January 23, 2025 - Exodus 7-11

And so, the miracles and plagues begin, first, with the budding of Aaron’s rod.  Water turned to blood, an infestation of frogs, gnats and flies, the death of livestock, boils, thunder and hail, locusts, and darkness.  As bad as all that, the worst was yet to come.  The country music artist, Dierks Bentley, sings a song about running off with a young girl and facing the wrath of her father.  He realizes he has made a big mistake, and he opines, “What was I thinking?”  He realizes his foolishness but then turns right around and runs off with her, again.  That’s a picture of the human heart, isn’t it?  We sin, knowing we sin, and then we turn right around and sin, again.  How many times might we have asked ourselves, “What was I thinking?”  We certainly know this, Pharaoh had to have ended up asking himself that question.  Given so many opportunities to let Israel go, he waffled, refusing to let them go until God forced his hand.  Pharaoh thought his sovereignty over matters was greater than God’s.  What in the world was he thinking?  Moses and Israel, on the other hand, were about to be free, precisely as God said.

God moves in a mysterious way

His wonders to perform:

He plants His footsteps in the sea,

and rides upon the storm.

Judge not the Lord by feeble sense,

but trust Him for His grace;

behind a frowning providence

He hides a smiling face.

His purposes will ripen fast,

unfolding every hour:

the bud may have a bitter taste,

but sweet will be the flower.   –William Cowper (1774)