Exodus

So my boss called me this morning and told me I didn't have to come in to work because we needed some kind of permit that we didn't have. So I got the day off. So I read Exodus. I realize I'm a little ahead of schedule, but it's good stuff. So here is what I noticed in the book of Exodus.

First the fear of God came up again. Right off the bat the midwives refused to kill the Hebrew babies because they feared the Lord. One time during the plagues Moses tell Pharaoh that he knows he does not fear God yet, but the explosion comes in chapter 15. That is also a spot where a few other things jumped off the page at me so I will elaborate on that in a bit. Other than 15, there was fear of the Lord at Sinai in chapters 19 and 20 as well.

The next thing that comes up is the control of God. You can get mad at me if you want, but all I am doing is saying what is right there in the text. So I'm just going to list places where it is clear that God is in control. Exodus 1:21 "And because the midwives feared God, He gave them families." Exodus 3:8 "I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land..." Exodus 3:17 "... I will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt..." Exodus 3:19-20 "But I know that the king of Egypt will not let you go unless compelled by a mighty hand. So I will stretch out my hand and strike Egypt with all the wonders that I will do in it; after that he will let you go." Exodus 4:11 "Then the Lord said to him, 'Who has made man's mouth? Who makes him mute, or deaf, or seeing, or blind? Is it not I, the Lord?" (I am holding off on the hardening of Pharaoh's heart till the end.) Exodus 7:4-5 "I will... bring my hosts, my people the children of Israel, out of the land of Egypt by great acts of judgment... I stretch my hand out against Egypt and bring out the people of Israel from among them." Exodus 7:25 "Seven full days had passed after the Lord had struck the Nile." Exodus 11:3 "And the Lord gave the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians." Exodus 12:36 "And the Lord had given the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they let them have what they asked. Thus they plundered the Egyptians." Exodus 13:5 "... the Lord brings you into the land of the Canaanites..." Exodus 14:13 "And Moses said to the people, 'Fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the Lord, which He will work for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall never see again. The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to be silent.'" Exodus 14:21 "... the Lord drove the sea back by a strong east wind..." Exodus 14:24-25 "And in the morning watch the Lord in the pillar of fire and of cloud looked down on the Egyptian forces and threw the Egyptian forces into a panic, clogging their chariot wheels so that they drove heavily. And the Egyptians said, 'Let us flee from before Israel, for the Lord fights for them against the Egyptians.'" Exodus 14:27 "... the Lord threw the Egyptians into the midst of the sea." Exodus 14:30 "Thus the Lord saved Israel that day from the hand of the Egyptians, and Israel saw Egyptians dead on the seashore." Now we are to chapter 15 and like I said, a lot comes together in 15 so I will hold off on that. Now I am just going to give some references of more of God's control and then discuss Pharaoh. Exodus 16:4,6,7,8,15,32; 18:1,4,8-10,23; 19:4-5; 23:27,31; 28:3; 31:3,6; 32:11; 34:11; 35:31,34,35; 36:1-2. All of this is just kind of beating the same thing into the ground. Exodus 19:4-5 makes it clear, "You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles' wings and brought you to myself. Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine." This is extremely clear. It is obvious in every bit of the text who is responsible for the happenings. God is. He is the one who delivered them from Egypt. He fed them in the wilderness. He will drive out the peoples of their promised land. He is in control.

Now for Pharaoh. Ten times in Exodus, it says that God hardened Pharaoh's heart (Ex. 4:21; 7:3; 9:12; 10:1,20,27; 11:10; 14:4,8,17). Three times it says that Pharaoh hardened his own heart (Ex. 8:15,32; 9:34). I don't know what this means. I'm not about to discount two books full of God giving Himself credit for all things because of three verses, but obviously they do mean something. Perhaps they are just showing the outside view of what God had already done in Pharaoh's heart. I don't know. Anyone who would like to shed knowledgeable light on the matter please do. Nevertheless, we do know why God hardened Pharaoh's heart. Exodus 11:9 "Then the Lord said to Moses, 'Pharaoh will not listen to you, that my wonders may be multiplied in the land of Egypt.'" There it is. However God did it, He did it for an opportunity to show more of His wonders. This fits with the theme found so far. God does things to show His power and glory.

