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Stephen Ministry

We continue in our journey through Life in Exodus—how the Exodus story might inform our own stories through our time in Egypt and our journeys through the wilderness on our way to the Promised Land. Today—plagues.

We are not going to read about the plagues or even focus on one or more of the plagues that struck Egypt. Rather, we’ll be looking at the plagues that strike us in life. I am interested, however, in how the plagues from Exodus are often viewed. Many attempts have been made to explain them away "naturally." The Nile turning to blood (or some other kind of "natural" stagnation of the water) leading to frogs fleeing from the river, the subsequent death of the frogs leading to the proliferation, first, of pesky gnats followed by flies bringing disease to livestock…and so on and so forth. This past week I flew to Dallas-Ft. Worth for a two day conference and during the flight I came across a program on the History Channel called "Decoding the Exodus." Unfortunately, I missed the first half of the program but the half I watched included an explanation of the darkness that covered the land (the 9^th plague) and the subsequent death of the firstborn of Egypt, going on from there to explain the crossing of the Red Sea and the location of Mt. Sinai. The program was not an attempt at debunking the Exodus story, in fact, I believe the narrator is a person of devout Jewish faith. The question was asked at the end of the program—"Were the events of the Exodus a natural phenomenon, or the acts of the God of creation to free His people from bondage in Egypt?" Interesting question. And an interesting program, even though I only saw half of it. I think I’ll order a DVD of it.

Anyway, for our purposes today, the events of the plagues have fallen upon Egypt. Aaron’s rod turning into a snake doesn’t impress Pharaoh as his magicians duplicate the trick—even though Aaron’s snake swallows the snakes that appeared from the rods of Pharaoh’s magicians. The Nile River turning into blood also doesn’t impress Pharaoh as his magicians also duplicate that. The frogs also are duplicated by the magicians, but they aren’t able to get rid of them! The frogs are bothersome enough to cause Pharaoh to ask Moses to "pray to Yahweh" for relief. But when the relief comes, Pharaoh refuses to let the Israelites go. It is the beginning of a ritual between Pharaoh and Moses and, ultimately, Yahweh, as the plagues—which can no longer be duplicated by Egypt’s magicians—bring distress to the Egyptians, causing Pharaoh to promise to let the people go…only to renege on his promise when relief comes. The plagues intensify, but the dance continues—Pharaoh offering release to the Israelites, then taking it away. Until the final plague—the death of the firstborn of Egypt, including Pharaoh’s son—and protection offered to the Israelites through the Passover which is our Bible passage for today: Exodus 12:24-32. The instructions for the Passover have been given—the meal that is to be prepared and shared, the Passover lamb and unleavened bread, and the blood of the lamb that is to be brushed onto the doorframe of the Israelite houses so that the plague of death will "pass over" their houses and not strike their firstborn. Then, these words from Exodus 12:24-32.

What interests me today are not the plagues of the Exodus event, fascinating though they are. Rather, what interests me today are the plagues that hit us in our lives in our personal Exodus story—our lives in the "Egypt" where we live and in our journeys through the wilderness. The problems that rise up in life and "plague" us. And I think there are two types of such plagues that occur in our lives.

There are, first of all, the plagues that occur in our lives as the result of our actions. By that I mean the moments in life when we stand on the edge of an action that we know to be a violation of God’s standards for us…and we jump in anyway. Our willful disobedience of God’s standards for us, a disobedience that results in consequences that change our life forever, consequences that plague us, perhaps for the rest of our lives.

The image that comes to my mind, believe it or not, is that from the movie National Lampoon’s Vacation. It’s the scene where the Chevy Chase character, Clark Griswold, is contemplating a midnight swim in the motel swimming pool with supermodel Christie Brinkley. I considered showing the scene to you, but I’m not sure it’s appropriate. Anyway, if you’ve seen the movie you will recall the scene. Brinkley is already in the pool, temptingly encouraging Clark to jump in…and Griswold is standing at the edge of the pool, swinging his arms and repeatedly saying, "This is crazy, this is crazy, this is crazy!" But, he eventually jumps in anyway.

It’s those moments I’m thinking of—when we stand upon the precipice of some action that is clearly a violation of God’s will for us, swinging our arms while a voice in the back of our heads is reminding us, "this is crazy, this is crazy, this is crazy," and we jump in anyway. And the result is consequences that plague us because we must live with those consequences for the rest of our lives. It’s the person considering following up on an office flirtation, standing at the precipice of a full blown affair, a voice in the back of the head saying, "this is crazy, this is crazy, this is crazy," but jumping in anyway. And now his or her life is plagued with the results—a broken marriage, children unsettled with the breakup of the family, the loss of absolute trust in any relationship, the burden of guilt that weighs them down in the constant reminders of what they have done. Or, I think of a Bernie Madoff, putting into place the beginnings of a fraudulent investment scam, somewhere along the way surely a voice in the back of his head saying, "this is crazy, this is crazy, this is crazy," but going ahead anyway—and now living with the consequences. Or, I think of the medical doctor having endured the difficult journey toward receiving his degree and license to practice medicine, standing at the precipice of supplying some wealthy entertainer with prescription drugs in return for a lot of money, and somewhere in the back of his head the voice, "this is crazy, this is crazy, this is crazy," but jumping in anyway. And now about to experience the whirlwind of what his actions have wrought—and his life will never be the same. From medical school to, what now, prison? The plague on his life he must now live with.

