The Lord gave me a vision to write a series of devotionals through the Torah. I fell in love with the Old Testament when I read through the Bible from Genesis to Revelation for the first time over 10 yrs ago. I have studied through each of the books of the Law inductively through Precept Ministries. My love only grows for these precious books and my desire to share their beauty with the world. In this blog we shall journey past the Torah and all the way to Revelation one day at a time.
The whole congregation of the sons of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron
in the wilderness.
Exodus 16:2
I wish I could say that the sons of Israel learned their lesson about grumbling at the waters of Marah, but I cannot. The grumbling at the waters of Marah was just the beginning. The children of Israel are a month and a half into their journey from Egypt. They are now in the wilderness of Sin somewhere between the oasis of Elim and Sinai and what we discover is that the name of this wilderness is very fitting.
The children of Israel have only less than two months ago experienced the mighty arm of God in Egypt. They have just watched God make bitter waters sweet. The children of Israel have had the Lord their Healer lead them to an oasis called Elim, where there were springs and date trees galore. The Lord has delivered them and provided for them over and over and now that it is time for them to set out on their journey again we also find them grumbling again.
The children of Israel have just experienced the deliverance of God. They have walked across the Red Sea on dry land. They have passed through the parted sea as the waters were rolled up as walls on each side of them while Pharaoh and his armies were coming up behind them. The children of Israel have watched the Lord release the sea and they have seen the waters come crashing down upon their pursuers. Now the children of Israel lift their voices in song to their God.
But Moses said to the people, 'Do not fear! Stand by and see the salvation of the LORD which He will accomplish for you today;
for the Egyptians whom you have seen today, you will never see them again forever.
The LORD will fight for you
while you keep silent.
Exodus 14:13-14
The children of Israel have gone out boldly from Egypt (Exodus 14:8) however Pharaoh still pursues them. Yes, the children of Israel had been redeemed. Yes, they had been set free from their slavery. Yet still, the one who once held them in captivity still chases after them in order to enslave them again.
As I read this chapter in Exodus I am reminded of the verse "Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour." (1 Peter 5:8).
How could God possibly be honored through Pharaoh and his army? This Pharaoh rejects the God of the Hebrews. This Pharaoh refuses to bow to the Lord and refuses to honor His word. This Pharaoh mocks the Lord and afflicts the ones who serve Him. So how can someone who so openly dishonors God before men be used by God to bring honor to God before an entire nation?
I am just letting everyone know that I am moving my blog. You will now be able to find me at Proven Path Ministries. I have loved my Blogger... the move is to a personally owned site as I step forward in this ministry and to whatever God has called me to do in each day.
Also, being an approval addict, this new site does not have "followers" or "stats" so it will save me from the heart dropping condemnation I experience when I see no new followers or worse... when I see that I have been "unfollowed". It also will keep me from constantly stopping by the computer just to see if anyone is reading my posts and what countries they are from.
I don't write for the glory of me, but for the glory of God and the building up of His church. I have to be reminded of that constantly... as I catch myself too easily seeking approval and validation from those who are not my Lord and Savior.
Devotional Studies Through The Bible will continue.
Confessions of a Christian Housewife will continue.
Proven Path Ministries will encompass these as well as eventually will make available several Bible studies I have written as I have taught and studied.
I hope you will continue to join me and share in this ministry with me.
I pray that I will be able to continue to encourage you...
Moses and Aaron come before Pharaoh after the seventh plague and they once againrequest that the Hebrews be allowed to go and worship their God. The eighth plague that shall come with Pharaoh's refusal is a swarm of locusts upon the land of Egypt, a swarm that will fill the land and houses in such a way that has never been seen before or ever will be seen again.
This eighth plague is an attack upon the Egyptian god known as Anubis. He was the god of the fields, including cemeteries. It also was another attack upon the god Isis who was supposed to protect Egypt from the locusts and also the god Seth, who was known as the protector of the crops.
As we read this tenth chapter of the book of Exodus we can see that these plagues are beginning to have an impact upon even the servants of Pharaoh. Pharaoh's servants come to him and ask him to let the Hebrews go.
