Radical!
Gen 20-12 God is radical. He asks us to do things that seem so out of character, but we must remember the prophet Isaiah’s words: God’s plans are higher than ours. [Is 55:9-10]We can only see what is before us, but He can see beyond that to the purposes He has planned.
Question: Why would a loving God take the life of the firstborn? Why do children die? Why, why, why? We may never know all that God has planned, but He has a higher purpose, and it may be this: As a loving God, He wanted to protect the firstborn from what He knew lay ahead. I don’t have the reasons, but I do know this: Pharaoh is stubborn and resistant to the Lord. With each advancing plague, the magicians are proven false. Even they admit this is the finger of God…translated, Pharaoh, you had better listen up and obey! But, Pharaoh is like many even today, unwilling to submit to God even with evidence piling up.
A radical God often asks us to do what seems radical (extraordinary, out of character), but if we submit, we see Him at work. Trying to put myself in the shoes of the Israelites, Moses, and Aaron, and then in the shoes of the Egyptians. Am I stubborn like Pharaoh or submissive? Do I trust and believe God can and will, or do I still think my way is best?
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