Tuesday, September 5, 2023
After this presentation to Israel’s
leaders, Moses and Aaron went and spoke to Pharaoh. They told him, “This is what the Lord,
the God of Israel, says: Let my people go so they may hold a festival in my
honor in the wilderness.” “Is
that so?” retorted Pharaoh. “And who is
the Lord? Why should I listen to
him and let Israel go? I don’t know
the Lord, and I will not let Israel go.”
Exodus 5:1-2
If you’ve
hung around God’s people for a minute or two you’ve heard how Israel was in
bondage to the Egyptians, and God sent Moses to lead them away from slavery to
the Promised Land. If you’re a believer,
you’ve also probably shaken your head over the way Pharaoh was so hard-hearted
(and hard-headed).
These two
verses give us God’s Heavenly understanding about why Pharaoh was so cruel…and
why people of all generations do such mean stuff. The bottom line of it all is when God said
(through Moses) let my people go. Pharaoh answered with a defiant scowl: Is that so….why should I listen…I don’t
know the Lord…and I won’t let Israel go. Pharaoh wouldn’t listen or obey, because he
had no clue Who he was dealing with, or the consequences.
The Psalmist
understood this well:
Why are the nations so angry? Why do they waste their time with futile
plans?
The kings of the earth prepare for battle; the rulers plot together against the
Lord and against his anointed one. “Let
us break their chains,” they cry, “and free ourselves from slavery to God.” But the one who rules in heaven laughs. The Lord scoffs at them. Then in anger he rebukes them, terrifying
them with his fierce fury. Psalm 2:1-5
I’ve known
some angry and violent people, a few who directed that hostility towards
me. I’ve looked into the defiant eyes of
those who would have taken my head off with little (or no) remorse. I have seen hatred which I could only
describe as demonic. I’m not an exorcist…I
don’t even like movies that deal with that stuff…but I’ve seen too much to deny
that spiritual evil is real. One such
violent man was part of my life during early ministry days. After wreaking havoc on our church for a few
months, his alcoholic stupor and violence ended with him committing suicide in
a police standoff. I’m no psychiatrist,
but this was more than booze, and much more than angst over life’s smaller
questions. This was a man who had shaken
his fist at God for so long…so angry…that anger led him to the brink of despair,
and, finally over that brink into the abyss.
His last act of pulling the trigger was desperation, the mark of one who
had lost all hope. Why do the heathen
rage? Why are the nations angry? Why is life filled with such an absence? A void?
A tasteless treadmill of nothing?
Let’s do the
math…it is entirely the lack of knowing the Lord. Pharaoh wasn’t the only one…name any serial-killer
in history…start with Cain, make your way through Charles Manson, Jeffrey
Dahmer, Ted Bundy, and all the conquerors of history, Alexander the Great,
Atilla the Hun, Stalin, Hitler, Tojo, et al.
What is the thread that binds all that violent behavior? They didn’t know the Lord of Heaven. They would not bow before anyone but their
own thrones.
Knowing the
Lord is more than knowing about God; rather it is a personal relationship of
friendship, based on understanding God’s love, and responding appropriately. Cain is the chief poor example. When he killed his brother out of envy, God’s
love for Abel was assaulted. God’s love
for Cain held him responsible:
You will be
accepted if you do what is right. But if you refuse to do what is right, then
watch out! Sin is crouching at the door,
eager to control you. Genesis 4:7a
For You Today
You chew on that as you hit the Rocky
Road; have a blessed day!
There are about 2,600 devotional
posts and 400 sermons in the Rocky Road library.
Title Images: Pixabay.com Images without citation are in public domain. Unless noted, Scripture quoted from NLT©
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