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Read: Exodus 9-12

Today’s reading is Exodus 9 through 12. We see the idea of being all in for God. God was making His name known. Not quietly, but in a way that couldn’t be ignored. Moses had been called to lead God’s people out of Egypt, but Pharaoh didn’t know the Lord, didn’t care to know Him, and refused to listen. There was this underlying question of, who is God that we should listen to Him (Exodus 5:2)? Through every plague, that question was being answered. He was the Creator. The Omega and the One in control.

Each plague wasn’t random, it was intentional. God was directly confronting the things Egypt had placed their trust in. The Nile turned to blood, frogs filled the land, gnats and flies came, livestock died, boils spread, hail fell, locusts devoured, darkness covered everything. At first, Pharaoh’s magicians were able to imitate some of it, and his heart stayed hard. But then there came a point where even they said, this is the finger of God (Exodus 8:19).

“I will pass through Egypt and strike down every firstborn … I will bring judgment on all the gods of Egypt. I am the Lord.” -Exodus 12:12

God wasn’t just sending plagues; He was exposing false gods and magicians. Showing that what they were worshipping had no real power. He was setting His people apart. There were moments where the plagues didn’t even touch the land where the Israelites were. God protected the Israelites.

After all the warnings, all the chances, judgment came in the final plague. That’s where we see the Passover.

“This is a day you are to commemorate; for the generations to come you shall celebrate it …” -Exodus 12:14

There were very specific instructions given, and I can’t help but think how overwhelming that must have felt, trying to get everything exactly right. It also shows the importance of obedience. Not out of fear alone, but out of trust. Trusting that God knows what He’s doing, even when we don’t fully understand it. Pharaoh finally let the Israelites go. He didn’t just allow it, he basically pushed them out, because the fear had become so great.

And reading all of this, I kept thinking about something so simple from today. My three-year-old was upset that it was raining, and he knows that God controls the weather (well .. let’s not dive into my conspiracies). He kept asking why and how God controls the weather. I tried to explain it, but honestly, it wasn’t really about giving him a perfect answer. It was about helping him understand that God is powerful. God is in control and we can place trust in that.

At the end of the day, we won’t always understand how or why. For a lot of things, we never will. But we’re still called to respond in obedience. Not because God is waiting to punish us, but because He loves us and wants what’s best for us. When we get in our own way, when we try to take control or put other things above Him, it leads us away from that. God doesn’t want partial worship or half-hearted relationship. He wants us to be all in.

We may not have physical idols like Egypt did, or maybe you do; but we still have things that compete for our worship and time. Things like power, control, comfort, approval, worldly items. Things that aren’t necessarily bad in themselves, but when we want them too much, they take a place that they were never meant to have.

“No one can serve two masters …” -Matthew 6:24

God is still wanting the same thing: not partial faith or divided attention, people that are all in. Everything else falls short and fades away. So, the question isn’t just what do you believe, it’s what are you actually giving your worship to? God made it very clear then, and it still stands now. There is no one like Him, and He’s not interested in competing for a place in your life. He wants all of it.

Discussion Question

1. What is currently competing for your worship or attention?

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