April 17, 2013
THE DANGER OF GETTING IT YOUR WAY
Exodus 10:1-18
Zach Spilman
Central Truth
There are times when we, and those around us, go to God expecting things on our own terms. Instead of submitting to God, we try to do things our own way and insist that God respect and bless our own wishes and plans. Doing so, however, can be a disaster!
Key Verse | Exodus 10:10
Then he said to them,"Thus may the Lord be with you, if ever I let you and your little ones go! Take heed, for evil is in your mind." (Exodus 10:10)
Exodus 10:1-18
The Eighth Plague: Locusts
1 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Go in to Pharaoh, for I have hardened his heart and the heart of his servants, that I may show these signs of mine among them, 2 and that you may tell in the hearing of your son and of your grandson how I have dealt harshly with the Egyptians and what signs I have done among them, that you may know that I am the LORD.”
3 So Moses and Aaron went in to Pharaoh and said to him, “Thus says the LORD, the God of the Hebrews, ‘How long will you refuse to humble yourself before me? Let my people go, that they may serve me. 4 For if you refuse to let my people go, behold, tomorrow I will bring locusts into your country, 5 and they shall cover the face of the land, so that no one can see the land. And they shall eat what is left to you after the hail, and they shall eat every tree of yours that grows in the field, 6 and they shall fill your houses and the houses of all your servants and of all the Egyptians, as neither your fathers nor your grandfathers have seen, from the day they came on earth to this day.’” Then he turned and went out from Pharaoh.
7 Then Pharaoh's servants said to him, “How long shall this man be a snare to us? Let the men go, that they may serve the LORD their God. Do you not yet understand that Egypt is ruined?” 8 So Moses and Aaron were brought back to Pharaoh. And he said to them, “Go, serve the LORD your God. But which ones are to go?” 9 Moses said, “We will go with our young and our old. We will go with our sons and daughters and with our flocks and herds, for we must hold a feast to the LORD.” 10 But he said to them, “The LORD be with you, if ever I let you and your little ones go! Look, you have some evil purpose in mind. 1 10:10 Hebrew before your face 11 No! Go, the men among you, and serve the LORD, for that is what you are asking.” And they were driven out from Pharaoh's presence.
12 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the land of Egypt for the locusts, so that they may come upon the land of Egypt and eat every plant in the land, all that the hail has left.” 13 So Moses stretched out his staff over the land of Egypt, and the LORD brought an east wind upon the land all that day and all that night. When it was morning, the east wind had brought the locusts. 14 The locusts came up over all the land of Egypt and settled on the whole country of Egypt, such a dense swarm of locusts as had never been before, nor ever will be again. 15 They covered the face of the whole land, so that the land was darkened, and they ate all the plants in the land and all the fruit of the trees that the hail had left. Not a green thing remained, neither tree nor plant of the field, through all the land of Egypt. 16 Then Pharaoh hastily called Moses and Aaron and said, “I have sinned against the LORD your God, and against you. 17 Now therefore, forgive my sin, please, only this once, and plead with the LORD your God only to remove this death from me.” 18 So he went out from Pharaoh and pleaded with the LORD.
Dive Deeper | Exodus 10:1-18
There are times when being a parent makes you feel like the bad guy. Recently, our daughter just reached the magical time called the "terrible twos," and she has developed a growing sense of independence. At times, she gives us some of the sweetest memories we have of her. When she raises her hands asking to be picked up, when she hugs us, when she kisses us, and obeys us willingly, it is wonderful being her parent. Yet, there are other times when she decides that having things her way is more important than what Mommy or Daddy tell her. Instead of trusting us, she throws a fit when she can't have her toy that she just dropped in mud or food she just dropped on the ground.
Even as adults, we can have major issues when we don't get things our way. In the West, we have elevated freedom as the highest virtue and view anything that restricts our freedom as oppressive, close-minded, and evil. The thing is, God also loves freedom. In fact, God loves freedom so much He was willing to allow people to have the potential to do evil just so that we could be free. Sometimes, we are so focused on our right to do things our way that we ignore God's voice telling us otherwise.
In Exodus 10:10, we see that instead of obeying God's will, Pharaoh chose to obey on his own terms. Pharaoh was more concerned with his own desire to be in control and be called a god than with the welfare of his people. The result was the complete agricultural and financial devastation of Egypt. All the while, God simply wanted Pharaoh, Egypt, and Israel to know that He was the only true God (see Exodus 8:10, 8:22, 9:4, 9:29, and 10:2).
So often we are just like Pharaoh. We know what God expects of us, but instead choose to ignore His plan and do things on our own terms because we don't want someone else telling us how to live our lives, even God. Often, the result is disaster.
Discussion Questions
1. Think about a time in your life when you refused someone's good advice just to get your own way. How did it end? Was it worth it?
2. Read Proverbs 28:14 and 29:1. What do these verses say happens to those who are stubborn and hardhearted?
3. Do you care more about living your own life or living to please God? Which is better? Why?
4. Are there any areas of your life in which you aren't letting God have control? Which areas? Why?
5. Do you think there is room to change that? Do you want to? If you do, who could help partner with you and gently hold you accountable?