How did living in Egypt affect the Israelites' fellowship with God?
Living in Egypt, a pagan and godless land, caused the Israelites to lose their fellowship with Abraham's God. They became mortgaged to the pagan, heathen Egyptians and fell into bondage. This loss of fellowship required God to buy them back and redeem them.
Les explains that God had been in full fellowship with Abraham's line, but Joseph's brothers hated him and for all practical purposes killed him, though God spared his life. Joseph ended up in Egypt and became the second greatest man there. When famine came, Jacob's sons had to go down to Egypt. In that pagan, godless land, they lost their fellowship with Abraham's God and became mortgaged to the pagan, heathen Egyptians. They were in bondage, so God had to buy them back and redeem them. This is the story of Exodus: through the Passover blood and the Red Sea, God redeemed them out of Egypt unto His own self.