One of the greatest abilities that the Bible speaks of God having is His ability to transform. God has the ability to transform Himself as He did through Jesus. The scriptures teach that Jesus first existed as the Word of God (the revelation of truth about God), then became light in Genesis 1:3, and then became flesh as documented in John 1:14. When Jesus came into the world as God in the flesh, He confirmed that He maintained the ability to transform something from one thing into another as God in His very first miracle. When Jesus turned water into wine at the wedding feast in Cana, Jesus did so in order to reveal to the world that He possessed the ability to transform one substance into another - more specifically, one useless and undesirable substance into something of the greatest quality and value! The reason that this ability is so important is because God promised that He would bless all of the families of the earth through Abraham. In other words, God would enable people to be able to stand as approved before Him, by removing sin and transforming His children into His own image. Since God promised to transform sinners into saints, it is important to recognize places in scripture where God expresses this ability in order to trust in His ability to fulfill His promises. Exodus 8:16-19 reveals God flexing His ability to transform. The scriptures explain that because Pharaoh hardened his heart against God after God brought frogs in judgment, God brought another plague upon the Egyptians. The Bible states that God brought an overwhelming lice infection into the land so that people and animal alike were overrun by lice. However, it is important to pay attention to the details of scripture to understand how God did this work. The Bible explains that God instructed Moses and Aaron to to go Pharaoh again and stretch out Aarons rod over the dust, and that upon doing so, the dust became lice. In other words, when Aaron stretched his rod across the dirt, the dirt transformed into lice. God made the dust of the ground into lice, and transformed so much of the dust into lice that it infected many of the people, and their animals and livestock. When considering this truth, it is important to recall Gods purpose in these judgments against Pharaoh and Egypt. Recall that God desired to reveal Himself as Judge, having authority and power over all of creation. God wanted the children of Israel to see Him as Judge before fulfilling His promise to bring them into the land, and wanted to prove to the Egyptians that He is God and there is no other. Thus, when God transformed the dust into lice, He was performing an act that only He would be able to do, to set Himself apart from all others. The results of Gods work speak for themselves. Exodus 8:16-19 explains that upon seeing the work of God to transform dust into lice, the magicians and sorcerers of Pharaoh tried again to duplicate the work. The Bible plainly states that they were unable. Though the experts were able to mimic the work of God by transforming their staffs into serpents, the staff of Aaron devoured the staffs of the magicians. Though the experts were able to mimic the work of God by changing the appearance of the water into blood, they were not able to trump the authority of God to bring back the function and usefulness of water. Though the experts were able to mimic the work of God to manifest frogs, they were not able to alleviate the infestation, but instead compounded the problem. When God transformed dust into lice, the magicians could not match God again. Exodus 8:16-19 explains that the experts finally told Pharaoh, This is the finger of God. God unveiled His nature as Judge to reveal Himself to Egypt and the children of Israel. As the magicians confessed that God was working to bring about the plagues they were experiencing, Gods plan was proven to be successful. The magicians knew that they were up against something greater than they had known to exist. They knew they could not match His power, trump His authority, or mirror His purpose. Though the magicians gave it all they had to demonstrate the ability to transform one object into another with purpose, they confessed that God only needed to use His finger to accomplish His purpose. God had used only His finger to amass an army out of lice to accomplish a specific purpose out of the dust of the ground. What other being or entity boasts of such things? More importantly, what other being or entity has others confessing such ability of them? The scriptures reveal that the magicians soon realized the presence and power of God upon seeing His unique ability to transform one substance into another with specific purpose and intention. It is no wonder that the scriptures emphasize the process of sanctification and holy living. The process of sanctification represents the work that God does to transform that which was dead into that which is alive. The process of sanctification represents the work that God does to transform that which was corrupt into that which is righteous. The process of sanctification represents the work that God does to transform that which was shameful into that which is glorious according to the glory of God Himself. The process of sanctification is the process of daily transformation of a sinful human being into the image of Jesus Christ - God in flesh. The reason that God desires to do this work so emphatically is so that He can produce the same results that are seen in Exodus 8:16-19. The work of God to transform revealed the hand of the Lord God to those who once stood against Him in opposition so that they would confess His greatness. The work of God to transform revealed the hardened hearts of those who desired to continue to rebel against Him - Pharaoh. Thus, God is glorified by the confession of the magicians and by the fulfillment of His Word regarding Pharaoh. God bless yall! --Bside--
Posted on: Tue, 30 Dec 2014 17:10:58 +0000
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