“And Pharoah’s servants said unto him, How long shall this man be a snare unto us? let the men go, that they may serve the LORD their God: knowest thou not yet that Egypt is destroyed?” (Exodus 10:7)
As I begin to write about each new book of the Bible on this blog,
I have a rough idea of the high points in that book that I would like
to talk about. Having a sort of “mental draft” already in place
as I sit down to write on each new chapter, my normal practice is to
read and re-read the text a couple of times to remind myself of what
I originally had in mind before I prayerfully proceed. To be honest,
I almost skipped over Exodus Chapter 10 as I was preparing to write
this week because I really didn’t have anything I wanted to comment
about it. Here we have two more plagues (the locusts and the
darkness), more ultimatums given by Moses and Aaron, and more
hard-hearted stubbornness on the part of Pharaoh. Since wepreviously looked at Pharaoh’s “final compromise”, a
compromise in which he offered to let the Israelites go as long as
they left their property behind, it seemed to me that there remained
little new material to develop from this chapter, the events serving
primarily as further steps escalating the showdown between the Living
God and the gods of Egypt.
But then I came to Verse 7 and, more
specifically, the final clause in that verse: “Knowest thou not
yet that Egypt is destroyed?” That question hit me like a
hammer. My first thought was that these pleading words came from the
lips, not of Moses or Aaron, but of Pharaoh’s own advisors. How
stubborn was this man that even the counsel of his most trusted inner
circle fell upon deaf ears? How proud, how arrogant, how headstrong
was this ruler that even the suffering of those whom he governed
failed to sway his opinion, the pain of those whom it was his duty to
protect having absolutely no effect upon his resolve? One simple
word, one command from this sovereign was all that it would have
taken for their torment to cease, and they reminded him as much. Yet
Pharaoh does little more than make promises he has no intention of
keeping and offers unacceptable compromises.
Looking beyond the immediate context of
the miserable imploration of Pharaoh’s inner circle, the
entreatment Knowest thou not yet that Egypt is destroyed?
took on a more metaphorical meaning for me as I considered it. The
haunting words of Solomon echoed within my mind: “Vanity of
vanities, saith the Preacher, vanity of vanities; all is vanity”
(Eccl. 1:2). How many of those with whom I have contact every day do
not yet realize that “Egypt is destroyed?” How many
people living right around me are suffering daily the consequences of
their rebellion against God, yet they refuse to see that their own
little kingdom is crumbling around them? The devastating effects of
judgment are rippling though their lives like a whirlwind, destroying
all of their own strongholds, defeating everything that they have
worshipped as a god in their own lives, everything that they have
elevated to the place where their Creator rightfully belongs. The
voices of reason plead with them as Pharaoh’s own counselors did,
begging them to surrender, pleading with them to give in and let the
God Who loves them have His way in their life, to let the Lord save
them from the destruction of their own hands. Still they do not yet
see that Egypt is utterly destroyed! As did the King of
Egypt, these hard-hearted rebels refuse to set aside their pride,
they will not concede that their world is crashing around them, that
their days are numbered and their time is short. That final Judgment
is coming.
Finally, these word hit a lot closer to
home. Knowest thou not yet that Egypt is destroyed? I am a
child of God and a servant of Jesus Christ and am not in open
rebellion against the Lord, but do I, too, refuse at times to see
that “Egypt is destroyed“? Am I living my life every day
with the somber recognition that this world is passing away (1 John
2:17)? Am I loving Egypt, refusing to see that it is coming
to utter ruin, a part of me reluctant to depart a world that is not
my home? Surely we are in the world, yet not of the
world (John 17:16), knowing that this present world system will not
remain. Am I standing before the people of this world as an
ambassador of Jesus Christ (2 Cor. 5:20), as Moses stood before
Pharaoh, warning them of the judgment to come, pleading with them to
soften their heart and let God have His way in their life, or have I,
too, become insensitive to the fact that the things of this world are
coming to naught?
Egypt is already destroyed,
whether we yet realize it or not. God has not called any of us to
save the world, because this world system is coming under
irrevocable judgment. I get busy at times with the day-to-day
responsibilities of life and lose sight of this. Sometimes, I forget
that the ship I am standing on is sinking. We are not commissioned by
our Lord to try to save the ship, we are commissioned to show the
other passengers where the Life Boat is. Let us never forget that
this ship is sinking, that this world is coming to an end. Egypt
is destroyed. We are going to leave Egypt someday and
head for the Land of Promise. May we never lose sight of this. This
world is not our home.
May the Lord richly bless you. To God
goes all glory. In service to Him,
Loren