Exodus 11
The title of this teaching is the beginning of a quote from one of my favorite movies; “The Planet of the Apes”.
Not the Mark Walberg remake, but the Charlton Hesston original.
The character “Taylor” was prone to angry outbursts throughout the movie. Funny, now that I think about it Hesston’s character in “Soylent Green” was the same way, not to mention his character in; “The Ten Commandments”. Anyway, back to my original thought.
Taylor was riding with Luna down the beach when he comes across the remains of the Statue of Liberty, when he got off his horse for his final angry outburst when he came to the realization of where he was and what had happened in the past. We are led to believe that the leaders of our society had caused the destruction of our civilization in one cataclysmic event.
We have the ability to harden our hearts against our fellow people, and commit acts of self destruction in order to witness the defeat of our enemies. When Pharaoh refused to let the people of Israel leave Egypt, thousands of innocent Egyptians died because of his stubborn will. Perhaps the knowledge of what was about to happen to Egypt’s firstborn on that first Passover night caused the great anger Moses felt as he left Pharaoh it was going to be a night of devastation and sorrow because the ruler was in a fatal frame of mind.
8 All these officials of yours will come to me, bowing down before me and saying, ‘Go, you and all the people who follow you!’ After that I will leave." Then Moses, hot with anger, left Pharaoh.
9 The LORD had said to Moses, "Pharaoh will refuse to listen to you—so that my wonders may be multiplied in Egypt."
10 Moses and Aaron performed all these wonders before Pharaoh, but the LORD hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he would not let the Israelites go out of his country.
It’s easy to condemn Pharaoh’s willful disobedience to God, and very difficult to face our own. But this passage forces me to ask, “Is my attitude choking the life out of someone close to me?” Oswald Chambers said: “The right of life is insisted on all through the Bible. As long as I do not murder anyone outright the law cannot touch me, but is there someone dependent on me to whom in the tiniest way I am not giving the right to live, someone for whom I am cherishing an unforgiving dislike?
Our hearts become hard through repeated refusals to yield to God. But they can be softened by obedience. When we say “yes” to God, the result is relief and life-giving release for our families, colleagues, and friends.
The way of obedience is the way of blessing.
The title of this teaching is the beginning of a quote from one of my favorite movies; “The Planet of the Apes”.
Not the Mark Walberg remake, but the Charlton Hesston original.
The character “Taylor” was prone to angry outbursts throughout the movie. Funny, now that I think about it Hesston’s character in “Soylent Green” was the same way, not to mention his character in; “The Ten Commandments”. Anyway, back to my original thought.
Taylor was riding with Luna down the beach when he comes across the remains of the Statue of Liberty, when he got off his horse for his final angry outburst when he came to the realization of where he was and what had happened in the past. We are led to believe that the leaders of our society had caused the destruction of our civilization in one cataclysmic event.
We have the ability to harden our hearts against our fellow people, and commit acts of self destruction in order to witness the defeat of our enemies. When Pharaoh refused to let the people of Israel leave Egypt, thousands of innocent Egyptians died because of his stubborn will. Perhaps the knowledge of what was about to happen to Egypt’s firstborn on that first Passover night caused the great anger Moses felt as he left Pharaoh it was going to be a night of devastation and sorrow because the ruler was in a fatal frame of mind.
8 All these officials of yours will come to me, bowing down before me and saying, ‘Go, you and all the people who follow you!’ After that I will leave." Then Moses, hot with anger, left Pharaoh.
9 The LORD had said to Moses, "Pharaoh will refuse to listen to you—so that my wonders may be multiplied in Egypt."
10 Moses and Aaron performed all these wonders before Pharaoh, but the LORD hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he would not let the Israelites go out of his country.
It’s easy to condemn Pharaoh’s willful disobedience to God, and very difficult to face our own. But this passage forces me to ask, “Is my attitude choking the life out of someone close to me?” Oswald Chambers said: “The right of life is insisted on all through the Bible. As long as I do not murder anyone outright the law cannot touch me, but is there someone dependent on me to whom in the tiniest way I am not giving the right to live, someone for whom I am cherishing an unforgiving dislike?
Our hearts become hard through repeated refusals to yield to God. But they can be softened by obedience. When we say “yes” to God, the result is relief and life-giving release for our families, colleagues, and friends.
The way of obedience is the way of blessing.
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