Exodus 7-8; Matthew 15:1-20

Exodus 7-8; Matthew 15:1-20

1.      We need to beware of counterfeits. Counterfeit miracles, etc. Through incantation and magic and the secret arts, Pharaoh’s magicians were able to perform the very same miracles that God did! They reached their limit eventually, but the fact remains that they did some remarkable stuff. All the reason why we must be careful and test every spirit. Not everything that looks like God is God. Increasingly, it’s becoming popular in the media to seek out mediums to speak to the dead on one’s behalf, to consult witches, etc. It’s all made to seem so sanitized and harmless. I refuse to invite darkness into my life by seeking any Being other than the One True God. Counterfeit is counterfeit, and can only take you so far. In the end, when it comes time to produce gnats, they will fail.

2.      This Pharaoh was nothing like the Pharaoh of Joseph’s time. This was a Pharaoh who didn’t fear God at all. And his grip on the Egyptians reminded me of how the process of deliverance can be in our own lives sometimes. Those pharaohic spirits that are deeply stubborn and latch onto you, and refuse to let go. Or they let go for a time, leave when you pray, and then come back again when things cool off. But persistence is the key. In such situations, they key must be to keep praying, keep trusting, keep fighting. There will be eventual deliverance in the fullness of time.

3.      The conflation of tradition and the tenets of God’s Word! Still a huge problem for us today. We’re champions at imposing traditions on others, confusing them for what God has actually said we should do. Here’s what The Message version of the Bible says in Matthew:

15 ^1-2 After that, Pharisees and religion scholars came to Jesus all the way from Jerusalem, criticizing, “Why do your disciples play fast and loose with the rules?”

4.   ^3-9 But Jesus put it right back on them. “Why do you use your rules to play fast and loose with God’s commands? God clearly says, ‘Respect your father and mother,’ and, ‘Anyone denouncing father or mother should be killed.’ But you weasel around that by saying, ‘Whoever wants to, can say to father and mother, What I owed to you I’ve given to God.’ That can hardly be called respecting a parent. You cancel God’s command by your rules. Frauds! Isaiah’s prophecy of you hit the bull’s-eye:

5.   These people make a big show of saying the right thing,
    but their heart isn’t in it.
They act like they’re worshiping me,
    but they don’t mean it.
They just use me as a cover
    for teaching whatever suits their fancy.”

I don’t want my worship to be an act or a performance. I want to mean it. I don’t want to say the right thing without actually doing it. Hear my prayer, O Lord.