To support the goal of reading the Exodus story, some of the daily readings are longer than typical for the GPS. We encourage you: have an extra cup of coffee, use your lunch break—find a way to hang in there and read this defining Biblical story.
The Daily Guide. grow. pray. study. from The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection in Leawood, Kansas, United States "Lord Pharaoh kept resisting the LORD, Yahweh"
Wednesday, 31 August 2016
Exodus 9:13 Adonai said to Moshe, “Get up early in the morning, stand before Pharaoh, and say to him, ‘Here is what Adonai says: “Let my people go, so that they can worship me. 14 For this time, I will inflict my plagues on you, yourself, and on your officials and your people; so that you will realize that I am without equal in all the earth. 15 By now I could have stretched out my hand and struck you and your people with such severe plagues that you would have been wiped off the earth. 16 But it is for this very reason that I have kept you alive — to show you my power, and so that my name may resound throughout the whole earth. (vii) 17 Since you are still setting yourself up against my people and not letting them go, 18 tomorrow, about this time, I will cause a hailstorm so heavy that Egypt has had nothing like it from the day it was founded until now. 19 Therefore, send and hurry to bring indoors all your livestock and everything else you have in the field. For hail will fall on every human being and animal left in the field that hasn’t been brought home, and they will die.”’”
20 Whoever among Pharaoh’s servants feared what Adonai had said had his slaves and livestock escape into the houses; 21 but those who had no regard for what Adonai had said left their slaves and livestock in the field.
22 Adonai said to Moshe, “Reach out your hand toward the sky, so that there will be hail in all the land of Egypt, falling on people, animals and everything growing in the field, throughout the land of Egypt.” 23 Moshe reached out with his staff toward the sky, and Adonai sent thunder and hail, and fire ran down to the earth. Adonai caused it to hail on the land of Egypt — 24 it hailed, and fire flashed up with the hail; it was terrible, worse than any hailstorm in all of Egypt since it became a nation. 25 Throughout all the land of Egypt, the hail struck everything in the field, people and animals; and the hail struck every plant growing in the field and broke every tree there. 26 But in the land of Goshen, where the people of Isra’el were, there was no hail.
27 Pharaoh summoned Moshe and Aharon and said to them, “This time I have sinned: Adonai is in the right; I and my people are in the wrong. 28 Intercede with Adonai — we can’t take any more of this terrible thunder and hail; and I will let you go, you will stay no longer.” 29 Moshe said to him, “As soon as I have gone out of the city, I will spread out my hands to Adonai; the thunder will end, and there won’t be any more hail — so that you can know that the earth belongs to Adonai. 30 But you and your servants, I know you still won’t fear Adonai, God.” 31 The flax and barley were ruined, because the barley was ripe and the flax in bud. 32 But the wheat and buckwheat were not ruined, because they come up later. (Maftir) 33 Moshe went out of the city, away from Pharaoh, and spread out his hands to Adonai. The thunder and hail ended, and the rain stopped pouring down on the earth. 34 When Pharaoh saw that the rain, hail and thunder had ended, he sinned still more by making himself hardhearted, he and his servants. 35 Pharaoh was made hardhearted, and he didn’t let the people of Isra’el go, just as Adonai had said through Moshe.
10:1 Adonai said to Moshe, “Go to Pharaoh, for I have made him and his servants hardhearted, so that I can demonstrate these signs of mine among them, 2 so that you can tell your son and grandson about what I did to Egypt and about my signs that I demonstrated among them, and so that you will all know that I am Adonai.” 3 Moshe and Aharon went in to Pharaoh and said to him, “Here is what Adonai, God of the Hebrews, says: ‘How much longer will you refuse to submit to me? Let my people go, so that they can worship me. 4 Otherwise, if you refuse to let my people go, tomorrow I will bring locusts into your territory. 5 One won’t be able to see the ground, so completely will the locusts cover it. They will eat anything you still have that escaped the hail, including every tree you have growing in the field. 6 They will fill your houses and those of your servants and of all the Egyptians. It will be like nothing your fathers or their fathers have ever seen since the day they were born until today.’” Then he turned his back and left.
