Difficult Passages

Because his heart was hard, Pharaoh refused to let the people leave, just as the LORD had predicted through Moses. [Exodus 9.35]

In the wording of today's OYCB reading (I am reading the New Living Translation), there are found some 'reasons' why Pharaoh might harden his heart. Frankly, there are reasons I might harden my heart! For example:

God instructed Moses to tell Aaron to turn ALL the water to blood:

Turn all the water to blood. Everywhere in Egypt the water will turn to blood, even the water stored in wooden bowls and stone pots.’” [Exodus 7.19b]

However, in Exodus 7.22a we find the following:

But again the magicians of Egypt used their magic, and they, too, turned water into blood. [Exodus 7.22a]

How could the magicians turn ANY water to blood if it had ALL already been turned to blood?

Here are some possible explanations:

1. The whole story is a hoax and never really happened,
2. Aaron failed to do exactly what the LORD commanded, or,
3. Pharaoh's magicians did their magic before Aaron could direct his staff toward other water sources to turn them to blood.

There is similarity of confusion regarding the plagues of frogs and gnats. However, by the time the plagues of flies, livestock, boils, and then hail were applied, the magicians were not mentioned as doing anything (except that they too got boils).

Oh, and also, when the plague hit the livestock, Exodus 9.6 says ALL the Egyptians' livestock died, but then in verse 22 of the same chapter, God told Moses the Egyptians' livestock would be killed by hail. How can that be?

So, like Pharaoh, we too are left with some questions. What do we do with those questions?

There is no question in my mind that every discrepancy listed here has an explanation. Yes, you might say, I have "drunk the kool-aid." First and foremost, I believe the Bible. It does have difficult passages, but that doesn't really bother me because I understand that the stories and writings of the Bible were not 'put together' in a nice 'cut-n-paste' application. The Bible was pieced together as best as those who did so could, and, to further complicate matters, much of the translation of the Bible is so 'unknown' that some of it is just interpretation.

That said, none of the 'difficulties' I have pointed out here can change the FACT that God has changed my life. So, yes, I have a predisposition to accept the 'difficult' passages because I know and trust the God of the STORY! Although the Bible is unclear or contradicting on many events described therein, the STORY of the Bible is unaffected: God controls everything, God loves the world (and is therefore merciful and patient), and God has a Plan (His Name is Jesus). 

I am experiencing Jesus daily. This affects my predisposition to believe the Bible. Although there are plenty of discrepancies to feed a proud and arrogant rejection of God and His Word, I would rather gratefully and humbly reflect on the huge change in my life and so rest in a belief that all the discrepancies have explanations (whether I ever know them or not).

There will always be plenty of reasons to reject God. BUT! There is always that one reason to accept God's Plan - the peace He gives. That peace is so overwhelming that the discrepancies don't matter. Really.

Father, I would love to be able to reason through some of the problem passages discussed above. But, even if I don't, I know You have changed my life through Jesus. I completely understand that You never instructed me to affect people's lives with knowledge, but instead with faith...