Depart

In Genesis12:1 the LORD called Abram and asked him to depart from his country and his kindred and his father's house for a land that the LORD will show him. Abram did according to what God had instructed and set out. This departure from his homeland marked the beginning of immense blessings. He embarked on a journey of faith that eventually caused him to be greatly cherished by the Lord. Today, what does this word ‘depart’ signify to us as followers of Christ?

The world of civilization we live in today is perhaps not much different from that of Abraham’s time. (2 Tim3:1-5). We are inevitably influenced by the values and trends of this world as we grow up. Through our toil in this world, we are likened to the Israelites in Egypt, enslaved to bad habits, sinful desires, addictions or even the way of thinking in the society. We must come to the realization that we are God’s people, a chosen Nation bearing a royal priesthood in Christ. Such a precious priesthood is given us by God as a gift. (1 Pet 2:9; Num 18:7)

In the Gospel of John, Jesus said that one must be born of water and the Spirit in order to enter into the Kingdom of God (Jn 3:5). Being the sinful slaves of flesh, we would not think about leaving “Egypt” unless something happens to us. This likened to how the Israelites had never thought of leaving Egypt until the pharaoh oppressed them with exhaustive workloads. The reasons behind each individual’s desire to depart from “Egypt”, the world, could be different: major life events, sicknesses, or failures in life etc. In such situations we would be left to ponder, and to search for God again. Now when we come before God, all our sinful nature, fleshly desires and evil thoughts/doings are revealed. We will hereby come to acknowledge that by being in this state, we cannot please God, neither can our problems be resolved. And it will be the time for us to ‘depart’.

Upon trying to leave Egypt, we will feel the oppress of sin and its snare over us. Paul said, “For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing” (Rom 7:19). Two laws (the flesh vs the Spirit) are constantly fighting within him, as he went on to say (Rom7:22-23). This was the same feeling that the Israelites had experienced in their time when Pharaoh refused to let them leave. At this stage, many doubts may arise in our hearts as did the Israelites. Today, we must not harden our hearts as how they did despite all those miracles God performed in their sight. Paul’s conclusion did not stop there, he sighed: “Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!” Hence, we must rely on the power of the Holy Spirit to deliver us and help us depart from the sinful “land of Egypt”.

The removal of our sinful desires, addictions or bad personality traits will be a long process, much like the journey that the Israelites spent in the wilderness. During this process, our old self must die in the “wilderness”, as the Israelites who disobeyed God in their unbelief died within the forty years. Our new selves must be strengthened through the words of God and His Holy Spirit. The process of refinement is hard, toilsome, and painful. It is especially true when ‘a part of Egypt’ remains in us. We cannot fully devote ourselves to following and believing in God as we are still enticed to our addictions and evil desires. The Israelites were tempted to turn back to Egypt by the thought of them sitting around pots of meat. They grumbled against Moses, craving for meat even though the Manna from heaven was sufficient for their daily needs. Likewise, we could also be lured at times to go back to our old selves with addictions, sinful desires, and fleshliness. We may also have such inner struggles: fear, doubts, wanting to give up, unbelief, and feeling impossible to realign. It is especially difficult when we have failed again and again as the situation shows no signs of improvement. Even though we might feel guilty and helpless, we need to look beyond them. Jesus died for us while we were still sinners. If we have a heart to do good and are willing to leave our sinful self behind, will He not help us? We need to look to the mercies and kindness of God as they are new each day (Lam 3:22-24). His grace, compassion, faithfulness and love transcend our faults and weaknesses. Dwelling in our guilty feelings and our unworthiness will certainly give us no victory. It is the scheme of devil trying to besiege us, telling us that we are worthless. Actually, God views us as His precious children and He is willing to sanctify us. Just as He led the Israelites in the wilderness with the pillar of fire and cloud, His Holy Spirit will guide, comfort, and counsel us through this long refining process. We must run towards the True Light and look into the law of liberty, which gives us freedom (Jas 1:25). We must persist in prayers, Bible reading, and listening to sermons each day, so that our feeble selves will be strengthened through the word of God. Only so can we be humbled, knowing that without God we can never change anything. When we acknowledge our helplessness and lean on Him, we will truly start to change.

As we continue in this process to depart day by day, we can gradually see the change unveil within us. Departing is not a one-step process, but rather, a continual one that requires us to constantly rely on God and put in our own efforts. This goes hand in hand in terms of seeking the Kingdom of God and His Righteousness. The word ‘seeking’ is different from ‘asking’, because one must put in effort in order to seek and obtain the righteousness of God. Though long and weary by the temptations from the evil one, we shall produce the ‘peaceful fruit of righteousness to us who have been trained’. The Bible also tells us that although these trials might seem painful rather than pleasant, it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it. (Heb 12:11) Indeed, if we seek first His Kingdom and His Righteousness, all our other cares will be taken care of by our Heavenly Father.

In Jesus’ ministry, a woman with blood discharge touched Jesus and was healed instantly. There could be enough struggles within her for a long time before she made up her mind to depart from the bondage of her illness. She came to Jesus, believing that she will be healed by just touching the fringe of His garment. However, according to the Mosaic laws, a woman who has a discharge of blood is unclean. Not only she herself is unclean, but also every bed she lies on, every chair she sits on shall also be unclean. (Lev 15:25) Coming behind Jesus was a gradual process: In the synoptic gospels, we see that she had had this discharge for twelve years and spent all what she had trying to find a cure (Lk 8:43). How much she must have struggled in these twelve years until she saw Jesus in hope! In uncleanliness she surpassed her fears and shame, went into the crowd, and pressed on to Jesus. Likewise, we too, must surpass our fear and uncertainty to draw close to the Lord no matter how much shame and weight of our sins are on us.

If we work to depart from our old selves and leave behind the bondage of sin, we will truly bear fruits and be blessed. Looking back upon the journey, we will see that even through the fiery refinement, “our clothes have not worn out on us, our sandals have not worn off our feet”(Deut 29:5) God’s will was never for men to suffer, but through the refinement of departing from our sinful natures and addictions, we will surely see Him and become noble vessels fit for service in His household. The refinement is for the benefit of our spiritual lives. We may receive life and receive it more abundantly when we are within our Shepherd’s care.(Jn 10:10) Indeed, after we depart from “Egypt” and look back upon our journey through the wilderness in which was the abidance of God, we will say “God meant it for good” (Gen 50:20). By departing from Egypt, we “have been set free from the bondage of sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit we produce leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life.”(Romans 6:22) May our Lord Jesus Christ, who gives peace beyond understanding, help us and strengthen us to depart from our old selves, depart from the sinful land of Egypt, depart from the trends and values of this world and become ones born of the Spirit.