The New Testament analogy is the believer's separation from the world, just as God put a division between Israel and Egypt.
Les Feldick teaches that Egypt pictures the world and that believers today are admonished to separate themselves from it. The same separation that made Israel a distinct covenant people in Egypt is applied to believers, who should be noticeably different from unbelievers in behavior and lifestyle.
Exodus 8:23 — God's explicit division between Israel and Egypt is the Old Testament basis for the New Testament separation of believers from the world.
In Exodus 8:23, God told Pharaoh He would put a division between His people and the Egyptians. This was a literal separation that protected Israel from the plagues that struck Egypt. God also called Israel to be "a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation" (Exodus 19:6). Such language sets Israel apart from the surrounding nations as a distinct, covenant people. These Old Testament passages establish the pattern of separation that carries into the New Testament.
Les teaches that the Old Testament is a living example of New Testament doctrine. Egypt, he says, is a picture of the world. Just as God instructed Israel to stay out of Egypt and to remain a separated people once He brought them out, believers today are admonished by the apostle Paul to separate themselves from the world. He repeats the lesson in his teaching on the exodus: as soon as God brings Israel out of Egypt, they are to be a separated, holy nation with nothing to do with the people around them. The application is practical—Christianity has lost power because most people cannot tell the difference between a Christian and an unbeliever. Yet separation does not mean being an oddball or wearing a long face; believers should be different in lifestyle and behavior while remaining joyful in a perplexing world.
God separated Israel from Egypt so that the nation would be His covenant people. Les notes that God told Israel in Egypt, "I will put a division between you and the Egyptians," and described the nation as a "kingdom of priests." This separation protected Israel in Goshen from the plagues and set them apart from the nations around them.
For Les, Egypt is a picture of the world. He uses Abram's sojourn in Egypt as an example: Abram got into trouble when he went into Egypt, just like a believer who goes into the world. The Old Testament instruction to stay in the land of promise parallels the New Testament command to separate from the world.
No. Les says being different does not mean being an oddball or walking with a long face. If anyone has reason to be joyful in a perplexing world, he says, it is believers. The difference should show up in behavior and lifestyle, not in outward weirdness.
Les connects Israel's passage through the Red Sea to the New Testament believer's position in Christ. He calls it a baptism—not a water baptism—in which Israel was placed under Moses' leadership and under the Shekinah cloud. In the same way, crossing the Jordan on dry ground is a picture of coming through the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ.
God vs. Satan's Magicians: Why Aaron's Rod Swallowed Theirs
early in the morning, and stand before Pharaoh. Now I got to explain that, because I know I used to wonder, and a lot of people have, how did Moses and Aaron have such access to the king of Egypt? Well I read, and again, I have to, you know, you have to depend on what other people write sometime, but I have read that had this been Babylon, they would have never been able to do it.
Egypt as a picture of the world
Les says Egypt in the Old Testament is a living example of New Testament teaching; believers today are admonished to separate from the world, and a believer who goes into the world will soon be in trouble.
The exodus and crossing the Jordan as pictures of Christ
Les says Israel's crossing the Jordan, like their coming out of Egypt, pictures our coming through the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ.
The 3 Requirements for Redemption: Person, Blood, and Power
In other words, God is not only going to let Israel escape, He's going to destroy their enemy. You got the picture? Now, how does that apply to us? Well, let's go back to the New Testament. I'd like to have you start with 1 Corinthians. We'll try to take it as much in a book-by-book order as we can, so you won't have to go back and forth too often. But let's start with 1 Corinthians, chapter 1.
Israel's exodus baptism
Les explains that Israel's passing through the sea was a baptism in which they were placed under Moses and the Shekinah cloud, moving from slavery to freedom as God's people.
Why Christians Are Divided — 1 Corinthians 3 Explained Verse by Verse
It was connected with Temple worship, it was connected to the Old Testament covenants, it was the promise of the coming Messiah, and as I mentioned in one of my previous programs, a gentleman who contributes every month wrote in one of his last little notes, and he says, My what a thrill to see that the blood of animals was the only approach to God in the Old Testament, so consequently the four Go…
God's division between Israel and Egypt
Les emphasizes that God put a division between Israel and the Egyptians and made Israel a set-apart, covenant people, a kingdom of priests.
The practical application for believers
Les says the lesson of Israel's separation is for believers today: Christianity has lost power because believers are often indistinguishable from the world, yet separation means being different, not odd or gloomy.
Exodus 8:23: And I will put a division between my people and thy people: to morrow shall this sign be.
God's explicit division between Israel and Egypt, which Les says carries over to believers today.
Exodus 19:6: And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel.
God's calling of Israel as a separated, holy nation.
1 Corinthians 10:1-2: Moreover, brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant, how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea; And were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea.
The New Testament passage Les draws on when he says Israel's sea crossing was a 'baptism.'
The New Testament analogy is the believer's separation from the world. Just as God put a division between Israel and Egypt, Paul admonishes believers to separate themselves from the world, with Egypt serving as a picture of the world.
No. He says being different does not require a long face or oddball behavior. Christians have reason to be joyful, but their behavior and lifestyle should make them distinguishable from unbelievers.
Les teaches it was a baptism, not of water, in which Israel was placed under Moses' leadership and under the Shekinah cloud. It pictures the believer's passage from slavery to freedom as the people of God.
Watch the Teaching: God vs. Satan's Magicians: Why Aaron's Rod Swallowed Theirs