“The Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord. When I stretch out my hand against Egypt and bring out the people of Israel from among them.”
-Exodus 7:5
God’s Deserved Glory in Exodus 7:5
Exodus 7:5 contains a phrase that we see over and over and over again in the book of Exodus. The Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord. Think about what that means. A God is about to deliver his people out of slavery in Egypt. Why? Why is he doing this? There are obviously multiple answers to that question, “Why is God doing that?” Because he loves his people, because they are suffering, because he has promised to deliver them, he’s going to be faithful to his promises as we see saw in Exodus, chapter six. God’s care and provision for his people, just as he promised all the way back in Genesis. There are many reasons why God is delivering his people out of Egypt, but this is the ultimate one.
God is worthy of the praise of every person on the planet. The glory of God will cover the earth as the waters cover the sea.
Exodus 7:5 and I say it’s ultimate because it’s repeated over and over and over and over again. “The Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord. I am going to show the Egyptians that I am Yahweh, that I am the one true God.” In Egypt all kinds of Gods have been worshiped and praised that are not worthy of worship and praise, and God says, “I’m gonna show them. There is only one God who rules and reigns over all. Only one God who is worthy of supreme glory, exclusive glory.” And when you think about that motivation, so to speak, in God, why is God doing what he’s doing, it’s the same motivation in our lives today.
Exodus 7:5 Is An Example of How God Demonstrates His Authority
When we think about God’s grace toward us, God’s work in our lives, why does he work in our lives in such good and gracious ways and obviously, there’s multiple reasons behind that. He loves us, he cares for us, he wants to provide for us, he has promised to provide for us, he’s faithful to his promises. All these things, yet ultimately God is pouring out grace in our lives so that it is clear that he is God and he is the one who deserves all glory. What that means is, this is so huge, what that means is you and I are not the end. We’re means in that sense to the end and God is the end.
His glory is what is ultimate, our lives are created to show his glory, his greatness. And the way we show his glory and his greatness is by receiving the grace he gives us and living in response to make his glory known.
Reflecting God’s Glory
So we pray in light of Exodus 7:5, “God today, we pray that your name would be known as Lord and God and king and supreme and loving and good and righteous and holy, because of our lives. Through your grace in our lives, God we pray you’ll lead us today, guide us today. So that people around us would see your glory on display in a Matthew five kind of way. Let our light shine before others so they may see us, our good deeds and glorify you in heaven.
God, we want our lives to spread your glory today, we want countenance, our words, our thoughts, our desires, our decisions, the way we interact with others, the way we love the people in our homes, the way we love people at work, the way we love people in our community, our cities. God, we want our lives to be a display of your glory. Please use us today to make your grace and your glory known in the world around us.
Exodus 7:5 Demonstrates God’s Greatness Over The World
God help us not to live as if we’re the end, as if the world revolves around us. The world doesn’t revolve around us, we confess that today, the world revolves around You. You alone are supreme, you alone are worthy of exclusive glory, so make your glory known in our lives. Help us to live today God-centered, totally centered on you. May the effect of our lives today be others see you for who you are, just as you taught us to pray Jesus, our father in heaven. Hallowed be your name in our lives today, cause your name to be made known as great and good and holy, loving and righteous. Through our lives today we pray in Jesus name. Amen.”
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David Platt serves as a pastor in metro Washington, D.C. He is the founder of Radical.
David received his Ph.D. from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and is the author of Don’t Hold Back, Radical, Follow Me, Counter Culture, Something Needs to Change, Before You Vote, as well as the multiple volumes of the Christ-Centered Exposition Commentary series.
Along with his wife and children, he lives in the Washington, D.C. metro area.