So Pharaoh calls Moses and Aaron back in and tells them to go and worship their God, yet he puts his own stipulations upon them. Pharaoh wants to tell them who will be allowed to go. He plans to maintain the reigns on these people by keeping their women and children and flocks and herds under his control. Oh my friend, God doesn't play games with us and He is not in the business of bargaining.
How many come to Christ, and they look up at His cross, at His outstretched arms and they say, "Jesus, I want to have Your heaven and in exchange I'll give you A, B, and C but I'm keeping D through Z."
In Luke 18:18-27 we read of a conversation between Jesus and a ruler who asked Him about eternal life. This ruler wanted to know what he must do to enter the kingdom of God. The ruler had kept the Law from his youth yet Jesus said to him "One thing you still lack; sell all that you possess and distribute it to the poor, and you shall have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me." (Luke 18:22) Unfortunately when the ruler heard this, he walked away sad. He had given God A, B, and C but he was not willing to give God D through Z.
God does not bargain with us. We have no right to come to Him with stipulations for our obedience. We have nothing to bargain with, as 1 Timothy 6:7 says "For we have brought nothing into the world." We own nothing and we have control of nothing. God declares in Psalm 50:12, "For the world is Mine, and all it contains."
Pharaoh did not own these Hebrew slaves as he so thought. Pharaoh was not the god he claimed himself to be. Pharaoh still has yet to realize that he sits on his throne only by the power and authority of this God he is fighting so hard against.
But how can a man be in the right before God?
If one wished to dispute with Him,
He could not answer Him once in a thousand times.
Wise in heart and mighty in strength,
Who has defied Him without harm?
Job 9:2-4
Oh precious one, we have not a leg to stand on if we think we can stand before God. There is no one more righteous. There is no god more great. We have no one to appeal to on our behalf. We have no argument that can hold up in court. We have no grip tight enough to hold on to what we are so desperate to control.
Pharaoh's stubborn hardening heart is leading him and the nation of Egypt straight into destruction. The locusts shall come and leave devastation in their wake. Pharaoh will cry out for mercy once again, yet as before, when mercy is received, humility it will not bring.
Pharaoh is a man who is hardened by the mercy of God, convinced in his own mind that he is somehow able to manipulate this God of the Hebrews as he has been able to manipulate everyone else in his life. However, this God, is not a man nor a figment of man's imagination, that He might be manipulated and controlled by anyone. This is the Living God, Elohim, Creator of heaven and earth.
Oh Father,
Forgive me for the times that I have attempted to bargain with You. Forgive me for the times that I have tried to maintain control of a situation instead of just letting go and submitting to Your authority. You are wise in heart and mighty in strength and all the world is Yours and in the midst of all that You are, there is this love that You have for me. You are God, and yet You are mindful of me. This alone should be all the reason I need to humble myself before You. Oh Father I do not desire to fight against You, but to submit to You in all things, in all areas of my life. You alone are in control.
In the midst of the seventh plague, Pharaoh admits he has sinned against the Lord. He calls out to Moses and Aaron and asks them to go before God on his behalf and ask for the thunder and hail to cease. He proclaims that the Lord is righteous and he and his servants are wicked. Could it possibly be that Pharaoh is beginning to get it?
Sadly, no, Pharaoh still is not getting it. Moses goes before the Lord to ask Him to stop thethunder and hail, but it will be so that Pharaoh will know that the earth belongs to the God of the Hebrew slaves. Before Moses asks for this seventh plague to cease he looks at Pharaoh and assures him that he knows that this profession of his sin and wickedness is empty words. Moses is well aware that Pharaoh and his servants do not yet fear the LORD God.
Oh precious one, it is so much more than just admitting that we have sinned and that God is righteous.
Some will look at themselves and admit that they are sinners and then use this admittance to justify their sin. They will then point their finger in the face of God and claim that He has no right to judge them because it's His fault that they are a sinner to begin with. They claim He made them this way. The arrogance of man unrestrained by the Spirit of God has no bounds.
