The LORD said to Moses, “Go to Pharaoh, for I have hardened his heart and the heart of his servants, in order to display these signs of mine before him, and in order that in the hearing of your son and your grandson you may tell how I made fools of the Egyptians and about my signs that I displayed among them, so that you may know that I am the LORD.”
Into the Text
Enough is enough. You would think after the first or second plague that Pharaoh and the Egyptians would say: Enough! Instead, Pharaoh stood his ground and hardened his heart, causing his people to endure the wrath of God through the ten plagues.
It can be easy to read descriptions of the plagues and see an angry God who would devastate a people. But notice what God says in Exodus 10:1–2. He tells Moses that the purpose of the plagues are to demonstrate that He is God. There is no other.
Every plague was an intentional assault against one of the Egyptian gods. God put Himself on display, showing Himself greater than the so-called god of the Nile, greater than the frog god, the fly god, the cow god, the god of the sky, and any god the Egyptians worshiped.
God is unrivaled. He is still in the business of doing whatever it takes to get our attention to show us that He is God. There is no other.
Maybe the people of Egypt thought that the plagues were coincidences. Maybe they attributed them to their false gods. May the same not be said of us—that we somehow attribute the works of God to mere coincidence.
God wants you to see Him clearly and to trust Him. He loves you and wants to be in a relationship with you. Will you turn your attention to Him?
Prayer
God, thank you that you never stop pursuing us. I pray that you would help me turn my attention toward you, enable me to see how you’re at work, and trust you. Amen.