OUR EXODUS OUT OF EGYPT  

INTERLUDE This is the APOSTOLIC KINGDOM FATHERING season. We are in a process of restoration and it becomes

necessary to define and redefine our teaching as new revelation comes concerning the purposes of God and his kingdom

We as a church have not been known for embracing change and revelation readily.

Apostles are the primary custodians of revelation regarding the purposes of God, however we have been taught primarily by theologians who have done well to base us in the LOGOS.

However, they could not give us the right interpretation or revelation of what the Holy Spirit was saying through the words, we thus have areas of doctrine that need to be radically changed

The reality is that our revelation of the purposes of God continue to affect our understanding and interpretation of Scripture

LET US INVESTIGATE AGAIN When the Scriptures speak concerning the

church, to what is He referring? Are the popular concepts able to stand in the

face of present truth? Why did David need to build and construct a

tabernacle that was so different from Moses’ tabernacle?

What is the Holy Spirit saying to us through the revelation of David’s tabernacle, since the Lord said that this was what he always desired and it is this that he will restore?

What is it about David’s tabernacle that is integral to the establishing of the kingdom of God?

WHAT WE WILL ESTABLISH HERE?

The pattern of God in clearly this, that he chooses or creates a man in his image and likeness and gives that man authority and responsibility to transform the earth by subduing it

He gives that man a seed or a family that is brought into a special relationship with God by virtue of being a part of the family of the man that God has chosen

They then are a unique and holy people unto God through whom all of his purposes are fulfilled. He calls them THE CHURCH, His CALLED-OUT ONES

ABRAHAM’S SEED The earth had gone through a series of changes and

God had given to several generations the opportunity to become the instruments of his kingdom in the earth. Adam had failed and so had Noah and his sons.

God started something new with Abraham, calling him out of his familiar territory and separating him even from his beloved relatives to bring him into a relationship with the Sovereign One

In Isaac God gave him a seed after the flesh, but a type of the seed after the spirit, the Corporate Christ (Gal.4)

God made him a father and gave him a family, revealing the basic foundational components and instruments of the kingdom of God

But God showed him that his children would be in Egyptian bondage for over 400 years but would be brought out by the mighty hand of God

MOSES THE DELIVERER God raised up Moses as a deliverer in Egypt who

would be used to bring Abraham’s children out of bondage and into the land of Promise

After a series of judgments upon Egypt, God brought Israel out with a mighty hand and they became the “church in the wilderness”.

They were a people who needed to be delivered from their strongholds through the Word, the rain that would change the character of the wilderness and cause it to bloom because they had gone through it (Acts 7:38; Isaiah 35:1-10)

God met with them at Mt. Sinai and revealed to them that they were a special people chosen by him to be the instruments of his purpose towards the world, if they would follow his instructions and walk in his covenant (Ex.19:4-6)

INTRODUCTION:

When the Lord sent Moses before Pharoah He referred to the nation Israel as "my son, even my FIRSTBORN," Ex.. 4: 22.

The Lord says in Hosea 11:1, "Out of Egypt I called my son."

In context, God is referring to Israel, and prophetically, He is referring to His Son Jesus Christ (Mt 2:15).

There is, however, an intriguing personal application of this scripture:  every son of God, sooner or later, will receive a divine call to leave their own, personal Egypt.

WHAT DOES EGYPT REPRESENT TODAY? 

Egypt can represent many things. Most notably though, it represents spiritual

bondage and mediocrity, of any type, in any area of your life.

Even faithful, praying, Bible-reading, church-going, Spirit-filled, heaven-bound Christians can find themselves trapped in various forms of Egypt.

Being born-again does not instantaneously remove all of our bondages and bandages.

Rather, it schedules an unavoidable, appointed time when the Father will call us out of them.

EXODUS VERSUS EXCUSES 

This call comes in various ways: through illumination in Bible study, a persistent inner conviction or "burden", a conversation with another believer, a Spirit-led sermon, and so on.

Regardless of how it comes, to every son it will come. However, when the exodus call came to ancient

Israel, they were opposed by ten spiritual forces. These forces beckoned them with equal persuasion

to remain in Egypt. These forces were ten of Egypt's gods (or more

appropriately, demon-gods). These ten gods embodied ten beliefs, which you will

see, are actually ten crippling excuses that keep people in Egypt to this very day.  

AN EXODUS OUT OF EXCUSES 

Excuses are beliefs, and beliefs are gods! Paul said this in 2 Corinthians 10:5(NIV): We

demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God...  

The Amplified Bible says, "we refute arguments and theories and reasoning's".  

Paul's words are polarizing. Every belief, argument, theory, opinion, rationale and excuse we possess contrary to divine truth is a little god we are bowing to and being controlled by.

TEN GOD-EXCUSES, TEN PLAGUES 

Every person has or had one or more of the following ten god-excuses.

They are well-summarized in the Egyptian deca-godhead.

Thankfully, the Lord showed us how to demolish them through His ten judgment plagues on those gods.

Be keen here saints...the ten plagues are not just a sensational account of Yahweh's supremacy.  

