Enough .

Exodus 13:17-21 Stand for the Reading: Pray.

The definition of enough from the Miriam Webster's dictionary is interesting. It is one of the only definitions I have seen whose meanings oppose one another.

The definitions are: 1. As many or as much as required 2. That one is unwilling to tolerate any more.

Introduction The Israelites at this point are mid-flight out of Egypt after Pharoah freed them. The road through the Philistine country was the major route that ran from Egypt to Babylonia known as the Great Trunk road. It went along the coast through Philistine territory. It was referred to by the Egyptians as The Way of Horus and it was heavily defended by violent Philistines. Exodus 13 verse 17, it says:

Exodus 13:17 (NKJV)

Then it came to pass, when Pharaoh had let the people go, that God did not lead them by way of the land of the Philistines, although that was near; for God said, “Lest perhaps the people change their minds when they see war, and return to Egypt.”

Point 1: Have you had enough?

· Many of us have been at a point in our life when we’ve hit rock bottom and said the phrase, “I’ve had enough.”

· The Israelites still had whip marks on their backs. They were treated worse than pigs.

o Yet verse 17 says that God knew they would change their minds at the first sight of war.

▪ My question for you is, “Have you had enough struggle to be battle ready enough to not want to return to Egypt?” Have you been through enough to ensure you will never turn back?

· Some people refer to this as rock bottom, but is rock bottom really enough? Is “enough!” really enough?

Point 2: Is Enough Really Enough?

We say the phrase “Enough is enough..” but how many times do we say that and still return to the same old ways.

o If our so-called “rock bottom” wasn’t enough to change us permanently, then was rock bottom really enough?

Our definition of enough and God's definition are two different things.

o Had the Israelites went through the land of the Philistines, they would’ve underwent war and turned back. God had to send them through something more.. this was a wilderness. He had to shape them.

▪ Exodus 14:5-6

Exodus 14:5–6 (NKJV)

Now it was told the king of Egypt that the people had fled, and the heart of Pharaoh and his servants was turned against the people; and they said, “Why have we done this, that we have let Israel go from serving us?” So he made ready his chariot and took his people with him.

· Had they went through the land of the Philistines, they would’ve traveled along the coast having no idea Pharoah had changed his mind and death awaited them either by Egyptian or Philistine.

· They had no idea that in sending them through the wilderness God was protecting them and strengthening them and at the same time taking them through the wilderness so they would come up against the Red Sea which God would then use to swallow up their enemies.

Hindsight is not 20/20. Exodus 16:2-3

Exodus 16:2–3 NKJV

Then the whole congregation of the children of Israel complained against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness. And the children of Israel said to them, “Oh, that we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the pots of meat and when we ate bread to the full! For you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.”

▪ How many times have we spent time focusing on the food and forget the bondage?

Many of them still had whip marks on their backs. They had seen rock bottom and been delivered but it doesn’t seem that deliverance did anything to stop them from complaining or wanting to go back.

· They were still worried about themselves, their benefit, and not God.

They hadn’t put themselves to the side and saw the bigger picture that God was trying to show them.

which brings me to my next point:

Point 3: Is He Enough?

Jeremiah 24:1-10

Jeremiah 24:1–10 (NKJV)

The Lord showed me, and there were two baskets of figs set before the temple of the Lord, after Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had carried away captive Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, and the princes of Judah with the craftsmen and smiths, from Jerusalem, and had brought them to Babylon. One basket had very good figs, like the figs that are first ripe; and the other basket had very bad figs which could not be eaten, they were so bad. Then the Lord said to me, “What do you see, Jeremiah?”

And I said, “Figs, the good figs, very good; and the bad, very bad, which cannot be eaten, they are so bad.”

Again the word of the Lord came to me, saying, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: ‘Like these good figs, so will I acknowledge those who are carried away captive from Judah, whom I have sent out of this place for their own good, into the land of the Chaldeans. For I will set My eyes on them for good, and I will bring them back to this land; I will build them and not pull them down, and I will plant them and not pluck them up. Then I will give them a heart to know Me, that I am the Lord; and they shall be My people, and I will be their God, for they shall return to Me with their whole heart.

