When we read the history of Exodus, we are prone to ask, “why did God harden Pharaoh’s heart?” or “why did He need to do so many plagues?” I mean, we see that the Egyptians clearly learned nothing from them anyways so what was the point?
If you reread all the plagues, you’ll realize that God is proving that each Egyptian God is powerless and that He has all authority and power. If the Egyptians seemed to leave the class room without notes or knowledge, then what is the point, though? Good question. What if they weren’t the students?
After living in Egypt for so long, first as citizens and later as slaves, it wouldn’t be out of the question that the Israelites have begun to conform to the Egyptian beliefs or begin to doubt their own. This could happen for a number of reasons, confusion, wanting to keep the peace, or, when they were citizens, forgetting who blessed them. Each time God performed a plague, He was showing His people that He is the one true God, not the Egyptian make believes.
Recalling the golden calf and the wandering in the desert, you may be wondering again what the point was. Yes, the Israelites made many, many mistakes but who are we to judge? We make mistakes on a daily basis. The point of the plagues was to help build their faith so they could leave Egypt. If you recall, the men began to doubt Moses was sent by God when their work load became harder. The few who were faithful throughout the journey to the Promised Land needed the encouragement in their faith to make it through.
What trials are happening either in your life or around you? Are you looking deep into the situation to see how God is moving in it? Are you letting God move in your situation? Just because something looks bad to human eyes does not mean God can’t use it to teach you. Sometimes God’s goodness is best shown when He works within a bad situation.