It is a practical illustration of how He accomplishes our exodus out of our Egypt by demolishing, with us, our enslaving god-excuses.

Let's prepare our hearts for the meat of this teaching, we been in our Egypt long enough.

Peter said God will judge His family now, meaning, He will deal with our unChristlike elements through and through until we are blameless and complete.

For the time [has arrived] for judgment to begin with the household of God; and if it begins with us, what will [be] the end of those who do not respect or believe or obey the good news (the Gospel) of God? 1 Peter 4:17 (AMP)

And may the God of peace Himself sanctify you through and through [separate you from profane things, make you pure and wholly consecrated to God]; and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved sound and complete [and found] blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ (the Messiah). Faithful is He Who is calling you [to Himself] and utterly trustworthy, and He will also do it. 1 Thess 5:23-24 (AMP)

[Inasmuch as we] refute arguments and theories and reasoning's and every proud and lofty thing that sets itself up against the [true] knowledge of God; and we lead every thought and purpose away captive into the obedience of Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One), Being in readiness to punish every [insubordinate for his] disobedience, when your own submission and obedience [as a church] are fully secured and complete. 2 Cor 10:5-6 (AMP)

I don't like these scriptures or their tough wording. But the great news is, if we cooperate with the Father's loving judgment of our god-excuses, we are delivered from our Egypt and granted the abundant life dripping with milk and honey.

There is a rest in God in Christ that every believer can enter if you so choose.

EGYPTIAN GOD #1:  HAPI, GOD OF THE NILE RIVER; WATER-BEARER  

EGYPTIAN BELIEF

Supreme Egyptian belief vowed Egypt could not live without the Nile River and the favour of its god, Hapi.

It was the channel from life to death and the afterlife.

Naturally speaking, it was a perpetual source of sustenance.

They depended on it to grow crops, attract wildlife, for transportation, and to secure trade with other nations.

OUR NILE, OUR GOD-EXCUSE:  o I cannot live without my Nile River.  Every human being has a "Nile River"--a person, thing,

behaviour, or activity they depend on supremely, above the Lord, as their ultimate lifeline.  

Their #1 dependency. Their strongest affection. It is that "biggie" in a Christian's life always competing

with God's will and God's best. A person's Nile usually traces back to childhood

precedents and imprints. We drag our feet to exodus primarily because we

believe we have no real life without that Nile. We become like the ancient Egyptians, worshiping and

submitting to Hapi. To provoke us to exodus then, Yahweh must plague our

Nile and judge Hapi

YAHWEH'S FIRST PLAGUE: TURNING THE NILE'S WATER TO BLOOD

(Exodus 7:14-24) Through Aaron's staff, the Lord strikes the Nile and turns its water into blood.

The fish die, a rancid stench covers the land, and the water becomes undrinkable. What once brought life was now bringing death and disgust.     

Our Nile, our god-excuse. The excuse that we "cannot live" without our Nile is a high thing, a mental god we have exalted against God's reality.

It was pre-sentenced to a demolition before it ever came into being.

SO WHAT DOES GOD DO?

He contaminates our Nile. What once took care of us now causes problems. What once made us high now takes us lower than

we've ever been. What once were enjoyable now stresses and

distresses. What once brought life now brings death and

disgust. What on earth is happening? Brace yourself...God is plaguing your Nile, judging

your Hapi, demolishing your deified excuse. Remember, Paul and Peter promised He would

(1Co 10:20-22, 1Pet 4:17).

PRACTICAL RESPONSE     

The Lord said He alone would be our river of life, our supreme lifeline, our perpetual sustenance.

This does not mean He never uses practical, earthly vehicles to care for us, because He does.

It simply means our conscious dependency (thoughts, emotions, and words) is on Him as our river of life. It means He is our obsession.

When the Lord plagues your Nile, understand it is a sign that your exodus has begun in this particular area.

Resist trying to de-blood your waters, and run to the Living Waters instead through honest prayer and contrition.

The sooner you stop running to that Nile and start running to the Living Water, the sooner your soul will exodus from that dependency.

Jeremiah 2:13 (NKJV):...They have forsaken Me, the fountain of living waters... 

John 7:37,38: If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink....out of his heart will flow rivers of living water. 

EGYPTIAN GOD #2:  HEKET, GODDESS OF FERTILITY; FROG-GODDESS  

EGYPTIAN BELIEF

The Egyptians pedestaled the frog as an icon of fertility and new life. And appropriately so, for after the Nile's annual flooding millions of new frogs spotted the land, giving Egypt an image of the amazing power of fertility.

Heket (Heqt) was their goddess of fertility, usually depicted with the head of a frog.

Frogs, however, have a bizarre dual identity. They are amphibians, derived from the Greek word

amphibia meaning "two lives or two modes of existence".  

They spend their larval stage as a plant-eating aquatic tadpole, and their adult stage as a terrestrial carnivore--two very different identities and anatomies.

This has cutting spiritual meaning.