7 Pharaoh’s servants said to him, “How much longer must this fellow be a snare for us? Let the people go and worship Adonai their God. Don’t you understand yet that Egypt is being destroyed?” 8 So Moshe and Aharon were brought to Pharaoh again, and he said to them, “Go, worship Adonai your God. But who exactly is going?” 9 Moshe answered, “We will go with our young and our old, our sons and our daughters; and we will go with our flocks and herds; for we must celebrate a feast to Adonai.” 10 Pharaoh said to them, “Adonai certainly will be with you if I ever let you go with your children! It’s clear that you are up to no good. 11 Nothing doing! Just the men among you may go and worship Adonai. That’s what you want, isn’t it?” And they were driven out of Pharaoh’s presence.
(ii) 12 Adonai said to Moshe, “Reach out your hand over the land of Egypt, so that locusts will invade the land and eat every plant that the hail has left.” 13 Moshe reached out with his staff over the land of Egypt, and Adonai caused an east wind to blow on the land all day and all night; and in the morning the east wind brought the locusts. 14 The locusts went up over all the land of Egypt and settled throughout Egypt’s territory. It was an invasion more severe than there had ever been before or will ever be again. 15 They completely covered the ground, so that the ground looked black. They ate every plant growing from the ground and all the fruit of the trees left by the hail. Not one green thing remained, not a tree and not a plant in the field, in all the land of Egypt.
16 Pharaoh hurried to summon Moshe and Aharon and said, “I have sinned against Adonai your God and against you. 17 Now, therefore, please forgive my sin just this once; and intercede with Adonai your God, so that he will at least take away from me this deadly plague!” 18 He went out from Pharaoh and interceded with Adonai. 19 Adonai reversed the wind and made it blow very strongly from the west. It took up the locusts and drove them into the Sea of Suf; not one locust remained on Egyptian soil. 20 But Adonai made Pharaoh hardhearted, and he didn’t let the people of Isra’el go.
21 Adonai said to Moshe, “Reach out your hand toward the sky, and there will be darkness over the land of Egypt, darkness so thick it can be felt!” 22 Moshe reached out his hand toward the sky, and there was a thick darkness in the entire land of Egypt for three days. 23 People couldn’t see each other, and no one went anywhere for three days. But all the people of Isra’el had light in their homes.
(iii) 24 Pharaoh summoned Moshe and said, “Go, worship Adonai; only leave your flocks and herds behind — your children may go with you.” 25 Moshe answered, “You must also see to it that we have sacrifices and burnt offerings, so that we can sacrifice to Adonai our God. 26 Our livestock will also go with us — not a hoof will be left behind — because we must choose some of them to worship Adonai our God, and we don’t know which ones we will need to worship Adonai until we get there.” 27 But Adonai made Pharaoh hardhearted, and he would not let them go. 28 Pharaoh said to them, “Get away from me! And you had better not see my face again, because the day you see my face, you will die!” 29 Moshe answered, “Well spoken! I will see your face no more.”
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Things got so serious that even Pharaoh’s officials begged him: “Let Israel go” (Exodus 10:7). Devastating hail, a locust plague that left “nothing green” in all of Egypt—even the defiant Pharaoh started using religious language: “I’ve sinned against the LORD your God and against you” (Exodus 10:16). But even then, like a rebellious child, as soon as the plague stopped Pharaoh kept trying to fool Moses and Moses’ God with qualified “promises.”
• What are we to make of the statements that “the LORD made Pharaoh stubborn”? If
Pharaoh wanted to obey, wasn’t it unjust for God to force him to disobey? Of course it
would have been. But to believe that, we have to ignore what Jesus and the apostles
taught about God. Jesus prayed for the soldiers who nailed him to the cross (cf. Luke 23:34). James, Jesus’ brother, wrote that God does not tempt anyone to do evil (James 1:13). 2 Peter 3:9 said God is “patient, not wanting anyone to perish but all to change their hearts and lives.” However we understand what the Hebrew historians wrote in Exodus, Jesus revealed a God who would not force Pharaoh (or anyone) to make evil choices. And the really crucial question is, do you believe you serve a God who deals kindly, freely and forgivingly with you?
Prayer: Lord God, Pharaoh didn’t just make bad choices. He clung to them. I make some bad choices, too—but please help me to keep my heart open to your presence and your grace, drawing me toward your way of life and goodness. Amen.
