So said God in Exodus 12:12 in his promise to the Israelites to wrench them free from Egypt. Their freedom, therefore, would come with the destruction of the Egyptian gods. It’s not surprising, then, that the ten plagues God inflicted on the Egyptians each pictured an Egyptian god or goddess – including Pharaoh himself, who was also worshipped as a god.
God “brought judgment” by turning the gods the Egyptians worshipped against them. The river Nile, for instance, was a manifestation of the god Hapi, greatly celebrated by the Egyptians for bringing life to the land in the rich silt deposited in the annual flood. Imagine the shock in the first plague, then, when God turned the life-giving water of the Nile into blood. Hapi (ironically pronounced ‘happy’) was now a killer.
With this in mind, then, does God do plagues today to bring judgment on our gods too – and by the same means as well, by turning our gods against us?
Well, for most of my life I’ve given god-like status to several highly honoured institutions for having my best interests at heart. I watched the nightly news, for instance, believing it was being presented by an honourable profession dedicated to reporting truth. I went to my Doctor, believing that the treatment he or she recommended was based on the expertise of their medical training. I voted for a party and party leader, believing their policies were based on their sincere desire to serve.
But then along came the Covid 19 virus and what a terrible shock to find out that Big Pharma, Big Tech, along with mainstream media, government officials, medical management and other assorted global influencers, had sold their souls to the devil putting money, greed and profits ahead of accuracy, care and service. And by turning a blind eye to the injuries and fatalities they were causing, it had turned them into killers too.
They’re not so much “gods” now, are they? They have done irreparable damage to their professions and their prestige, which sounds very much like judgment has been brought upon them too. And not surprising who by either, Romans 1:18, because “The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness.” And in Romans 2:8, “for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil, there will be wrath and anger.”
So now where do we turn when our respected institutions cannot be trusted? But could it be that God brought judgment on them to free us from our dependence on them? So at last we realize there is only one source we can trust in, who really does have our best interests at heart. And he’s more than willing to prove that to us when we turn to him for help – just like he did with the Israelites in Egypt.
Buck To Basics 