OUR FROG, OUR AMPHIBIOUS GOD-EXCUSE

I cannot decide if I am Egyptian or Hebrew. Am I a child of bondage or a child of God? I am double-minded." 

Every Christian must face the frog nature within themselves when the exodus season comes.

We've been in Egypt so long...our parents and grandparents are still in Egypt...our present belongings and relationships are very Egyptian...am I Egyptian?...no, I'm a child of God...then why do I want to stay so bad?

Such perpetual double-mindedness becomes our god-excuse for staying, or worse, leaving and craving to return and antagonizing the deliverers God has sent. 

YAHWEH'S SECOND PLAGUE:

(Exodus 8:1-15) Through Aaron's staff, the Lord causes an overwhelming invasion of frogs all over Egypt.

Frogs were everywhere--in people's clothes, beds, cookware--everywhere.

Even a basic conversation was impossible, drowned out by the cacophony of a billion frogs croaking everywhere.

The almighty frog Egypt once admired for its fertility was now a repulsive mini-monster debilitating even the most basic routines.      

WHAT IS OUR FROG EXCUSE? Our frog, our god-excuse is our ongoing wishy-washiness

concerning God's exodus command is a high thing, a mental god we have exalted against His reality.

We are bowing to Heket, that detestable frog-goddess, and in doing so, we become quite frog-like ourselves--having two modes of existence.

We become double-minded as to whether we should stay in dependent tadpole waters, or, exodus out onto a good land where there is sure footing and rest from restless swimming. 

So what does God do? He gives us our fill of our own indecision. He lets us

experience, in overwhelming measures, the consequences of being wishy-washy about His will.

Is it really a frog we want to be like? Then frogs He will give us.

PRACTICAL RESPONSE     

That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does...purify your hearts, you double-minded. Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up. James 1:7,8, 4:8-10,  (NIV):

Don't be an amphibian. Have only one mode of existence: determined to follow Yahweh out of Egypt.

God's grace does not negate the need for your co-operation.

Wanna be a tadpole forever, swimming restlessly in unstable waters, always dependent on something bigger to take care of you...or not squash you?

Christian tadpoles, grow some legs and grow up! 

EGYPTIAN GOD #3:  GEB, GOD OF THE DUST OF THE EARTH    

EGYPTIAN BELIEF

Geb was the Egyptian god of the earth, especially dust and soil.

It was believed the earth formed his body; a noteworthy parallel to Yahweh's creation of Adam.

Geb's name derives from the original Egyptian word gebeb, meaning "weak one, lame one"; another important parallel to the biblical testimony that man is inherently weak.

Geb is usually depicted as a reclining man, though sometimes he is seen wearing the headdress of a goose.

OUR GEB, OUR GOD-EXCUSE:  

I am too weak.  Remember, Geb's name means "weak one". The Egyptians simply deified their own sense

of human frailty.   Now, before we snub the ancient pagans,

realize we, too, bow to our own mental Geb when we use "human weakness" as our excuse for bondage and mediocrity.

Are you weak? Yes, me too. But Yahweh's reality says much more. 

YAHWEH'S THIRD PLAGUE

(Exodus 8:16-19) In this plague directed at Geb, the Lord turns all the dust of the earth in Egypt to lice, and worse, causes them to swarm all people and animals.

Geb, the admired "king of the weak ones", was now being exposed as the weakling demon-god that he was.

He could not even answer Pharaoh's magicians beckoning him to either produce or remove the bugs.  

Not only this, but human weakness came into true focus, as the people were overpowered by trillions of miniscule bugs.

Our Geb, our god-excuse to incite us to exodus, the Lord must demolish our weakling self-image and excuse repertoire.

He will use people and things that are obviously weaker than us to defeat, overcome, and at times, embarrass us.

When we have had our fill of unnecessary defeat by fleas we should be whipping, we look earnestly to the Mighty One to find a new identity of strength.     

Moses struggled with weaklingness (Ex 3:11, 4:10,13), as did ten of the twelve spies (Num 13:31-33), Gideon (Jud 6:15), and Saul (1Sam 9:21, 10:22).

Moses and Gideon became powerful in Yahweh, the strong One, whereas the ten spies and Saul remained weak through their mental Geb, the ultimate weak one.

PRACTICAL RESPONSE     

Superseding human weakness through Yahweh is primarily a function of fasting and faith-risks.

Isaiah 58:6,11 says fasting (with prayer and worship, obviously) will do just about anything and will "strengthen our frame".

6 Is not this the fast that I have chosen: to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the bands of the yoke, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke? Isaiah 58:6 (ASV)

11 and Jehovah will guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in dry places, and make strong thy bones; and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not. Isaiah 58:11 (ASV)

Faith-risks are acts of obedience that defy our fear and weakness.

Gideon found a new identity of strength in the Lord by destroying Baal's altar and Asherah's pole, a very risky act of obedience indeed (Jud 6:25-32).  

Then he was made mighty to face the Midianites. 

