Title: Let go of the wrong stubbornness
Exodus (22) Let go of wrong stubbornness (Exodus 9:1-12)
< Plague of Boils and Plague of Boils >
Many people today think that happiness is in high places. That is why I believe that happiness requires good looks and education, a lot of money, a good job, and a big house. But happiness lies in the low places of humility rather than in the high places of pride.
Faith in the fear of Jehovah and humility go hand in hand. And if you believe in God and humble yourself, wealth, glory, and life will follow (Proverbs 22:4). So the more humble you are, the more honorable you are, the more glorified you are, and the more grace you receive. The secret to blessing is surprisingly simple. If you are humble, everything is fine, but if you are arrogant, everything is not. Just as humility and faith move together, there is something that moves with pride. That's bad stubbornness. In the text, the figure of Pharaoh who suffers many people with his bad stubbornness is well drawn.
After the fourth plague of flies among the ten plagues that came upon Egypt, when Pharaoh did not release the Israelites as promised, God caused Pharaoh's livestock, horses, donkeys, camels, oxen, and sheep, to suffer from severe plague, and all the livestock in Egypt died. (Verses 1-6).
For the ancients, livestock was the number 1 list of wealth. Horses were used for war, donkeys were used for short-distance transport, camels were used for long-distance transport, and cattle and sheep were used for farming and food. The previous plagues had ended with tormenting people for a while, but from the fifth plague, the severity of the disaster became so severe that it shook the entire Egyptian economy. Still, Pharaoh did not let the Israelites go. It's a great piece of shit.
When Pharaoh did not let the Israelites go even with the fifth plague, God caused the ashes that Moses spun toward the sky in Pharaoh's eyes to become dust all over the land of Egypt and attach to people and animals, causing malignant boils (verses 8-10). This sixth plague was the first of the ten plagues that struck Egypt, threatening human life. Although the calamity gradually increased in intensity, Pharaoh still did not change his heart and did not let the Israelites go (verse 12).
< Let go of the wrong stubbornness >
Watching this scene, we see the epitome of a person who gradually breaks down due to human stubbornness. Pharaoh's human stubbornness caused even greater calamity and misery. Moses was once a stubborn man, but he became meek by being humbled thoroughly in the wilderness of Midian. If we look at the text, we see that the stubborn Pharaoh is on the defensive and the meek Moses exerts powerful power. True power comes from meekness, not from stubbornness. Stubbornness eventually defeats, and meekness eventually triumphs. Stubbornness gradually makes you materially naked, and meekness leads to material blessings as well.
Moses had clear goals, but he did not live up to his own will. It was straight and not stretched. Because what was important to him was not to carry out his will, but to lead God's people to Canaan. God's work cannot be done by willpower alone. There is no need to be humanistic. To do God's work, we must have broad arms. Even those who embrace differences and confront them must have the power of meekness that they value to become a great person.
Meekness is not a sagging and sagging character. No more indecisiveness. In fact, there is strength in meekness. A meek person knows how to resist the injustice powerfully on the inside, even if it is difficult. But when it comes to resistance, it's just a meek way to do it. Even if the buds that emerge in the spring look small, soft and weak, they break through the ground. That soft and weak overcomes the hard and strong.
Don't be too stubborn. In particular, let go of the wrong stubbornness. There is also watering in ignorance. What is the water supply of ignorance? “Who is stubborn?” Ignorance and stubbornness go hand in hand. If you are ignorant, you will become stubborn, and if you are educated, you will not be stubborn. However, there are many times when stubbornness is expressed from believers who believe well. That is why humans are so fragile. Therefore, by constantly embracing humility and gentleness through the Word and prayer, sublimate bad stubbornness to creative and holy stubbornness.