The First Plague

Exodus 7:14-24 

“14 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Pharaoh’s heart is hardened; he refuses to let the people go. 15 Go to Pharaoh in the morning, as he is going out to the water; stand by at the bank of the Nile to meet him, and take in your hand the staff that was turned into a snake. 16 Say to him, ‘The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, sent me to you to say, “Let my people go, so that they may serve me in the wilderness.” But until now you have not listened. 17 Thus says the Lord, “By this you shall know that I am the Lord.” See, with the staff that is in my hand I will strike the water that is in the Nile, and it shall be turned to blood. 18 The fish in the river shall die, the river itself shall stink, and the Egyptians shall be unable to drink water from the Nile.’ ” 19 The Lord said to Moses, “Say to Aaron: Take your staff and stretch out your hand over the waters of Egypt—over its rivers, its canals, and its ponds, and all its pools of water—so that they may become blood, and there shall be blood throughout the whole land of Egypt, even in vessels of wood and in vessels of stone.”20 Moses and Aaron did just as the Lord commanded. In the sight of Pharaoh and of his officials he lifted up the staff and struck the water in the Nile; all the water in the river was turned into blood, 21 and the fish in the river died. The river stank so that the Egyptians could not drink its water, and there was blood throughout the whole land of Egypt. 22 But the magicians of Egypt did the same by their secret arts; so Pharaoh’s heart remained hardened, and he would not listen to them, as the Lord had said. 23 Pharaoh turned and went into his house, and he did not take even this to heart. 24 And all the Egyptians had to dig along the Nile for water to drink, for they could not drink the water of the river.”

The magicians of the Pharaoh were able to turn the water into blood, so the Pharaoh went into his house with his heart still cold and hard. I am sure he drank a cup of cool, clear water that one of his slaves had dug from a new well along the Nile.

He did not take into his heart the suffering of his own people because he wanted to prove the the gods of Egypt were greater than any God of the Israelites.  And if he proved this, then this meant that he, Pharaoh, was also greater.

The struggle between Pharaoh and Moses was a struggle between the belief in the false gods of Egypt and the one true God; the struggle between the false belief in a divine Pharaoh and the true Creator of the Universe. 

Sometimes we cling to false beliefs because those beliefs support the way we live. If those beliefs were to be proven false, we would have to change in a way that would alter our way of seeing things, and our way of relating to people.

Moses represented change to the Pharaoh in the way Christ represents change to us.

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!” (2 Corinthians 5:17)

May the love of Christ be with you,

Rev. Eric Lanier (Retired)

The Staff

Exodus 7: 8-13

“8 The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, 9 “When Pharaoh says to you, ‘Perform a wonder,’ then you shall say to Aaron, ‘Take your staff and throw it down before Pharaoh, and it will become a snake.’ ” 10 So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and did as the Lord had commanded; Aaron threw down his staff before Pharaoh and his officials, and it became a snake. 11 Then Pharaoh summoned the wise men and the sorcerers, and they also, the magicians of Egypt, did the same by their secret arts. 12 Each one threw down his staff, and they became snakes, but Aaron’s staff swallowed up theirs. 13 However, Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, and he would not listen to them, as the Lord had said.”

We do not know how the “wise men,sorcerers, and magicians” of the Pharaoh, with their secret arts, performed their “wonder”, but we do know that Aaron’s staff swallowed theirs.  

The power of God is the ultimate power of the universe. It is the power that spoke the universe into existence and created the heavens and the earth;  the power that

set into motion all the planets; the power that caused the light to shine into the darkness; the power that created all life.

No sorcerer’s magic will ever prevail against the one true God.  

Nothing false can prevail against God… 

the God of truth and love.

“No wisdom, no understanding, no counsel can avail against the Lord.” 

(Proverbs 21:30)

May the love of Christ be with you,

Rev. Eric Lanier (Retired)

Persistence

Exodus 6:10-13

“10 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, 11 “Go and tell Pharaoh king of Egypt to let the Israelites go out of his land.” 12 But Moses spoke to the Lord, “The Israelites have not listened to me; why should Pharaoh listen to me, poor speaker that I am?” 13 Thus the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron and gave them orders regarding the Israelites and Pharaoh king of Egypt, to free the Israelites from the land of Egypt.”

The Israelite slaves have not, to this point, listened to Moses.  Pharaoh certainly has not listened to Moses.  All of Moses’ fears about himself, and  his mission have come true.  He kept telling God that he would be no good at the work God wanted him to do.  And now everything that Moses told God had happened.

