DISASTER! Exodus 6-7; Matthew 21

May the mumbling commence!

The Lord did miracles in Egypt that can be distressing to me… especially the last couple of miracles that destroyed so much life.  But these miracles had a purpose… to make believers out of the Egyptians.  Read from Exodus chapter seven:

Then the Lord said to Moses, "Pay close attention to this. I will make you seem like God to Pharaoh. Your brother, Aaron, will be your prophet; he will speak for you.  Tell Aaron everything I say to you and have him announce it to Pharaoh. He will demand that the people of Israel be allowed to leave Egypt.  But I will cause Pharaoh to be stubborn so I can multiply my miraculous signs and wonders in the land of Egypt.  Even then Pharaoh will refuse to listen to you. So I will crush Egypt with a series of disasters, after which I will lead the forces of Israel out with great acts of judgment.  When I show the Egyptians my power and force them to let the Israelites go, they will realize that I am the Lord." (Verses 1-5)

The Egyptians had many gods, but the Lord is God… the one and only.  The miracles were to make believers out of the Egyptians.  And the miracles were multiplied by the stubbornness of Pharaoh.

And stubbornness brought disaster… great acts of judgment.  It is hard for my ears and heart to hear about judgment from a loving and peace-filled God.  But out of disaster belief might grow.

Kind of like the new life that occurs after a forest fire.  Forest fires are destructive, no doubt.  But they get rid of the dead wood and allow new life to take hold.  Forest fires, though deadly, are a force for renewal.

No one likes to be caught up in disaster or divine judgment.  But sometimes (not all the time) disaster and judgment serves the purpose of God cleansing us and allowing new life – the life of the Spirit – to grow up from the ashes.  Perhaps this was the way of the miracles of Egypt.

Too bad that they had so limited effect on the people of Israel, as we will see in the upcoming days of reading Exodus!

Let us find faith in the withering of a fig tree… faith for our lives with God as center.  Read from Matthew chapter twenty-one:

In the morning, as Jesus was returning to Jerusalem, he was hungry, and he noticed a fig tree beside the road. He went over to see if there were any figs on it, but there were only leaves. Then he said to it, "May you never bear fruit again!" And immediately the fig tree withered up. 

The disciples were amazed when they saw this and asked, "How did the fig tree wither so quickly?" 

Then Jesus told them, "I assure you, if you have faith and don't doubt, you can do things like this and much more. You can even say to this mountain, 'May God lift you up and throw you into the sea,' and it will happen.” (Verses 18-21)

So, let’s have faith in God… even in the midst of trials, disasters, and seeming judgment.  These things only make our faith grow stronger and last longer.

Enough mumbling for now…

Peace Out