Good morning!
Text: Exodus 9-11; Psalm 22:12-31
As the Lord visits the ten plagues on Egypt, we repeatedly read that God “hardened Pharaoh’s heart,” telling us that God Himself is responsible for what would have seemed harsh and painful to the Hebrews. We have here on display one of the great questions about good, evil and God: “Why would a good God let bad things happen?” Exodus 9:16 gives us the answer in this case, as the Lord says this to Pharaoh:
“But for this purpose I have raised you up, to show you my power, so that my name may be proclaimed in all the earth.”
Whenever we see bad things happening, we can trust that God is ultimately in control, and that He has a purpose. His immediate purpose might be obscured, but the big picture is always there. Whatever is going on, God is at work to bring glory to Himself. Now, evil is very real, but at the end of the day, there is no such thing as senseless evil. God will always end up getting the glory. And that is a most reassuring truth.
in Him, Mike