Title: You Will Know That It Is Jehovah
Exodus 7:14-25
You will know that it is the LORD.
When you read the book of Exodus, you may think that it is really strange. God is at war with the nation of Egypt. We can simply think that because God is omnipotent, He overcame even the most powerful nation in the world at the time, Egypt, by imposing it. But if you think more about it, did Almighty God need to fight Egypt for a long time? If it were Almighty God, he could immediately send fire down from heaven and burn the Egyptian soldiers to death. However, God had a long battle with Pharaoh, who was “hard” (3, 13), who would never change. Therefore, we should not understand that the word ‘omnipotence’ is merely a solution to our immediate difficulties.
God was clearly at war with Egypt. But the goal of the battle was not to defeat Egypt. If God's goal was to win the war against Egypt, there was no need to fight many times with Egypt, which would eventually be destroyed. He is truly almighty, and he could have finished it all at once. However, he continues to bring down 10 plagues and fights. Such battles brought more suffering to Israel. It would have been better if the fight had ended earlier, so that Israel could be more comfortable.
From this fact, we can see that God's goal was not just to win the war against Egypt. We must not keep thinking about God's omnipotence as a way to win the battle against Egypt or to make us live well today. If God only has one heart, He will allow you to sit on a cushion of money at any moment, or even give you a thunderbolt of money. He will be able to make a gold chest come out while building a chapel and make you rich. But that doesn't happen.
When the children of Israel, the sons and firstborn of God, came out of Egypt, it was not easy. Because of God's long battle with Egypt, Israel had more difficulties. Likewise, even though we believe in Almighty God and live our lives today, it is equally difficult.
Then, why did God make Israel's escape not only delayed, but also more difficult, by having a long battle with Egypt, which was like a shamrock? Despite being an almighty God, God fought a long and long battle with Egypt. To God, Egypt was clearly nothing but a powerless existence like a creature. Nevertheless, God had fought a long and long battle between Egypt and Israel.
For example, let's say your father has cockroaches crawling in his room and he doesn't catch it and leaves it there. Even though it can be killed with one hit. Then there must be a mental lack of the father, or there must be some other reason. The father let his son see the cockroaches. son avoids it. Nevertheless, the father did not catch it to train the child who was usually afraid of insects.
So, is the father's action for the cockroach or the child? Of course it is for the child. The reason for letting go of something that can be caught right now is to train the child not to be afraid of cockroaches anymore. Likewise, you should know that God did not take Egypt, which is tormenting Israel, with his palm, and kept it for a long time, not for Egypt, but for His son and firstborn Israel.
The father doesn't catch cockroaches right away for the kid. Not because they are not parents, but because they are parents. I want to raise my son strong, thinking about not only the present but also the future. It was for the sake of His son Israel that God also allowed Egypt to establish.
A parent's thinking is different from that of a child. Likewise, God's thinking was completely different from that of narrow-eyed Israel. God made sacrifices during the long battle with Egypt. In fact, fighting with Egypt itself was a sacrifice. It was because he had to spend a lot of time with a simple problem. Leaving the wheel without holding it is like a waste of time for the father. But God did it because He loves His children.
Today, we have short eyesight, so we want God to immediately catch the cockroach in sight. They want to make a decision in a short time. But God the Father, who has a long view, does not do that. Not because they are not children, but because they are children of love.
When we read the Bible, we must look at it with the right perspective. Our relationship with God is not a “pass through” mechanical relationship. In such a relationship, it would be good to give them a lot of food right away. But our relationship is that of a father and a child. Then every father's every action is for your child.
Say, for example, a 4-year-old son and a 40-year-old father are wrestling in a room. So who do you think will win? The answer is obvious. 4 year old wins If a 40-year-old father is bragging about beating his 4-year-old son, he must be a poor man. This is because the relationship between the father and the son is not a ‘mechanical relationship’ but a ‘father-son relationship’. In a relationship like this, there is something called “love” that is more important than “power”.
God said in verse 17, “By this you will know that I am the Lord.” It was to make Israel know God the Father through God's war with Egypt.
God is faithful to His promises. It is to let you know that you are the one who makes you look far into the distance, not right in front of you. God does not give us everything we want right before our eyes. However, it is the religionized Christianity that creates such a God. God makes us look into the eternal kingdom from afar. Then, if we look at God's promises recorded in the Bible through various circumstances, there is no greater grace than that.
The church has something called discipline. When someone commits a wrongdoing, public disciplinary action is taken. The goal of this discipline is not simply to punish. This is to establish them as citizens of the kingdom of heaven. In this way, the church must meet by knowing the heart of God. We need to help them not to think that all the blessings have come to them with what has been accomplished before their eyes, and for those who have failed with what they see in front of them, we need to encourage them with the Bible so as not to become discouraged.
We are children of God. God is our Father. And we are brothers, sisters, and families who have such a father. We should all know that He is a God who fulfills His promises, and we must live according to the promises of our Father, not the achievements that are unfolding right before our eyes.