When they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. “Get up,” he said, “take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill Him.” So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt, where he stayed until the death of Herod. And so was fulfilled what the Lord had said through the prophet: “Out of Egypt I called my Son.” –Matthew 2:13-15

Egypt has a very deep meaning in scripture. It was the place of bondage from which the Israelites were delivered from. Symbolically, it represents the bondage that God has delivered us from. It also represents our past. One of the reasons I love the Old Testament historical books is because the story of the Israelites is very similar to our own personal stories.

For example, after they were delivered from Egypt, the Israelites wandered around in circles in the dessert for 40 years before ever entering the Promise Land. It should have taken them only a few days. We are just like them in that we wander in circles in life over the same mistakes, the same problems, the same patterns. We may eventually reach our destiny, but we could have gotten there much sooner if we would have just listened to the Lord.

Also like the Israelites, there are times where we find ourselves almost “longing for Egypt”. Sometimes, we are deceived into thinking life was better when we were living under the bondage of sin than in the freedom we have in Christ. In Matthew chapter two, Egypt comes up again as the place where Jesus and his family sought refuge while King Herod sought to slaughter Him.

Now eventually after King Herod died, Joseph took Mary and Jesus back to Israel. I wonder however, if during the few years that they were staying in Egypt, if Joseph wasn’t tempted to stay in Egypt. I wonder if Joseph ever sat down with Mary and said, “You know, we don’t have to leave Egypt. No, this isn’t Bethlehem or Nazareth, and sure it’s a long way from Jerusalem, but it’s not all bad. We could make a life for ourselves here and no one would ever bother us. You and little Jesus would be safe…”

 

I can’t prove it, the Bible doesn’t say it, but being a husband and father myself, I would be surprised if Joseph didn’t think that, at least once. And you know those are not bad reasons to stay in Egypt. What keeps you in “Egypt” isn’t always bad. One of Satan’s lies is to convince us that we actually belong in “Egypt”. That where we are at is just our place, the hand we were dealt, what we deserve, the best we can hope for, and yes, even a safe and decent option compared to the risky option of the dream and call of God burning in our hearts.

But “Egypt”, is not your destiny. It’s not your purpose. Yes it might sound easier, but it’s not your purpose. Yes it might sound safer, but it’s not your purpose. Yes it might even sound more stable for you and your family but it’s not your purpose. In his book “Chase the Lion” Mark Batterson wrote, “The purpose of life is not to arrive safely at death.” God has not called you to the sweet bye and bye life. God has not called you to play it safe, or live under the radar until heaven.

God says, “Out of Egypt, I will call my son.” God says out of Egypt, I am calling my daughters. Yes you got sent there. Yes, you used to live there, and yes you may have been born there in that life of insignificance and unimportance. But today God is calling you out of Egypt, and to awaken! You were meant for more, for greater things, don’t settle for Egypt. Today, pack up and leave your past behind and move forward to the dream God has given you. I’ll leave you with another quote by Mark Batterson from Chase the Lion; “If you dream doesn’t scare you, it’s too small.”