A Great Glimpse
A Great Glimpse
Exodus 11:3
And the LORD gave the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians. Moreover, the man Moses was very great in the land of Egypt, in the sight of Pharaoh’s servants and in the sight of the people.
Exodus 11:3 is like a sudden burst of sunshine and blue sky in the middle of a tempest. A glimpse beyond the heavy, dense clouds of judgment that have been suffocating the atmosphere ever since Moses first called to Pharaoh, “Let my people go!”, and Pharaoh bellowed back, “No!” A flash of evangelion between the thunderclaps and lightning bolts of divine fury. A clear, undiluted reminder that the substance of Redemption’s story—for Moses, for Hebrew and Egyptian believers, and for you and me—is not storm clouds and plagues and divine wrath, but blue skies and paradise and divine favor.
See, friend, God doesn’t turn on some switch in the minds of these Egyptian citizens here so that they suddenly look favorably on their Hebrew neighbors. He’s been working out this transformation over the course of months, as we’ve already seen glimpses of, little by little, plague by plague, one victory over Egyptian idols after another. To the Egyptians who’ve bowed their knees rather than stiffened their necks to Jehovah, these poor, beaten down Hebrews aren’t slaves in their eyes, but sons of God. And Moses isn’t an enemy either, but a great man. Which is truly remarkable, because these people have suffered the most through the turbulence of the past months. Every time Moses has spoken, every time Pharaoh has hardened his heart, another plague has crashed down from heaven into their lives—their homes—their businesses—their economies, from bloody rivers to stinking frogs to awful boils, and they’ve been cleaning up the mess ever since. So how can Moses still be great in their eyes after all that?
Take this to heart today: as you walk humbly by the Spirit, you too will be great in the land. You too will be a beacon of light in this dark world. First, in the eyes of your God and Savior; then, in the eyes of those who, by grace, are beginning to see.