Genesis 26:2: ‘’Do not go down to Egypt…’

“2 The Lord appeared to Isaac and said, ‘Do not go down to Egypt; live in the land where I tell you to live.”

Egypt was, and is, a place on a map. You can learn about it in Geography (and history) lessons. But, in the Bible, it also symbolises (along with Babylon), the present world system. Believers face the perennial temptation to ‘’go down to Egypt’’. Note, it is a going down. It speaks of declension, of backsliding. It’s a down-hill slope. When you feel yourself tempted by the alluring charms of ‘Egypt’; drawn to her provisions, her abundant supplies of food; when, as church leaders, you look for your answers in business management books, rather than praying to God and seeking His wisdom, realise that you are feeling the seductive magnetism of Egypt. How much Egypt wants your heart and soul – yes, and even your body. I’m not saying we can’t learn from books written by non- Christian leaders. Not at all. I believe that ‘all truth is God’s truth.’ If a thing is true, it is true. A prayerful person can be open to learn from many sources. His/her ears will always be attuned to God, wherever they are, and whatever they are doing. But let’s be clear that we are seeking our wisdom from God, and not from the world. By all means read your books, but above all, and in it all, look to God.

 

PRAYER: Lord, help me to keep my eyes on you. As the hymn says, ‘I see the sights that dazzle, the tempting sounds I hear…O Jesus draw thou nearer, and shield my soul from sin.’