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 7:20-23,
"Moses and Aaron did just as the Lord had commanded. He raised his staff in the presence of Pharaoh and his officials and struck the water of the Nile, and all the water was changed into blood. The fish in the Nile died, and the river smelled so bad that the Egyptians could not drink its water. Blood was everywhere in Egypt. But the Egyptian magicians did the same things by their secret arts, and Pharaoh's heart became hard; he would not listen to Moses and Aaron, just as the Lord had said. Instead, he turned and went into his palace, and did not take even this to heart."
Following the staff-to-snake episode, the Lord had Aaron raise his staff "over the waters of Egypt." In doing so, all the water was turned to blood. Fish died, the river gave off a wretched stench and the Egyptians were unable to drink its water.
This was the second plague the Lord brought on Egypt. In both, Pharaoh had his magicians perform some sort of copycat imitation of what the Lord had done. The next plague to come will be the plague of frogs and the magicians will imitate that as well. However, for the forth plague, the plague of gnats, the magicians were unable to provide their copy of the plague and told Pharaoh, "This is the finger of God."
It looks to me that only the first three plagues were copied by Pharaoh's magicians. What was the purpose of having these magicians copy what the Lord had Moses and Aaron do? They were only able to provide the semblance of what the Lord was doing, but these plagues grew in impact, intensity and damage, the magicians were unable to keep up.
The thought strikes me (and it is only a thought), that if something can be replicated that God does, then maybe there is no real God out there. If Pharaoh's magicians could perform something that might pass as the same thing, then Moses and Aaron would not be recognized as representing anyone Pharaoh might feel obliged to obey.
I think we see the same thing today. People pretend we have control over the creation, whether it be in addressing some notion of climate change, lower the ocean levels, etc. Some pretend we are the ones that are responsible for human life, therefore, it is ours to take in abortion. God creates us as male and female, but we determine our own gender.
If we think we are doing those things that only God can do, then, maybe, there is no God we need to obey or have any sense of responsibility toward.
If Pharaoh's boys could do what God was doing through Moses and Aaron, then forget about obeying the God they represent. I think we see this same attitude all about us today.
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/
"Moses and Aaron did just as the Lord had commanded. He raised his staff in the presence of Pharaoh and his officials and struck the water of the Nile, and all the water was changed into blood. The fish in the Nile died, and the river smelled so bad that the Egyptians could not drink its water. Blood was everywhere in Egypt. But the Egyptian magicians did the same things by their secret arts, and Pharaoh's heart became hard; he would not listen to Moses and Aaron, just as the Lord had said. Instead, he turned and went into his palace, and did not take even this to heart."
Following the staff-to-snake episode, the Lord had Aaron raise his staff "over the waters of Egypt." In doing so, all the water was turned to blood. Fish died, the river gave off a wretched stench and the Egyptians were unable to drink its water.
This was the second plague the Lord brought on Egypt. In both, Pharaoh had his magicians perform some sort of copycat imitation of what the Lord had done. The next plague to come will be the plague of frogs and the magicians will imitate that as well. However, for the forth plague, the plague of gnats, the magicians were unable to provide their copy of the plague and told Pharaoh, "This is the finger of God."
It looks to me that only the first three plagues were copied by Pharaoh's magicians. What was the purpose of having these magicians copy what the Lord had Moses and Aaron do? They were only able to provide the semblance of what the Lord was doing, but these plagues grew in impact, intensity and damage, the magicians were unable to keep up.
The thought strikes me (and it is only a thought), that if something can be replicated that God does, then maybe there is no real God out there. If Pharaoh's magicians could perform something that might pass as the same thing, then Moses and Aaron would not be recognized as representing anyone Pharaoh might feel obliged to obey.
I think we see the same thing today. People pretend we have control over the creation, whether it be in addressing some notion of climate change, lower the ocean levels, etc. Some pretend we are the ones that are responsible for human life, therefore, it is ours to take in abortion. God creates us as male and female, but we determine our own gender.
If we think we are doing those things that only God can do, then, maybe, there is no God we need to obey or have any sense of responsibility toward.
If Pharaoh's boys could do what God was doing through Moses and Aaron, then forget about obeying the God they represent. I think we see this same attitude all about us today.
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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