OPENS WITH THE Plagues Upon Egypt
Verses 1-4 tells us The warning of the SECOND plague: FROGS
"And the LORD spoke to Moses, "Go to Pharaoh and say to him, 'Thus says the LORD: "Let My people go, that they may serve Me. But if you refuse to let them go, behold, I will smite all your territory with frogs. So the river shall bring forth frogs abundantly, which shall go up and come into your house, into your bedroom, on your bed, into the houses of your servants, on your people, into your ovens, and into your kneading bowls. And the frogs shall come up on you, on your people, and on all your servants."' "
Go to Pharaoh...
In His good mercy God gives Pharaoh ANOTHER chance at repentance, but Pharaoh will NOT take it.
I WILL smite all your territory with frogs...
God threatened a plague of frogs for a specific reason.
WHY?
DID YOU KNOW The Egyptian goddess Heqt was always pictured with the head of a frog. For this reason frogs were considered sacred and could NOT be killed. God will show the Egyptians the foolishness of a frog-god!
AND ODDLY ENOUGH...Egyptians worshipped the frog as a female goddess because frogs were common around the Nile, because they reproduced rapidly, and because being amphibians they are part of two worlds, creatures of BOTH land and water.
Verses 5-7 tells us God brings frogs upon the land through Moses and Aaron and the magicians of Egypt do the same.
"Then the LORD spoke to Moses, "Say to Aaron, 'Stretch out your hand with your rod over the streams, over the rivers, and over the ponds, and cause frogs to come up on the land of Egypt.'" So Aaron stretched out his hand over the waters of Egypt, and the frogs came up and covered the land of Egypt. And the magicians did so with their enchantments, and brought up frogs on the land of Egypt."
The frogs came up and covered the land of Egypt...
It's hard to miss God's sense of humor. He shows just how ridiculous it is to worship a frog-god as He says, "If you want to worship frogs, I'll give you all the frogs you want!"
And the magicians did so with their enchantments, and brought up frogs...
AND TO ADD INSULT TO INJURY, THE MAGICIANS ONLY CREATED MORE FROGS...MORE FROGS THAT THE PEOPLE OF EGYPT WERE FORBIDDEN TO KILL...BECAUSE THEY BELIEVED A FROG WAS A GOD.
The ability of the magicians to do the same with their enchantments points to a supernatural power present; this isn't the work of a skilled illusionist, this is occult power at work.
BUT...YOU NOTICE...SATAN'S POWER AT WORK, for all their occult powers, all the magicians can do is make MORE frogs AND MORE DESTRUCTION! This increases the problem instead of solving it, yet it gives Pharaoh an excuse to further harden his heart.
THIS SHOWS US AGAIN ANOTHER REASON TO TEST THE SPIRITS AND BY THEIR FRUITS YOU SHALL KNOW THEM.
SATAN, HIS DEMON ANGELS, AND THOSE WHO FOLLOW HIM AND OBEY HIM, KNOWINGLY OR NOT, CAN BE GIVEN POWERS BY SATAN...
BUT WE ARE NOT TO BE AMAZED NOR IMPRESSED WITH POWERS, SIGNS, WONDERS, AND THE MIRACULOUS IN AND OF ITSELF...
AND ALMIGHTY GOD SHOWS US HOW TO TELL THE DIFFERENCE AND EXPLAINS SATAN'S POWERS AS WELL HIS LIMITATIONS.
SATAN IS A DESTROYER...
HE DOES HAVE POWERS.
HE DOES HAVE DISCERNMENT.
HE DOES HAVE FOREKNOWLEDGE.
HE DOES HAVE SOME WISDOM.
HE CAN MIMIC SOME MIRACLES.
BUT ALL THE ABOVE ARE ((ONLY)) POWERS OF HARM AND DESTRUCTION...SATAN CAN NOT AND WILL NOT DO BLESSINGS, FAVORS, CLEANSINGS, AND HEALINGS...AMEN?
