Tag: Defiance

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Negotiating with God II.

Reading Time: 3 minutes

So Moses and Aaron were brought back to Pharaoh. “All right,” he told them, “go and worship the Lord your God. But who exactly will be going with you?” Moses replied, “We will all go—young and old, our sons and daughters, and our flocks and herds. We must all join together in celebrating a festival to the Lord.” Pharaoh retorted, “The Lord will certainly need to be with you if I let you take your little ones! I can see through your evil plan. Never! Only the men may go and worship the Lord, since that is what you requested.” And Pharaoh threw them out of the palace. Exodus‬ ‭10‬:‭8‬-‭11‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Of course Pharaoh thought he was negotiating with Moses & Aaron! He was told that they were speaking on behalf of God, but Pharaoh, knowing all about working with deity’s, did not believe the one true God ruled and reigned over all gods. Pharaoh absolutely underestimated his position.

But, Pharaoh was a master negotiator, he didn’t get to be a demigod by being bamboozled on a deal. This was Pharaoh’s 8th round of the art of a deal. He wasn’t doing so well. He was losing the confidence of his cabinet and his people! And the losses were stacking up.

The first seven plagues (blood, frogs, lice/gnats, flies, livestock disease, boils, hail) would have caused widespread social, religious, economic, and administrative disruption in Egypt. Key effects: Agriculture & food supply, by water contamination – blood and hail would damage irrigation, & drinking water. Livestock loss cut meat, milk, draft animals and secondary products (leather, manure), harming farm productivity and food supply. Public health and labor, boils and pest plagues (lice/gnats, flies) would increase illness and reduce workforce availability for farming, construction and state projects. General fear would lower labor discipline and productivity. Economy and trade; crop and livestock losses would reduce tax revenue and surplus grain that sustained the state and enabled trade. Disruption to transport (animals and river work) and contamination of Nile-dependent activities would impede internal commerce and export of grain, papyrus, and other goods. Short-term inflation and scarcity of staples; wealthier households might hoard or suffer asset losses. Then the 8th plague would wipe out crops, which was their primary food supply. These alone would have caused a national crisis.

Yet, Pharaoh remains cool and calm, almost yielding to God’s demands. That is until he asks this question. Who exactly is going with you? “ALL OF US,” Moses told him. This God of yours must be going with you if you take the kids. Then it dawns on Pharaoh, “oh, you’re not planning to return are you?” History records that The Israelite work force was likely only 3% of the total laborers, so it was more than just “slave labor” that was affecting Pharaoh’s stubbornness. It was more about his “hard heart,” not yielding to anyone – especially to THE Lord God of all things. These plagues were systematically humiliating Pharaoh while deconstructing the entire civil and cultural ways of Egypt. It’s an absolute marvel that Egypt still exists today!

Even through all the pressures of collapsing the entire society. The Pharaoh then threw the men out of the palace. Whether it was Amenhotep II or Ramses II – they could not defy God’s will and power. Both would have been known for their rebellion against divine authority, viewing them as a symbol of corruption and pride, but that is from the biblical perspective. History records Ramses II as one of the greatest Pharaoh’s becuse of his extensive building projects, military campaigns, and a reign that lasted approximately 66 years, marking the height of Egypt’s power and glory.

When I see world leaders rising up in arrogance and stubbornness to lead out of ego and self preservation, rather than govern their people well, I see a Pharaoh’s heart, hardened and immovable. They would rather see their entire culture and identity as a people be destroyed rather than yield. Because of their hubris of power and wealth, they believe they are immortal and untouchable. Pharaoh found out he was neither.

Prayer

​Dad,
I, and others have fought WITH You, struggling to do your will. But against You? Not a chance. Dumbest thing ever! Most of the time, you completely allow us to do our own thing, letting us go pretty far to try to escape your plan – enter Jonah and Moses. Then there are times when no is not an option. I do not want to find myself in that kind of situation. Your will, Your way for me – even when I don’t see or understand what You are up to. I also do not want to push against the limits of your grace and mercy. Thank you for your enduring patience towards me.

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God-memos make it all the way to the King

Reading Time: 3 minutes

“During the fourth year that Jehoiakim son of Josiah was king in Judah, the Lord gave this message to Jeremiah: “Get a scroll, and write down all my messages against Israel, Judah, and the other nations. Begin with the first message back in the days of Josiah, and write down every message, right up to the present time. Perhaps the people of Judah will repent when they hear again all the terrible things I have planned for them. Then I will be able to forgive their sins and wrongdoings.”

‭‭Jeremiah‬ ‭36:1-3‬‬

​What a hard life for a spokesperson for God. We have the book of Jeremiah because he was told to write things down. And, Jeremiah being obedient, did just that.

He had a scribe (which by the way ended up becoming Pharisees in the New Testament, (LONG story) write down everything that God had told him. All the “prophetic” words of warning, future possibilities and what God was thinking about and communicating to his people at that time.

Whoa! This long line of communication style, from Adam to Noah, Abraham to Moses and now to Prophets, Judges and even Kings was an amazing precursor to Jesus speaking as God Himself!

So Baruch wrote them on a scroll. Then after writing down all these memos from God, Jeremiah tells Baruch, “get down to the temple and read these things to the leaders over Israel, Judah AND “other” nations. These words need a larger audience BECAUSE there’s a chance, a hope, a possibility that people will hear the words (and warnings) and REPENT.

Why would they repent, because the stuff that God says he will do to them will be terrible! That ought to get their attention, right? Well, just about the time we, the reader might think, “yeah, this is going to work!” People will hear the FUTURE and change their ways. Alas, not so much.

Baruch does read and gets not one but two interested audiences. One is a more public reading, the other a private one.

In the private reading two things happen. First the guys tell Baruch, HIDE! What? Yeah, you and Jeremiah hide and don’t tell anyone where you are. Second, we’ve got to read these to King Jehoiakim immediately.

The scrolls make it all the way to the palace! Jeremiah records what happens when the God-memos make it all the way to the King. The next scene reads right out of some ancient, gothic novel (36:22-24) – “It was late autumn, and the king was in a winterized part of the palace, sitting in front of a fire to keep warm. Each time Jehudi finished reading three or four columns, the king took a knife and cut off that section of the scroll. He then THREW IT INTO THE FIRE 🔥 , section by section, until the whole scroll was burned up. Neither the king nor his attendants showed any signs of fear or repentance at what they heard.”

What? You’ve got to kidding me. Can you even imagine the creator of the entire universe sending you a personal letter telling you what is going to happen and giving you fair warning to get your act together for your sake and the entire country and you casually, but defiantly cut it up piece by piece and flippantly fling it into the royal fireplace? OMG.

We are such a piece of work! That takes some kind of huge human cojones to openly defy God himself. At some point, it seems so ridiculously dark but humorous! Who do we think we are?

Yet, even in that amount of shear audacity of arrogance, God goes through with his plans to save and redeem us. Even guys like King joker-Jehoiakim. This puts a whole new look on Paul’s words to the churches in Rome (5:8), “EVEN while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us!” And, sadly there those, even though they are warned about the future, their future, will take the words of God, sit in front of their cozy fireplace and smugly cut and throw his words into the fire. God help us!

PRAYER

Dad,
Again, I have to see this all in the reality of my own life. I can be aghast at the behaviors of old, egotistical even maniacal kings and think, what a loser. But the truth is so hard. I look into the perfect mirror of your word and see reflections of my own will, selfishness and stubbornness.

Even knowing the warnings and the effects of my own sin, yet still I fail. I am so thankful for your grace and mercy. I am so thankful for confession and repentance. I am also unworthy, yet you still love me.