Listen or Else

When God wants something, who in his right mind would stand in his way?

Those officials of Pharaoh who feared the word of the LORD hurried their slaves and livestock off to a secure place. Those who did not regard the word of the LORD left their slaves and livestock in the open field. - Exodus 9:20-21

In today's reading from the Book of Exodus, we continue to see how obstinate Pharaoh can be.  He is a leader of a great nation, a power in the world, a god in his own right, and yet he is being plagued (literally) by one horrible turn of events after another.

The tactics God employs here, though, are not so unfamiliar to us in modern times.  We see nations and pseudo-nations using this approach today.

First, let your enemy know what you will do to him if he does not acquiesce.

Then rain down on him as promised, destroying everything in sight.

If your outcome is not achieved, repeat the threat and carry it out.

If we believe we are doing God's work, shouldn't we feel justified to use God's tactics?

For me that is the problem.  We are not God.  We believe our God has done these things, though we may not understand them as well as we think, but that doesn't give us the right to apply this approach to our own decisions.  Or does it?

In the previous plagues, the magicians of Pharaoh participated, turning the rivers and waters to blood and brining the frogs upon the land.  These were challenges where Moses and Aaron were faced off against the secret powers of the magicians.  Much was destroyed, but the people survived.

This plague of hail and fire is different.  It is a full blown air attack on the nation, preceded by a warning that some took seriously.

Perhaps God did this to show us what we should not do, both in keeping a people from their land, from their God, and in trying to free them.

Jesus taught us to love our enemies, and for some that means we are the wimps, the ones who lose every conflict, but where is the gain when hell breaks out on earth?

If we see the destruction that is brought upon us when we oppress others, we should learn from it, not repeat it on others.

The line that touches my heart is this one: "Those who did not regard the word of the LORD left their slaves and livestock in the open field."

Where would Jesus want us to be in this conflict?  Would it be on the sidelines or in the fields with them?

More to come...