Today we read that the Lord continues to pour out plagues on Egypt. Now he makes it very clear that he is distinguishing between his people, the Hebrews, and the Egyptians. He spares the livestock and crops of the Hebrews from the plagues which destroy livestock and growing plants. Pharaoh's confession in Exodus 9.27-28 is telling. "This time I have sinned; the LORD is in the right, and I and my people are in the wrong. Plead with the LORD, for there has been enough of God's thunder and hail. I will let you go, and you shall stay no longer" (ESV).
How many times do we see God's displeasure against sin? We know what our Lord has commanded, at least certainly enough to know we are repeat offenders. We know he calls for perfect righteousness. We know he has defined that righteousness. We need only to read the Ten Commandments to realize that we fail. For that matter, we need only to read the first commandment to realize that. Really? Do we love and trust God only, with our whole heart, all the time, no matter what? Or do we daily erect other false gods?
What has our Lord shown us in this passage? He makes a distinction between those who are united by their calling and their faith in him, those who have held to his promises and continued with God's covenant community, and those who are not his people. We can even see in our modern society that there are some situations which are much worse for those who are not involved in a local church, for those who are not placing their hope in God, for those who are trusting in themselves and nothing but themselves. Our Lord shows us daily that it is by his grace we live.
In closing, let's simply observe that Pharaoh seemed persuaded, as we seem persuaded. Did he let the people of Israel go? Not this time. When we are persuaded, when we confess our sin, when we promise to go and sin no more, we are equally liable to go back on our promise. We are equally likely to forsake our commitments. But we'll see in a subsequent reading that God delivers his people anyway. He will accomplish his will and desire regardless of the weakness of our faith. In Christ, sinners are saved, period. In Christ, sin is atoned for, period. In Christ we can look forward to the resurrection of the body, period. Jesus himself is the resurrection and the life. This is not dependent on the quality of my faith. It is not dependent on my perseverance. It is not dependent on me at all. It is dependent on the validity of God's promise. Let us then look to our Lord, the one who makes his mighty promises and who keeps them.
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