Yet, God persisted.  In God’s mind, Moses was the man, the only man, for the job. God could see into the very soul of Moses and he knew Moses’ abilities and limitations better than Moses himself.

So, God told Moses and Aaron to go back to Pharaoh and demand the release of the Israelites.

As Christians, we are familiar with the parable that Jesus told of the Sower.  The Sower, while sowing seed, encountered hard ground, rocky ground, weedy and thorny ground, dry ground.  Most of the seed that the Sower threw would land on this type of ground.  But, some of the seed would land on fertile ground.  

In our Christian lives, it is rare that we meet with instant success.  But we are to keep trying, putting our trust in God, in the power of the gospel message, and in the work of the Holy Spirit to eventually turn rocky, dry, weedy ground into rich and fertile soil.

God has called us to Himself.  He knows our very souls.

The work to which He has called us awaits.

And He knows that we are up to the task.

May the love of Christ be with you,

Rev. Eric Lanier (Retired)

“10 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, 11 “Go and tell Pharaoh king of Egypt to let the Israelites go out of his land.” 12 But Moses spoke to the Lord, “The Israelites have not listened to me; why should Pharaoh listen to me, poor speaker that I am?”

13 Thus the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron and gave them orders regarding the Israelites and Pharaoh king of Egypt, to free the Israelites from the land of Egypt.”

The Israelite slaves have not, to this point, listened to Moses.  Pharaoh certainly has not listened to Moses.  All of Moses’ fears about himself, and  his mission have come true.  He kept telling God that he would be no good at the work God wanted him to do.  And now everything that Moses told God had happened.

Yet, God persisted.  In God’s mind, Moses was the man, the only man, for the job. God could see into the very soul of Moses and he knew Moses’ abilities and limitations better than Moses himself.

So, God told Moses and Aaron to go back to Pharaoh and demand the release of the Israelites.

As Christians, we are familiar with the parable that Jesus told of the Sower.  The Sower, while sowing seed, encountered hard ground, rocky ground, weedy and thorny ground, dry ground.  Most of the seed that the Sower threw would land on this type of ground.  But, some of the seed would land on fertile ground.  

In our Christian lives, it is rare that we meet with instant success.  But we are to keep trying, putting our trust in God, in the power of the gospel message, and in the work of the Holy Spirit to eventually turn rocky, dry, weedy ground into rich and fertile soil.

God has called us to Himself.  He knows our very souls.

The work to which He has called us awaits.

And He knows that we are up to the task.

May the love of Christ be with you,

Rev. Eric Lanier (Retired)

Listening to God

Exodus 6:1-9

“1 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Now you shall see what I will do to Pharaoh: indeed, by a mighty hand he will let them go; by a mighty hand he will drive them out of his land.” 2 God also spoke to Moses and said to him, “I am the Lord. 3 I appeared to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob as God Almighty, but by my name ‘The Lord’ I did not make myself known to them. 4 I also established my covenant with them, to give them the land of Canaan, the land in which they resided as aliens. 5 I have also heard the groaning of the Israelites whom the Egyptians have enslaved, and I have remembered my covenant. 6 Say therefore to the Israelites: I am the Lord, and I will free you from the burdens of the Egyptians and deliver you from slavery to them. I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great acts of judgment. 7 I will take you as my people, and I will be your God. You shall know that I am the Lord your God, who has freed you from the burdens of the Egyptians. 8 I will bring you into the land that I swore to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; I will give it to you for a possession. I am the Lord.” 9 Moses told this to the Israelites, but they would not listen to Moses, because of their broken spirit and their cruel slavery.”

Moses delivered God’s message of deliverance to The Pharaoh, but he would not listen because he was too lofty and entitled; he was (in the mind of the Egyptians) a god.

Moses delivered God’s message of deliverance to the Israelite slaves, but they did not listen, or could not listen, or did not believe the message due to the nature of their circumstances: their broken spirits and their cruel enslavement.

As Christians, God speaks to us every day through the Holy Spirit.  In order to hear His voice we must intentionally listen.  Sometimes our circumstances prevent us from doing this.  Sometimes we have broken spirits.  Sometimes we have confusing or cruel circumstances in our lives that cause us to suffer.

But, even if we refuse to hear or are unable to hear, God is still present and acting, and moving in this world…

Always.

