There is a threefold application of the line, “Out of Egypt I called My Son.” The first has to do with Israel as a nation. When God contended with Pharaoh over the release of the children of Israel from bondage, He referred to them as His first son. “Then you shall say to Pharaoh, ‘Thus says the Lord: “Israel is My son, My firstborn. So I say to you, let My son go that he may serve Me. But if you refuse to let him go, indeed I will kill your son, your firstborn.” Exodus 4:22-23 NKJV. The second application of the phrase has to do with the Lord Jesus. At birth, wise men came in search of Him to pay obeisance. When Herod heard about another king, he became restless. To shield Him from the sword of Herod, the angel asked Joseph to take Mary and the child, Jesus and go to Egypt. At the end of the reign of that Herod, they returned from Egypt to the land of Israel. This was the literal fulfillment of our text.

Believers must avoid the temptation of looking down on those in the world, because we were once like them before God called us out by His mercy.

The third and final application is an inference that we can draw. Egypt is symbolic of the world system and all its sinful allures. Whenever someone embraces Christ by being born again, he is called out of Egypt. So we can say effectively that everyone in Christ today was once in Egypt. Now, God gave a warning to the children of Israel concerning the Egyptians: “You shall not abhor an Edomite, for he is your brother. You shall not abhor an Egyptian, because you were an alien in his land” Deuteronomy 23:7 NKJV. Believers must avoid the temptation of looking down on those in the world, because we were once like them before God called us out by His mercy. Moreover, the grace of God that called us out of Egypt is still very much available to call them as well.