When we look at the many religions in the world, very few profess man as originally good. Most openly declare man as wicked and their god as the one who is the judge of his goodness. In most of the religions of the earth man must work to gain his goodness in order to please his god or, at the very least, to please the men around them who also serve his god. So for Pharaoh to proclaim himself wicked, to admit that he has sinned, does not mean that he is choosing to bow the knee to this righteous God.
Some can see the obvious power of our Creator and submit immediately, others eventually, yet there are and will be many who refuse to the end. They are unwilling to deny themselves and surrender to God's authority.
At the end of the age God will once again display His power through plagues and judgments upon the earth. Just as He did in Egypt, the plagues will begin small and will increase in intensity. God's desire is not for mankind to be destroyed but for mankind to repent and turn to Him and be saved. However, just as in Egypt, many will refuse until the very end and their opportunity will be gone.
In Revelation 6:15-16 we read how the kings of the earth, the great men, the commanders, the rich, the strong, the slave, the free, all hide themselves from God after they have seen His display of power through the breaking of the first six seals.
They could have came to Him in repentance and cried out for His mercy and grace, but instead they hid and cried out to the mountains and the rocks of the earth. We hide from God when we know we have sinned and we do not want to stand before His righteousness. Just acknowledging our wickedness is not repentance.
In Revelation 9:20-21 we read once again how mankind refuses to "repent of the works of their hands, so as not to worship demons, and the idols of gold, and of silver, and of brass and of stone, and of wood, which can neither see nor hear nor walk; and they did not repent of their murders nor of their sorcereries nor of their immorality nor of their thefts." This refusal comes after the plagues within the six seals, and after the plagues within six of the seven trumpets that are within the seventh seal.
Twelve plagues later God is still giving mankind an opportunity to repent and be saved. The gospel of God is still being preached. The one-hundred and forty-four thousand sealed from the tribes of Israel are still preaching salvation. Yet, mankind will not submit to the authority of their Creator God. They still will not fear the word of the LORD.
Pharaoh and his servants still would not fear God. Seven plagues behind them and still they shake their fist in the face of God. Why will they not humble themselves? Why do they refuse to honor this God?
They refuse because it would mean that they would have to exalt Him above themselves.
My friend, the root of sin is not evil acts.
The root of sin is self.
Oh Father,
How very stubborn we can be. In Proverbs 18:14 your Word declares, "The spirit of a man can endure his sickness, but as for a broken spirit who can bear it?" We can endure our sin when we have pride to stand on. Our strong wills can hold our fist up high and tightly balled for the fight when we refuse humility. Oh, but Father, when you finally choose to break our spirit, to bring our pride crumbling down around us, this we cannot endure. Here is the point we often must reach before we finally willingly submit to Your authority. How thankful I am that You chose to break me.
My Jesus, I love You and it's in Your name I pray,
Our God is not a God of chance. He is not a God of happenstance. His work is not dependant upon anyone or anything outside of Himself. He is self-existent and self-sufficient. Our Creator God is omnipotent. He is all powerful and His power comes from within Himself. He is sovereign over all the universe, even over time. God decides to specifically point this out to Pharaoh as He brings His next three plagues upon the land of Egypt.
Pharaoh's refusal to keep his word after the fourth plague leads to this fifth plague, a severe pestilence upon the livestock. This fifth plague is an attack upon the Egyptian god Apis, who was worshiped as the bull god.
The Egyptians believed that the souls of their gods lived in these bulls, as well as in goats, rams, and cows. Moses tells Pharaoh that "Tomorrow the LORD will do this thing..." (Exodus 9:5) and we read in Exodus 9:6, "So the LORD did this thing on the next day..."
I read this and I think of the late and great baseball player, Babe Ruth. I am reminded of the legend that speaks of him standing at home plate in the 1932 World Series and pointing to the outfield stands and "calling his shot" right before he knocks the ball out of Chicago's Wrigley Field. However, God is not going to leave any room for controversy.
