13 And the Lord said unto Moses, Rise up early in the morning, and stand before Pharaoh, and say unto him, Thus saith the Lord God of the Hebrews, Let my people go, that they may serve me.

14 For I will at this time send all my plagues upon thine heart, and upon thy servants, and upon thy people; that thou mayest know that there is none like me in all the earth.

15 For now I will stretch out my hand, that I may smite thee and thy people with pestilence; and thou shalt be cut off from the earth.

16 And in very deed for this cause have I raised thee up, for to shew in thee my power; and that my name may be declared throughout all the earth.

Pharaoh had held out for two plagues in a row, so now came the third. The Lord sent Moses yet again, and Moses was to deliver a most weighty speech to Pharaoh. Through Moses, God used language like “I will…send all my plagues upon thine heart…and upon thy people,” as well as “I will stretch out my hand, that I may smite thee,” and also “thou shalt be cut off from the earth!”

And all this was only the preamble! In verse 16 God made a most dramatic assertion. He told Pharaoh that the only reason why the Egyptians had enjoyed their place as a great world power was so that God could make an example out of them! God had made Pharaoh powerful so that He could break him, and show the world that the God of the Hebrews was master over all! God had propped Pharaoh up simply so that he could take a terrible blow!

We often remind ourselves that God is a God of love, and truly He is. But He is not one-dimensional. He is also a God of justice, a God of judgment, and a God of retribution. He redeems the innocent, but He also condemns the wicked. God tells us that He “shall wipe away all tears” from the faithful, but also He asserts that “vengeance is mine” against the wicked. Thus, in addition to His lovingkindness, God is capable of anger, of going to war, and of utterly destroying His enemies like no one else can. And, I would argue, nowhere is this side of God made more clear than in His dealings with the Egyptians.