Quail from the LORD
4 The rabble with them began to crave other food, and again the Israelites started wailing and said, "If only we had meat to eat! 5 We remember the fish we ate in Egypt at no cost—also the cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions and garlic. 6 But now we have lost our appetite; we never see anything but this manna!"
I love the little phrase, almost slipped in as a quick little jab, which says, "at no cost.."
The people where complaining that back in Egypt they at fish. It's the "at no cost" part that gets me. There was a HUGE cost to them: they were slaves! Do they really forget that they were not living in Egypt as free men? They may have had all they needed, but nowhere do we see that they had all they wanted. They were owned by Egypt.
I think we tend to want to 'go back to Egypt' from time to time because we forget what it meant to us to be slaves. Slave to sin, slaves to our bellies, slaves to the world. I have given up many things to follow Christ, but not one of them was a benefit to me and I am better off for having given them up. But yes, there are times when I am tempted to go back to them.
Lord, you have delivered me - now keep me.
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Hmmm... I tried to post a comment, but it disappeared. It may show itself later, but oh well. It said something like this:
ReplyDeleteFor those with hearts that truly want to honor God, there's some beauty in this struggle though. So often, when we do try to "go back", we can't because our growth in Christ won't allow it. There's a song that I listen to OFTEN, because it reminds me that if I try to go back to "Egypt", I won't "fit" there anymore.
I'm going to post the lyrics, k? Cool.
I don’t want to leave here
I don’t want to stay
It feels like pinching to me either way
The places I long for the most
Are the places where I’ve been
They are calling after me like a long lost friend
It’s not about losing faith
It’s not about trust
It’s all about comfortable
When you move so much
The place I was wasn’t perfect
But I had found a way to live
It wasn’t milk or honey
But then neither is this
I’ve been painting pictures of Egypt
Leaving out what it lacked
The future seems so hard
And I want to go back
But the places that used to fit me
Cannot hold the things I"ve learned
And those roads closed off to me
While my back was turned
The past is so tangible
I know it by heart
Familiar things are never easy to discard
I was dying for some freedom
But now I hesitate to go
Caught between the promise
And the things I know
If it comes too quick
I may not recognize it
Is that the reason behind all this time and sand?
If it comes too quick
I may not appreciate it
Is that the reason behind all this time and sand?
"Painting Pictures of Egypt" by Sara Groves