God 911
Wednesday, Oct. 21
Exodus 9:1 – 10:29 Read it here Listen to it here

As the plagues continue, God distinguishes between the Egyptians and the Hebrews, sparing the Hebrews from the effects of some plagues. This is an act of mercy toward his own people, and also emphasizes to the Egyptians that the people they enslave have God’s particular favor.
Despite this, Pharaoh continues to refuse to let the people go.
At times, though, he seems to recognize his sin.
In 9:27-28, he says, “This time I have sinned. The Lord is in the right, and I and my people are in the wrong. Pray to the Lord, for we have had enough thunder and hail. I will let you go; you don’t have to stay any longer.”
But once the threat passes, he quickly turns his back on his promise.
I have often heard the phrase, “There are no atheists in foxholes.” Usually it is presented in a positive light, to point out that people turn to God in times of crisis. But the negative side of it is that those same people are often quick to turn away from God once the shelling stops.
For too many people, God is a last resort, as in the phrase, “There’s nothing left to do but pray.”
Prayer, though, is meant to be part of an ongoing relationship, not just a desperate cry when there’s nothing else to do. Repentance that is cast aside the moment things settle down isn’t repentance at all.
While we usually just look at Pharaoh as the bad guy in this encounter, it’s notable that in his prayer of contrition he said, “I and my people are in the wrong.”
This raises an interesting question: To what extent to the people—of any nation—bear the guilt of evil choices made by those who govern them? The U.S. Declaration of Independence contains a famous line that says, “governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.”
We usually thing of that phrase as applying to elected governments where people explicitly grant the right of leadership to those they elect, but that wasn’t the case with Pharaoh; he was an absolute, hereditary monarch. And yet even he seemed to understand that his will and his actions weren’t entirely separated from the will of his people; his actions were their actions.

Wednesday meditation

Proverbs 7:1-5
My son, keep my words and store up my commands within you. Keep my commands and you will live; guard my teachings as the apple of your eye. Bind them on your fingers; write them on the tablet of your heart.
Say to wisdom, “You are my sister,” and to insight, “You are my relative.” They will keep you from the adulterous woman, from the wayward woman with her seductive words.

Prayer focus
God, write your wisdom upon my heart, that it may serve me both in times of crisis and in good times.

-Rev. Mark Fleming