That brings me to my next observation. The purpose of God's actions. This has been extremely cool for me to see. Right from the start of the plagues God gives us His reason for it all, to show His glory and His great name. Exodus 8:10,22; 9:16,29; 10:1-2; 11:9; 12:32; 13:8-9,14,16; 14:4,17-18,30-31; 16:6,12; 18:9-12; 20:2,5,11,24; 29:45-46; 31:17; 33:16,19; 34:5-7,10,14 all show that His purpose is His glory. If you get a chance I encourage you to go through and read some of those. It's something that isn't exactly preached everywhere. God is all about His glory being shown.

Ok now for Exodus 15. I am just going to copy down the song of Moses and Israel to the Lord. It is an awesome thing.

Then Moses and the people of Israel sang this song to the Lord, saying,

“I will sing to the Lord, for he has triumphed gloriously;
the horse and his rider he has thrown into the sea. The Lord is my strength and my song,
and he has become my salvation;
this is my God, and I will praise him,
my father's God, and I will exalt him. The Lord is a man of war;
the Lord is his name.

“Pharaoh's chariots and his host he cast into the sea,
and his chosen officers were sunk in the Red Sea. The floods covered them;
they went down into the depths like a stone. Your right hand, O Lord, glorious in power,
your right hand, O Lord, shatters the enemy. In the greatness of your majesty you overthrow your adversaries;
you send out your fury; it consumes them like stubble. At the blast of your nostrils the waters piled up;
the floods stood up in a heap;
the deeps congealed in the heart of the sea. The enemy said, ‘I will pursue, I will overtake,
I will divide the spoil, my desire shall have its fill of them.
I will draw my sword; my hand shall destroy them.’ You blew with your wind; the sea covered them;
they sank like lead in the mighty waters.

“Who is like you, O Lord, among the gods?
Who is like you, majestic in holiness,
awesome in glorious deeds, doing wonders? You stretched out your right hand;
the earth swallowed them.

“You have led in your steadfast love the people whom you have redeemed;
you have guided them by your strength to your holy abode. The peoples have heard; they tremble;
pangs have seized the inhabitants of Philistia. Now are the chiefs of Edom dismayed;
trembling seizes the leaders of Moab;
all the inhabitants of Canaan have melted away. Terror and dread fall upon them;
because of the greatness of your arm, they are still as a stone,
till your people, O Lord, pass by,
till the people pass by whom you have purchased. You will bring them in and plant them on your own mountain,
the place, O Lord, which you have made for your abode,
the sanctuary, O Lord, which your hands have established. The Lord will reign forever and ever.”

For when the horses of Pharaoh with his chariots and his horsemen went into the sea, the Lord brought back the waters of the sea upon them, but the people of Israel walked on dry ground in the midst of the sea. Then Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took a tambourine in her hand, and all the women went out after her with tambourines and dancing. And Miriam sang to them:

“Sing to the Lord, for he has triumphed gloriously;
the horse and his rider he has thrown into the sea.”

Wow that is awesome! I tried to mark out three things in this: the fear of the Lord, God's control, and His glory. But I couldn't. I was overlapping everywhere. The point is that they are all interwoven. I said at the beginning of reading this that my goal was to be able to praise and glorify God more accurately. Well this is a start. The only way God is truly glorified is if you give Him the credit that He deserves. If you don't give Him credit for what He has done, then you are shortchanging God. And the proper reaction to that realization and acknowledgment is fear and trembling at His power. That is what the entire song of Moses screams. God you did it; you did it. You saved us. And because you did, everyone is afraid of you! You will reign in your power forever and ever. How much more clearly can it be said? Now like I said, I have not read the entire Bible. It may be that I get to a point in like Luke or something and Jesus says something that makes me think differently than this does. But for now it could not be more clear. God is in control.

Ok that's all I've got on Exodus. Like I said, if anyone can shed some light on the Pharaoh topic that would be great. Any discussion would also be great. Again, let this be a challenge to you to read and understand God better by His word.

All glory be to God,

Mitchell