Have you ever wondered why God doesn’t just wave a hand over the people of the earth and pronounced them righteous with minds that will automatically do the right thing in every circumstance? 

I will never forget that summer day in 1968 when my dad announced; “Get up! I’m going to teach you how to drive.” I was so excited!  My dad was going to teach me how to drive his “work car”, his beloved, red Ford Falcon. How hard can it be? I thought. I’ve been in the back seat all my life and observed how dad did it. I’m ready, let’s do this!  Then came all the instructions.   Wait, what, now?  We can’t just jump in and go?

The first consideration was the challenge of my height.  Being 5’ 1” meant adjusting the seat, the back up mirror up top, and the side mirrors—all without the ease of power but with me yanking and pulling until I could see. (Remember it’s 1968!) My driving preparation required many adjustments before turning on the ignition!  I barely could see over the gigantic steering wheel! And why did it feel so big in my hands?

When we were set, then I could put the key in the slot and turned it.  Now, we have power! Ah, but wait, the engine died.  More instructions.  Dad taught me next how to use the “choke” to get and keep his car engine going. The choke had to be pulled and placed at just the right degree at just the right time to work successfully and not “flood” the engine.  Friends, we are still not out of the driveway!

After the choke lesson, we learned the gear shift placement which was less than stellar.  Dad taught me that with his car, the placement was actually between neutral and drive.  Got it.  But to get out the driveway, we needed R for reverse, of course.  Now, we’re talking.  I put the car in reverse, and as it began to move, Dad gave more careful instructions.  Did you look behind you?  You don’t want to run over a child or bike left in the drive. Thinking of how many times I might have left my bike in the drive, I stopped.  “But dad, I will have to get out of the car to see that,” I said.  “Yes, you will,” he said with a smile.  Because I wanted to drive like dad, I did exactly what he said.

We finally got out of the drive.  I learned to crane my neck to see all possible obstructions while learning how the steering wheel felt and worked to keep us on course.  We are on the real road going about ten miles per hour, when he warns me  that stop signs are not “pause signs.”  “You actually have to use the brake to stop the car completely.” I did—abruptly—and dad braced himself on the dashboard so he wouldn’t hit his head on the windshield! 

Dad didn’t give up on me.  We made the turn off our street to another.  To make this long story a bit shorter, we made it to a far away parking place at our local grocery store located a few blocks from our house.  He directed me to parked in a place with no one else around probably so I wouldn’t hurt anyone or their vehicle.  I was on board for that!  I was ready to shut off the engine and just sit there for a bit.  I was a sweaty mess and a bit overwhelmed by the “lesson” on that summer day in 1968.  I sat in wonder of how much I didn’t know about driving.  Watching is one thing but doing it is quite another. 

But, most of all, I will never forget the care and instruction, along with the trust my dad gave me as I learned to drive his car. 

The process of learning is as important as accomplishing the task. Our Abba Father knows this and knows us well with a desire to teach us. He leaves nothing unsaid that needs to be said for our good.  He smiles when we are attentive and do exactly what He says.  Moses and Aaron do exactly what God says and then watch in amazement at what God does through them!  Moses will learn great lessons of leadership as God leads him to sit in the driver’s seat as he leads God’s people, by God’s power, from slavery to freedom.

Stay tuned…there’s more instruction to come, more miracles of wonder, and more of God to know.  We haven’t even started the engine yet!

Exodus 7

Then the Lord said to Moses, “See, I have made you like God to Pharaoh, and your brother Aaron will be your prophet. ² You are to say everything I command you, and your brother Aaron is to tell Pharaoh to let the Israelites go out of his country. ³ But I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and though I multiply my signs and wonders in Egypt, ⁴ he will not listen to you. Then I will lay my hand on Egypt and with mighty acts of judgment I will bring out my divisions, my people the Israelites. ⁵ And the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord when I stretch out my hand against Egypt and bring the Israelites out of it.”

⁶ Moses and Aaron did just as the Lord commanded them. ⁷ Moses was eighty years old and Aaron eighty-three when they spoke to Pharaoh.

Aaron’s Staff Becomes a Snake

⁸ The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, ⁹ “When Pharaoh says to you, ‘Perform a miracle,’ then say to Aaron, ‘Take your staff and throw it down before Pharaoh,’ and it will become a snake.”