EGYPTIAN GOD #4:  KHEPRI, GOD OF REBIRTH AND RENEWAL     

 EGYPTIAN BELIEF

Khepri was Egypt's god of rebirth and renewal. His name Khepri is associated with the Egyptian

word kheper, meaning "dung beetle, scarab beetle".

This beetle lays its eggs in dead animal matter, especially dung, from which new beetles emerge after being born.

The Egyptians, then, not understanding the science of egg-laying, mysticized the event and purported that scarab beetles were created and recreated miraculously from dung.  

Thus, "Khepri" was concocted, and became the deification of rebirth and renewal. Sounds funny and silly...at first.

OUR KHEPRI, OUR GOD-EXCUSE My beginnings are death and dung. How many of us have significant childhood pain? How many of us spent our early years in dung? How many of us use the past as an excuse for our present and

future? Just like scarab beetles, though, somehow we have managed to

emerge from the dung and create a decent life above the poop. The beetles never permanently leave the dung though.

Many Christians live like this. They function above and around the poop of their beginnings, but never completely and permanently leaving it.

Eventually, they create the next generation in that exact same poop.

God did not assign His people "a decent life", above and around past poop.

He has prepared for us the abundant life (Jn 10:10), the life that is good, pleasing, and perfect (Ro 12:2), an inheritance that is delightful, with boundary lines in pleasant places (Ps 16:6). 

YAHWEH'S FOURTH PLAGUE:  

(Exodus 8:20-32) This plague is a bit unclear because the original Hebrew text only says swarms. It does not specify. Therefore, it is assumed by many Bible translators that Moses was referring to swarms of flies, blood-sucking gadflies, dogflies, mosquito's, stinging gnats, or any and all other types of aggressive insects.      

Our Khepri, our god-excuse. So also we, if we submit to our disappointing past

as an excuse, can expect Yahweh to plague that excuse!

He will let the full force of our past surface, surround us, and overwhelm us until we realize we must resolve it and leave it forever. 

PRACTICAL RESPONSE     

We are not dung beetles. We are human beings, the glory of creation bearing the glorious image of a magnificent Creator!

We must repent and renounce our excuse that we cannot thrive in life simply because we began in dung.

We must repent of the decent life, the mediocre life, the good-enough life.

Pray and say the scriptures out loud that assure the abundant life.

God will send small and big opportunities to create a new, poop-free present and future. When He does, take them! 

EGYPTIAN GOD #5: HATHOR, COW-GODDESS OF FEMININITY

EGYPTIAN BELIEF The Egyptians certainly had a sensational way of worshiping the

genders. Knowing these historical details is necessary to understanding

Yahweh's fifth plague, and our own exodus.     Hathor was the super popular cow-goddess of all things feminine. She is called by many nicknames: "Mistress Of Heaven", "Celestial

Nurse", "Mother Of Mothers", and "Mistress Of Life" are only a few. Anything pertaining to women, from problems with conception to

matters of beauty to matters of the heart, was Hathor's prerogative.

She was adored as the deity of love, romance, joy, passion, perfume, dancing, music, alcohol, childbearing, and on and on the list goes, earning her the nickname, "The Great One With Many Names." Like most women, she was quite the multi-tasker. 

Hathor developed from prehistoric cow cults, thus, she is depicted as a cow with beautifully painted eyes, a woman with a cow's head, or a woman with a cow's headdress.

AND APIS, BULL-GOD OF MASCULINITY

EGYPTIAN BELIEF Apis was the bull-god who embodied powerful masculinity,

specifically, strength, virility, libido, and fighting spirit. The Pharaohs (who were males) were closely tied to the "Apis

bull", a literal bull believed to be inhabited by the divine spirit of Apis.

This bull was housed in a temple and cared for lavishly by Pharaoh's priests.

At the end of the bull's term, it was slaughtered and its flesh eaten by the Pharaoh. He would then inherit the great power of Apis.     

Hathor was the symbolic mother of Pharaoh ("the son of Hathor").

Thus, in this relationship we see the cow and the bull come together as the most preeminent and sacred of all animals in Egypt.    

Finally, it is important to note that Aaron's calf-idol was a model of the Apis bull (Ex 32:1-6), as were the golden calves Jeroboam set up at Bethel and Dan (1Ki 12:26-30).      

OUR APIS AND HATHOR, OUR GOD-EXCUSE:

(Men) "I am Strong." (Women) "I am Emotional."  We may not own a bull or pray to a cow-headed lady,

but as Christians we can also deify our gender? How many Christian men do not walk closely with

Jesus because they resist being humble, weak, and broken before Him?

Their god-excuse, or Apis, is, I am strong, I cannot be weak, I am a man, strong like a bull (macho).  

How many Christian females do not enjoy the fullness of Christ because their "emotions" and "heart" and "moods“ not the Word determine reality for them?

Like every which way Hathor, they are all over the place emotionally.  

YAHWEH'S FIFTH PLAGUE: CATTLE DISEASED AND KILLED

(Exodus 9:1-7)  In this plague, Yahweh attacks Egypt's cattle and other domesticated animals.

