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Fri, 21/01/2011

Exodus Chapters 7 to 8

EXODUS 7

Commentary

In previous chapters, we read how Moses gave God a list of reasons for not being able to do what he was being called to do.

From what God then promised Moses at the beginning of chapter 7, I imagine Moses may have felt more than a bit relieved about his assignment - going to Pharaoh to ask that the Israelites are allowed to leave Egypt - and no one would have blamed him if he had thought it would be easy. After all, God had said he would be made as a god to Pharaoh, not a servant; but someone with the authority to speak forth, call forth, do and undo, and even have Aaron right next to him as his prophet, doing all the speaking (an answer to one of his objections).

But in the next few verses, God also told Moses that the assignment would not be easy and that in fact Pharaoh would not listen – in fact his heart would be hardened (see also Ex 4). As I pondered on these first few verses, I wondered how often we have had God’s assurances about an assignment He has given us and having obtained assurance, we head off thinking that since God has sent us, it would be a piece of cake. Obviously, it is not always the case! Sometimes hardship and difficulties pop up along the way, and we encounter obstacles. In fact sometimes, all we experience may be the total opposite of our expectations – especially when we are so convinced that God said or God sent! How do we then handle it when doors get slammed in our faces when we go in the direction we believe God showed us? Constantly keeping close to God, and listening to Him will help keep us going in spite of all the difficulties along the way!

The big question...not to be answered, but pondered!

The rest of chapter 7 and chapter 8 outline the first four of the ten plagues upon Egypt, with Moses trying to convince Pharaoh to let the Israelites go. The plagues were a dishonour to Pharaoh and the Egyptian gods (they were animal and Nile worshippers), and evidence of God’s sovereignty. To show the Israelites that Yahweh was the only true God, and the Egyptians that their gods were mere errrr...animals (Ex 7:5)! But it seemed that the more plagues that came, the more Pharaoh’s heart hardened! As a child I had always wondered why ‘God hardened Pharaoh’s heart` and why God being God couldn’t just ‘make his heart yield`, and I’m certain that this is still a mystery to some. Was it God hardening his heart? Or was it Pharaoh making a decision out of his own God-given free will, and God letting him? It is interesting to note that even the magicians accept defeat (Ex 8: 19).

Well, I don’t believe that God would violate a man’s free will. It appears that there are two kinds of people in the world. Those that decide not to hear God and yield to Him, and those that decide to submit to God. We have the god-given ability to choose - free-will! That’s what Adam & Eve exercised in Eden, yielding to satan. The unfortunate thing is that the more man resists God, the more the conscience dies and the heart becomes hardened to the things of God – as it happened to Pharaoh. Not yielding to God means yielding to the enemy.

My prayer is that we constantly submit our hearts, mind and will to God and to the nudging of His Spirit.