This weeks reading is from Parashat Va’era (Shemot / Exodus 6:2-9:35), Moshe performs miracles before Pharaoh and all of Egypt. In Shemot / Bereshit 6:4 the Lord reminds Moshe of the covenant promise to his fathers saying ד וְגַם הֲקִמֹתִי אֶת-בְּרִיתִי אִתָּם לָתֵת לָהֶם אֶת-אֶרֶץ כְּנָעַן אֵת אֶרֶץ מְגֻרֵיהֶם אֲשֶׁר-גָּרוּ בָהּ: 6:4 ‘I also established My covenant with them, to give them the land of Canaan, the land in which they sojourned. (NASB) God tells Moshe and Aaron to go and bring the sons of Yisrael out of the land of Egypt. The Lord says He will harden Pharaoh’s heart so that He can deliver Israel from bondage by a mighty hand (7:1-4). Moshe goes before Pharaoh and performs the sign of the serpent staff (7:8-10) and Pharaoh hardens his heart (7:11-14). The Nile River is turned to blood (7:15-24), the plague of frogs (8:1-15), and the swarms of insects (8:16-31), Pharaoh again hardened his heart. The livestock are stricken and caused to die (9:1-7). Boils break out on all of the Egyptians and Pharaoh’s heart was hardened again (9:8-17). It is the plague of hail mingled with fire (9:18-35) that finally gets Pharaoh to admit that he has sinned before God. 9:27 Then Pharaoh sent for Moses and Aaron, and said to them, ‘I have sinned this time; the Lord is the righteous one, and I and my people are the wicked ones. 9:28 ‘Make supplication to the Lord, for there has been enough of God’s thunder and hail; and I will let you go, and you shall stay no longer.’ (NASB)
כתבי הקודש / The Holy Scriptures
ספר שמות פרק ח
יא וַיַּרְא פַּרְעֹה כִּי הָיְתָה הָרְוָחָה וְהַכְבֵּד אֶת-לִבּוֹ וְלֹא שָׁמַע אֲלֵהֶם כַּאֲשֶׁר דִּבֶּר יְהוָֹה:
Shemot / Exodus 8:15
8:15 But when Pharaoh saw that there was relief, he hardened his heart and did not listen to them, as the Lord had said. (NASB)
According to the Scriptures we read Pharaoh’s response, יא וַיַּרְא פַּרְעֹה כִּי הָיְתָה הָרְוָחָה וְהַכְבֵּד אֶת-לִבּוֹ וְלֹא שָׁמַע אֲלֵהֶם כַּאֲשֶׁר דִּבֶּר יְהוָֹה: 8:15 But when Pharaoh saw that there was relief, he hardened his heart and did not listen to them, as the Lord had said. (NASB) Following each plague, Pharaoh seeing relief (הָרְוָחָה) would sin in his heart and not listen to Moshe, Aaron, or the word of the Lord. It is interesting to read how Pharaoh struggles with sin. Seeing relief he habitually returns to sin and does not listen to the word of the Lord. The sad truth of the matter is today many who do know the Lord (unlike Pharaoh) also struggle with turning to sin when the trials end. The Apostle Paul said in Galatians 5:13 “For you have been called to live in freedom, my brothers and sisters. But don’t use your freedom to satisfy your sinful nature. Instead, use your freedom to serve one another in love.” (NIV) Do you struggle with sin? Have you ever asked yourself: “What do I have to do to get victory over this evil that is in me?” According to the Scriptures, David was a man after God’s own heart, yet he committed adultery and then murder. David admitted in the Psalms (see 36-41), “My sins are to great, they are over my head, there is no soundness in my flesh, there is no rest in my bones because of my sin, my loins are filled with a loathsome disease.” The Apostle Paul said something similar in Romans 7:14-25. As a result of sin and persecution, David and the Apostle Paul wrote:
Psalms 18:6 In my distress I called upon the Lord, And cried to my God for help; He heard my voice out of His temple, And my cry for help before Him came into His ears. 34:6 This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him And saved him out of all his troubles. 2 Corinthians 6:2 for He says, ‘At the acceptable time I listened to you, And on the day of salvation I helped you.’ Behold, now is ‘the acceptable time,’ behold, now is ‘the day of salvation’ (NASB)
Everyone who truly knows the Lord seeks a “clean conscious” and freedom from “life controlling evil.” Do you have a lingering desire to know and please God? Pharaoh did not have a desire to please God,asking arrogantly “Who is God?” (5:2) The Apostle Paul wrote “behold, now is the day of salvation!” If you seek deliverance from sin, cry out to the Lord today in the Name of God’s Salvation, Yeshua the Messiah! BTT_Parashat Va’era-2013
