Exodus 7:14-25 God is actively entrusting Christ’s authority to believers to deliver the world from bondage and oppression

Exodus 7:14-25 God is actively entrusting Christ’s authority to believers to deliver the world from bondage and oppression

Then the Lord said to Moses, “Pharaoh’s heart is stubborn; he refuses to let the people go. Go to Pharaoh in the morning as he is going out to the water, and station yourself to meet him on the bank of the Nile; and you shall take in your hand the staff that was turned into a serpent. 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 behold, you have not listened until now.” Thus says the Lord, “By this you shall know that I am the Lord: behold, I will strike the water that is in the Nile with the staff that is in my hand, and it will be turned to blood. The fish that are in the Nile will die, and the Nile will become foul, and the Egyptians will find difficulty in drinking water from the Nile.”’” Then the Lord said to Moses, “Say to Aaron, ‘Take your staff and stretch out your hand over the waters of Egypt, over their rivers, over their streams, and over their pools, and over all their reservoirs of water, that they may become blood; and there will be blood throughout all the land of Egypt, both in vessels of wood and in vessels of stone.’”

So Moses and Aaron did even as the Lord had commanded. And he lifted up the staff and struck the water that was in the Nile, in the sight of Pharaoh and in the sight of his servants, and all the water that was in the Nile was turned to blood. The fish that were in the Nile died, and the Nile became foul, so that the Egyptians could not drink water from the Nile. And the blood was through all the land of Egypt. But the magicians of Egypt did the same with their secret arts; and Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, and he did not listen to them, as the Lord had said. Then Pharaoh turned and went into his house with no concern even for this. So all the Egyptians dug around the Nile for water to drink, for they could not drink of the water of the Nile. Seven days passed after the Lord had struck the Nile.

Background

The duel of the staffs at the initial meeting had proven the Lord of Israel as superior to the gods of Egypt. Nevertheless, the Pharaoh continued to harden his heart refusing to release the Israelites. Moses took up the responsibility to confront the Pharaoh with signs pointing to the ultimate retribution: the death of every first born in Egypt. Unless believers are willing to take up the mantle to wage war with the agents of darkness, there will be no deliverance for the world. Today’s devotion teaches us: God is actively entrusting Christ’s authority to believers to deliver the world from bondage and oppression.

Observation

Then the Lord said to Moses, “Pharaoh’s heart is stubborn; he refused to let the people go.

Pharaoh was stubborn and required greater impetus to release the people. The plagues were not yet considered as punishment, but warnings towards the ultimate retribution: death of every first born in Egypt, both human and animal. Unless the Pharaoh released the Israelites, his first born would die. Moses, by turning water into blood began a series of miracles that would plague Egypt for a very long time.

Thus says the Lord, “By this you shall know that I am the Lord: behold, I will strike the water that is in the Nile with the staff that is in my hand, and it will be turned to blood.

The overarching purpose of the series of plagues was to reveal God as the Lord: Deliverer, Father and Ruler of the nations. For God had earlier explained the deeds and attributes of the Lord to Moses in chapter 6:6-8. Indeed, the Lord delivers the oppressed, fathers them and empowers them to rule over the land. By delivering Israel and by giving them the promised land to possess, Israel may testify of the Lord’s glory.

The plague was directed against the Egyptians while leaving the Israelites unscathed: “… over their rivers, over their streams, and over their pools, and over all their reservoirs of water.” We can safely assume that the Israelites possessed their own water sources that were unaffected by the plague.

So Moses and Aaron did even as the Lord had commanded. And he lifted up the staff and struck the water that was in the Nile, in the sight of Pharaoh and in the sight of his servants.

Moses, as God’s regent on earth possessed divine authority to turn water into blood and to bring forth the cosmic signs. To the disregard of the Pharaoh, Egypt faced a national water crisis. Moses had rendered the Nile river, the life line of the Egyptian people uninhabitable to fishes and its water undrinkable. Even after seven days, the bloody catastrophe had done little to change the Pharaoh’s mind.

The magicians replicated the feat as a counter attack to taint Israel’s water sources. For Pharaoh and his army of magians were not about to take this lying down. The magicians’ success in turning water into blood speaks of a certain efficacy in their secret arts. Nonetheless, they would later be shown as inferior to the supreme power of the Lord.

Truth

God is actively entrusting Christ’s authority to believers to deliver the world from bondage and oppression.

