There’s a bit of an interlude between the sixth and seventh plagues where Moses, once again, meets Pharaoh by the water. For Pharaoh, the banks of the Nile represent a starting point for his daily duties as chief administrator, chief priest, and chief decision-maker in Egypt.
That’s precisely why God tells Moses to meet him there in Exodus 9:13. In times past, the message has been conditional: “Let my people go, or else I will send a plague on you and your people.”
This time, the message is more stern. Now, God says, He will send all the plagues on Pharaoh. Every. Last. One of them.
Why? Because Pharaoh has time after time refused to acknowledge who God is. Sure, he’s been disobedient, but that disobedience hinges on an innate belief of Pharaoh’s that he is higher than God. It’s an elevation of self over Jehovah—that’s where the disobedience begins.
This is exactly how Paul defines atheism in Romans 1:18-32. To Paul, atheists are people who, despite the evidence, “suppress the truth” and refuse to “acknowledge God,” “honor God,” or “give Him thanks.” They know He’s there, but they live their life, take His blessings, and act as if He doesn’t exist.
Isn’t that how Pharaoh is operating? Despite being a very religious person (ostensibly), his actions show a disbelief in the only actual God that exists. If Pharaoh truly believed in God, he would act as if he was under God’s rule, which means letting the people go.
Let’s take this a step further: Don’t we do this? When we’re disobedient to God, it’s because we believe, if only for a very short time, that it’s us that makes the rules, not God. We become atheists, if only for a moment, when we sin. We act outside of God’s rules because for that moment, what we want is more important than what God wants.
I guess it’s harsh to equate the sins that “so often entangle us” (Hebrews 12:1) with comparisons to Pharaoh and accusations of atheism. What I want us to see though is that the root of sin remains the same. It doesn’t matter whether it’s pornography or a refusal to let the Israelites leave Egypt, all sin finds its roots in a desire for self over God.
That’s why it took so long for Pharaoh to let the people go. He didn’t need to be convinced, he needed to be broken. Why? Because that was the only thing that would make him realize how powerless he was.
I pray it doesn’t take us losing everything before we realize just how powerless we are against God. Don’t stubbornly refuse God and let ten plagues convince you of something you should be able to understand on your own.
