The Crumbling of the Illusion: Exodus 7:14–10
Reading for Saturday 3.12 – Tuesday 3.15
In a confrontation of divine authority, Yahweh unleashes a barrage of nine plagues on the empire. The most powerful being on the face of the earth, Pharaoh, prooves powerless to stave off the God he scoffs at. The Egyptians and Pharaoh now know this God.
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Read Exodus 7:14–10
“Pharaoh's magicians tried to do the same thing with their secret arts, but this time they failed. And the gnats covered everyone, people and animals alike.”
Exodus 8:18 (NLT)
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The Crumbling of the Illusion
Ex 8:18 Pharaoh's magicians tried to do the same thing with their secret arts, but this time they failed. And the gnats covered everyone, people and animals alike.
The contest between Yahweh and Pharaoh is a confrontation over supremacy and ultimate authority. Pharaoh, the God-king, is fully invested with the divine authority of the Egyptian gods. In the most powerful nation on the planet, deemed to have the most powerful gods among the earth's gods, Pharaoh was the dominant divine presence of the world.
The divine battle is fought through mediators. Yahweh uses Moses and Aaron. Pharaoh uses his magicians. The contrast between the two is striking. The servants of Yahweh are slaves, nobodies, and despite Moses' upbringing several decades before, comparatively uneducated. They belong to a powerless people and sit at the bottom of the socio-economic structure of Egypt. The magicians, however, would have been the elite of the elite among the intelligentsia of Egypt. Aside from Pharaoh, there were very few who held the authority of these learned men. These were the advisors to Pharaoh and in the most powerful empire on the planet represented the most powerful entity. Because of this, they can go blow for blow with Moses and Aaron, but only for a while.
Things take a drastic turn during the third plague. The magicians reach the limits of their power, and thus the power of Pharaoh and all he represents. It is at this moment (8:18) Yahweh wins. It becomes evident to the reader, the Egyptians, and even the magicians that the power of Yahweh far exceeds that of Pharaoh. They have begun to "know Yahweh." The very thing Pharaoh refuses to do (5:2).
Pharaoh's refusal to concede to Yahweh's command is a refusal to acknowledge that the God of the slaves is the God of the cosmos. He will continue to refuse to recognize this for seven more disastrous plaques.
Instead, he chooses to continue living in his illusions of power. Yet Yahweh has exposed their limits and demonstrated that there is one far greater and far more powerful.
The reality is kingdoms, empires, and authorities come and go. They have, and they will until God's eternal kingdom is firmly and finally established in the earth. Yet we so often insist on fearing these kingdoms that threaten with their illusions of power. Or worse yet, living into them hoping that we might gain from their so-called power.
This is the picture the New Testament paints of the world, and it's one the early Church, and brothers and sisters throughout the ages have readily adopted. The empires surrounding us that threaten or woo us with their power will have their day. The illusion will come crumbling down, and the only kingdom left standing will be one of righteousness and justice.
This understanding of the world led the early Church's brave stand against the cult empire of Rome, even in the face of martyrdom. This faith in the liberating God of power fed the souls of starving and brutalized enslaved peoples throughout the centuries. This is the confrontational faith that says to the oppressor, the exploiter, the tyrant, and abuser, There is one God standing head and shoulders above the gods of all the earth, and you are not Him. This is the faith of resurrection. That God will overcome the powerful oppressive and maleficent forces of the earth and establish a reign of justice, righteousness, and peace.
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Reflect with a friend
As Exodus reveals Pharaoh’s power is an illusion when confronted with Yahweh’s how easy is that for you to actually believe? In other words, the real felt consequences of Pharaoh’s power still existed for Israel, does the display of Yahweh’s power convince you?
What illusory powers, things that cause us to fear them or promise us they’ll give us peace, would you identify in your world? Are you allured by them, afraid of them, or both? How might the story of Exodus help you confront those powers?
Do you find it difficult to view the world this way? Why or why not? If not, how would your life concretly change if you were able to? In other words what would you be able to stop “serving” if you no longer believed it actually had the power it claims to?
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Next Reading
Wed 3.16 – Fri 3.18
Exodus 11–12
“An Empire Turned on its Head”
