Category: BIBLE/SCRIPTURE

At first Pharaoh of Egypt hardened his own heart against the Jew’s God.  But then God hardened Pharaoh’s heart so he could not change his mind as the plagues worsened.

This meant that not only did he not heed what Moses and Aaron said but he also would not heed what his own advisors told him.

His advisors got anxious to get rid of the Israelites and their terrible plagues before more bad fortune befell the Egyptians.

The magicians, in particular, wanted rid of them. They were no longer able to duplicate the plagues, but they were also not able to get rid of them. This conundrum is ruining their reputations.

Pharaoh is nothing more than an evil ruler who is bringing destructions on the people he claims to represent and love. Pharaoh’s stiffened heart continued to create problems.

Once again the Lord told Moses, “Early in the morning, present yourself to Pharaoh and say to him, Thus says the Lord, the God of the Hebrews,  Let my people go.”

God then threatened to send all the plagues upon Pharaoh and all his citizens.  He told Pharaoh He could have erased them from the face of the earth entirely.  But He spared them in order to show His power and for the purpose of spreading God’s name throughout the whole universe.

After which, God told Moses to tell Pharaoh God would rain down a very heavy hail of which they had never seen in their life.  Then Pharaoh was to announce to ALL the people that they must bring all their livestock and anything of value inside under shelter.

This instruction creates a conundrum.  During a past plague we are told “all the livestock of the Egyptians died”.  No one really knows why or how there are more livestock to take inside.  And I am certainly not going to argue with the scholars guessing at the meaning.

Now we all know God even warned that anyone who did not take cover would be killed by the hail. With hindsight we can see the irony.  Here was the ‘most high’ leader of the land having to follow the orders of the Israelites God.  It must have been a very humbling situation.

Remember, they were warned that every man and beast that remained outdoors would be killed. But as human nature would have it, there were those who did not obey the Lord and they left their slaves and cattle outdoors.

Moses was told by God to hold out his arms toward the sky that hail might fall on all the grasses of the field in Egypt.

When Moses held out his arms, hail, thunder and lightning fell down upon the land of Egypt.  The sad part of this situation was it was not just the livestock that were killed, but also the Israelite slaves that took care of the livestock.

The slaves were not evildoers but they had the misfortune of living with the evil doers and therefore were caught in the punishment.

Not only did the hail strike down all that were in the field but it also struck down all the grasses of the field and shattered all the trees of the field. And as promised, there was no hail in Goshen, where the Israelites lived.

Of course, Pharaoh was up to his old tricks.  He sent for Moses and Aaron and said: “I stand guilty this time. The Lord is right, and I and my people are in the wrong. Plead with the Lord that there may be an end to God’s thunder and hail.”

Moses answered that he would plead with the Lord to stop the hail, but then he added, “I know that you and your courtiers do not yet fear the Lord.”

Scripture tells us the flax and the barley were ruined, as they were ripe for harvest, but the wheat and the emmer, which is another type of wheat, were not ruined because they were late crops.

Moses did as he said he would and the hail and thunder ceased. It was wonderful for Pharaoh to be believed. The problem was he could not be believed. He reverted back to his old guilty ways.

We all know people like that. Humble when they are caught and punished, repentant when they have no choice, but quickly return to their old ways when they think they got away with it. And low and behold, his courtiers were exactly the same way.

Once again Pharaoh’s heart stiffened and he would not “let the people go”!

⇛ continue reading Exodus – Part 25
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God has logic in everything he does. When it comes to the plagues on the Egyptians they are divided into a pattern of three sets of three and then the Judgement which is the only one in the fourth set.

In the first set Pharaoh was warned of the first two plagues which were the Water to Blood, and next the Frogs. Pharaoh was not warned about the third plague in the first set of three which was the Lice. In the second set Pharaoh was warned about the first two, but not the third. The second set containing three plagues began with the fourth plague of insects everywhere. In the third set of threes he was warned once again, about the first two plagues​ but not the third. And he certainly wasn’t warned about the one in the fourth set which was the judgement. Some people think the forth plague of insects were flies. But not just any fly, flies that bore into the skin and lay eggs under the skin.

If the fourth plague is interpreted as flies, it fits within a speculative framework of the Ten Plagues of Egypt being linked to scientific climate change. There is a theory which promotes a climate in warming that says, “Biting flies, having hatched in soil heavily polluted with animal urine and feces, would have become abundant with warming weather, and the flies would have easily bred in a land strewn with frog corpses.”

But if we are going to believe the plagues were all natural forces of climate and climate change, we have to take power away from God. Actually, that theory would only make God nothing more than a fortune teller. But we know God is all powerful and He is capable of making and moving nature to use for His needs. God actually brought the plagues, for his purpose of freeing His people.