But I think not just of major events—the events that make the headlines of our news—but the seemingly smaller acts of disobedience that result nonetheless in consequences that plague us. The family member just about to speak a harsh, mean-spirited word to another member of the family, in the back of his head the voice, "this is crazy, this is crazy, this is crazy," but he speaks it anyway. For whatever reason—the need to be proven right, the need to express his opinion, solicited or not—for whatever reason he speaks it…and now lives with the consequences that plague his life—a daughter who no longer speaks to him, a brother who no longer attends family gatherings. Or the woman, about to spread a word of malicious gossip…for whatever reason—to make herself feel better about herself by bringing down someone else, to avenge an earlier malicious word spread about her—for whatever reason she picks up the phone to make a call, a voice in the back of her head saying, "this is crazy, this is crazy, this is crazy," but she dials the phone anyway and now lives with the consequences—a friendship lost, the momentary prestige of being the one "in the know" now gone and replaced by the dishonor and mistrust of being the one who destroys reputations and violates trust.

We all have such moments of craziness—hopefully, to a lesser degree, but moments nonetheless where we acted knowingly outside the standards God sets for us and we live with the consequences. Sometimes, in the madness of the moment, we imagine a scenario where God somehow, miraculously, takes away the consequences that plague us. But it doesn’t work that way. The damage has already been done and the plague remains.

The second kind of plague that can strike us in our lives in Exodus are those that come not as a result of our actions, but the result of someone else’s action, or, simply and maddeningly the result of life in the imperfection of fallen creation. Someone is innocently driving their car on their way home when a drunk driver runs a red light and life as previously known is changed forever. Or cancer strikes a child—a CHILD—and the scourge of this insidious disease is like a plague that falls upon their house. And we wonder where God is in the midst of it.

We find ourselves in such moments much like many of the psalmists who find themselves in a difficult situation, who wonder where God is in the midst of their trouble, who wonder when God will come to their relief. Yet, in their contemplation realize the presence of the Lord with them; perhaps realizing that the alternative is too terrible to consider—a life absent of God; who are strengthened and encouraged even in the midst of difficult trials by the promise of a life in eternity with God; who in the heavy burden and guilt of sin, their own willful disobedience, they find relief in confession and the mercy of God. The Psalms are some of the most favorite writings in the Bible because they resonant with our own experience. In their words we find words for ourselves.

So to those who are suffering the plague of a consequence resulting from their actions, their willful disobedience, the psalmist of Psalm 32 speaks for them:

The consequences of our sin can’t be magically erased. The damage has been done. I sometimes find myself wistfully thinking it would be nice if, during our contemplation of a sinful action, a video would run in our heads showing the consequences that will occur if we take that action. Perhaps it would serve as a deterrent for some sin, but I suspect it would not be enough for many sins. We would ignore it just as we ignore the voice in our head telling us it’s crazy. There are consequences to our sin, consequences that likely will plague us all our lives. But, God stands ready to forgive us and take away our guilt. That is the starting place for dealing with that plague in our lives.

The consequences of someone else’s action, or of living in a fallen world can’t be magically erased either. We all are living to one degree or another with such a consequence. In this lifetime we cannot avoid that—the consequences that come from living in a broken, imperfect world that awaits Christ’s return and the restoration of God’s perfect creation. For the plagues in this lifetime that come our way as the result of someone else’s action or as a result of simply living in this broken, imperfect world, the psalmist of Psalm 13 speaks words for us today:

The psalmists took comfort in remembering the story of their inheritance into the covenant God had established with His people. In remembering the Passover and telling the story from generation to generation, in remembering their deliverance from Egypt, even in remembering Israel’s unfaithfulness in the wilderness yet followed by their return to trusting in God, the psalmists were encouraged and strengthened during difficult times by the inheritance that was theirs through faith in the God of the Exodus, the God who is faithful to His covenant promises even when we are not. Psalm 106 is a classic example that begins with the words, "Praise the LORD. Give thanks to the LORD for he is good; his love endures forever," followed by a litany of remembrance of the events of the Exodus: "When our fathers were in Egypt, they gave no thought to your miracles; they did not remember your many kindnesses, and they rebelled by the sea, the Red Sea. Yet he saved them for his name’s sake, to make his mighty power known," (106:7, 8). "In the desert they gave in to their craving; in the wasteland they put God to the test. At Horeb they made a calf and worshiped an idol cast from metal. By the waters of Meribah they angered the LORD, and trouble came to Moses because of them," vv. 14, 19, and 32). The psalmist even remembers the unfaithfulness of the people once they reached the Promised Land: "…but they mingled with the nations and adopted their customs. They worshiped their idols, which became a snare to them," (vv. 35, 36). Yet, even through all of that, the psalmist remembers the faithfulness of the Lord: "But he took note of their distress when he heard their cry; for their sake he remembered his covenant and out of his great love he relented. He caused them to be pitied by all who held them captive. Save us, O LORD our God, and gather us from the nations, that we may give thanks to your holy name and glory in your praise. Praise be to the LORD, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting. Let all the people say, ‘Amen!’ Praise the LORD," (Psalm 106:44-48)

And so it is when we face the plagues that trouble us in our lives that we find the answer in the faithful God of the Exodus. Whether the result of our own disobedience, or someone else’s, or the result of living in a broken world where illness and disease occur, the things that plague us will not endure in the presence of Almighty God. And perhaps we can join our voices with the psalmist in saying, "Praise be to the LORD, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting. Let all the people say, ‘Amen!’ Praise the LORD."