A matter of trust

He who feared the word of the LORD among the servants of Pharaoh made his servants and his livestock flee to the houses. – Exodus 9v20

Something jumped out at me this morning as I was doing my reading for this thought. As far as I remember and as far as I noticed there was something different about the plague of the hailstones. The hailstones would only hurt those people and livestock which were left out in the fields.

Somehow the people involved knew about this one. There was no barrier this time between the Israelites and the Egyptians. It looks like all of Israel obeyed, but we also read that some among the Egyptians feared the Lord and sent their servants and livestock into the houses for protection. On the other hand, ‘…he who did not regard the word of the LORD left his servants and his livestock in the field.’

Here is an early example about the universality of God’s offer for people to make a choice to obey Him. Some Egyptians had apparently seen the reality of Jehovah in the lives of the Israelites. Some had learned to fear the Lord more than Pharaoh. Some had realised that Jehovah had more power than Pharaoh, who was worshipped as a god, had.

Those who feared the Lord acted on their fear. They sent their people and their livestock to safety and were spared. Others did not trust the word of God and suffered destruction.

True fear of the Lord acts. God would not have delivered those who ‘feared Him’ if they had not run for cover. Only those who did not believe God’s word did not act.

True fear, true faith if you will, always works.