The Iron Furnace
“But the LORD hath taken you, and brought you forth out of the iron furnace, even out of Egypt, to be unto him a people of inheritance, as ye are this day.” -Deuteronomy 4:20
The “iron furnace” – this was sort of a nickname given to Egypt, or rather, the type of lifestyle that the Jews of this time were subjected to while living under an oppressive rule in Egypt.
“[T]he children of Israel sighed by reason of the bondage, and they cried, and their cry came up unto God by reason of the bondage.” -Exodus 2:23
Now think on your iron furnace. Each of us live in different areas, and have different lives and circumstances. Yet there is always a constant, no matter who you are: sin. Sin is found in every single human being since Adam.
“For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.” -1 Corinthians 15:21-22
The children of Israel were in bondage to physical masters, yet today we are in bondage to the spiritual power called sin. “Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin” (John 8:34). Though we sin in our bodies, it is our soul that has become captured by the enemy.
Look once again at your life, an iron furnace, what do you feel?
Surprisingly, you might like it.
If you do not know God, if you have not confessed your sins before His Son Jesus, you are living under the bondage of sin. You are, in a spiritual sense, just like the children of Israel; yet you may not want to change your ways. Remember, God only heard and saved His people when they cried to Him. It was only when they were discontent, and disgusted with their present condition that God looked upon them with mercy. They hated where they were, and knew that there must have been a better life than the one that they were now living.
But being a son of Adam, inheriting the curse of sin, we are simply oriented to enjoy our lives of sin – it is almost second nature to us. Yet this pleasure is only temporary, and in the end will only be swallowed up in pain! Even those who feel no remorse or regret for their selfish actions in this life will one day be judged, and then all of the happiness they once had will be forgotten, and drowned out as they are cast into a lake of fire. There is a much greater life than that of sin – and its rewards are eternal!
Even Moses, who helped free the Israelites from the grips of the Pharaoh, and of the oppression of Egypt, saw the tradeoffs:
“By faith Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter; Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season; Esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt: for he had respect unto the recompence of the reward. By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king: for he endured, as seeing him who is invisible.” -Hebrews 11:24-27
Will you forsake Egypt? Will you too turn your back to the iron furnace, and reach toward the highest goal?
He who is invisible calls out to you – can’t you hear His gentle plea?
Turn from your old ways, and trust not in your own mind. For I created heaven and earth, and do I not also know the best path for you also? For if you do not know my Son, if you have not called out His name, come to Me.
The path which you are now on is not good, though it be pleasant. For your joys are as the grass, which grows tall one day, and the next is mowed down and cast to the ground. Seek Me, and you shall have an everlasting joy, and an eternal inheritance in My family.
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