As
we move through this very important time of the year, I want us to be
sure that we think clearly, that we don’t just go through this week with
our minds in neutral. So for
the duration of this week, I intend to write daily to us all as a
congregation and challenge us to think.
It
is interesting to see our current situation through the eyes of
history. What can we learn from the Exodus that can be applied to our
lives today? Although I’m sure that there
are many other things that could be brought out, I think one of the
most glaring parallels is related to the fact that Pharaoh was unwilling
to acknowledge that there was anyone who had the authority to tell him
what to do. In fact, if you remember some of
the Egyptian history, you will remember that the pharaohs were
considered gods by some and/or at least, the access to the gods by all.
So when this man named Moses comes in and tells Pharaoh that another God
said to let the Hebrews go so that they could travel
3 days out of town and worship, this was considered to be a slap in the
face of the Pharaoh himself. How could any God have the audacity to
consider Pharaoh so puny that he would have to bow before this God’s
desire? And because of that arrogance, Jehovah
God had to demonstrate to the Pharaoh that there was no other god that
could even come close to Himself. He had already poured out plague after
plague to convince the Pharaoh that there was one much more powerful
than himself, but Pharaoh would have none of
it. It was not until God had to levy the final plague, the death of the
firstborn in every household, that Pharaoh was willing to concede that
there was someone more powerful than he. And if you remember the story,
you remember that it only took a short time
for Pharaoh, after the death of his own firstborn son,
to be sorry that he had let the Hebrew children go. Then he sent his
army to race after them and bring them back. As a result, God had to
wipe out the whole army to prove His point. There is no god like
Jehovah!
This
is a wonderful time to rejoice in our God, the One who provided our
freedom from slavery to sin. But, as we get ready to remember Passover
tomorrow evening, it is also a
wonderful time for us to examine ourselves. Have we allowed the
arrogance of the world to rub off onto us even as the coronavirus will
rub onto us if we allow ourselves to get too close to it? The world
proclaims that they can do whatever they want and that
no one can tell them what they can or should do even as Pharaoh
proclaimed. If
we allow ourselves to be friends with the world who arrogantly defy
Jehovah, we must not be amazed when we find ourselves defying Jehovah.
Jesus
prayed that the Father would protect us since we are in the world but
not of the world (John 17:16). But He also said, “No man can serve two
masters. For you will hate the
one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the
other ” (Matt 6:24 NLT) and,
“If you love me, obey my commandments (John 14:15 NLT).
May God preserve you all and prepare your hearts for Passover!
Pastor Ann