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Exodus 7:16-17

¹⁶Then say to him, 'The LORD, the God of the Hebrews, has sent me to say to you: Let my people go, so that they may worship me in the desert. But until now you have not listened. ¹⁷This is what the LORD says: By this you will know that I am the LORD: With the staff that is in my hand I will strike the water of the Nile, and it will be changed into blood.

The indictment against Pharaoh is that he will not listen to the LORD. God is always speaking in the world to set the captives free. Are we listening or are we as guilty as Pharaoh? When we refuse to listen to God, that is, not just to hear but to take to heart, then He must use more drastic methods to get our attention. He would not listen because he had respect for other gods. They are not truly gods but just creations that the LORD had made. God began to show Pharaoh that Jehovah alone is God.

The most revered god of Egypt was the Nile. It was the first to be touched by plague. Each plague struck something that Egyptians worshipped. When you read the story, notice that during the early plagues Pharaoh hardened his own heart. Even though God has demonstrated that Pharaoh's gods are nothing, he refused to take the word of God to heart. About halfway through the plagues, God hardened his heart. Pharaoh had enough evidence that the LORD is God, but he would not yield. Now the real god of Pharaoh honors is obvious. It is Pharaoh himself.

The things that we refuse to hear the LORD tell us to forsake will be taken from us or shown to be worthless. What will we do when we find the real god we have worshipped is self? Will we turn around before we cross that line?

Meditation: Hear God today. Take to heart what He speaks to you.