January 21 - Exodus 10-12: Rescue of a Sovereign God

The pattern of plagues continues, and things get even worse for Egypt.

Strike 8 - Locusts. (Ick!)
But God made Pharaoh stubborn as ever. He still didn't release the Israelites. (10:20)

Strike 9 - Darkness.
But God kept Pharaoh as stubborn as ever. He wouldn't agree to release them. (10:27)

Strike 10 - Death.
But God turned Pharaoh more stubborn than ever - yet again he refused to release the Israelites from his land. (11:10)

I've always wondered why God hardened Pharaoh's heart. The pain and suffering inflicted on the Egyptians was gigantic because Pharaoh wouldn't give in. I'm guessing that Pharaoh was already pretty stubborn, given the power of Egypt at the time, but the Bible specifically say that it was God who kept Pharaoh as stubborn as ever.  Why would He do that?

Here's Eugene Peterson's take on it:

"Moses [had] to rip the veneer off all of this power, majesty, beauty and success [of Egypt], exposing it as evil so that when he led God's people out of Egypt, they wouldn't carry their Egyptian experience with them for the rest of their lives and simply reproduce that reality when they arrived in the Promised Land. This is where the ten plagues came in. They were an elaborate exorcism, a casting out of demons, so to speak, that freed the Hebrews from domination by evil so they would be able to hear and follow and worship God.

When [the plagues were] over, there was nothing left [in Egypt] but a pile of rubble, garbage and corpses.  The myth of Egypt's invincibility and Pharaoh's sovereignty was razed to the ground, and in its place was set the solid foundation of Yahweh's sovereignty." Conversations, p. 105, 110

This entire episode reminds me of a time in my life when the things of this world mattered far more to me, things like my professional success, how much money I had in the bank, my wardrobe, my next cool vacation. I had everything under my control, and life seemed pretty good. My heart was indifferent toward God; religion seemed boring and incredibly irrelevant to me. Then my little world fell apart in a few plagues of my own, and in the midst of the heartache, I found the God I hadn't been looking for but who was looking for me.

I've often wondered why I had to go through so much distress to ultimately find a relationship with Christ, but I've come to see that it was my own "casting out of demons" to free me from looking for satisfaction apart from God, creating my own (un)reality, chasing less-important dreams, and embracing ungodly priorities. My self-created myth of being invincible and absolutely in control of my life was razed to the ground, and in its place was set the solid foundation of God's sovereignty in my life. He is the only One in control.

"At some time in our lives, we have all been enslaved in Egypt in one way or another.  In that tyrannical world, it seems that powers other than God are sovereign over our lives, dictating our destiny. True freedom doesn't come from a slave revolt; it comes from the rescue of a sovereign God.  It is, in fact, through God's rescue, rather than our revolt, that his sovereignty is not only shown to us but made secure in us." Conversations, p. 11

I had to come to the end of myself before I would turn to Christ, so that's where God took me because He will do anything to accomplish His plans. He loves me that much. He rescued me from myself and if I'm honest, I have to admit that He continues to rescue me everyday. What a merciful and gracious God!

What about you? Do you feel enslaved in some way right now? What will it take for you to allow God to rescue you?