Idols of Egypt

Here is the devotional I wrote for the recent mission trip to Alaska. May it bless and encourage you.


“And I said to them, cast away the destable things your eyes feast on, every one of you, and do not defile yourselves with the idols of Egypt; I am the Lord your God.” -Ezekiel 20:7

As Christians we are called to be, “in the world, but not of the world.” We hear this in Sunday school, church, rallies and at conferences. It has become a staple of sorts for living “a Godly life.” I think the thing we many times fail to fully define is what constitutes “the world.” With the failure of knowing what the world is, comes the failure of following through with being “not of the world.” How do we live in the world, but not of the world?

Enter Ezekiel 20:7. I love this verse, because set in context for us as new testament Christians, it speaks directly to this issue of “the world.” The verse is speaking to the time with the Israelites were in the foreign land of Egypt as slaves. Egypt was a foreign place to them, having different customs, different forms of dress, and different religious beliefs. While being fully surrounded and immersed in the world of Egyptian culture, it was hard for the Israelites to not begin to take on the Egyptian customs, the Egyptian forms of dress, and the Egyptian religious beliefs. But we see how God is calling His people to remember who they are. They are NOT Egyptians. Therefore, they, the chosen people of God, shouldn’t take on the beliefs and characteristics of the Egyptians, because its not who they are!

In the same fashion we are foreigners in a land. Christians should not so easily adhere and take on the ways of the culture that surrounds us. We should remember that we are the chosen people of God, grafted into the vine by the master gardener. As such, should we defile ourselves by following after the “gods” of our culture? The pursuit of wealth, immoral sexual pleasures (sexual activity outside of marriage), fame/popularity and the pursuit of “cool,” are three that come to mind immediately. But idols are not always so easily recognized. An idol, simply put, is anything in our lives that is more important to us than God. That could be everything from kittens to our TV watching.

We are not finite beings. When we die, we are just beginning to live. We are not just meant for this world, but also for the next. Realizing the reality of eternity, and that we are not promised tomorrow, can transform our daily lives and help us to recognize and weed out the “idols of Egypt” that we are holding onto in our lives. Idols hold us back from the things God has planned for us because we are distracted from who we really are. Francis Chan says it best, “Lukewarm people think about life on earth much more than eternity in heaven. Daily life is mostly focused on today’s to-do list, this week’s schedule, and next month’s vacation. Rarely, if ever, do they intently consider the life to come.”

Oh Lord, reveal to me the idols I hold in my life. The things I cling to more closely than I do you and your word. Enable me to see with an eternity perspective. That I may see what is truly of worth and pursue those things, instead of settling for the idols of this foreign land I am living in. By Christ I ask this. Amen.