Plagues

I noticed some interesting things about the plagues God sent through Moses and Aaron onto Pharaoh and the people of Egypt.

First I noticed that God said this isn't going to work, "Pharaoh will not listen to you..." but go do it anyway. (Exodus 7:4) When we are doing what God asks us to do, it just might not end in "success" from our point of view but we never fail when we are obedient.

God was about freeing His people but God's overall purpose was that "the Egyptians will know that I am the LORD". (Exodus 7:5) That is still His purpose today. God is still about the business of revealing Himself to a lost and dying world. How He does that is up to Him but He still uses people to go out and speak to those far from God. Maybe we can't perform miracles like Moses and Aaron but we do have a story to tell of God's work in our lives.

It was not until the fourth plague that God separated His people out so they were no longer affected by the plagues. Followers of Jesus are not immune to the ravages of nature or the hardships of life. Jesus tells us "...in the world you will have tribulation..." (John 16:33) A time will come when followers of Jesus Christ will be separated out but until then we must live in this broken, sinful world. "When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne. Before Him will be gathered all the nations, and He will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats." (Matthew 25:31-32)

The first few plagues were just annoying and could even be replicated by the magicians of Egypt. But they became more and more "God things" as hail rained down from heaven, locusts came in on the wind, and no sun shown in the sky for three days. They also became more serious for the people with sickness and death of livestock and destruction of crops. God always knows what that "final straw" will be that will break our hard hearts. After the seventh plague Pharaoh said, "This time I have sinned; the LORD is in the right and I and my people are in the wrong." (Exodus 9:27) But it was not until the tenth plague that Pharaoh finally surrendered. God told Moses, "Yet one plague more I will bring upon Pharaoh and upon Egypt. Afterward he will let you go out from here." (Exodus 11:1)

When the tenth and final plague was announced, God's people had to do what He commanded of them or they too would become victims of this plague. Death was decreed, death of every firstborn child and animal. In order to have the death angel pass over their house, each Israelite had to kill a spotless lamb, spread the blood on the doorposts, then grill and eat the lamb.

Death is still decreed, "for the wages of sin is death." (Romans 6:23) Fortunately, God has provided our Passover lamb in His son, Jesus Christ. Those who follow God's plan will be saved. Just as the Israelites in Egypt had to put their faith in God and in the blood on their doorposts, we must put our faith in the blood of the cross of Calvary. That cross is our doorpost because Jesus is "...the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world." (John 1:29) He shed His blood so the wrath of God could be satisfied and rose from the dead three days later so those who follow Him can have life too. "For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life." (John 3:16)