Years ago my husband learned to wind surf. The instructor spoke for twenty minutes. Most of the people that surrounded the instructor had no patience to listen. They wanted to get out there and just do it. My husband is the patient sort. He listened, then went out and sailed like an expert. I watched as the others fell constantly off their boards into the lake. I am reminded of wisdom and its daily call to us to instruct us in all aspects of our lives.

In the desert land of Egypt, God sends a wildly destructive hailstorm. The Egyptians worshipped fire and water so it seemed like their gods were judging them from the sky. The Lord takes the time here to expound a lesson. His purpose is clear, “…just to show you his power and to bring honor to himself everywhere in the world.” The Lord tells Pharaoh that he could have wiped the people out completely but he wants them to know who he is (vv 14-16). His goal is to save not destroy.

Pharaoh is a stubborn child of God who is being disciplined and humbled. He continues to contend with God although his efforts are frustrated and fruitless. As Pharaoh negotiates with the Creator, he is reminded who is really in charge of Egypt. Ancient civilizations dreaded locusts and the Egyptians surely saw their arrival as divine judgment. This swarming army of voracious insects toppled the Egyptian god Set who protected crops.

Darkness symbolizes evil, chaos and judgment. It’s the obvious opposite of light. In the beginning of the creation account in Genesis, God makes the formless and dark world light. This ninth plague unravels God’s creation and returns the land to chaos. It attacks Egypt’s most potent religious symbol, the sun god Ra, and Pharaoh himself who was considered the incarnation of Amon-Ra.

Pharaoh refused to release Israel, God’s firstborn son, and now God will take his firstborn son (Exodus 4:22-23). This tenth plague will not be reversed by Pharaoh’s insincere confession of sin—there is a price to pay. It dealt a final blow to the Egyptian false gods and undermined Osiris, the Egyptian giver of life. The stroke on the firstborn meant the entire community was being judged from the lowest to the highest. The death of Pharaoh’s firstborn wiped out the future divine king over the land.

What event prompted the Pharisees to ambush Jesus and his disciples? According to Matthew’s chronology, the only recorded event involving food that they could be referring to was the feeding of the 5,000. Their response to one of Jesus’ most astounding miracles was an accusation related to meal etiquette.

How did they get it so wrong?

Have you ever broken out in song and dance just because you know God loves you?

The Zion of Psalm 87 isn’t the Zion we first encounter in Israel’s story. In 2 Samuel 5:6-10, Zion referred to a specific mountain, Mount Zion, near Jerusalem, on which stood a Jebusite fortress of the same name. David captured Zion and re-named it the city of David.