What other biblical instances show God's power over human opposition? Setting the scene: Exodus 7:11 “Then Pharaoh also summoned the wise men and sorcerers, and the magicians of Egypt, and they did the same things by their secret arts.” Even when Pharaoh’s magicians copied Moses’ sign, the contest only highlighted that God’s power cannot be matched or thwarted. Scripture repeats this theme again and again. God versus hostile nations • Red Sea deliverance – Exodus 14:13-14, 21-28: Pharaoh’s army charges; the sea parts for Israel and closes over Egypt. • Jericho – Joshua 6:1-20: impregnable walls fall at a shout and trumpet blast. • Gideon’s three hundred – Judges 7:1-22: a tiny force routs Midian with torches and jars. • Sennacherib’s siege – 2 Kings 19:32-36: “That night the angel of the LORD went out and struck down 185,000 in the camp of the Assyrians.” (v. 35) God versus arrogant individuals • Goliath – 1 Samuel 17:45-50: the giant falls to a shepherd’s sling. • Nebuchadnezzar – Daniel 4:28-37: the king is driven to eat grass until he acknowledges heaven’s rule. • Herod Agrippa I – Acts 12:21-23: the monarch receives worship, and “he was eaten by worms and died.” God versus false religion and occult power • Elijah on Carmel – 1 Kings 18:16-39: Baal’s prophets cry all day; fire falls instantly for Elijah. • Dagon’s humiliation – 1 Samuel 5:1-4: the Philistine idol falls before the ark, then breaks apart. • Simon the sorcerer – Acts 8:9-24: the gospel exposes and overruns magical deception. God versus legal or political decrees • Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego – Daniel 3:19-30: the furnace cannot singe God’s servants; Nebuchadnezzar reverses his law. • Daniel in the lions’ den – Daniel 6:16-23: royal edict meets angelic protection. • Haman’s plot – Esther 3–9: the gallows built for Mordecai becomes Haman’s own doom. God versus natural forces and human limitation • Elijah nourished during drought – 1 Kings 17:1-16: ravens feed the prophet; oil and flour never run out. • Jesus stills the storm – Mark 4:35-41: “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey Him?” • Paul shipwrecked but preserved – Acts 27:21-44: everyone survives because “there will be no loss of life among you” (v. 22). The pattern fulfilled in Christ Colossians 2:15: “And having disarmed the powers and authorities, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.” Every earlier victory foreshadows the cross, where the ultimate opposition—sin, death, and Satan—was decisively overthrown. God’s supremacy is not an isolated event in Exodus 7:11; it is the unbroken story line of Scripture, culminating in the risen Christ and continuing in every believer’s life today. |
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