Ancient Egypt gets a lot of attention from historians and archeologists. There is a whole branch of study called Egyptology. Documentaries are done regularly about it. So why does ancient Egypt hold so much interest to them over modern Egypt or over other ancient nations? It is because they see it as the standard for all of world history. They measure everything against it. They see it as the pinnacle of man. To dare question their interpretation of history based on Egypt is to question their whole worldview. It is because ancient Egypt represents the value system of the world versus the value system of the word of God. This is true throughout the Bible.

Abraham was called to the promised land, but when there was a famine, he went to Egypt (Genesis 12:10-20). It was there he got into trouble about his wife because he knew it was an ungodly place. When his son Isaac went through a famine, God told him not to go to Egypt (Genesis 26:1-3). Egypt is where Joseph was taken to be a slave (Genesis 37). Eventually his whole family moved there to flee another famine, and also ended up in slavery (Genesis 46-Exodus 1). It was Egypt that clashed with Moses in a direct conflict of beliefs and worldviews (Exodus 2-14). The miracles God did in Egypt were not randomly selected. They were direct and specific judgments of the idols which their belief system was based on. After Israel left Egypt, God told them to never go back there (Exodus 13:17, Exodus 14:13, Deuteronomy 17:16, Deuteronomy 28:68). You would think after being freed from 400 years of slavery, they would not want to go back there, and would not have to be told. Yet this is the sinful nature of man. When difficulty arises in our spiritual journey, we tend to look back on the slavery of sin God freed us from with longing like it is better than what God has for us. When the Israelites were spiritually weak in the wilderness, they would look back to Egypt instead of to God (Exodus 14:10-12, Exodus 16:3, Exodus 17:3, Numbers 11:5, Numbers 14:2-4, Numbers 21:5). 700 years later, after Babylon destroyed their land because of their sins, the Israelites again looked toward Egypt instead of God (Jeremiah 41:16-42-44:30). Throughout the Bible, coming out of Egypt is symbolic of freedom to follow the Lord, and looking to Egypt is symbolic of turning away from God toward sin.

Almost every Egyptologist is a denier of the Bible. They claim there is no evidence of the history of the book of Exodus, and that the Bible is about 200 years off on its timeline. Actually there is no evidence contradicting the Bible, there is evidence supporting it, and the Bible has never been disproven based on historical or archeological evidence in this or any area. There is an excellent documentary called "Exodus: Patterns of Evidence" that goes into more detail than there is room here for. The problem is not the evidence. It is their refusal to acknowledge anything that confirms the Bible. In doing so, they are actually fulfilling the Bible (Romans 1:18-32). Romans 1:18 says they hold the truth in unrighteousness. The word hold in the King James Version does not mean to hold up. It means to hold down. Most other translations translate it suppress. They are purposely hiding the truth that confirms the Bible in order to continue in sin. Egyptologists represent the spirit of Egypt, which is the spirit of this world. Evolutionists do the same thing.

There are two points here. Be careful what you let people tell you. They may have an agenda that does not include encouraging you to embrace the truth of the Bible. The other is when you find yourself in a spiritual place that looks like a wilderness, don't look back to your past B.C. nostalgically as though it looks better than your current situation. Remember Lot's wife (Genesis 19, Luke 17:32). There is no such thing as a bad day walking with God, but a "bad" day in God is better than a "good" day sinning in unbelief in the world. There is nothing in Egypt for us but slavery, and there is nothing in the ultimate plan of God for us but eternal life. God told Moses to tell Pharaoh that Israel was going three days' journey into the wilderness to meet with God (Exodus 3:18, Exodus 5:3, Exodus 8:27). After they left, they went the three days' journey, but when they got there they found no water (Exodus 15:22-27). They should have been saying, "After all the miracles God just did for us, we are now at the exact place He appointed for us. Surely God knows we are here and has provision for us." Instead of praying, they complained about their circumstances. Moses prayed, and God healed the bitter water for them. God then brought them to a place where there were 12 wells of water (the same number as the tribes of Israel), and 70 palm trees (the same number as the elders of Israel). Was this a coincidence? God knows what we need, and He knows how to provide it, even in the wilderness. Egypt does not.