Once again God will make a distinction between the livestock of Israel and the livestock of Egypt. The pestilence comes and all the livestock in Egypt dies, but not even one dies from Israel.
Pharaoh once again hardens his heart and would not let the people go.
God then sends the sixth plague, boils upon the beast and men of Egypt. This plague is against the Egyptian god Thoth, who was known as the god of medicine and wisdom. The Egyptians had several medicinal gods and it is believed that it was to these gods that human sacrifices were made.
Humans were burnt upon a high altar and their ashes were scattered into the air in order to send out a blessing to the people. Moses does as the LORD commanded and takes handfuls of soot from a kiln and throws it toward the sky and instead of a blessing the people of Egypt receive a plague of boils.
The magicians who probably were the ones who used to toss the ashes of human sacrifices into the air are also covered in these sores. So much so, that they cannot stand before Moses because of the boils. Yet still, Pharaoh, covered in his own sores, hardens his heart and refuses to submit to God.
In Ecclesiastes 3:1 the Word of God declares, "There is an appointed time for everything. And there is a time for every event under heaven-" It is now time for Pharaoh and the people of Egypt to know that there is no one like the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
When God calls Moses to stand before Pharaoh to deliver the coming of the seventh plague He tells him "For this time I will send all My plagues on you and your servants and your people, so that you may know that there is no one like Me in all the earth." (Exodus 9:14) This nation has been worshiping false gods formed by there own hands through their own imaginations. They have been worshiping mere men and bowing before pharaohs who had set themselves up as gods. They have refused to look at the creation around them and give glory to the one true God. Instead they have believed the lie and worshiped the creation instead of the Creator (Romans 1:25). Now, one plague at a time, God is opening the hearts and minds of those not only of Israel, but those throughout all the land of Egypt.
"Behold, about this time tomorrow, I will send a heavy hail, such has not been seen in Egypt from the day it was founded until now." (Exodus 9:18) God is calling His shot. He is pointing out His finger. He is extending His hand. He is giving fair warning to His opponent and giving them a heads up so that they may position themselves accordingly. God has always done so, and He will do so until the end of the age.
I heard another voice from heaven, saying,
'Come out of her, my people,
so that you will not participate in her sins
and receive of her plagues;
for her sins have piled up as high as heaven,
and God has remembered her iniquities.
Revelation 18:4-5
God does not act in secret. He never has. He never has to, because He is just in all his ways.
Before God sends this seventh plague upon the land of Egypt He has Moses announce to Pharaoh that He could have already destroyed him and his land, but that He has allowed him to remain in order to display His power and to proclaim His name through all the earth.
With each plague that comes because of Pharaoh's refusal to submit, the LORD God takes His stand against the false gods the people of Egypt have lifted up in worship. With each plague more people hear about this great God of the Hebrew slaves.
This seventh plague of hail is God's stand against the Egyptian god Nut. She was the sky goddess, the god of the harvest. Her husband was Geb, the Egyptian god of the earth that God came against with the third plague, the plague of lice. This plague was also against Shu, the god of the wind, storm, and violence from the sky. He supposedly held the ladder to heaven.
Our God is showing the world that He alone is omnipotent. He alone is to be feared. "The one among the servants of Pharaoh who feared the word of the LORD made his servants and his livestock flee into the houses; but he who paid no regard to the word of the LORD left his servants and his livestock in the field." (Exodus 9:20-21) The people of Egypt could trust in their gods, or they could trust in the God of Moses. They would have to choose whose word they would fear.
How about you?
Do you fear the word of the LORD?
That is really the bottom line. God has given us all fair warning of the judgment that is to come. He has laid out to us what is true and good. He has set before us blessings and cursings (Deuteronomy 11:26) and He leaves the choice to us. He has not acted in secret. He has given us all ample time and opportunity to take Him at His word. He has the power, authority, and right to destroy us but He waits, and still so many of us, like Pharaoh, exalt ourselves or choose to trust in our own little "g" gods and refuse to regard His word.
