Ep. 27. Exodus 7-8 | A Hard Heart and Plagues
EPISODE 27
HARD HEART AND PLAGUES: EXODUS 7-8
"The Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD." I will bless my people so they will know I am the LORD. I will destroy the wicked so the people will know I am the LORD. I will discipline my people so they will know I am the LORD. I love this phrase. "I am the LORD." It is all over the pages of the Old Testament. God works and moves so the world will know that he is the LORD. It occurs over eighty times in the book of Ezekiel alone. More than the rest of the Old Testament combined. Second place goes to Leviticus, but we can discuss that again when we get there.
I often think of verses like those we find in Isaiah six, "Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory." Or the subtle change we see in Habbakuk two, "For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD." I may be making too much of this, but I have always reckoned the earth IS filled with the glory of God, but what is lacking is the KNOWLEDGE that his glory fills the earth. (For now, anyway)
In the chapters from Exodus today, we are confronted with the first four plagues of God on the Egyptians. The water turned to blood, the land was covered in frogs, gnats came upon the land from the dust, and flies became a more incredible nuisance than they already were. We notice that the magicians mimicked the first two plagues using their "secret arts." Some people argue that this was just trickery, but I am inclined to believe they are doing these things by demonic power. After all, why should it surprise us that demons possess power? We see in the New Testament demons can affect people physically. We see in Revelation that the prophet who serves the abomination of desolation (more often called the antichrist) can do all sorts of signs and wonders to convince the people to follow him. Furthermore, it makes it more significant when they can no longer do these miraculous things. They came to the conclusion, "This is nothing but the finger of God."
But Pharoah makes his heart heavy against the truth of the revelation of God and refuses to believe. Of course, we already knew that was going to happen. God uses this to his advantage and strengthens the position Pharoah holds.
The fourth plague brings something new; God distinguishes between his people and the people of Egypt. Up to now, the plagues have been nationwide, but now God shows himself specifically to be the God of the Hebrews. This shouldn't surprise us; God distinguishes between his covenant people and the wicked. It should make us think back to Genesis 18 and Abraham's question, "Shall not the judge of all the earth do what is just?" Or, "Will you indeed sweep away the righteous with the wicked?" God is undoubtedly the same in Exodus as he was in Genesis. Even today, we know that God makes a distinction. Not that we Christians won't be persecuted or hated, but that when God moves in judgment, the righteous never fare as the wicked do.
ADDITIONAL READING: Isaiah 6:3, Habbakuk 2:14, 2 Thessalonians 2:1-12, Revelation 13: 11-15
