May the mumbling commence!
After the plague of hail, the Lord sent a plague of locusts. With the hail, there were some members of Pharaoh’s court who secretly believed in the Word of the Lord. When the locusts were predicted, some of these believing members of Pharaoh’s court came forward to plead the case for the Israelites. Let us prevent more disaster! Read from Exodus chapter ten:
The court officials now came to Pharaoh and appealed to him. "How long will you let these disasters go on? Please let the Israelites go to serve the Lord their God! Don't you realize that Egypt lies in ruins?" (Verse 7)
But Pharaoh’s heart was hardened. And where does a hard heart lead in the end..? Read from later in Exodus chapter ten:
Then the Lord said to Moses, "Lift your hand toward heaven, and a deep and terrifying darkness will descend on the land of Egypt." So Moses lifted his hand toward heaven, and there was deep darkness over the entire land for three days. During all that time the people scarcely moved, for they could not see. But there was light as usual where the people of Israel lived.
Then Pharaoh called for Moses. "Go and worship the Lord," he said. "But let your flocks and herds stay here. You can even take your children with you."
"No," Moses said, "we must take our flocks and herds for sacrifices and burnt offerings to the Lord our God. All our property must go with us; not a hoof can be left behind. We will have to choose our sacrifices for the Lord our God from among these animals. And we won't know which sacrifices he will require until we get there."
So the Lord hardened Pharaoh's heart once more, and he would not let them go. "Get out of here!" Pharaoh shouted at Moses. "Don't ever let me see you again! The day you do, you will die!"
"Very well," Moses replied. "I will never see you again." (Verses 21-29)
A hardened heart leads to a darkness that prevents us from making sound decisions in our life with the Lord. We attempt to say what the Lord can and cannot have of our possessions and lives… In the end, it leads to death… even as Pharaoh promised Moses. Pharaoh pronounced his own doom!
And, yet, there is always hope. When Israel left Egypt, they did not go alone. Read from Exodus chapter twelve:
That night the people of Israel left Rameses and started for Succoth. There were about 600,000 men, plus all the women and children. And they were all traveling on foot. Many people who were not Israelites went with them, along with the many flocks and herds. Whenever they stopped to eat, they baked bread from the yeastless dough they had brought from Egypt. It was made without yeast because the people were rushed out of Egypt and had no time to wait for bread to rise. (Verses 37-39)
The attitudes and actions of our greatest leaders do not dictate ours. Thank God! Remember that the next time you grumble about church leadership… or grumble about political leadership.
Enough mumbling for now…
Peace Out
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