When God uses our enemies to draw us to himself

Sometimes God allows the pressure of our enemies or our circumstances to become unbearable so that we stop leaning on what enslaves us and cry out to him. That is what happened to Israel in Egypt. The place that was once a refuge became slavery, and Pharaoh’s harshness was what made the people’s cry rise up to God:

“And it came to pass in process of time, that the king of Egypt died: and the children of Israel sighed by reason of the bondage, and they cried, and their cry came up unto God by reason of the bondage. And God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. And God looked upon the children of Israel, and God had respect unto them.”
Exodus 2:23-25 (KJV)

This article explains how God used Egypt and Pharaoh to draw his people, how he has done the same throughout the Bible, what “the Egypt of our day” is, why God is not the author of evil even though he uses it for good, and how to leave Egypt without going back. There is a prayer at the end.

From refuge to slavery

Israel did not arrive in Egypt as slaves. They arrived as guests, in a time of famine, thanks to Joseph. Egypt gave them food, land and security. But in time “there arose up a new king over Egypt, which knew not Joseph” (Exodus 1:8), and everything changed:

“But the more they afflicted them, the more they multiplied and grew. And they were grieved because of the children of Israel. And the Egyptians made the children of Israel to serve with rigour: And they made their lives bitter with hard bondage, in morter, and in brick, and in all manner of service in the field: all their service, wherein they made them serve, was with rigour.”
Exodus 1:12-14 (KJV)

This is the first feature of every “Egypt”: it hardly ever begins as a prison. It begins as relief, as comfort, as a solution. A job, a relationship, a habit, a substance, a system that holds us up at first and then makes our lives bitter.

When pressure becomes a cry

While Egypt was comfortable, Israel did not think of leaving. It was the harshness of their bondage that made them cry out. And God answered: “I have surely seen the affliction of my people which are in Egypt, and have heard their cry by reason of their taskmasters; for I know their sorrows; And I am come down to deliver them” (Exodus 3:7-8).

Notice what the text says: God sees, hears, knows and comes down. He was not indifferent. But the people’s cry was the beginning of their deliverance. Sometimes the pressure of our enemies is what finally brings us to our knees, and that is where everything begins.

And there is more: “But the more they afflicted them, the more they multiplied and grew” (Exodus 1:12). The oppression meant to destroy them made them stronger.

God uses even Pharaoh

Pharaoh answered proudly: “Who is the Lord, that I should obey his voice to let Israel go?” (Exodus 5:2). His hardness seemed to be the great obstacle. But God said to him: “And in very deed for this cause have I raised thee up, for to shew in thee my power; and that my name may be declared throughout all the earth” (Exodus 9:16; Romans 9:17). Without knowing it, that enemy became the stage on which God showed his power.

In the end, at the Red Sea, Moses said to the people: “Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will shew to you to day: for the Egyptians whom ye have seen to day, ye shall see them again no more for ever” (Exodus 14:13). “The king’s heart is in the hand of the Lord, as the rivers of water” (Proverbs 21:1).

A pattern throughout the Bible

What happened in Egypt is repeated many times in Scripture:

In Judges: whenever Israel turned away, they fell under enemy peoples; then “the children of Israel cried unto the Lord, the Lord raised up a deliverer” (Judges 3:9).
Assyria and Babylon: God called Assyria “the rod of mine anger” (Isaiah 10:5), and Nebuchadnezzar “my servant” (Jeremiah 25:9). Cruel empires that, without knowing it, served to call Israel to repentance.
Manasseh: one of the most wicked kings of Judah was carried off in chains to Babylon. In his distress he prayed and humbled himself, and “Then Manasseh knew that the Lord he was God” (2 Chronicles 33:13).
Naaman: Syrian raiders carried off a little Israelite girl. That girl told her mistress about the prophet in Samaria, and the enemy general was healed and came to know God (2 Kings 5:1-3).
Joseph: his brothers sold him out of envy. Years later he said to them: “ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good” (Genesis 50:20).
The early Church: persecution scattered the Christians, and “they that were scattered abroad went every where preaching the word” (Acts 8:4).

And the clearest example of all: the prodigal son. What brought him back was not a sermon, but hunger. “And when he came to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my father’s have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger!” (Luke 15:17). Read The parable of the prodigal son explained.

God is not the author of evil

Here we must speak carefully. Saying that God uses our enemies does not mean that he approves of the evil they do to us or that he caused it. Oppressors are responsible for their wickedness. The Bible states: “For he doth not afflict willingly nor grieve the children of men” (Lamentations 3:33). God takes no pleasure in our pain.

What the Bible teaches is that God is greater than evil and can take it and bend it towards the good of those who love him: “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God” (Romans 8:28). Evil is still evil; but it does not have the last word.

The Egypt of our day

In Revelation, the city that opposes God is called “spiritually… Sodom and Egypt” (Revelation 11:8). In the Bible, Egypt became a picture of every kind of slavery. What is Egypt today?

