Life
can be a battle. We see evil vs. good, the devil vs.God, this world vs. the
kingdom of God. Nations battle against
one another, and sometimes even families go to war with each other. Does anyone ever win? It seems evil wins in this world, but it
doesn’t. There is coming a day when evil
will be destroyed and those who have followed Jesus through the battles of this
world will stand victorious. It may not
seem so now, but we are promised that God wins and He will reward those who are
faithful to Him.
We probably all
remember the famous battle between Pharaoh and Moses that is recorded in the
book of Exodus. It must have looked like Moses was fighting a losing battle,
but he knew better. Pharaoh seemed to
have the power, control, authority and manpower to win easily. But things are seldom as they seem. God had it all planned from the
beginning. Even the ending was already
set, and it happened just as God said.
When
Moses first approached Pharaoh to “let my people go”, Pharaoh asked, “Who is
the Lord, that I should obey his voice and let Israel go? I know not the Lord,
neither will I let Israel go.” But after
ten rounds, Pharaoh had gotten a chance to know the superior power of the God
of the Israelites. Each of the ten
plagues sent against Pharaoh and the Egyptians was a direct conquest of their
gods…one by one. It was no
accident. It was designed by God.
The
first plague, turning the water of the Nile River into blood, was a show of
power against the god and goddess of the Nile, Osiris and Isis as well as Khnum
who was their guardian of the Nile.
The
second plague of frogs was against Heqet, the frog-headed goddess of
birth. It is said the Egyptians believed
frogs to be sacred, and would not kill them.
But when Pharaoh sent for Moses to get rid of the frogs, they died and
were piled in heaps causing the whole land to stink.
The
third plague was lice. Moses was
instructed by God to take his rod and hit the dust of the ground and it became
lice in the land of the Egyptians. This
was a direct attack against the Egyptian earth god, Seb (also noted as Set or
Geb).
The
fourth plague was flies. It showed God’s
power against their god of flies, Uatchit.
The
fifth plague was disease and death of their cattle. Hathor, the Egyptian
goddess and Apis, their god, were both depicted as cattle. They had various other gods who were
associated with bulls and cows, such as, Ptah, Mnevis and Amon. All these gods proved powerless before the God
of Israel.
The
sixth plague came as boils. To set this
plague into motion, Moses was to take ashes from the furnace and sprinkle them
toward heaven. They became dust that
caused boils to break out on the people and animals in Egypt. The false gods and goddesses they worshiped
remained silent and powerless to stop it.
Among them were Sekhmet, Sunu and Isis who were gods over health and
disease, Thoth who was god of intelligence and medical learning and Serapsis
who was an Egyptian god of healing.
The
seventh plague came as hail accompanied by fire that ran along the ground. It could not be stopped by Nut, their sky
goddess or Osiris, their crop fertility god or Set, their storm god or Shu,
their god of the atmosphere and wind.
The
eighth plague was the coming of locusts that killed any crops that remained
from the hail and fire. This showed how
powerless their god for protection from locusts, Serapia, was. They also
worshiped Anuhis, guardian of fields and Nepri, the grain god. None could stop the locusts except the Lord
God of Israel.
The
ninth plague was a thick darkness that settled across the land for three
days. Even at midday, Ra, their sun god
could not bring them light. Neither
could Horus, the god of sunrise and Tem, the god of sunset. Even Thoth, the moon god, could not give them
moonlight.
The
tenth and final plague was the death of the firstborn in Egypt. This was a show of power against Isis, the
protector of children. But it was
actually a conquest of all their gods combined.
Pharaoh himself was considered to be the greatest Egyptian god and
ultimate power of Egypt. There was
nothing Pharaoh could do to stop the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
After the
Israelites had been delivered from the hands of Pharaoh, Moses recounted the
whole story to his father-in-law. Jethro
said, “Now I know that the Lord is greater than all gods: for in the thing
wherein they dealt proudly he was above them.”
That battle was actually between the gods of Egypt and Jehovah, the Lord
God above all. No contest!
Before the first
plague and before every plague thereafter, Pharaoh was given an opportunity to
repent and obey God. But his heart was
hardened more and more. God was not
finished until He had shown Himself above every god the Egyptians
worshiped and trusted in.
God
will show Himself above the areas in which we deal proudly, too. Pride is an
independent spirit, a sense of self-sufficiency that causes us to lean on our
own abilities and beliefs instead of submitting to God. Pride, stubbornness and rebellion refuse to
depend on God.
The
Egyptians were depending on their so-called gods to protect them, provide for
them, keep them healthy and bless the work of their hands. They did all the right things to appease
these gods and insure their success, but it was all futile.
What
are we depending on? If our trust is in
our retirement plan or bank account, our doctors, influential friends, our
ability to provide for ourselves, our plans for the future, or anything else, we
are trusting in gods that are totally impotent.
Our trust belongs in God alone.
Wealth can vanish in a moment. Doctors’ knowledge is limited. Our plans
may or may not be realized. Our friends may not always be there, and we may
lose our abilities. These things are not
wrong in themselves, but if we begin to put our trust in them and depend on
them, God may begin to shake things up to cause us to look to Him.
Where
is our place of pride? It is the place
where we act independently of God, the place where we feel strong and capable
in our own wisdom, abilities or provision.
When we act out of our own sense of control, we are acting out of pride. God will deal with us in these areas, and we
will either submit or fail. He will show
us that our “gods” are inadequate. They
may make us feel in control, but their false security will destroy us.
Where
is our place of humility? It is in every
area where we recognize our need for God and submit to His Lordship. It is the place where we surrender our will
to God and rely on His wisdom, power, ability and provision. It is when we say “not my will, but Yours be
done” and really mean it. We will only win
the battle when we relinquish our will to His.
When
God begins to deal with us in an area, He is giving us a chance to surrender our
independence and become dependent on Him, the One Who has all power, wisdom and
authority. If we are determined to have our
own way, He will deal more strongly with us so we will see our error and turn
from it. Why is God so persistent? Because He loves us. He is giving us the opportunity to live a
life more abundant in an everlasting kingdom.
But a day will come, when He will cease to offer that opportunity if we
continue to refuse Him.
Pharaoh was a
powerful ruler and refused to concede to God.
If he conceded to that, he would have to give up his own glory, his
self-sufficiency, his control, his reputation, all that was familiar to him,
and all that he and every other Pharaoh before him trusted in. He refused to concede and lost it all anyway.
Jesus said, “Whoever
finds his life [in this world] will [eventually] lose
it [through death], and whoever loses his life [in this
world] for My sake will find it [that is, life with Me for all eternity].” (Matthew 10:39 – Amplified Bible)
If we hold to
the things (gods) of this world, we will lose the kingdom of God. If we give up the things (gods) of this world
for Jesus, we will gain the kingdom of God.
The two are so far apart, and yet, at the same time, we can live in His
kingdom while we are alive in this world.
Jesus said we have to make a choice. The two cannot coincide in our
hearts. Our sense of duty or love
cannot be toward both because they are diametrically opposed.
Living
in His kingdom while in this world means we will live this life in a battle
between the world and the Spirit, but God is above the world and will show
Himself strong on our behalf.
Are there any
“gods” pulling you toward independence and pride? Lay them down. Jesus says we must let them go completely - our
own glory, self-sufficiency, control, reputation, all that is familiar to us
and what we have trusted in. No god can
stand before the Almighty God. But we
can choose to stand with Him.
“Today, after so long a time; as it is said, Today if
ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts.” Hebrews 4:7b
