Some people work hard to ignore the obvious/inevitable Exodus 7 – 13 (the plagues) 7:20…In the sight of Pharaoh … [Moses/Aaron] lifted up the staff and struck the water in the river, and all the water in the river was turned into blood, 21and the fish in the river died. … 22But the magicians of Egypt did the same by their secret arts; so Pharaoh’s heart remained hardened, and he would not listen to [Moses and Aaron], … When Moses first asks Pharaoh to release the Israelites, Pharaoh asks Moses to ‘perform a wonder’ for him. Essentially, if I may, I think Pharaoh was implying “do a miracle for me, and if it is impressive enough, then perhaps I’ll let your people go.” The problem is, virtually 100% of the times when I see people ask for a sign, even if the sign appears, they essentially go “ya, but that doesn’t count because …” and they explain away the sign. Throughout history people generally first decide what they would like the answer to be, and then they play games with the data to support their view. (In Luke 22:66-69 when the elders, chief priests and scribes put Jesus on trial, they pretend to be fair, asking “If you are the Messiah, tell us.” But Jesus knows, “if I tell you, you will not believe.” This is exactly what Pharaoh does.) Each time there is a plague, Pharaoh’s magicians/sorcerers/wise men either reproduced in an inferior way, or tried to explain away, the signs that Moses had performed for Pharaoh. Thus each time, Pharaoh works hard to ignore the obvious, essentially begging for the inevitable escalation of troubles. I think you can never make God go away with an excuse or an explanation. Thus, God kept at Pharaoh, until Pharaoh finds Moses and his people so troublesome that Pharaoh begs them to leave. In our lives, how much “persuading” does it take before we get on-board with the inevitable? When God is trying to get our attention, when we don’t do what is right and as a result life gets harder, do we make excuses? Try to explain away the negative results? Are we like Pharaoh? Must we hit “rock bottom”? Or can we be smarter than Pharaoh, and get with God’s Will and God’s way for our life now? Just a thought. All views on today’s reading are welcome.
Posted on: Tue, 17 Jun 2014 13:40:01 +0000
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