The Bible teaches that pride goes before destruction and that an arrogant heart is an abomination to the Lord. We are called to submit humbly and joyfully to Christ. Exodus 7–11 demonstrates that there is a God, and His name is Yahweh. If we try to fight against Him, we will fail, and His purposes will stand.

God Fulfills His Promises

In these chapters, God delivered nine plagues to Egypt because Pharoah refused to let the Israelites go. Through these plagues, He showed that He remembers His promises and will be faithful to fulfill them. Way back in Genesis, God promised to give Abraham a land. By the time of the Exodus, this was about to come true. God also promised a nation of many people, and the Israelites were already seeing the fulfillment of this promise. From Israel was going to come the fulfillment of God’s greatest promise: a Man who would crush the head of Satan, the serpent.

God Proclaims His Name

God has a heart for the nations. His design was for Israel to be a light to the world, to draw all the peoples to Himself. He used the plagues to spread His name throughout the whole world. Exodus 7:5 says, “The Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord, when I stretch out My hand against Egypt and bring out the people of Israel from among them.”

These plagues not only revealed God’s identity and presence to Egypt, but also to Israel. News of God didn’t even stop there. It also went to all the nations, so that by the time the Israelites came to Jericho, the residents’ hearts had melted because of the things they had heard about Yahweh.

Amazingly, there’s still more. Since the plagues and God’s rescue of His people, even you today have heard of God’s deliverance.

God’s Purposes Will Stand

When Pharoah said he did not know God, he was not simply expressing ignorance; he was acting out of arrogance and rebellion, demonstrating his hardened heart. He viewed himself as a god and elevated himself to Yahweh’s status. Time and time again, after each plague, he consistently refused to submit to the King of Kings. To understand him, we can go to Romans 1, which talks about how people suppress the truth in unrighteousness. The Bible says that such people are without excuse, and God’s righteous wrath will fall on them.

God was on a mission, and there was no way this human ruler was going to stand in His way. He had a purpose, and it was going to be accomplished. The story of the plagues is a powerful reminder that the stiff-necked will not stand. May we not be recipients of God’s wrath because of our hard hearts or stiff necks. Let us humble ourselves under His mighty hand today, remembering the words of Psalm 147:11, “The Lord takes pleasure in those who fear Him, in those who hope in His steadfast love.”