Exodus 7:7 Now Moses was eighty years old, and Aaron eighty-three years old, when they spoke to Pharaoh.
Exodus 7:10 So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and did just as the Lord commanded.
Exodus 7:20 Moses and Aaron did as the Lord commanded.
Exodus 8:17 And they did so.
Exodus 9:14 so that you may know that there is none like me in all the earth. For by now I could have put out my hand and struck you and your people with pestilence, and you would have been cut off from the earth. But for this purpose I have raised you up, to show you my power, so that my name may be proclaimed in all the earth.
Exodus 9:27 Then Pharaoh sent and called Moses and Aaron and said to them, “This time I have sinned; the Lord is in the right, and I and my people are in the wrong.
Exodus 10:3 So Moses and Aaron went in to Pharaoh and said to him, “Thus says the Lord, the God of the Hebrews, ‘How long will you refuse to humble yourself before me?
Exodus 10:16 Then Pharaoh hastily called Moses and Aaron and said, “I have sinned against the Lord your God, and against you. Now therefore, forgive my sin, please, only this once, and plead with the Lord your God only to remove this death from me.”
Exodus 12:28 Then the people of Israel went and did so; as the Lord had commanded Moses and Aaron, so they did.
Exodus 12:50 All the people of Israel did just as the Lord commanded Moses and Aaron. And on that very day the Lord brought the people of Israel out of the land of Egypt
Exodus 13:3 Then Moses said to the people, “Remember this day in which you came out from Egypt, out of the house of slavery, for by a strong hand the Lord brought you out from this place.
Exodus 13:17 When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them by way of the land of the Philistines, although that was near. For God said, “Lest the people change their minds when they see war and return to Egypt.” But God led the people around by the way of the wilderness toward the Red Sea.
Can you see the committed following of Moses and Aaron, and as well the hardening of the hearts of the Egyptians. Though they saw first hand the might wonders, signs and works of God they denied them and the power of God.
Before doing what the Lord God asks of us we need to be willing to hear and willing to act. There will be those who oppose God. There will be those who will join God. There will be those who will follow God.
It is apparent who is opposing. They will say and do things that expose their heart of stone. They will try to explain away God. God is not hindered or blocked. His plans and purposes will come to pass.
Joining and following God is more than words. It is a change of heart, mind, and soul. It is permanent. It is life changing. It is life long. True commitment will be seen by their actions “so they did as God spoke“. They want to hear God’s whispers and will hear them speak into their heart. They will act on His leading. They will trust in His promises. They will grow in their humbleness toward Him. They will cling to Him, rely on Him, and trust in Him. They seek and desire to honor and glorify Him.
However, it does not take much hardening to deafen our ears to be able to hear God speak to our heart. The quickest way to hardening our heart is through busyness. We seem to find this excuse permissible and justified in our commitment and walk with Him. We need to be intentional in our walk with Him and be able to discern when busyness over takes us. We need to know what is non-value added into our lives and say “no more”. We may need to say no to some good things to be in control of our intentional walk with Him.
I don’t know how many lives of people I have seen where God intervened in their busyness by some trial or troubling event. God did not take them through and easy path – He led them straight to the Red Sea where there was no way back and no way forward but by the Hand of God. These people were changed because there was a new “God induced”, “God priority” set in their lives. If this is what it takes to renew, refresh, recommit, and establish a new level of commitment to humbly serve, honor, glorify, follow, and obey, I wish it on all people, rather than watch them spend another day without God being their joy, peace, love, hope, courage, strength, power, refuge, and guiding light.