Traversing the Last Days

A very important item to bring along when surveying large areas is a compass. Now I know we live in a time of Global Positioning Devices, but I’m kind of old school. A good compass is a friend to any hiker, hunter, or surveyor. The basic purpose of a compass is to determine direction, relative to north, and often references other physical landmarks.Back in the book of Exodus we read about the Children of Israel wandering through the wilderness in search of the Promised Land. In fact, this great procession took forty years to travel from Egypt to Israel, a journey that should have taken months. It is obvious that Moses did not have a map and a good compass. The truth is that God used the journey from Egypt to Israel to reveal His faithfulness to the children of Israel, and to help us to understand the future. This procession through the Sinai was, in fact, prophetic, and took place through the same desert that will eventually bring the Children of Israel back into the Promised Land. Moses and Joshua are human types, or prophetic depictions, of a coming Messiah. We can learn so much about what will occur in the last days through the Exodus account.You may re-call that the Exodus story begins in Egypt which I would encourage you to read in the book of Exodus, or at least the first ten chapters or so for now. The descendants of Joseph remained in Egypt; consequently, the Jewish population there was very great. However, as the decades passed and the Jewish population increased, their quality of life decreased. The Jewish people evolved from free citizens to oppressed slaves.The Egyptians came to dread the Jewish people because they were growing as a distinct nation while under their control. The Pharaohs began to inflict upon the Jews increased labor for the simple purpose of controlling, and humiliating them, and slowing their population growth. Simultaneously, the Pharaoh’s ultimate evil plan to slow the growth of the Jewish population was the murdering of Jewish baby boys. Initially, midwives assisted in the murder of these children, but eventually the children were drowned in the Nile River. I’m confident that you know the story of baby Moses, and how his mother courageously placed him in a basket in the Nile to save him from death. It is a wonderful story of how Pharaoh’s daughter discovers Moses in the bulrushes and subsequently raises him in Pharaoh’s house.Let’s stop and recognize the evil that was at work behind the scenes in bringing such horror upon the Jewish people. We see a seething hatred for God’s chosen people that manifested through the Egyptians. A familiar evil is also identifiable in Herod the Great, Hitler, and Mahmoud Abmadinejad, to name only a few examples. The source of this evil influence is none other than Satan himself, who never rests from his plotting to thwart God’s plans and to destroy God’s chosen people. It is this same evil that rose up against Jesus and the early Church in the New Testament and that is increasing in strength in our current world. Let’s also recognize the simple truth that God always has a plan. Even though Satan’s hold upon the Jewish people was incredibly strong, God had a plan to set them free. God planted a thought in the mind of a faithful mother who then placed her son in a basket. This action, released a plan of salvation that the enemy missed. In the same way, the Church needs the same directive in the time that we now live. God’s plan always invites faithful servants to participate.So, after some four hundred years of slavery, bondage, and misery something amazing occurred in Egypt. We read in Exodus: “Then the Lord said to Moses, “Now you will see what I will do to pharaoh: Because of My mighty hand he will let them go; because of my mighty hand he will drive them out of his country.” (Exodus 6: 1)Moses questions God as to why this affliction has been permitted and why no rescue has occurred. And then God says “Now you will see what I will do…” To borrow a phrase from the book of Esther, the tables were about to turn. After centuries of increasing evil and pain, God promises Moses that He will soon intervene. It may seem that we place our hopes in promises that are in the future. However, every promise made by God will be fulfilled in the very moment of His choosing.Just like Jesus stepped into this world at the appointed time, God has an appointed time when He will once again say “Now you will see.”  God goes on to reveal to Moses that He will end the slavery of the Jewish people, set them free, and ultimately redeem them. He will accomplish this with an outstretched arm and mighty acts of judgment. God promises to release His chosen people from Egypt and to deliver them to the Promised Land.The story unfolds with God releasing His plagues upon Egypt: plagues of blood, frogs, gnats, flies, livestock, boils, hail, locust, darkness, and the death of the elder male children in Egyptian households. Read the account and see the plagues inflicted upon the Egyptians, the Egyptian’s livestock, and Egyptian sons. Even the darkness that could be felt by the Egyptians was displaced by “lights” that God placed amongst His people. God’s plagues were released upon the evil regime alone, not the Children of Israel. God was releasing the enemy’s grip while at the same time presenting an opportunity for Egypt to repent.This divine protection is something that we need to keep in mind as we see “the Day” of Judgment approaching. The evil in this world will continue to oppress Israel and other followers of Jesus, but God’s coming plagues will not harm Israel or the Church. God’s coming plagues, laid out in the book of Revelation, will fall upon those who have rejected Jesus and those who will not repent from their evil practices.Can you understand the purpose of God’s plagues in Egypt, and the significance of God’s righteous judgments? Can you see the power of the blood of the lamb in the Passover, the deliverance, and the salvation? If we can see God’s plan unfold through the cooperation of his faithful servants, then we can understand why the Gospel message needs to be shared. The blood of Jesus is the blood that we need on the door posts of our hearts; it will save us from our sins and protect us from coming judgment. God released ten plagues which ultimately lead to the exodus of the Jewish people from Egypt. As a direct result of the plagues, the children of Israel fled through the Red Sea and into the Sinai desert, where they wandered for forty years. These ten plagues were necessary for the release of the Children of Israel, and their arrival into the Promised Land.In essence these thousands upon thousands of travelers were a great procession, similar in many ways to a great parade. Throughout this journey, there was much complaining, doubt, idolatry, and even a desire to return to Egypt. Even the leadership was flawed. Moses lost the right to lead the procession into the Promised Land, which required Joshua to lead the Israelites through the final stages of their journey. Even as we study the Old Testament and read about the history of the Nation of Israel, we have to notice that life there was less than stellar. Yes, God continuously showed faithfulness to His people and His covenant with them, but the Children continually disobeyed God’s commands. The Judges experienced conflicts and struggles. Kings rose up that were good and evil. However, even the good Kings, like David, had some serious low points. And yes, the Kingdom would ultimately divide and then disappear for a time.The point is that all this history, in light of all the great promises of God, can only be a flawed picture of the real and true fulfillment of living in the Promised Land with an eternal righteous King.