Plagued.

I was reading through Exodus & the part where Moses is trying to convince Pharaoh to free the Israelites.  As I was reading through the plagues God brought upon the land all I could think was, “Egypt must have been a disgusting place to live.”  Let’s just take a quick look at the things that plagued the land of Egypt:

• The Plague of Blood (all of the water in the Nile turned to blood)
• The Plague of Frogs
• The Plague of Gnats
• The Plague of Flies
• The Plague on Livestock (all of the Egyptian’s livestock were killed; The Isrealites’ were spared)
• The Plague of Boils 
• The Plague of Hail
• The Plague of Locusts
• The Plague of Darkness (God made it so dark you could feel the darkness)
• The Plague of the Firstborn (The firstborn male from every family was killed; those who’s doors were covered with the blood from a sacrifice were spared)

I don’t know what you think, but to me, all of these things sound extremely unpleasant and well, gross.  After each plague, Pharaoh would kinda start to change his mind & free the Isrealites, but then the Lord would harden his heart again.  This raises the question, “Why would the Lord continually harden Pharaoh’s heart?”  This answer is found all throughout the Scriptures.  God continually hardens Pharaoh’s heart so that God can make Himself known, so that God will be glorified, so that God’s Name will be proclaimed in all of the earth, and so that God’s wonders can be shown.  You can read more about this and the plagues in Exodus 8-12:30.

So, what does this have to do with us?  I mean, that was a long time ago.  It has a lot to do with us, actually.  In this story, God was using unpleasant things and trials to glorify Himself.  How many times in our lives does God use something unpleasant to bring glory to Himself? Probably a lot.  I know He has with me.  The times that God is most glorified in me has been the times in my life that haven’t been the most pleasant.  So, embrace the “disgusting” times in your lives as chances to grow closer to Christ and to make the Name of Christ known to all of those around you.  In God’s timing, He will deliver you from that trial.  The Isrealites were enslaved for 430 years, so just continue to persevere and worship God even when the trials seem like they’re lasting a lifetime.  He will deliver you!

God ultimately delivered the Isrealites so that He could bring a remnant through His people- Jesus Christ.  God will deliver you from your trial so that you can make the Name of Jesus Christ known.  In the good times and the bad- glorify the Name of Jesus!