Tag: Pharaoh

Light Dawns on the Dark Night of the Soul

Exodus 10-12

As we go through life, there are times when it seems like God is very active and involved in our day to day lives and we sense God’s love, nearness and active interest in our lives.  However, if we are honest, there are other times when life seems to just move along and God doesn’t seem to be saying much or doing much on our behalf.  The technical term for this awareness of God’s absence is called “the dark night of the soul.”  Many growing Christians have and do experience times of God’s apparent absence in our lives.

As we read through the Bible it becomes apparent that there are times when God gets actively involved with His people.  God was there in creation, making the earth, making the plants and trees, making the animals, making Adam from dirt and Eve from Adam’s rib.  God was there in Eden talking openly and directly with Adam and Eve.  God was there asking Cain about his brother Abel.  But then we don’t hear much from God.  We know that people like Enoch “walked with God”, but we’re told very little about what God is up to for hundreds of years, as the population of earth increases and also the sin of humanity increases.  There is a long period of God’s apparent absence from history until the days of Noah when God appears to Noah and tells him to build the Ark because a flood is coming.

After the flood there appears to be more years of silence, until the Tower of Babel gets built and God comes down and confuses people’s language.  Then there is more silence from God until he calls Abraham.  And so on and so on…There are intermittent times where God is active and involved and times when God seems silent throughout the book of Genesis.

At the end of Genesis God saves Abraham’s family from famine by bringing them down to Egypt.  At first, all is well as Joseph, Abraham’s great grandson is the second most powerful man in all of Egypt.  But Joseph eventually dies, and he is no longer able to protect his family from the powerful Pharaoh, and eventually the descendants of Abraham are enslaved by the Egyptians.  This lasts for a period of roughly 400 years.  During that 400 years it seems that God is once again silent.

During that time Israel is growing from a few hundred people, to millions of people.  Millions of men, woman and children living in bondage in a foreign land.  Perhaps stories about God and their ancestors Abraham, Isaac and Jacob were passed along by word of mouth, but we might imagine that so many years of silence may have left the nation of Israel in a permanent Dark Night of the Soul.  But then… out of the darkness and silence, Moses is born and becomes a member of the Egyptian royal family.  God is at work, but he’s not quite ready to make himself fully known to Israel.  Moses kills an Egyptian and flees to the wilderness and it seems that the darkness continues and the voice of God remains silent…until God appears to Moses in the burning bush and tells him to go back to Egypt.

In Exodus 10-12 the time has come for God to make himself known to His people… and to Egypt. Exodus 10:1-2 – “Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go to Pharaoh, for I have hardened his heart and the hearts of his officials so that I may perform these signs of mine among them that you may tell your children and grandchildren how I dealt harshly with the Egyptians and how I performed my signs among them, and that you may know that I am the Lord.”

Here, God tells Moses that He’s about to make his presence known in a powerful way.  God’s about to show up, the darkness is ending, the silence is over.  And show up He does!  God shows up in a profound and powerful display of his power and might.  Bear in mind, Egypt was, at the time, the most powerful empire in the whole world.  Pharaoh was the most powerful person in the whole world.  Pharaoh had been exerting his power in a ruthless way over God’s chosen people for hundreds of years.  Lord Acton once said “Absolute power corrupts absolutely.”  In the United States we live under a Constitutional system that intentionally balances power among three different branches of government- Executive, Legislative and Judicial.  This is to prevent any one person from having too much or absolute power.  These lessons were learned after observing thousands of years of kingdoms.  Pharaohs and other absolute monarchs have historically used their power in destructive and unjust ways.  And with such unmatched power comes hubris.

The Poet Percy Bysshe Shelly captures the hubris in his powerful poem Ozymandias:

I met a traveller from an antique land,

Who said—“Two vast and trunkless legs of stone

Stand in the desert. . . . Near them, on the sand,

Half sunk a shattered visage lies, whose frown,

And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command,

Tell that its sculptor well those passions read

Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,

The hand that mocked them, and the heart that fed;

And on the pedestal, these words appear:

My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings;

Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair!