Like a shotgun, it sprayed multiple pellets of judgment in different directions. It marks a notable increase in Yahweh's irritability towards Pharaoh.

First, the plague was a personal attack on Pharaoh, since all the livestock died, including his sacred Apis bull (v6).

Second, it was an attack on Egypt's arrogant masculinity in general, for every single bull of every man perished.

Third, it was an attack on Hathor, for every cow perished.  

Fourth, it was an attack on Egypt's deified femininity in general, for every cow representing every Egyptian female perished.

Fifth, it was attack on Egypt's culture, since Hathor was celebrated as the joy of Egypt, the most popular deity, and Apis, the religious figure tied to their king.

Sixth, it was an attack on the Egyptian economy. The mass destruction of livestock created economic misery, delivering awesome blows to the food supply, transportation, military equipment, farming, and all economic goods livestock-related. 

Our Apis & Hathor, our god-excuse, the Lord will plague our beloved bulls and cows too.

Our genders can no longer be a high excuse for bondage and mediocrity.

Yahweh will bring down exalted gender perceptions in our minds.  

PRACTICAL RESPONSE FOR MEN

Men and women have unique gender struggles, and therefore, a tendency to use those gender issues as an excuse. God will surely address this when it is exodus time.

Men...There is only one type of strength God recognizes--strength that is from Him, through Him, and to Him.

Paul gave Timothy advice especially relevant to Christian males. 2 Timothy 2:1 should be cherished by every man in Christ “You then, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus”.  

Any strength we possess or attain outside of the grace of Jesus becomes an Apis bull Yahweh will eventually plague.

Seek His strength daily and in every circumstance through submissive prayer, time in Bible study, and resistance-free obedience.

PRACTICAL RESPONSE FOR WOMEN Women...God's commands in Scripture do not have a

clause saying, "...except during mood swings, PMS, or emotional extremes".

God expects growth, obedience, an exodus in spite of these things. Don't be all over the place like Hathor.

Learn to use the Word and the Spirit in prayer to balance your emotional life.

Acknowledge your emotions honestly, but seek higher ground in Scripture and wisdom to determine your reality and responses.

Romans 8:6: The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace.  

Proverbs 3:17: [Wisdom] Her ways are pleasant ways, and all her paths are peace.  

EGYPTIAN GOD #6: IMHOTEP, GOD OF MEDICINE; PHARAOH'S MAGICIANS 

EGYPTIAN BELIEF Imhotep was a talented Egyptian man who lived in Egypt's

Third Dynasty under King Zoser (ca.2635-2570 BC). He served in many ways: chancellor to the pharaoh, high

priest of the sun-god Ra, architect, scribe, physician. His dominant contribution was in medicine, and also the

target of Yahweh's sixth plague.   Imhotep is considered to be the first physician in early history,

the real father of medicine. Some two millennia after his death, he was deified to the status of a god, becoming the Egyptian god of medicine and healing.

His popularity was widespread, engendering a thriving cult even in Greece where he was equated with Asclepius, also a deified man and god of medicine and healing.

Related to Imhotep were Pharaoh's magicians, a group of shamans who blended mysticism and medicine to treat physical maladies.

These magicians, with Imhotep and other medical gods, comprised Egypt's health care system.  

OUR IMHOTEP, OUR GOD-EXCUSE: "I am Physically Weak and Infirm." Many saints remain in bondage and mediocrity

because of physical weaknesses or maladies. Even though our inner life is first a spirit and soul

operation, our physical bodies play a major part in hindering or helping us.

In fact, Christians can use their physical issues to excuse themselves from aspects of God's will.

When we bow to our physical condition over God's will, we bow to Imhotep, Egypt's master of the human body.

Whatever God's will might be for our life, His grace is sufficient to invigorate our spirit, soul, and body to succeed and abound.  

Paul knew this from first-hand experience (2Co 12:7-10).

He said God is sanctifying our body in addition to our spirit and soul (1Th 5:23).

9 And he hath said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my power is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my weaknesses, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 10 Wherefore I take pleasure in weaknesses, in injuries, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong. 2 Cor 12:9-10 (ASV)

YAHWEH'S SIXTH PLAGUE: SKIN BOILS (Exodus 9:8-12) Yahweh commands Moses and Aaron

to grab handfuls of soot from a furnace and toss it in the air before Pharaoh.

The airborne soot miraculously transforms into dust and expands to become a dust cloud covering the land of Egypt. As the dust settles on the people and animals, nasty and painful boils break out on their skin.

Egyptian medico-religious practice called for the sacrificing of live humans to medical gods, burning them on an altar and tossing their ashes into the air.

They believed that for every scattered ash a blessing would fall upon the people.  

God shows remarkable sarcasm here, taunting Egypt! He commands Moses to also toss ashes into the air,

except the ashes descend with painful boils, not blessings. 

 In a troubling verse of Scripture in Deuteronomy 28, God threatens to plague His people with the exact same boils for idolatry and perpetual disobedience.  

Deuteronomy 28:35: The LORD will afflict your knees and legs with painful boils that cannot be cured, spreading from the soles of your feet to the top of your head.