Verses 8-15 tells us Pharaoh asks Moses for help.
"Then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron, and said, "Entreat the LORD that He may take away the frogs from me and from my people; and I will let the people go, that they may sacrifice to the LORD." And Moses said to Pharaoh, "Accept the honor of saying when I shall intercede for you, for your servants, and for your people, to destroy the frogs from you and your houses, that they may remain in the river only." So he said, "Tomorrow." And he said, "Let it be according to your word, that you may know that there is no one like the LORD our God. And the frogs shall depart from you, from your houses, from your servants, and from your people. They shall remain in the river only." Then Moses and Aaron went out from Pharaoh. And Moses cried out to the LORD concerning the frogs which He had brought against Pharaoh. So the LORD did according to the word of Moses. And the frogs died out of the houses, out of the courtyards, and out of the fields. They gathered them together in heaps, and the land stank. But when Pharaoh saw that there was relief, he hardened his heart and did not heed them, as the LORD had said."
Entreat the LORD that He may take away the frogs...
Here, God's previous promise (Exodus 7:1) is fulfilled.
WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?
Pharaoh will NOT HUMBLE HIMSELF, HIT HIS KNEES, AND CRY OUT TO THE LORD himself, but he will go to Moses as if he were God...JUST AS GOD PROMISED MOSES HE WOULD.
So the LORD did according to the word of Moses...
WE NOTICE THREE IMPORTANT PURPOSES HERE.
When Moses prays, God answers - and all the frogs die! The understated description "the land stank" gives a hint at how nauseating it was.
GOD IS GROWING MOSES FAITH IN PRAYER & IN HIS POWER TO DO WHAT GOD TELLS HIM TO DO WHEN HE OBEYS THE LORD GOD, AMEN?
GOD IS REMINDING AARON THAT HE IS AN ASSISTANT TO MOSES & THAT ALL HIS POWERS COME FROM OBEYING AND FOLLOWING MOSES AND GOD...NOT IN HIMSELF.
AND GOD IS SHOWING PHARAOH & THE PEOPLE OF EGYPT THAT WHAT MOSES SAYS GOD WILL DO....THROUGH HIS WALK WITH THE LORD...HE DOES!
PHARAOH hardened his heart...
UNBELIEVABLE RIGHT...Even when Pharaoh's plea was granted, his heart did NOT change - he hardened his heart - yet Pharaoh did just as God said he would.
BUT THIS SHOWS US THE SUPREME, INSANE ARROGANCE OF PHARAOH AND SATAN'S WORKING IN HIM, AS WELL HIS ADVISERS, MAGICIANS, SORCERERS, AMEN?
Verses 16-17 tells us God tells Moses to initiate the THIRD plague: LICE.
"So the LORD said to Moses, "Say to Aaron, 'Stretch out your rod, and strike the dust of the land, so that it may become lice throughout all the land of Egypt.'" And they did so. For Aaron stretched out his hand with his rod and struck the dust of the earth, and it became lice on man and beast. All the dust of the land became lice throughout all the land of Egypt."
Stretch out your rod...
DO YOU NOTICE...This plague comes unannounced. This time God does NOT show Pharaoh the mercy of a warning and an invitation to repentance.
AS WE SEE...GOD IS PATIENT EVEN WITH PHARAOH. HE GRADUATES IN GROUPS OF THREES.
HE ASKS PHARAOH TO LET HIS PEOPLE GO.
THEN HE WARNS.
THEN HE BRINGS ABOUT A PLAGUE.
I DO NOT KNOW ABOUT YOU, BUT I CHASE DUST ALL THE TIME THROUGHOUT MY HOME...IT IS A CONSTANT BATTLE...CAN YOU IMAGINE...SUDDENLY ALL THE DUST IN YOUR HOME, AS WELL EVERY SPECK OF DUST OUTSIDE BECOMING LICE?!
We must never think God is unfair when He does not show mercy and warn this time. GOD IS FAIR AND JUST ALWAYS...and with mankind and the world...If someone disobeys/ignores the laws, and rules governing this world... they would never be shown mercy.
