My reading for today is Exodus 10. I think all that I mentioned about the plagues before is still true for these chapters. But there's something strikingly different as the plagues worsen and we'll look at it quickly today.
So I think these passages talk about feeling bad but not repentant. And this is important to note because in our walk with God, we can be like pharaoh in the following ways:
1. What's the wrong way to be repent?
2. How do you know you're repenting?
3. Why should we repent?
So what's the wrong way to repent? It's to feel so bad and to feel so sorry that we don't do anything about it. And this type of repentance usually comes after something terrible has happened in our lives. In pharaoh's case, it's another plague that devastates Egypt. We can see in the passage that he feels sorry and he is even begging Moses to remove the plague in verse 16. The interesting thing here is that pharaoh compromises his end of the bargain. What this passage wants to teach us about repentance is that it's not partial, nor is it a compromise of what God is asking of us. Even after pharaoh says he will let some of the people go, God still commands Moses to inflict the next plague on them. This is because when it comes to answering God and His calling for us, we can't just go halfway. I think (and there are some scripture to support this) that faith in God that is compromised with faith in one's desires or in this world's calling is no faith. The same applies to repentance. We are called to a life of holiness and repentance, and anything short of that is unholiness or stubbornness.
We know we're repenting when the goal of repentance is so that God's position as Lord is validated (verse 1-2). The difference between how we're called to respond to God and how pharaoh is responding to God is the direction to which we should pray for repentance. Pharaoh is repenting, or at least feeling bad to get out of his situation. He is groveling to save Egypt. And most importantly, pharaoh, like every typical human being, is groveling to save his pride, his country, his reputation, and himself. He feels bad because he sinned against God but look at what he prays for. He doesn't ask Moses to pray that he and his kingdom will see God. Pharaoh didn't even have the humility to concede his will to God in praying for God's will to be done. Instead, he prayed that he be saved from his situation. How do you know you're repenting? When you pray not so that you can get out of the situation, but rather pray to see God in that tragedy or terrible situation, and pray that He may work through you instead of working you out of where you put yourself.
Why should we repent? Because that's how we know we have faith. John 15:4-5 highlights what God's grace is. It's not merely the blessing of material goods and wealth. God's grace is not just a better life because we're assured salvation. God's grace is the ability to do good in His eyes, that apart from Him we can do nothing as Jesus points out. We don't repent so that we can get faith, but we can repent only because we have faith in Jesus. Can we say for sure pharaoh really believed the power that God demonstrated through the plagues? I can't say scripture is clear on this point. It's easy to condemn pharaoh of reneging on his promise to change his mind. But know that in our own lives we compromise God's calling for us. "God, just let me have this because it shouldn't be that big of a deal right?" or "God, at least I repented of this thing right? It's all about the progress I made?" Pharaoh could've used these excuses to justify his human actions. The source of it is our unwillingness to really see God for who He is and the satisfaction that comes from knowing Him because to concede that would be to deny ourselves the pride, the ambition, the worldly desires that we are told are so good. The very desires we are called to repent of. Repentance is a call to change our ways because God calls us to a life of holiness (1 Thessalonians 4:7) and because it pleases Him. That alone should be reason enough for us to pursue it.
Consider what was going through pharaoh's mind as he was facing Moses. "God, just get me out of this situation or do this for me and I will do anything!" We're guilty of praying to God like this in uncertain times. But look at the cross and be humbled and silenced in that prayer. By no means can you do anything to match what God already did for us on the cross. We cannot buy God's grace with repentance, neither does it move God to love us anymore than what He has already demonstrated on Calvary. In praying for repentance, we should be moved to pray for repentance in response to God's calling, not in response to our own needs or desires.
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