A few verses earlier, He says the same thing, even referring specifically to the boils He sent upon Egypt (v27): The LORD will afflict you with the boils of Egypt and with tumors, festering sores and the itch, from which you cannot be cured.

WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR US TODAY?

Paul explains in two New Testament scriptures. Romans 11:22(NKJV): Therefore consider the

goodness and severity of God...   1 Corinthians 10:11(NIV): These things

happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us...                

We may or may not incur skin boils for deifying our excuse, but one thing is certain, Hebrews 12:6(AMP) says, "the Lord corrects and disciplines everyone whom He loves, and He punishes, even scourges, every son whom He accepts and welcomes to His heart and cherishes."

PRACTICAL RESPONSE We can optimize our bodies for God's will through healthy

lifestyle habits. The majority of physical maladies Christians suffer come from

eating too much, exercising too little, sleeping poorly, and being overstressed.  

Why do we keep our churches squeaky clean but trash the true temple of God, our own bodies (1Co 6:19,20)? 

1Corinthians 3:17(NKJV): If anyone defiles the temple of God, God will destroy him. For the temple of God is holy, which temple you are.

Divine health was always God's priority over divine healing. If physical issues hinder you, and those issues have arisen from unhealthy habits, today is the day to repent and start cultivating health.

Exodus 15:26: "If you listen carefully to the LORD your God and do what is right in his eyes, if you pay attention to his commands and keep all his decrees, I will not bring on you any of the diseases I brought on the Egyptians, for I am the LORD, who heals you."

EGYPTIAN GOD #7: NUT, GODDESS OF THE SKY AND QUEEN OF HEAVEN  

EGYPTIAN BELIEF  Nut was the Egyptian deity of the sky and all heavenly

bodies. She is often depicted to be reaching across the sky from one end to another, her hands toward one horizon and her feet towards the other.

In a similar depiction, she is presented as a woman arched over the earth-god Geb, highlighting her divine protection over the earth.

When harsh weather struck, it was Nut the Egyptians looked to. At times called "She Who Protects", Nut also enveloped and protected Ra, the sun/sun-god.  

She was quite exalted as a divine mother-figure, for she is nicknamed "The Mistress Of All" or "She Who Bore The Gods". Her most relevant title, however, was "Queen of Heaven".   

OUR NUT, OUR GOD-EXCUSE: "I NEED MY QUEEN OF HEAVEN."

This is interesting. The "Queen of Heaven" concept goes far beyond ancient Egypt. Humanity in general loves the idea of a supreme female goddess, a Supermom, a Superwoman.

The Canaanites had a Queen of Heaven named Ashtoreth or Astarte. Israel passionately joined in worshiping her (Jer 44:15-19).

The Sumerians had Inanna. Akkad had Ishtar. The Greco-Romans had Hera.   There is something deeply emotional and

personal to this Queen of Heaven thing.

Some people don't create and worship so-called goddesses, they simply set up a domineering female to be their god-like queen and Superwoman.

Ahab, 850 false prophets, and all the officials of Israel pedestaled Jezebel in this way (1Ki 18:19, 21:11-14,25).

The church at Thyatira did the same (Rev 2:20-23). Weak and fearful people (especially men) have a

marked tendency to let a domineering woman become their Superwoman, their Queen of Heaven, their Nut.

Some Christians cannot exodus because they are tied up to a domineering woman.

For some, this woman is their mother. For some, it is their spouse or romantic partner. For some, it is their spiritual leader or mentor. Whoever it is, that woman has an unhealthy and

ungodly control over us, blocking our exodus to a much better life. But we allow it. She is our excuse.

YAHWEH'S SEVENTH PLAGUE: HAILSTORM  (Exodus 9:13-35) So Yahweh makes Nut, the goddess of the sky and

Queen of Heaven, the bull's-eye for his next plague--a horrendous hailstorm. He even taunts the demon and the Egyptians, giving them a twenty-four hour advance notice.

To the Egyptians who feared the word and sheltered their livestock and servants, the notice became a forewarning of mercy.

To those who did not, it was a taunt indeed, for God gave them a full day to bring all their magic tricks and prayers before Nut to stop the plague.

Nut was helpless, paralyzed to avert or protect. The hailstorm crushed Egypt.

Our Nut, our god-excuse. We should not be surprised, then, when hailstorms rain down on our co-dependent relationship with our Queen of Heaven.

God may leave this relationship untouched for many seasons, but when the exodus season comes, so will the hailstorms. 

God may or may not terminate the relationship forever, but He will most certainly use His hailstorms to obliterate the ungodly bond and dethrone the pedestaled woman.               

PRACTICAL RESPONSE  Recognizing and confessing the ungodly relational

dynamic truly is half the battle. The other half is taking decisive steps with the help of Holy Spirit to reconfigure the relationship or terminate it completely.

I would suggest two steps to start. First, set boundaries that create a healthy distance

around your heart, belongings, decisions, and life. Jerusalem had walls, gates, and watchtowers to protect

itself and its independence (Ps 48:12,13). You must too. You must recover the You that you lost in your Queen and present it only to the Lord.