Oh Father,
You leave us without excuse (Romans 1:20). You have made Yourself known to us. You have allowed us all to experience good and evil. You have openly displayed Your glory for all to see.Your Word does not sugar coat the actions of Your people. You have recorded their failures along with their victories. You have recorded Your judgments along with Your mercies. You are good, compassionate, slow to anger, and abounding in lovingkindness (Numbers 14:18). All You ask is for us to trust You. To acknowledge You alone as God and submit ourselves in obedience to Your Word. Oh Father, forgive me for the times that I have exalted myself andf trusted in my own ways and not had regard for Your Word. You alone are God and I humble myself before You.
Pharaoh's refusal to listen to his magicians leads to the next plague, swarms of insects. This plague is an attack upon the Egyptian god Khepfi, who was worshiped as the god of insects and dung beetles. The Lord sends this fourth plague upon the land of Egypt.
However, this time God is making a distinction in the land. This plague will not touch the land of Goshen. Goshen was the land in which the Hebrews lived. It was given to them by the Pharaoh whom Joseph served when Jacob and the rest of his sons came to live in Egypt during the famine (Genesis 47:6).
The last three plagues affected all the land of Egypt, including the Hebrews land of Goshen, but this plague shall not. God has always drawn a distinction between the righteous and the wicked. He does this so that we may know He is God. He does this so that we may know that His way is right and good.
We all live in this fallen world, the righteous and the unrighteous. We all, whether believer or non-believer, experience both good and evil. We all deal with the consequences of sin, our sin and the sins of others. Yet there will always come a time when the plumb line is dropped (Zechariah 4:10).
We read in the book of Ezekiel about God's judgment on Jerusalem. The temple of God had become a place of idol worship. The priests of God were worshipping false gods within the walls of the temple and there were women prostituting themselves at the temple gates. God had finally had enough, but before He brought His judgment, He marked His remnant.
The LORD said to him,
'Go through the midst of the midst of the city,
even through the midst of Jerusalem,
and put a mark on the foreheads of the men
who sigh and groan over all the abominations
which are being committed in its midst.'
But to the others He said in my hearing,
'Go through the city after him and strike;
do not let your eye have pity and do not spare.'
Ezekiel 9:4-5
God will continue to spare His righteous ones even until the end of the age. In Revelation 7:3 we read of an angel crying out after the breaking of the sixth seal "saying, 'Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees until we have sealed the bond-servants of our God on their foreheads.'" After the breaking of the seventh seal we read in Revelation 9:4 how God protects those who serve Him, those with the seal on their foreheads, and He would not allow the plague of locusts and scorpions to harm them.
In Psalm 37:25 David wrote "I have been young and now I am old, yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken or his descendants begging bread." My friend, God knows those who are His, and He will not forsake them. He has promised us over and over in His Word that when the righteous cry, He hears and He delivers them out of their trouble in His time and in His way (Psalm 34:17).
Oh precious one, the question that remains is are you His?
Do you wear His mark on your forehead?
Do you sigh and groan over the abominations you see committed around you?
Is your righteous soul oppressed and tormented day after day by the lawless deeds and sensual conduct of unprincipled men (2 Peter 2:7-8)?
Do you wear His seal or are you more the "fellow citizen" we read about in Ezekiel 33...
But as for you, son of man, your fellow citizens who talk about you by the walls and in the doorways of the houses, speak to one another, each to his brother, saying, 'Come now and hear what the message is which comes forth from the LORD.' They come to you as people come, and sit before you as My people and hear your words, but they do not do them, for they do the lustful desires expressed by their mouth, and their heart goes after their gain. Behold, you are to them like a sensual song by one who has a beautiful voice and plays well on an instrument; for they hear your words but they do not practice them.
Ezekiel 33:30-32
My friend, we can sit in church every Sunday and sit before the pastor and claim to be a child of God, we can sing our songs of worship with our arms lifted up, but if we refuse to practice what we hear and sing then all we have to look forward to is judgment.
What is even worse, is that with every word, with every song, with every refusal, we harden our hearts. Every opportunity we have to believe and we do not do it, we harden our hearts (Mark 8:16-17, Hebrews 3:15-16).
