Exodus 7-11
Plagues, plagues, and more plagues.
During our reading throughout these chapters and as we continue on through the next phase, it’s important to remember what God is doing. He has a long-term goal which is the most important goal in the history of the earth. The goal is to bring a Savior to mankind, and to reclaim all of mankind who would receive Him.
Just think, if God were to beam a Savior down from Heaven, He wouldn’t be recognized. He would be seen as a majician, and very few would receive Him as Savior.
So God had to prepare a people who could carry the truths He would bring. Those people would then be prepared to understand the Savior when he finally came.
In Egypt, these special people had begun to see themselves as a distinct nation, yet they weren’t really a nation yet. They were cohesive as a group because of their slavery, but also because of their slavery they felt insignificant and ineffective. God had to prove to them that He was truly powerful enough to lead them out of bondage.
If you can put yourself into their place, you can see how they needed a demonstraition of His power. For them to walk out of Egypt when slavery was all they had ever known, took tremendous courage. So they had to know that a great and powerful God was with them.
So all of the plagues which were upon Pharoah’s people and not on God’s, proved to the Egyptians the might of their God.
Matthew 16,17
In chapter 16:13-19 Jesus gives us some golden nuggets which we need to hang on to. He says, “Who do men say that Iam?” The disciples go through different responses. Then He says, “But who do you say that I am?” And when Peter responds properly that He is Christ, the Son of God, Jesus gives us an extremely important principle.
He says that “flesh and blood didn’t reveal that, but My Father who is in heaven.”
One time when one of my teenagers was “not acting like they were supposed to,” Jesus gave me that verse. Then the revelation hit me that only the Holy Spirit could reveal certain truths to people. Even Jesus, Himself, didn’t sit His disciples down and say that He was the Christ. I’m sure that His words pointed to that fact, but the true revelation of who He was could come only from the Holy Spirit.
The rock that Jesus would build His church upon was the rock of revelation. When a man tells you something – even something important – you may or may not remember it. But when the Holy Spirit reveals something to you, it’s with you to stay. It’s like a rock that makes you stable and strong. You will stand upon that rock forever.
And from that rock, the keys of the kingdom are presented to you. You will have authority to represent Jesus in the earth. He will reveal to you what to bind or loose. In other words, the dominion that Adam lost will be restored you. Dominion authority.
I don’t think that the church in general understands what we have had restored to us.
Powerful stuff!
