Turn back in your Bibles to the
book of Jeremiah chapter 40. Jeremiah chapter 40. Now we're
going to begin tonight in verse 13, the last portion of this
chapter. And I'm going to cover quite
a bit of ground, quite a lot of ground tonight. Don't know
exactly how far I'll get, but I'm going to rely on you to read
all of these scriptures. I'm not going to try to read
them all. You know, I say that and then I start reading and
I can't stop. You know, but that's my that's my plan anyway. And but I want there's a lot
of history here. And what it's showing is the
providence of God. And the goodness of God in light
of the sinfulness of man. the rebellion of man. It's a
good thing when the Lord reveals who we really are, isn't it?
Because in revealing that to us, he shows us who we really
need. The salvation that he's provided.
I've entitled this message, Where Shall We Live? Where Shall We
Live? And the point of this is in this
history is that the Lord is showing His people that there is no salvation,
there is no safety, there is no peace and comfort and security
in Egypt. That's what He's talking about. Don't go to Egypt. That's why
I had Brother Aaron read that Isaiah 31. That was always the
case since the Lord delivered Hebrew children from Egypt, he
would always show them there's no help in Egypt. What does Egypt
represent? Well, we know it represents bondage,
and we'll see that. But here in the first part of
chapter 40, we studied about a man named Gedaliah, who was
made the governor of Jerusalem, of Judea. He was appointed as
governor by Nebuchadnezzar. Gedaliah, whose name means that
God is great or God's greatness, and how Gedaliah was a help to
Jeremiah in a lot of ways, how he was a help to a lot of the
people. And in that sense, he was a type of Christ. Remember,
he says up there in verse 10 of Jeremiah 40, as for me, behold,
I will dwell at Mizpah, that's the watchtower, to serve the
Chaldeans, which will come unto us. And that's a picture of Christ
going under the bondage of the law for his people to serve his
father and to serve the law. He was made of a woman, made
under the law to redeem them that were under the law. Christ,
the suffering servant, the God man who took our sins and went
under that bondage and he obeyed it unto death for our sins to
put them away. And he says in verse 10, but
you gather you wine, summer fruits, oil, put them in your vessels
and dwell in your cities that you have taken. That's the safety
and the security and the salvation of all the people who were under
Galilee. And that's the way it is with
Christ. He redeems us from our sins and we, we gather the summer
fruits, the oil, the wine, all those are emblematic of the blessings
of salvation. And we dwell in the city that
he's taken, that he's given us, the heavenly Jerusalem. And that's
where we dwell. We don't dwell in Egypt. Well,
where shall we live? Well, over in verse 13, now here
begins an episode. In fact, actually from verse
13 of chapter 40 all the way down to verse 3 of chapter 41,
We see an episode with a man named Ishmael, common name in
that day. He says in verse 13, moreover,
Johanan, the son of Kereah, and all the captains of the forces
that were in the fields came to get a lie to Mizpah and said
unto him, dost thou certainly know that Baelus, the king of
the Ammonites, now the Ammonites were enemies of Babylon, had
also been enemies to Israel. But this king named Baelus, the
king of the Ammonites, hath sent Ishmael, the son of Nethaniah,
to slay thee, to kill Gedaliah. And what we see here is Ishmael's
ambitious treachery, and also we see Gedaliah's foolishness
unto death. This Johanna said that this heathen
king, who is an ungodly king, has sent this man Ishmael to
slay you. And the scripture says, look
at verse 16, but Gedaliah, the son of Hycum, said unto Johanan,
the son of Korea, thou shalt not do this thing, for thou speakest
falsely of Ishmael. Johana wanted to go slay Ishmael,
and Gedaliah says, no, don't do that, you're not telling the
truth about Ishmael. Now I don't know what Gedaliah
thought about Ishmael, but we know this, he was of the royal
tribe of Judah. Ishmael was, look at verse one
of chapter 41. Now it came to pass in the seventh
month that Ishmael, the son of Nethaniah, the son of Elishamah,
of the seed royal, that's the tribe of Judah, and the princes
of the king, even 10 men with him, came unto Gedaliah, the
son of Ahicham, to Mizpah. And there they did eat bread
together and miss Paul. Well, to make a long story short,
what happened was Ishmael came with his men and he slew Getaliah. He slew the governor. Now, obviously,
Getaliah in this passage, he stops being a type of Christ.