Perhaps you feel you are offering up to God a good effort, that you have found a good compromise. You are after all there, and maybe you serve in an area, possibly you even tithe regularly. Maybe you feel you can rationalize and excuse your disobedience in other areas of your life by holding up your list of works. Oh precious one, we can see through God's dealings with Pharaoh that our God just does not accept compromise.
God has sent this fourth plague upon the land of Egypt. He has made a distinction between the land of Goshen where the Hebrews live and the rest of the land of Egypt. God is demonstrating His power and authority once again before Pharaoh. God is giving Pharaoh another opportunity to hear and to be obedient.
Pharaoh offers a compromise up to Moses and tells him that his people can sacrifice to their God in the land of Egypt, but Moses refuses because that is not what the LORD commanded. Pharaoh concedes and says that he will let the people go. However, as soon as Pharaoh experiences the relief of the mercy of God, he once again goes back on his word.
Mercy has hardened him again. He professed to obey God out of the desire for his own comfort. His obedience had nothing to do with surrender from the heart. It was fake. It was for selfish gain, but my friend do not think that this took God, or even Moses, by surprise.
Oh Father,
As I live in this world I am surrounded by both good and evil. This plague of sin is all around me. I fight it from within and without, but I fight to win. I know that you see my heart. I know that you see whether I am oppressed and tormented by my sin and the sin of others or whether I secretly seek it for pleasure and put on a face of hating sin for show. Oh Father, open my eyes to any disobedience that is within me. Purge me of all iniquity. Let me not deal deceitfully with You, with others, or myself. May my heart be pleasing to You.
Pharaoh's hardened heart and his refusal to keep his word leads to another plague upon his land. This third plague that the LORD sends upon Egypt, is a plague of gnats or lice. This plague was an attack upon the Egyptian god Geb, worshiped as the god of the earth.
Moses strikes the dust of the earth with his staff and the dust becomes the gnats. We do not know how much time passed between the plague of frogs and this plague of gnats. Quite possibly the plague of gnats from the dust of the earth have come while the piles of frogs are still stinking up the land of Egypt.
I am sure that Pharaoh is slightly annoyed by this point, but I am also sure that he is still smug in his attitude. I can picture him walking arrogantly into his throne room while he struggles to not slap and scratch at the lice covering his body. I can hear him loudly summon his magicians once again, expecting them to diminish his hidden fear.
How arrogant we humans can be when we do not want to be humbled. So many times we would rather struggle in our sin, suffer in our consequences, and sink deeper in our pits than just admit we are wrong. Proverbs 16:5 declares, "Everyone who is proud in heart is an abomination to the LORD; assuredly he will not be unpunished."
The magicians come and they pull all their tricks out of the bag. They try, but their secret arts cannot bring forth gnats. The magicians look at their Pharaoh and they say, "This is the finger of God." (Exodus 8:19) God is through playing games. The magicians now realize this.
They now fully understand that the power of trickery and illusion that they held in their hands is no match for the One True Living God. They now understand that they are not dealing with a false god that they have created, that they have given power through their own manipulation, but they now understand that this God is real.
The magicians attempt to convince Pharaoh that he needs to listen to this God. His heart is so hard that he will not hear, and he hardens it further still.
When we see the obvious power of our God and yet refuse to bow to His authority we, like Pharaoh, harden our heart. Oh precious one, how careful we must be. Let us not excuse, rationalize, or dismiss the obvious finger of our God. Let us not chalk unexplained events up to circumstance and coincidence. Their are no coincidences with God. He is sovereign and is at work at all times.
When Jesus gave up His spirit on the cross it is written that the veil in the temple was torn from top to bottom. It is written that the tombs were opened and the dead arose. It is written that the earth quaked and the rocks shook and darkness fell over the land. It is written that when Jesus yielded up His spirit a centurion who was standing at the foot of the cross said, "Truly this man was the Son of God!" (Matthew 27:50-54, Mark 15:33-39) It is also written that after even all of this obvious finger of God upon this moment in history, many still refused to believe.
