Bad Choice!

January 27, 2025, Monday Message:

Exodus 9:1b-3 NLT: “Say to Pharaoh, ‘This is what the Lord says: Let my people go, so they can worship me. If you continue to hold them and refuse to let them go, the hand of the Lord will strike all your livestock—your horses, donkeys, camels, cattle, sheep, and goats—with a deadly plague.’”

Gnats and flies are a pesky inconvenience. But this time, God is going to hit the Egyptians right in the pocketbook! Like most places 2k years ago, the economy of Egypt was largely agricultural-based. Their animals – their livestock were the net worth of their lives. A plague striking all the animals of the Egyptians would slam the brakes on their entire economy.

Surprisingly, the Lord made a distinction between the livestock of the Israelites and that of the Egyptians. The next morning all the livestock of the Egyptians died, but the Israelites didn’t lose a single animal! God did just as he had said. His word is true!

Pharaoh investigated, but his heart remained hardened and he would not let Moses and his people go. Plague #5, the plague on livestock, wasn’t enough to convince him.

God is not through yet. God has given mankind freedom of choice, so God won’t change Pharaoh’s mind for him. Pharaoh must decide on his own to accept Moses’ God as his God. He will have more chances to make up his mind – or not! Like I said, God has given us the freedom to choose, and Pharaoh may ultimately choose incorrectly. We’ll see.

You and I, claiming to be Christians, should already have our minds made up. We love our God not because of a threat or an obligation, but because he also loves us, so much that he sent his Son to be the sacrifice for the world’s sins. We no longer have to pay a sin-penalty. God took care of everything for those who love him, including preparing our place in the hereafter. The love is mutual!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship