The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him today and what came to my heart and mind in Exodus 11:3,
"The Lord made the Egyptians favorably disposed toward the people, and Moses himself was highly regarded in Egypt by Pharaoh's officials and by the people."
We are told the Lord made the Egyptians favorably disposed toward the Israelites and Moses. How did the Lord do that? Did the plagues the Lord brought on Egypt through Moses cause the Egyptians to be favorably disposed? In Psalm 105:23-25 we read, "Then Israel entered Egypt; Jacob resided as a foreigner in the land of Ham. The Lord made his people very fruitful; he made them too numerous for their foes, whose hearts he turned to hate his people, to conspire against his servants." How did the Lord do that?
We also read in Psalm 105:38, "Egypt was glad when they left, because dread of Israel had fallen on them." I think it easy to see why the dread of Israel had fallen on the Egyptians as we read the accounts of these horrific plagues. However, I can't help but think that the Lord, in addition to an expected response by events, caused people's outlooks and dispositions to shift in a more direct way.
How do we account for Pharaoh's hard heart in not allowing the Israelites to leave Egypt following the horrific plagues? Any other sane person would have driven the Israelites out due to the suffering the plagues brought. The Scriptures tell us the Lord himself hardened his heart.
It appears to me that the Lord at times intervenes in people's hearts to cause them to feel one way or another, depending on what he determines to accomplish. And, in the examples we can look at, the person does not realize they are being manipulated at the time.
I could be way off base here (and I certainly recognize this of myself), but in Hebrews 1:7 the writer of Hebrews paraphrases Psalm 104:4, "He makes his angels spirits, and his servants flames of fire." What exactly is meant by that? The one thought I have is that we, as the human family, do not occupy earth alone. We are not alone here. Jacob had his vision of angels ascending and descending on a stairway that spanned from earth to heaven.
Again, we are not alone here. There are other beings here in our midst that God has made "spirits" and flames of fire. That last phrase "flames of fire" speak to me of passion. I can't help but think angels are on mission as spirits to impassion us at times for God's purposes.
Here is a wild example of this very thing in 1 Kings 22:19-23, "Therefore hear the word of the Lord: I saw the Lord sitting on his throne with all the multitudes of heaven standing around him on his right and on his left. And the Lord said, 'Who will entice Ahab into attacking Ramoth Gilead and going to his death there?' One suggested this, and another that. Finally, a spirit came forward, stood before the Lord and said, 'I will entice him.' 'By what means?' the Lord asked. 'I will go out and be a deceiving spirit in the mouths of all his prophets,' he said. 'You will succeed in enticing him,' said the Lord. 'Go and do it.' So now the Lord has put a deceiving spirit in the mouths of all these prophets of yours. The Lord has decreed disaster for you."
As I say, I could be way off the mark here. But these passages do mean something. What do they mean to you?
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!
If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just reply and let me know. A blog with all my posts can be found here: http://worshipfortoday.blogspot.com/
"The Lord made the Egyptians favorably disposed toward the people, and Moses himself was highly regarded in Egypt by Pharaoh's officials and by the people."
We are told the Lord made the Egyptians favorably disposed toward the Israelites and Moses. How did the Lord do that? Did the plagues the Lord brought on Egypt through Moses cause the Egyptians to be favorably disposed? In Psalm 105:23-25 we read, "Then Israel entered Egypt; Jacob resided as a foreigner in the land of Ham. The Lord made his people very fruitful; he made them too numerous for their foes, whose hearts he turned to hate his people, to conspire against his servants." How did the Lord do that?
We also read in Psalm 105:38, "Egypt was glad when they left, because dread of Israel had fallen on them." I think it easy to see why the dread of Israel had fallen on the Egyptians as we read the accounts of these horrific plagues. However, I can't help but think that the Lord, in addition to an expected response by events, caused people's outlooks and dispositions to shift in a more direct way.
How do we account for Pharaoh's hard heart in not allowing the Israelites to leave Egypt following the horrific plagues? Any other sane person would have driven the Israelites out due to the suffering the plagues brought. The Scriptures tell us the Lord himself hardened his heart.
It appears to me that the Lord at times intervenes in people's hearts to cause them to feel one way or another, depending on what he determines to accomplish. And, in the examples we can look at, the person does not realize they are being manipulated at the time.
I could be way off base here (and I certainly recognize this of myself), but in Hebrews 1:7 the writer of Hebrews paraphrases Psalm 104:4, "He makes his angels spirits, and his servants flames of fire." What exactly is meant by that? The one thought I have is that we, as the human family, do not occupy earth alone. We are not alone here. Jacob had his vision of angels ascending and descending on a stairway that spanned from earth to heaven.
Again, we are not alone here. There are other beings here in our midst that God has made "spirits" and flames of fire. That last phrase "flames of fire" speak to me of passion. I can't help but think angels are on mission as spirits to impassion us at times for God's purposes.
Here is a wild example of this very thing in 1 Kings 22:19-23, "Therefore hear the word of the Lord: I saw the Lord sitting on his throne with all the multitudes of heaven standing around him on his right and on his left. And the Lord said, 'Who will entice Ahab into attacking Ramoth Gilead and going to his death there?' One suggested this, and another that. Finally, a spirit came forward, stood before the Lord and said, 'I will entice him.' 'By what means?' the Lord asked. 'I will go out and be a deceiving spirit in the mouths of all his prophets,' he said. 'You will succeed in enticing him,' said the Lord. 'Go and do it.' So now the Lord has put a deceiving spirit in the mouths of all these prophets of yours. The Lord has decreed disaster for you."
As I say, I could be way off the mark here. But these passages do mean something. What do they mean to you?
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!
If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just reply and let me know. A blog with all my posts can be found here: http://worshipfortoday.blogspot.com/
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