I will harden Pharaoh’s heart so that he will pursue them. Then I will receive glory by means of Pharaoh and all his army, and the Egyptians will know that I am the LORD. 14:4
The glory of God is a preeminent theme in the Bible. His ways are higher than our ways and His thoughts are higher than our thoughts. In His presence we are nothing, and His glory surpasses all that we can think and imagine. It is not arrogance for God to demand to be glorified by His creation. Instead, it is the only sane response of finite creatures in the face of the infinite Yahweh. Of course, we are independent and self-willed and we often fail to give Him the glory He is due. For those who are in Christ, it should be the cry of our hearts to glorify Him because we are being conformed to the image of Christ and, as I said yesterday, being transformed from glory to glory.
However, the Lord demands glory from everything and everyone. All of creation has been proclaiming His glory and will continue to do so until the end of time. Psalm 19:1 says, “The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.” The angels in heaven give Him glory and constantly cry Holy, Holy, Holy. Those who have been redeemed and who know Him best try in their feeble way to give Him glory and at times we are successful. Yet, God even demands glory from those who are the furthest from Him.
God said that He would even receive glory from Pharaoh and his army by destroying them in the Red Sea. Then the Egyptians will know that He is Yahweh and that Yahweh is the Lord. This was not simply a destruction of a pagan army or a declaration to a pagan nation; this was also a defeat of their imagined pagan gods. God was going to get the glory from the Egyptians either through their surrender or their defeat. I think, though, that it is important to note that the LORD is not some capricious God who flippantly wipes out an army just because He can. There was a point to it; two actually. One so that He would receive glory (which He deserves) and two so that the Egyptians would “know” that He is Lord. God’s very nature is glorious, but we make His glory known to the nations so they will know Him and worship Him. He is always “good” even amid wrath and justice, and this is one of the many reasons He is so glorious.