Religious leaders came and asked for guards to be placed at the tomb because they knew that Jesus had foretold His resurrection. Then, even after the resurrection, when these eyes saw the risen Christ walking and appearing to many, they still attempted to excuse, to rationalize, to dismiss the obvious power of God. And their hearts were hardened. In Luke 16:31 we read "But he said to him, 'If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be persuaded even if someone rises from the dead.'"
Pharaoh is a man blinded by his own pride. Pharaoh curses and spurns the Lord. He is a man who in the haughtiness of his countenance refuses to seek God or even admit that there is a God besides the god that he himself claims to be (Psalm 10:3-4).
He has seen the evidence of the existence of the God of the Hebrews, yet denies Him still. He has seen the signs of the power of this God, yet still refuses to acknowledge Him as God. He has even experienced the mercy of this God, yet still refuses to give Him praise. Oh how stubborn we in our pride can be.
Oh Father,
Your Word says that "Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before stumbling." (Proverbs 16:18) How easily I can find myself stumbling in my pride. It was pride that led to the fall of man. It is pride that can keep us from ever getting up from that fall. Oh how the arrogance of our heart can deceive us (Obadiah 1:3). Father, forgive me for the times that I have let pride overtake me. My God, may I always be quick to recognize your power and your work in my life. May I always give You all the glory and praise.
Seven days have passed since the Lord turned the Nile to blood. Seven days for Pharaoh to think and consider and ponder letting the Hebrews go for a time to worship their God.
God sends Moses before Pharaoh once again to request that he let the children of Israel go. God is asking permission from Pharaoh. God does not have to do this. He does not have to consider Pharaoh at all. God could destroy Pharaoh and all of Egypt with a single breathe from His nostrils, yet He comes and is allowing Pharaoh to make a decision.
With every judgment God is giving Pharaoh an opportunity to bow his knee in submission to the One True Living God.
Egypt worshipped many gods and the True God is about to show Pharaoh and all of Egypt that He alone is sovereign over all the earth. The signs and plagues that the Lord is sending upon Egypt are not random. God is choosing very specifically.
The first sign that Moses brought before Pharaoh was his staff changing into a serpent. The cobra was sacred in Egypt and was connected to many goddesses. One was Wadjet, the cobra goddess of Buto, who represented kingship. Another was Renenet, who was a fertility goddess and was sometimes depicted as a woman nursing a child. She also was known as a protector of Pharaoh.
Let us recall that it was the snake of Moses that swallowed the two snakes of the magicians. Knowing this makes that sign a little more important doesn't it?
In the first plague God turned the Nile to blood. The Nile was the life-sustainer to all of Egypt. The god of the Nile was known as Hap or Hapi. He was known as the greatest of all gods. He was declared to be the creator of everything. They even believed that all the other gods came forth from him.
Once again let the weight of this knowledge weigh on you as you put yourself in the place of an Egyptian during this time as they watched this unknown God of the Hebrews control the waters of their greatest god.
Now we come to the second plague, the frogs. The frogs of the Nile were worshiped as sacred objects and if someone killed a frog, even accidentally, the punishment was death. One of the frog goddesses was known as, Heqet or Heka. She was one of the eight gods that the Egyptians associated with creation. She was thought to be the initiator of fertility and resurrection. When the Egyptian women gave birth this was the false deity they called upon. They believed that she was the one who breathed life into the child in their womb. The Egyptians also believed that it was this goddess who took their Pharaohs to their eternal thrones after death.
The LORD told Moses to tell Aaron to stretch out his staff over the Nile and bring forth frogs up out of the Nile. Aaron did as he was commanded and frogs came and covered the land of Egypt. Once again, Pharaoh and the people of Egypt, saw that the God of Moses, the God of the Hebrew slaves, had power and authority over another of their gods.
Pharaoh goes to his magicians and they are able to make frogs come out of the Nile also, but once again, they cannot make them go away.
