October 11 | Exodus 10:21-29

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DAILY READING

Exodus 10:21-29

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REFLECTION

In the Dark

by Jennifer Jerrome

In the beginning, we witness God asking Moses to "Stretch out your hand toward the sky so that darkness spreads over Egypt." And not just any old darkness, but – darkness that can be felt (v. 21).

Darkness itself is not a bad thing. We need darkness. It separates day from night and often brings out the true beauty of the sky, but this isn’t the kind of darkness we’re talking about. God wants the darkness to be felt.

Have you ever felt darkness? It’s heavy and suffocating. This kind of darkness leads to despair if you don’t have someone to guide you through it.

We all need someone to help us turn on the light and God wants to be that someone for us.

He wants to vanquish the darkness. Verse 23 tells us that God’s chosen people had light when no one else did. He did it for the Israelites and he’ll do it for us.

The darkness got the attention of Pharaoh and caused him to say Yes to Moses. Sometimes we need the darkness to catch our attention and push us to say Yes to God.

Now I’ve got to admit, I struggle with verse 27, But the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he was not willing to let them go. Why would God do this? Why would he put another obstacle between his people and their freedom?

Maybe there was more to learn. God’s plan wasn’t complete. Waiting is often the hardest part, but God has shown that it’s in the waiting, in the darkness, that HE’S waiting for us. Waiting to say, “Here I am. I’ve been here all along.” That way, the next time we’re in darkness, we won’t have to see him to know he’s there. We can feel his presence and not just the weight of it all.

PRAYER

This may be hard to pray sometimes, but… Thank you Father for the darkness. Once we know what darkness truly is, it makes the light so much brighter. And though darkness will continue to come and go, thank you for being there to shine a light when we need it most. Amen

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OCTOBER 10 | EXODUS 9:1-12

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DAILY READING

Exodus 9:1-12

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REFLECTION

God Saves His People

by Judy Webb

“Let My people go so that they may worship Me.” (Exodus 9b)

This may be the first call for religious freedom, and it comes from God. “Let My people go!” The story of the 10 plagues is interesting in that it seems to represent the undoing of Egyptian idols. The false gods represented as animals or nature (sun, moon, water) all fall short of their assumed claims to protect and rule. God sent the plagues to Egypt knowing that Pharaoh would not listen. Knowing that his heart was hard and unbending and that he would never “let God’s people go” willingly.

This ruler was an example of an evil leader who brings destruction to the very people he claims to love. More have followed in his footsteps: Hitler, Stalin, Mao and so on. Even now, evil walks the earth and Satan is their god.

This story is familiar to many who read scripture regularly. Every time I study a story that is recognizable to me as one I’ve heard many times; I try to find something new, a fact I had not known before. Reading from Chapter 9 this time around I notice a glaring fact worth pointing out: God made a clear distinction between the Egyptians and His people, the Israelites. The plagues only troubled Pharaoh and his people. God protected His own.

So, the 5th plague only killed Egyptian livestock, the cows, calves, horses, camels, donkeys…all incidentally were idols, gods that were worshiped by the Egyptians. This revealed just how weak these idols were, how ineffective they were against the real God of the Israelites.

 God hardened Pharaoh’s heart, a statement that often confuses and confounds. "But the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he would not listen to Moses and Aaron, just as the Lord had said to Moses.” (v.12)

This feels like a no-win situation, but God had a plan. The more Pharaoh hardened his heart, the more it became judicially hardened by God. It was to the point of no turning back for Pharaoh. He hardened his own heart and resisted the grace of God; and God gave him up to his hardened heart’s lusts and permitted Satan to blind him.

He had his final chance and one day, we too will be faced with the final opportunity to choose God. Let us not allow it come down to this, for ourselves or for someone we love.

PRAYER

Dear Jesus,

Give us the vision to see You as truth and salvation. We need You and we need to tell others about His story so they are not left behind at the final judgement. Your light and Your love are so powerful they truly save us from evil everyday. Come Holy Spirit! Amen.

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AUTHOR BIO

JUDY WEBB

I have been a member of UALC for 26 years and have been writing devotions for this site for about 17 of them. Writing is my passion. As retired staff I still love everything about UALC and its members including my small group.

October 9 | Exodus 8:1-15

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DAILY READING

Exodus 8:1-15

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REFLECTION

There is No One Like the LORD Our God

by Beth Voltmann

Moses’ first reaction to God’s call on his life was far from confident and trusting. He doubted that anybody would listen to him--he feared he was too slow of speech-–he pleaded with God to send somebody else. God graciously sent Aaron to work alongside him.

Like most of us, Moses had to learn how to walk with complete faith, trusting God’s Word and his promises. Perhaps ten plagues were necessary, not only to compel Pharaoh to release God’s people, but also to prepare Moses for the task of leading them from captivity to the Promised Land.

I find it fascinating that Pharaoh’s magicians were able to mimic the first and second plagues.

Why?

What was the point?

As if they needed more tainted water and extra amphibians in Egypt?

Pharaoh’s magicians competed with those first plagues by drawing on dark powers from the enemy. Satan will always try to imitate God in order to stir up fear, confusion and discouragement with the hopes of undermining our faith. Moses wasn’t deterred.

Interestingly, Pharaoh asked Moses to “pray to the LORD to take the frogs away,” (v. 8) with the promise that he would then free the people. Moses was growing in his God-given authority and Pharaoh could sense it as much as he disliked it.

Moses allowed him to choose the time of prayer, knowing that God was about to make himself known.

“’Tomorrow,’ Pharaoh said.

Moses replied,

‘It will be as you say, so that you may know there is no one like the LORD our God.

The frogs will leave you and your people; they will remain only in the Nile.’

And the LORD did what Moses asked.”

(Exodus 8:10, 13)

Take note that none of the remaining plagues could be duplicated. The enemy’s power had been exposed as counterfeit. Moses was learning that it was less about him and more about God. He needed only to obey his voice and trust all else to prayer. God’s might and faithfulness were on display.

There is no one like the LORD our God!

PRAYER

Lord, you alone are mighty to save, and yet, you have called believers to share your light with the world. Train us to do so with a bold faith, trusting in your Word and your promises. Forgive our weaknesses and give us courage for the task ahead. Amen.

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