When Moses first addressed Pharaoh and said God wanted him to let His people go, Pharaoh’s response was to immediately question who God was and what authority He had (5:2). It is a response of open defiance against God, a posture of the mind and heart that Pharaoh would come to regret. When we read this, we are right to pause in disbelief. How foolish of Pharaoh! But, thanks to the work of the Holy Spirit, we should be quick to recognize that we are prone to echo Pharaoh in our sin. There are times when we stand before God in defiance and ask Him who He is as we arm wrestle Him for control of our lives.

This is why the Gospel is such good news to us. This is why God’s unending mercy and grace is so critical – not just as the pathway to salvation, but for the journey forward from the moment of our salvation. This is why it is so vital for us to understand that Christ has given us His righteousness. Even in Christ, we want to resurrect our old, dead, fallen selves and live in rebellion. We would rather live as a fraud, than live out our new, true identity as children of God.

• In what ways might you be living in open rebellion against God?