On Second Thought, Forget the Vs. (Exodus 11)
It is easy to fall into the trap of seeing the Exodus event as a battle between God and Egypt, but that is not the case. There is never any resistance. In the same way the creation story in Genesis one is one of a completely sovereign Creator doing exactly as He planned and pleased, there is no force acting against God in Egypt. Even the hardening of Pharaoh’s heart is revealed to be an act of God.
This is why the story is so repetitive. (Repetition is a feature we will see later in Exodus as well.) In Chapter 3 and again in chapter 7, YHWH tells Moses exactly what His plan is. We see it again here in chapter 11. God has planned, right from the beginning: for His people to be enslaved, for Pharaoh to harden his heart against them leaving, for there to be many blows against the powers and world-view of Egypt, for the Egyptians to freely give Israel a great plunder, and for Pharaoh to be devastatingly struck down.
We have seen God control and orchestrate the choices and free-will acts of individuals and nations. We have seen Him intervene in powerful and miraculous ways. And now we here that He is going to act in judgement against the hubris of men who dare to act as gods and stand against the will of the Creator. God uses such fools again and again, but do not be fooled into thinking that makes them a good part of His plans. You do not want to be “used” by God—or to stand with such instruments—in this way!
This is why the story is so repetitive. (Repetition is a feature we will see later in Exodus as well.) In Chapter 3 and again in chapter 7, YHWH tells Moses exactly what His plan is. We see it again here in chapter 11. God has planned, right from the beginning: for His people to be enslaved, for Pharaoh to harden his heart against them leaving, for there to be many blows against the powers and world-view of Egypt, for the Egyptians to freely give Israel a great plunder, and for Pharaoh to be devastatingly struck down.
We have seen God control and orchestrate the choices and free-will acts of individuals and nations. We have seen Him intervene in powerful and miraculous ways. And now we here that He is going to act in judgement against the hubris of men who dare to act as gods and stand against the will of the Creator. God uses such fools again and again, but do not be fooled into thinking that makes them a good part of His plans. You do not want to be “used” by God—or to stand with such instruments—in this way!
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