Exodus 10: 21-29
Then the LORD said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand toward the sky so
that darkness spreads over Egypt—darkness that can be felt.” So Moses stretched
out his hand toward the sky, and total darkness covered all Egypt for three
days. No one could see anyone else or move about for three days. Yet all the
Israelites had light in the places where they lived. Then Pharaoh summoned Moses and said, “Go,
worship the LORD. Even your women and children may go with you; only leave your
flocks and herds behind.” But Moses said, “You must allow us to have sacrifices
and burnt offerings to present to the LORD our God. Our livestock too must go with us; not a hoof
is to be left behind. We have to use some of them in worshiping the LORD our
God, and until we get there we will not know what we are to use to worship the
LORD.” But the LORD hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he was not willing to let
them go. Pharaoh said to Moses, “Get out
of my sight! Make sure you do not appear before me again! The day you see my
face you will die.” “Just as you say,” Moses replied. “I will never appear
before you again.”
Message:
Here I learned that deception is always the game of non believers of God.
Unparalleled darkness came to Egypt, a kind which terrorized the people except
the Israelites. Despite that, Pharaoh remained proud, even tried to deceive God’s
chosen people as he called on Moses and Aaron again and expressed his
acknowledgment of God. He told them about his decision of letting them go only
that they had to leave their livestock behind. The Israelites needed the
animals for food during the journey and for worship. Hence, Moses disagreed to
Pharaoh’s advice and vowed never to see Pharaoh again after the latter drove
him away.
Application:
As a believer of God, I need to manifest the characteristics He indicated
in the Scripture. One of those is honesty, the opposite of deceitfulness which
was demonstrated by Pharaoh. Real Christians do not practice deception.
Prayer:
Dear Lord, thank you for letting me realize that deception is unfavorable
for a Christian like me, that it’s a sin to deceive others. God thank you for
making me aware that even those who declare acknowledgment of You are very much
capable of deceiving people and can even use Your name and word to get people’s
attention and favor. Lord, I myself has been deceived and I often catch myself
wondering if I myself am doing the right thing. Yes, Lord I doubt and often ask
myself on the reliability of my understanding of Your message Lord, considering
all those that I witness about professed Christians. Dear God, I personally
communicate to You for me to know the real meaning of my being Your follower,
for me to understand the act of my fellow Christians and for me to be
enlightened Lord of the things concerning Christianity. Dear God, let me not
expect too much from my fellows. Make me trust Your words rather than people’s
words. Lord, I know it’s not me who will judge my fellow Christians Lord. It’s
not me who see their hearts and know their thoughts. It’s You God. You will
judge us all and I believe that You have purpose of letting all these happen. Lord,
bestow upon me discernment that I may detect deception. Bestow upon me wisdom
that I may know Your word, understand the message and share it to those who are
being deceived. Drive me out of darkness Lord. This I pray in Jesus’ name,
amen.
