God does something unusual in chapter seven of the story of the Israelites exit from Egypt. He compares Moses to himself and Aaron is his prophet.

Moses may have been the first of those who are called by Jehovah to experience failure for a time. He won’t be the last. Do you have experience with failure in a circumstance that God directed you in? Or was it your own idea and that is why it failed? Sometimes we are not certain of the real reason for failure.

What happened to the leprous hand? Moses skips it and goes straight to the water into blood trick. Next, comes my favorite plague. The frogs invade the land.

Exodus 8 is not the origin of the saying, “If you want a Prince, you have to kiss a few frogs.” Princes were few but frogs were in their beds, ovens and literally everywhere.  There were so many they couldn’t clean all the frog legs.  The magicians duplicated the miracle.

This second plague was the first time the King said he would release the Jews to worship if the frogs were destroyed.  After the crisis ended, he changed his mind.  That led to the gnats.  The magicians could not duplicate all the dust becoming gnats.  Maybe because there was no more dust.

Pharaoh still did not relent.  The next plague was flies.  They were in the houses, the palace and everywhere.  The King wanted them to sacrifice in Egypt.  Moses held out for traveling for three days.  To get rid of the flies the agreement was made and once again canceled after the plague ended.

Three more plagues in Exodus 9. Livestock died, festering boils appeared on people and animals and hail fell and destroyed crops, animals, and people. We find that the Israelites are not harmed by these plagues. Moses even gave a warning to those who would listen before the hailstorm.

Why does Pharaoh tell Moses he will release them and change his mind each time? It will take ten tragedies before he lets them go.

©Copyright 2020 by Charles Kensinger

As is common when someone tries to help others, the strategy backfires. Chapter 5 of Exodus presents Pharaoh making the lives of the Israelites harder because of Moses and Aaron. The people reject them as leaders and question their calling. This is a problem that many of God’s servants experience.

Yahweh’s plan is even questioned by Moses. Again, this is not unusual for the called. We often do not understand why circumstances worsen when we are being obedient. This often causes Christians to quit. Has this ever happened to you?

Exodus 6 has Jehovah telling Moses to watch what He will do to Pharaoh. The plan is not developing the way any of the Jews expected. There is a method in this scheme. Power will be demonstrated, and the gods of Egypt will not be able to stand against Him.

The called once again tries to provide an excuse for expected failure. This is all part of what is predicted. Nothing surprises God. What unexpected twists has He given you in your efforts to follow Him?

©Copyright 2020 by Charles Kensinger