READING: Exodus 9-11
Since God saved me in 1974, I have never questioned whether I am God’s child. I have wandered at times and struggled in consistently growing, but God has never let me go. He has graciously made me His own, and it’s only His mercy that has kept me in His arms.
I think about that truth as I read today’s text. God was bringing judgment on Egypt for Pharaoh’s hardened heart, and those judgments were increasingly severe. In the midst of all those stories, though, the Word reminds us that God always, always knew His people. When God destroyed the livestock of the land, He protected the Israelite livestock—so much so that Pharaoh sent messengers to check out whether the animals of the Israelites had died! When God rained hail on Egypt, “the only place it didn’t hail was in the land of Goshen, where the Israelites were” (Exo 9:26). The plague of darkness God also carried out on Egypt was so dark the people could not see each other, yet “all the Israelites had light where they lived” (Exo 10:23).
Even Pharaoh must have recognized Moses had a genuine relationship with this God, for he at times asked Moses to appeal to the Lord to stay the plagues (Exo 9:28, 10:17). That’s the same God who recognizes us as His children and listens to our prayers today. He knows us.
PERSONAL REFLECTION: How grateful are you that you are God’s child if you are a believer?
DAILY PRAYER: “God, thank You for knowing Your people in the midst of a dark world.”
MONDAY’S READING: Exodus 12-15
