Monthly Archives: July 2015

The plagues on Egypt

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EFFORTS HAVE SOMETIMES been made to explain away the plagues as natural phenomena in Egypt…

It is quite true that unusual quantities of frogs and lice, unexpected darkness and the other serious heightenings of natural phenomena have been known in Egypt. An examination of the plagues shows, however, that they were miraculous in at least five ways:

1) Intensification — frogs, insects, plagues on cattle, hail, and darkness were all known in Egypt, but now they are intensified far beyond the ordinary occurence.

2) Prediction — the time was set for the comings of the flies (“tomorrow,” 8:23), the death of cattle (9:5), the hail (9:18), and the locusts (10:4). The removal time was also set: e.g., frogs (8:10) and thunder (9:29). Modern science cannot accurately predict the cessation of natural phenomena such as hail.

3) Discrimination — in Goshen there were no flies (8:22), no death of cattle (9:4), no hail (9:26), and so forth.

4) Orderliness — the severity of the plagues increased until they ended with the death of Pharaoh’s firstborn.

5) Moral purpose — the plagues were not just freaks of nature, but carried a moral purpose in these ways:

a) The gods of Egypt were discredited, a purpose indicated in Exodus 12:12; the Nile-god, frog-god, and sun-god were all shown to be
powerless before God.
b) Pharaoh was made to know that the Lord is God, and to acknowledge Him (9:27; 10:16).
c) God was revealed as Savior, in rescuing Israel from the hands of the Egyptians (14:30). Joseph Free, Archaeology and Bible History

“For I will pass through the land of Egypt on that night, and will strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment: I am the LORD.” Exodus 12:12

Mike Benson

Did you know the Bible says that certain things ought to be forgotten?

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Forgetfulness is usually not considered a virtuous characteristic. Think about the frustration that comes from not remembering:

An important bill that you were supposed to mail.

An appointment that you promised to keep.

A phone call that you should have returned.

A name that you suddenly couldn’t bring to mind.

An answer that you were supposed to know for a big test.

But did you know that the Bible says that certain things ought to be forgotten? Things like:

An unkindness leveled against you.

A harsh word spoken in derision.

An unjust criticism rendered by a thoughtless individual.

An occasion when a close friend let you down.

Paul wrote, “…But one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:13-14).

Good reader, what do you need to forget today?

Think about it.

–by Mike Benson

WHERE IS GOD?

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How are you getting along in the world today? Many of us struggle with the seemingly constant negative input from the world around us. Things like the cost of living, the government, crime, illness, relationship problems, problems in our homes, problems at our work, and problems in our churches. All of these things cause us to wonder from time to time if life is really worth living, is God still there, does he still care, or has he abandoned us to our misery.

A friend wrote me these words in a recent note: “God is just not working in my life anymore; in fact, I am not really sure where he IS.” I believe that many people have asked this same question through the years, some have discovered the answer, some have not.

If you are struggling with this question, let me suggest that God is just where he has always been. James makes this point in James 1:17, “Every good and true thing is given to us from heaven, coming from the Father of lights, with whom there is no change or any shade made by turning”.  The point of this verse is that God never changes, he remains the same, and he is constant in his love for us and his requirements to have a relationship with us and his willingness to be there for us!

I would suggest that if there is a change in the relationship, in the satisfaction or feelings of security we have with God, then it is not he that has changed. There is an old story about a husband and wife that are driving down the road in an automobile, each seated on “their side” of the front seat. The wife looks at the husband behind the steering wheel and says, “You know when we were first married we used to sit next to each other.” To which the husband replied, “I never moved.”

Now there are any number of reasons which seem valid, to move from the center of the seat to the side of the seat and put some distance between you and your husband. In the same way, there are many reasons which seem valid for the changes that take place between where you once were and where you now are in your relationship to God. No matter how valid those reasons may seem, the fact remains that it is you who have moved and not God!

I’ve tried to think of a nicer, kinder, a more gentle way to say it, but I just can’t seem to find one. If there has been a change in your relationship and you are asking, “Where is God when I need him?” I’ll tell you where he is, God is exactly where he has always been, where you left him; waiting for you to move back over beside him.

Satan is good at what he does. He knows how to drive wedges between us and those we love or some time slip dividers in a little at a time which separate us from the one we really would like to be with. He stops communication, he breaks down relationships, and he puts up barriers to keep us from trusting and believing that God is there for us and wants only the best for us. The writer of Hebrews tells us in Hebrews 13:5b, “for He (God) has said, I will never leave you, nor forsake you”.

There are people who “drop out of church”, just stop attending with the Saints. They stop worshipping God, stop praying to God, stop singing his praises, because they feel hopeless or they feel abandoned. The question I need for you to think about today is, “if you are getting nothing out of your relationship to God, nothing out of your local church, who changed? If it’s you then perhaps it is time for you to move back. God said it this way through his Apostle John in Revelation 2:4-5, “But I have this against you, that you are turned away from your first love. So keep in mind where you were at first, and be changed in heart and do the first works; or I will come to you, and will take away your light from its place, if your hearts are not changed.”

Russ Lawson