God sends locusts and darkness over Egypt, yet Pharaoh continues to resist. Even when confronted with undeniable power and repeated warnings, his heart remains hardened. This chapter reveals the danger of persistent resistance to God, showing that every refusal to yield only deepens spiritual blindness. It stands as a sobering call to respond while there is still light, because a hardened heart cannot recognize truth when it matters most.

Pharaoh shows what happens when repentance is only partial, confession without true surrender. Though he admits his sin under pressure, his heart remains unchanged, leading to deeper judgment. This message is a warning that anything less than genuine, wholehearted repentance does not lead to restoration; it leads to ruin.

Pharaoh tries to replicate God's signs and wonders with cheap copies but fails to measure up to God's supernatural power. One by one, every Egyptian god is being mocked by every plague God sends, embarrassing and exposing the weakness of the entire nation. Pharaoh in his desperation tries to negotiate a deal with Moses and Aaron that would keep them from fully yielding to God and receiving total and complete deliverance. But they refuse to compromise, as every Christian should do when tempted to give in to the devil's schemes.

Pharaoh resists the Lord's word and God uses his hardness to multiply his miraculous signs and wonders. God begins by humbling Egypt's gods by swallowing the magician's snakes and contaminating the venerated Nile river for seven days. He is briging his fist down on Egypt to ensure all nations know that He is God and there is none like Him. This humiliating showdown with Pharaoh foreshadows the fulminant exposure and defeat of the forces of darkness by the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Moses makes it through a very tough chapter in his life by focusing on the GREAT I AM. The struggle against opposition requires one extra day of faithfulness... And then God shows up.

Moses first day on the job goes really bad with Pharaoh making life more cruel and demanding to the Israelites. They hate Moses for this and desire for God to punish and judge him. Moses goes to the Lord with his grief and frustration, not knowing that God is still working a good plan despite the severe opposition of the enemy. We must all remember not to let what man say to us erase what God has said to us, so we can remain faithful during the fire of demonic retaliation.

Moses angers the Lord with his multiple excuses as to why he can’t do what God is asking him to do. The bush is burning as Moses resists, but God in his mercy does not cancel the call yet provides a spokesman for Moses, his brother Aaron, who will later give Moses the debacle of the golden calf worship. Moses learns that doing God’s work requires a shift from the ‘super me’ to the Great I AM, and that being on mission for God requires a condition of total obedience to the covenant established with Abraham.

Moses is drawn to a burning bush that does not consume and the GREAT I AM reveals to Him and gives him an assignment that is bigger than him. But all that matters is not whether Moses can go back to Egypt and deliver God's people. What matters is if he is willing to go with the promise of God's presence going before him. God shows up in the ordinary moments of our lives and calls us to do extraordinary things beyond our comfort and potential, for the sake of others in need of salvation.

One act of valiant faith changes the course of history for an entire nation. Moses' parents hide him in a basket placed on the Nile river. God honors their faith and ensures the baby is brought to safety by Pharaoh's daughter, who adopts him and pays his mother to nurse him. God is preparing Moses to become the deliverer of God's people, but has to first shave-off his hot-headed temper, a generational weakness from his forefather Levi. Faith takes risks that pave the way for lasting freedom and deliverance.

Chapter 45 is a beautiful portrait of the Gospel, mirroring the language and actions of our Savior as he weeps for the lost (Joseph weeps for his lost brothers), calls us to himself (Joseph asks his betrayers to draw close), grants us the gifts of the Spirit (Joseph grants gifts to his entire family) and sends us out to bring others to him (Joseph ask his brothers to bring his father to him) so we can all be together as one reconciled family in our eternal dwelling (Joseph prepares the best land in Egypt for them to rest). Listen to God's call and come immediately to Him!