Daily Devotions
Exodus
"Do not fret because of evildoers, nor be envious of the workers of iniquity. For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, and wither as the green herb." Psalm 37:1-2
Text: Exodus 10 : 12-17
THE MIGHTY HAND OF GOD
God had proven Himself to be the Lord of the wild elements! He could cause a hailstorm to erupt. He could also cause it to cease immediately! Perhaps Pharaoh thought that the plagues would have come to a complete stop by now! There were many Egyptian gods. Each god had a limited portion of power! Just how much power did the God of the Hebrews have? How could just One God wield so much power? He was about to find out more about this great God of Moses!
“Then the LORD said to Moses,
‘Stretch out your hand over the land of Egypt for the locusts,
that they may come upon the land of Egypt, and eat every herb
of the land – all that the hail has left.’
So Moses stretched out his rod over the land of Egypt,
and the LORD brought an east wind on the land all that day
and all that night. When it was morning, the east wind brought
the locusts. And the locusts went up all over the land of Egypt
and rested on all the territory of Egypt. They were very severe;
previously there had been no such locusts as they,
nor shall there be such after them….
They ate every herb of the land and all the fruit of the trees which
the hail had left. So there remained nothing green on the trees
or on the plants of the field throughout all the land of Egypt.”
EXODUS 10:12-15
How could anyone doubt the mighty power of the God of the Hebrews! The plague of locusts was unprecedented! Mighty Egypt was tottering and ready to collapse after being hit by these plagues!
OVERWHELMED AND DISTRAUGHT
The devastation caused by the plague of locusts caused Pharaoh to feel overwhelmed and distraught! He had driven Moses and Aaron out of his court a few days back. Now he had to summon Moses and Aaron to appear before him once again.
“Then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron in haste, and said,
‘I have sinned against the LORD your God and against you.
Now therefore,
please forgive my sin only this once, and entreat the LORD
your God, that He may take away from me this death only.'”
EXODUS 10:16-17
This was just about as close as Pharaoh would come to admit the error of his ways! Admission of sin however, does not equal true repentance! Pharaoh had to come up with appropriate words to say to Moses! Perhaps these words would be sufficient to cause Moses to intercede on his behalf? Was he truly repentant of his wicked ways?