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Insights from Jennifer Creagar
Jennifer Creagar facilitates the Prayer Ministry and coordinates the Financial Care and Assistance ministries. She is married, has three great kids and three perfect grandchildren whom she loves spending time with, and she enjoys writing and photography.
Today in the GPS reading we see Pharaoh not only acting out of a hardened heart, but doing some bargaining and justifying in the process. He’s been told plainly by Moses what God wants—the people of Israel freed from their bondage as his monument-building, long-suffering slaves. Obeying this command from God will cost him economically and personally. For someone in Pharaoh’s position, appearing weak is a dangerous thing. So he says “yes,” and immediately begins to look for reasons to say “no.” Do any of them sound familiar?
I have to admit, I’ve done all these things. I’ve been like Pharaoh, trying to talk and justify my way out of God’s call on my life. In the end, Pharaoh found himself in an impossible position, and that is where ignoring God’s commandments puts us—in impossible, unmanageable, and even frightening and dangerous positions.
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Join us for worship today - click here for information on worship times and locations. If you are not in the Kansas City area, you can take part in our worship via live Web stream at rezonline.org.
Download a printable version of this week's GPS.
-------
Exodus 9:13 Adonai said to Moshe, “Get up early in the morning, stand before Pharaoh, and say to him, ‘Here is what Adonai says: “Let my people go, so that they can worship me. 14 For this time, I will inflict my plagues on you, yourself, and on your officials and your people; so that you will realize that I am without equal in all the earth. 15 By now I could have stretched out my hand and struck you and your people with such severe plagues that you would have been wiped off the earth. 16 But it is for this very reason that I have kept you alive — to show you my power, and so that my name may resound throughout the whole earth. (vii) 17 Since you are still setting yourself up against my people and not letting them go, 18 tomorrow, about this time, I will cause a hailstorm so heavy that Egypt has had nothing like it from the day it was founded until now. 19 Therefore, send and hurry to bring indoors all your livestock and everything else you have in the field. For hail will fall on every human being and animal left in the field that hasn’t been brought home, and they will die.”’”
20 Whoever among Pharaoh’s servants feared what Adonai had said had his slaves and livestock escape into the houses; 21 but those who had no regard for what Adonai had said left their slaves and livestock in the field.
22 Adonai said to Moshe, “Reach out your hand toward the sky, so that there will be hail in all the land of Egypt, falling on people, animals and everything growing in the field, throughout the land of Egypt.” 23 Moshe reached out with his staff toward the sky, and Adonai sent thunder and hail, and fire ran down to the earth. Adonai caused it to hail on the land of Egypt — 24 it hailed, and fire flashed up with the hail; it was terrible, worse than any hailstorm in all of Egypt since it became a nation. 25 Throughout all the land of Egypt, the hail struck everything in the field, people and animals; and the hail struck every plant growing in the field and broke every tree there. 26 But in the land of Goshen, where the people of Isra’el were, there was no hail.
27 Pharaoh summoned Moshe and Aharon and said to them, “This time I have sinned: Adonai is in the right; I and my people are in the wrong. 28 Intercede with Adonai — we can’t take any more of this terrible thunder and hail; and I will let you go, you will stay no longer.” 29 Moshe said to him, “As soon as I have gone out of the city, I will spread out my hands to Adonai; the thunder will end, and there won’t be any more hail — so that you can know that the earth belongs to Adonai. 30 But you and your servants, I know you still won’t fear Adonai, God.” 31 The flax and barley were ruined, because the barley was ripe and the flax in bud. 32 But the wheat and buckwheat were not ruined, because they come up later. (Maftir) 33 Moshe went out of the city, away from Pharaoh, and spread out his hands to Adonai. The thunder and hail ended, and the rain stopped pouring down on the earth. 34 When Pharaoh saw that the rain, hail and thunder had ended, he sinned still more by making himself hardhearted, he and his servants. 35 Pharaoh was made hardhearted, and he didn’t let the people of Isra’el go, just as Adonai had said through Moshe.
