When things get rough and disorienting, the predictability of the past starts looking pretty good. The story of the Exodus, with its powerful imagery of liberation from Egyptian slavery, holds a significant place in African American culture and history. It has been a symbol of hope and resilience, a testament to the enduring spirit of a people who have faced centuries of injustice.
However, as we move forward in the 21st century, it is crucial for African Americans to transcend the idea of returning to the "glory days" of Egyptian slavery and instead focus on the ongoing fight against racism and oppression.
The Exodus narrative resonates deeply with African Americans, Wesley Chapel and The Black Church, because it reflects our own history of bondage and struggle. Like the Israelites, who were enslaved in Egypt for generations, Blacks in America endured centuries of brutal slavery, followed by a long and painful journey toward freedom. The Exodus story offers a powerful metaphor for liberation and serves as a source of strength and inspiration.
However, it is essential to recognize that too much desire to return to the "promised land" or the "glory days" of Egypt can hinder progress. There is not a lot of glory in walking backwards.
While honoring and drawing inspiration from the past is important, we must avoid becoming trapped in nostalgia and memories.
Sometimes we think of the past as being wonderful and forget just how Jacked up some of our past experienced really were.
The reality is that Egypt symbolizes not only oppression but also a longing for a past that was marked by suffering and dehumanization.
Don’t Miss this You were Slaves in Egypt.
Illustration:
A sister named Caraw tell the story that she had recently quit her job because of chronic illness, and within a week, her husband found out his job at GM was going on strike. For months, she had been struggling to get reimbursed for a bill that she had been overcharged on by a significant sum of money. Obviously, that money would have been really helpful with us both out of work. Caraw’s health issues were escalating, and it seemed as if, at every turn, she encountered obstacle after obstacle, trial after trial, pain upon pain.
She found herself beginning to question whether God really is who, God says God is, wondering whether God was really going to provide and come through, as God had for so many others as written in the pages of the Bible.
She began to say in her heart.
Maybe I was allowing sin in my life and therefore God couldn’t hear my prayers. Maybe God had already sent the answer and I just hadn’t recognized it. Maybe my small (in comparison) problems were too petty for God to waste God time on.
Or maybe, like Moses and the Israelites, She had lessons to learn that she couldn’t possibly see while still in the midst of her bondage to work and sicknesses.
Moses had grown up, watching the Israelites and seeing their hard labor in slavery to Egypt. He felt their pain and had compassion for them. So did God:
The Israelites groaned in their slavery and cried out, and their cry for help because of their slavery went up to God. God heard their groaning, and he remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac and with Jacob. So, God looked on the Israelites and was concerned about them.
And so, God called Moses to lead the Israelites out of Egypt and out of slavery:
The LORD said, “I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering. So I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey…. So now, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt.”
Quite a calling! But Moses was obedient. It took a long time (possibly 20 years), but the Pharaoh of Egypt finally let the Israelites, who had been enslaved by the Egyptians for over 400 years, go.
They set out with Moses, trudging across the desert, dreaming of the freedom that was finally theirs. The freedom they were searching for was not only freedom from slavery, but also freedom to truly worship their God, the God of the Israelites.
Their positive thoughts didn’t last long, though. After only a month and a half of traveling, the Israelites started to complain:
If only we had died by the Lord’s hand in Egypt! There we sat around pots of meat and ate all the food we wanted, but you have brought us out into this desert to starve this entire assembly to death.
After only a month and a half in the desert, they were already complaining to the point of wishing they were dead! And as the Israelites continued to move toward the Promised Land, they kept looking back to Egypt with longing, wishing they had never left.
The Israelites knew what Egypt had to offer them.
They knew that if they went back to Egypt, they would once again be enslaved, but at least that was familiar, predictable, and even strangely comfortable in comparison to the unknown they were facing in the desert.
Was God really carrying them to the Promised Land?
One day, as I was listening to some music by CCM artist Sara Groves, the lyrics of this song really struck me.
I’ve been painting pictures of Egypt,
leaving out what it lacked
The future seems so hard
and I want to go back
How often I have found myself in this position, looking back longingly at things I’ve left behind. How quick I am at times to forget all God has done for me, and how God delivered me from slavery — slavery to sin.
How had I so quickly descended from celebration for all God had done and for where God has promised to lead me into moaning and groaning about what it was taking to get there?
God had heard my cry and delivered me from slavery — not just to my sinful nature, but also to various addictions and behaviors to which I had once been enslaved.
But then gradually, as things didn’t seem to go my way and God wasn’t working according to my plan and my timing, I started looking back to my old ways, my old idols and ways of thinking.
Thankfully, I’d come too far to go back to most of those things, but it didn’t stop me from meditating on and even romanticizing them.
1. Be careful of the good old days
You see, my friends, memory can be a tricky thing. It can cast a warm and comforting glow on the past, making us forget the struggles and hardships we faced.
