Woe to the Rebellious Children!
Woe to the rebellious children, saith the LORD, that take counsel, but not of me; and that cover with a covering, but not of my spirit, that they may add sin to sin:
That walk to go down into Egypt, and have not asked at my mouth; to strengthen themselves in
Therefore shall the strength of Pharaoh be your shame, and the trust in the shadow of Egypt your confusion.
Isa 30:1-3
I have been reading in Isaiah lately and I came across this passage. This is a very powerful passage and it should cause us to stop and consider it. In some of my earlier posts I have said that I consider Egypt to be the “world” today. I have talked about how when God calls us to the wilderness He urges us not to go back to Egypt and to stay on the path to the Promised Land.
There are many issues affecting so many of us today. I am going to address some of them here and in doing that may cause some controversy. My goal is not to judge anyone but only to raise questions in the interest of continuing on the path of transformation.
“Christians” today are at many different points in their journeys. Some of them have crossed into the Promised Land, some are trudging forward in the wilderness, some are lost in the wilderness, some have turned back to Egypt and some haven’t even trusted God enough to leave Egypt at all.
I think that it’s important to realize that the progress made on the journey of transformation leading to the Promised Land depends entirely on you. It is our choice and ours alone to advance, stall or backtrack through the wilderness. It is certainly our choice to enter it in the first place. For all of you crying “Heresy” right now don’t worry. Once we make the choice to move forward we depend on the strength, might, wisdom and love of God to get us through. What I am saying is that God is not going to pull us kicking and screaming. If you want to stop you will most certainly stop.
By nature, the wilderness is a dry and hard place to be. It’s the only place where God purges and refines us. It’s also the place where God comes closer to us than we could have ever hoped for. I have already written on that in my “Ishi” blog. What makes the wilderness such a hard place is all of the choices we have to make. Those choices are never easy and are almost certain to bring some kind of pain. It hurts to be refined. Is that pain God’s fault? No it’s our own because if we didn’t make the unrighteous decisions we wouldn’t have to go through the pain of having the unrighteousness rooted out of us.
The question posed to you right now is “when it’s time to make difficult choices, regardless of where you are on the journey, whose counsel do you take?” Who’s your counsel in your finances? Who’s your counsel in your realty? Who’s your counsel in your marriage and other relationships? Who’s your counsel at your job? Who’s your counsel in your entertainment? Who’s your counsel in what you believe about God?
Let’s try to define Egypt. Egypt is anything you’re going to for counsel before you go to God and anything telling you to do things that contradict how God tells us to live. That might include financial planners, lawyers, therapists, pastors, supervisors and so on.
What is your financial planner telling you? Are they telling you how to invest and to save appropriately? Sure they are if they are doing their jobs. But why? Doesn’t Jesus say that He will provide our daily needs? If you believe that why are you trying to prepare your future financially? Why do you need a savings account? We have been told that it’s wise to have savings. Why? Is it because it’s nice to have a plan “B” just in case God doesn’t come through for you? Jesus said “give us our daily bread.” He didn’t ask Father to set him up for life financially. It’s because Faith is one step at a time!
What are your lawyers telling you? Are they telling you about “loop holes” that will allow you to keep things you aren’t paying for? Are they telling you to file bankruptcy? Personally I don’t believe bankruptcy is a Godly option. Do you? If you have agreed to pay for something and then can’t but keep it anyway, how is that different from stealing? Does it sound like a more Godly option to sell those things you can’t pay for and then try and pay the debt? If you’re saying “I owe too much” don’t you believe that God can make the “impossible” possible?
There are so many people going through the pain of losing their homes. If you’re still reading at this point, can you answer this question? “If you have agreed to pay for your home and aren’t, but still living there how is that different from stealing?” Does it seem like a more Godly option to just move out and trust God to provide a place? Maybe you’re saying “we are trusting God to work something out so that we can keep the house.” Maybe He will but I ask “Why would He?” If you are living in a house you owe money for but aren’t paying for it then isn’t that sin? You have broken a contract but still expect to keep the possession. Why would God bless that? You might be surprised what God might do for you the day you move out!
What are your pastors telling you when you go to them with your problems? Are they telling you to pray more, come to special programs, fast, buy things or read the bible more? Where’s the teaching about repentance? Where’s the teaching about being delivered from the things afflicting us by actively engaging in spiritual warfare taking on the authority Jesus gave us to cast out demons? Where’s the teaching about obedience and that after being set free it’s the only way to stay free?
Why do so many therapists and counselors give us superficial exercises to fix our relationships while ignoring the existing spiritual battle at the root of our issues?
If you are being taught these things by people they are not helping you to trust in God they are helping you to trust in Egypt! If that’s you, you are called by God in the passage above “rebellious.” And according to the Lord through Isaiah these things providing your counsel will instead be your shame and your confusion and through them you are adding sin to sin!
I do believe that God loves to restore things we have lost but God can only restore something back that has been lost or taken. 1 more thing is required, that you give it up freely. Many of us have lost or had something taken but have never truly given it up. We must willingly separate ourselves from things and release them to God in order Him to restore them.
THERE ARE EXPECTIONS AND some pastors, lawyers and counselors can help you walk in truth and do, in fact, speak the Word of God but it seems like the majority can only help you walk in the strength of Egypt. Does that sound too harsh? Jesus said only a “few” would find the path leading to the kingdom.
I would love to hear some of your comments on this. Just please try and keep it civil if I have really upset you with this blog. I could be wrong about all of this. Also I am not talking without knowledge of how God can provide. I have been a part of many testimonies of God delivering me from debt, asking me to give away my savings and to remove any financial planning for the future. Since then God has never failed to supply my daily bread. Again even though it may sound like it, I judge nobody. I only hope to raise questions and through them we can all hopefully progress down the path God has laid out for us. God bless!
Jesse Birkey
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