One of the first Bible stories I read as a child is the story of the Israelites in Egypt which was common then. For some others, it was the 10 plagues in Egypt ; they are the same story. Just in case you never read it, you can check the background story below. In this article, I will discuss in detail 5 lessons that you can practically apply to your life from the story of Moses and Pharaoh.
Background Story: In the beginning of Exodus, we see the birth of Moses; the ascension of a new Pharaoh who forgets Joseph – the reason the Israelites are in Egypt – ever existed and oppresses the people of Israel. The Pharaoh goes as far as killing the new-born male children in a bid to reduce the number of Israelites.
Every part of this story is unique but you’ll only see the process of God’s response to Pharaoh in this article. If you are interested in reading more about the story , Click here to open the book of Exodus
Lesson 1: Whom God loves, He goes all out for
In Exodus 3: 19-22, You will see that God heeded the cry of the Israelites and sent Moses to Pharaoh to let His people go. Well, God already knew Pharaoh wasn’t going to budge on letting the Israelites go. As a result, God dealt with Pharaoh for the atrocities he committed against His people; The Israelites left with more riches than they brought to Egypt because God loves and went all out for them.
If God loved the Israelites like that, What about you that he loves and is willing to fight for? Just tell God and whatever is causing that problem is solved.
Lesson 2: When God sends you, just obey and watch it play out
Moses was definitely a handful for God; He knew at what points to raise the fact that he wasn’t qualified enough to meet Pharaoh on God’s behalf. Exodus 4:10-13 details Moses’s dialogue with God and let me just say, Moses was pretty bold if he could argue about speaking to others with God.
‘Then Moses said to the Lord , “O my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither before nor since You have spoken to Your servant; but I am slow of speech and slow of tongue.”
He didn’t believe in himself, well God saw past what he could see and knew he could do it. Although, God had to send Aaron along with him so he wouldn’t get scared and lose out on such an opportunity.
Many times, you and I can relate to this behaviour Moses exhibited when we are head-strong about doing what God wants us to do. Sometimes, it’s daunting to just trust that everything will work out. In spite of this, take the bold step and believe in that God-given ability of yours and trust the one who gave it to you.
Lesson 3: It’s never worth lying to God
When I was growing up, there was this saying “God sees everything” which I believe is still applicable . Before I even did anything, I had to think twice because someone else can see me (lol!).
In Exodus 8: 28-29, 32, Pharaoh lied about letting the people go so that Moses could tell God to take away the flies from Egypt. Even though God removed the flies, Pharaoh paid for it in more ways than one if you look at how his life ended.
The main gist is the truth is always better than a lie no matter the consequence. Don’t even bother lying cause it’s not worth it; You’ll pay for the lie at some point.
Lesson 4: So far the leader gets what he wants, the people don’t matter
Exodus 10:7 for some reason reminds me of leaders who always lead to the detriment of their people. In the time I spent reading the chapters of Exodus, Pharaoh didn’t behave like the people existed until the 10th chapter. How selfish of him!
You can see Pharaoh in a lot of leaders in the world; leaders who will go to the extreme just to get what they want. The one thing that still stands out is why Pharaoh thought he could threaten the people and go unpunished:
‘Then he said to them, “The Lord had better be with you when I let you and your little ones go! Beware, for evil is ahead of you. ‘ Exodus 10:10
Certainly, the well being of the Egyptians didn’t matter to Pharaoh at all. As a result, they suffered a whole lot due to their leader’s strong-will.
Lesson 5: Venture out of your comfort zone
In Exodus 14:10-14, you see that when they saw the Egyptians closing around them, the Israelites became afraid. You should know that: the Israelites were comfortable in Egypt and were terrified of going through the wilderness.
Of course, they wished they could be back in Egypt where they were sure of instead of being pursued by the Egyptians in an unknown terrain. Moses took the opportunity to remind them of God’s presence:
‘And Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord , which He will accomplish for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall see again no more forever. The Lord will fight for you, and you shall hold your peace.”’ Exodus 14:13-14
In that frightening moment, for the Israelites, hell was better than the heaven they couldn’t see. Later on, when they did get to the promised land, I’m sure they were glad they left Egypt despite the obstacles.
If you ever leave your comfort zone, then you will understand when I say that it can be really stressful and all of that. The important thing is that you ventured out your comfort zone.
Despite the stress, there’s joy on the other side of the rope. Trust God and take the bold step of doing something out of your comfort zone (as long as it’s legal).
Why did God harden Pharaoh’s heart?
In the process of preparing the material for this article, I realised that God actually hardened the heart of Pharaoh. Why ? You will soon discover.
To harden someone’s heart: to make someone more resistant to something.
In this scenario, I would like to think that God hardened Pharaoh’s heart by taking away every form of grace from him. God made Pharaoh resistant to the idea of letting the people go so He could show them who He is.
‘But indeed for this purpose I have raised you up, that I may show My power in you, and that My name may be declared in all the earth. ‘ Exodus 9:16
The next time someone says something about why God isn’t fair because of His actions towards Pharaoh, I hope you can forward this article to them to help them gain better understanding.
Are there any other lessons you think there are to learn from this story? Kindly leave them in the comment section. Thank you!
Read the previous article: Forgiveness: Bring room for error
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