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Observations from today’s readings and today’s S-WOD, Tuesday, 7 January 2025:
Exodus 9:1 — Let my people go, that they may serve me.
God’s people belong to God, and their purpose in life is to serve Him in all they do. No one has the authority to stand in the way of service to God by the people of God.
Exodus 9:4, 6 – “’But the Lord will make a distinction between the livestock of Israel and the livestock of Egypt, so that nothing of all that belongs to the people of Israel shall die.’” … But the heart of Pharaoh was hardened, and he did not let the people go.
The power of God revealed through the lives of the people of God should be very evident to everyone else, but many will nonetheless prideful reject the grace of God.
Exodus 9:12 — But the Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh, and he did not listen to them, as the Lord had spoken to Moses.
“Previously, God announced that he would harden Pharaoh’s heart (Exodus 4:21 and 7:3), and this was the fulfillment of it. Yet it is said at least six times before this that Pharaoh hardened his own heart (Exodus 7:13, 7:22, 8:15, 8:19, 8:32, 9:7). We see that God’s hardening of Pharaoh’s heart was the strengthening of what he already had set himself towards.” (Guzik)
“This is the first occasion on which this form of words is used after an actual plague. Previously, the position has always been put from the other side: pharaoh has hardened his own heart. The moral would be that God hardens those who harden themselves.” (Cole)
Exodus 9:15 — For by now I could have put out my hand and struck you and your people with pestilence, and you would have been cut off from the earth.
All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. We are all completely dependent on God’s mercy and grace. God is patient, merciful, and forgiving, but there are some who refuse to repent, be forgiven, and receive the eternal blessings of a life in Christ. The gift of forgiveness and eternal life is offered but not received until taken.
Exodus 9:16 – But for this purpose I have raised you up, to show you my power, so that my name may be proclaimed in all the earth.
Our purpose is to bring glory to God on earth. God can use a person in positive ways or negative ways to reveal Himself. Pharaoh challenged God, and Egypt learned through Pharaoh’s rebellion that God is God. Moses obeyed God, and the Israelites learned in miraculous ways that God is God. What does your life reveal about God for others to see?
Exodus 9:20, 21 – Then whoever feared the word of the Lord among the servants of Pharaoh hurried his slaves and his livestock into the houses, but whoever did not pay attention to the word of the Lord left his slaves and his livestock in the field.
It is your choice whether you obey God’s word or not, but you will reap the consequences either way. Others will be impacted by your choice as well.
Exodus 9:22 – Stretch out your hand toward heaven, so that there may be hail in all the land of Egypt, on man and beast and every plant of the field, in the land of Egypt.
Man’s rebellion against God affects “man and beast and every plant of the field”. Ironically, the rebellious reject the God they see as controlling while they also reject the God they see as unloving or unjust for allowing the world to suffer the consequences of being unconstrained. Why does a loving God allow bad things to happen? Because we asked for it and continuously reject redemption. The rebellious want the freedom to choose but also freedom from the natural consequences of their choices, and they act as if their freedom to choose is a right which transcends consideration of the impact their choices have on the world around them. So, we live in a world where victimizers are victimized. However, even the environment is impacted by the moral decisions of mankind. All death and decay began with rebellion against God. Jesus came to restore what sin has broken. He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. He is the answer to all that ails us.
- Genesis 3:17 — And to Adam he said, “Because you have listened to the voice of your wife
and have eaten of the tree of which I commanded you, ‘You shall not eat of it,’ cursed is the ground because of you; in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life….
Jeremiah 12:10-11 — Many shepherds have destroyed my vineyard; they have trampled down my portion; they have made my pleasant portion a desolate wilderness. They have made it a desolation;
desolate, it mourns to me. The whole land is made desolate, but no man lays it to heart.
- Romans 8:19-22 — For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now.
Exodus 9:26 – Only in the land of Goshen, where the people of Israel were, was there no hail.
God’s miraculous blessings bestowed upon His people serves as testimony to His sovereignty, mercy and grace. We live in a world broken by sin, and God has not yet chosen to take us out of this world or free us from the consequences of sin, but He has promised to bless us and work all things together for good, including suffering, for His perfect purposes, and He has given us the hope of eternal life through Christ which should bring us joy through all sufferings. Often, our walk with Christ will result in obvious unmerited blessings from God on this side of eternity, which is our opportunity to praise God before others and share the Gospel. Never miss the opportunity to publicly thank God for all the ways He has blessed you.
Exodus 9:27, 28; 10:16 — This time I have sinned; the Lord is in the right, and I and my people are in the wrong. Plead with the Lord….
Being sorry is not the same as being repentant. Pharaoh was ‘sorry’ he was being punished, but his heart had only grown harder over time. The mark of genuine repentance is a changed heart that responds with humility, surrender, fidelity, obedience, love.
Notice Pharoah said, “This time…. the Lord is in the right,” as if God had ever acted unjustly or unfairly previously. Sin isn’t just a rejection of God’s word and authority, it is an attack on His character – God is not who He says He is. Remember how Satan tempted Adam and Eve: “But the serpent said to the woman, ‘You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.’” (Genesis 3:4-5) Satan didn’t just get Adam and Eve to doubt God’s word but also His character – ‘He isn’t acting in your best interest but merely trying to control you.’ Likewise, Satan gets us to doubt God’s character and presence in our lives and convinces us we have to sin to be safe and satisfied.
Exodus 9:30; 10:1 – But as for you and your servants, I know that you do not yet fear the Lord God.
Pharaoh surrounded himself with likeminded people – they were all equally and fatally wrong. No doubt, Pharaoh’s servants encouraged Pharaoh in his rebellion, telling him what he wanted to hear. Christians should surround themselves with other committed Christians who will tell each other the truth according to God’s word.
“Cross” Fit S-WOD (Spiritual Workout of the Day) – 7 January 2025: Today, recommit to living a life which glorifies God in a positive way through the blessings which come from intimacy with Him and thankful obedience to His word in pursuit of His will being done on earth as it is in Heaven.
Defenders Bible Reading Plan 