February 27, 2010

Exodus 10

Up to this point Pharaoh has hardened his own heart at times. But now the Lord is going to harden it for him in order to produce acts that will reveal to people for all times that He is Lord. The Lord has three more gods to slay. Three more judgment events were coming in order to display that He is truly the only God. The Egyptians trusted in the goddess Isis to protect them from Locusts. Every 17 years there is a locust plague in the area anyway. It was to Isis that they cried out for protection. The locusts came anyway. In this instance it was more severe than they had ever known. They ate all green vegetation. And when Pharaoh asked for relief, God sent a strong wind that blew them all into the Red Sea.

Once again after the relief came the Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh. This time the Lord slew the Egyptian sun gods. They had a number of sun gods which they worshipped. Among them were Re, Khepri, Harakhte, Attum, etc. This definitely displayed the greatness of the Lord over their gods. The darkness was so strong that they could feel it. But again the Lord made a distinction. In the houses of the children of Israel, there was light.

Have we experienced the Lord yet? Is His glory increasing? What gods is He slaying in my life? What gods is He slaying in the lives of those around me? Is my heart soft enough so that I will recognize His glory? Is yours? Indeed we serve a glorious King. Speak His glory to someone today!

--Pastor john

March 6:1-29
Our football team in high school had signals that the quarterback could call from the line in order to change the play at the last moment, if he deemed it necessary. Usually the signal was a designated color. So he always called a color from the line as the beginning of the count for the snap. One day he was in jocular mood while in practice. Rather than giving the drab colors such as green or red or blue, he walked to the line and called, ”Chartreuse!” Now, chartreuse may be in the interior decorator’s common vocabulary but it is unexpected as a signal on the football line. It was great comic relief. The team seemed to fall apart with laughter. He had given quite a mixed signal.
Sometimes the glory is filled with mixed signals. His hometown was having a hard time believing that this local boy was really who He claimed to be. After all, He had been around for about 30 years and had never done any of these miracles before. After all, He had brothers and sisters. Yet in spite of the clear miracles done elsewhere and a few sick that He had healed in Nazareth, they refused to believe.
At this point, Jesus sends out the twelve. He empowers them to do the miracles that He had been doing and they do it! Suddenly the glory is multiplied! Where before only Jesus was doing the miracles, now there are 6 pairs of disciples going around healing and preaching. People are being set free all over the Galilean countryside! The Kingdom seems to be growing!
Then John the Baptist is jailed. Not only is he jailed, he is beheaded. Where is the glory? I recall the words of John, “He must increase, but I must decrease.” Well, it has happened. You can’t decrease much more than having your head lifted off of your shoulders. But how has He increased? Well there are now 6 pairs of disciples preaching the kingdom! And they are successful!
Sometimes in our lives we get mixed signals concerning the glory. How can the King of Glory allow this to continue? Hang in there! His glory is expanding even in the midst of the mixed signal. Perhaps someday in heaven we will review it and fall apart in laughter as we see the comic relief. Or perhaps we will cry recalling the pain of our fallen brother or sister. But inevitably we will see the glory in a greater way. It may be a mixed signal now, but it won’t be then. Indeed we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor john