Exodus 10 Devotional
by Pastor Lawrence

In the first exchange between Moses and Pharaoh in this chapter, Pharaoh is finally amenable to allowing the men of Israel to leave Egypt but it unwilling to let the little ones go.  This seems to be the common tactic of governments that have turned away from the rule of God’s law.  The higher-ups realize that they cannot change the hearts and minds of adults very easily, but they understand that the minds of their children are still very pliable.  That is why Hitler’s youth program was so effective in the 1930’s, and that is why Nebuchadnezzar’s education of the young captives in his day was able to influence most of the young men to bow down to idols.  It is also why some in our government schools today are trying to undermine the values and beliefs of their students faithfully taught to them by their parents.

Afterward when the Lord brings the plague of locusts upon Egypt, the Egyptians are helpless to do anything about it.  Consequently they have little to no bread to eat.  In our country today, we don’t seem to be too concerned about a locust plague in one particular state, since we can easily get our grain from another state, or even from another country, paying for it with the almighty dollar.  But even recently with the COVID virus spreading around the world, we have seen how quickly we can run out of toilet paper and other “essential” supplies.  At any moment, if this virus gets worse or some other world catastrophe occurs, we can easily lose that which we assume should be automatic.  This should teach us to pray for our daily bread, every day, for we are helpless, needy creatures who are at every moment dependent upon the goodness and mercy of the Lord.

Then, in regards to the darkness, we are similarly reminded of the warmth and the light that is so essential not only to our survival but to our sanity as men and women.  Truly the Lord is merciful in causing the sun to rise upon us again this morning, when the earth groans daily over our sin.  We are also reminded of the thick spiritual darkness that we were all subjected to before the Lord brought us into his marvelous light.  Let us give thanks to the Lord today that he has given us eyes to see and has given His word as a lamp unto our feet.

Finally, let us give thanks that the Lord has sent to us gospel preachers who have confronted us over our sin and that we did not send them away from us as the Pharaoh did with Moses.  If it were not for the Lord’s mercy, we would have remained dead in our sins and in the hardness of our hearts.