Allies and Lessons

Kathy — Works of darkness ultimately end in death. God makes the truth even more vivid pointing out to Pharaoh that He could have wiped out the nation rather than just plague it with blood, frogs, gnats, flies, death of livestock and boils. Yet Pharaoh stubbornly held his economic ace, intent upon keeping Israel as slaves. After the hail, Pharaoh was so strung out on his greed that he would not even listen to rational counsel from his own ranks. His own servants asked him if he understood that the plagues had destroyed Egypt and that he needed to get Moses out of the country! After the locusts, the Lord gave them a taste of the deep darkness they were allied with. Pharaoh tried at this point to negotiate saying they could leave but not take their livestock. His greed still blinded him to his hopeless situation. When Moses would not negotiate, Pharaoh banished him and threatened to kill him if he ever came before him again. Moses said, “You have spoken truly; I will never see your face again.” The lesson was over for both nations.  The firstborn, the pride, the joy, the hope, the future of Egypt died. Discerning works or workers of darkness may not always be as obvious as in the showdown between Moses and the Egyptian magicians. It will not always be their acts and abilities that expose workers of darkness, but being confronted with truth and light will always reveal their motive and their source of power. The showdown between Moses and the magicians exposed everything.