The Sons of Egypt
A Devotional Series from Genesis
Online Bible Audio/Readings Links (ESV)
7/25 Reading Portions: Judges 8; Acts 12; Jeremiah 21; Mark 7
Genesis 10:13-14
Egypt fathered Ludim, Anamim, Lehabim, Naphtuhim, Pathrusim, Casluhim (from whom the Philistines came), and Caphtorim.
MITZRAIM
The name of Egypt in Hebrew is מִצְרַיִם (mitz-RA-iym). The original Hebrew is transliterated in the KJV, called “Mitzraim.”
In these two verses we encounter two people groups that have been troublesome to the people of God. Abraham encountered trouble both in Egypt and in the land of the Philistines. During a famine in Canaan, Abram and Sarai traveled to Egypt, and while there, Pharaoh saw the beauty of Sarai and took her as his wife (Gen 12:10-15). Abram, this great man of faith, faltered to trust God and His promises by lying about Sarai, saying that she was his sister (Gen 12:13); and though she was his half-sister (Gen 20:12), a half-truth is still a complete falsehood. Years later, a similar incident took place in the land of the Philistines with Abimelech, king of Gerar (Gen 20:1-18).
Again, Egypt was certainly troublesome to the children of Israel in the years following Joseph’s death, requiring a deliverer to arise for their salvation from the bondage of slavery (Ex 1:1-14:31). The deliverance of Israel from their bondage in slavery was a prophetic foreshadow of the sinner’s deliverance by Christ Jesus from the bondage of our slavery to sin. Egypt, ancient Mitzraim, was recorded to remind us that YHVH God sets all things in order to bring about a prophetic and exalted foreshadow of Christ and His gospel.
The Philistines, descendants of ancient Mitzraim, existed on the southern Mediterranean coast in Canaan. The Philistines were troublesome to God’s people once Israel entered the Promised Land, providing a prophetic foreshadow of what redeemed saints must endure: tribulation in the world (John 16:33) and persecution by the world (2 Tim 3:12) because of hatred from the world (John 15:18-19). Reading about the Philistine origin here reminds us that YHVH God has set things in order ahead of time for our spiritual growth in grace and for the strengthening of our faith so we may trust in Christ through every situation and circumstance (Rom 8:28-29). Hallelujah! What a Savior!