Struck the dust of the earth, and it became lice on man and beast...
DID YOU KNOW...
This plague struck at the heart of ALL Egyptian worship, especially at THEIR priests.
WHY?
The Egyptian priesthood was extremely scrupulous about hygiene and ritual cleansing and an infestation of lice made them UNABLE to ENTER THEIR TEMPLES & WORSHIP their gods.
AND WORSE...The plague of lice was also upon EVERY beast. The gods of Egypt would not receive the sacrifice of lice-infested animals, so this STOPPED their sacrificial system.
Verses 18-19 tells us the magicians of Egypt are UNABLE to duplicate this plague.
"Now the magicians so worked with their enchantments to bring forth lice, but they could not. So there were lice on man and beast. Then the magicians said to Pharaoh, "This is the finger of God." But Pharaoh's heart grew hard, and he did not heed them, just as the LORD had said."
Now the magicians so worked with their enchantments to bring forth lice, but they could not...
If these magicians could use occult powers to change a rod into a snake, to turn water into blood, and to summon frogs, why couldn't they bring forth lice?
Because as great as Satan's power is, it IS limited - and it comes to its limit rather early, AMEN?
This is the finger of God...
When the magicians say this to Pharaoh, it shows they KNOW there is a power GREATER than their own, A POWER FAR GREATER THAN EVEN PHARAOH, yet it is a power that they do NOT honor and serve.
Pharaoh's heart grew hard, and he did not heed them...
The hardness of Pharaoh's heart is shown when he will not even heed the analysis of his own advisers. There is no rational reason why he insists on resisting the LORD God.
AND REMEMBER...PHARAOH WAS CONSIDERED & BELIEVED TO BE A GOD IN HUMAN FORM TO THE PEOPLE OF EGYPT TOO.
IF THIS WERE THE TRUTH, HE SHOULD HAVE NOT NEEDED MAGICIANS, SORCERERS, ENCHANTMENTS, AND ADVISERS TO DO ALL THINGS.
I HAVE ALWAYS WONDERED IF THE MAGICIANS, ADVISERS, AND THE PEOPLE OF EGYPT EVER THOUGHT OF THIS AND EVER DOUBTED IN PHARAOH'S ABILITIES, POWERS, AND IN HIS DEITY.
AND AFTER BLOOD IN ALL WATER, FROGS EVERYWHERE, LICE COVERING ALL THINGS...I AM ALWAYS SURPRISED THAT THE PEOPLE DID NOT RISE UP AGAINST PHARAOH....BUT YOU NOTICE NONE OF THEM DID...AMAZING RIGHT?
Verses 20-23 tells us Moses warns Pharaoh of a FOURTH plague: FLIES.
"And the LORD said to Moses, "Rise early in the morning and stand before Pharaoh as he comes out to the water. Then say to him, 'Thus says the LORD: "Let My people go, that they may serve Me. Or else, if you will not let My people go, behold, I will send swarms of flies on you and your servants, on your people and into your houses. The houses of the Egyptians shall be full of swarms of flies, and also the ground on which they stand. And in that day I will set apart the land of Goshen, in which My people dwell, that no swarms of flies shall be there, in order that you may know that I am the LORD in the midst of the land. I will make a difference between My people and your people. Tomorrow this sign shall be."'
Let My people go, that they may serve Me...
GOD DOES NOT HAVE MOSES RECORD A SPECIFIC reply from Pharaoh to this request, but since the plague came, PHARAOH OBVIOUSLY did not soften his heart towards the LORD God or Israel. Perhaps the reaction isn't described because there was no reaction - perhaps FAR WORSE, PHARAOH just IGNORED Moses' message.
In order that you may know that I am the Lord in the midst of the land...
AND TO BE HONEST...To coldly ignore God is to communicate our HATRED of Him as clearly as if we were to try and kill Him. It is a terrible insult to have God in your midst and to act as if He DOES NOT MATTER, AMEN?