Second, cooperate with Yahweh's hailstorm plagues. Don't try to repair what God is reconfiguring or terminating. Go with His flow and let Him reconfigure the relationship or accept His termination of it.  

Ecclesiastes 7:13: Consider what God has done: Who can straighten what he has made crooked?

EGYPTIAN GODS #8: ERNUTET, GODDESS OF THE FIELDS AND HARVESTS & NEPER, GOD OF GRAIN

EGYPTIAN BELIEF

Ernutet (alt. Termuthis, Renenet) was Egypt's goddess of the fields and harvests.

She is therefore nicknamed "Lady Of Fertile Fields" and "Lady Of Granaries". 

The Egyptians sought her favor earnestly during harvest time, presenting many offerings and festivals in her honor.

It was believed her gaze alone could result in great abundance to crops.

Here is a portion of the Hymn of Ernutet,” I will make the Nile swell for you, without there being a year of lack and exhaustion in the whole land, so the plants will flourish, bending under their fruit..”.

Neper was Egypt's god of grain. His name means "lord of the mouth", referring to grain being eaten as sustenance.

His body was spotted to represent grains of corn, and his name written in the hieroglyphs also included the symbols of grain.

OUR ERNUTET AND NEPER, OUR GOD-EXCUSE: "I cannot control my eating."  Ernutet and Neper were food deities. The Egyptians

believed their food supply and diet were ultimately out of their control, subject to the favor or disfavor of their gods.

Similarly, many Christians also feel their eating is out of their control. We may not ascribe our eating habits to mythological beings, but we certainly believe food or "food-demons" have the power over us.

Why do we wage war on the homosexual agenda but accept a truce with obesity and other destructive eating patterns?

Consequently, food and diet block our exodus and entrance to the promised land.

Out of control eating will always keep us in bondage and mediocrity.

When we as Christians suffer the consequences of out of control eating, many of us simply go to a doctor or a prayer line.

We are less spirited though, about acknowledging the plague upon our food supply and diet.

Just as God chastened Egypt's eating, Deuteronomy 28 says He will do the same to His people who perpetually disobey Him.

In this context, the disobedience would be to principles of eating healthily, moderately, and with self-control (a fruit of the Spirit).

Deuteronomy 28:38,42: You will sow much seed in the field but you will harvest little, because locusts will devour it...Swarms of locusts will take over all your trees and the crops of your land.

When the call to exodus comes, if out of control eating hinders our responsiveness, consequences will plague our diet, body, and life.

When is the last time you fasted of your own volition?

YAHWEH'S EIGHTH PLAGUE: MASS LOCUST INVASION ANNIHILATING THE FOOD SUPPLY (EXODUS 10:1-20)

Yahweh comes after Ernutet and Neper in His eighth plague.

Again He taunts Egypt and their demon-gods, giving them advance notice of an overwhelming locust invasion that will obliterate their food supply.

The people and their precious gods were helpless, forced only to watch as imminent starvation hit the nation within days.

PRACTICAL RESPONSE

Unhealthy eating can range from mild to severe to anything in-between, and can take multiple forms.

The truest first step, however, is repenting such eating as sin, and that without the direct help of Holy Spirit and friends, you are powerless against it.

Eat with your mind instead with your mouth. The Bible says, “If you find honey, eat just

enough–too much of it, and you will vomit” (Proverbs 25:16).

http://powertochange.com/experience/spiritual-growth/overeating/

http://oa12step4coes.org/loops/christian.html 

EGYPTIAN GOD #9: RA, GOD OF THE SUN, CREATOR, & SUPREME DEITY

EGYPTIAN BELIEF The Egyptians worshiped Ra as their sun-god, creator,

and supreme deity over all others. As the sun-god, Ra was purported to travel on two boats. The morning boat was called Mandjet ("Boat of Millions

of Years"), and the evening boat Mesektet ("Night Boat"). Mandjet ferried him on his journey through the sky,

resulting in daytime, and Mesektet on his journey through the underworld, resulting in nighttime.

Ra was a very social god. This is important to know. On his day journey he was accompanied by a gang of

numerous gods. On his nighttime journey he was accompanied and

assisted by various spirits and demons of the underworld.     

OUR RA, OUR GOD-EXCUSE:

"I cannot leave my friends. I cannot go alone."  Ra could not be or do anything alone. He was

constantly accompanied and surrounded. Similarly, many Christians cannot and will not move

out towards their promised land alone. Their friends and social attachments are their

excuse. If the crew wants to go to Canaan, they will go too. If they want to stay in Egypt, they will stay too. They have not developed their individuality. Their

identity is lost in the group. So Yahweh must plague their god-excuse in a

fascinating way.

YAHWEH'S NINTH PLAGUE: PERFECT DARKNESS (EXODUS 10:21-29)

Yahweh's ninth plague of perfect darkness humiliates Ra, assaulting his two foremost attributes: light (he was powerless to alleviate the darkness) and sociality.

