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Bible Study Online ArticleLocated at the Bottom of Page In the last article we'd discovered that the Sacred Record had revealed that God would somewhat explain one of the reasons, when it came to why He was unleashing the "judgment plagues" against Pharaoh and the Egyptian kingdom:
"Now if I had stretched out My hand and struck you and your people with pestilence, then you would have been cut off from the earth. "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 9:15,16 From within this passage the Sacred Record informs us that God is reminding the Egyptians - that if it had not been for Him, they wouldn't have found themselves in such a powerful worldly position to begin with: "Now if I had stretched out My hand and struck you and your people with pestilence, then you would have been cut off from the earth. But indeed for this purpose I have raised you up..." And as we move forward, we'd also learn that the Lord would follow this statement by pointing to the overall arrogance of Pharaoh: "As yet you exalt yourself against My people in that you will not let them go." - Exodus 9:17 Remember when Moses had first approached Pharaoh and demanded that he would let the Israelites go three days journey into the wilderness, so they could worship the One True God: "The God of the Hebrews has met with us. Please, let us go three days' journey into the desert and sacrifice to the Lord our God, lest He fall upon us with pestilence or with the sword." - Exodus 5:3 Needless-to-say that after Pharaoh had heard Moses' demand; he would immediately take offense to what he had just heard: "So the same day Pharaoh commanded the taskmasters of the people and their officers, saying, 'You shall no longer give the people straw to make brick as before. Let them go and gather straw for themselves. And you shall lay on them the quota of bricks which they made before. You shall not reduce it. For they are idle; therefore they cry out, saying, "Let us go and sacrifice to our God." Let more work be laid on the men, that they may labor in it, and let them not regard false words.'" - Exodus 5:6-9 And when it comes to this particular Pharaoh - this would be only the beginning when it came to his boldness and arrogant behavior towards the Lord. For we find the Egyptian ruler later on trying to use his magicians - when it came to defying and mocking the Most High God even further: "But Pharaoh also called the wise men and the sorcerers; so the magicians of Egypt, they also did in like manner with their enchantments." - Exodus 7:11 However, Pharaoh's magicians weren't able to match, or keep up with the One True God and eventually they would find themselves, scrambling to find relief from the "judgment plagues" that the Lord had unleashed upon the Egyptian kingdom. And these are the type of recorded moments that the "slaves of the world" try to use, when it comes to portraying God as being vengeful, unloving and mean. For these worldly servants, refuse to accept the fact - that the only people that the Lord is being vengeful towards are to those who continue to oppose and mock Him and His followers. And of course there are times when the Lord won't hesitate to chastise those who are in His covenant as well. But know that the punishment for those who are disobedient and are found to be in His covenant (Old or New) won't be as severe as it is for those who are found to be outside His covenant: "Has the Lord struck her [Israel] as he struck down those who struck [opposed] her? Has she [Israel] been killed [destroyed] as those [who opposed Israel] were killed who killed [came against] her?" - Isaiah 27:7 Know that it's better to be with the Lord, instead of being against. And these are the types of lessons that we will continue to learn as we journey forth. For there will always be those who believe that they don't need a "God" when it comes to defining who they are. There will always be an element of the human race that will be arrogant enough to stand boldly against the Lord while mocking Him and His followers. Know that Pharaoh represents an element of such, just like Adam and Eve reveal a similar element when they fell to the deceptive words of the "worldly spirit" (Satan). For their minds were open to ungodly counsel and because of this, they listen to the world, and in turn, came away from the Word of God - thinking that they could do better than what the Lord had already given them. And because of this, they failed to realize that God had already given them everything, and because of this humanity fell away from God - but it was the love, mercy and grace of God that kept the human race from being destroyed. Make no mistake, Adam and Eve had messed up, and because of this, they lost the paradise that the Lord had intended for them to have. And although they were punished for their sins, they didn't rebel against the One True God like most would have done. Know that Adam and Eve were humbled, but they continued to obey the Lord in spite of their new found hardships. This is evident by their kids - for we find that Cain and Abel were fellowshipping with the Lord just like their parents had done before them. And again, that wicked element of the human race would show itself again through their son Cain, for we find that he wanted to come to God on his own terms, through his good works. He didn't want to follow what the Lord had set out, like his brother Abel did. Abel had favor with God and Cain didn't. And because of this, Cain would rise up against Abel and murder him out of jealously. God would punish Cain for his actions, and yet out of love, mercy and grace, God didn't destroy him - he was banned, but continued to live. And from that point forward, Cain would have a chip on his shoulder; he would continue to stay angry with the Lord. And this is evident by the generation of people that would come from his household, for they were found to be corrupt and wicked and they did what they wanted to do, in spite of what the Lord wanted. These are the ones that the Sacred Record called "giants in the earth" for they were powerful, rich, and influential when it came to the positions that they held. It would be their daughters (daughters of men) that would help to ensnare the household of Seth, which was known as "the sons of God." Remember that Seth was the son that was born unto Adam and Eve after the death of Abel. And after Seth was born the Sacred Record points out that mankind had begun to call on the name of the Lord: "And Adam knew his wife again, and she bore a son and named him Seth, 'For God has appointed another seed for me instead of Abel, whom Cain killed.' And as for Seth, to him also a son was born; and he named him Enosh. Then men began to call on the name of the Lord." - Genesis 4:26 And instead of staying true to what they were, the "sons of God" compromised their position with God by giving in to their fleshly desires. For they ended up marrying into the "household of Cain" through the "daughters of men" and this would cause the human race to once again, come away from God as a whole. And like before, it would be the love, mercy and grace that the Lord has for us that would keep him from destroying us. And this is why He spared humanity through the "household of Noah" and once again humanity was given another chance. So on and so forth this Sacred Record goes, constantly showing us our faults and the unconditional love that the Lord has for us. For He has given us chance after chance, after chance in spite of our disobedience and the Pharaoh that we are now reading about, is simply another "warning example" that we are able to learn from. For the Sacred Record teaches us that it's better to stand with God, instead of going against Him. And although those who have chosen to oppose the Lord would at times, seem to have their moment - know that it will be just that "a moment" for their days are numbered. But for those who have decided to follow in the ways of the Lord, for the ones who have decided to come into His covenant by repenting of their worldly ways and by accepting and acknowledging His Son Jesus Christ when it comes to Him being their personal Savior - will have eternal life. Know that this has been promised by God, the same God that never breaks a promise: "For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son [Jesus Christ], that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son [Jesus Christ] into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him. Whoever believes in Him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son [Jesus Christ]." - John 3:16-18 In the next article we will continue to move forward by taking a look at the next "natural plague" that the Lord will unleash upon the Egyptian kingdom.
Moses & the Swarm of Flies Plague **YOUR CURRENT BIBLE STUDY ONLINE SERIES WOULD BE HERE**
173) How Far Are You Willing to Go 175) Although Exempted - They Still Endured 176) Moses You Can Go & Serve Your God - Only If... 177) God vs The Egyptian Bull Cults 178) A Hard Lesson for Pharaoh 179) God Brings Boils Upon Man & Beast 181) God Tells Pharaoh: You Owe Me Everything! 182) <-CURRENT BIBLE STUDY ONLINE PAGE-> 183) God vs Nut the Sky goddess 184) Moses Tell Your God - I've Sinned 185) The Lord Giveth and Taketh 186) God Tells Moses - Keep A Record 188) Pharaoh's Moment of Intervention 
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