S) "7 The king of Egypt did not come out of his land again, for the king of Babylon had taken all that belonged to the king of Egypt from the brook of Egypt to the river Euphrates."
2 Kings 24:7 (NASB)
O) The nation of Israel had a long and messy history with Egypt. In a lot of ways, she was like an ex-girlfriend. When Isaac and his eleven sons faced famine, they sought Egypt as a refuge, since they had food (because God had already put his twelfth son there, preparing the way). But, like every relationship that wasn't meant to be, Egypt turned against the nation of Israel, and there was slavery, and murder, and a basket-case-baby, and a princess, a burning bush, and plagues, and a parted Red Sea. Through all of that, a newborn nation learned of the living God, to who they were betrothed. Then, the going got a little tough and they wanted to return to Egypt, who had enslaved them and murdered their babies. And so began an on-again-off-again relationship of Israelites who sought Egypt for salvation, instead of the LORD. Now, fast forward several hundred years, and the remnant of Israel, the kingdom of Judah, was about to face exile. In what seems almost, like sovereign anticipation, God used Babylon to first remove the comforting idol of Egypt, so that when His judgment was executed against Judah, they wouldn't even have the temptation to seek Egypt. God had removed all their false-options for hope, so that they could not negotiate the discipline on their own terms, whatsoever.
A) When I am facing difficult circumstances, it's easy to believe the enemy of my soul is conspiring against me. However, there is no denying the discipline of my Heavenly Father. Furthermore, when circumstances begin to look dismal, and my normal recourses seem unavailable, and all of the rational, logical, earthly resolutions seen to be hopeless, I need to remember that it could very well be that my Father has designed it exactly so, that I might turn back to Him alone, to receive the discipline He designed to bring about godly character in me, as one of His children. Sometimes, a good father lets his child make a foolish choice, if he knows his child will learn from the consequences. Sometimes, though, a father will remove options to ensure his child receives necessary discipline. If God removes options, then we know those options were bad, for sure..
P) Father, Your grace is too deep for me to fathom. You know everything; You know exactly what is good for me, and what is best. I confess that I am too limited in my own awareness of my life. So, I invite You to remove the terrible options, because I want to make the good choice. Holy Spirit lead me, that I would learn to be disciplined, choosing right, even when the wrong options are left available. I want to follow Your lead, because it leads to life in the Father. Be glorified, and let Your will be done. In Jesus's name I pray. Amen.
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