“Now the Lord had caused the Egyptians to look favorably on the people of Israel.
And Moses was considered a very great man in the land of Egypt, respected by
Pharaoh’s officials and the Egyptian people alike.”
Exodus 11:3
How much time and energy do we spend trying to win someone’s attention or favor? And what about all the stress caused by such a mission?
On the contrary, this story puts an entirely different spin on favor, and I notice the difference is in the subject of the sentence! Instead of MOSES earning the favor, the LORD caused the favor! What had Moses himself done to earn the respect of a nation? After all, every time he appeared before Pharaoh, bad things happened! And furthermore, what could slaves do to win favor from the very ones who beat them with whips?
The answer is found back in chapter three when God told Moses that He knew Pharaoh would not let the Israelites go free unless a mighty hand forced him. So, God announced that HE would perform all kinds of miracles, and HE would CAUSE the Egyptians to look favorably on them, and they would even bestow gifts on the Israelites when they left Egypt!
Moses simply trusted God and obeyed His direction. It was GOD who caused the favor. So when I grow weary from striving to earn favor myself, perhaps all I need to do is change the subject of my trust from me to HE!
Comments