Week 25: Day 4

Intro: Hello and welcome to Orbit, a short reflection to help you put God at the centre of your life from the team behind Satellites - my name is Zachary Gain and I’ll be taking you through today’s passage. Each weekday we share a little bit of the Bible with you, give you a chance to pray and think about it, and provide you with one practical way to put it into practice today.

Bible: Today's reading comes from Exodus 10:12-17

And the Lord said to Moses, ‘Stretch out your hand over Egypt so that locusts swarm over the land and devour everything growing in the fields, everything left by the hail.’

So Moses stretched out his staff over Egypt, and the Lord made an east wind blow across the land all that day and all that night. By morning the wind had brought the locusts; they invaded all Egypt and settled down in every area of the country in great numbers. Never before had there been such a plague of locusts, nor will there ever be again. They covered all the ground until it was black. They devoured all that was left after the hail – everything growing in the fields and the fruit on the trees. Nothing green remained on tree or plant in all the land of Egypt.

Pharaoh quickly summoned Moses and Aaron and said, ‘I have sinned against the Lord your God and against you. Now forgive my sin once more and pray to the Lord your God to take this deadly plague away from me.’

Thoughts: Often in this story and rightly so, we would position ourselves there with Moses and Aaron. On the side of the oppressed and the enslaved Israelites. However, do bear with me here just for a minute or so. I’d like to ask the question, do we ever stand with Pharoah? Stay with me still....

Now what I’m not saying is we’re ready to chase 2 million Israelites through the red sea.....however it says here 'Pharaoh quickly summoned Moses and Aaron and said, “I have sinned against the Lord your God and against you. Now forgive my sin once more and pray to the Lord your God to take this deadly plague away from me.”' And yet we know what follows, Pharaoh hardened his heart and still refuses to let the Israelites go. Pharaoh acknowledges God and acknowledges his sin, he even asks for forgiveness and yet he turns back towards evil.

Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn says “The line separating good and evil passes not through states, nor between classes, nor between political parties — but right through every human heart.” - meaning that the evil we see outside in the world is also in us. Now that’s not just a fancy quote to back up my point but is also a theme in scripture. “For out of the heart come evil thoughts—murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander”

This might feel a little bleak right now but there is hope. Now I know I am definitely quick to see where others might be doing wrong but it certainly takes a lot longer and often needs a good friend to point it out in myself.

So if God wants to rid this world of evil, he would have to get rid of us, right?

This is where Jesus comes in. It says in Mark 10:45 “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” Jesus' death was a sacrifice for us, covering the debt we owe God for contributing to the evil and death in the world.

However his death was not final, we know that he rose to life and lives on now offering himself to us, connecting us to God. The same power that resurrected Jesus lives in us, allowing us to rid ourselves of evil and lead lives of love and peace.

Prayer: Lord, thank you for the love that you offer us and we are sorry for when we have judged others instead of reflecting on our own wrongdoing. Thank you that you sent your son as a sacrifice for our sins so that we may live a life of love and peace in connecting with you our God. Amen.

Silence: There's now just a few moments of silence for you to pray, reflect on these ideas, or simply sit and be still.

Challenge: Be aware today as you leave your house of where judgement may creep in when interacting with other. Instead of acting back in judgement or anger or bitterness, remember that we ourselves will also wrong others. Allow God to fill you with love and grace for that individual and move towards them in peace.

Outro: That's it for today's Orbit. Thanks so much for joining us - we'll be back with another reflection tomorrow.