OPEN WINDOW: A Lesson from the 5th Plague

Blogging Exodus 9:1 - 7

1 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go in to Pharaoh and tell him, ‘Thus says the Lord God of the Hebrews: “Let My people go, that they may serve Me.

² For if you refuse to let them go, and still hold them,

 ³ behold, the hand of the Lord will be on your cattle in the field, on the horses, on the donkeys, on the camels, on the oxen, and on the sheep—a very severe pestilence.

 ⁴ And the Lord will make a difference between the livestock of Israel and the livestock of Egypt. So nothing shall die of all that belongs to the children of Israel.” ’ ”

 ⁵ Then the Lord appointed a set time, saying, “Tomorrow the Lord will do this thing in the land.”

⁶ So the Lord did this thing on the next day, and all the livestock of Egypt died; but of the livestock of the children of Israel, not one died.

⁷ Then Pharaoh sent, and indeed, not even one of the livestock of the Israelites was dead. But the heart of Pharaoh became hard, and he did not let the people go. 

The 5^th plague was the death of Egyptian livestock in a very severe pestilence.  An aggressive bovarian disease with a 100% fatality rate swept through Egyptian herds, wiping out their cattle and herds within 24 hours.  It was an economic, cultural, religious, and health care disaster.   Usually, having made that observation we move on to the 6^th plague.  The cows died. That’s bad.  Next verse.  

Hold up.  It’s not about the dead cows.  It’s about the window.

Window?

Yeah, window.

When Moses confronted Pharaoh, the prophet did not immediately call down death on the livestock.  He said, “Tomorrow the Lord will do this thing in the land.”  Pharaoh had a 24 hour “window” in which to prevent the death of an entire sector of his nation’s economy.

What did Pharaoh think about in that window of time?  Did he decide that Moses was bluffing?  Not likely.  He’d seen Moses turn the Nile into blood, call up frogs out of the river, produce swarms of lice and flies; and he’d seen Moses turn those disasters off like a spigot. (Yeah, I think they did have spigots in ancient Egypt.)

Maybe Pharaoh wondered if Moses would really escalate the miracles/ plagues this way. Previously all of the death had been collateral damage, side effects of blood, frogs, lice, and flies.  This 5^th plague would be deliberate and direct mass extermination.

Possibly, Pharaoh wondered if Moses would risk his own people’s livelihood.  The previous plague, flies, had skipped the Hebrews in Goshen, but could Moses’ God really be that precise two times in a row?  

More likely, Pharaoh was just mad.  He didn’t even try to negotiate during the 24 hour window.  He just waited.  Even after the herds started dying, Pharaoh didn’t send for Moses to ask for relief.  He only sent for a report to see if Moses had indeed kept the Hebrew livestock safe from the pestilence. (Exodus 9:7)

Pharaoh looked out the 24 hour window and did nothing.  That’s why all the cows died.

Sudden destruction is seldom all that sudden. 

Even the worst people have a chance, a window of opportunity, to make a different choice.  Revelations 20: 21 (King James Version) calls this window of opportunity a space to repent. Sometimes God provides chance after chance for years.  Sometimes, months pass while people and circumstances try to nudge you away from your destructive path.  Sometimes, you get 24 hours to decide if your pride and stubborness are worth all those dead cows.

Like Pharaoh, we are all looking out an open window of opportunity.  You have 24 hours to make the moves that are possible in these next 24 hours.   You know what those moves are.  You know what choices you face, what direction you started along, and --- if you’re honest with yourself --- you have a pretty good idea of what’s gonna happen if you make the wrong choices between today and tomorrow.

I know you don’t want to.

I know you don’t think you should have to.

I know you’d rather do the other thing.

But think of the cows. 

Do the right thing while the window is open.

“Today, if you will hear His voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion.” (Hebrews 3: 15)

 --Anderson T. Graves II   is a writer, community organizer and consultant for education, ministry, and rural leadership development.

Rev. Anderson T. Graves II is pastor of Bailey Tabernacle CME Church in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. He writes the popular blog: A Word to the Wise at www.andersontgraves.blogspot.com

Email: BaileyTabernacleChurch@comcast.net

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Bailey Tabernacle CME Church

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Tuscaloosa, Alabama 35401

YOU BETTA WATCH YO' BACK!

I used to think that my father was paranoid.   Turns out he was just-....right.

Pops told me that you can’t trust anybody.  “They betrayed Jesus, boy.  You know they gone betray you.”

Pops said, “It’s not a deal until it’s in writing, and signed, and you got two copies.”

My father told me that most of the people who say they want to help you, don’t.  That the folks who come running to you for help will go running when you need help.  People lie.  Nothing’s easy.  And everybody who tells you that they got an easy way is lying.

Basically, my father taught me to always watch my back.

I thought he was just being paranoid.  Well, he’s no more paranoid than our Heavenly Father. 

In Isaiah chapter 30, God warned His children about trusting every spirit and spiritual advisor who claimed to have an enlightened word. 

