Exodus 8:19
Then the magicians said to Pharoah, This is the finger of God! But Pharoah's heart was hardened and strong and he would not listen to them, just as the Lord had said. (AMP)
God is All-Powerful. There is much evidence of His omnipotence throughout the Bible. In today's verse, even non-believers recognize His power, His presence and His impact.
This may seem like an odd passage to consider, but when put in context it will make sense. Allow me to summarize the background story. Let's begin in Genesis 37 and follow the history through chapter 50 and on into the Book of Exodus through chapter 12. Feel free to read the original text to gain all the details.
If you recall there is a story in the Old Testament about Joseph; one of Jacob's sons who had been sold into slavery by his brothers and ended up in Egypt. He was bought by one of the Pharaoh's officials; a man name Potiphar. The Lord was with him and he found favor in his eyes; so much so that he was put in charge of his entire household. That is until he rejected the advances of Potiphar's wife.
Joseph was thrown in jail and remained there for two years. Eventually, Joseph helped to interpret the dreams of Pharaoh and he found favor in his eyes and was released from prison. Joseph became one of Pharoah's trusted advisors and was eventually put in charge of the entire country of Egypt. There was a period of seven years of abundance and with the guidance of God; Joseph had them store up one fifth of the harvest to be used during the seven years of famine that would be coming upon Egypt.
Because the famine was so wide spread, Jacob sent his sons's to Egypt for food. Joseph recognized his brothers and was able to get Pharaoh to allow his entire family to move to Egypt to be saved from the famine.
Years went by and Jacob's family prospered and grew. The number of Hebrews had multiplied greatly. Eventually, Jacob and Joseph and all his brothers died and a new king came into power. This king and the people of Egypt became concerned that the Hebrews were too numerous and too powerful and so they made them slaves. This king ordered the midwives to kill every baby boy born to the Hebrews when they helped them give birth, but they were to allow the girls to live. These midwives disregarded the king's orders because they feared God and allowed the baby boys to live. So God was kind to the midwives and the people increased even more. Then Pharaoh ordered every Hebrew boy that was born to be thrown into the Nile and left to die.
During this time, Moses was born. His mother cared for him for three months but when she could no longer hide him, she put him in a basket and placed him in the Nile where Pharaoh's daughter found him and raised him. Moses was raised in the Pharaoh's palace with all the privileges of being a mamber of the Pharaoh's family.
One day, when he was grown, he went to his people, the Hebrews and watched them at their labor. He saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew. Moses was upset at this and murdered the Egyptian. As a result, he knew he had to flee, and so he ended up in Midian. Moses remained there for a long time and the Israelites remained in captivity. They cried out to God for help and He heard their cries.
One day while Moses was out tending the flocks, he led the sheep in the wilderness to Horeb, the mountain of God. There the angel of the LORD appeared to him in flames of fire from within a brush. Although the bush was on fire, it did not burn up. God called to him and Moses responded. God told Moses that He heard the cries of His people in Egypt and He wanted Moses to go to Pharaoh to bring the Israelites out of Egypt.
What an assignment! Moses had murdered an Egyptian and fled. He certainly would not be welcomed back with open arms. He questioned God about being qualified to do this task but God assured him that He Himself would be with him. Regardless of his insecurities and concerns, God sent him to go to his own Hebrew family and the elders and let them know He, God, had heard their cries and was about to end their misery.
Moses followed the LORD's instructions and he and his brother Aaron went to Pharaoh and told him the Lord said, "Let my people go." Naturally, the slaves were an important commodity to Pharaoh and he had no intentions of just allowing them to leave. He refused.
Yet God promised deliverance. God told Moses, "Now you will see what I will do to Pharaoh. Because of my mighty hand he will let them go; because of my mighty hand he will drive them out of his country." God told him about his relationship with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and the covenant He had made with them and He would do this because of the promise He made in that covenant.
The bottom line is that Pharaoh wasn't going to give in easily, so God performed a series of signs to prove that He indeed was God and that He would prevail. God told Moses and Aaron that Pharaoh's heart would be unyielding and so He would harden his heart.
