Today’s Bible reading is Exodus 5 and Revelation 4. It’s an interesting coincidence that we’re reading both chapters today.
In Exodus 5:1-2,
Afterward Moses and Aaron went and said to Pharaoh, “Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, ‘Let my people go, that they may hold a feast to me in the wilderness.’” But Pharaoh said, “Who is the LORD, that I should obey his voice and let Israel go? I do not know the LORD, and moreover, I will not let Israel go.”
“Who is the LORD that I should obey his voice?” In Revelation 4:2-11, the answer to Pharaoh’s question is definitively revealed. John writes,
At once I was in the Spirit, and behold, a throne stood in heaven, with one seated on the throne. And he who sat there had the appearance of jasper and carnelian, and around the throne was a rainbow that had the appearance of an emerald. Around the throne were twenty-four thrones, and seated on the thrones were twenty-four elders, clothed in white garments, with golden crowns on their heads. From the throne came flashes of lightning, and rumblings and peals of thunder, and before the throne were burning seven torches of fire, which are the seven spirits of God, and before the throne there was as it were a sea of glass, like crystal.
And around the throne, on each side of the throne, are four living creatures, full of eyes in front and behind: the first living creature like a lion, the second living creature like an ox, the third living creature with the face of a man, and the fourth living creature like an eagle in flight. And the four living creatures, each of them with six wings, are full of eyes all around and within, and day and night they never cease to say,
“Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty,
who was and is and is to come!”
And whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to him who is seated on the throne, who lives forever and ever, the twenty-four elders fall down before him who is seated on the throne and worship him who lives forever and ever. They cast their crowns before the throne, saying,
“Worthy are you, our Lord and God,
to receive glory and honor and power,
for you created all things,
and by your will they existed and were created.”
“Who is the LORD that I should obey his voice?” He is holy. He is Lord of all lords. He is the one and only true and living God. He is all-powerful. He has always been. He is, at all times, everywhere. He will always be. As the I AM who transcends all limitations of space, time, knowledge, and power, he is worthy to receive glory, honor, and power. He created all things. By his will, all things exist and are sustained. He had every right to expect submission from Pharaoh. He continues to be worthy of our submission, honor, and praise today.
“Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty,
who was and is and is to come!”
