Christian Living
Perfection; Not Selection.
Exo 3:9-10 God Said "I have indeed heard the cry of my people, and I see how the Egyptians are oppressing them.
Now I am sending you to the king of Egypt so that you can lead my people out of his country."
The book of Exodus entails the long journey of the Israelites, out of the land of Egypt into their Promised Land; The Land of Cannan. Inspite of the many challenges they faced throughout their walk through the wilderness, the fact that Cannan was a promised land, the promise could never be abandoned, and so up to date the Israelites are the owners of that land.
Of particular interest in this story is how the leader of the Exodus, Moses, was chosen by God and the subsequent miracles perfomed through him to both the people of Israel and those of Egypt. Closely looking at the sequence of events, I get to wonder why God would allow such enormous burdens to be heaped on his people(Exo 5:22 Then Moses turned to the LORD again and said, "Lord, why do you mistreat your people? Why did you send me here? Exo 5:23 Ever since I went to the king to speak for you, he has treated them cruelly. And you have done nothing to help them!" ). The Israelites had been asked to make the same number of bricks using less resources to those they had been using, and so Moses queried God's conduct.
Can we say God was not aware of these cruel happenings, that he was busy with other "pending" issues? Can we say he wanted to "temporarily" punish the Israelites for the wicked things they had done in the past or for the statue gods they had made for themselves in Egypt? Or can we say Pharoah had proved to be a force to reckon with that God was taking his time to built a formidable war to battle Pharoah?. The answer?.................None of the Above!
Recall, the bible says nothing is impossible with God.(Mat 19:26 But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, with men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible). Thus life and death, healing and sickness, even kindness and wrath God can. God has over the years allowed many seeminlgy cruel things to happen to his people. For example what he let happen to Job(Book of Job), Elijah(Book of 1Kings) and even to Jesus Christ. But note that in all these things he would have promised each of these not to forsake them even in the times of trouble.
It was the same with the Israelites! He had promised Moses to be with him in ALL times and guide him out of Egypt.(Exo 3:12 God answered, "I will be with you, and when you bring the people out of Egypt, you will worship me on this mountain. That will be the proof that I have sent you.") Only that this time he had also said that he would not quickly get them out of Egypt, but he saw this as the occasion to show men the power he had, for men were and even now, not wise enough to know God without him revealing himself by signs and miracles to the people of Egypt and the Israelites.(Exo 3:19 I know that the king of Egypt will not let you go unless he is forced to do so. Exo 3:20 But I will use my power and will punish Egypt by doing terrifying things there. After that he will let you go. Exo 4:21 Again the LORD said to Moses, "Now that you are going back to Egypt, be sure to perform before the king all the miracles which I have given you the power to do. But I will make the king stubborn, and he will not let the people go. Exo 6:3 I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob as Almighty God, but I did not make myself known to them by my holy name, the LORD. Exo 9:16 But to show you my power I have let you live so that my fame might spread over the whole world.Exo 10:1 Then the LORD said to Moses, "Go and see the king. I have made him and his officials stubborn, in order that I may perform these miracles among them Exo 11:9 The LORD had said to Moses, "The king will continue to refuse to listen to you, in order that I may do more of my miracles in Egypt." Exo 10:2 and in order that you may be able to tell your children and grandchildren how I made fools of the Egyptians when I performed the miracles. All of you will know that I am the LORD.")
Understand this, when God wants something, nothing can stop him from having it, be it on earth or in heaven. Yet because of such loving kindness, he makes all his ventures reality to men, so that we may believe! If he were to do all things in heavenly matters, who on earth could understand. None! Thus he even made Jesus Christ a born child (One who is born of woman). He could have just brought him down by a host of angels to show his glory but because he wants to make it reality to us always, he gave him to an earthly virgin as a special baby, who could still perform Godly kind of miracles.
Although Pharoah was doing a cruel thing, he was under the power of God. The passages we've just read reveal that even Pharoah had no control over his decisions. His stubborness was the direct result of God's prophecy and will. Because God prefered to show his power to both his people (Exo 6:3 I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob as Almighty God, but I did not make myself known to them by my holy name, the LORD.) and the people of Egypt (Exo 9:16 But to show you my power I have let you live so that my fame might spread over the whole world). Had Pharoah realised that he was actually working for God the same way Moses was working for Him; by fulfilling the prophecies of God, he would have known the blessings of God the Lord. The book of Romans further clarifes this(Rom 9:15 For he said to Moses, "I will have mercy on anyone I wish; I will take pity on anyone I wish." Rom 9:16 So then, everything depends, not on what we humans want or do, but only on God's mercy. Rom 9:17 For the scripture says to the king of Egypt, "I made you king in order to use you to show my power and to spread my fame over the whole world." Rom 9:18 So then, God has mercy on anyone he wishes, and he makes stubborn anyone he wishes. Rom 9:19 But one of you will say to me, "If this is so, how can God find fault with anyone? Who can resist God's will?" Rom 9:20 But who are you, my friend, to talk back to God? A clay pot does not ask the man who made it, "Why did you make me like this?")
