“Let my people go.” Had this charge originated in the mind of Moses, it would have been a rather bold one since he was standing before the most powerful man in the entire world! This order, however, came from One far greater, it came from the God of Heaven! When God called for Pharaoh to release the children of Israel from Egyptian bondage, He was calling for a complete separation of His people from the nation of Egypt. Although Pharaoh offered Moses four compromises during the plagues which God sent on the land, there was no compromise to be made. God’s people were to be totally brought out of that land. After ten plagues Pharaoh finally decided to let the people go. God had gotten Israel out of Egypt, He now just had to get Egypt of Israel!

The first indication that Israel still had pieces of Egypt within them is seen shortly after they crossed the Red Sea. They had seen “the salvation of the Lord” (Ex. 14:13) and should have known God would take care of them. As hunger rose within them they began to murmur, remembering “how good” they had it in Egypt. They complained, “Oh that we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the pots of meat and when we ate bread to the full” (Ex. 16:3). They seem to have forgotten the persecution, impractical demands, and hard times they had experienced in Egypt. They did not remember Egypt for what it truly was and thus were not thankful for where God had brought them. True, Israel had been brought out of the land of Egypt, however, there was still a part of Egypt in them.

It is not long after this that we see a part of Egypt in the people of Israel again. When Moses was delayed in coming down from Mount Sinai with their law, the people decided to make a golden calf and sacrifice to it. Exodus 32:4 says, “Then they said, ‘This is your god, o Israel, that brought you out of the land of Egypt.’” It was not that they were trying to create another god, but this was supposed to represent Jehovah! Right after the calf was completed Aaron said, “Tomorrow is a feast to the Lord” (vs. 5). Why did the people create a golden calf? Where had they learned to do such a thing? Stephen, in his sermon, said of this occasion, “Whom our fathers would not obey, but rejected. And in their hearts they turned back to Egypt, saying to Aaron, ‘Make us gods to go before us; as for this Moses who brought us out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.’ And they made a calf in those days...” (Acts 7:38-39). Israel had been completely removed from Egypt, however, Egypt was not completely out of them!

Looking at the attitude of Moses you see a man who had not only left Egypt but had gotten Egypt of out him. The Hebrew writer said of him, “By faith Moses, when he became of age, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin, esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures of in Egypt; for he looked to the reward. By faith he forsook Egypt..” (Heb. 10:24-27). Moses had made a complete separation not only physically but also mentally. He was not drawn back to the ease, wealth, status, or any other thing Egypt seemed to offer man. Egypt was out of Moses’ system!

It could be said that the children of Israel’s exodus from Egypt is symbolic of our exodus from the world of sin and what it has to offer. As Christians we have been brought out of that Egypt; however, do we still have pieces of Egypt in us? God has called us to be a separate people. Paul, quoting Isaiah, writes, “Come out from among them and be separate, says the Lord” (2 Cor. 6:17). There is a constant battle that must be waged in our minds as a result of living in the world but not living as the world. Like the Israelites, we can be guilty of going back in our hearts to the place from which we were brought. This is why Paul writes, “...Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind...” (Rom. 12:2). A Christian may look at the world and what it offers and think back to “how good” it was, forgetting the misery, sin, and death to which it led. One could see activities and a general way of life that others in the world practice and, while knowing it is not right, get drawn into doing the same. Finally, one might try to live a life that is partially serving God and partially serving self or this world; however, no man can truly serve two masters. If we do these things we are going back to Egypt in our hearts!

Instead of walking “the road to Egypt” (Jer. 2:8), let us all see that we are traveling “the highway of holiness” (Is. 35:8-10).