And we see his weakness, his gullibility, his ignorance. You
know, the Bible says love thinks the best, and that's true, but
it's not ignorant, and it's not weak, and it's not gullible.
Ishmael rejected God's command. Somebody said, why did Ishmael
do this? We don't know for sure, but we
know that he probably had ambitions to be king himself. He was from
the tribe of Judah. But he rejected God's command,
and he slew Gedolah. And I thought about this, you
consider the lengths that men will go to to fulfill their selfish
ambitions, their own personal agendas, reject or totally disregard
the word of the Lord. So that in this history, in the
providence of God, we see the sinfulness and depravity of man,
don't we? It's all through the Bible. It's
there in glaring technicolor and we can't get away from it.
Now, beginning at verse four and going to verse 10, we see
even worse things come out of this Ishmael. Look at verse four,
it says of chapter 41, it says, it came to pass the second day
after he'd slain Gadolai, and no men knew it, nobody knew that
it was Ishmael that did this, that there came certain men from
Shechem, from Shiloh, and from Samaria, even four score men,
having their beards shaven and their clothes rent and having
cut themselves with offerings and incense in their hand to
bring them to the house of the Lord. They were coming to worship.
Now, this seems to indicate that these fellows, even though they
had good intentions, they didn't really know what they were doing.
God never, never commanded anybody to cut themselves in order to
worship him. That was a heathen practice.
So we don't know a whole lot about these men, but look at
verse six, it says, Ishmael, the son of Nethaniah, went forth
from Mizpah to meet them, weeping all along as he went. And it
came to pass as he met them, he said to them, come to get
Eli, the son of Hycum. And it was so when they came
in the midst of the city that Ishmael, the son of Nethaniah,
slew them. He killed them, he murdered every
one of them. At that point, the ones that he had, but it says
in verse eight, there were 10 men. 10 of them were found among
them and said, Ishmael, slay us not. Well, Ishmael didn't
slay them. But why didn't he? It wasn't
out of any compassion. Here's why. For we have treasures
in the field. We've got money of wheat, barley,
and oil, and of honey. That's the same thing as money
back then. So he forbear and slew them not among their brethren.
So Ishmael, he didn't slay them out of his own greed. And then
he went on, look at verse 10, this Ishmael, it says, Ishmael
carried away captive all the residue of the people that were
in Mizpah, even the king's daughters and all the people that remained
in Mizpah, whom Nebuchadnezzar the captain of the guard had
committed to Gadolah, this remnant, remember we talked about the
remnant? Well, Ishmael took them away, the son of Hycum. And it
says, Ishmael, the son of Nethaniah, carried them away captive and
departed to go over to the Ammonites. Now, what a rebellious individual. But again, what do we have there
but a picture of the depravity and sin of man, our own sinfulness
and depravity. It emphasizes the fact that if
God doesn't change the heart, it will not be changed. And then
beginning at verse 11 of chapter 41 and going down to the end
of the chapter, verse 18, this Johanan, remember Johanan? He's the one who came and told
Gedoliah that Ishmael's coming from the Ammonites. He's going
to slay you. And Gedoliah said, I don't believe you. Very gullible. Well, this Johanan
now, he confronts Ishmael. That's what these last verses
of chapter 41 are about. He goes out after Ishmael. And
Ishmael runs away scared. And what happened here is at
Ishmael, as he ran away, it says in verse 12, look at chapter
four. Then they took all the men and
went to fight with Ishmael, the son of Nethaniah, and found him
by the great waters there in Gibeon. And now it came to pass
that when all the people which were with Ishmael saw Johanan,
the son of Korea, and all the captains of the forces that were
with him, then they were glad. So all the people that Ishmael
had carried away captive from Mizpah cast about and returned
and went unto Johanan, the son of Korea. But Ishmael, the son
of Nethaniah escaped from Johanan with eight men and went to the
Ammonites. So Ishmael runs, Johanan gets
the remnant. Now, where does he take the remnant?
Well, look down at verse 17. This Johanan, where does he take
the remnant? Does he take him back to Jerusalem?
