~ Continuing Marc Slades chapter by chapter, verse by verse study of the bible: Dt 4:20 But the LORD hath taken you, and brought you forth out of the iron furnace, even out of Egypt, to be unto him a people of inheritance, as ye are this day. K so this verse in the context is saying that one reason not to do idolatry is because YHVH saved us; not any of the false gods. He likens Egypt to an iron furnace & anyone who has gotten close to a furnace or stove knows that it is pretty hot & would be uncomfortable if not unbearable to be inside it. Seeing as how Egypt is a symbol of the world this reminds me of Gal 5:1 Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage. & the thought that after God went through all the effort of taking you out of the situation that was causing you pain; it would be foolish (not to mention rude & ungrateful) to either give some false god credit for it, or to go back. Remember Lots wife? Lk 9:62 And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God. A slightly related passage might be Heb 11:24 By faith Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter; 25 Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season; - whatever pleasures the world has to offer are only temporary, so even if it feels good it wont last - 2 Cor 4:18 While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal. - 1 Cor 2:9 But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. & ummm 2 Cor 4:17 For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; & Rom 8:18 For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. - So what i am trying to say with these passages is that we are not to be getting an attitude like the Hebrews when they said Num 11:5 We remember the fish, which we did eat in Egypt freely; the cucumbers, and the melons, and the leeks, and the onions, and the garlick: 6 But now our soul is dried away: there is nothing at all, beside this manna, before our eyes. - because their path of God seemed hard to them & even if they were in bondage back in Egypt; all they could remember was the good parts that satisfied their flesh. - So basically no matter how hard your life as a Christian is it is easy compared to someone who doesnt have Christ & has to face eternity without Him. 2 Tim 2:3 Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. Because the end of your road will be so glorious we cant even imagine how good it will be, whereas the end of the road for people without Christ is pitiful no matter what pleasures they have for a season. Inheritance: 5159 נַחֲלָה [nachalah /nakh·al·aw/] n f. From 5157 (in its usual sense); TWOT 1342a; GK 5709; 222 occurrences; AV translates as “inheritance” 192 times, “heritage” 27 times, “inherit” twice, and “possession” once. 1 possession, property, inheritance, heritage. 1a property. 1b portion, share. 1c inheritance, portion. So this is probably pointing to the issue that God wants to own us (what we are property like slaves? Yes - cp Rev 1:1a The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; - just about everybody loves the book of Revelation & none of it is for you to understand if you are not) & give us (like an inheritance) to His son - Eph 4:15 But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ: 16 From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love. Christ is the head of the body which is the church who is us. Nobody likes the idea of being a slave; but praise God He loves us so much that even while we are, He also elevates us to the position of His children - Rom 8:16 The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: - but children are normally what? Sent to school & nowadays that is called the university of hard knocks as we have to deal with all sorts of situations that we dont like in order to learn the ways of God. See later on in Dt 15:15, 16:12, 24:18 & 22 it says repeatedly that the people were slaves in Egypt which is a symbol of the world & Rom 6:21 What fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed? for the end of those things is death. - So if we claim to have enjoyed being a slave to the world that was only paying us in death; should we not much more rather enjoy being the slave of God who pays us eternal life? K so i really wanted to go on but this has already been quite a bit so lets digest it & i will see you next time; until then let us pray that we are grateful to have been called by God to be His slave unto salvation & not bicker at Him when He sends us circumstances that we dont like seeing as how Rom 8:28b we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. Because when you are a slave to the world; no matter how fun it is, you are still in an iron furnace.
Posted on: Wed, 06 Aug 2014 22:16:21 +0000
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