Bibledoorajar: Grievous Matters

Egypt and its' Pharoah were enduring what the Word describes as a" grievous" hail, the likes of which Egypt had never experienced and which was extremely difficult to bear.  It was fraught with thunder and lightning so severe that "the fire ran along upon the ground." This, the seventh plague, followed six others that had not been fully understood and assimilated properly by Pharoah. How did he do with assimilating the Word of God with this one? At first report, things looked good. Pharoah called to Moses and told him that he knew he had sinned. This was a step in the right direction. But did this confession include reconciling himself to God and declaring his undying service to Him? Was his heart's affection now on God? Moses did not think so and told Pharoah that he did not feel Pharoah was being genuine. For one thing, Pharoah was only admitting sin that brought on the hail judgement  and admitted nothing about sins that had brought on the first six plagues. However, Moses told Pharoah that when he, Moses, left the royal city the grievous hail would stop. And it did. Why? It would stop in order for Pharoah to realize that earth was the Lords'. However, Moses told Pharoah that he knew he did not truly fear God. Was Moses right? Yes, the evidence is that as soon as the hail stopped Pharoah and his people immediately sinned.

The Hebrew linguists tell us that two meanings of the word hardened are used in this passage. One connotes great pride and the other great strength. The arrogance of this man Pharoah astounds.  But then this is how the story of the Bible starts isn't it?  Lucifer wanted to be as the Most High God. As Satan he displayed and is still displaying his great pride and great persuasive strength to get mankind to avoid undying service to God. What he never seems to get is that we serve a Savior who always has our well being in mind. Because our heart is not hardened toward Him, He will make a way for us. And, praise the Lord, though it may at times be difficult it will not be grievous because the God of Heaven is in charge. Hoffman put it this way:

          "Are all thy powers under Jesus control?
           Is Thy heart right with God?"

How can we get to that state? According to Hoffman, by nailing our affections to the cross. Sell out to Jesus.

Bibledoorajar: Costly Storms

We, along with the children of Egypt, are getting the idea that God may be slow to anger but that He will not leave the guilty unpunished. This is an important lesson that God is getting across. It will be the basis of the creed by which all His future people(s) will live. Redemption and God's power to deliver said redemption will always be necessary in order to live freely with God. Though they may not yet be fully liberated, the Israelites were learning more and more about their God and why He desired a certain relationship with them. They were seeing the wisdom of believing and obeying, even if, and maybe because, Egypt and its' Pharoah was not. The Israelite's God, the One who demanded no other gods before Him, was very effective in "enemy territory". He could and would move across all of creation and no one could stop Him. Whoa! Pharoah might one day forget the worst nightmare of his reign, but Israel would not, and they began to proclaim the power and might of their God. But old stubborn Pharoah, like the ole man river, he just kept rolling along with his lies and conniving.

Moses told Pharoah that hail was coming in such proportions that the only way his people and their livestock could survive would be for everyone and everything to take shelter. Not only would their present be affected but so would their future because the hail would devastate their crops. To those who believed and took shelter for themselves and their livestock there was salvation. For those who did not believe and took no shelter there was devastation and loss.

My maternal grandfather, an uneducated man, reared nine children during the Great Depression. He often fished the Cahaba River nearby his home in Alabama to supplement food for his table. According to my mother, he was often warned by my grandmother as he left to watch out for storms that might arise. And he would always say, "Why Ollie, I will be home before the storm comes." It was a reassurance based on wisdom. Jesus gave His followers a similar reassurance based on wisdom. If caught in the storm, He could calm the sea. He, after all, like His Father could move all across creation.

"The Lord’s our Rock, in Him we hide.
A shelter in the time of storm;
Secure whatever ill betide,
A shelter in the time of storm."

Words by Vernon Charlesworth and music Ira Sankley

Sung by my Grandfather who is now fully liberated and living with His God and Savior.

