When I raise my powerful hand and bring out the Israelites, the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord. Exodus 7:5
I have always felt like time flies by. One minute you are drinking hot chocolate by a Christmas tree, and the next, you are applying sunscreen in the heat of summer. It is a vicious cycle. I felt this continual cycle until March of 2020, when the coronavirus pandemic hit. Suddenly it felt like time was slowing down. Maybe you can relate. Days felt suddenly long as I, and I am sure you, wondered, “how long is this going to last?” The truth is, the pandemic reminded us that we are not in control. It also pointed us to the One who is. God has a different timetable than we do. We have to decide how we will respond when His timeframe is much slower than our own or when it feels like He is delaying.
God called Moses to rescue the Israelites from slavery. He went to Pharaoh, the king of Egypt at the time, and did just that. As He went, He went with the promise that God would deliver Israel. God said to Moses, “When I raise my powerful hand and bring out the Israelites, the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord” (Exodus 7:5). It was not an easy task, however, and it looked like no progress was being made for much of the time. Pharaoh refused to grant Moses’ request and even made life for the Israelite slaves even more difficult. Time after time, Moses made the request, and Pharaoh refused. Eventually, God sent nine plagues to the Egyptians, and every time Pharaoh refused to let the Israelites free, a new plague came upon Egypt. Time after time, when each plague came, Pharaoh promised Moses the Israelites could go free if only God would take away the plague they were facing.
After the plague went away, Pharaoh changed his mind. This happened time and time again. Many must have wondered what God was doing. He was still working, even when it seemed like His plan was being delayed. Ultimately God sent a 10th plague severe enough to get Pharaoh’s attention: every 1st born son in Egypt was killed one evening. We read in Exodus 12 that Pharaoh finally commanded Moses and the Israelites to flee from Egypt.
God was still working despite the seeming delay in Moses and the rest of the Israelites’ lives. Even when it seemed like hope was lost time after time, God continued to work until the Israelites were finally free from Egypt. He is still working in your life, too. As you watch Him work, you will find that His timing is perfect.
Does God seem to be delaying in a particular area of your life? What is that area? Today, it is time to give that area over to Him and trust Him, even though His timetable is different from yours. Write out a prayer to God, offering that area to Him. Ask Him to work and to give you wisdom and patience as you follow His timeline.
Then the Lord said to Moses, “Pay close attention to this. I will make you seem like God to Pharaoh, and your brother, Aaron, will be your prophet. Tell Aaron everything I command you, and Aaron must command Pharaoh to let the people of Israel leave his country. But I will make Pharaoh’s heart stubborn so I can multiply my miraculous signs and wonders in the land of Egypt. Even then Pharaoh will refuse to listen to you. So I will bring down my fist on Egypt. Then I will rescue my forces—my people, the Israelites—from the land of Egypt with great acts of judgment. When I raise my powerful hand and bring out the Israelites, the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord.”
So Moses and Aaron did just as the Lord had commanded them. Moses was eighty years old, and Aaron was eighty-three when they made their demands to Pharaoh.
Then the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “Pharaoh will demand, ‘Show me a miracle.’ When he does this, say to Aaron, ‘Take your staff and throw it down in front of Pharaoh, and it will become a serpent.’ ”
So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and did what the Lord had commanded them. Aaron threw down his staff before Pharaoh and his officials, and it became a serpent! Then Pharaoh called in his own wise men and sorcerers, and these Egyptian magicians did the same thing with their magic. They threw down their staffs, which also became serpents! But then Aaron’s staff swallowed up their staffs. Pharaoh’s heart, however, remained hard. He still refused to listen, just as the Lord had predicted.
Then the Lord said to Moses, “Pharaoh’s heart is stubborn, and he still refuses to let the people go. So go to Pharaoh in the morning as he goes down to the river. Stand on the bank of the Nile and meet him there. Be sure to take along the staff that turned into a snake. Then announce to him, ‘The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, has sent me to tell you, “Let my people go, so they can worship me in the wilderness.” Until now, you have refused to listen to him. So this is what the Lord says: “I will show you that I am the Lord.” Look! I will strike the water of the Nile with this staff in my hand, and the river will turn to blood. The fish in it will die, and the river will stink. The Egyptians will not be able to drink any water from the Nile.’ ”
Then the Lord said to Moses: “Tell Aaron, ‘Take your staff and raise your hand over the waters of Egypt—all its rivers, canals, ponds, and all the reservoirs. Turn all the water to blood. Everywhere in Egypt the water will turn to blood, even the water stored in wooden bowls and stone pots.’ ”
So Moses and Aaron did just as the Lord commanded them. As Pharaoh and all of his officials watched, Aaron raised his staff and struck the water of the Nile. Suddenly, the whole river turned to blood! The fish in the river died, and the water became so foul that the Egyptians couldn’t drink it. There was blood everywhere throughout the land of Egypt. But again the magicians of Egypt used their magic, and they, too, turned water into blood. So Pharaoh’s heart remained hard. He refused to listen to Moses and Aaron, just as the Lord had predicted. Pharaoh returned to his palace and put the whole thing out of his mind. Then all the Egyptians dug along the riverbank to find drinking water, for they couldn’t drink the water from the Nile.
Seven days passed from the time the Lord struck the Nile.