Nothing beside remains. Round the decay

Of that colossal Wreck, boundless and bare

The lone and level sands stretch far away.”

Pharaoh, like Ozymandias in the poem, was filled with hubris over his unmatched power.  He believed himself to be king of kings.  He needed to be taught a lesson in humility by the true King of Kings.  God showed up.  Ten plagues later and all of Egypt was brought to their knees.  Meanwhile, the people of God began to see first hand just how great and powerful their King, the true God, YHWH really was.  That story has been told for thousands of years, and today, the people of Israel continue to sit down and eat bread without yeast and drink wine and remember the Passover and how powerful their God really is.

Sometimes, God seems to be silent, but make no mistake, God is still there and God is still powerful and in the end, God will show himself to be greater than all human opposition.  May you know the true God.

Jeff Fletcher

(originally posted for SeekGrowLove on February 2, 2020 – Thank you, Jeff!)

Reflection Questions

  1. Have you ever felt like you were in a dark night of the soul? How would you describe this time? How might God describe this time? Is there anything you found helpful during this time?
  2. How do you think the Israelites were feeling as they: made bricks without straw, encountered the first 9 plagues, asked their Egyptian neighbors for jewelry – and received, selected a lamb, killed it, put the lamb’s blood on their doorframe, experienced the distinction God made between Israel and Egypt?
  3. What lesson was Pharaoh learning in Exodus 10-12? What were the Israelites learning? What are you learning about man and about God?
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Who are you following? 

OLD TESTAMENT: EXODUS 9-10

POETRY: PSALM 23

NEW TESTAMENT: MATTHEW 21:1-27

The showdown between Moses, God, and Pharaoh’s hard heart escalated in our reading today. What God said would come to pass did: Pharaoh continued to harden his heart again and again despite the plagues that came upon Egypt. At one point, the officials said, “How long will this man be a snare to us? Let the people go, so that they may worship the Lord their God. Do you not yet realize that Egypt is ruined?” (Exodus 10:7). We see the same cycle repeated. At first, Pharaoh was completely unyielding. But, as harsher and harsher plagues were brought upon the people, Pharaoh began to consider letting the Israelites go. 

Exodus 9:15-17 says, “For by now I could have stretched out my hand and struck you and your people with a plague that would have wiped you off the earth. But I have raised you up for this very purpose, that I might show you my power and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth. You still set yourself against my people and will not let them go.”

Hail rained down and wiped out everything in the fields. Pharaoh finally said, “This time I have sinned. The Lord is right and my people are wrong” (v. 27). It would seem like the plagues could finally stop right? Pharaoh finally humbled himself and was willing to let the people go. After the plague stopped, Pharaoh changed his tune. His heart was hardened, and he refused to let the people go. 

He followed this same cycle of refusing, repenting, hardening his heart, and refusing again with the plague of locusts and darkness. Reading through this story, you might wonder why Pharaoh didn’t see that by hardening his heart, he didn’t gain anything. In fact, he led his nation into ruin with his pride. If he had just let the people go, he would have saved everyone from a lot of pain and suffering. 

It’s interesting to consider that the pharaoh was considered a god by the Egyptian people. Pharaoh is so rash, foolish, and fickle, compared to the God of the Israelites. Pharaoh kept deciding to do something and changed his mind once his feelings changed. Would that be a god you want to follow? 

In Psalm 23, we read about how God, as our shepherd, leads us on right paths. Lysa TerKeurst describes this scene: 

“We might imagine lush green hills like you’d find in Ireland, but David’s reality was the steep, rocky, dry Judean hills. Hills that had to be carefully traveled in order to get to the water and vegetation waiting in the valleys below.

