For if there had been nothing wrong with that first covenant, no place would have been sought for another. But God found fault with the people and said, " The time is coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. It will not be like the covenant I made with their forefathers when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they did not remain faithful to my covenant, and I turned away from them," declares the Lord. If the first covenant was faultless, then the Lord would not have made the second covenant. Paul talks about the first covenant made to the Israelites, but they didn't go by that. So, there was a necessity to make the second covenant and new testament as a result. But a time will come when God will make a covenant with the Israelites not of grace dispensation. That time is the millennium. In verse 8 and 9, God is talking about taking them out of Egypt. If it is so, what kind of land was Egypt? SInce God has to hold his hand and brought them out of Egypt since it was such a horrible land. In order to release the Israelites from the yoke of Egypt, God had to perform ten miracles. The verses help us to understand the symbolic sinful life of us and the new life which is the result of the Lord holding out his hand and bringing us out of the yoke of sin. Let us see the characteristics of the Egyptian life.
First, in Jeremiah 42: 14, the Lord says the land of Egypt, "where we will not see war or hear trumpet or be hungry for bread."
From the chapters of Exodus, we can understand that the Hebrews did not engage in or attempt to engage in warfare. Here, we should bear in mind that only in war is a person's strength, capability can be estimated. The hebrews were very strong. Pharoah realized this and therefore, it was his desire to destroy them. The Hebrew midwives were strong. What God expected from the Hebrews was to wage wars against their adversaries and win them. In Exodus 12:41, we read, "At the end of 430 years...all the Lord's divisions left Egypt.." All of the men above 20 yrs old had to leave as warriors. The war which is referred here is the spiritual war in the new testament dispensation. Today, many people like to lead a life without war. The spiritual life is a war to become victorious. It is applicable to Zion and New Jerusalem which is the dwelling place of the overcoming saints. To be an overcoming saint, we need to subject our own self and our enemies. We have a war, "towards flesh against spirit and spirit against flesh." God desires from us to display our strength against the enemy, and God does not show his strength openely, but he channels his strength through us. Only when you fight, you will reveal your strength. God strengthens us and make us wage war against forces of darkness.
Secondly, Egypt was a nation that does not hear the trumpet. Moses had to make two trumpets.
1. In the first trumpet, all the Israelites have to be gathered.
2. The second trumpet is blown when they have to go leaving from the tabernacle.
When it is said "blowing the trumpet", this means that it is the gospel. The second trumpet is blown in Exodus 19:16-19, "On the morning of the third day, there was thunder an lightning, with a thick cloud over the mountain, and a very loud trumpet blast. Everyone in the camp trembled. Then, Moses led the people out of the camp to meet with God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain. Mt. Sinai was covered with smoke, because the Lord descended on it in fire. The smoke billowed up from it like...and the sound of the trumpet grew louder". The first trumpet is to assemble the assembly, a symbol of saving people out of Egypt. This is the gospel of saving/deliverance. The second trumpet deals with the glorious gospel. Both of these sounds of trumpets are blown louder. Many people blow only one trumpet (i.e., the gospel of deliverance only). In Egypt, there were no sounds of the trumpet, no sounds of the gospel, word of God, neither gospel of deliverance nor glorious gospel is not there. If we are in Egypt, the sound of the trumpet is not heard there.
Thirdly, Egyptians should not eat wth the Hebrews.
Some people eat with a spoon and fork, and meals should be served separately. Some other people's attitude is to eat with a group of people who belong to their caste, class, and the like. Some people invite ony rich people for any occasions. They find it difficult to mingle with poor people. Genesis 43:32 says, "They served him by himself, the brothers by themselves, and the Egyptians who ate with him by themselves, because Egyptians could not eat with the Hebrews." The bottom line here is cultural, language, and caste barriers should not be a hindrance to Christian brotherhood.
Fourthly, In Ezekiel 32:12, we can see the state of an Egyptian pompus life.
"I will cause hordes to fall by the swords of mighty men to most ruthless of all nations, they will shatter the pride of Egypt, and all their hordes will be overthrown." According to Isaiah 41:11, we see, "All your pomp has been brought down to the grave along with the noise of your harps." The rich man wen to hell due to pomposity. We should not lead a pompus life.
Fifthly, Egypt was a land of merchandise.
Children of God should lead a simple life, keeping in mind that a pompus life is the state of Egypt. Egyptians' spirit encourages to increase savings, neglecting the spiritual life. Such people live in dange of going to the grave. Hebrews 13:5 says, "Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have..." If you have the heart of contentment, the Lord will come to your rescue whenever you are in need.
Sixthly, The land of Egypt is filled with idols according to Isaiah 19:1
"See, the Lord rides on a swift cloud and is coming to Egypt. The idols of Egypt tremble before him, and the hearts of Egyptians melt with him." Since the Egyptians lead on idols, the spirit of Egyptians dissipate. Those who worship idols don't have a lively spirit. Only those who worship our true God will have a lively spirit. Whatever we give that is more important other than God is an idol.
Seventhly, Egypt is a land plentiful in horses.
In Isaiah 31: 1&3, we read, " Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help who rely on horses, who trust in the multitude of their chariots and in the great strength of their horsemen but do not look to the Holy one of Israel, or seek help from the Lord." History says that Egyptian horses are strong. Solomon also brought horses from Egypt. (CLICK ON THE NEXT PAGE FOR THE EXCITING CONCLUSION)