Daily Devotions
I am the LORD!
Title: I am the LORD!
Reading for January 19: Exodus 11-13
For I will pass through the land of Egypt that night, and I will strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and on all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments: I am the LORD.
Exodus 12:12
I've been teaching Exodus recently and in my study I found some fascinating background material by Dr. Michael Heiser (The Naked Bible Podcast) where he explores ways the plagues may have been showing God's power over the deities the Egyptians worshiped.
Dr. Heiser argues the pharaohs were believed to be the incarnation of an Egyptian deity (Horus) and his job was to maintain what they called ma'at. Ma'at is something the Egyptian gods set up at creation. It's a cosmic and social order; the way things are supposed to be. So long as you have ma'at, you have good health, peace, and prosperity. The opposite of ma'at would be chaos. So Pharaoh's main job was to maintain this ma'at (or order) in the land.
I think you can see where Dr. Heiser is going. To say that things got chaotic in Egypt during the plagues would be an understatement. And there are specific gods that seem to be specifically targeted by the various plagues God sent (specifically the Nile river turning to blood; the frogs; the gnats and flies; diseased cattle; darkness; etc.).
But it is the last plague that was the most dramatic attack against the gods, and specifically, against Pharaoh himself as the incarnation of Horus. Not only would the death of the firstborn be a tremendous personal loss, under this view it was a specific and targeted attack against Pharaoh's control over ma'at. According to Heiser, the gods had set up ma'at, and it was to be transferred from one incarnation of Horus (the pharaoh) to the next in an unending, unbroken stream. The succession of a dying pharaoh to his son was a serious matter. It had to be orderly and according to plan, according to ma'at, so the order of creation could be maintained. God stepped in and completely destroyed any confidence there was order left in Egypt when he took out Pharaoh's firstborn son. The gods were helpless. The hartumim (or the magicians) were impotent. And now the firstborn son of Pharaoh was dead. As God predicted, the death of the firstborn broke Pharaoh's stubborn will.
I would argue that God still does this today. Whenever we start worshiping the creation instead of the Creator... Whenever we worship the gifts instead of the Giver of all good and perfect gifts... Whenever we make flimsy idols out of careers, or wealth, or possessions, or relationships, or whatever... God mercifully steps in and shows that these things are all weak and fraudulent imitations of the real thing. They can't be trusted.
And the suffering that ensues from the chaos in our lives is not pleasant. But it's better that we learn now who the real God is. It's better we learn the primary lesson God is teaching from the book of Exodus...
I am the LORD!
Father, help us to destroy every idol in our lives and sanctify you, and you alone as God in our hearts!