Shepherds leading their flocks also had to be cautious about the timing of their trips. Hard rains could quickly lead to flash floods in a gorge. When a shepherd knew a storm was coming, he wouldn’t allow the sheep to be down in the gorge because they’d drown; instead, he’d wait patiently until the storm passed to lead his flock down to drink. So not only did sheep have to trust where the shepherd was leading them; they had to trust the when of his leading.

The Hebrew word for “paths” in Psalm 23:3 referred to well-worn or deep ruts that were actually good ruts, important because they marked the safest paths. While these paths could be formed by one shepherd over time, it’s more likely they were formed by other shepherds who’d gone before — generations of shepherds wisely walking the same paths. Even today, you can literally look at the hills in Israel and see paths the shepherds have been walking for generations.”

Valley of the Shadow of Death

The showdown in Exodus draws a distinction in leadership, sovereignty, and control between God and the Egyptian gods. The God who proved to be the true God – the one who was the most powerful and in control – was the Israelites’ God. 

The world’s leadership mimics that of Pharaoh’s. Culture is fickle and promotes rash, foolish behavior. If you follow the world’s leading, you will end up being led to destruction. When we follow God, we are walking in the sure and right paths. The paths that don’t lead to danger, but instead lead to life.

Who are you following today? 

~ Cayce Fletcher

Cayce writes about discipleship, productivity, and homemaking at her blog https://amorebeautifullifecollective. You can find her latest post on how to seek the kingdom of God everyday here. You can also listen to A More Beautiful Life Collective Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you listen to podcasts. 

REFLECTION QUESTIONS

  1. Describe the differences between Pharaoh and Moses. And, between the Egyptian gods and Yahweh.  
  2. How does it change your understanding of Psalm 23 when you consider the actual terrain of Judah? How does picturing the rocky, steep hillside help you to recognize your need for a shepherd? 
  3. What is the difference between the leadership of God and the leadership of the world? Where does following the leadership of God end? Where does following the leadership of the world end? 

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For His Name’s Sake

OLD TESTAMENT: EXODUS 7-8

POETRY: PSALM 23

NEW TESTAMENT: MATTHEW 20:17-34

Yesterday, we focused on trusting in the faithfulness of God despite the challenges, troubles, and obstacles we face. Moses struggled with that trust and confidence that God would be faithful as he saw the increased oppression of the Israelite people. He asked the question, “Why?” Underlying this why was the sentiment: ‘Why – if you could free your people from this oppression – why wouldn’t you, God?’ 

We often ask God the same question. ‘Why – if you could intervene and alleviate the suffering of the world – why wouldn’t you, God?’ The answer to this question that we read in Exodus may ruffle the feathers of our modern sensibilities, but it does not make it any less true. 

We see a pattern through the story of the Israelites that God foretold what the story of the Israelites would be, including even the suffering they would face. Abraham was told about the 400 years the Israelites would spend in Egypt. The suffering of the people as slaves was foretold. And, Moses was told about the hardening of Pharaoh’s heart which would ultimately lead to the Israelites plundering the Egyptians on their way to freedom and the Promised Land. 

This makes us bristle because, in the modern world, our comfort, safety, and happiness are the greatest good. Nothing else is as important as those things. Honor, virtue, courage, and grace are deemed unworthy if they get in the way of our pursuit of these modern ideals. So, when we read that the Israelites would be forced to endure hardship, slavery, death, and injustice, we just can’t believe it. Why would a good God do this? 

God actually tells us why this happened. In Exodus 7:5, God says, “The Egyptians will know that I am the Lord when I stretch out my hand against Egypt and bring the Israelites out of it. The Egyptians will know that I am the Lord when I stretch out my hand against Egypt and bring the Israelites out of it.” God did these things for his name’s sake. The plagues spoke to the glory of God. They demonstrated that ‘God was god, and there is no other’ (Isaiah 45:5). 

The values of comfort, safety, and happiness are not esteemed in the Bible. In fact, the greatest good turns out to be the glory of God, which is exactly what God has brought about with the plagues. His name was made great. 

