And the award for the most stubborn man in the history of mankind goes to... (drum roll)... Pharaoh!
Before we talk about that, let’s rewind to the end of Genesis where things are going really well for the Israelites. So Joseph has risen to power in Egypt and is now in charge of food distribution, which is a pretty big job, especially in the midst of a sever famine. His brothers end up coming to him to ask for food and eventually he reveals to them that he is their brother. As a result, all of his family end up moving to Egypt and are treated very well there.
At the onset of the book of Exodus, we see that Joseph and his generation have all passed away and there is a new king in Egypt. Now this new king has either never been told about how Joseph saved their nation from perishing during famine, or he’s just so selfish that he ultimately just doesn’t care about the great thing that Joseph had done. So, he does what any tyrannical king in his situation would do, he enslaves the Israelites, puts them to work, and starts to control their population by murdering their babies. Things are not looking good for the Israelites.
Remember in Genesis 3 when Adam and Eve sinned... Things weren’t looking good and God was displeased, but His first point of action was to set in place a plan to save them. We see this happening again right away in Exodus 2 as God sets in place a plan to use Moses to set the Israelites free from captivity in Egypt. Where we end off our reading today, God has sent nine brutal plagues on Egypt including water turning to blood, livestock dying, and extreme darkness. You would think that after one or two of these, Pharaoh would give in and admit defeat, but no... This dude holds on and will not give up. This is the type of guy that would die of old age while driving around trying to figure out where he’s going rather than stopping to ask for directions. Talk about stubborn!
Meanwhile in the New Testament, all kinds of amazing things are happening. We see God working miracles in Exodus, and at the same time we see Jesus doing the same in Matthew. He fed 4,000 people with seven loaves and a few small fish, He walked on water, and He healed many people. It is becoming clearer and clearer that Jesus is in fact the promised Savior that God talked about in Genesis 3, the promised Savior that would bring eternal freedom from slavery to sin, just as God would bring about freedom from slavery for the Israelites.
Jesus truly is the Messiah, the chosen one that God has sent to be the solution to all that enslaves us and hurts us in life. In Him we find our true and eternal hope!-Ryan Guerra Associate Pastor