EXODUS 7:22. “And the magicians of Egypt did so with their enchantments: and Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, neither did he harken unto them; as the Lord had said.” HARD HEART. It starts so small – one’s ear is deaf to others. Entreaties to consider, learn and listen come even from mothers To sons and daughters, soon grown past dependency – Hearing, but not listening to the words and voices of reason. “No-longer-innocent” eyes tighten at the edges. Lines around the mouth find it difficult to rise – As the unseen self of the heart, self-centered, gathers.
Choices now made without the advice of others – Overlook and override wise counsel from father and from mother. Maturity is only in the body-size and the “heart” is marble-sized, Brittle and unmoved by grace, and truth, and love. In the mirror is the face one likes the most, While other faces, pained by what they see and hear – Fade into the distant fringes of life – the heart hardens.
Compassion, empathy, sympathy – one time given freely by others, But not reciprocated, now is gone from you – and even mothers Turn away and wipe tear-dimmed eyes as a great potential heart shrinks – And turns to solid rock, resisting the flow of heart-sick tears, And even the fountain of living waters, and the river of life From God Himself are spurned, ignored, despised – While the hardened heart turns from light and goes, hopeless, into eternal night.
“Holy God, what a fearful thing it is when one who chooses to live without the knowledge of God, is hardened inside. When first he said, ‘Who is the Lord…’ his blind mind was closed to what any far-seeing mind could grasp. May I be led and willing to communicate truth, to those whose heart can be softened by the softening, cleansing power of the word of God. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, Amen.”
EXODUS 7:14-8:19 THE FIRST THREE PLAGUES In following the experiences of God's people in Egypt, there came a period of three to six months of terrible plagues on the land where the Jews had been in slavery for 430 years. Nothing like it happened before or since. It may take generations of gradual departure before the Lord God moves to bring about righteous retribution, but it will come. In Egypt the question, "Who is the Lord that I should obey Him," was probably at first the question of one who really did not know or at least didn't have a clear understanding of God. God's people had become more like the Egyptians and worshipped the "gods on the other side of the flood." In our day and place, that question is being asked by those who have deliberately chosen to turn away from truths that have been taught and practiced for many generations. How serious and challenging is the judgment on those who know what is right and have turned to what is wrong!
The plagues that afflicted the Egyptians answered the question of who the Lord is. They clearly overrode the gods of the Egyptians and gave physical proof of the true God. The plagues also are not only miraculous actions that rapidly accelerate the work of nature. They bring awareness of God as the One who is the Supreme Creator and Sustainer of all things, and teach the awfulness of sin. Signs have a message to give, not just warnings. Throughout all of man's history, humanity as a whole has rejected the seriousness of sin. From time to time God brings the whole problem of sin into focus through signs that give warnings. At the time of the crucifixion of the Lord Jesus, natural events were accelerated by noonday light giving way to darkness. Then at the time of His death the earthquake was so severe that the rocks broke. That was not a tremor that only shook buildings. Whatever happened at the temple, the rending of the veil that hung before the Holiest of all, would have made all the priests there awaken to the fact that God has spoken. No wonder when the Gospel was preached a little over a month later, many priests believed on the Lord Jesus Christ. When God uses acts of great power to accelerate the forces of nature, He has a serious point to make.
Self-will and pride are destructive and if left unchecked will destroy all around it. In a way it was an act of mercy when the ruthless Pharaoh and those who served him, were destroyed that the land of Egypt and the people of the nation might survive. Sin affects the whole world. By the evil of one nation's leadership, many will suffer and die. It is a lesson that most in leadership do not learn until it is too late for repentance and recovery. I fear that favored nations today are soon going to experience the righteous wrath of a Holy God.
The first group of three plagues affected the whole land without exception. Before each of these plagues took place there was warning given and opportunity to repent. There is a long warning before the first three plagues; a shorter warning for the second three and none before the last three. It is interesting to note that each series of plagues began with Moses coming to Pharaoh early in the morning. The full impact of the plague that fell was visual to everyone. No one could say they didn't know something supernatural was taking place. When the plague was predicted by Moses, that was very precise so there was no question as to what would be expected. The magicians of Egypt understood they were dealing with a deity much greater than theirs.
The plagues of the Nile River turning into blood lasted seven days. The gradual effects of the plagues grew increasingly worse as the days past. The fish died, and the river began to stink. The water itself stank and wells had to be dug to get water. When God judged in the past and when He judges today, and in the future, it doesn't require that longer judgments come. The effects can be felt for a long time. When disasters have happened in our country and even in other parts of the world, the effect is felt for days, months, and years to come. It is very foolhardy to think that God can be ignored and despised and think there will be no consequences.
Even worse than the water turned into blood, were the frogs that overwhelmed the whole country. The noise they make and the stench that came when they died and were heaped up in piles, would have been almost unbearable. Finally, Pharaoh responded to the effects of the plague and made his first compromising suggestion. The presence of frogs everywhere would have been terribly abhorrent to those who would be walking and stepping on them, or lying in the bed and find frogs there. Eating a meal with frogs on the table would have been almost more that one could take. Pharaoh was still considering the effect of the plagues to be temporary so he requested that the plague be stopped tomorrow. He would have expected the frogs to go to the river rather than dying on the spot all at once the next day. God has His own way of dealing with opposition and we are wise when we don't try to guess how the One with the keys of life and death will use them. The wisdom of God is so far greater than ours that we dare not question His acts of retribution any more than we try to define or measure His acts of grace.
The plague of lice, when God turned dust into lice, convinced the Egyptian magicians that they were up against a Supreme Power. They could manipulate things that existed but they could not create any form of life. Shaved head or smooth skinned animals could not resist the itching creatures that God made out of the dust. The animal-gods of the Egyptians were not able to defend themselves from the terrible discomfort upon them, any more that the fallen men who worshipped them. They said truly, "This is the finger of God."
The finger of man may seem so small But not the finger of God. When by His finger God answers a call Then we learn the ways of the Lord. To bring lice from dust that could stop a nation Indicated a Supreme Power that is great. If with one-digit, God points in condemnation, What a difference His whole hand will make!
And yet I am held in the palm of His hand Held safe by the Father and the Son. I am nothing but a mere weak and mortal man But the indwelling Holy Spirit has come! God used His finger when He was here on earth To write in the dust words that had conviction. A sinful woman was to Him of great worth - Perhaps words written brought salvation.
When the Almighty God points His finger there is In that one finger that identifies a need, More power and authority than in all humanity exists Though many may never to His will give heed. There is this solemn fact that we should consider - God has all authority and power, so lest we linger Or allow ourselves to wander hither and thither- The wise person will remember to act when God points His finger.
"Father, in this bastion of pantheism where we are today, I am thankful and truly moved in my spirit when I see Thy finger pointing to the place where Thy children are gathered, and they have accepted me in Thy name. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, Amen."