10:1 Adonai said to Moshe, “Go to Pharaoh, for I have made him and his servants hardhearted, so that I can demonstrate these signs of mine among them, 2 so that you can tell your son and grandson about what I did to Egypt and about my signs that I demonstrated among them, and so that you will all know that I am Adonai.” 3 Moshe and Aharon went in to Pharaoh and said to him, “Here is what Adonai, God of the Hebrews, says: ‘How much longer will you refuse to submit to me? Let my people go, so that they can worship me. 4 Otherwise, if you refuse to let my people go, tomorrow I will bring locusts into your territory. 5 One won’t be able to see the ground, so completely will the locusts cover it. They will eat anything you still have that escaped the hail, including every tree you have growing in the field. 6 They will fill your houses and those of your servants and of all the Egyptians. It will be like nothing your fathers or their fathers have ever seen since the day they were born until today.’” Then he turned his back and left.
7 Pharaoh’s servants said to him, “How much longer must this fellow be a snare for us? Let the people go and worship Adonai their God. Don’t you understand yet that Egypt is being destroyed?” 8 So Moshe and Aharon were brought to Pharaoh again, and he said to them, “Go, worship Adonai your God. But who exactly is going?” 9 Moshe answered, “We will go with our young and our old, our sons and our daughters; and we will go with our flocks and herds; for we must celebrate a feast to Adonai.” 10 Pharaoh said to them, “Adonai certainly will be with you if I ever let you go with your children! It’s clear that you are up to no good. 11 Nothing doing! Just the men among you may go and worship Adonai. That’s what you want, isn’t it?” And they were driven out of Pharaoh’s presence.
(ii) 12 Adonai said to Moshe, “Reach out your hand over the land of Egypt, so that locusts will invade the land and eat every plant that the hail has left.” 13 Moshe reached out with his staff over the land of Egypt, and Adonai caused an east wind to blow on the land all day and all night; and in the morning the east wind brought the locusts. 14 The locusts went up over all the land of Egypt and settled throughout Egypt’s territory. It was an invasion more severe than there had ever been before or will ever be again. 15 They completely covered the ground, so that the ground looked black. They ate every plant growing from the ground and all the fruit of the trees left by the hail. Not one green thing remained, not a tree and not a plant in the field, in all the land of Egypt.
16 Pharaoh hurried to summon Moshe and Aharon and said, “I have sinned against Adonai your God and against you. 17 Now, therefore, please forgive my sin just this once; and intercede with Adonai your God, so that he will at least take away from me this deadly plague!” 18 He went out from Pharaoh and interceded with Adonai. 19 Adonai reversed the wind and made it blow very strongly from the west. It took up the locusts and drove them into the Sea of Suf; not one locust remained on Egyptian soil. 20 But Adonai made Pharaoh hardhearted, and he didn’t let the people of Isra’el go.
21 Adonai said to Moshe, “Reach out your hand toward the sky, and there will be darkness over the land of Egypt, darkness so thick it can be felt!” 22 Moshe reached out his hand toward the sky, and there was a thick darkness in the entire land of Egypt for three days. 23 People couldn’t see each other, and no one went anywhere for three days. But all the people of Isra’el had light in their homes.
(iii) 24 Pharaoh summoned Moshe and said, “Go, worship Adonai; only leave your flocks and herds behind — your children may go with you.” 25 Moshe answered, “You must also see to it that we have sacrifices and burnt offerings, so that we can sacrifice to Adonai our God. 26 Our livestock will also go with us — not a hoof will be left behind — because we must choose some of them to worship Adonai our God, and we don’t know which ones we will need to worship Adonai until we get there.” 27 But Adonai made Pharaoh hardhearted, and he would not let them go. 28 Pharaoh said to them, “Get away from me! And you had better not see my face again, because the day you see my face, you will die!” 29 Moshe answered, “Well spoken! I will see your face no more.”
-------
Things got so serious that even Pharaoh’s officials begged him: “Let Israel go” (Exodus 10:7). Devastating hail, a locust plague that left “nothing green” in all of Egypt—even the defiant Pharaoh started using religious language: “I’ve sinned against the LORD your God and against you” (Exodus 10:16). But even then, like a rebellious child, as soon as the plague stopped Pharaoh kept trying to fool Moses and Moses’ God with qualified “promises.”
