Mensa Otabil - If You Refuse
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We’re back to the book of Exodus, and we’re looking at the second plague, which is in Exodus chapter 8, verses 1 and 2. And the Lord spoke to Moses, «Go to Pharaoh and say to him, 'Thus says the Lord: Let My people go that they may serve Me. But if you refuse to let them go, behold, I will smite all your territory with frogs.'»
The first plague of turning the waters of Egypt into blood lasted for about one week, seven days. After seven days, the Lord, in His mercy, restored the waters of Egypt. However, the first plague did not turn the heart of Pharaoh; he was still stubborn and unyielding. Because of Pharaoh’s stubbornness, the Lord issued instructions to Moses for a second plague, which would also be directed at the waters of Egypt and involve a plague of frogs.
One of the things you do as you study the Scriptures is not just look at what is happening but also learn about the ways of God through everything that is happening. Even in the plagues and how they occur, you learn something very valuable about the judgments of God. One lesson here is that God will always warn us before something is done. Throughout Scripture, He tells you what is about to happen if a condition persists, and if you let it persist, then He will bring to pass what He says will happen. So He issues a warning to Pharaoh first; He issues a demand: «Let My people go.» This is something He has been saying from the beginning-"Let My people go; they are not your people; they are My people. Let them go; free them.»
From the first time God met Moses on Mount Horeb, He has been making this demand: «Go tell Pharaoh, 'Let My people go.'» His purpose has remained the same; He doesn’t change. All He wants is to get His people out of Egypt. After the demand, He issues a warning out of His foreknowledge: «If you refuse to let them go.» The Lord knew Pharaoh’s predisposition; He knew the man’s stubbornness, his hardness of heart, and that, despite His oft-repeated demand to let His people go, this man had a very stubborn heart. So He gives him a warning: «If you refuse to let My people go, if you refuse to do what is right, then I will smite all your territory with frogs.»
This is a warning directed at Pharaoh, but it’s not just God coming to say, «Oh, I’m going to smite you with frogs.» He says first, «I demand: Let My people go. If you don’t let them go, this is what is going to happen.» That is God’s way of dealing with us. He will tell you, «This is My purpose for you. If you don’t obey Me, this is what is going to happen. I want to bless you; if you do this, I will bless you.
Judgment is coming; if you don’t turn your heart, then judgment will come upon you.» The frogs were going to come upon the land of Egypt, but God gave them a fair warning and indicated the nature of the coming plague. If Pharaoh had any heart in him, any sense of humanity or obedience, he would say, «Okay, Lord, I will let Your people go.» But this is a stubborn man, and I pray none of us will have a hard heart like Pharaoh when God tells us something He is going to do, warns us, and we do not yield until judgment comes upon us.
Let us pray. Say with me: Heavenly Father, You are our Deliverer. Smite every evil force that resists Your purposes. In Jesus' name, amen.