 “Woe to the rebellious children,” says the Lord, “Who take counsel, but not of Me, and who devise plans, but not of My Spirit, that they may add sin to sin. (Isaiah 30:1)

The Lord told them that their so-called friends were going to turn on them, but they wouldn’t listen.

[They] walk to go down to Egypt, and have not asked My advice,to strengthen themselves in the strength of Pharaoh, And to trust in the shadow of Egypt!  Therefore the strength of Pharaoh shall be your shame, and trust in the shadow of Egypt shall be your humiliation. (Isaiah 30: 2, 3)

Israel brushed off God’s advice as the paranoid ramblings of prophets who didn’t understand what it was like.

They were "a rebellious people, lying children, children who will not hear the law of the Lord." (verse 9)

But God didn’t recant His advice. He didn’t let the true prophets back off from the true Word.  God, our Father who art in Heaven, continued to tell His people:

   Your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying,

    “This is the way, walk in it,”

    Whenever you turn to the right hand

    Or whenever you turn to the left.  (Isaiah 30:21)

A Word behind you will continue to speak.  The Word, the Lord will speak. Listen to the Word that has already been given. Pay attention to the Word behind you.  If you want to see the Truth, then all you have to is turn around and WATCH YOUR BACK.

God warned His people, and He told them point blank they would suffer for ignoring His warning.  And they did. But God also promised that no matter what they went through, no matter what pain they brought on themselves by ignoring their Father’s good advice, in the end Father God would always be there for them.

The Lord will wait, that He may be gracious to you; and therefore He will be exalted, that He may have mercy on you (verse 18)

This world and the systems of this world do not love God’s children.  No matter how much they

promise to bring us peace and justice and prosperity and happiness, they will always, inevitably turn on us. 

That’s what God said. "If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but   I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.

Remember the word that I said to you, ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they           persecuted Me, they will also persecute you. If they kept My word, they will keep yours also." (John 15: 19, 20)

Turns out He is..... right.

“They betrayed Jesus, boy.  You know they gone betray you.”

Love people.  Don’t love the systems of this world.

Learn, master, and make use of the systems of this world.  But never, never trust those systems to do right because it’s the right thing to do.

Be a good worker, a good citizen, and a good neighbor; but never compromise God’s Word to conform to the current cultural definition of “good.”

Spend quality time every day in prayer.  Spend quality time every day with your Bible.  Tune your ears to the Holy Spirit and the Scripture He inspired.

Then, when the sound of the world becomes loudest, your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, “This is the way, walk in it,” whenever you turn to the right hand or whenever you turn to the left.  

Until you die or Jesus returns, remember what Daddy said.

Love everybody. 

But watch yo’ back.

---Anderson T. Graves II   is a writer, community organizer and consultant for education, ministry, and rural leadership development.

Rev. Anderson T. Graves II is pastor of Miles Chapel CME Church in Fairfield, Alabama;  executive director of the Substance Abuse Youth Networking Organization (SAYNO);  and director of rural leadership development for the National Institute for Human Development (NIHD).

Subscribe to my personal blog  www.andersontgraves.blogspot.com .

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You can help support this ministry with a donation to Miles Chapel CME Church.

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Miles Chapel CME Church

P O Box 132

Fairfield, Al 35064

A WORD TO THE WISE. Proverbs 29: 21. "Servants & Sons"

Proverbs 29: 21     He who pampers his servant from childhood will have him as a son in the end.

Proverbs 29:21.  Solomon was fair and just.  He was that rare leader who could negotiate with monarchs or arbitrate between two hookers with the equal attentiveness and respect.  But, Solomon was also the elite of the elite.  He was the top of the top 1%.  

Solomon had been born in the palace, the son of the king. But Solomon’s father, David, had been a a working class shepherd and soldier who’d risen from carrying other soldiers’ armor to leading the entire army.  Solomon appreciated the importance of upward mobility.

Solomon enjoyed the lifestyle of the rich and famous.  Yet, he also understood that he had not earned his position as king.  It had been given to him by God, and if not for the grace of God, he would not have been able to hold onto it, let alone prosper in it. 

Solomon understood money, and he valued labor.  He was an elite class leader with working class sensibilities.

So, when Solomon talks about a servant rising to the status of a son, you have to wonder:  Was this a warning, or was it encouragement?

As a warning, the message to bosses and leaders is to not “baby” their workers/followers.  If you excuse them when they’re irresponsible, if you reward them without merit, if you fail to enforce accountability then they will come to depend on you----- for everything.   They become your dependents--- your sons.

You end up with a committee/ board on which no one works but the chairperson.  You end up with an office where everyone gets paid while the supervisor handles all the  actual business.  You end up with a church where if the pastor goes away, so does all the ministry.

The proverb could be a warning.

