Have you ever read the Old Testament story about Moses trying to get Pharaoh to let the children of Israel go? If you’ve spent much time in the church, you could probably recite the story by heart. As I read the story again this morning, a couple of things jumped out at me that started me to thinking. And when I get to thinking, that usually means I get to writing!
Have you ever wondered why it took so many plagues for Pharaoh to let the Israelites go? If we believe it was the hand of God that orchestrated it all, then have you ever wondered why it didn’t happen at the very first sight of Moses’ walking stick turning into a snake and eating the snakes of Pharaoh’s court magicians? Did God underestimate Pharaoh’s resolve to keep the nation of Israel as slaves?
If I put myself in Pharaoh’s shoes, or sandals, I imagine I would be just like him and try explain away every miracle as simply a trick or a scientific wonder. I’ve seen TV shows on the History Channel and National Geographic give pretty good and convincing reasons that the water turned to blood and then the gnats, flies and frogs covered everything.
I’ve heard scientists talk about a phenomena that explains the parting of the Red Sea. The hail storm and army of locusts that destroyed everything may appear as an understandable act of nature.
I know that since God created the universe, He can use it any way He wants. He absolutely could create a scientific phenomena to bring on the hail and locusts. Or He could just wave His hand and send them! At any rate, sometimes our humanness gets in the way of our faith making it difficult to take these types of events as fact exactly as stated. We feel the need to explain it away, making it easier for our finite minds to understand. Just like Pharaoh did.
But when we do that, aren’t we putting God in a very tiny box? We are making Him fit into what we think He should be – more human than spirit. We want Him to be more like us; explainable; relate-able; not so terrifyingly powerful. Maybe it makes it easier to point our finger at Him and blame Him when things don’t go as we would like them to.
But God’s plan to release the Israelites was a lesson in patience and repetition. When I want to change a habit or learn something new, I rarely get it on the first try. But the more I stick with it and keep focusing on what I want to learn or change, I eventually get it and the lesson sticks because I had to work at it. I appreciate it because it came with hard work.
God knew exactly how many miracles it would take to change Pharaoh’s mind and He knew the final one, killing the first born of every one in Egypt, was the grand finale, the miracle that could not be so easily explained away. In fact, before Moses even got to Egypt, God told him the end of the story – that it would take killing Egypt’s firstborn sons to get Pharaoh to let his people go. With each miracle, the doubt as to a scientific explanation grew until finally there was no other answer than the God of Israel was not to be messed with!
But in God’s perfect plan, the children of Israel needed to learn to trust Moses and through him, the God that would save them. It was a lesson they would need as they wandered around for the next 40 years in a wilderness filled with temptation, complaints and danger from enemies. God needed to build them up, teach them what faith looked like and that He was to be trusted with the final outcome so they could fulfill their calling as the children of God.
It’s not that God underestimated Pharaoh’s resolve, or our ability to grasp what it means to be a follower of Christ. It’s that He wanted to make sure we understood the lesson. He is patient with us so we can make the choice to leave what’s comfortable behind (Egypt for the Israelites, a life of going our own way for us today). The lesson from Exodus is that God wants us to appreciate His power and His love; His great, expansive care and compassion for a lost and wandering people. He knows exactly what He’s doing and He knows exactly how long it will take for us to realize that this God of creation is not to be messed with!
Some days, I feel like Pharaoh. I like things the way they are. My world is comfortable and I want them to stay like that forever. I push back when I know God is working on teaching me an important lesson.
Other days, I feel like Moses. I ask why is it taking so long to get to the point when I know the end of the story? In the end, I know that God wins and Satan doesn’t. Yet people still kill each other. There is still poverty and unkindness and hatred in the world. Good people still die way too young and there are times it feels like the bad guys are winning. But I have to be patient and understand that God isn’t slow in coming back and ending Satan’s game. He is taking His time so there will be more of us on the winning side. He wants all of mankind to know Him and join Him in heaven for eternity. And that takes time. And sometimes a plague or two.
Therefore, say to the people of Israel: ‘I am the Lord. I will free you from your oppression and will rescue you from your slavery in Egypt. I will redeem you with a powerful arm and great acts of judgment. I will claim you as my own people, and I will be your God. Then you will know that I am the Lord your God who has freed you from your oppression in Egypt.
– Exodus 6:6-7
Hey Dee. You need to do more than just blog. You have a gift to write. A book? Maybe a Bible study? Think about it.
Actually, that’s been on my mind and heart for a while now! Thank you so much for the words of encouragement! Maybe it will happen sooner than later!