Then the LORD said to Moses, Go to Pharaoh, for I have hardened his heart and the hearts of his officials so that I may perform these miraculous signs of Mine among them that you may tell your children and grandchildren how I dealt harshly with the Egyptians and how I performed My signs among them,

and that you may know that I am the LORD.

Exodus 10:1-2, NIV 

 

Sometimes we have a hard time understanding why God does the things that He does. That's okay, because we are just men and do not have to know everything, but there are times when God does give us insight as to why He does what He does. The ten plagues are such a case.

 

It is a fact that God could have  just removed the Israelites from the bondage of the Egyptians in some peaceful manner, but He didn't. It is true that He could have relented from hardening the heart of the Egyptians so that they would have let Israel go after only a few plagues, but He didn't. And while we as mere men with limited understanding might have wondered for all time why God did what He did, in this case we don't have to because God explained His reasoning:

 

He wanted Israel and Egypt and all the world to know that He is the LORD!

 

And though you and I might think that we could have come up with a better way to prove that fact, we would be wrong! God in His infinite wisdom knew exactly what was needed in this situation, and He did it. He did not need the people of that time to tell Him that it was too harsh, for the opinions of men are always a poor substitute for the knowledge of God.

 

The fact is that Egypt was a mighty nation because God had made them so, yet the Egyptians attributed their might to idols that they had created out of their own imaginations. So God gave the Egyptians irrefutable evidence that their so called "gods" were worthless and that the only true God was the LORD. Do you remember when Pharaoh told Moses, "I do not know the LORD and I will not let Israel go" (Exodus 5:2)? Do you recall when God stated that He would strike down all of the firstborn of Egypt in order to bring judgment upon their "gods" (Exodus 12:12)?

 

The point of all this is that God has placed enough evidence in this world for us to understand that He is the LORD. Should we fail to heed that evidence, He will eventually prove to us that He is God in ways that are not as gentle as our simply observing the beauty of His world. One of the reasons that we study all of the Word is so that we may know that He is God and that He must be obeyed in all things. If we will do that, we will enjoy incredible blessings both now and forevermore. But, if we refuse to open our eyes and see what can be plainly seen, there will be a day of reckoning.

 

Which will you choose, blessings or curses, gentleness or harshness... or do you think that God's punishment for those who refuse to acknowledge Him are only something that He did during Old Testament times?

 

The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness, since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities - His eternal power and divine nature - have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made,

so that men are without excuse.

Romans 1:18-20, NIV

 

Today is the 15th day of the 30 day challenge to study the books of Moses, with Exodus 9-12 being the text for today. May God richly bless you as you seek to know all that you can about His divine will for your life!