An Abomination To The Egyptians

“They served him by himself, and them by themselves, and the Egyptians who ate with him by themselves, because the Egyptians could not eat with the Hebrews, for that is an abomination to the Egyptians.”

This verse is set in the context of Joseph sitting down to a meal with his brothers in Egypt. They have come to buy food and Joseph has been testing his brothers to see what kind of hearts they have. On this return trip the brothers have brought Benjamin with them. This is Joseph’s full brother. Their mother is Rachel. Joseph has one final test for the brothers and it involves Benjamin (see Gen. 44). The brothers will pass the test since Judah is willing to substitute himself for Benjamin (Gen. 44:14-34). Judah had already placed his life on the line before Jacob (as surety for Benjamin) so that they could return to Egypt with Benjamin, for that was what Joseph had commanded (Gen. 42:16; 43:8, 9). At this meal in Genesis 43 a separation takes place. Verse 32 says that Joseph sat by himself and was served. The brothers sat by themselves (each according to his birth order) and were served, and the Egyptians sat by themselves and ate. The reason for this separation was that it was an abomination for the Egyptians to eat with the Hebrews.

This was the means used by God to ensure that the Hebrews did not assimilate with the Egyptians, or any other pagan people for that matter. Genesis 46:34 points out that shepherds were an abomination to the Egyptians, and Moses will later say in Exodus 8:26 that the sacrifices of Israel would be an abomination to the Egyptians. I deduce from this the simple principle that the Egyptians sought to keep themselves separated from others for fear of contamination. It was one thing to provide food as Joseph did, and take money from foreigners who came to buy food, but the Egyptians were not a people to compromise in certain other areas. It would appear that those areas were related to food and occupations and worship sacrifices (at least in the verses referred to).

This is a very important and practical biblical principle. God’s people in both testaments are commanded to be a separated people. Israel was to be separated from every other nation. God says to Israel in Exodus 6:7, “I will take you to be my people, and I will be your God, and you shall know that I am the Lord your God, who has brought you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians.” In Exodus 23:31-33, God promised Israel what he would do for them: “And I will set your border from the Red Sea to the Sea of the Philistines, and from the wilderness to the Euphrates, for I will give the inhabitants of the land into your hand, and you shall drive them out before you. You shall make no covenant with them and their gods. They shall not dwell in your land, lest they make you sin against me; for if you serve their gods, it will surely be a snare to you.”

Before Israel became a nation, the people of the world attempted to build the Tower of Babel. They desired a unified one world order. That kind of thinking and acting has always had problems. Such a unity can never be achieved by people who are sinners. Babel sought to promote a religion of self and power, having no need for God. So God came down among them and dispersed them by confusing their language (Gen. 11:8, 9). The beauty of a unified people is exemplified by the Church in her New Covenant relationship with her risen Head and Husband, our Lord Jesus Christ. God’s people are always one in Christ, because Jesus and the Father are one (John 17:11, 20-23). When we consider Israel as a nation, we find that the nation was not permitted to intermarry with other nations because true worship would then be corrupted. In Exodus 34:12-16 God said: “Take care, lest you make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land to which you go, lest it become a snare in your midst. You shall tear down their altars and break their pillars and cut down their Asherim (for you shall worship no other god, for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God), lest you make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land, and when they whore after their gods and sacrifice to their gods and you are invited, you eat of his sacrifice, and you take of their daughters for your sons, and their daughters whore after their gods and make your sons whore after their gods.” All of these sins were to be viewed as abominations.

In 2 Corinthians 6, the Apostle Paul teaches us about separation. We are not to be unequally yoked with unbelievers (vs. 14). He explains what an unequal yoke means in a variety of ways (see 6:14-16). There is no partnership between righteousness and lawlessness. There is no fellowship between light and darkness. There is no accord between Christ and Belial (Satan). There is no portion between a believer and an unbeliever. There is no agreement between the temple of God (God’s true people in worship) and idols. Notice all these words explaining being yoked. Paul does not mean that we are to have no association at all with unbelievers. What he is referring to are those situations or people that would influence us in the wrong way or direction. This is exactly what God warned Israel about. If Israel were not careful about who they married, they would soon be worshipping other gods and thus become guilty of idolatry. So separation was absolutely necessary. Thus we find Paul saying in 2 Corinthians 6:17, “go out from their midst…be separate from them…touch no unclean thing…” Paul cites Isaiah 52:11 as his proof text. So marriage between a believer and unbeliever that a believer willingly enters into is disobedience. The same applies to other partnerships (business, etc). Paul does not apply this to those marriage relationships where one of the spouses becomes a Christian. Such relationships have God’s blessings upon them. In fact, the unbeliever comes into blessing that he is completely unaware of, and children are viewed as sanctified before the Lord (1 Cor. 7:12-14). If a person became a Christian in a marriage and then withdrew from that marriage, they would be violating their marriage covenant and thus commit sin. Therefore, any refusal to separate from the world and its practices or from sin must be seen as abominable to God.

Now let us try and apply this to ourselves. Many Christians are troubled today about the issue of same-sex marriage. Does God view homosexuality as sin or not? If not, we have nothing to worry about. But if God has said that it is wrong, then we are bound to say what God says. If only people thought like this with respect to their marriages. Most Christians today are troubled by this matter of same-sex marriage because they are largely influenced by media propaganda and the views of political parties. First of all, it is a massive mistake to view any political party as Christian. This is what we have done. We shall find out soon enough (if you have not done so already) that they do not reflect the standards of God. Political parties use God to gain constituents. Christians have become gullible. They believe one party as right simply because they see the other party as so obviously wrong. This is just bad immature thinking. Both Old and New Testaments refer to homosexuality as sin (Gen. 19:5; Lev. 18:22; 20:13; Judg. 19:22; Rom. 1:26, 27; 1 Cor. 6:9, 10; 1 Tim. 1:9, 10). It is portrayed as sin of a serious nature, both by degree and in kind. All sin is abominable to God, but he calls certain sins abominable. He does this to emphasize them, so that we see the seriousness of them (i.e., bestially, incest, adultery, etc).

I think God is going to use the same-sex issue as a means to purify His Church. Gay people are to be loved for Jesus’ sake. Too often we are driven by hatred and bigotry. The Corinthians were abominable sinners, yet Paul says they had been washed and sanctified and justified. (1 Cor. 6:11). This includes their faith and repentance. How did that happen unless he loved them as people and spoke the Word to them? We must watch our attitudes and be the first to take the logs out of our own eyes (Matt. 7:1-6). All sin is evil to God. We are to separate ourselves from sin. We must apply this first of all to ourselves before others. Joseph ate at his table. We eat at the Lord’s Table. That is what separates us from everything. We are the Lord’s; therefore, we must glorify God with our bodies and lives (1 Cor. 6:19, 20).