Read Proverbs 7
Read Exodus 7
The devil is a great imitator. God is light, so the devil masquerades as an angel of light. God is love, so the devil pretends to care about those who are his. God strikes the Nile, and the devil empowers the Egyptian magicians to perform a similar trick. (Though it must have been on a much smaller scale, because what water could they turn to blood that would compare to the whole bloody Nile?!?)
And Pharaoh, whose heart was hard, is deceived by the devil. He thinks there is no danger in opposing Yahweh, the One True God! But he will find out that he is gravely mistaken.
And so begins the 10 plagues, filled with terrible tragedies from God to punish the wicked Egyptians and to deliver his people. We see that God is just and powerful. God is strong to save.
To save his people, God must defeat the enemy. Even as dramatic as the 10 plagues are, this truth is no more dramatic as in the crucifixion of Jesus. He had been tempted by the devil throughout his life, and you can be sure the devil was tempting him on the cross. They insulted him and (with the voice of the devil) urged him to come down off the cross.
But Jesus remained faithful. And God rained down the plague on the devil. The cross is the devil's plague. For with the cross, Jesus crushes the devil's head, as was promised in Genesis 3:15.
God will deliver us, his people. The deliverance might be terrible and fearsome. But we need not fear. The defeat of the devil, his army of demons, and of the wickedness of the world will mean our final and complete salvation.
That's why in Advent we pray, "Come, Lord Jesus!"
Pray:
Pray from your heart today. Ask Jesus to break the power of sin in your life. Ask him to rescue you from the temptations of the evil one and the evil enticement of this world. Praise him for the deliverance that is our through the death and resurrection of Jesus. Thank him for the full and complete deliverance that will be ours when he comes again.
Study with me tomorrow,
Pastor Jon
Soli Deo Gloria!
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