~
Pharaoh Refused To Fear God ~
God
does not want His children living in fear.
“Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus
our Lord, as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life
and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue”
(2 Peter 1:2-3). However,
God does want His children to have a proper respect and reverence for Him. We are told in many places in Scripture to “fear
God.”
Comment ~ In
this post we pick up the historical account where we left off in our last post
in this series.
This Week’s Passage ~ “Then the Lord
said to Moses, ‘Stretch out your hand toward heaven, that there may be
hail in all the land of Egypt — on man, on beast, and on every herb of the
field, throughout the land of Egypt.’ And
Moses stretched out his rod toward heaven; and the Lord sent thunder and hail, and fire darted to the
ground. And the Lord rained hail on the land of Egypt. So there was hail, and fire mingled with the
hail, so very heavy that there was none like it in all the land of Egypt since
it became a nation. And the hail struck
throughout the whole land of Egypt, all that was in the field, both man and
beast; and the hail struck every herb of the field and broke every tree of the
field. Only in the land of Goshen, where
the children of Israel were, there was no hail.
“And Pharaoh sent and
called for Moses and Aaron, and said to them, ‘I have sinned this time. The Lord
is righteous, and my people and I are wicked. Entreat the Lord,
that there may be no more mighty thundering and hail, for it is enough. I will let you go, and you shall stay no
longer.’
“So Moses said to him, ‘As
soon as I have gone out of the city, I will spread out my hands to the Lord; the thunder will cease, and there
will be no more hail, that you may know that the earth is the Lord’s.
But as for you and your servants, I
know that you will not yet fear the Lord God.’
“Now the flax and the
barley were struck, for the barley was in the head and the flax was in bud. But the wheat and the spelt were not struck,
for they are late crops.
“So Moses went out of the
city from Pharaoh and spread out his hands to the Lord; then the thunder and the hail ceased, and the rain was
not poured on the earth. And when
Pharaoh saw that the rain, the hail, and the thunder had ceased, he sinned yet more; and he hardened his
heart, he and his servants. So the
heart of Pharaoh was hard; neither would he let the children of Israel go, as
the Lord had spoken by Moses” (Exodus
9:22-35).
Comment ~ This
is a very instructive historical account.
Pharaoh acknowledges that he is a sinner: “I have sinned this time.
The Lord is righteous, and
my people and I are wicked.” Yet,
Pharaoh was stubborn and refused to yield his will and his actions to the Lord:
“he sinned yet more; and he hardened his heart.” This is the great spiritual war that is
continuing today. Some acknowledge their
sin, repent, and change the direction of their lives, while others go their way
hardened in their thoughts toward the God they know exists. Which of these two situations are you
in?
Fearing God Results in Salvation
~ “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God” (Hebrews
10:31). “A wise
person fears and departs from evil, but a fool rages and is self-confident”
(Proverbs 14:16).
This does not mean the Christian is to live a fearful life—but a life
which reverences God and seeks to do His will.
Fearing God Results in
Fearlessness ~ “The Lord
is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord
is the strength of my life; of whom shall
I be afraid?” (Psalm 27:1). The answer is: only God. With the gift of salvation comes
responsibility.
Fearing God Results in Witnessing ~ “Come and hear, all you who fear God,
and I will
declare what He has done for my soul” (Psalm 66:16).
~ Robert Lloyd Russell, ABUNDANT LIFE NOW
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