¹⁰ So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and did just as the Lord commanded. Aaron threw his staff down in front of Pharaoh and his officials, and it became a snake. ¹¹ Pharaoh then summoned wise men and sorcerers, and the Egyptian magicians also did the same things by their secret arts: ¹² Each one threw down his staff and it became a snake. But Aaron’s staff swallowed up their staffs. ¹³ Yet Pharaoh’s heart became hard and he would not listen to them, just as the Lord had said.

The Plague of Blood

¹⁴ Then the Lord said to Moses, “Pharaoh’s heart is unyielding; he refuses to let the people go. ¹⁵ Go to Pharaoh in the morning as he goes out to the river. Confront him on the bank of the Nile, and take in your hand the staff that was changed into a snake. ¹⁶ Then say to him, ‘The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, has sent me to say to you: Let my people go, so that they may worship me in the wilderness. But until now you have not listened. ¹⁷ This is what the Lord says: By this you will know that I am the Lord: With the staff that is in my hand I will strike the water of the Nile, and it will be changed into blood. ¹⁸ The fish in the Nile will die, and the river will stink; the Egyptians will not be able to drink its water.’”

¹⁹ The Lord said to Moses, “Tell Aaron, ‘Take your staff and stretch out your hand over the waters of Egypt—over the streams and canals, over the ponds and all the reservoirs—and they will turn to blood.’ Blood will be everywhere in Egypt, even in vessels of wood and stone.”

²⁰ Moses and Aaron did just as the Lord had commanded. He raised his staff in the presence of Pharaoh and his officials and struck the water of the Nile, and all the water was changed into blood. ²¹ The fish in the Nile died, and the river smelled so bad that the Egyptians could not drink its water. Blood was everywhere in Egypt.

²² But the Egyptian magicians did the same things by their secret arts, and Pharaoh’s heart became hard; he would not listen to Moses and Aaron, just as the Lord had said. ²³ Instead, he turned and went into his palace, and did not take even this to heart. ²⁴ And all the Egyptians dug along the Nile to get drinking water, because they could not drink the water of the river.

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?

Lesson 1: Trust God. Although Moses thought he could not persuade Pharaoh, he saw that with God, nothing is impossible.  Moses was learning to trust God with each lesson God taught him.

Lesson 2:  Only God is God. As we continue our study of this remarkable series of miracles, we must focus on the reasons why the Lord took this approach in dealing with Pharaoh and sent these sign judgments to the land of Egypt. The ultimate purpose, of course, was to bring Pharaoh and the Egyptians to their knees so they would be willing for the Israelites to leave the land. But at the same time, the Lord was revealing Himself to both the Israelites and the Egyptians and proving that He alone is God.

Lesson 3:  There are no other gods but God. The miracles and plagues were also God’s way of judging the gods of Egypt and proving them false and futile. “Against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment: I am the LORD.”

Lesson 4: Hard heartedness is no match for God!  God was hardening Pharaoh’s heart. Does this mean that God was unfair and that Pharaoh shouldn’t be held responsible for what he did? No, for the same sun that melts the ice also hardens the clay. It all depends on the nature of the material. To the very end of the contest; Pharaoh was a proud, unrepentant sinner who refused to hear God’s Word, do God’s will, or even keep his own promises to the Israelite people. The Lord gave him more than enough evidence to convince him that the gods of Egypt were false and the God of the Hebrews was the true and living God.

We may think we are in the driver’s set on any given day.  Mm, but we aren’t really.  We are not that powerful!  What is most important to realize on the drive is Who is giving us instructions and directions to get us where we want and need to be?  Who is leading?  Who is following?  When we realize it was, is, and always will be God, the Father through Jesus, His Son; we will reach our destination.  And the process leads us to a deeper realization of the greatness of God before we arrive!

Lord,

Thank you for the lessons and instructions that proclaim who you are with how much you love and care for us! Thank you for the process of learning that brings a new appreciation for all you have done, are doing, and will do in our lives as we grow in our holy, loving, intimate relationship with you!  May your will be done by your instruction to us!

In Jesus Name, by your power, for our good, and your glory!

Amen!