There was one ancient Christian writer who had a fanciful and allegorical way of interpreting the Scriptures. What he did with this account of Moses and Pharaoh’s daughter is a good example of the danger of over-allegorizing the Bible. Here is how he taught the story of Exodus 1-2:

• Pharaoh represents the devil.
• The male and female Hebrew children represent the animal and rational aspects of the soul.
• The devil wants to kill the rational character of man but keep alive his animal character.
• The two midwives are the Old and New Testaments.
• Pharaoh wants to corrupt the midwives so that the rational character of man will be destroyed.
• Because the midwives were faithful, God builds houses of prayer all over the earth.
• Pharaoh’s daughter represents the church, and gives refuge to Moses – who represents the law.
• The waters of the Nile represent the waters of baptism.
• When we come to the waters of baptism and take the law into our heart – the royal palaces – then the law grows up into spiritual maturity.

Does that really make sense to you?

I think that Adam Clarke was right when he said of this kind of interpretation: “Every passage and fact might then be obliged to say something, any thing, every thing, or nothing, according to the fancy, peculiar creed, or caprice of the interpreter.”

There is definitely a place for the allegorical understanding of the Bible. But we should never present such allegories as the primary meaning of the text, as the most important meaning of the text, or as the deepest meaning of the text.

It’s God’s word – handle it with care!

Blessings to you in Jesus’ Name – David Guzik

Tragically, Lot’s sons-in-law had already rejected the warning of the angels. They would be left behind as the angels urged Lot to escape the coming destruction and judgment on Sodom.

In the way they urged Lot, we see that these angels may serve as a pattern of evangelism.

They went after Lot, going to him and his house. Evangelism should be willing to pursue the lost sinner and their family.

They warned him of what was going to happen, and in plain words. As preachers, we should not be afraid to warn people about God’s coming judgment. When we do, we should speak plainly and directly.

They urged Lot, urging him to flee destruction. When we speak to others about eternal things, there should be a sense of urgency. We speak with great love, but with urgency.

Lot and his daughters survived this judgment. May God give us the energy, the wisdom, and the urgency to preach the gospel so that others may escape God’s ultimate judgment!

Blessings to you in Jesus’ Name – David Guzik

It had been more than ten years since God promised Abram and Sarai a son. By most accounts, ten years seems like a long time to wait for the promise of God.

Abram and Sarai were discouraged enough that they approached the problem of no children by leaving God out of the matter. It was as if they said, “With God out of the equation, how do we solve this?” This was wrong for many reasons.

– God is never out of the equation.
– Men and women of faith must walk in faith – not in unbelief.
– Men and women of faith must see things mindful of the realm of the spirit, not only mindful of the material world.

When we impatiently try to fulfill God’s promises in our own effort, it accomplishes nothing and may even prolong the time until the promise is fulfilled. It is much better to receive God’s help than to try and help Him with our own wisdom and acting out of unbelief.

If God has you in a waiting place right now, don’t lose heart and don’t despair. Step forward boldly in faith, refusing to take matters into your own hands. God will prove Himself worthy of all your trust.

Blessings to you in Jesus’ Name – David Guzik

We often want to tell God not only that He must bless us, but we also tell Him where He must bless us. “Lord, put me into a great place. A place of influence, prosperity, comfort, and success. Put me in that place and bless me there!”

Where did God bless Jacob? At Penuel, the place where God Himself wrestled with Jacob, defeated him, and put Jacob in his place.

When we read, and He blessed him there, surely, this was the blessing of being defeated by God. It was the blessing of the passing of the old life (the Jacob life), and the coming of a new life, (the Israel life).

At that place, notice that God blessed him there – at that particular place.

God blessed Jacob there, at the place of special trial and testing.
God blessed Jacob there, at the place of intense pleading to God.
God blessed Jacob there, at the place of seeing the face of God.
God blessed Jacob there, at the place of conscious weakness.

Does God have you in that kind of place right now? Don’t think for a moment that you have to go somewhere else to receive profound blessing from God. You may be in the place of blessing right now – you just thought it would look different.

Make it your prayer: “Lord, You blessed Jacob there – You can bless me here. I surrender to You just as Jacob surrendered to You and received Your best.”

Blessings to you in Jesus’ Name – David Guzik

But go and learn what this means:
“I desire mercy and not sacrifice.”
For I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.” (Matthew 9:13)

Did you know that religious leaders can be hypocrites?

I don’t mean that in the way most people mean “hypocrite” today. If you hold standards that you don’t fully live up to, that doesn’t make you a hypocrite. Hypocrisy is pretending you keep a standard when you don’t or having one standard for yourself and a stricter standard for others.

Jesus had strong words for the hypocritical religious leaders of His day. As pastors, preachers, and Bible teachers I think we can learn something from these words of Jesus to the hypocritical Pharisees of Matthew 9.

First, we learn God’s priorities: I desire mercy and not sacrifice. Here Jesus quoted Hosea 6:6. In Hosea’s day, God’s people were still good at bringing sacrifices (as in Hosea 5:6), but they had forsaken mercy, and they abandoned mercy because they gave up the knowledge of God and truth (as seen in Hosea 4:1). God would rather have right hearts, full of truth and mercy than religious acts such as sacrifice. Remember, they will know we are Christians by our love, more than by our “religious” acts and events.

Second, we learn God’s focus: I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance. Jesus didn’t come for those who already consider themselves righteous and in no need of a savior. Jesus came to save those who recognize their need, and know they are sinners.

Finally, we learn shallowness of the religious leaders: But go and learn what this means. These words of Jesus show the shallowness of the leaders’ knowledge of God and His word. These were men who thought of themselves as experts with God’s word. When Jesus said, go and learn what this means these men were probably insulted and shocked that Jesus dared to say, “Go and learn what the Bible says.”