Today, like Pharoah and his officials, most of us have become like fools unto God. The painful is that such people are convinced that they are not under God's power. Every bad thing they do, they are convinced it is a bad decision they themselves would have done wrong. Do you realise what this implies? What will you say when for instance, you do a right thing? That you have made the right decision? Where does this lead to? Boasting of course? For most people have fallen from the faith because of being unable to contain themselves after perfoming such good acts of righteousness.(1Co 8:1 Now, concerning what you wrote about food offered to idols. It is true, of course, that "all of us have knowledge," as they say. Such knowledge, however, puffs a person up with pride; but love builds up. 1Ti 3:6 He must be mature in the faith, so that he will not swell up with pride and be condemned, as the Devil was. Pro 16:18 Pride leads to destruction, and arrogance to downfall.)
So what does God do to keep his people from being puffed up with pride when they do good? Paul Says (2Co 12:7 But to keep me from being puffed up with pride because of the many wonderful things I saw, I was given a painful physical ailment, which acts as Satan's messenger to beat me and keep me from being proud. or {KJV 2Co 12:7 And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure.})
Thus when he says i will not forsake you, he means i may even take your life to keep you from the devil. For he is not concerned much about how you fare here on earth, but wants to share with you in particular, the treasurers he has long reserved only for you in heaven, where no one, even Satan, can take those treasurers from you.
He is the God who is glad to see you "afflicted to heaven". One who is pleased is you suffer the wilderness to heaven for he wants to prove to the Devil and his counsel and to you that he is God.
Those wrong decisions, those right ones, if you can understand and not be fooled, like Pharoah, into thinking that a stubborn desire in you is responsible for al the bad things you do, you will completely surrender your life to him. Most of us have scarificed lots of precious times, money and possesions in a bid to SURRENDER our lives to Christ, yet without surrendering also the burdens, you only hold back the mercies of God. Pray you this prayer that you may not be foolishly stubborn, and forget that even those bad things about you have been used by God to help others as a testimony; to make such things a reality to others!
Do you not know what Jesus Christ said when he saw (Joh 9:1 And as Jesus passed by, he saw a man which was blind from his birth. Joh 9:2 And his disciples asked him, saying, Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind?
Joh 9:3 Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him.) As for the gift of heaven, he has desisted from using the "good" works of man as justification for those who will enter heaven. Heaven is for those who BELIEVE in Christ Jesus,(Joh 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.Joh 3:17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. Joh 3:18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.).
Recall, Jesus says in one of his parables, (Luk 13:6 Then Jesus told them this parable: "There was once a man who had a fig tree growing in his vineyard. He went looking for figs on it but found none. Luk 13:7 So he said to his gardener, 'Look, for three years I have been coming here looking for figs on this fig tree, and I haven't found any. Cut it down! Why should it go on using up the soil? 'Luk 13:8 But the gardener answered, 'Leave it alone, sir, just one more year; I will dig around it and put in some fertilizer. Luk 13:9 Then if the tree bears figs next year, so much the better; if not, then you can have it cut down.' ").
Before Christ, all creations were bound to be destroyed, because even those that were to be born were all prophesied to be sinners, none was going to be in any way righteous. So God is convinced that none of us here can live an unsinful life. For from birth each person has succumbed to many unwanted faults, only to realise thereafter. Thus the vinedresser, in this case Jesus Christ, came and gave us fertilizer, The Holy Spirit, he only waits to see those who will fare well with that fertilizer. Those who will surrender their lives to the Holy Spirit and allow it to have control of their operations.
For it is a waste of time to please him with gifts and vain works that moke his Kingdom. We would rather accept his plan, the plan that comes with his son Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is the way, the truth and the life. Whoever keeps his words abides in Jesus, and Jesus abides in him!
Further Reading
Jer 49:16 Your pride has deceived you. No one fears you as much as you think they do. You live on the rocky cliffs, high on top of the mountain; but even though you live as high up as an eagle, the LORD will bring you down. The LORD has spoken." Oba 1:3 Your pride has deceived you. Your capital is a fortress of solid rock; your home is high in the mountains, and so you say to yourself, 'Who can ever pull me down?'
All scriptures from Good News Bible except were stated.
PLEASE ENCOURAGE AUTHOR BELOW LEAVE COMMENT ON ARTICLE
Reader Count & Comments
Date
The opinions expressed by authors do not necessarily reflect the opinion of FaithWriters.com. This is especially true with articles that
deal with personal healthcare and prophecy. We encourage the reader to make their own decision in consultation with God, His Word, and others as needed.
This article has been read 645 times < Previous | Next >
Read more articles by Takura Kajengo or search for other articles by topic below.
This article has been read 645 times < Previous | Next >
Search for articles on: (e.g. creation; holiness etc.)
Read more by clicking on a link:Free Reprints
Main Site Articles
Most Read Articles
Highly Acclaimed Challenge Articles.
New Release Christian Books for Free for a Simple Review.
NEW - Surprise Me With an Article - Click here for a random URL
God is Not Against You - He Came on an All Out Rescue Mission to Save You
...in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them... 2 Cor 5:19
Therefore, my friends, I want you to know that through Jesus the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you. Acts 13:38
LEARN & TRUST JESUS HERE
FaithWriters offers Christian reading material for Christian readers. We offer Christian articles, Christian fiction, Christian non-fiction, Christian Bible studies, Christian poems, Christian articles for sale, free use Christian articles, Christian living articles, New Covenant Christian Bible Studies, Christian magazine articles and new Christian articles. We write for Jesus about God, the Bible, salvation, prayer and the word of God.