But……

In Solomon’s day, a son was also a guarantee of security and continuity of the family’s legacy.  In that context, the proverb encourages leaders and bosses to treat their workers like family.   A leader should be so good to her team that as they grow personally and professionally they come to love their leader.  A good leader should treat his people so well that they remain loyal to him and his vision even after he has handed over the reins of power and title.  Thus, the “father’s” mission passes to the “sons,” and the VISION becomes a LEGACY.

The Apostle Paul did this with young pastors Timothy and Apollos (1 Corinthians 4: 6, 14-17).  The Prophet Moses did this with a lay warrior named Joshua (Deuteronomy 34: 9; Joshua 1: 1,2).  Jesus did this with a group of little children whom we call “the disciples” (John 13:33).

So.  Is Proverbs 29:21 a warning against pampering your servant or a word of encouragement to do just that?

Without contradiction, the answer is: BOTH.

Hold your people accountable.  Don’t treat them like babies.  At the same time, treat them well, like a loving, fair, and strong father should.  If you practice the right balance then your organization, your people, and you will profit from your relationship in the short term and far into the future.

---Anderson T. Graves II   is a writer, community organizer and consultant for education, ministry, and rural leadership development.

Rev. Anderson T. Graves II is pastor of Hall Memorial CME Church in Montgomery, Alabama.

Call  334-288-0577
Email atgravestwo2@aol.com
Friend me at www.facebook.com/rev.a.t.graves

To hear sermons, read devotions, and learn more about the ministry at Hall Memorial CME Church, visit www.hallmemorialcme@blogspotcom.

If you enjoy our work, please help support our work in the community. Send a donation of any amount by check or money order.
Mail all contributions to :
Hall Memorial CME Church
541 Seibles Road
Montgomery, AL 36116

A WORD TO THE WISE. Proverbs 29: 21. "Servants & Sons"

Proverbs 29: 21     He who pampers his servant from childhood will have him as a son in the end.

Proverbs 29:21.  Solomon was fair and just.  He was that rare leader who could negotiate with monarchs or arbitrate between two hookers with the equal attentiveness and respect.  But, Solomon was also the elite of the elite.  He was the top of the top 1%.  

Solomon had been born in the palace, the son of the king. But Solomon’s father, David, had been a a working class shepherd and soldier who’d risen from carrying other soldiers’ armor to leading the entire army.  Solomon appreciated the importance of upward mobility.

Solomon enjoyed the lifestyle of the rich and famous.  Yet, he also understood that he had not earned his position as king.  It had been given to him by God, and if not for the grace of God, he would not have been able to hold onto it, let alone prosper in it. 

Solomon understood money, and he valued labor.  He was an elite class leader with working class sensibilities.

So, when Solomon talks about a servant rising to the status of a son, you have to wonder:  Was this a warning, or was it encouragement?

As a warning, the message to bosses and leaders is to not “baby” their workers/followers.  If you excuse them when they’re irresponsible, if you reward them without merit, if you fail to enforce accountability then they will come to depend on you----- for everything.   They become your dependents--- your sons.

You end up with a committee/ board on which no one works but the chairperson.  You end up with an office where everyone gets paid while the supervisor handles all the  actual business.  You end up with a church where if the pastor goes away, so does all the ministry.

The proverb could be a warning.

But……

In Solomon’s day, a son was also a guarantee of security and continuity of the family’s legacy.  In that context, the proverb encourages leaders and bosses to treat their workers like family.   A leader should be so good to her team that as they grow personally and professionally they come to love their leader.  A good leader should treat his people so well that they remain loyal to him and his vision even after he has handed over the reins of power and title.  Thus, the “father’s” mission passes to the “sons,” and the VISION becomes a LEGACY.

The Apostle Paul did this with young pastors Timothy and Apollos (1 Corinthians 4: 6, 14-17).  The Prophet Moses did this with a lay warrior named Joshua (Deuteronomy 34: 9; Joshua 1: 1,2).  Jesus did this with a group of little children whom we call “the disciples” (John 13:33).

So.  Is Proverbs 29:21 a warning against pampering your servant or a word of encouragement to do just that?

Without contradiction, the answer is: BOTH.

Hold your people accountable.  Don’t treat them like babies.  At the same time, treat them well, like a loving, fair, and strong father should.  If you practice the right balance then your organization, your people, and you will profit from your relationship in the short term and far into the future.

---Anderson T. Graves II   is a writer, community organizer and consultant for education, ministry, and rural leadership development.

Rev. Anderson T. Graves II is pastor of Hall Memorial CME Church in Montgomery, Alabama.

Call  334-288-0577
Email atgravestwo2@aol.com
Friend me at www.facebook.com/rev.a.t.graves

To hear sermons, read devotions, and learn more about the ministry at Hall Memorial CME Church, visit www.hallmemorialcme@blogspotcom.

If you enjoy our work, please help support our work in the community. Send a donation of any amount by check or money order.
Mail all contributions to :Hall Memorial CME Church
541 Seibles Road
Montgomery, AL 36116