January 22...

Exodus 5-7

It Is Not About You

It took courage to be obedient. Moses and Aaron stepped out to do what God asked them to do … and the response, well, let’s just say it was less than cheerful or overwhelming! Do you think that Moses and Aaron were discouraged? Do you think that they had second thoughts about being obedient and trying to help these oppressed (and unappreciative) people?

Instead they had compassion for the Israelites and the trouble inflected upon them because of their obedience. All of this doesn’t make sense … until you read chapter 6, verse 1. Read it again.

“Now you will see what I will do to Pharaoh…” as if to say – “Moses, Aaron, … Hey guys, it’s not about you. You are my valuable servants, but this is about revealing the Almighty God.” Count how many times God says “I” in verses 1-8 in chapter 6. Clearly, this is about who God is and what He is going to do.

As we enter into the time of the plagues, remember two important things.

First, the first nine plagues were all known to have happened naturally in ancient Egypt; however, the fact that they were selective and only impacted the Egyptian territory and spared the Israelites was amazing. Also, all nine plagues happened within the span of a year which not only made it more devastating, but marked them as miracles performed by God.

Second, we see that God did not randomly choose these plagues. Exodus 12:12 says the He will “bring judgment on all the gods of Egypt”.

The first plague, turning the Nile to blood, demonstrated that God had power over the Egyptian god Hapi (the Nile River) who was said to provide and sustain life. When God turned the waters of the Nile to blood – the god’s ability to provide life ended – proving the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob was superior.

think about it...