‘And as the bad figs which cannot be eaten, they are so bad’—surely thus says the Lord—‘so will I give up Zedekiah the king of Judah, his princes, the residue of Jerusalem who remain in this land, and those who dwell in the land of Egypt. I will deliver them to trouble into all the kingdoms of the earth, for their harm, to be a reproach and a byword, a taunt and a curse, in all places where I shall drive them. And I will send the sword, the famine, and the pestilence among them, till they are consumed from the land that I gave to them and their fathers.’ ”

Jeremiah 24:8–10 (NKJV)

‘And as the bad figs which cannot be eaten, they are so bad’—surely thus says the Lord—‘so will I give up Zedekiah the king of Judah, his princes, the residue of Jerusalem who remain in this land, and those who dwell in the land of Egypt. I will deliver them to trouble into all the kingdoms of the earth, for their harm, to be a reproach and a byword, a taunt and a curse, in all places where I shall drive them. And I will send the sword, the famine, and the pestilence among them, till they are consumed from the land that I gave to them and their fathers.’ ”

So why the captivity?

· If the purpose of getting them out of the first captivity was to free them, then sending them into another captivity would undo that. Unless, there was something more we don’t understand.

o Captivity has an interesting effect on people. It eventually molds them into one of two positions.

▪ The first position is “This is enough” (aka as many or as much is required).. I’m fine, I accept it. They become content with their bondage.

▪ The second position is “Í’ve had enough”, they are unwilling to tolerate anymore.

“This is enough.. i’m good” , that is the bad fig. “I’ve had enough” the second is the good fig.

Deuteronomy 11:29

Deuteronomy 11:29 (NKJV)

Now it shall be, when the Lord your God has brought you into the land which you go to possess, that you shall put the blessing on Mount Gerizim and the curse on Mount Ebal.

Mount Gerizim is for the good figs, Ebal is for the bad figs. The blessed land has to be possessed. It doesn’t come without work.

Ebal is spiritual Egypt and it is a much easier journey in fact, if you want Ebal you don’t have to move at all... Gerizim is a longer path it’s gonna take work and you are going to have to go through the wilderness and very likely another captivity.

o The good figs were sent into captivity so God could give them a heart to know him because being unwilling to tolerate what you are in is not enough. You need a heart to know God.

▪ When you have a heart know God, you search Him out and you understand that HE IS THE LORD, meaning you know He is 100% in charge and if he takes you the long way through the wilderness it is for your all good but once you understand and accept this, God takes you in, you become His people, and He becomes your God causing you to return with your whole heart.

· The bad figs were left where they were thinking they were just fine.

Conclusion:

· Maybe God isn’t delivering you merely to get you out of your bad situation because you have “had enough”

o In fact, You may find yourself in a new captivity and wilderness on your journey out.

Is this how you pictured your Hosanna?

▪ They bypassed the road through Philistine country only to take a much longer more treacherous journey not understanding anything about why.. always questioning to the point of complaining Weren’t we better in Egypt with whip marks still on their backs.

They had no idea that they were not hunger-ready, let alone battle-ready

They also had no idea that Pharoah had changed his mind and sudden death was on the way.

· In Jeremiah 24, the Jews had to be sent into another captivity ordered by the Lord so their hearts would turn back to Him, but just like before.. even this didn’t last.

o Did you notice when Jesus was an infant.. God’s “chosen people” had become so treacherous that it was safer for the Messiah in Egypt than it was in the promised land

Why? because they didn't get all of those things that God needed them to get from their captivity. Just like Pharaoh, they hardened their hearts.

So let me ask you today..

Are you seeking the Deliverer or just looking for another deliverance?

Because whether you call it Egypt/Israel, Ebal/Gerizem, Good Fig or Bad Fig... you better understand that God makes a separation.

Exodus 11:7 (NKJV)

But against none of the children of Israel shall a dog move its tongue, against man or beast, that you may know that the Lord does make a difference between the Egyptians and Israel.’

Do you have a heart for the deliverer? or are you just in search of the next Hosanna?

Because either you think you’ve had enough.. or you accept that HE IS ENOUGH.

Which one is it?

Altar Call.