The Iron Furnace (Deuteronomy 4:20)

2023-03-16

But the LORD hath taken you, and brought you forth out of the iron furnace, even out of Egypt, to be unto him a people of inheritance, as ye are this day. (Deuteronomy 4:20)

The exodus from Egypt to go to the Promise Land is a picture of salvation. It is used as such an example throughout the Bible, especially in the book of Hebrews: “So I sware in my wrath, They shall not enter into my rest” (Hebrews 3:11). The Israelites were saved from bondage and slavery, yet very few made it to Canaan.

One other thing the Israelites were saved from was God’s wrath on Egypt. In the case of Egypt, it was the ten plagues. They were spared from much of that. “And I will sever in that day the land of Goshen, in which my people dwell, that no swarms of flies shall be there; to the end thou mayest know that I am the LORD in the midst of the earth” (Exodus 8:22). The Passover was another act of salvation since those who applied the blood to their doorways were spared the plague of the firstborn. In this, Egypt was the iron furnace.

We who have believed in Jesus also are spared from an iron furnace. “And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire” (Revelation 20:15).