When we read this emphasis on making God’s name great, we may have some concerns. Some may even say that God is egotistical because he desires for us to glorify him, for us to worship him, and desires to make his name great. 

The basis for greatness and glory can only be found in God. 

When God commands us to worship him foremost in our lives, he is actually establishing boundaries for our worship that will keep us from sin and heartache. When we step outside God’s created order, we fall prey to greed, selfishness, and an endless pursuit of desires and addictions that do not lead to fulfillment or joy. We have a belief in faux modesty in our culture. Though in practice we exalt ourselves daily, we say that don’t. We place that same value of faux modesty on God, and so, we question when God seems to buck against that value. 

John Piper said, “Does my opposition to God’s God-centeredness reveal that my supposed God-centeredness is just a cover for wanting myself at the center, and the use of God to endorse that because he is so centered on me?” 

Who is at the center of your world? Is it God or is it yourself? Is your life’s work to make great the name of God or your own? 

For a more in-depth look at how the plagues depict Yahweh vs. Egyptian gods, read this previous SeekGrowLove post by Sean Finnegan. 

~ Cayce Fletcher

Cayce writes about discipleship, productivity, and homemaking at her blog https://amorebeautifullifecollective. You can find her latest post on prayer here. You can also listen to A More Beautiful Life Collective Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you listen to podcasts. 

REFLECTION QUESTIONS

  1. How did the plagues make God’s name great? 
  2. In Psalm 23, God “guides me along the right paths for his name’s sake” (v. 3). How does guiding us along right paths give glory to God? 
  3. Matthew 20:20-28 tells the story of the mother of Zebedee’s sons coming and asking for Jesus to exalt James and John in the coming kingdom. Jesus responds by stating, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave— just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” How does becoming a servant bring glory to God and make his name known? 

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Who Is Yahweh? (Exodus 5-7)

Moses the 80-year-old fugitive went to the Pharaoh, the powerful leader of mighty Egypt, and declaimed, “Thus says Yahweh, the God of Israel, ‘Let my people go that they may hold a feast to me in the wilderness'” (Exodus 5.1).  Pharaoh met this bold demand with the following:

Exodus 5.2
Who is Yahweh, that I should obey his voice and let Israel go? I do not know Yahweh, and moreover, I will not let Israel go.

Notice how Pharaoh answers Moses.  He doesn’t know Yahweh.  Who is Yahweh to tell him me what to do?  The rest of the ten plagues answer this one question.  You see, Egypt was full of gods.  They believed in Ra, Apis, Hathor, Nut, Isis, Osiris, and Heqet, but not Yahweh.  Pharaoh can’t imagine that the god of his slaves–the Hebrews–could possibly be more powerful than the revered and ancient deities of Egypt.  Consequently, Pharaoh decides to press the issue.  Not only will he not them go, but he decides to oppress them even more than before.  Since these Israelites have so much time to worry about going off into the wilderness to have a feast, they obviously don’t have enough work.  Pharaoh decides to increase their labor; now they will have to forage for their own straw to make bricks without diminishing productivity.  That will teach them not to fantasize about introducing new gods to give them time off.

Naturally, the elders of Israel were furious at Moses for making them “stink in the sight of Pharaoh” (Exodus 5.21).  Moses feels discouraged and God has to work with him by reiterating the promises.  He tells Moses he will liberate them from the Egyptians; he will deliver them from slavery; he will redeem them with great acts; he will take them to be his people; he will be their God; he will bring them to the promised land that he swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (Exodus 6.6-8).  After he convinced Moses of his plan to harden Pharaoh’s heart so that he can perform his mighty deeds, Moses marches right back into Pharaoh’s presence.

