TOPIC: ROLLING AWAY THE REPROACH OF EGYPT
Bible Reading: Joshua 4-6; Luke 2:1-24
“And the LORD said unto Joshua, This day have I rolled away the reproach of Egypt from off you. Wherefore the name of the place is called Gilgal unto this day” Joshua 5:9(KJV)
There are reproaches associated with a prolong state of negative being. Israel has been in slavery in Egypt for four hundred and thirty years. Various generations rose to find themselves in bondage. This prolonged state of being produced a negative defeatist mentality in the people. They began to see themselves from a subservient position. They have become accustomed to the harsh environment of slavery. Most of them had accepted their fate as it were in Egypt. They became contented to remain the way they are. Throughout their journey in the wilderness, despite the manifestation of divine power in delivering them from Egypt and leading them through the wilderness, their low mentality caused them to continuously grumble and murmur, not believing God. Let us take a cursory look at the state of the people.
Over many generations they got accustomed to being a lower caste of people. They were subjected to heavy labour and torture. They got used to being underfed but loaded with heavy labour. They have been reduced to a caste of second class people in Egypt. This is the vivid picture of the children of Israel after four hundred years in Egypt and it is called the reproaches of Egypt.
Moses coming in from self-exile to talk about their deliverance was to them an unbelievable fit, especially as they would have lost touch with true worship to Yahweh. God sent Moses to spearhead the deliverance of Israel. We saw in Exodus the mighty acts of God that culminated in Israel’s deliverance. The last of the mighty works of God to guarantee Israel’s deliverance was the parting of the Red Sea, which saw Israel commence the journey to the promised land. But because of the slavery mentality they have developed over a long period of time in Egypt, they had to journey for forty years for a journey that would have taken far less than that. The mentality of the people resulted in unbelieve and frequent murmur, hence, God swore that those who were born in Egypt and had imbibed the very low mentality will die in the wilderness and not enter the promise land except for Caleb and Joshua. “For the children of Israel walked forty years in the wilderness, till all the people that were men of war, which came out of Egypt, were consumed, because they obeyed not the voice of the LORD: unto whom the LORD sware that he would not shew them the land, which the LORD sware to their fathers that he would give us, a land that floweth with milk and honey” Joshua 5:6 (KJV).
Our salvation follows the same pattern. When we gave our life to God we were delivered from sin and Satan stranglehold which is represented by Egypt. We were baptized into Christ, which is dying and resurrecting with Christ as symbolized by the passing through the Red Sea. “And were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea;” 1 Corinthians 10:2 (KJV). We commenced our Christian Journey as represented by journey through the wilderness. Passing through the Jordan, and the circumcision is our consecration in Christ. The eventual removal and circumcision of the foreskin of sin from our heart by the Holy Spirit. It is at this point our Christian experience begin to produce outstanding victories over the forces of darkness. All reproaches are rolled away as we are then anointed with power over all the forces of hell for our eternal victory. ”For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.” 1 John 5:4 (KJV).
Dear reader, your victory over evil can only come through Jesus. Run to Jesus and be saved and delivered from all satanic wickedness.
Prayer: Father I put my whole trust in your ability to deliver me.
Pastor Joel Ezeugo