• What are we to make of the statements that “the LORD made Pharaoh stubborn”? If
Pharaoh wanted to obey, wasn’t it unjust for God to force him to disobey? Of course it
would have been. But to believe that, we have to ignore what Jesus and the apostles
taught about God. Jesus prayed for the soldiers who nailed him to the cross (cf. Luke 23:34). James, Jesus’ brother, wrote that God does not tempt anyone to do evil (James 1:13). 2 Peter 3:9 said God is “patient, not wanting anyone to perish but all to change their hearts and lives.” However we understand what the Hebrew historians wrote in Exodus, Jesus revealed a God who would not force Pharaoh (or anyone) to make evil choices. And the really crucial question is, do you believe you serve a God who deals kindly, freely and forgivingly with you?
Prayer: Lord God, Pharaoh didn’t just make bad choices. He clung to them. I make some bad choices, too—but please help me to keep my heart open to your presence and your grace, drawing me toward your way of life and goodness. Amen.
-------
Insights from Jennifer Creagar
Jennifer Creagar facilitates the Prayer Ministry and coordinates the Financial Care and Assistance ministries. She is married, has three great kids and three perfect grandchildren whom she loves spending time with, and she enjoys writing and photography.Today in the GPS reading we see Pharaoh not only acting out of a hardened heart, but doing some bargaining and justifying in the process. He’s been told plainly by Moses what God wants—the people of Israel freed from their bondage as his monument-building, long-suffering slaves. Obeying this command from God will cost him economically and personally. For someone in Pharaoh’s position, appearing weak is a dangerous thing. So he says “yes,” and immediately begins to look for reasons to say “no.” Do any of them sound familiar?
“Oh look, everything’s fine now. No need to upset the status quo.”
“But when Pharaoh saw that the rain, hail, and thunder had stopped, he sinned again. Pharaoh and his officials became stubborn. Because of his stubbornness, Pharaoh refused to let the Israelites go, just as the Lord had told Moses.”[Exodus 9:34-35]
“That’s not EXACTLY what you said. I can’t be expected to do more than required.”
“So Moses and Aaron were brought back to Pharaoh, and he said to them, ‘Go! Worship the Lord your God! But who exactly is going with you?’ Moses said, ‘We’ll go with our young and old, with our sons and daughters, and with our flocks and herds, because we all must observe the Lord’s festival.’ Pharaoh said to them, ‘Yes, the Lord will be with you, all right, especially if I let your children go with you! Obviously, you are plotting some evil scheme. 11 No way! Only your men can go and worship the Lord, because that’s what you asked for.’”[Exodus 10:8-11]
“I’ll just keep a little bit back for myself, to stay in control of the situation.”
“Then Pharaoh called Moses and said, ‘Go! Worship the Lord! Only your flocks and herds need to stay behind. Even your children can go with you.’”[Exodus 10:24]
As Jesus’ followers, we have some pretty definite commands from God ourselves:
“But I say to you that listen, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. If anyone strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also; and from anyone who takes away your coat do not withhold even your shirt. Give to everyone who begs from you; and if anyone takes away your goods, do not ask for them again. Do to others as you would have them do to you.[Luke 6:27-31]
In everything do to others as you would have them do to you; for this is the law and the prophets.[Matthew 7:12]
Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth…but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven…For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.[Matthew 6:19]
Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, or about your body, what you will wear…indeed your Heavenly Father knows you need all these thing. But strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these things will be given to you as well.[Matthew 6:31,33]
Do we try to bargain and justify our way out of these commands? Have you ever said to yourself, “Jesus can’t have meant for me to love this person. They have been so cruel to me andothers. I won’t be openly rude or cruel back. That will have to be enough. Love and forgiveness? I’ll leave that to God”? Have you ever wanted some material object, or relationship or experience so much that you obsessed about it, just knowing it must be what God really wants for you because what could be better? How much time have you spent worrying, going over and over your plans to get what you need, even if it means ignoring God’s call to do things like love your neighbor and care for others?I have to admit, I’ve done all these things. I’ve been like Pharaoh, trying to talk and justify my way out of God’s call on my life. In the end, Pharaoh found himself in an impossible position, and that is where ignoring God’s commandments puts us—in impossible, unmanageable, and even frightening and dangerous positions.
Lord, just as Pharaoh’s heart was hardened,
mine can be hard and self-serving.
Please make my heart soft and open to your instructions.
Help me to remember your commandments and follow your plan
so that your will may be done.
Amen.
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Join us for worship today - click here for information on worship times and locations. If you are not in the Kansas City area, you can take part in our worship via live Web stream at rezonline.org.
Download a printable version of this week's GPS.
-------
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