So far this season, we’ve caught up with the Israelites from where we left off in Genesis and seen God’s faithfulness to His word and His covenant with Abraham back in Genesis 15. God’s people were strangers living in a foreign land oppressed by the enemy for 400 years. Speaking of strangers living in a foreign land, we were introduced to Moses.
Moses was very familiar with being a stranger in a foreign land. He never quite fit as part of the Pharaoh’s royal family. They adopted and raised him as a prince in Pharaoh’s household despite having Hebrew blood running through His veins.
He was a stranger again in the land of Midian when he exiled himself from Egypt for 40 years. Why did he exile himself, oh because, you know, he murderer a man who was beating a Hebrew slave. Murderer or not, God could still use him. God chose him to do what he already had a passion for: rescuing his people.
Right on schedule, after 400 years of oppression, God starts to move on behalf of His people to rescue them, and last week we saw Him doing just that by execute His judgment through 9 plagues.
So far….the Nile turned to blood. Then, frogs came up from the waters and hopped into everything. Next were annoying gnats followed by nasty flies. For the first time, God limited the plague only on the Egyptians. Then, a plague killed their livestock. Next, Festering boils irritated and tortured them followed by hail that destroyed everything, and locusts ate all of the Egyptian crops. When we left them, a thick, terrifying darkness covered the land.
All because one man refused to humble himself before God.
Let’s continue with the story in Exodus chapter 11.
Reflection Questions
- What stood out to you today?
- What was God doing in the midst of Pharaoh’s hard heart?
- God caused the Egyptians to look favorably on the people of Israel so that the enemy would know that the Lord makes a distinction between His people and those belonging to the enemy. What does this teach you about God’s character? What does this teach you about how he treats those that people to Him?