Hi everyone,Wow, I'm getting bad at updating this, but I will try to summarize some thoughts over these eight chapters.
1) Impatience with God's plans: Moses says, "O Lord, why have you brought trouble upon this people? Is this why you sent me? Ever since I went to Pharaoh to speak in your name, he has brought trouble upon this people, and you have not rescued your people at all." But God assures Moses that he has not ignored his people or forgtten them, "I have heard the groaning of the Israelites, whom the Egyptians are enslaving, and I have remembered my covenant...'I am the LORD, and I will bring you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians. I will free you from being slaves to them, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with mighty acts of judgment. I will take you as my own people, and I will be your God. Then you will know that I am the LORD your God, who brought you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians. And I will bring you to the land I swore with uplifted hand to give to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob. I will give it to you as a possession. I am the LORD.'" However, when Moses went to tell this Israelites this, they said, "they did not listen to him because of their discouragement and cruel bondage."
Frequently, it seems as though what we pray for does not come to fruition in a timely manner. It seems like we're called to do something and, rather than keep with it, we get frustrated and want to quit. But we must remember that God's timing is often better than our own, and even here, God accomplishes his goals in his time. Thus, we must remember to endure patiently, knowing that if we do so, God will bring about His will in His time.
2) "Betcha know me now!" Gotta love the stories of the plauges. By the time they get to the gnats, the officials of Pharaoh are convinced that these are coming by the finger of God. Pharaoh remains unchallenged. Then there's the scene with the flies, where Pharaoh cries "uncle" and lets the Israelites go into the desert to offer sacrifices, and the flies stop. When that happens, he says, "suckers!" and refuses them yet again.
Then before the hailstorm, God says, "For by now I could have stretched out my hand and struck you and your people with a plague that would have wiped you off the earth. But I have raised you up for this very purpose, that I might show you my power and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth." Again the language of both God's patient endurance (He could have wiped them out), but also God's purposes in raising up Pharaoh so that God's name might be proclaimed throughout the earth.
But once the hail comes, Pharaoh cries uncle again. He lets Moses get out of the city, but once the hail and storm stop, he changes his mind and brings them back inside. Then the locusts come, and this time, the officials say "Don't you realize Pharaoh, that if we don't let these people go, all Egypt will be destroyed?!" So Pharaoh tries to make compromise, but the locusts come anyway. Cue repentance and end of plague. But then God hardens pharaoh's heart again, and he still doesn't let them go. Then God sends the darkness upon him. Same thing. This time, Pharaoh says to Moses, "Get out of my sight and the next time you see me, you will die."
Of course, that is not the end. God has one more plague in store - the death of the firstborn son. So God speaks this through Moses, and Moses leaves Pharaoh's chamber hot with anger. God says, "Pharaoh will refuse to listen to you — so that my wonders may be multiplied in Egypt." I don't mean to sound like an ungrateful person, but why did God need to do this to demonstrate his power? Had he not already done enough to display His power?
Here's the thing. Before God had ever hardened Pharaoh's heart, it was already hard. He new not Joseph - that is to say, he also knew not the LORD God. He then went and committed an act of infanticide against the Israelite people because they were overpopulating the place. What it seems to me, then, is that God is displaying his power against a tyrant who enslaved his people. When God hardened his heart, he just intensified Pharaoh's feelings.
Ross Taylor gives further insight into the matter on his website (http://www.apocalipsis.org/difficulties/Pharaoh.htm). He says there are several things to note (in summary):
a) God had told Abraham 400 years earlier that his descendants would be mistreated and that God would punish the nation they served. God told Moses beforehand that he would harden Pharaoh's heart.
b) The Egyptians were oppressing God's people with harsh slavery, Pharaoh ordered the slaughter of newborn males. God heard the cry of his people and it was time to act to release them from bondage.
c) Pharaoh was given numerous opportunities to change his mind and let the Israelites go. He was given signs even before the plagues had begun. He was stubborn and hardened his heart, and he was deceitful in his dealings with Moses. He repeatedly said that some of the Israelites could go, only to change his mind, once the plague had stopped.
d) Many of the plagues were conditional and were of increasing serverity, if Pharaoh had humbled himself and let the people go the plagues would not have happened, including the last and most dreadful in which the first-born male Egyptians died (eldest sons).
e) After Pharaoh had seen the evidence of the miracles of the first five plagues, which had convinced his own advisors, he continued to harden his heart, he refused to humble himself before the true God. Only after the sixth plague did God give what Pharaoh had chosen, and he hardened Pharaoh's heart, so that he would not let God's people go.
f) After that God proceeded with more plagues, and finally Pharaoh let them go. Even then he changed his mind and pursued them to the sea. One further miracle was required, the parting of the Red Sea so that the Israelites could escape the pursuing Egyptian armies and the destruction of Pharaoh and his army as they pursued the Israelites into the sea.
g) The final result was that God's power and glory were demonstrated to the Egyptians and his people. The Israelites were delivered from slavery in Egypt and they now believed that God was Lord (Jehovah) and trusted his servant Moses. God's name was spread throughout the world. Egypt was punished and her god's judged.
h) Although God knew that Pharaoh would harden his heart, he was more than fair with Pharaoh. Only after Pharaoh ignored the evidence of the miracles and the advice of his own advisors, and had repeatedly acted stubbornly and deceitfully did God give him over to his own desires and harden his heart and then judge him.
i) God does not delight in the death of the wicked, he sent his Son to die for our sins, God has made it possible for us to enter heaven and to enjoy him forever."
Well, anyway, I think in my next post, I will talk more about the Passover scene, rather than tack it on to todays readings. Again, sorry I've gotten behind - I should now be almost caught up on things. Have a great night!
In Christ,
Pastor Nathan
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