Pharaoh goes to Moses and he tells him that if will ask God to remove the frogs, then he will let the Hebrews go and make a sacrifice to their God. Moses asks Pharaoh to just say when. He leaves the time of the removal of the frogs to Pharaoh's word because he wants him to "know that there is no one like the LORD our God." (Exodus 8:10) Moses entreats the LORD on behalf of Pharaoh and the frogs are destroyed.
Pharaoh receives the mercy of God upon himself and upon his nation. Pharaoh gets the relief he wanted. His circumstances have changed. He no longer is in the difficult situation that caused him to seek God for help. This mercy should have caused him to thank the God who delivered it, but instead in the midst of the relief of the mercy of God, Pharaoh hardens his heart. He went back on his word, on his vow, and refused to let the people go.
Oh precious one, have you been there? Have you been in the midst of a difficult time and cried out to God and made promises to Him that you did not keep once He delivered you out of your distress?
Well, my friend, I know that I have. I know that I have cried out to God to deliver me from pain or to give me the outcome that I wanted in a situation. I would cry, "God if you will do what I am asking, then I will do this, or I will never do that again."
One particular time stands out more than any other. I was eighteen years old and standing outside hospital doors while my best friend's sixteen year old little sister lay in the ICU from a car accident. At the time I was a rebellious and immoral young girl and I cried out to God and asked Him to save her. I also knew I was living in a way that was not pleasing to God or my parents and as I looked her death in the face I feared my own. I promised God that I would stop having sex outside of marriage. I promised that I would start going back to church. I promised Him that I would change.
The promises I made to God, I didn't keep. It wasn't that I didn't try, but they were promises that were too strong for me to keep in my own will, in my own strength, and especially when it was against the will of another.
Two months later I found out that I was pregnant.
One month later my grandfather died.
One month after that I miscarried the child.
I lost a dear friend, a grandfather, and a child in a three month span all on top of the guilt of broken promises to a God I had rebelled against and made promises to that I didn't keep.
Not long after this I received a bracelet as a gift and it had the Ten Commandments on it. I put it on my wrist and thought that if I wore it on my body at all times I could keep these commandments and obey God and say no when I knew I was supposed to say no.
I couldn't, and my heart grew even harder.
Now I did not realize that I was hardening my heart in the face of God in these situations, but my failure to keep my promises was from the same root that was planted in Pharaoh. The root of the lie that I had power on my own, apart from God. I thought that the ability to keep my vows all resided within me, in my own strength. I made promises and it was up to me to see them through. I had not yet realized that I was a slave to sin, and had no authority over myself. The good that I wanted to do, I could not do, but I practiced the very evil that I did not want to do (Romans 7:19). I just thought I was a failure and was doomed to an eternal hell because I was not strong enough to do better.
How thankful I am for the grace of our God.
My friend, pay close attention to your heart, to your responses to the mercy of God. Where are you at in your life. Have you hardened your heart in the face of God as He relieved you from your distress? Have you made promises to Him that you have not kept because you failed to be able to do so in your own strength? Precious one search out your heart. Search for the root of this lie that convinces you that you have power on your own.
If you have been delivered it was not because of you, but because of His mercy. Thank Him, humble yourself before Him, and acknowledge Him for who He is.
If you have failed time and time again in your attempt to keep your promise to change, then oh my friend, please know that you alone will always fail.
Know that God has not condemned you to hell, He has not forsaken you. You must stop trusting in and relying on your own strength, because you have none. "Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!" (Romans 7:24-25) You must bow the knee, and acknowledge your weakness to Him and call out to Him to save you. Then in His strength, through Hismight, you will have victory!
Oh Father,
I am forever grateful for Your patience. I am humbled by Your great mercy. Your lovingkindness knows no end. How long I struggled while I tried to obey You in my own strength. How I failed time and time again. I was convinced that I had done to much and failed to often for You to ever want me. Yet, You still desired me. You still pursued me. You still loved me. You still died for me. Now I know that it is not by might, nor by power, but by Your Spirit (Zechariah 4:6). Now I know that I can do all things through Jesus, my Christ, who gives me strength (Philippians 4:13). My God, how very great You are.