Addictions: alcohol, drugs, pornography, gambling, which promise relief and end up ruling us. Read How to overcome drug addiction with the Bible and with help.
Debt and greed: living to have, working as slaves to a lifestyle.
Destructive relationships: ties that draw us away from God and rob us of peace.
Sins that have become habits: lying, resentment, a double life.
Comfort without God: a life “sorted out” in which we no longer pray or seek God.

Sometimes it is precisely the “Pharaoh” of that Egypt—the addiction that becomes unbearable, the boss who humiliates, the debt that suffocates, the person who betrays—that finally makes us lift our eyes. The psalmist recognised it: “Before I was afflicted I went astray: but now have I kept thy word” (Psalm 119:67). “It is good for me that I have been afflicted; that I might learn thy statutes” (119:71).

The temptation to go back to Egypt

The surprising thing is that, as soon as they had left, the Israelites began to long for Egypt: “We remember the fish, which we did eat in Egypt freely; the cucumbers, and the melons, and the leeks, and the onions, and the garlick” (Numbers 11:5). They forgot the whips and remembered the onions.

That is why God did not lead them by the shortest road, “for God said, Lest peradventure the people repent when they see war, and they return to Egypt” (Exodus 13:17). God knows our tendency to go back to what enslaved us. Paul warns us: “Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage” (Galatians 5:1).

The wilderness: where God speaks to the heart

Between Egypt and the promised land lies the wilderness. It is not a punishment, but a school: “And thou shalt remember all the way which the Lord thy God led thee these forty years in the wilderness, to humble thee, and to prove thee, to know what was in thine heart” (Deuteronomy 8:2). There they learned that “man doth not live by bread only” (8:3).

Hosea says it tenderly: “I will allure her, and bring her into the wilderness, and speak comfortably unto her” (Hosea 2:14). And also: “called my son out of Egypt” (Hosea 11:1). Behind it all is the love that draws us: “Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee” (Jeremiah 31:3). Jesus said: “No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him” (John 6:44).

How to leave Egypt

Cry out. Do not hide your slavery. God hears the groaning of the oppressed (Exodus 2:24). “In my distress I cried unto the Lord, and he heard me” (Psalm 120:1).
Call Egypt by its name. Acknowledge what has you bound. What is not named is not left behind.
Accept the “Moses” God sends you. A pastor, a friend, a support group, a professional. God also sets people free through people.
Cross the sea. There will be a decision that closes the way back: cutting off a contact, getting rid of something, asking for formal help.
Do not idealise Egypt. When nostalgia comes, remember the whips, not just the onions.
Let the wilderness shape you. The road to freedom has stages. God walks with you through each one.
Remember who set you free. “I am the Lord thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage” (Exodus 20:2). “If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed” (John 8:36).

An important warning: if your “Pharaoh” is a person who mistreats you, threatens you or subjects you to violence, God does not want you to stay there waiting for them to change. Seek help, get to safety and go to the authorities. Leaving Egypt is also obeying God. Read They that are incensed against thee shall be ashamed and Coming back to Christ.

Frequently asked questions

Does God use enemies to bring us closer to him? The Bible shows that God can use opposition and affliction, even when caused by wicked people, to bring his people back to him: Egypt, the Judges, Babylon, Manasseh, the prodigal son. He does not approve of evil, but he makes it serve his purpose (Genesis 50:20; Romans 8:28).

What does Egypt represent in the Bible? Egypt represents the slavery from which God sets his people free: “the house of bondage” (Exodus 20:2). Spiritually, it symbolises sin, addictions and everything that rules us and draws us away from God.

Why does God allow affliction? Not because he delights in it (Lamentations 3:33), but because he can use it to wake us up, purify us and draw us near to him: “Before I was afflicted I went astray” (Psalm 119:67).

What does “not going back to Egypt” mean? Not returning to the forms of slavery God has brought us out of. Galatians 5:1 puts it like this: “be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage”.

Must I put up with someone who harms me because God is using them? No. That God can bring good out of evil does not mean you should stay under abuse. Seek protection, professional help and, if necessary, the authorities.

Prayer

Lord, you see my affliction, you hear my cry and you know my sorrows. Today I confess my Egypt to you: what once seemed a refuge and now holds me as a slave. I thank you even for the pressure that made me lift my eyes, because it brought me to you. You are not the author of my pain, but you are greater than it; take what others meant for evil and turn it to good. Come, Holy Spirit, break my chains and give me courage to cross the sea and not look back. When nostalgia deceives me, remind me of the whips and not the onions. Lead me into the wilderness if need be, and speak to my heart there. Place beside me the people you send to help me, and give me the humility to receive their help. I also pray for those who have oppressed me: may they come to know you, as Naaman did, and find your mercy. You brought me out of the house of bondage; I want to live free for you. In the name of Jesus. Amen.