| DAY OF THE LOCUSTS |
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| free. Two Reputations at Stake The ten plagues convincingly established Moses' authority. He ahd hesitated to accept a leadership rold, doubting whether the other Israelites would trust him (4:1). But Moses' dramatic confrontations with Pharaoh dispelled all doubts. He and he alone could lead them to freedom. Someone else's credibility was also at stake: that of God himself. In Egypt, religion centered around idolatry, with scores of gods - including even snakes and dung beetles - held up as objects of worship. Against that background, the plagues appear as God's open warfare against the false gods of Egypt. He said as much: "I will bring judgment on all the gods of Egypt" (12:12). Exodus asserts more than a dozen times that the plagues were given so that Israel and Egypt would know the power of Israel's God. Evidently they worked. Egyptians became so convinced of God's power that they let thousands of slaves leave, with the wealth of Egypt showered opon them as farewell presents. The Israelites were so convinced that they left their home and history and marched out behind a single man toward a desert and a new life. Life Questions: Do you know of any modern countries that treat minorities cruelly, like the Egyptians treated the Jews? What would make such a government change its ways? |