Post by pastorann on Jan 30, 2014 18:44:50 GMT
I have been reading through the Bible and found myself in Exodus Chapter Ten today.
Verses 1 & 2 read: "Then the Lord said to Moses, "Return to Pharaoh and make your demands again. I have made him and his officials stubborn so I can display my miraculous signs among them. I've also done it so you can tell your children and grandchildren about how I made a mockery of the Egyptians and about the signs I displayed among them-and so you will know that I am the LORD."
Agggh! I have so many problems thinking of God as a puppet master. It brings to mind so many questions. (spoiler alert) We know that God is going to cause some serious hurt to befall the Egyptians. That is hard for me to wrestle with when I embrace such a loving God.
Let's look at what is going on. God did not initiate the terrible treatment the Egyptians were imposing upon the Israelite people. They did that all on their own.
God made a covenant with the Israelite people and he is coming to keep and maintain that promise. It isn't about punishing the Egyptians the motivation is to rescue the Israelites.
There is a great deal going on here within the tension of humanity and spiritual dominance. Pharaoh sits as a god before Egypt. The Israelites represent and follow a different God. God (our God the one true God) has made them very successful. They are so successful they threaten the Egyptians. The Egyptians enslaved them to maintain power and control.
We have a tension between the power of nations and the supremacy of God and Pharaoh.
God does a cool thing here. He takes the hard hearted Pharaoh and uses him to achieve his purposes. God uses Pharaoh to reconcile him with his people and re-engage with his people.
In the Hebrew the words "I can display" have a meaning: in order to rescue.
God is doing all of this to rescue his people from bondage and slavery.
He goes about doing all this with great drama and a sense of rising tension until he and Israel prevail against the Egyptians.
God uses all kinds of people- even those who may not believe in him to achieve his reconciliation of mankind.
He tells us he is doing this with great drama so we won't forget. He arranges all of this for us. We are named here in the lineage of Israel. We represent the people to come and to remember the mighty works of God.
God does this again. He sets forth an unforgettable human drama of intrigue and innocence to redeem us once again. The power of the Spirit comes for in miraculous power to prove the death of mankind obsolete and over. God ends mankind's slavery again!
What drama and visuals bring the life of Jesus alive and present for you today?
How has God used you to achieve his purposes?
Verses 1 & 2 read: "Then the Lord said to Moses, "Return to Pharaoh and make your demands again. I have made him and his officials stubborn so I can display my miraculous signs among them. I've also done it so you can tell your children and grandchildren about how I made a mockery of the Egyptians and about the signs I displayed among them-and so you will know that I am the LORD."
Agggh! I have so many problems thinking of God as a puppet master. It brings to mind so many questions. (spoiler alert) We know that God is going to cause some serious hurt to befall the Egyptians. That is hard for me to wrestle with when I embrace such a loving God.
Let's look at what is going on. God did not initiate the terrible treatment the Egyptians were imposing upon the Israelite people. They did that all on their own.
God made a covenant with the Israelite people and he is coming to keep and maintain that promise. It isn't about punishing the Egyptians the motivation is to rescue the Israelites.
There is a great deal going on here within the tension of humanity and spiritual dominance. Pharaoh sits as a god before Egypt. The Israelites represent and follow a different God. God (our God the one true God) has made them very successful. They are so successful they threaten the Egyptians. The Egyptians enslaved them to maintain power and control.
We have a tension between the power of nations and the supremacy of God and Pharaoh.
God does a cool thing here. He takes the hard hearted Pharaoh and uses him to achieve his purposes. God uses Pharaoh to reconcile him with his people and re-engage with his people.
In the Hebrew the words "I can display" have a meaning: in order to rescue.
God is doing all of this to rescue his people from bondage and slavery.
He goes about doing all this with great drama and a sense of rising tension until he and Israel prevail against the Egyptians.
God uses all kinds of people- even those who may not believe in him to achieve his reconciliation of mankind.
He tells us he is doing this with great drama so we won't forget. He arranges all of this for us. We are named here in the lineage of Israel. We represent the people to come and to remember the mighty works of God.
God does this again. He sets forth an unforgettable human drama of intrigue and innocence to redeem us once again. The power of the Spirit comes for in miraculous power to prove the death of mankind obsolete and over. God ends mankind's slavery again!
What drama and visuals bring the life of Jesus alive and present for you today?
How has God used you to achieve his purposes?