TALK ABOUT PRIDE....DID YOU KNOW THERE ARE 46 VERSES THAT DEAL WITH PRIDE AND EACH TIME SELF PRIDE REARS ITS HEAD, DESTRUCTION FOLLOWS...JUST AS THE BIBLE TELLS & WARNS US IN:
PROVERBS 8:13 which says, "The fear of the LORD is to hate evil: pride, and arrogancy, and the evil way, and the froward mouth, do I hate."
PROVERBS 16:18 which says, "Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall."
THESE TWO VERSES TELL US SOMETHING ELSE, PRIDE AND ARROGANCE COME FROM SATAN...NOT THE LORD GOD NOR JESUS CHRIST, AMEN?!
Verse 24 tells us the plague of flies comes.
"And the LORD did so. Thick swarms of flies came into the house of Pharaoh, into his servants' houses, and into all the land of Egypt. The land was corrupted because of the swarms of flies."
Thick swarms of flies came...
Literally, it says God sent a swarm (Hebrew, awrob) upon Egypt; it does not specify what KIND OF FLY the swarm is. It may have been a variety of gross FLYING insects.
BUT REMEMBER...Psalm 78:45 says these swarms devoured them, and this indicates that there were "biting" insects in the swarm.
The land was corrupted because of the swarms of flies...
WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?
This shows that the point of this plague was probably the same as the plague of lice. The Egyptian gods could NOT be worshipped amidst this uncleanness.
AND NOW SCIENTIFIC MANKIND KNOWS A BIT MORE ABOUT FLIES...AND IT IS TRULY GROSS THING TO CONSIDER. A FLY, BY ITS VERY NATURE, VOMITS ON ALL IT LANDS ON...SO CAN YOU IMAGINE SWARMS OF BITING AND VOMITING FLIES COVERING ALL OF EGYPT?
Into the house of Pharaoh, into his servants' houses, and into all the land of Egypt...
God promised (Exodus 8:22) that the land of Goshen, the place where the children of Israel lived, would be spared this disgusting plague...AND THEY WERE.
WHY?
NOT ONLY AS A SIGN OF GOD'S LOVE, CARE, AND PROTECTION OF HIS PEOPLE.
NOT ONLY AS A SIGN THAT GOD DOES IN FACT COMPLETELY CONTROL ALL THINGS OF NATURE, EVEN FLIES AND WHERE THEY SWARM AND WHAT THEY DO AND WHERE THEY GO.
BUT TO SHOW PHARAOH AND THE PEOPLE OF EGYPT THAT ALMIGHTY GOD IS ALL POWERFUL...IN ALL THINGS...WHAT HE SAYS HE WILL DO...HE DOES.
Verses 25-27 tells us Pharaoh tries to COMPROMISE with Moses.
"Then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron, and said, "Go, sacrifice to your God in the land." And Moses said, "It is not right to do so, for we would be sacrificing the abomination of the Egyptians to the LORD our God. If we sacrifice the abomination of the Egyptians before their eyes, then will they not stone us? We will go three days' journey into the wilderness and sacrifice to the LORD our God as He will command us."
Go, sacrifice to your God in the land...
In this, Pharaoh suggests a compromise, allowing Israel a HOLIDAY for their God, but demanding they stay within the land of Egypt to worship. This is the natural course of action for politicians but God is no politician. He will strike no bargain with Pharaoh.
If we sacrifice the abomination of the Egyptians before their eyes, then will they not stone us? Moses reminds Pharaoh of the social uproar this would cause, and sticks to the original request, refusing to compromise.
AND WE SEE God building character and strength in Moses. Perhaps when he first appeared before Pharaoh he would have been willing to strike this kind of bargain. Now he really knows that God is control, and he DOES NOT HAVE TO COMPROMISE, HE DOES NOT HAVE TO SETTLE for less than the perfect will of God, AMEN?
