perished in the wilderness! IV. New Testament Application A. 1 Corinthians 10:1-6 1. Paul uses "Christian" language to describe the events we have just examined 2. Why? To show how the actions of the Israelites are an example to us, so that we do not choose evil as they did (1 Corinthians 10:6) B. The Israelites were "baptized" into Moses (1 Corinthians 10:2) 1. A reference to the parting of the Red Sea, where on three sides the Israelites were enclosed by water 2. Certainly the Israelites were not baptized into Moses as we are baptized into Christ, yet passing through the Red Sea demonstrated that they were God's people C. They ate spiritual food and drink (1 Corinthians 10:3-4) 1. The manna and the water, both of which came from Heaven 2. Likewise, we have the Word of life in Jesus Christ, yet their subsistence, as our spiritual subsistence, is dependent on the blessings of Heaven D. Yet they were overthrown in the wilderness, an example for us to not do evil (1 Corinthians 10:5-6) 1. What, precisely, does Paul refer to? 2. What evil did they do that we need to avoid? V. The Evil of the Israelites A. What was the sin of the Israelites? 1. On the surface, the answer is simple: impiety: not trusting God, grumbling against God at every opportunity 2. But what led them to such impiety? Upon what basis did they grumble and doubt? B. We have seen the answer in every example: Egypt! 1. In Egypt, even though they were in bondage, there was food and water and protection from external enemies 2. When the going got rough in the wilderness: when the Israelites felt that their lives might be in danger: they forgot about the suffering of Egypt and remembered those benefits 3. Since they always had that frame of reference, when troubles came, as opposed to trusting in God because of all that He had previously done for them, they pined for Egypt! 4. They forgot about the slavery, the forced labor, the decree to kill their children: they remembered the food, the drink, the "security" C. Because of these evils, they all perished in the wilderness D. Having seen these things, let us apply them to our own situations VI. Avoiding the Evil of Looking Back A. Let us further interpret the Israelite situation in our own terms 1. Egypt is the world with its lusts (1 John 2:15-17) 2. The wilderness is the life we now are living, sojourners on the earth (1 Peter 1:1-2) 3. The promised land, "Canaan", is life in the resurrection, reserved for us at the end (1 Peter 1:3-5) B. The example of the Israelites in the wilderness, then, can be made clear C. We all left the world of sin when we were redeemed in Christ (Colossians 1:13) D. We are all sojourning on the earth, seeking Heaven (Hebrews 4:1-11) E. When we face trouble on the earth, we are given a choice: we can trust in God because of the great things He has done for us, or we can look back toward the world and try to trust in ourselves F. The former will lead us to eternal life; the latter will cause us to perish! G. Why is this so? VII. The Deceitfulness of Sin A. As the Israelites forgot about the pains of slavery in Egypt, and remembered the food and drink and security, we can do similar things with sin B. Sin is deceitful (Hebrews 3:13) C. We are deceived into remembering the fleeting pleasures (Hebrews 11:25), and to forget or minimize the problems inherent in the life of sin D. When we are sore pressed: the righteous life is not easy, and presents many challenges (Matthew 7:14): it is easy to remember how good things were when we were not trying to live righteously 1. It's less work! 2. There are fewer obligations! 3. It is easier to get along with people! E. Yet we must never forget what also was true while we lived in sin: we were separated from God (Isaiah 59:1), a slave to sin (Romans 6:16), and sentenced to death (Romans 6:23) 1. It is the desire of the devil for us to forget about all these things and to remember the "positives" of one's previous life 2. If one continually keeps in mind the evils of the sinful life, it is far easier to stay away from it! F. Likewise, we are to continually remember the great things God has done: allowing for our redemption through Christ's blood (John 3:16), association with Him (1 John 1:1-3), and the promise of eternal life (Romans 6:23) 1. 2 Thessalonians 3:3: God is faithful, and will deliver you from the evil one 2. It is not hard to trust in these promises and these deeds when all is well 3. But when times get rough...will you still trust in these promises? G. The Israelites did not trust in God, and received the due penalty of their error H. What of us? VIII. Conclusion A. What the Russians are doing with Stalin is nothing new, really 1. It is a tendency of humans to forget the evil but remember the "good" that rulers have done 2. No matter how evil they might have been, if a day comes when their "positives" are better than the current situation, people will want such persons back B. This is also true in spiritual terms 1. The Israelites provide us an example of this 2. While God delivered them from the bondage of Egypt: a deliverance they sought: whenever things seemed dire in the wilderness, they wanted to return to Egypt 3. Their pining for Egypt led them to sin and caused them to perish in the wilderness C. Paul urges us to heed this example and not choose evil 1. We have to recognize that while we live in the world, many times it will be challenging to keep fighting the good fight 2. We will constantly face the temptations of sin: of the life we have willingly given up 3. We must choose how we will respond 4. Will we, as the Israelites, pine for the "positives" of our former life, forgetting the evil, and by such be led to commit sin and be condemned? 5. Or shall we fully remember the sentence of death under which we labored vainly, rejoice in our salvation, remember the great things God has done for us, and remain faithful to Him who has promised such great things? D. Let us not choose the evil as the Israelites did: let us choose to continue to trust God in this wilderness so that we can reach the promised land! E. Invitation Scripture, Meditation, and Application 1: YHWH is my strength and song / and he is become my salvation This is my God, and I will praise him / My father's God, and I will exalt him (Exodus 15:2). YHWH rescued the Israelites from Egypt with a strong hand. Once the Israelites saw His power manifest in the destruction of the Egyptian army, they praised YHWH for His strength and salvation. The experience was designed to give Israel all reason to trust in YHWH. We do well to trust in God, for He has rescued us gloriously in Christ! 2: And the whole congregation of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron in the wilderness: and the children of Israel said unto them, “Would that we had died by the hand of YHWH in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the flesh-pots, when we did eat bread to the full; for ye have brought us forth into this wilderness, to kill this whole assembly with hunger” (Exodus 16:2-3). Not long after YHWH rescued Israel from Egypt, when the food had run out, the people began murmuring. They at least had food in Egypt! They did not remember the slavery or the misery; they remembered what they presently lacked. This would not end well for the Israelites. We do well to learn and not follow the same pattern! 3: “And wherefore doth YHWH bring us unto this land, to fall by the sword? Our wives and our little ones will be a prey: were it not better for us to return into Egypt?” And they said one to another, “Let us make a captain, and let us return into Egypt” (Numbers 14:3-4). Israel’s rebellion culminates in the most bizarre image: looking for a leader to return to Egypt. To what did they think they would return? What led them to such behavior? They did not trust in God but trusted in what they saw. They forgot about the evil but remembered what they lacked. They thus were never fully committed to God’s mission. And they all died in the wilderness. May we learn from their example! 4: What fruit then had ye at that time in the things whereof ye are now ashamed? for the end of those things is death (Romans 6:21). In Christ “Egypt” is the world, “Canaan” is the resurrection, and we presently live in the exile of the “wilderness.” We are often given reason to pine for “Egypt,” that which seemed better when we lived in sin, that which we seem to lack in the “wilderness.” Yet we must not be myopic; we must remember the pain, the shame, the result of life in “Egypt.” May we press forward to obtain the resurrection, and not pine for what we have renounced for His sake!