To start, Moses had Aaron throw down his staff so that it became a serpent.  However, the Egyptian sorcerers did the same so Pharaoh’s heart was hardened and he sent Moses away.  Now a third time, God tells Moses to go to Pharaoh in the morning, while he is at the Nile river, and say, “Thus says Yahweh, ‘By this you shall know that I am Yahweh: behold, with the staff that is in my hand I will strike the water that is in the Nile, and it shall turn into blood” (Exodus 7.17).  After he struck the water, the Nile river, the life source of Egypt, turned into blood.  Amazingly, Pharaoh turned and went home and didn’t give the miracle a second thought.  The Egyptians began digging along the banks to draw water since for seven days the river ran red with blood.

What Pharaoh did not yet understand is that this was just one of ten plagues through which the God of the Hebrews would answer his question, “Who is Yahweh that I should obey his voice.”  Now he begins to learn, that Yahweh is the God who can slit the veins of Osiris, the protector of the Nile, and cause him to bleed.  Stay tuned for the rest of Pharaoh’s education…

When Genocide Comes (Exodus 1-4)

For centuries Egypt served as an incubator for Israel; there they multiplied from a few dozen to hundreds of thousands.  However, they did not integrate into Egyptian society, but retained their distinctive Hebrew identity.  As a result the Pharaoh worried what would happen if an enemy attacked.  He thought the Israelites would surely aid any attackers, turning the tide against the Egyptians.  As is so often the case, fear led to persecution under the guise of “preemptive self defense.”  At first they set taskmasters over the Hebrews to afflict them with heavy burdens.  Next they completely enslaved them, making their lives bitter with hard service.  Then Pharaoh initiated a clandestine project of ethnic cleansing by ordering the midwives to murder Israelite newborn boys.  When this policy failed, he made a new public mandate whereby every Egyptian became duty bound to cast Hebrew boys into the Nile river.

In the midst of such a genocide a baby boy was born, named Moses.  Through a miraculous turn of events, he grew up under the protection (not persecution) of Pharaoh’s household.  He enjoyed the lavish lifestyle of the top 1% of Egyptians, including getting “instructed in all the wisdom of the Egyptians” (Acts 7.22).  However, when Pharaoh found out Moses had murdered a man, he fled to Midian, a far away wilderness, and became a nomadic shepherd.  While his first forty years were in the lap of luxury, his second forty years were spent toiling in obscurity.  He got married and worked for his father-in-law until that fateful day when he encountered the burning bush.

While he stood before this unusual spectacle, God spoke to him.  He identified himself with these words, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob” (Exodus 3.6).  Next God commissioned Moses to go to Pharaoh and bring the children of Israel out of Egypt.  Instead of taking the job, Moses was incredulous.  He came up with an excuse, asking, “If I come to the people of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name? what shall I say to them?” (Exodus 3.13).  Moses probably thought this question would get him off the hook, but instead God answered him directly, revealing his covenant name in the process.  He told Moses, “Say this to the people of Israel, ‘The LORD, the God of your fathers…has sent me to you'” (Exodus 3.15).  The words “the LORD” are hiding the true Hebrew name for God–Yahweh.  It is a sad fact that nearly all English translations do this.  They would be better to just honestly put God’s name into the text rather than hiding it.  (Understanding the rest of the ten plagues without knowing God’s name is Yahweh makes everything a little blurry.)

Moses tried over and over to get out of God’s call on his life.  However, God was persistent and overcame Moses’ objections one by one.  What’s so striking about Moses is that he is probably the least qualified person in the world to carry out this mission for God.  He’s an 80 year old, inbred, fugitive with a speech impediment.  He knows how unqualified he is and therein we find God’s reason for choosing him.  Moses was the humblest man on the face of the earth (Numbers 12.3).  He knew he couldn’t do it on his own, and this is why God was able to do such spectacular marvels through him.  He went from a Bedouin herder to the founding father of a nation, the one who brought down the most powerful empire of the time, the great giver of God’s holy law, and the one who had the most intimate relationship with God of all time, excepting Jesus.  Maybe your intelligence, your attractiveness, your athleticism, your creativity, or your relational skills aren’t holding you back.  The problem is not that you are under qualified, but over qualified.  If you can only cultivate humility and depend on the Almighty, he can do great things through you today.