That's where God left him. Now you remember now, in this
whole history now, God had told them to submit to Nebuchadnezzar
and they'd find peace in Babylon, but he did leave a remnant in
Jerusalem. And that remnant's a picture
of grace and a picture of the church, picture of God's elect,
the redeemed of the Lord. And this Johanan comes along,
he delivers them from Ishmael, Ishmael runs and goes to the
Ammonites, but where does Johanan take them? Look at verse 17,
they departed, and dwelt in the habitation of Chimham, which
is by Bethlehem, to go to enter into Egypt. Now what's gotten
into this Johanan? I don't know, just natural thinking.
It says, verse 18, because of the Chaldeans, he was afraid
of the Babylonians. For they were afraid of them
because Ishmael, the son of Nethaniah, had slain Gedaliah, the son of
Ahicham, whom the king of Babylon made governor in the land. So
even Johanan was afraid for his own life. So he took them here.
And what that is, they're on the border of going into Egypt.
And they're just about to go into Egypt. So they're deciding
what to do. They're going to make their choice. And what does the Lord say? Well, it's always. The Lord had
always forbidden the children of Israel to seek help from Egypt. He'd always forbidden them to
seek safety and security in Egypt. Why? Because they were to trust
in the Lord. Trust in the Lord, obey the Lord,
serve the Lord. And so beginning in verse one
of chapter 42, the first six verses, here's what happens.
The people asked Jeremiah. Now, Jeremiah was taken captive
too here now, you see. He was part of that remnant.
And so the people turn to Jeremiah, and they say, Jeremiah, pray
and seek the will of God for us. Now, isn't that the way it
is with people? God's already told him his revealed
will by way of commandment. Don't go to Egypt. Listen to
what it says, verse 1 of chapter 42. Then all the captains of
the forces and Johanan, the son of Korea, Jezaniah, the son of
Hosea, and all the people from the least even unto the greatest
came near and said unto Jeremiah the prophet, let we beseech thee
our supplication be accepted before thee and pray for us unto
the Lord thy God even for all this remnant, for we're left
but a few of many as thine eyes do behold us, that the Lord thy
God may show us the way wherein we may walk and the thing that
we may do. Now let me tell you something
about that. When it comes to our life here on this earth in
Providence, there are a lot of times we're just groping in the
dark, isn't it? Which way to go, where to go,
whether or not to take this job, take that job, live here, live
there. But when it comes to salvation,
it's useless for you or me to pray to God to inform me of the
way to go. Because I'll tell you right,
He's already shown. Now there's nothing wrong with saying, Lord
show me the way, meaning reveal it to my heart. Nothing wrong
with that at all. We need a powerful, invincible
calling of revelation, don't we? But what I'm saying is this,
the way of salvation, the way of safety and security in God's
Word, in God's revealed will, has already been made plain from
the beginning. What is God's way of salvation?
It's Christ. And there is no other way. It's
His grace in Christ Jesus. It's the way of the cross. And
He is the only way. And what should you do? What
are you commanded to do in the gospel? Believe on the Lord Jesus
Christ and you shall be saved. That's all. It's not go here,
go there, do this, jump this high, jump that high, or do this,
do that. It's believe in the Lord Jesus
Christ and you shall be saved. Now that's God's revealed will.
And the reason I'm using that analogy is because what these
people were asking Jeremiah to do, it's the equivalent. God
had already told them. Submit. And if God takes you
to Babylon, go to Babylon willingly, joyfully. Repentantly. And if God leaves you in Jerusalem,
stay put. Why are you asking Jeremiah to
pray on your behalf, saying, tell us what to do, Lord? He's
told you what to do. Trust in the Lord. Lean not to
the arm of the flesh. And that applies to us in the
way of salvation. Well, Jeremiah heard them and
he said, well, all right. He said, I'll pray. And look
at verse 7. Now from here to verse 18, here's Jeremiah's prayer.
And I do want to read this. I want you to see this. And he
asked him, he told him, he said, the Lord's true and faithful.
He said, you're going to see whether it be good or whether
it be evil, we will obey the voice of the Lord. Now that's
what they told Jeremiah. Whatever it is, we're going to
obey the voice of the Lord. That was their determination.