Verses 28-32 tells us of Pharaoh's FALSE repentance.
"And Pharaoh said, "I will let you go, that you may sacrifice to the LORD your God in the wilderness; only you shall not go very far away. Intercede for me." Then Moses said, "Indeed I am going out from you, and I will entreat the LORD, that the swarms of flies may depart tomorrow from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people. But let Pharaoh not deal deceitfully anymore in not letting the people go to sacrifice to the LORD." So Moses went out from Pharaoh and entreated the LORD. And the LORD did according to the word of Moses; He removed the swarms of flies from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people. Not one remained. But Pharaoh hardened his heart at this time also; neither would he let the people go."
Intercede for me...
GOD SHOWS US AND MOSES PHARAOH'S TRUE HEART...AND KNOWLEDGE...
AND RIGHT HERE IS FOREVER SETTLED THE DEBATES AND CHALLENGES, AND QUESTIONS THAT PHARAOH DID NOT KNOW WHOM HE WAS DEALING WITH.
LET'S FACE IT, EVEN A BLIND, DEAF, OR DUMB PERSON CAN WITH THEIR REMAINING SENSES KNOW THIS WAS FROM A SUPREME POWER FAR GREATER THAN PHARAOH AND HIS TEAM OF MAGICIANS AND SORCERERS.
AND IN THE WAY GOD RESPONDS...ESPECIALLY WITH THE SWARMS OF FLIES ONLY ATTACKING AND BITING PHARAOH AND THE PEOPLE OF EGYPT AND STAYING CLEAR OF AND NOT HARMING THE ISRAELITES...
SHOOTS DOWN THE THOUGHT OR QUESTION OR THEORY THAT IT WAS JUST AN ABERRATION OF NATURE...NATURE IN ITSELF DOES NOT CHOOSE WHOM TO ATTACK OR PLAGUE...IT IS AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY DESTROYER...JUST AS GOD SAYS HE SET NATURE UP, SO THAT RAIN FALLS ON THE JUST AND THE UNJUST.
BUT HERE GOD DIRECTS AND CONTROLS THE SWARMS OF FLIES....THEY ARE GOING AGAINST THEIR NATURE AND ONLY TOUCHING, ATTACKING, SWARMING, AND BITING THE EGYPTIANS....THEY COULD NOT KNOW IN AND OF THEMSELVES THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN EGYPTIANS AND ISRAELITES.
TO THESE FLIES...ALL THEY SAW AND KNEW AND UNDERSTOOD IN AND OF THEMSELVES & DISCERNED WAS HUMAN BEINGS AND CREATURES OF NATURE...NO WAY FOR THEM TO KNOW ETHNICITY, AMEN?
SO WE CAN SUPPOSE THAT THE EGYPTIAN & YES MAYBE THE ISRAELITE PEOPLE AS WELL, MAY HAVE WONDERED IF IT WAS NATURE OR A SUPREME GOD...A POWER FAR ABOVE PHARAOH...SO TO ANSWER THEIR THOUGHTS AND DOUBTS, ALMIGHTY GOD DIRECTS THESE SWARMS OF FLIES TO ONLY GO NEAR, ONLY ATTACK, BITE, AND PLAGUE THE EGYPTIAN PEOPLE AND TO LEAVE THE ISRAELITES & THEIR ANIMALS COMPLETELY UNTOUCHED BEFORE HE DOES EXACTLY THAT.
AND THESE VERSES ALSO TELL US WITHOUT A SHADOW OF DOUBT THAT Pharaoh KNOWS EXACTLY WHO the plagues are coming from, and HOW they can be stopped (by appealing to the LORD God). Nevertheless, Pharaoh hardened his heart at this time also.
I will let you go, that you may sacrifice to the LORD your God in the wilderness...
This is a CLEAR promise, and one that Pharaoh did NOT live up to. We cannot tell if Pharaoh deliberately lied to Moses or simply changed his mind once the plague of flies was gone.
