A Defect of the Believer’s Fellowship with God
Due to the duration of their years of bondage in the land of Egypt, the Israelites had developed certain traits and behaviours. According to the scriptures, Egyptian bondage was a period of 400 years as stated in Genesis 15:13 and Acts 7:6. They emphasize that the 430 years mentioned in Exodus 12:40-41 and Galatians 3:17 cover the period from the confirmation of the Abrahamic covenant in Genesis 35:9-13 to the confirmation of the Mosaic covenant at Mount Sinai.
In the light of these varying records, it did not come as a shock that despite the deliverance God gave to the Israelites from the land of Egypt, they had been so entangled and given to the slavery comfort and they murmured.
When they were confronted with a challenge on their way to the Promised Land, they told Moses that they would prefer to go back to Egypt, rather than facing these challenges as they stepped out of Egypt. “Is not this the word that we did tell thee in Egypt, saying, Let us alone, that we may serve the Egyptians? For it had been better for us to serve the Egyptians, than that we should die in the wilderness” (Exodus 14:12). But Moses had already seen the power of God at work, and this had an impact on the way he reacted to the groaning and rebellion of the children of Israel. As demonstrated by Moses here, it is therefore highly crucial to have a personal conviction of God and His works.
The knowledge of God alleviates some issues which are usually posed by the situations and circumstances around us, which could eventually cause a limitation against the purpose, plan and programme of God the believer.
I have always seen the journey of faith as an exercise which requires boldness, courage, perseverance, patience, and faith. All these are the bedrock of our faith in God. Moses spoke with God one-on-one like we humans communicate. It only takes a man who is extremely faithful, focused and dedicated to get this manner of relationship with God. It feels very strange to me that a man spoke with God like he discusses with another human. The only difference is that he only saw the back of God and not His face. It all implies that an uncommon dedication and insight into the Persona of God determine the closeness and intimacy with Him. But the overall point here is the avoidance of any distractions from the Egypt mentality.
In simple terms, an Egypt mentality represents the old ways and manner the believer lived before accepting Jesus as their Lord and Saviour. So long as you still dwell on the Egypt mentality, which signifies your past, your relationship with Jesus will be affected. “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold all things have become new” (2 Corinthians 5:17).
The Egypt mentality, as it sounds, relates to some old habits, old friends, old behaviour and other sinful characters that must be left in the past. Many of these Egypt mentalities look and feel right and perfect, but the new life in Christ has an extremely complete package of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit, which orchestrates a close and intimate relationship with Jesus.
