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Topic: Harden Not Your Heart
[DCLM Daily Manna 15 February 2019 Daily Devotional by Pastor William Folorunso Kumuyi]
Text: Exodus 8:1-15 (KJV)
Key Verse: “But when Pharaoh saw that there was respite, he hardened his heart, and hearkened not unto them; as the LORD had said” (Exodus 8:15).
MESSAGE:
“Once bitten twice shy” is a cautionary saying meant to guide people against repeated failings. But when one is set on the part of self destruction, no number of bites will be sufficient to put one in check and take him away from the path of danger and death to which he has irreversibly commit himself.
The first warning from the Almighty God to a recalcitrant Pharaoh was Aaron’s rod swallowing up his magicians’ rods. This heralded the commencement of the plagues as the waters of Egypt all became blood. The fish in the rivers and streams died and stank. Yet, the Egyptian king remained unmoved.
Then came the plague of frogs. “And the LORD spake unto Moses, say unto Aaron, Stretch forth thine hand with thy rod over the streams, over the rivers, and over the ponds, and cause frogs to come up upon the land of Egypt” (verse 5). Ironically, Pharaoh’s magicians’ enchantment multiplied the frogs. Who can battle with the Lord? In ancient Egypt, frogs represented gods and were thus sacred. Through the plague, the Lord attacked the gods of Egypt to show that His power was far superior to all the magicians’ power.
Understandably, the plagues demonstrated God’s power over the gods of Egypt and all the forces of evil; it also revealed His judgment against the nation’s leadership for stubbornly refusing to obey His command to let His people go. Today, God is still very much angry with the wicked particularly those in leadership who oppress the poor and the needy while enriching themselves with the nation’s God-given wealth. As a true believer, avoid backsliding to join to the ranks of the wicked whose damnation is sure and whose punishment in the lake of fire is forever.
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: A stubborn fly follows the corpse to the grave.
THE BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Mark 14-16