We may remember the "good old days" when life seemed simpler, and our burdens felt lighter. But we must be careful not to let memory blind us to the reality of the past. Everyone saying I remember when Don’t Remember When.
The Israelites' desire to return to the food they had in Egypt reflects a profound struggle with their newfound freedom and the challenges of leadership faced by Moses and Aaron in the wilderness.
This longing for the food of Egypt was, in part, a yearning for the predictability and security of the past.
In Egypt, they had a steady supply of food, even if it meant living in servitude.
The uncertainty of the wilderness and the challenges of forging a new path tested their resolve and faith.
But let us not forget that Egypt was a place of bondage and oppression, a place where they cried out to God for deliverance.
Egypt was not the paradise their memories might have painted it to be. In their yearning for the past, they almost lost sight of the freedom and promise that lay ahead. I see that happening to Us today, Some folks so caught up it what was that they can’t see what is!
Likewise, in our own lives, we must face the reality of our pasts. We cannot let our memories blind us to the struggles we endured, the lessons we learned, and the growth we experienced.
Yes, there were good times, but there were also trials that tested our faith and moments that pushed us to our limits.
Just as the Israelites were on a journey to the Promised Land, we too are on a journey—a journey toward a brighter future and a deeper relationship with the Almighty.
We must not get stuck in the past, for our God is a God of progress and transformation.
Our God is calling us to move forward, to embrace the challenges and opportunities of today, and to continue our journey toward the Promised Land of His blessings and grace.
We must remember that the best is yet to come, and it is our faith in God's providence that will guide us there.
2. Longing for the Past can be dangerous.
The Israelites' longing for Egyptian food was not merely a desire for a particular cuisine; it symbolized a dangerous nostalgia for the very system that had oppressed them. Their yearning for the security of the past threatened to undermine their journey toward freedom and the fulfillment of God's promises.
• Moses and Aaron faced the challenge of helping the Israelites overcome this temptation and embrace their newfound freedom fully. They had to remind the people that their journey was not just about physical sustenance but about spiritual growth and the realization of God's covenant.
• Moses and Aaron, handpicked by God to lead the Israelites, faced a complex and delicate task. They were entrusted with guiding a diverse and often disheartened community through a treacherous desert.
• Moses and Aaron had the challenged of maintaining the trust of the Israelites. They had to assure the people that the journey toward freedom was worth the hardships they were facing.
• Moses and Aaron had to provide for the people's immediate needs, including food and water. Their ability to call upon God for manna from heaven and water from a rock demonstrated their reliance on divine guidance.
Beyond physical sustenance, Moses and Aaron had to nurture the people's faith. They reminded them of God's promises, His miraculous acts, and the vision of a better future in the Promised Land. The story of the Israelites' longing for Egypt and Moses and Aaron's leadership holds timeless lessons for leaders today. It underscores the delicate balance leaders must strike between addressing immediate needs and maintaining a focus on the higher purpose and long-term vision.
3. Your Wilderness is important.
As the Israelites journeyed through the wilderness, they encountered challenges and tests of faith. However, the wilderness is also portrayed as a space of newfound freedom and the opportunity for authentic worship. Black theologians often emphasize the significance of the wilderness as a place where the Israelites could experience God's presence directly, unburdened by the oppressive structures of Egypt.
Similarly, the wilderness serves as a metaphor for the quest for freedom by African Americans. It was in the wilderness, away from the systems of oppression, that they found spaces for worship, community-building, and the development of their unique cultural and spiritual expressions. The church, in particular, played a pivotal role in nurturing faith and fostering a sense of freedom within the African American community.
Keep Going to The Promised Land
The Exodus story culminates in the promise of the Promised Land—a land flowing with milk and honey.
The Promised Land, as described in the Bible, represents a symbol of God's covenant with His people, a covenant that promised them freedom from the bondage of Egypt.
In our own lives, we all yearn for our own "Promised Land." It's a place where we are free from the bondage of our past, free from the chains that have held us back, and free to pursue our dreams and purpose with unwavering faith. For black Christens, this promise resonates as a vision of justice, equality, and a future free from the shackles of racism and oppression.
Just as the Israelites looked toward the Promised Land with hope, African Americans have long held a vision of a more just and equitable society. One of the most profound aspects of the Promised Land is that it was a place where God's people could worship Him freely and authentically. In the Promised Land, they could establish a relationship with the Divine without the constraints of Egypt's oppressive systems.
For us, freedom and worship go hand in hand. When we are free—free from the burdens of sin, free from the chains of addiction, and free from the weight of our past—we can worship the Lord with all our hearts.
I encourage you to keep pressing forward in your pursuit of the Promised Land—a land of freedom, purpose, and authentic worship. Just as God led the Israelites to their Promised Land, He is leading us to our own. Trust in His guidance, have faith in His promises, and know that your journey is blessed. May you find your Promised Land, and may you dwell there in the fullness of freedom and God's abundant grace.