Well, look at verse seven, it says, it came to pass after 10
days that the word of the Lord came unto Jeremiah, and then
called he Johanan, the son of Korea, and all the captains of
the forces which were with him, and all the people from the least
even to the greatest, and said unto them, thus saith the Lord,
the God of Israel. Now here's what God says, Jeremiah
is saying to them, unto whom you sent me to present your supplication
before him. If you will still abide in this
land, the land of Judea, And there's that if. Remember, this
old covenant is a conditional covenant towards the sinners.
That's why there was no salvation there. That's why there was an
impossibility there. And he says, then will I build
you and not pull you down? I will plant you, not pluck you
up, for I repent me of the evil that I have done unto you. Now,
that's human language to show that God's will will always be
done. But now listen, listen. God knew
that they weren't going to repent. He knew him, he knows the heart.
He says in verse 11, be not afraid of the king of Babylon, of whom
you are afraid. Be not afraid of him, saith the
Lord, for I'm with you to save you. There's our salvation, God's
will. Christ said, Lo, I'm with you
always, even unto the end of the earth. To save you, to deliver
you from His hand, to protect you. That's why we're saved. That's why we talk about being
saved. Being saved is not just being churchy, or being religious,
or being good boys and girls. Being saved is under the sovereign
hand of Almighty God. Sin cannot destroy us or condemn
us. Satan cannot touch us unless
God allows him to. And then he can't touch our souls.
The law cannot curse us. We read about that this morning.
Blessed is the man to whom the Lord imputed not iniquity. This
is from God. And it doesn't come from me.
It doesn't come from you. It doesn't come from Egypt. It doesn't
come from Nebuchadnezzar. He says in verse 12, I'll show
mercies unto you that he may have mercy upon you and cause
you to return to your own land. But if you say, we will not dwell
in this land. That's why I said, where are
you going to live now? If you say we will not dwell in this
land, neither obey the voice of the Lord, your God saying
no, but we will go into the land of Egypt where we shall see no
war nor hear the sound of the trumpet. nor have hunger of bread,
and there will we dwell. Is that where you're gonna live?
Is that what you think about that place? No war, no sound
of the trumpet, no hunger for bread. Is that what you think?
If I go there, if I live there, then I'll be, everything will
be fine. Is that what you think? All right, we'll come back to
that. Verse 15, now therefore, hear
the word of the Lord, you remnant of Judah. Thus saith the Lord
of hosts, the God of Israel, if you wholly set your faces
to enter into Egypt and go to sojourn there. Now think about
this. Here's another if they'd already
said we're setting our faces to obey the voice of the Lord.
Now, you know, and I know they didn't do it. They're not going
to do it. Here's what God says. If you wholly set your faces
to enter into Egypt and go to sojourn there, then it shall
come to pass that the sword, which you feared, shall overtake
you there in the land of Egypt, and the famine whereof you were
afraid shall follow close after you there in Egypt, and there
you shall die. So shall it be with all the men
that set their faces to go into Egypt to sojourn there. They
shall die by the sword, by the famine, by the pestilence, and
none of them shall remain or escape from the evil that I will
bring upon them. For thus saith the Lord of hosts,
the God of Israel, As mine anger and my fury have been poured
forth upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so shall my fury be
poured forth upon you when you shall enter into Egypt. And you
shall be an execration, and an astonishment, and a curse, and
a reproach, and you shall see this place no more." That's the word from God. The remnant of Judah here are
assured of safety, salvation, blessing, security in Judea,
in the land of promise, trusting in the Lord. And they're assured
of death in Egypt. You remember back in Exodus,
turn to Exodus 14. What is Egypt? What does Egypt
represent? Well, Egypt represents the house
of bondage. Egypt represents captivity. Egypt represents being under
the law, forced, cursed, condemned, trapped, forced slavery. That's what Egypt represents. In Egypt, one time, the Hebrew
children were required to make bricks without straw. Do you
know what that is? That's impossible. Under the
bondage of the law, men are required to produce righteousness without
any possibility of being able to do so. That's Egypt. You see, the law requires righteousness
we cannot produce, just like Pharaoh required bricks without
straw. Egypt, really, symbolically in
the scripture, is all over the world. It's here today. It's in every false church. For
everywhere preachers preach and people believe the works of man
for salvation, they're living in Egypt under bondage. Preachers telling them to do
what they cannot do. Egypt is in the hearts of all
natural men, all who desire salvation by the works and the wills of
men. Man by nature loves Egypt because
of darkness and self-righteousness and religious pride. He thinks,
man by nature thinks, I know I've been there. Man by nature
thinks that everything's going to be okay in Egypt. When Moses
brought the Hebrew children out of Egypt by the power of God,
and they were brought to the brink of the Red Sea, what happened
to them? Well, Pharaoh went after them.