Pharaoh challenged Moses and Aaron to perform a miracle. The LORD told Aaron to throw down his staff and when he did, it turned into a snake. Pharaoh had Egyptian magicians and sorcerers who did the same thing, but then Aaron's staff swallowed up their staffs. Yet, Pharaoh's heart became even more hardened. As a result, there was a series of plagues that affected all of Egypt but not the Israelites.
The first plague turned the water of the Nile River into blood. Next frogs covered the land. In both these incidents, the magicians were able to utilize their arts to replicate what had taken place. When the third plague came, they were not able to repeat this feat. This time, the dust of the land became gnats and the Egyptian magicians realized they had no way to duplicate this act in their bag of tricks. They could only proclaim, "This is the finger of God."
There were seven more plagues before Pharaoh eventually allowed the Israelites to leave. It took the death of all the first born sons, including his own before he would be able to surrender to our All-Powerful God.
This historical account of what happened to the Israelits is important because it demonstrates that God has the ability to do amazing things in our lives despite the things that happen to us. The life of Joseph is a remarkable account of how God was able to turn into good; those things that happened to him that were intended to harm him. When our hearts are right with God, the same principle is true for us.
Like the Egyptian magicians and socerers, there are many people who believe and practice a variety of other spiritual beliefs; many of which include myriad metaphysical practices. The truth is, there are power sources operating in the spirit realm that can lead an individual to believe that they are encountering a miracle of God. For example, you can find numerous energy healing techniques that appear to help improve symptoms. However, unless the source of that healing power is coming from the Lord, there will be a limitation in its ability to truly heal the person. Unfortunately, there is ultimately a greater cost then the desperate individual realizes and before long, they too will find that their bondage is even greater than when they first sought treatment. That is because the source of the healing energy does not have a pure heart and motive; on the contrary the source of this type of power searches whom he can hold captive. I am not saying that every practitioner has evil motives. Indeed most long to help those seeking their help. However, these well-intentioned people are themselves deceived and don't realize the consequences to themselves or others when they tap into these other power sources.
The Egyptian magicians and sorcerers knew that they could not perform the miracles on their own; they were tapping into the spirit world and they recognized the limitations of their power source. When presented with the plague of gnats, they initially attempted to replicate the gnats but soon realized this was far beyond anything they could do. This was a power far greater than anything they had ever witnessed or experienced.
As the process of the plagues continued, the magicians were helpless and those officals of Pharaoh who feared the Lord quickly hurried to bring their slaves and livestock in for protection from hail. They eventually went to Pharaoh and pleaded with him to let the Israelites go so they could worship their God. Finally after the death of every firstborn male, Pharaoh allowed them to leave. He was defeated.
Did you realize that along with more than six hundred thousand Israelite men, and their women and children that many others also fled with them?
The Lord is all-powerful, but He uses His power to draw people to Himself. In this culture, the people worshipped many gods. In fact, each and every plague that God sent upon Egypt was personally directed at each one of these gods. He did this because He wanted to demonstrate that these gods or idols had no real power at all. Some people, like Pharaoh couldn't accept the fact that they were worshipping false, dead gods. Others saw that who they thought was their god didn't come to their rescue and defend them. Pharaoh himself was considered to be one of their gods. But if this was so, then why did his son die? Why couldn't he intervene on their behalf? There must have been questions. The truth was, Pharaoh wasn't a god, he was simply a man in a powerful position and he was no match for the One True God.
Today, you may not realize that you have made something a god, but it is common for us to put our trust in all sorts of things. When we do this, we are making that thing a god. The truth is nothing or no one can compare with the One True Living God. He alone is All-Powerful.
If we are made in His image does this mean that we too are all-powerful? Well, not exactly. If we attempt to be then we will soon find ourselves in a similar showdown as we just saw Pharaoh endure and lose. However, when we rightly understand our identity in Christ and we walk in His power and strength, we will soon discover that He is able to do miracles through us for the benefit of bringing others to Him. It is always about Him and His glory. In this way, He can demonstrate His power as we yield to His directives and will.
Question for Reflection
Is there something or someone other than God that you are putting your hope and trust in? If so, ask God to help you put your full trust in Him.
Closing Prayer
Dear Lord, thank You for releasing me from bondage. Help me to put my hope and trust in You alone. Teach me to recognize Your voice and Your presence so that I am not deceived by any other source of power. God, I declare that there is no one like You! Amen.
