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 . . .God says Moses and Aaron will fail in their mission, that Pharaoh's heart will be hard. In the midst of failure, God is still in the process - Moses and Aaron's obedience will pay off.
We are Pharaoh's in our own ways - both Christians and non-Christians; we sit on a throne of achievements and accolades and find failure unnatural and unnerving.
Holy Spirit, open my eyes.
I am my own God (I am like Pharaoh). And to use the words of Henri Nouwen, "to whom do I belong? To the world or to God?" There are endless 'ifs' attached to the love that the world has to offer - the world's love is conditional. We strive to control so many factors to gain the love of the world.
Holy Spirit, forgive me.
The fact that God tells Moses and Aaron right off the bat that they will initially fail in their mission to sway Pharaoh is a nod to God's sovereignty and his grace; indeed, failure is the antidote that knocks me off my ledge or pride and self-worship.
Yet, failure is not the end result; in the meantime, however, it keeps us humble.
Then the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, "When Pharaoh says to you, 'Prove yourselves by working a miracle,' then you shall say to Aaron, 'Take your staff and cast it down before Pharaoh, that it may become a serpent.'" So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and did just as the Lord commanded. Aaron cast down his staff before Pharaoh and his servants, and it became a serpent. Then Pharaoh summoned the wise men and the sorceress, and they, the magicians of Egypt, also did the same by their secret arts. For each man cast down his staff, and they became serpents. But Aaron's staff swallowed up their staffs.Moses and Aaron throw down their staff (representative of worldly authority) and that staff turns into a serpent - the hebrew word that is used here is tannin, which is also used in Genesis in the creation account. The God of the cosmos reminds Pharaoh that He is God, not Pharaoh.
The sorcerers also throw down their staffs, which in turn also transform into serpents. In this way, Pharaoh mimics God and makes a point of demonstrating that he is in control. The worldly powers at work during biblical times are still at work today - we are all at fault for wanting to be our own God and be in control.
Can you imagine the heart-dropping moment when Moses and Aaron's staff changes into a serpent and the staffs belonging to the sorcerers also change into serpents? And yet, scripture points out that Moses and Aaron's staff swallows the staffs belonging to the sorcerers. The staff belonging to Moses and Aaron symbolizes God's power and dominion and is a tangible reminder of God's grace.
I wish I took better notes during Pastor Rich's sermon today - it was incredibly convicting and powerful. I walked up to him to introduce myself for the first time and started crying in front of him and told him that I am a failure in my relationships with people and that I cannot be God in and over my relationships. Don't I make the best first impressions?
It's true. I feel confused, I feel unsure, I feel sad that I am bounded by my capacity to receive and give love. I am a failure. And for the first time, I do not feel ashamed because failure allows me to throw down my staff and relinquish control.
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