And it says in verse 11 of Exodus 14, listen to this. And they
said unto Moses, because there were no graves in Egypt, hast
thou taken us away to die in the wilderness? What are they
saying? There's life in Egypt. Wherefore hast thou dealt thus
with us to carry us forth out of Egypt? You see, they think
there's life in Egypt. You know what the word Egypt
means? The word Egypt means land of crypts. You know what a crypt
is? It means land of tombs. Land of death. People go to Egypt
to see what? What's the first thing you think
of when you think of Egypt? Pyramids. Great big stone graves. Big graves. You see, religion,
the religion of Egypt was based on the idea that if you're gonna
have any wealth in the next life, you gotta gather it and take
it with you. And that's why those pharaohs
had those big graves built and filled them with riches. What
is that? Symbolic of man's works, you
know, that's the religion of Cain all over. And you know who
the only ones who benefited from those riches in those big graves?
The grave robbers. The only ones who benefited.
Tomb robbers. It's like most funerals you go
to today. Preachers bragging on people
for their works. Wealth put into the tomb of dead
people. You see, that's why when I preach
a funeral, or when any gospel preacher preaches a funeral,
who do we brag on? We brag on Christ. Because we're not taking our
wealth with us. We have it now, and it's there waiting on us. But that's what Egypt represents.
Well, look back here at Exodus 14. In verse 12 it says, Is not this
the word that we did tell thee in Egypt, saying, Let us alone,
that we may serve the Egyptians? For it would have been better
for us to serve the Egyptians than that we should die in the
wilderness. Listen to the response of the man of God to those who
want to dwell in Egypt. And Moses said unto them, Unto
the people, Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation
of the Lord. which He will show you today.
For the Egyptians whom you have seen today, you shall see them
again no more forever. The Lord shall fight for you,
and you shall hold your peace." You see, what Moses is telling
them is, listen, only the Lord can deliver us from sin, from
Satan, from bondage, from the curse of the law. That Egyptian
house of bondage and captivity will do you no good. Do you know,
turn over to Revelation 11, turn with me there. Do you know that
Egypt is a symbol of Satan and his ways? Remember here in Revelation
11, he's talking about the two witnesses, the witnesses of Christ,
the power of the gospel, the word of God. And it says, in
this time that God has given, That these two witnesses will
be slain, verse seven and verse eight, it says, their dead bodies,
look at Revelation 11, verse eight, their dead bodies shall
lie in the street of the great city. And you know what that
great city is? That's Jerusalem. What he's talking
about is Jerusalem symbolic there as those who reject the Lord
Jesus Christ and the salvation that God provides for his people
through Christ, through his righteousness. And so they're lying in the street
of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom. We know about
Sodom, don't we? And Egypt. That's sin and bondage. That's what he's talking about.