The darkness remained for three days and was so utter it could be felt physically.

The key phrase in this scripture is in Exodus 10:23: No one could see anyone else...  The darkness was so utter the people could not even see one another!

For three days, God totally stopped the social interactions of a people who worshiped a social god.

Ra could do nothing about it. He was powerless to protect and maintain the social lives of his people.

OUR RA, OUR GOD-EXCUSE

My experience with CMI (Jerusalem) Underlying this brotherhood though, was a silent

attitude that said, I'll go if my brothers go, I'll exodus as long as they do too.

Up until those exodus calls God had ordained and blessed our little group.

The problem was, our calls pointed in different directions.

The very thing that brought us together, covenant theology was now standing in the way of our exodus.

We were elevating relationships above the call and direction of the Lord.  

We dragged our feet. And the more we did, the more a plague of darkness manifested in our group.

Just like the plague on Egypt, eventually we could no longer "see" one another--we could only see ourselves.

The entire apostolic team situated on three different continents and comprising about 300 apostles and prophets came to a dismal end.

I made my exodus in the way the Lord was leading me, and from what I heard, the rest of the guys eventually did too.

If social attachments are the excuse for staying where we are, and we have heard God's exodus call, expect a plague of darkness.

David experienced this plague, and described it with the exact same terminology in Psalm 88:18: You have taken from me friend and neighbor--darkness is my closest friend.             

PRACTICAL RESPONSE No matter who goes or stays, we must go. This comes down to how much we trust the Lord to provide

a new social life, or eventually revive the former one. He will bless us with friends (Ps 84:11, Lk 16:9), but do we

love Him more than friends? Will your friends be your god, your Ra?  Fix this trust issue in prayer, and you will be free to exodus

alone or accompanied. 11 For the Lord God is a Sun and Shield; the Lord bestows

[present] grace and favor and [future] glory (honor, splendor, and heavenly bliss)! No good thing will He withhold from those who walk uprightly.

12 O Lord of hosts, blessed (happy, fortunate, to be envied) is the man who trusts in You [leaning and believing on You, committing all and confidently looking to You, and that without fear or misgiving]! Psalms 84:11-12 (AMP)

EGYPTIAN GOD #10: PHARAOH'S FIRSTBORN SON, AN INCARNATED GOD

EGYPTIAN BELIEF

Pharaoh was believed to be an incarnated god, ruling over Egypt in human form.

His firstborn son, as heir to the throne, was therefore also seen as an incarnated god.

He was Egypt's future.

OUR FIRSTBORN SON, OUR GOD-EXCUSE: "I want to secure my own future." Just as Pharaoh's firstborn son embodied the nation's

future, so also we can have a "firstborn son" for our personal future.

What does this mean? Our firstborn son is anything we have created and are

nurturing to secure our future, a relationship, a business, a ministry, a child who is athletically talented, anything.

What makes our firstborn son a god though, is our deepest intention.

Are we trying to secure our own future apart from God? Are we emotionally affected by this thing more than

God? What is your deepest intention for this firstborn?    

DON’T BE OBSESSIVELY PROACTIVE! The future is important to all of us, and to God. To some, it is all too important. Consequently, they become obsessively-

proactive in developing a "firstborn son", something with potential to secure them for life.

Many Christians will not leave misery or mediocrity because they cannot step down as boss over their future.

Their excuse is, I want to secure my own future.

The majority of church-goers will not verbalize this phrase, but their heart screams it out every time God initiates a deliverance.    

YAHWEH'S TENTH PLAGUE: DEATH OF THE FIRSTBORN (EXODUS 11, 12:1-30)

Finally, Yahweh maxes out his judgment on Egypt's jugular, killing the firstborn male of every human and animal.

The firstborn of Pharaoh, an "incarnated god", dies.

Pharaoh throat is cut. He lets Israel go.

OUR FIRSTBORN SON, OUR GOD-EXCUSE

God will not allow any others into His ownership of our future.

If our firstborn has replaced Him as our heart's hope and security, He will strike that firstborn.

If He would not relent from striking His own firstborn, Jesus, to purchase our exodus, you can be sure He will not relent from striking ours.

This He will do until He is our first security for the future and we obey His exodus calls.

PRACTICAL RESPONSE

Jeremiah 29:11 is possibly the most adored scripture in the Christian community, yet the least believed in exodus seasons and struggles.

How do we fixate on the Lord as the uttermost security of our future?

Change the message playing in your conscious mind, especially at exodus moments.

Think, pray, and say out loud scriptures like Jeremiah 29:11 and Exodus 3:8 regularly.

Get a friend or two to join you. Plant and nurture the mental seeds that will invigorate you towards your first Hope and Security.

Jeremiah 29:11: "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." 

Exodus 3:8: So I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey...

Hosea 11:1, "Out of Egypt I called my son."

For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men, instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires, and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope AND the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ; who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for himself a people for his own possession, zealous for good deeds. These things speak and exhort and reprove with all authority. Let no one disregard you Tit. 2:11-15.