The fifth plague, the second in the second set of three’s, was the killing of the livestock owned by the Egyptians. We start Chapter nine of Exodus the same way we did so many times before. God once again laid it on the line: Pharaoh must let God’s people go, submission to God he must show. If Pharaoh refuses to submit, it won’t be pretty Moses admits. God will strike Egyptian livestock in the fields. No harm to Israelites livestock he will yield. This plague was laid out completely.  It will include horses, asses, camels, cattle, and sheep.  They will be struck with a very severe pestilence.

We remember the Egyptians worshipped almost everything, and had a god for everything. Remember, we know God was not attacking the Egyptian people, He was proving the impotence of the Egyptian gods. He is reaffirming only the God of the Israelites is divine and nothing else in nature is,​ even if they call them gods. Then He did what He did prior to the last plague. God made it known that there is a difference between the livestock of the Egyptians and the livestock of the Israelites when He said, “nothing shall die of all that belongs to the Israelites”.

It seems this is a first between the Egyptians and God. But this time, for the first time, He tells them even more. This time he tells them the plague will be tomorrow. And God being true to his word struck all the livestock the very next day. All the livestock of the Egyptians died but not one of the livestock of the Israelites died – NOT ONE BEAST. Pharaoh at least had a curiosity about God.​ He inquired if any of the livestock of the Israelites had died. And even though none had Pharaoh remained stubborn against God and the Israelites.

But now for the sixth plague, the third in the second set of threes, God told Moses and Aaron to go to the kiln and take out handfuls of soot. They were to throw those handfuls of soot in the air, in front of Pharaoh. They were told, It shall become a fine dust all over the land of Egypt. Moses threw it toward the sky and it caused an inflammation breaking out in boils on both man and beast. The magicians didn’t even try to duplicate or to dispel this plague as they were also covered with inflammation, and hurting, the same as all the Egyptians. We are not told this time that Pharaoh hardened his heart against God and the Israelites. Pharaoh didn’t have that chance. God stiffened Pharaoh’s heart first.

And now Pharaoh has time to decide what he wants to do with the Israelites. Their fate, at this time, is directly in the hands of Pharaoh. Pharaoh had much opposition to his decision. The magicians were particularly eager to change Pharaoh’s mind. They evidently realized this God had far greater power than they did with their illusions, and it was obvious God had far more power​ than Pharaoh did.

The Lord said to Moses, “Early in the morning, present yourself to Pharaoh and say to him, “Thus says the Lord, the God of the Hebrews; Let my people go to worship me. For this time I will send all my plagues upon your person, and your courtiers, and your people. In order that you may know​​ THERE IS NONE LIKE ME IN ALL THE LAND.”

⇛ continue reading Exodus – Part 24
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They worshiped the frogs​​​​​​ until they got them in abundance then they were convinced the frogs were redundant. Do away with the frogs and Pharaoh will respect God’s request. But low and behold he didn’t pass the test. As soon as he got just what he wanted his power to say no was immediately vaunted. In his land the Jews must stay. He was convinced he would have his own way.

Well poor Pharaoh, he forgot who he was up against. Once again he forgot Man rules but God overrules. And when Pharaoh said no, God said, “Pharaoh you have not yet learned from experience who my people are, and more importantly, who I am”.

That’s when God brought on the next plague. God told Moses, “Say to Aaron,​​​​​ hold out your rod and strike the dust of the earth and it shall turn to lice throughout the land of Egypt.”

And they did! In fact all the dust of the earth turned to lice throughout the land of Egypt. I guess you could cope with walking on lice but having the habits that lice have, they didn’t stay under their feet! Those lice took abode on man and beast! The interesting fact is that those wonderful magicians were unable to make more lice or to make the lice disappear. This evidently made a real impact on the magicians because they told Pharaoh, “This is the finger of God!”

Was Pharaoh affected?​​​​​​​ He surely was. His heart became more stiffened. Then the Lord said to Moses,​​​​​ “Early in the morning present yourself to Pharaoh, as he is coming out to the water, and say to him: Thus says the Lord, Let My people go that they may worship me. And if you do not let My people go, I will let loose swarms of insects against you.”

In Hebrew, God is telling Pharaoh either send the Israelites, or God will send another plague. This is where God tells us He will set apart the region of Goshen where His people dwell, and they will not have the swarms of insects. And then for the very first time God makes a distinction between​​​​ the Egyptians and the Israelites and the time of the plague is fixed! In fact, God said “I will make a distinction between my people and your people,​​​​​ and tomorrow this sign shall come to pass.”

