DAD'S RAMBLINGS -- COMFORT ZONE

COMFORT ZONE

"Now there arose a new king over Egypt, who did not know Joseph." (Exodus 1:8)

Joseph and his brothers all died, but the Hebrews continued to multiply through the succeeding generations. As the Scripture records, "The children of Israel were fruitful and increased abundantly, multiplied and grew exceedingly mighty; and the land was filled with them" (Exodus 1:7). Generation after generation came and passed from the scene through the years – 400 years to be precise. God had told Abraham that this was going to happen. "Then God said to Abram, 'Know certainly that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, and will serve them, and they will afflict them four hundred years' " (Genesis 15:13). But God had also promised that they would come out of that nation "with great possessions" (Genesis 15:14).

Thus it happened as God had foretold. Now, after all these years, they were slaves in this foreign land. A pharaoh came to power who did not know the history of how Joseph had saved the nation. This new pharaoh became fearful that the Hebrews would take over the nation when he saw how they had multiplied. So "the Egyptians made the children of Israel serve with rigor. And they made their lives bitter with hard bondage" (Exodus 1:13-14).

Now it seems to me that the Egyptians were not the entire problem. If the generations after Joseph would have returned to Canaan, their promised land, they could have avoided many years of suffering. But they were comfortable where they were in Egypt and ended up in bondage. God knew all of this and had a plan of deliverance. In their pain, the Israelites "groaned because of the bondage, and they cried out to God; and their cry came up to God because of the bondage. So God heard their groaning, and God remembered His covenant with Abraham, and Isaac, and with Jacob. And God looked upon the children of Israel, and God acknowledged them" (Genesis 2:23-25). God ordained that Moses would be born and become their deliverer. It would take another 80 years for the fulfillment of the deliverance, but God was in control. In the meantime, they continued to suffer.

Sometimes we get comfortable living in our "Egypt" – the sin we have allowed to control us --and we don't want to leave our comfort zone. But when we finally get tired of the bondage and we cry out to God, He hears. It may take a some time of waiting, but he does bring deliverance. We can trust Him to bring us out and deliver us from the captivity of our Egypt.

Love, Dad