Exodus 9:13-19 (NIV)
13 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Get up early in the morning and stand before Pharaoh. Tell him, ‘This is what the Lord, the God of the Hebrews, says: Let my people go, so they can worship me. 14 If you don’t, I will send more plagues on you and your officials and your people. Then you will know that there is no one like me in all the earth. 15 By now I could have lifted my hand and struck you and your people with a plague to wipe you off the face of the earth. 16 But I have spared you for a purpose—to show you my power and to spread my fame throughout the earth. 17 But you still lord it over my people and refuse to let them go. 18 So tomorrow at this time I will send a hailstorm more devastating than any in all the history of Egypt. 19 Quick! Order your livestock and servants to come in from the fields to find shelter. Any person or animal left outside will die when the hail falls.’”
We learn who God is by learning more about His character. Learning the character of God enables us to draw close to Him. It allows us to trust Him more. It gives us the opportunity to know Him better. I have studied Exodus many times before, but imagine my surprise when I saw a piece of God’s character that seemed out of place given the situation.
In this part of the Exodus story, God is demanding, through Moses, that Pharaoh let the Israelites go to the wilderness in order to worship Him in a festival. After each request Pharaoh says, “No!” and God sends a plague. As this exchange progresses, the plagues go from gross annoyances (who wants to find frogs in their bed or be covered with flies?) to serious, life threatening situations. And that is when God shows the unexpected: Mercy.
In the passage above God explained why these things are happening the way they are. Verse 16 says, “But I have spared you for a purpose—to show you my power and to spread my fame throughout the earth.” God wanted to make Himself known, both to the Israelites and to the Egyptians. God wanted them to understand that He is God; the one true, all-powerful God. Up to this point the Egyptians could have cared less about the Hebrew God, if they thought about Him at all. The Israelites? Well, after 400 years in Egypt, they needed a little reminding.
God demanded His captives released, Pharaoh says no, and God shows who He is by unleashing some of His great power. It seems simple enough. It might even seem a bit harsh. After all, what about all the Egyptian people who were affected by these plagues because of Pharaoh’s stubborn refusals? However, our God is not a harsh God. He shows it in verse 19: “Quick! Order your livestock and servants to come in from the fields to find shelter. Any person or animal left outside will die when the hail falls.”
God essentially says, Pharaoh has refused me again so this is what is coming next. Get your animals and your people inside because if they are outside when the hail starts, they will die. And there it is: Mercy. God didn’t have to give them this warning. He could have just let the people and animals die, but He chose mercy. He says, “I love you too much to let this happen without warning. I love you even though you don’t know or love me.”
I wonder how many times when I am in the midst of a hard time of struggling that I miss God’s mercy. I almost missed it here where He showed it to the Egyptians and it is written in black and white for all of us to see. So when I don’t have the words in front of me, when I all have is what is going on around me, do I really look for God’s mercy?
It’s fall here in Virginia, where I live, and in my house the change of seasons wreaks havoc on our respiratory systems. We are allergic! This morning I woke up feeling tired (never a good sign) and slow, could be allergies, could be a virus, at this point I don’t know. I usually try to take a walk through my neighborhood every day and like all other stay at home moms, I have a mile long list of things I’d like to get done today. I checked the weather this morning for my son, who still insists on wearing shorts everyday (I get cold just looking at him) and I noticed that it was supposed to rain later in the day. While I was studying this passage in Exodus, it started raining. Had I realized the rain was coming so early, I would have walked and then studied, but I hadn’t paid close enough attention. Now, however, I have to wonder. Was the early rain part of God’s mercy? God knew I would push myself to walk even though I’m not feeling well. Did He send the rain as a merciful reminder that today I should rest? Perhaps.
Regardless of what is going on in my life, God puts in little acts of mercy to remind me, “I love you! You are my treasured possession.” I don’t want to miss God’s mercy or any other revelation of His character. How have you seen God’s mercy in your life today?