I've been really fascinated with parts of this storyline since I first came across God's other promise to Abraham a few weeks ago, back in Genesis 15:12-16 (NKJV):
12 Now when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and behold, horror and great darkness fell upon him. 13 Then He said to Abram: “Know certainly that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, and will serve them, and they will afflict them four hundred years. 14 And also the nation whom they serve I will judge; afterward they shall come out with great possessions. 15 Now as for you, you shall go to your fathers in peace; you shall be buried at a good old age. 16 But in the fourth generation they shall return here, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.”
My fascination and hunger with this is seeing how what God says will play out. I think I may finally for the first time in my life have some kind of hunger for understanding what benefits trials and tribulations have, especially since I was put through many intense ones dating back to even before I was born. God knows how my life is going to play out, as well as the plans He has for me to do while I'm here on earth. He's told me: the Great Commission matters, even when I wasn't asking what my purpose was for this life.
Anyway, I'm getting ahead of myself. I wanted to share a few passages from Exodus chapters 4 and 7 that jumped out to me.
Exodus 4
“And the Lord said to Moses, “When you go back to Egypt, see that you do all those wonders before Pharaoh which I have put in your hand. But I will harden his heart, so that he will not let the people go. Then you shall say to Pharaoh, ‘Thus says the Lord: “Israel is My son, My firstborn. So I say to you, let My son go that he may serve Me. But if you refuse to let him go, indeed I will kill your son, your firstborn.” ’ ” And it came to pass on the way, at the encampment, that the Lord met him and sought to kill him. Then Zipporah took a sharp stone and cut off the foreskin of her son and cast it at Moses’ feet, and said, “Surely you are a husband of blood to me!” So He let him go. Then she said, “You are a husband of blood!”—because of the circumcision.”
Exodus 4:21-26 NKJV
My immediate reaction / commentary: God told Moses in advance that He was sending Moses to speak to Pharaoh and that the plan was that it would not go well. God would ultimately send Moses to speak to Pharaoh a total of 10 times. In telling Moses His plan to threaten (and follow through on His threat) Pharaoh that He would kill his firstborn if he didn’t let His firstborn, Israel, go, He demonstrated this threat on Moses’s firstborn. God is serious. And Moses was not going to be above the law himself.
Exodus 7
“But Pharaoh will not heed you, so that I may lay My hand on Egypt and bring My armies and My people, the children of Israel, out of the land of Egypt by great judgments. And the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord, when I stretch out My hand on Egypt and bring out the children of Israel from among them.””
Exodus 7:4-5 NKJV
My immediate reaction / commentary: God explains to Moses why He will harden Pharaoh’s heart—so that Egypt will truly know that He is God.
I have some examples in my own life scattered across this blog of God telling me glimpses of what He was going to do in my life -- and then doing it. I need to find a way to remember that, though. God will do what He said He would do, and He has done what He said He would do.
No comments:
Post a Comment