For over 400 years the Egyptians and the Israelites co-existed peacefully. Even though the Israelite had sold themselves into servitude for food, the two groups of people worked together for the good of themselves and the country. Generation after generation, with the exception of the Levites, they married and intermingled in peace, and the country grew and prospered. It wasn’t until the new Pharaoh came on the scene that their peaceful co-existence changed. Fearing that the Israelites had outnumber them, the new Pharaoh instructed his men to put a heavy burden and yoke on the Israelites. (SOUNDS FAMILIAR DOESN’T IT?) The Pharaoh put taskmasters over the Israelites for the purposes of oppressing them physically, and forcing them into submission mentally. In other words, strip them of their pride, and destroy their self-worth. (I KNOW THAT SOUNDS FAMILIAR!)
The Israelites suffered under the cruelty of the Egyptians, until they finally remembered not only who they were, but WHOSE they were. (DO YOU KNOW WHOSE YOU ARE?) They remembered the covenant God – YHWH – had made with their forefathers Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. They didn’t try to fight their oppressors. Instead they cried out to GOD and reminded Him of His promise. Y’all know what happened! God heard their cries and pitied their groans. He not only showed up, but He showed out. (HAVE YOU CALLED ON HIM LATELY, OR ARE YOU TRYING TO DO IT ON YOUR OWN!)
We all know that God sent Moses back to Egypt to tell Pharaoh to let His people go. We also know that He forewarned Moses that Pharaoh would not listen, because He would harden Pharaoh’s heart. Do you know why He kept hardened Pharaoh’s heart? Sit tight, it’ll become clear in a few minutes.
In addition to the previous message there was another message that God gave Moses to give to the high, pious, haughty, and mighty Pharaoh. Do you know what His other message was? I’m glad you asked. He told Moses to deliver this message to Pharaoh, “I have raised you – Pharaoh – up for this very purpose, that I might show you – Pharaoh – my power and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.” (READ IT: Exodus 9:16) Why would God need Pharaoh to know His name, or who He was? How was He going to prove to Pharaoh His sovereignty? Let me tell you the story not discussed in any Sunday School class, or pulpit, I was exposed to. Maybe you were! Maybe you weren’t either! Either way, here goes!
God used Moses (STRETCH OUT YOUR ROD!) to exact ten plaques on Egypt. One was the painful boils, and another was the deaths of the first-born of man and beast. But for the most part all the Egyptians felt was the effects of the other plaques: blood in the water, frog, lice, three days of darkness that could be felt. I guess you’re wondering how could they feel the darkness. Well, Imagine walking through a deserted cemetery at night, while dogs bark from afar, or cats screech like abandoned babies. All while the wind is whistling like a banshee, shuffling the tree branches hence creating ghostly shadows all around you. Yeah, that’s the feel! But, there was a method to God’s plagues. Pharaoh had messed with God’s people so God took it up a notch. I imagine He said, “You came at my people, but I’m coming for your gods.” That’s right, gods! See, the plagues were a direct smack down of the Egyptian’s ‘demigods’. For example, the swarm of flies were against Khepri, the Egyptian god who had the head of a fly! The frogs were a battle against their frog goddess, Heqet. Three days of darkness was against the Sun god Ra! So on and so forth! It is certainly worth researching all of the other. The moral of this story is God wanted Pharaoh and the Egyptians to know that He was “THE ALMIGHTY GOD” and that He was LORD! Even over their puny little demigods!! Keep reading, while I tell you what happened.
On that last night God told Moses to instruct all of the Israelites in this manner, “Eat with your clothes and shoes on, and eat bread that doesn’t have to wait to rise. Unleavened bread!” (IN OTHER WORDS, ON YOUR MARK! GET SET! BE READY TO GO AT A MOMENT’S NOTICE!) “The women are to take from their neighbors (THE EGYPTIANS) jewelry of gold and silver.” In essence He said, “You won’t be going out of their land empty-handed but rather with all the wealth of the Egyptians. (PROVERBS 13:22 – THE WEALTH OF THE SINNER IS LAID UP FOR THE JUST – aka – TO THE VICTOR GOES THE SPOILS!) “Cover your doorpost on the sides and the top with blood of the lamb. (THE PASSOVER) For I will pass through the land of Egypt this night, and will smite all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast, and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgement. I AM THE LORD!” (Exodus 12:12)
Now ask yourselves who are America’s false gods – demigods? Who or what are yours? The graven image of a racist southern soldier? The almighty dollar aka Mammon? How about the Flag? Americans certainly gets upset when a flag is burned. Yet, the KKK has burned the cross (the symbol of our redemption) for generations without alarm from the powers to be, or an outcry from the ‘so called’ religious right. (Or as I passionately call them, the modern-day Pharisees!) Who are you oppressing? Or encouraging others to oppress? Some of God’s children, perhaps? Do you shout out loud, or whisper, “Get out of our country?”
God declared in the book of Job, “Whatsoever is under the whole heaven is MINE!” (Job 41:11) As He proved to the Egyptians, that includes demigods too. Those that you don’t even think are your gods, but your actions prove otherwise: the land, the bank accounts, the fine homes, boats, cars, small and large business! The wealthiest of wealthy, and the poorest of the poor! The lofty and the lowly! The haves and the have-nots! Even those in authority that don’t acknowledge Him: Kings, Queens, Presidents! Sheiks! Muslim! Christian! Jews! And yes, Atheists! All of them are His, to do with as He chooses! In many cases, He will lift them up only to bring them down, like He did the Pharaoh. To once again prove who He is. (Psalms 18:27, “For thou wilt save the afflicted people; but wilt bring down high looks.”)
I wrote this blog because I have a serious question. Is history about to repeat itself, except in the reverse? There is one thing that America should learn from the Egyptians. That is, once God delivered His people out of their country, the land of Egypt was desolate! They no longer had workers to work the fields. The Israelite stone masons took their knowledge and skills with them. I imagine that they took with them the tools they creatively invented to make their labor easier. The mid-wives – gone! The wet nurses – gone! The seamstress – gone! The maids – gone! The cooks – gone! They no longer had slave labor to press their grapes or olives! Or to tend their fields. Their cattle were dead! Their crops destroyed! In addition, all of their godheads were crushed, by the mighty arm of God. Most importantly, the Egyptians loss the blessing of the ONE TRUE GOD! Because God and His all-seeing eye went with His people! If you still don’t get it, He blessed Egypt because Egypt blessed His people! In the end, He cursed Egypt because Egypt mistreated and cursed His people.
Will America become desolate while attempting to drive people out of their land? Or will she come to her senses and remember that the lofty needs the lowly to keep them high and lifted up? Will she remember that the mountains crumbled under the sea, from the bottom up! Hopefully, America will remember that God still has an all-seeing eye. He still hates the haughty, the overfed, and the unconcerned (EZEKIEL 16:46-49). He still expects His people to be kind to foreigners. (“Also you shall not oppress a stranger: for you know the heart of a stranger, seeing you were strangers in the land of Egypt. (Replace Egypt with America)” ~ Exodus 23:9)
He still expects His people to take care of the poor, the widow, the orphans and underprivileged. (“For pure and holy ministry before God The Father is this: to take care of orphans and widows in their affliction, and for a man to keep his soul without defilement from the world.” (Don’t take on the worlds uncompassionate mindset. ~ James 1:27)
My final thought is for those Americans who are worried about what we are witnessing – DON’T! GOD’S GOT US! Just like with the Israelites He’ll show up right on time!
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