How To Read A Children's Bible (Exodus 10:1-29) Series

A friend of mine asks brilliant questions. In his own words, he doesn't always have the right answer. But he often has the right question. And he asked me the other day, "How can we teach our kids and grandkids to understand that God is a Big God?"

His question put a bug in my ear. How can we help our kids move past our own doubts about God, and fears, and our struggles with faith? How we can start them on a path toward a truer understanding of God? How can we give them a better starting point than our own, so that they can go higher, and farther, in faith, in God? Another brilliant question.

My sermon today, is part of my (delayed) answer to his question.

Verses 1-2:

(1) And Yahweh said to Moses,

"Go to Pharaoh,

because I am making heavy his resolve/heart, and the resolve/heart of his servants,

in order that I may do these signs of mine in his midst,

and in order that you may recount in the ears of your son and your grandson

(1) how I abused /made a fool of Egypt,

and (2) my signs that I did against them,

and that you may know that I [am] Yahweh,"

So far, the plagues that Yahweh has sent against Egypt, through Moses, have been a bit of a mix, as far as how severe they've been.

The Nile turned to blood is gross. It resulted in way more work for the people, because they had to dig out water sources. The frogs, everywhere, were like a giant prank, gone way too far. When I think about the flies, and the gnats, they seem impossibly irritating. It's bad enough having a few gnats flying around your head, but to have all the loose dust of Egypt turn to gnats? Brutal.

When Yahweh sent diseases against the livestock, killing most of them, that marks a serious escalation. Sickness, and disease, is a far more terrifying enemy from a human perspective, because it's mysterious, and there's no good way to fight it.

But the scariest thing that Yahweh has done, I think, is strengthen Pharaoh's resolve. In God's own words, in verse 2, God is doing one of two things. And maybe we are supposed to grab both possible meanings here. You could say (=translate it as)-- God is "abusing" (Jeremiah 38:19; Judges 19:25, "and abused her all night") Pharaoh. Or, you could say, He's making a fool of Pharaoh (both are listed glosses in lexicons).

Numbers 22:22-29:

22 But God's anger was kindled because he went, and the angel of the LORD took his stand in the way as his adversary. Now he was riding on the donkey, and his two servants were with him. 23 And the donkey saw the angel of the LORD standing in the road, with a drawn sword in his hand. And the donkey turned aside out of the road and went into the field. And Balaam struck the donkey, to turn her into the road. 24 Then the angel of the LORD stood in a narrow path between the vineyards, with a wall on either side. 25 And when the donkey saw the angel of the LORD, she pushed against the wall and pressed Balaam's foot against the wall. So he struck her again. 26 Then the angel of the LORD went ahead and stood in a narrow place, where there was no way to turn either to the right or to the left. 27 When the donkey saw the angel of the LORD, she lay down under Balaam. And Balaam's anger was kindled, and he struck the donkey with his staff. 28 Then the LORD opened the mouth of the donkey, and she said to Balaam, “What have I done to you, that you have struck me these three times?” 29 And Balaam said to the donkey, “***Because you have made a fool of me.*** I wish I had a sword in my hand, for then I would kill you.”

When people set themselves against God, and against God's people, they are fighting a God they cannot defeat.

And at that point, in response, how God decides to wage war against them, and judge them, is up to Him.

It's a terrible thing to fall into the hands of the living God. Eventually, when God's patience runs out, what might He do? If you've become his enemy, He may abuse you. He may make an absolute fool out of you.

Now, in all of this, I rabbit trailed really hard. Let's reread verses 1-2:

(1) And Yahweh said to Moses,

"Go to Pharaoh,

because I am making heavy his resolve/heart, and the resolve/heart of his servants,

in order that I may do these signs of mine in his midst,