And He did just what He said He would do. Heavy swarms of insects invaded Pharaoh’s palace and the houses of his courtiers;  throughout the country of Egypt the land was ruined because of the swarms of insets. And then Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron and told them to sacrifice to their Lord within the land. This of course, is not God’s instructions. So, Moses and Aaron told Pharaoh it would not be right to do this. They told Pharaoh that what they​​​​ sacrificed to the Lord would be untouchable and reprehensible to the Egyptians. And if they saw that we sacrifice, and that we worship, it would incite violence from the Egyptians. They told Pharaoh ​​​​​​​​they had to go a distance of three days into the wilderness to sacrifice to the Lord God, as He had commanded. Pharaoh decided he would let them sacrifice in the wilderness, but they must not go very far, and Pharaoh wanted them to plead for him. Because of Pharaoh’s repentant attitude Moses said, “I will plead with the Lord that the swarms of insects depart tomorrow from Pharaoh and his courtiers and his people, that the swarms of insects may leave you.”

And Moses did just that.​​​​​​ But you surely remember this Bible story and you already know Pharaoh became stubborn again or still, as the case would have it, and would not let the people go. Once Pharaoh got his own way​​​​​ he hardened his heart against the God of Israel and against all the Israelites. It is reasonable to believe that the Egyptians thought that the God of the Jews was their enemy. But that is not so. It is their own Pharaoh who is the real enemy of his people.

How sad that even in our “enlightened age” we have enemies who do not care about our welfare. Scripture teaches that we face three foes:

• the World
• the Flesh
• the Devil

And many times I believe​​​​​​ I can be more specific and say our governing leaders can be, and are, on many occasions, our enemies. It may not be as easy to see​​​​​ as the plagues were but we are plagued none the less.

⇛ continue reading Exodus – Part 23
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1 John 2:16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.

Chapter eight of Exodus begins​​​​​ with the second plague, the first of course was turning the water into blood, but the second was frogs. Frogs, frogs everywhere. In the house, under your chairs, in your bed, no place to sit or lie but rather worship, sleep and eat with them instead. And the Lord said to Moses, “Say to Aaron: Hold out your arm with the rod over the rivers, and the ponds, and bring  up the frogs on the land of Egypt.”

Aaron followed the orders and the frogs came up and covered the land of Egypt. It is known that out of all the plagues the frogs were the least destructive. Some have believed they were simply meant​ to annoy and humiliate the Pharaoh.

Today the Jews use a song that was written around 1957 for children to sing and learn Jewish history at their Passover Seder, it is:

One morning when Pharaoh awoke in his bed.
There were frogs in his bed, and frogs on his head.
Frogs on his nose and frogs on his toes.
Frogs here, frogs there. Frogs were jumping everywhere.

Of course, the lesson to be learned was since you choose to worship the frog god Hekt, you can have frogs everywhere. And now the magicians do it again, they add insult to injury. Why did they do it? To prove they are as great as Moses and Aaron they inflict even more pain on the Egyptians. They produce more frogs!​​​​​​ Think about the stupidity! Wouldn’t it have been wiser to make frogs disappear rather than make even more frogs?  Well, even though those frogs were only a humiliation, Pharaoh decided he would cooperate. He summoned Moses and Aaron and said, “Plead with the Lord to remove the frogs from me and my people and I will let the people go to sacrifice to the Lord.”

Did you listen carefully? Pharaoh is willing to acknowledge the God of the Jews as a real God. In fact Pharaoh even choose to call Him the word YHVH which we translate as Yaway. And Pharaoh is acquiescing to the God of the Jews. He skipped right over his magicians​​​​ who were using illusion to duplicate what God does easily. Moses’s reaction to Pharaoh was judicious. He agreed to Pharaoh’s request, he even asked Pharaoh when he would like the frogs removed. Pharaoh quickly responded ‘tomorrow’. Moses agreed with Pharaoh and added “that you may know that there is none like the Lord our God.”

And Moses assured the Pharaoh that the frogs would return to the Nile and remain there. Actually the phrase, “that you may know that there is none like the Lord our God” is said four times during the plague narratives.

That phrase is repeated because​​​​ the purpose of the plagues is to reveal the one true God to humanity. When Moses and Aaron left the Pharaohs presence, Moses cried out to God! It doesn’t say he prayed, or speaks to him it says he cried out. This implies he is anxious to relieve the suffering of the innocent Egyptians who were plagued by the frogs. In fact, we saw this before when Abraham pleaded for those in Sodom who might be innocent. Moses is pleading for those Egyptians he believes are not full-fledged evil doers.

We, in turn, have Christians crying out for the saving of non-believers who are really nice people and just don’t happen to believe God. We want mercy for the “good guys”​​​​ who just don’t see a need to study scripture or believe what anyone tells them about God. Even though God did not tell Moses to allow Pharaoh to dictate when the frogs would leave, God went along with Moses’s decision. And God did it! He killed all the frogs in the houses, in the courtyards, and the fields.

And they piled them up in heaps! And then, oh boy, did they stink! We can understand the frogs stunk but can we understand why Pharaoh stunk? Well, once the frogs were gone, at his request, he no longer listened to Moses, and he would not allow the Jews to leave to worship their God.

Pharaoh has not yet learned the lesson, Man Rules, God Overrules. But eventually Pharaoh will.

⇛ continue reading Exodus – Part 22
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