Last Five Plagues and Death of First Born

Now the Lord unleashes even more havoc on Egypt.
6. Plague on Egyptians with dead animals
7. Plague of Boils
8. Plague of Hail
9. Plague of Locust
10.Plague of darkness
Finally: First born to die

Pharaoh pledges to release the Jews but goes back on his word time after time even though his advisers are getting scared and warning him to let the Jews go. But no, Pharaoh is determined to fight God. Raise your hand if that sounds familiar in your own life. My hand is raised. We do this all the time. We are always asking God to show us a sign, but when he does we don't believe it is a sign so we fight.

God's protection on Goshen from all these horrible plagues hit home the truth about God. He really does treat His own differently. Even when you have a believer and a dis-believer that have the same tragedy, the purpose for this tragedy for the believer is much different then that of the dis-believer. Think about it. At any time God could have just wiped out the Egyptians, but he did not. Why? I think it was for two reasons....
1. To show Pharaoh God's almighty strength, but more so to show his grace on the Israelites.
2. To allow the Egyptians to get a closer look at God and all He is capable of. To make sure they can see God's handy work and remember it when they leave Egypt and are in the desert for soooo very long.

You might also be asking why did God rein down his wrath on the innocent Egyptians. That's not fair, they had nothing to do with Pharaoh's stupidity! No it was not unjust of God. Every single Egyptian had an opportunity to stand up against the Pharaoh. They had a chance to treat the Israelites nicely. They each had a chance to help the Israelites. But did they? No! It goes to show you that there is such a thing as corporate responsibility. And this story show it Oh so well. This is one reason we need to safe guard our children. We put them in social situations, school or even with some family members every day and hope and pray that they will follow Gods will but there comes that corporate decision making and peer pressure. The only way to safeguard them is to show them. Use our actions, as an example to them. Live the life God wants you to live and stop fighting Him. Show your children what that looks like! Just like Pharaoh did with his people.

This story really show the hardness of the human heart. It shows how fickle we really are. So many times we ask for help and promise so many things in return. When that help comes do we uphold our end of the bargain? NO, not usually. God is a just God and He will act for us and help us and will be glorified if we let Him. If we follow. If we open our hearts and minds. If we give up our will to His will. Easier said then done I know, but just try it one time on one thing and see if the results aren't fantastic!