May the love of Christ be with you,

Rev. Eric Lanier (Retired)

God Allows Us to Choose

Exodus 5: 19-23

“19 The Israelite supervisors saw that they were in trouble when they were told, “You shall not lessen your daily number of bricks.” 20 As they left Pharaoh, they came upon Moses and Aaron, who were waiting to meet them. 21 They said to them, “The Lord look upon you and judge! You have brought us into bad odor with Pharaoh and his officials and have put a sword in their hand to kill us.” 22 Then Moses turned to the Lord and said, “O my Lord, why have you mistreated this people? Why did you ever send me? 23 Since I first came to Pharaoh to speak in your name, he has mistreated this people, and you have done nothing at all to deliver your people.”

The leaders (supervisors) of the Israelites were in trouble with the Pharaoh because of Moses.  They blamed Moses, not the Pharaoh, for the mistreatment of the Israelite people, and especially the treatment that they, themselves, were receiving.

Moses began to question his presence and his mission in Egypt.  Moses saw the harsh treatment of the Israelites and wondered why God did not intervene.  

God often receives the blame for things that have been brought about through human will and human hands.  When God does not swoop out of the heavens and save us from ourselves we begin to have doubts about God, but not about ourselves.

Moses blamed God for the mistreatment of the Israelites.  God allowed the mistreatment, but God did not mistreat them. It was the Egyptians that chose to mistreat the Israelites.

God allows us to choose, to make decisions about our behavior, our words, our actions.  When our plans fail or when we act badly, we blame others, not ourselves.  We may even blame God.

Moses accused God of doing nothing at all to deliver the Israelites.  Perhaps Moses had forgotten his purpose for being in Egypt.

Moses was about to see God’s plan unfold.

May the love of Christ be with you,

Rev. Eric Lanier (Retired)

Our Need for a Savior

Exodus 5:4-9

“4 But the king of Egypt said to them, “Moses and Aaron, why are you taking the people away from their work? Get to your labors!” 5 Pharaoh continued, “Now they are more numerous than the people of the land and yet you want them to stop laboring!” 6 That same day Pharaoh commanded the taskmasters of the people, as well as their supervisors, 7 “You shall no longer give the people straw to make bricks, as before; let them go and gather straw for themselves. 8 But you shall require of them the same quantity of bricks as they have made previously; do not diminish it, for they are lazy; that is why they cry, ‘Let us go and sacrifice to our God.’ 9 Let heavier work be laid on them; then they will pay attention to it and not to deceptive words.”

The Pharaoh thought that by adding more tasks, demanding more, and generally making their lives harder, the Israelites would blame Moses, not listen to him and reject him.  

Also, by making their lives harder, the Pharaoh hoped to convince the Israelites that the God that Moses said sent him was not real and they would pay no attention to the words of Moses.  

One of the arguments people use to persuade people that there is no God is to point to the hardships and the evil that exist and say, “See, if there was a God, these things would not exist.”

But, the Pharaoh was responsible for the evil and the hardships of the Israelites, and much of the evil and suffering of today is created by human hands.  

The evil and suffering that we create does not disprove God…

but does prove our bent to sin and our dire need for a savior.

“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23)

May the love of Christ be with you,

Rev. Eric Lanier (Retired)

He Calls Us By Our Names

Exodus 5: 1-2

“1 Afterward, Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and said, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: Let my people go, so that they may celebrate a festival to me in the wilderness.” 2 But Pharaoh said, “Who is the Lord, that I should listen to him and let Israel go? I do not know the Lord, and I will not let Israel go.”

Pharaoh did not know the one true God, but knew the names of many false gods and even regarded himself as a god.  

The divine Pharaoh was considered the intermediary between all other gods and Egyptian people.  The Egyptian people could not speak directly to any god, except through the Pharaoh.  And the Egyptian gods spoke to no one except through the Pharaoh.

Because Moses, who was not divine, brought the Pharaoh a message from the God of Israel, the Pharaoh refused to hear Moses, or  to believe what this God said.  All gods spoke only to and through the Pharaoh.

Christians, at times, have trouble believing that the God of the universe speaks directly to them.  The same God that spoke to Moses, to Abraham, to Noah,to the prophets, and to Paul speaks to us.

The Holy Spirit of that same God dwells in us.

We do not need an intermediary.  We know the Lord.  

He is involved in our personal lives.  We can pray to Him directly.

And He calls us by our names.

“To him the gatekeeper opens. The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.”  (John 10:3)

May the love of Christ be with you,

Rev. Eric Lanier (Retired)