TWO MASTERS

KEY VERSE: Her adversaries have become the master (Lam 1:5, NKJV).

  That verse is about the remnant of Jews who had yet to perish either by the hands of the Assyrians or the Babylonians.  The “Jewish Problem” at this time and before, is that they always served two masters. They never totally abandoned God and were the very example of diversity in worship as they usually accepted the diverse gods of the people with whom they intermingled. Jesus said much the same thing as the key verse from Jeremiah’s lips, but from God’s inspired Word:

SUPPLEMENT TO THE KEY VERSE: No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon. (Mat 6:24)

  When in Egypt, the Hebrew people did what the Egyptians do; they served another master. Any god that the Egyptians thought up, the Hebrews served. Pharaoh was a god, and the Hebrew people served him well. They did not want to leave Egypt, but that was God’s Plan for them, “for a future and a hope” (Jer 29:11).  Against their wishes, God vanquished the Hebrews from safety in Egypt, albeit they were in servitude there. By grace, God delivered them from “master” Pharaoh. 

  While roaming in the wilderness for forty years, the Hebrews generally wanted to return to Egypt and Pharaoh’s rule. They acknowledged the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob but retained pleasant memories of life in Egypt. They did what Lot’s wife did; they always looked back at what seemed like pleasure after they faced the unknown. They forgot the bondage they had been in under Pharaoh, and desired a return to it. His food was more scrumptious than manna from heaven, and poisonous vipers didn’t seem to bite them back there. 

  The Hebrews had two masters, so to speak; the comfort of God’s hand, but the pleasantries provided by Pharaoh. They endeavored to serve both - God and mammon. “Mammon” is wealth which debases moral character. Egypt offered wealth, and God offered only nourishment and safety. That was the same ruse that the Serpent used to lure Adam and Eve into his cunning plan. The Hebrews were drawn to the same scam that the Serpent had used, and were continually, even when they were away from “the serpent” Pharaoh!

  God allowed the Hebrews to be cleansed from their unrighteousness as all of them died in the wilderness between Egypt and Israel. All those who had known sin were still attracted to Egypt. They followed God’s direction, but their hearts belonged to Pharaoh. That doubleminded “heart” is what needs circumcised. Circumcision of the flesh was not enough to cut-off the attraction to sin!

  With a new start, Joshua entered the Promised Land where God would provide for them a future and a hope. They had that when King David became King. Of course, David was only symbolic of the prosperity and hope that they would have centuries later with the real King – the Son of David (Jesus). After they had hope, the Israelites continued to look toward Egypt for safety. Although, they were not to do so, the people of Israel, and later Judah, continued to depend on Pharaoh and Egypt for safety – in the very face of God who would keep them safe! They continued serving two masters for centuries – God and Pharaoh – without realizing that Pharaoh was representative of Satan. Their two masters were God and the Serpent just as always!

  God provided the Israelites with multiple warnings. When threatened, God always provided, but soon they forgot God and turned to the gods of other peoples. Why would they do that? Like Pharaoh, they offered more pleasantries than God. Faith in God is not about prosperity in this world but the next. Believers must remain patient and endure temptation to the end to gain the ultimate safe-place. The Israelites failed to understand that trusting the Lord was not for once but for all time. They cared little for the longsuffering part of the promise, but wanted it now! 

  Finally, God destroyed the northern kingdom of Israel after dissension had split the country in two (Satan destroys gradually by division). Soon after, Judah was destroyed, along with the Temple and God-worship. God asked that they remain in Israel, but the people of Judah who were left insisted on going to Egypt for the safety and prosperity to be found there. After all those centuries, it seems the Jews never forgot what Egypt offered. However, the grass was not greener nor the riches any more prevalent in Egypt than back home in Judah. God again destroyed the remnant of the remnant of the remnant of the Jews, with the exception of those who would return home, and patiently endure Babylonian rule!

  The plight of the Hebrew people demonstrates two things: (1) God’s people can freely give up their safety for false promises, and (2) the remnant to endure to the end are the few who will ultimately be saved, according to the Word of God:

 “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it. (Mat 7:13-14)

  The example of the depletion of the Hebrew people is a lesson for Christians: They cannot serve two masters, because in the end, they will despise God and trust their other master. The Israelites usually looked toward God, but went the way of prosperity and perceived safety. When they depended on Egypt for protection, their trust was in the gods of the pharaohs. God assured them of that, and Jesus assures Christians of the same thing!

  Christians, just as the Israelites, were destroyed not by other gods, but the pursuit of temporal safety and short-lived pleasure. Pharaoh nor the Egyptian gods were really their masters; they were their own masters in pursuit of their own pleasure and endeavoring to keep themselves safe from their adversary – the Devil. Just as Jeremiah lamented to the Jews, “Her adversaries have become the master,” the same applies to Christians to this day. Christians’ Adversary (Satan) has become their master, even their silent partner in this life. 

  Compare your desires, behaviors, and actions: Do you follow the Will of God or submit to your own will? Is your ego your master or is Ego Eimai (I AM) your Master? I submit that the true master of those who call themselves “Christians” is their own Super-ego - the part of the self which protects the ego. In other words, the cunning Serpent still confuses the naïve creatures. Mankind still depends on themselves for nourishment and safety. We do a fine job of “dressing and keeping” our own souls, but not “serving and preserving” the souls of other and the understanding of God (Gen 2:15). 

  Never assume that you will be part of the remnant who remains under the safe-life of God in His safe-space. To be of God’s Kingdom means that the realm of Satan be divested from your hearts. Where is your interest? Is it the reward of eternal safety in heaven or in the pleasantries of the world?