Hello my “Walking with Jesus” friends, good weekend to you!
Have you ever seen a dramatic change in a person when they are in the midst of a conflict which has consumed them and then suddenly, in a moment, something changes in their heart and mind, and their attitude changes, and the conflict calms?
Join me in one of those historic moments. I left you yesterday standing in the court of Pharaoh, surrounded by his officials who are challenging him to see that his stubbornness and anger toward Moses and Moses’ God are resulting in the step by step destruction of his Egypt! That happens all too often doesn’t it? A person is caught in the downward spiral of making a series of wrong decisions that build on each other and the result is ever deepening disaster, but they can’t seem to break the cycle that draws them into the darkness. That was happening to the most powerful man in the world, Pharaoh, as God’s devastating plagues were wreaking havoc in Egypt while Pharaoh’s heart was hardening and his resolve to reject this God of Moses was firm.
But then suddenly, for a moment, there was a softening in Pharaoh’s heart as he contemplated the disaster he was causing by his hard heart. Pharaoh sent runners after Moses and Aaron urging them to return to the palace. Perhaps the runner told them a miracle was happening in the palace! Pharaoh was actually having a change of heart!
Exodus 10:8 records their return to the throne room this way: “Then Moses and Aaron were brought back to Pharaoh. ‘Go, worship the LORD your God,’ he said. ‘But just who will be going?” There was a little indication of softening, but God had not sent Moses to negotiate with Pharaoh, but rather to deliver God’s messages. Moses had understood from God that this would be an all or nothing exodus of the Hebrews. So Moses’ response was short and clear: “We will go with our young and old, with our sons and daughters, and with our flocks and herds, because we are to celebrate a festival to the LORD.” Can you see Pharaoh and the officials looking at each other? They could tell there was no conciliation in Moses’ tone of voice. Moses was actually becoming more and more emboldened with each of these confrontations.
Pharaoh’s response is hard: “Clearly you are bent on evil. No! Have only the men go and worship the LORD, since that’s what you have been asking for.” (Ex. 10:9-11) Once again the discussion ended abruptly and “Moses and Aaron were driven out of Pharaoh’s presence.” As before, Moses was instructed by God to stretch out his arms and staff over the land and a wind began to blow, a strong wind. It blew all that day and all night. We can imagine it stirred up quite a dust storm, but oh, so much more than dust. The record says: “By morning the wind had brought in the locusts; they invaded all Egypt and settled down in every area of the country in great numbers. Never before had there been such a plague of locusts, nor will there ever be again. They covered the ground until it was black. They devoured all that was left after the hail. Nothing green remained on tree or plant in all the land of Egypt.” (Ex. 10:13-15)
Now friends, have you ever seen a swarm of locusts? In recent years there have been similar invasions of these devouring insects in huge numbers in some places of Africa. They are ravenous in their appetite for any plant life that is alive… grass, leaves, stems, branches. And millions of them can devour a huge amount of green, and strip bare a huge section of land in very short order. Billions of locusts can turn a lush region of agriculture into a barren wasteland in a matter of hours! That’s what was happening in Egypt as this plague of locusts swarmed in by the billions! But they didn’t remain only in the fields… they swarmed everywhere. Into homes and shops and even the palace. It was like the plague of flies only on steroids! There was no place to hide as the Egyptians watched their food supply devoured by locusts.
While the record does not tell us the land of Goshen where the Hebrews lived was spared this tsunami of locusts, I assume God again built a huge invisible curtain at the border and protected the food supply of the Hebrew slaves. Terrified, Pharaoh quickly called for Moses to return to the palace and with flying locusts all around them, Pharaoh said: “I have sinned against the LORD your God and against you. Now forgive my sin once more and pray to the LORD your God to take this deadly plague away from me.” (Ex. 10:17) It’s amazing what people will say when they are terrified and in a desperate place of despair!
This was more than a cry for help. Look carefully at the words. Pharaoh is repentant and specific! “I have sinned against the LORD your God and against you.” WOW! You can’t get a much clearer repentance than that can you? And Pharaoh went a big step forward asking for forgiveness both from the LORD and from Moses! Wow! And finally Pharaoh declares that ONLY God is powerful enough to stop this plague and Pharaoh acknowledges it is so devastating a plague, the destruction of the Egyptian food supply will likely cause starvation for some people! That’s desperation! And it is finally in that desperate place of fear and helplessness that finally some people will reach out to God, the God they have pushed away for so long! Do you know anyone who is near that point of despair?
I imagine that wherever Pharaoh and Moses were having this brief conversation, whether outside in the courtyard, or even inside the throne room, the locusts were swarming all around them and every surface was covered with locusts! It was beyond anything we can imagine. The record says: “Moses left Pharaoh and prayed to the LORD. And the LORD changed the wind to a very strong west wind, which caught up the locusts and carried them into the Red Sea. Not a locust was left anywhere in Egypt!” It shouldn’t be hard for us to imagine this wind…so strong you can’t stand upright. So strong it’s blowing everything over that isn’t heavy or nailed down. And with billions of locusts to blow away, this great wind needed to blow for a while, a long time, maybe several hours!! But finally the wind died down and people came out from their hiding places to view a barren landscape!
I imagine the Pharaoh and his officials once again met on the royal balcony overlook to assess the damage. If Egypt had appeared ‘ruined’ a few days ago, according to the officials, now it must appear ‘ravaged’ and desolate. Nothing green as far as the eye can see in any direction, barren and windswept. Great anxiety began to rise up inside these leaders who were responsible for the welfare of Egypt. Almost all the livestock in Egypt had been killed in a previous plague, and now with the combination of hail and locusts there was virtually nothing for either animals or people to eat, except whatever food they had stored in their homes and stores. Without some miracle millions of people would soon be facing starvation! All eyes turned to the Pharaoh, for he was responsible for this disaster and both he and his officials knew it!
There was nothing the Pharaoh could do. No edict, no law, no amount of human effort even by a huge army of slaves, can turn a desolate wasteland back into fertile fields of lush pastureland, flourishing crops, and fruit trees heavy with delicious fruit. Pharaoh knew his magicians and sorcerers had no power to help. His officials had already advised him to surrender and release the slaves. So, I suspect Pharaoh, in frustration, dismissed the officials to go home to evaluate the condition of their families and their properties, telling them he needed time to reflect on the desperate condition of Egypt and what future options were before him.
So what would you have done my friends, if you were standing on that balcony with the Pharaoh, that day? What have you done, when you find yourself in the deep dungeons of despair which have been caused by your own mistakes, your own bad decisions and your refusal to humble yourself before God and surrender your life to Him? So here’s the question I’d like to leave us with today… what advice would you give the Pharaoh if you were standing on that balcony with him? What advice would you give a friend who after many hard hearted decisions finds that their decisions have essentially ruined their life and the lives of those they love? Would you point them to Jesus and the power of surrendering their lives to Him? Have you discovered that power?
Now I found a song once again, that will help us ponder the situation that Pharaoh was facing:
Today’s Scripture is Exodus 10:8-20.
Choose below to read or listen.
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Bible images provided with attribution to www.LumoProject.com.
Have a comment or question about today’s chapter? I’m ready to hear from you, contact me here.
Pastor Doug Anderson 262.441.8785
“Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, with our eyes fixed on Jesus…” (Heb. 12:1,2)
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