God laid out the ten plagues in Egypt so that the Israelites would know that He was Lord. Interestingly, verse 13:4 sets up God's plan for the defeat of the pursuing Egyptian army via the parting of the Red Sea, and ends with "after this the Egyptians will know that I am Lord". No doubt God has His eye on Israel at this point in time, but He is always working in the world at large. Many Egyptians actually did end up believing and left with the Israelites in the Exodus. Verse 12:38 describes "a rabble of non-Israelites" who went with them.
Just before the Red Sea is parted, God tells Moses to raise his hand over the sea and divide the water so that the Israelites could walk through on dry ground. What I like about this, is that God requests Moses' participation, not because He needed help but because Moses' leadership needed to be solidified... in his own heart and in the hearts of the people. This is the way God continues to work today. He does not need our help to accomplish His purposes, but He chooses to use us for our benefit. We get the privilege of partnering with God when we allow ourselves to be used by Him.
God knew that Pharoah would be so full of pride and rage at the thought of the escaping Israelites, (his former slaves and the source of the recent plagues), that he would pursue them. Again, the text reads "I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians", but remember that this indicates responsibility only to the extent that God set up the situation that brought about the hardening. In other words, He set the ball in motion.
Tomorrow's reading: Exodus 16-19
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