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Destroying Tefnut and Shu
“He gave them rain showers of hailstones,
And flames of fire in their land.
He smote their vines and their figs
And he smashed into fragments
The trees within their borders.”
(Psalm 105:32-33)
We now arrive at the seventh plague — that of hail and fire. If you live in a part of the world where large hail is common, you know just how damaging that hail can be. In this case, the text describes the trees as being shattered into splinters or fragments. What the Psalmist does not record is that the remaining livestock and the people who remained in the field were also killed by these great falling hailstones (Exodus 9:19). As such, the economy of Egypt was decimated (except for the wheat, which was late to come up – Exodus 9:32), yet again, God preserved his people in Goshen (Exodus 9:26).
What is the purpose of such violence against Egypt? They are idolaters, most certainly, and deserve such judgment. They have wickedly oppressed God’s people. Yet, Moses preserves the ultimate reason for this violence — a reason that the Apostle Paul applies to all of the reprobate; God is doing this to show his mighty power that it may be proclaimed throughout the earth (Exodus 9:16; Romans 9:22-23).
In the Egyptian pantheon, they recognized Tefnut and Shuas twins who ruled the moisture (rain) and air, respectively. Here, God demonstrates that these false gods are unable to stop Him from raining down terror by controlling their domains. Once again, the pagan gods are demonstrated as being inept and impotent when faced with the God of the Bible.
God’s Faithful Purposes
“He called a famine upon the land;
All of the grain for bread was ruined,
He sent a man,
To be sold as a slave: Joseph.”
(Psalm 105:16-17)
Our psalmist, David, now begins to retell the story of God’s faithfulness to His people, beginning with the famine and Joseph’s entrance into Egypt. Notice that the famine is spoken about as something that was “called,” though many English translations will render the word קָרַא (qara — “to call” or “to proclaim/decree”) as “sent.” When used in this fashion, קָרַא, usually carries with it legal connotations in the form of a judgment sent out to punish evildoing. In this case, God was judging the land for their idolatry.
Yet, despite the fact that God is bringing judgment upon the wicked who were dwelling in the land of Canaan, God did not forsake his own (who also happened to be dwelling in Canaan at the time). As Peter writes, “God knows how to rescue the godly from trials and keep the wicked under judgment” (2 Peter 2:9). How did God do this? Beforehand, God ordained that Joseph would be sold as a slave into Egypt (through the wicked actions of Joseph’s brothers).
One of the things we need to think about, when it comes to matters like this, is that the events surrounding the sale of Joseph into slavery took place 20 years before Joseph would become the deliverer of his people. By this time, his brothers most likely thought that their brother was long gone or even dead — is it any surprise that they did not recognize him 20 years later (Genesis 42:8)?
Yet, the question that we need to come to terms with is that of God’s timing. We have a bad habit of thinking that God works on our timetable and that “soonness” or “slowness” is judged in the way we judge it. Yet, God’s timetable is different than our own (2 Peter 3:8-9). A friend of mine once told me that he thought that God was the ultimate chess player. He moves His people around where they may serve Him best. Sometimes we remain for a short period in a place and sometimes for longer periods. Sometimes God gives us good experiences in ministry and sometimes he brings about awful experiences and seasons. Yet, even though we may not understand His purposes, He is doing all these things for the building of His kingdom and for the punishment of the wicked. The difference between a chess master and God, of course, is that while a chess master knows the game so well that he can anticipate the moves of his opponent ahead of time, God does not anticipate; He ordains.
His purpose in sending Joseph ahead was the fulfillment of His covenant. His purpose in doing so twenty years before the famine in the land belongs to the secret knowledge of God. We may speculate about God giving Joseph time to mature and forgive, but we are not explicitly told the human element. All we are really told in the Bible is that God had ordered even the sin of Joseph’s brothers “so that many people should be kept alive” (Genesis 50:20). Christians sometimes think that God has failed them when things do not come together as planned. That notion could not be any further from the truth. God has ordained all of these things for the building of His Kingdom in His Son, Jesus Christ.
The Seed and the God of the Millennia
“And they blessed Rebekah, and said to her, ‘Our sister, you shall become like countless thousands and may your seed inhabit the gates of those who hate him.’”
(Genesis 24:60)
“I will surely bless you and your seed will surely be great as the stars of the heavens and as the sand which is on the lip of the sea. And your seed will take possession of the gates of his enemies.”
(Genesis 22:17)
“Now the promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed — it does not say, ‘To the seeds…’ as if to many, but as if to one. ‘And to your seed,’ which is Christ.”
(Galatians 3:16)
It is hard not to make a connection between this blessing and to the Messianic promises that are to come. It could be legitimately pointed out that the term oår‰z (zera), or “seed,” is a collective singular (a singular term that refers to a group or a set of like things or persons) and thus nothing of great significance should be made of the language here. At the same time, given the covenantal significance of this event, a second look should be taken at what is being pronounced for even Nahor’s line understands that Abraham and his line has been singled out by God for a special purpose and, just as God did through the lips of Balaam, God sometimes speaks great truths through the lips even of non-believers.
It will be through Rebekah that the promised seed of Abraham will continue to descend that will ultimately culminate in the Great and true Seed: Jesus Christ. Note too, the similarity of this language to the language that God speaks to Abraham in Genesis 22. In part, of course, this will be fulfilled as the nation of Israel grows and then conquers Canaan. In full, this promise will find its completion in Jesus Christ — for it is in the church that True Israel will find its fullness, that the children of Abraham will be numbered like the sands of the sea, and that the gates of hell will find their demise (Matthew 16:18). Surely this promise, whether the family of Rebekah recognized it in full or not, is a promise that speaks of the coming of the Messiah through the line of Rebekah and Isaac.
How wonderful is the scope and plan of God. How puny our plans quickly become when placed alongside of God’s design. Isn’t if fascinating that we get so caught up in the moment — our successes and failures — our plans — our particular church’s rises and falls in attendance or fiscal numbers when God’s sovereign plan covers the scope of millennia. And why do we worry and fret? Why do we lose sleep over things that are meaningless in the scope of eternity? Friends, God is sovereign and he is the ruler of all of his creation. And he has a plan and a design for his church and kingdom of which he has graciously made us a part. Rejoice! Revel in that truth! And when faced with difficulties and opposition, trust in the wisdom and grace of God. Though men are not; God is good … and he is good all of the time — even in the midst of our trials and difficulties. What is it that God would lead you into doing and what is holding you back?
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