The theology of the Exodus includes judgement upon false gods (Exodus 12:12). Egypt was a sensual place (Exodus 23:19-21) and marked by pride which merited divine punishment (Ezekiel 29:3). Judah's contemplated alliance with her is stigmatized as a covenant with death and an agreement with Sheol (Isaiah 28:15). Egypt appears consistently as a symbol of worldly, anti-God power (Rev. 11:8). Compared to the wilderness, Egypt offered creature comforts which brought nostalgia to many Israelites (Num. 11:4-6). Egypt is a place of oppression, as Joseph is initially enslaved, eventually ending up in prison. At one time Egypt is a place of ambiguity because Joseph was enslaved but it also became a place of hope and refuge because Joseph is raised to be the second in the land. Throughout the course of the struggle between Pharaoh and Yahweh, Egypt comes to represent all that is opposed to God. As we study, we find that Egypt is a false refuge, as the Hebrews place their trust in a dying nation rather than in the living God.

Are you in bed with Egypt? Have you allowed yourself to become intimate with compromise, sensuality, greed, worshipping the 5 gods of America (entertainment, economics, politics, educational, and social), pride, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life, worldliness, rebellion and resisting the authority of God? When you lay down in bed with Egypt you will birth and Ishmael and have to divide your inheritance with the promise. Many have not laid down with Egypt but are romancing with Egyptian ways. Either way contamination and destruction is inevitable. Let us all stop and examine who we have become intimate with it. Will you wait on God to birth the promise or will you settle to go to bed with Egypt?