Will God anoint today’s believers in the same way He anointed Moses?

Yes, He will! As God anointed Moses with power to release the Israelites from oppression, God anoints willing believers with Christ’s authority to deliver people from life’s many oppressions; depression, addictions and injustices at the workplace. God released Israel from the Pharaoh’s oppression because it is in His nature to deliver, to father and to empower. And God continues to deliver today because He is the same yesterday, today and forever.

That said, God requires an earthly vessel, a prophet to execute His judgment upon the agents of darkness causing them to release the people. Moses, as God’s prophet had to take up the staff to engage the Pharaoh with warnings and signs towards an impending retribution. It is true that evil will not relent until they are crushed. Likewise, believers must not shrink back, but take up the power of Christ to warn and discipline the oppressors of the world. The prophet Joel had spoken of the last days where the Holy Spirit is poured out upon all believers to do the work of prophets with great power.

This is what was spoken of through the prophet Joel:
‘And it shall be in the last days,’ God says,
‘That I will pour forth of MY Spirit on all mankind;
And your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
And your young men shall see visions,
And your old men shall dream dreams;
Even on MY bondslaves, both men and women,
I will in those days pour forth of MY Spirit
And they shall prophesy.
‘And I will grant wonders in the sky above
And signs on the earth below,
Blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke.
‘The sun will be turned into darkness
And the moon into blood,
Before the great and glorious day of the Lord shall come.
‘And it shall be that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’ – Acts 2:16-20

God has called all believers to do the work of a prophet regardless of…

• gender (And your sons and your daughters shall prophesy),
• age (And your men shall see visions and your old men shall dream dreams),
• social status (Even on my bondslaves… they shall prophesy).

To those who respond in obedience, God grants divine authority to enforce judgment and restore justice (And I will grant wonders in the sky above and signs on the earth below.)

Unless believers respond to God’s call, there will be no deliverance for the world

Many wonder why God allows evil men to continue oppressing the innocent and the helpless. Indeed, God hates oppression and desires all men to be free. But unless believers are willing to take up the mantle to wage war with the agents of darkness, there will be no deliverance. While most will agree that it is their Christian duty to preach the gospel, they will not put themselves on the line to confront oppressive authorities. They suppose it is their responsibility to preach, but it is God’s responsibility to deliver. If believers shrug off what is their rightful responsibility as Moses initially did… how can the world experience true freedom as promised in the gospel! The men and women of faith: Elijah, David, Esther, Jesus, and Paul to name a few, risked their lives so that people may be freed.

New Covenant ministers will do greater works than Moses

It is a fact that the church of the New Covenant has yet to experience the level of power as seen in the days of Moses. Yet Paul spoke of the New Covenant minister as having greater glory than Moses…

But if the ministry of death, in letters engraved on stones, came with glory, so that the sons of Israel could not look intently at the face of Moses because of the glory of his face, fading as it was, how will the ministry of the Spirit fail to be even more with glory? – 2 Corinthians 3:7-8

Indeed, New Covenant believers will see greater cosmic miracles and deliverance from the bondage of sin. For there is One far greater than Moses; the resurrected Christ who lives within us. For Jesus had promised His disciples that they will do greater works than He did…

He who believes in Me, the works that I do, he will do also; and greater works than these he will do; because I go to the Father. Whatever you ask in My name, that will I do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. – John 14:12-13

Moses might have taken the people out of Egypt, but he could not take Egypt out of them. New Covenant ministers anointed by the Spirit are now empowered to take the bondage of sin out of people… something that Moses could not do.

Application

Are there people in your family or company marginalised or unjustly treated? It is your duty to speak up for them. Take up the matter privately with the parties involved by mitigating the differences among them. If individual’s rights are violated, surface them by citing the possible consequences that may ensue. If the parties continue to act unjustly, seek the Lord’s directives in this matter. As directed by the Lord, pronounce a miraculous sign as a witness and warning against them. If the Lord has spoken, the signs will happen as you said and they will heed your voice. In due course, your virtues, wisdom, and authority will be tested and your calling as a prophet of God confirmed.

Dear Lord, mould me into a prophet as promised in your word so that I may fulfil the New Covenant call. Cause me to grow in favour with God and men. Sanctify me continually according to Christ’s virtues, wisdom and authority. And use me to deliver people from their problems and bondages in small and big ways. In Jesus’s name I pray. Amen.