Do Not Go Back!

April 10

Deuteronomy 17-18

Psalm 44:1-8

Proverbs 10:28-30

Luke 9:1-17

Do Not Go Back!

“However, he must not acquire many horses for himself, or send the people back to Egypt to acquire many horses, for the Lord has told you, ‘You are never to go back that way again.’”  Deuteronomy 17:16 HCSB

This seems like an odd instruction.  Why would God tell them to never go back to Egypt again?  After all, it had been forty years.  What would be so bad about just going back to buy some horses?  They aren’t going back to live, just visit.  Maybe they could see a few old friends, let the overseers who ruled over them see what God had done for them and how well they are doing.  It seems harmless, right?  Not on your life.  God knew their hearts.  They had been wandering around for forty years in the wilderness grumbling and complaining.  On numerous occasions they had lamented ever leaving Egypt.  They had longed for the food in Egypt and said they would have been better off if they had stayed there.  They seemed to have forgotten the torment they experienced in Egypt.  They were just remembering the good things and forgetting all the bad.  God knew that if they went back, they could easily get sucked back in and find themselves in slavery again. 

This is a powerful lesson for us as well.  There are things in all our pasts that God has warned us never to go back to again.  It may have been an addiction, a relationship, a lifestyle, a place, or a sin God has freed you from.  Whatever it is, it needs to remain in the past.  After a while, we can begin to think that it doesn’t have a hold on us any longer.  It would be harmless just to visit it briefly.  We can go there just to prove that we can withstand the temptation.  A little bit is ok, right?  Definitely not!  God knows your heart as well.  He knows how easily we can get sucked back in.  We tend to forget the torment we experienced and remember the good times forgetting all the bad.  Do you want to find yourself in slavery again?  Heed God’s warning.  “Never go that way again!”