Why Not Me? Series

Some time ago (2009), Leonard Mlodinow shared a story in The Wall Street Journal from the life of baseball great, Joe DiMaggio:

During the summer of 1945, right after World War II had ended, Yankee slugger, Joe DiMaggio, returned to baseball after serving as a soldier during the war. Not wanting to make a big deal of it, he snuck into a mezzanine seat at Yankee Stadium as an ordinary fan with his 4-year-old son, Joe Junior, before rejoining his team. But a fan noticed him, then another. Soon throughout the stadium people were chanting, “Joe, Joe, Joe DiMaggio!” DiMaggio was touched and looked down to see if his son had noticed the tribute. He had. “See, Daddy,” said the little DiMaggio, “everybody knows me!” (Leonard Mlodinow, “The Triumph of the Random,” The Wall Street Journal, 7-3-09; www.PreachingToday.com)

Junior assumed that all the glory was for him and not his father. It was a silly mistake made by a 4-year-old, but when adults make the same mistake in relationship to their Heavenly Father, it is not silly; it is downright foolish.

Romans 1 says, “Although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools…” (Romans 1:21-22).

Do you want to avoid such folly and be truly wise? Then I invite you to turn with me to Exodus 7, Exodus 7, where we see how God dealt with an ancient Pharaoh, who foolishly assumed all the glory was for him.

Exodus 7:1-5 And the LORD said to Moses, “See, I have made you like God to Pharaoh, and your brother Aaron shall be your prophet. You shall speak all that I command you, and your brother Aaron shall tell Pharaoh to let the people of Israel go out of his land. But I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and though I multiply my signs and wonders in the land of Egypt, Pharaoh will not listen to you. Then I will lay my hand on Egypt and bring my hosts, my people the children of Israel, out of the land of Egypt by great acts of judgment. The Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD, when I stretch out my hand against Egypt and bring out the people of Israel from among them” (ESV).

God makes it very clear: Everyone will know that He alone is the LORD, that He alone is YHWH, the great I AM. Pharaoh is not. The Egyptian gods are not. Only God is the LORD, the I AM, and He will send 10 plagues of judgment to demonstrate that fact before every single Egyptian (show chart).

Now, the 10 plagues can be divided into three groups of three each, with the 10th plague being the culmination of them all. Notice, the 1st, 4th and 7th plague each begin with “In the morning.” Aaron’s staff is used in the first 3 plagues. No staff is used in the second 3 plagues, and Moses’ staff is used in the last 3 plagues.

In addition, each set of 3 plagues begins with a purpose statement, the reason why God is sending the plagues. In Exodus 7:17 God says, “By this you will know that I am YHWH. In Exodus 8:22 God says, “that you may know that I am the YHWH in the midst of the earth. And in Exodus 9:14 God says, “So that you may know that there is none like me in all the earth.”

God wants everyone to know that He is, that He is here, and that He is holy. And the sooner we acknowledge that, the less foolish we become and the better off we’ll be. So if you want to be truly wise, then first of all…

ACKNOWLEDGE THAT GOD IS.

Recognize that the God of the Bible exists and none other. Realize that God is real. He is the ONE WHO IS, the I AM, YHWH Himself.

Look at Exodus 7:14 where the first three plagues are introduced.

Exodus 7:14-24 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Pharaoh’s heart is hardened; he refuses to let the people go. Go to Pharaoh in the morning, as he is going out to the water. Stand on the bank of the Nile to meet him, and take in your hand the staff that turned into a serpent. And you shall say to him, ‘The LORD, the God of the Hebrews, sent me to you, saying, “Let my people go, that they may serve me in the wilderness.” But so far, you have not obeyed. Thus says the LORD, “By this you shall know that I am the LORD [that I am the I AM, YHWH]: behold, with the staff that is in my hand I will strike the water that is in the Nile, and it shall turn into blood. The fish in the Nile shall die, and the Nile will stink, and the Egyptians will grow weary of drinking water from the Nile.” ’ ” And the LORD said to Moses, “Say to Aaron, ‘Take your staff and stretch out your hand over the waters of Egypt, over their rivers, their canals, and their ponds, and all their pools of water, so that they may become blood, and there shall be blood throughout all the land of Egypt, even in vessels of wood and in vessels of stone.’ ” Moses and Aaron did as the LORD commanded. In the sight of Pharaoh and in the sight of his servants he lifted up the staff and struck the water in the Nile, and all the water in the Nile turned into blood. And the fish in the Nile died, and the Nile stank, so that the Egyptians could not drink water from the Nile. There was blood throughout all the land of Egypt. But the magicians of Egypt did the same by their secret arts. So Pharaoh’s heart remained hardened, and he would not listen to them, as the LORD had said. Pharaoh turned and went into his house, and he did not take even this to heart. And all the Egyptians dug along the Nile for water to drink, for they could not drink the water of the Nile (ESV).