14 “I will bring them back to Egypt and let them live in Pathros, the land they came from. And there they will be a small nation. 15 It will be the least of the nations, and will never lift itself up above other nations again. I will make them so small that they will never rule over the nations. 16 It will never again be a hope for the people of Israel. They will remember their sin in turning to Egypt for help in the past. Then they will know that I am the Lord God.”’
For any businessman or company, your partners are very important. When seeking a partner in a venture, you don’t just pick anyone to partner up with. The potential partner has to fit your outlook on the venture. They also have to act in the best interest of the group and not be selfish in nature, out to get their reward only. The collective body of partners needs to be there for each other in order to help the venture be the most successful it can be. This partner is not always the largest or smallest company. Whatever the size, the fit has to be right, or the venture could be doomed before it even starts.
Israel was the country everyone loved to have. God gave the Israelites this promised land, and they drove out all or most of the inhabitants just as the Lord said to. Over time, they were raided by many countries like the Philistines, the Moabites, and other nations seeking to own this promised land, all of which ultimately failed. The Lord would intervene and cause Israel to prosper in the defense of their nation. But the Lord’s involvement was a bonus feature that was only solidified if they followed the law of Moses and the prophets.
In short, the Israelites did not follow the law of Moses in most respects. Ever since they took over this promised land, they had been falling back into sin. Just like today, if you do something bad, there is always a repercussion, a punishment of sorts. When Israel sinned, the Lord would allow their enemies to invade the land. They would turn back to the Lord, and He would come and rescue them. This cycle would repeat and repeat until the Lord needed to wipe the hard drive clean and start over.
Babylon was the eraser.
When Babylon started to invade Israel, several kings of Judah were not equipped to handle the onslaught and were seeking help to ward off the invasion. This help they sought was none other than Egypt. Kings Hezekiah, Jehoiakim, and Zedekiah, the three last kings of Judah, all sought help from Egypt. The same country that enslaved them hundreds of years earlier became the help they were seeking. It was too late for the Israelites to see the Lord defeat the Babylonians. Their hearts needed to change because they had become black with sin.
Ezekiel’s prophecy against Egypt is in response to them seeking help from this nation, i.e., a bad partner. An ungodly nation who served many pagan gods and one that only ever looked out for itself. Verse 3 of chapter 29 reveals Egypt’s arrogance. It reads, “For you have said, ‘The Nile River is mine.’” The Lord was going to scatter the Egyptians for 40 years and then bring them back, never to become a powerful nation again. This would teach the Israelites how wrong it was to trust them and to partner up with them in the first place when they needed help. Israel simply chose the most powerful nation they could find and struck a deal that Egypt could not refuse, further debasing Israel. They chose unwisely, even when Jeremiah told them to give up and not fight the Babylonians. They chose power they could see over the Lord.
Your current place in life might seem like you have partnered up with the wrong people. The ones you have to answer to are not the most godly people, and the worst part is you did nothing to stop this alliance. You even might have wanted it. The allure of wealth, the promise of riches, the prestigious friends in high places seemed to entice your appetite to turn away from your better judgment.
A more fearful outlook might have caused this chain of bad decisions. The debt you could not pay, the gambling problem, the shady side deal at work. Or it might just be hiding the sin you are keeping from your wife. All of which have pushed you to do some not-so-smart things. Your Egypt is just sitting there, waiting to take advantage of you in your anemic state.
We get to read the stories in the Bible to give us a clue to the better choice, the better partner even. Israel had to pay for their mistakes, and the real truth is you will as well. Galatians 6:7 tells us: “Don’t be misled, you cannot mock the justice of God. You will always harvest what you plant. Those who live only to satisfy their own sinful nature will harvest decay and death from that sinful nature.”
The good news part of the story we find immediately after this in verses 8 and 9: “But those who live to please the Spirit will harvest everlasting life from the Spirit. So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time, we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up.”
The message today is: Don’t give up doing good. Don’t give up relying on the Lord. Don’t stop praying to see the Lord’s hand in your current situation. You see, you must “live” to please the Spirit, not just visit on Sundays. Make today your start for your new company, you and Jesus for the rest of your life, the best partner a human can have. Take some time to get to know Him. He has been knocking at your door, waiting for you to invite Him in.
Prayer: I pray that we stop making unholy alliances with Satan. I pray and break those alliances in Jesus’ name! Father, thank You for the promises we find in Your Word, promises of victory and power and love. Promises of Your favor that will be around us like a shield. Thank You for showing me You are still at work, and I don’t have to use my worldly wisdom to get out of anything. I will use Your Word and rest in Your guidance.
In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Let It Go 
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