In Genesis 1 we see God creating the sun, moon and stars on
day four so Hebrews would have known that God was the creator and therefore God
of all that is in the universe, including the celestial bodies. Egyptians believed that the sun god was
creator and self-created. When God,
through Moses, causes darkness over the land, a darkness that could be felt,
for three days, the Egyptians are getting a demonstration of Genesis 1 in real
time, that the Hebrews worship the God who is greater than Ra. Like the plague of hail we looked at
yesterday, Yahweh spares His people from this plague while Pharaoh's hard
hearted vanity causes his people to suffer.
Not only is the God of the Hebrews great, He is also good in comparison
to Pharaoh. Did you notice Pharaoh's
words to Moses, “Get away from me; take care never to see my face again, for on
the day you see my face you shall die.”
Who else says something like that to Moses a bit later? Yahweh.
Pharaoh still believes he is a god.
Even though Pharaoh doesn't recognize it, the people see Moses as having
won, "the man Moses was very great in the land of Egypt, in the sight of
Pharaoh's servants and in the sight of the people." While the final plague may seem horribly
cruel, that God killed all the firstborn of Egypt, they had made a choice, they
had chosen to stay with Pharaoh, in spite of all they had seen. The Revelation makes better sense when you
read Exodus. God finally judges those
who have refused to believe.
Bartimaeus already believes.
He cries out, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!" He believes Jesus is Messiah. The son of Timaeus knows Jesus' true lineage. He is not, son of Joseph, He is Son of
David. He wants mercy and Jesus asks
what he wants specifically. His request
is bold, restore my sight. He received
exactly what he asked for, his faith was rewarded. Jesus' words were, go your way. Bartimaeus' response was to follow Jesus on
His way, his own way no longer mattered.
The proper response of all to Jesus' grace and mercy.
Belief is intended to mean something powerful. Belief isn't assent, it is the motivating factor,
the guiding force of life. Paul's belief
was such that he risked everything on it.
His entire life was based on his belief in Jesus. There was no life for Paul outside that
belief. All that he did was because he
believed. Belief is too often nothing
more than intellectual assent and never calls us from our comfort zones, never
takes any risks for the Gospel. Paul knew
better, it was a truth that re-oriented him completely. When was the last time your belief caused you
to re-consider or take a risk? You might
want to examine who is truly God in your life if it has been too long, your
heart may have begun to harden.
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