That You Will Know that I am the LORD

Exodus 7:1-8:15

 

The Plagues are the reversal of creation.  It is fulfillment of the promise to Abraham that God will curse those who curse his people.  But God takes all that he created, in its beauty and order, and releases it from its order upon Pharaoh.  Scholars note that it is the unleashing of creation upon Pharaoh in response to Pharaoh’s assault against Israel and their creation mandate (…bear fruit and multiply, Gen 1:27).  Pharaoh tried to stop the purposes of God in creation and so God allows Pharaoh to truly experience the brokenness of creation.

All this is so that Pharaoh and Egypt would know that Yahweh is Lord.  Literally, “know that I am I am” (7:17).  Everything in creation reveals God because God’s touch is in it.  When it goes wrong it reveals God in the sense that we know it shouldn’t be that way.  Because of that, all of life can reveal God to us, the good, the bad, the broken and the painful, can all be sacramental revelations of God.  If we see something as good, it is from him.  If we see something as broken, we know that it is broken, because we believe that God made it to be whole.  All of life reveals God.

Judgment occurs when we refuse to see God as creator and sustainer of life.  Pharaoh hardens his heart because he prefers to see himself as god.  In the hardness of his heart, he acts foolishly.  

All of our struggles and sins come back to the fact that we don’t see God in our lives as Creator, Sustainer and Savior.  When we don’t see him, our hearts are hard and miss out on the way he can reveal himself to us.  Our opportunity in this is simply to ask God to show himself to us in all things that we might see him, believe in him and respond to him in all things in life.  

Where do you see God in the good, the bad, the beautiful and the broken? Share with us by clicking on the title above and commenting.

Posted by Marc