Where also our Lord was crucified. That's how we know is Jerusalem. Whenever men seek righteousness
by works of the law rather than the grace of God in the Lord
Jesus Christ, whenever they seek forgiveness of sin based on anything
but the blood of the Lamb of God, it's the same as going down
to Egypt for salvation, going down into bondage, going down
into the crypt, the tomb, the pyramid of death, Over in the book of Galatians,
chapter 4, the Apostle Paul sets up the two covenants. The one,
gendereth unto bondage, he says, which is symbolized in Mount
Sinai. The law, the law placed upon
men and women. Something you must do in order
to attain or maintain salvation. Something you must do in order
to earn or deserve God's blessing, something you must do to recommend
yourself to God. He said it's bondage. It's bondage. It's legalism. It will not work. It's seeking righteousness by
works of the law and you will not attain it. But before that,
He said God had already sent His Son, sent Him forth, made
of a woman, made under the law. That is made under that bondage
based on our sins charged to Him. For what? To redeem them
that were under the law. And he tells believers over in
Galatians chapter 5 and verse 1, he says, Now stand fast in
the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and don't
be entangled again with the yoke of bondage. Don't dwell in Egypt. It's another way of saying it. You remember in the book of Matthew
chapter 2, when the wise men informed Joseph, that Herod was
going to kill all the male children, two years old and below. That
they took the child down into Egypt. They took Christ down
into Egypt. That's Matthew chapter 2 beginning
at verse 12. And that was the fulfillment
of prophecy because that's what God the Father had determined
and provided for the Son to do. That historical event, when they
took that child down into Egypt, that was the fulfillment of prophecy,
but it was also symbolic of Christ Himself as the substitute and
surety of His people going under the bondage of the law to redeem
us from the law. He went down into Egypt so that
we don't have to. When He came to John the Baptist,
as recorded in Matthew chapter 3, to be baptized. And John,
recognizing who this person was, this great person, this God man,
he said, I'm not worthy to do this, you need to baptize me.
And Christ said, John, suffer it to be so, for so it is given
unto us to fulfill all righteousness. And that was symbolic of his
death, burial, and resurrection. He went down, born under the
law, to redeem us. You remember back when the Hebrew
children were in Egypt. How were the Hebrew children
delivered from Egypt? By the blood of the Passover
lamb. God said, when I see the blood, I'll pass over you. That's Egypt. Look back at Jeremiah
42, beginning at verse 19 there and down to the end of the verse,
what we see is that the people disobeyed God. Well, didn't they
tell Jeremiah that, well, whatever God says, we're going to do?
Isn't that just like the natural man? Don't we always think that
way? Well, whatever God says, that's what we'll do. And then
they disobeyed God. Look at verse 19. The Lord hath
said concerning you, O you remnant of Judah, go ye not into Egypt. Know certainly that I have admonished
you this day. For you dissembled in your hearts
when you sent me unto the Lord your God." This is Jeremiah speaking.
Saying, pray for us unto the Lord our God and according to
all that the Lord our God shall say, so declare unto us and we'll
do it. Jeremiah is saying, you told
me to go inquire of the Lord, I did. You said whatever the
Lord says, we'll do it. Well, here it is. And it says
in verse 21, and now I have this day declared it to you, but you
have not obeyed the voice of the Lord, your God, nor anything
for the which he hath sent me unto you. Now, therefore, no,
certainly that you shall die by the sword, by the famine,
by the pestilence in the place, whether you desire to go and
the soldier, and you'll die in the place where you want to live. They disobey God. They didn't
want to live in Jerusalem because they were afraid. Well, you know,
living in Jerusalem really is much more difficult than living
in Egypt. Living in Jerusalem, that's symbolic of the people
of God living in his grace, living in the Jerusalem which is above. And you know, to live in Jerusalem,
which is emblematic of salvation, it requires the spirit of God.
It requires living by faith. There's just something in us
that doesn't like that. Jerusalem, which is above, is
free, and liberty has responsibility. You know, bondage is pretty easy
to the flesh. It doesn't work. It won't make
it, it won't acquire righteousness. Sinners cannot be made righteousness
by our, but to the flesh it seems so easy. I mean, think about
it. If all I did up here behind this pulpit is just give you
a list of rules and regulations, you all wouldn't have any problem
with that. We give you liberty, freedom,
liberty to serve in newness of the spirit, now that's advanced
citizenship. That takes some thought. It takes
some struggle. It takes a warfare. You see the
bondage of the flesh, there's no warfare. Oh, there are pangs
of conscience and all that, but all you've got to do is get back
in church and rededicate. Isn't that right? Do this, do that. Jump through
this hoop. Legalism just seems so easy to
the flesh, but it's deadly and it doesn't work. Those who live
in Egypt, you just give them those rules and regulations,
and they'll do it. But living in Jerusalem for the
glory of God, everything that we do living in Jerusalem, living
in the grace of God in Christ, you know why we're to do it?
We're to do it for His glory, and we're not to care who gets
the credit. Pretty hard, isn't it? Love our enemies, pray for them
that despitefully you, huh? That's a tough, tough bill to
fill. You see, we can't do it in fact. That's why we need the
spirit of God. That's why we need the grace
of God. One more thing, go back here to verse 14, Jeremiah 42. I wanna give you three reasons
why men go back to Egypt. Here's why they go. They say,
verse 14, say, no, but we will go into the land of Egypt where
we shall see no war. They say in Egypt, there's no
war. Well, there's no warfare with the flesh in Egypt. In Jerusalem,
there's a warfare, the warfare of the flesh and the spirit,
isn't it? It's a struggle every day. I mean, every daggone day,
isn't it? It never lets up. Egypt's pretty
easy. You know, that's just the flesh
selling into its death now. That's like lying in a tomb,
isn't it? But you see, men are deceived.
In Egypt, there is war with God. You remember he told them, he
said, you go down to Egypt thinking that there's not going to be
war there. And he said, you're going to die by the sword. And
you know what happened? The Babylonian Empire conquered
Egypt later on and destroyed everything in it. Here's the
second reason. They say there's no sound of
the trumpet. No sound of the trumpet. Well, what is the trumpet
in Scripture? It's the clarion call to Christ.
It's the gospel of God's grace in Christ and the flesh hates
it. Why? John 3, 19-20, this is the condemnation
that light has come into the world and men love darkness and
hate the light because their deeds are evil. You see, if you're
living in Egypt, you're not going to have to be listening to this
preacher up here, standing up here telling you every time you
come to church how much of a sinner you are. How much of a wretch
we are. And how that your best works
will not recommend you to God or earn you favor with God. You'll
hear the opposite. Telling you how good you are
and how much God needs you and how much we thank God for you
and we just couldn't get along without you. That's what you'd
be hearing. You wouldn't hear that sound
of the trumpet that calls a sinner like an old publican to say,
God be merciful to me, the sinner. You wouldn't hear about having
a need for a righteousness that you and I cannot produce. But
that our only hope is in Christ. And then here's a third reason.
No hunger for bread, he says in verse 14. Well, you know what it is to
hunger for bread in the scriptures, the bread of life, for Christ. And that's right, in Egypt, there's
no hunger for Christ. In legalism, there's no hunger
for Christ. Legalism fulfills itself in its deception. Legalism tells me, well, I've
done enough. And that ought to be good enough.
Just like the old fellow says, well, I know I'm not perfect,
but I haven't done anything to deserve help. Oh yes, you have,
and I have too. There's no hunger for God's grace.
There's no hunger for His righteousness. There's no hunger for the blood
of the Lamb. When you come here to worship,
What are you hungry to hear? What are you thirsty for? You want to hear Christ exalted,
don't you? You know why? Because that feeds
your soul. That quenches your thirst. That
gives you the comfort and the peace that you need, you must
have, knowing your frame, knowing how much of a sinner we are. You know, the Bible says that
The gospel is sweet to the taste, but bitter to the belly. The
belly represents the flesh. The gospel is sweet to the taste,
but it's bitter to the flesh, isn't it? Well, we hunger and
we thirst after righteousness. We hunger and thirst after Christ.
You remember the children of Israel when they were in the
wilderness. And God sent them manna from
on high. They got tired of it. Remember
that? What is that, Numbers 21? I can't remember. I didn't write
it down. I think Numbers 21. They got tired of it. I don't know if it was in that
specific place, but it was throughout in their history when they got
tired of what God provided for them. You know what they hungered
after? The flesh pots of Egypt. The garlic and the leeks of Egypt. That which the earth produces.
Not that manna that comes down from heaven, that God provides. That manna was sweet, that manna
was fulfilling, and that manna provided all the nourishment
they need. They didn't want that. They wanted
the flesh pots of Egypt. Now what do I want? What do you
want? I want that manna from heaven.
Remember Christ dealt with that in John chapter six. He said,
I am the bread of life. He that feeds upon me. Where
will you live? You're going to live in Jerusalem,
which is above and feed upon Christ, dwell in him who is our
watchtower, or are you going to live in Egypt? That's the
case, isn't it? All right.