Mighty Acts of Judgment
Many people have a misconception about God's attributes. When they talk of God as love, they tend to ignore the fact that He is also just. As such, He does not tolerate rebellion from His creatures but punishes us accordingly.
In our continuous study of the book of Exodus, we see this other side of God's qualities that most people overlook. We see this display of God's anger on Egypt through His mighty acts of judgment. And so in this article, I would like to share with you this central message that is highlighted through the 10 plagues that afflicted Egypt.
As Bible readers, whenever we hear the story of the 10 plagues, immediately Egypt comes to mind. I don't know how contemporary Egyptians view this story. All I know is that we can learn something from this historical event when God displayed His "Mighty Acts of Judgment."
When God displays His mighty acts of judgment, it is His way of punishment.
God said:
Then I will lay my hand on Egypt . . .
In the Bible, we know that laying one's hand is an act of declaring, transferring, conferring, or bestowing blessings on someone by faith. And that is why laying hands is usually accompanied by prayer. I see this practice in one local church in South Korea where every first day of the month, children come to church and pastors lay their hands and speak blessing to them.
In Genesis, we saw that when a patriarch is about to die and pass the covenant to his son. We see this in the case of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. In the New Testament, the practice of laying on hands is done when somebody is set apart for a specific ministry such as a calling to become a church elder or a missionary.
But the kind of laying of hand we find in our text is different from the act of bestowing blessings. It is an act of punishment. It is similar to a father spanking his son for disobeying him. It is a display of anger due to an offense committed. What is terrifying in our text is that it is not just an ordinary hand that is laid, but the hand of God.
Moreover, this laying of hand is not just done to an individual or a family, but to an entire nation. This shows that a nation that offended God is in great danger of experiencing the punishment of God.
Many nations in our time are following the footsteps of Egypt in despising the word of God. The decision of both the United Kingdom and the United States to legalize same-sex marriage is a defiance of God's clear command about the sanctity of marriage. It is a direct challenge against God's holiness no matter how subtle they hide such laws in the name of equality and civil rights. As such, these nations are in great danger of experiencing the powerful punishing hand of God. It might not be in the form of 10 plagues just as Egypt experienced, but punishment will come nonetheless.
This punishing hand of God must serve us as a warning not only for nations but for individuals and families as well. God never punishes any entity whether an individual or a society without repeated warnings first. God wants people to change their minds and their ways and that is why He keeps sending His servants to issue repeated warnings. But once these divine warnings have been ignored, there is no other way left but punishment.
When God displays His mighty acts of judgment, it is also His way of showing mercy upon those who believe in His Name.
Our text says:
I will bring out my divisions, my people the Israelites.
Yes, God's mighty acts of judgment are both His way of punishing Egypt and delivering Israel. They are both displays of God's anger and love. There is no contradiction in God's attributes. The same act but with different results. For Egypt, they suffered the wrath of God. For the Israelites, they experienced the redeeming grace of God.
Finally, when God displays His mighty acts of judgment, it is His way for people to know Him.
In the case of Egyptians, though they suffered God's punishment, their situation was not hopeless at all. The punishment of God is also an invitation for them to know Him. God said:
And the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord. . .
So the mighty acts of judgment are God's invitation for the Egyptians to know Him. They suffered the consequences for their greatest ignorance. Like Pharaoh, the Egyptians could identify with his declaration, "I do not know the Lord. . ." (Exodus 5: 2).
Knowing this, what God wants to see from everyone is not simply something intellectual. God wants people to know Him personally, and intimately. This idea of knowing is consistent in the way the Bible uses this word. When we read that Adam knew Eve, such knowledge does not refer to the intellectual knowledge that we know today. It refers to something deeper, something intimate and personal. God desires to see people having such kind of knowledge of Him.
And so if in case we see God's judgment on nations in our time, which I believe has been happening, let us learn that such show of displeasure on the part of God is an invitation to come to know Him. The hostility that is now going on in many parts of the world will never stop unless nations come to know the Lord. The same thing is true in the case of families and individuals. As long as people remain ignorant of God, there will be no way to escape His judgment. Knowing Him is the only way to experience His redeeming grace. Moreover, as children of God, we also experience God's chastisement. The painful experiences in our lives that God allows are an opportunity to know Him better.
It is easy to say that we love God with our all and He is the center of our lives when everything is going fine as we expected. But when trials come, such love and confession will be tested. If He is indeed the love and the center of your life, you can overcome whatever storm comes your way. After the storm, your knowledge of God will be deeper, more personal, and intimate.
Conclusion
And so we learn in this article that God displays His mighty acts of judgment to punish disobedience, to deliver His people, and for unbelievers to come to know Him in a personal way. God did all these when His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord suffered and died on the cross. By pouring out His judgment, His Son bore the punishment we deserve and gave us the gift of salvation. The cross is both an act of God's judgment and deliverance and an invitation to know Him is still freely offered in our time. And it is our task to extend such an invitation to all mankind.