Bibledoorajar: Toils, Boils and Trouble

Call your doctor if:

• The boil is on your face, near your spine, or near your anus.
• A boil is getting larger.
• You have any other lumps near the boil, especially if they hurt.
• You are in a lot of pain.
• You have a fever.
• The area around the boil is red or has red streaks leading from it.
• You have diabetes and you get a boil.
• The boil is as large as a ping-pong ball.
• The boil has not improved after 5 to 7 days of home treatment.
• You get many boils over several months.

The above help from WebMD gives the modern reader some idea of the problems and pains of boils. The plague of boils followed God having said to the Jews that He "Was the Lord, that He Would FREE them and that He Would deliver them from their bondage and that He Would REDEEM them through extraordinary chastisements. Following this He Would TAKE them to be His people and He Would be their God. The plague of boils was an extraordinary chastisement and a strong reminder to the Jews that any supernatural "religious" exercise that they had witnessed during their 400 years of slavery did not even come close to the power of their God who was taking them from Pharoah. The Jews were getting a picture of what it meant to be a serious God loving and respecting Jew!

Severe boils interrupt all aspects of society. Pharoah's magicians and priests could not come to work. Pharoah was standing by a kiln where he was probably sacrificing to one of his gods for help when God instructed Moses to go over and collect some of the sacrificial ashes and throw it toward heaven. The filth landed on Pharoah's people and bacteria went to work. All aspects of life, personal and ecumenical were interrupted. Boils usually hit the body in areas of intimacy keeping people from wanting to have or feeling like having contact with each other. No work or love happened in Pharoah's land when everyone was suffering with boils. He and his land needed the kind of purifying that can come only from God. People today need to realize they need supernatural purification and God sent us Jesus just for that reason. He Is the Lord, He Will redeem through extraordinary chastisements, He Will take us to be His and to our God. Hear Him; refuse boils.

Bibledoorajar: God of the Hebrews

     God told Moses to tell Pharoah that God was the God of the Hebrews. It was a Name, a reference point for Pharoah. It said that God had the power to make a distinction between the Egyptians and their relationship to their gods and those who worshiped Him. Remember when God needed to bolster Moses's confidence. He told Moses that He was Ehyeh-Asher-Ehyeh, I will be what/that I will be. Those words implanted one thing in the mind of Moses. God was sovereign and would be whatever He wanted to be. Whatever and wherever the situation His people were in He had the power to love and assist them. He was authentic. This was the God to which Pharoah was to respect.

Perhaps Pharaoh thought the Egyptian gods were authentic too. Perhaps he thought his own god ship was also authentic. But he was to learn that God could strike his gods with power and might.
With the fifth plague God made a devastating strike against among others, Hathor, Egypt's "powerful" cow god.  God would make a distinction between the livestock of His children and the livestock of Egypt. His hand would come forth at a specific time and would strike the livestock of Egypt with a devastating disease. Where was Hathor when the distinction was made? Where was Hathor when God's hand came forth in power? Why didn't Hathor know the time that God would strike and prevent it? When Pharoah had his people check it out how the plague came down, they reported that the devastation had happened just as God predicted it would and in just the way he predicted it. God had made His declaration and it took place. He was sovereign.

Some people think that God exists but they refuse to find Him authentic in everything that He has said, done, or will do. They cannot quite grasp some of the stories of the Bible as being authentic. They cannot grasp a virgin birth or a resurrection. But they fail to recognize the authenticity of Ehyeh-Asher-Ehyeh, I will be what/that I will be. He has said it, and He has extended His hand in mercy to His people.  Through Jesus, God's people escape final judgements against those who trust other gods.  He will come back for His own just as Ehyeh=Asher=Ehyeh, I will be what/that I will be, has declared that He will. Why harden your heart and look instead to a "cash cow of a god" for relief?
Many discern how to put bread in their mouths through earthly means but they despair when their cash cows rot and dissolve away. Where is their god then? Jesus said that authentic provision is the true treasure that can be laid up in heaven where it would not rot or be eaten by moths. Hear His declaration.