BUT WE SHOULD NOT BE SURPRISED...Many people "turn to God" in a time of calamity, and when things get better, almost immediately turn their hearts back in hardness to God. Pharaoh isn't an unusual specimen of humanity; he is a rather typical one, AMEN?
As we continue in sin, God can allow our hearts to harden.
THINK ABOUT IT...A man doesn't start by gambling away his paycheck; it starts with continuing on in friendly betting, and his heart grows hard.
A man doesn't start with unspeakable perversion; it starts with a few magazines, a couple of videos, and his heart grows hard.
A woman doesn't start addicted to alcohol; it starts with some social drinking and her heart grows hard.
AND THINK ABOUT THIS...ALMIGHTY GOD SAYS I DO NOT CHANGE. I CAN NOT LIE. AND SO DID AND DOES JESUS CHRIST.
AND AS I STUDIED THIS CHAPTER...I CAME TO SEE AND UNDERSTAND HOW GREAT IS THE LORD GOD AND JESUS CHRIST PATIENCE AND MERCY AND LOVE CARE AND KINDNESS AND LONG-SUFFERING REALLY IS.
THINK ABOUT IT...
GOD KNEW AND READ PHARAOH'S HEART AND MIND.
GOD KNEW BEFORE MOSES EVER WENT BACK TO EGYPT THAT:
PHARAOH WOULD NOT BE MOVED.
PHARAOH WOULD NOT REPENT.
PHARAOH WOULD NOT OBEY.
PHARAOH WOULD NOT CHANGE AND TURN TO HIM...
YET, EVEN THEN, ALMIGHTY GOD WAS PATIENT, TIME AND TIME AGAIN URGING AND GIVING PHARAOH AND THE EGYPTIAN PEOPLE PROOF OF:
WHO HE WAS...
WHAT HE COULD DO...
THAT HIS WORD WAS PURE GOLD AND HIS WARNINGS CRYSTAL CLEAR...
YET THEY REJECTED HIM.
JUST AS JESUS CHRIST, WHEN HE WALKED THIS EARTH FACED.
I MEAN THINK ABOUT IT...THEY ESTIMATE JESUS PERSONALLY TOUCHED, HEALED, FED, TAUGHT, SHOWED HIS POWER TO OVER A MILLION PEOPLE...
AND JESUS CHRIST KNEW BEFORE HE EVER TOUCHED THEM, HEALED THEM, FED THEM, LOVED THEM, RAISED THEIR LOVED ONES FROM THE DEAD, DEFENDED THEM...
HE READ THEIR HEARTS...
AND HE KNEW BEFOREHAND WHO WOULD ACCEPT HIM, WHO WOULD BELIEVE IN HIM AND WHO WANTED HIM...
AS WELL THOSE WHO TAKE HIS GIFTS, BLESSINGS, FOOD, HEALINGS, AND FAVORS AND WHO THEN WOULD REJECT HIS LOVE GIFT OF SALVATION..
WHO WOULD BETRAY HIM.
WHO WOULD ABANDON HIM.
WHO WOULD DENY HIM.
AND WHO ONLY WANTED WHAT HE COULD GIVE THEM...DO FOR THEM...
EVEN AS JESUS KNEW BEFOREHAND THAT THEY DID NOT AND WOULD NOT WANT HIM, THE CHRIST, THE SAVIOR, THE REDEEMER....
AND YET...JESUS CHRIST LOVED, TOUCHED, HEALED, FED, AND DEFENDED AND CARED FOR THEM ANYWAY...HE GAVE THEM WHAT THEY WOULD TAKE AND WOULD ACCEPT FROM HIM.
THAT IS THE PERSONIFICATION OF A SELFLESS SERVANT...AND OUR JESUS WAS JUST THAT.
HOW CAN ANYONE READ THE HOLY BIBLE, OLD TESTAMENT AND/OR NEW TESTAMENT AND EVER DOUBT THE UNFAILING PATIENCE, LOVE AND CARE OF ALMIGHTY GOD AND HIS PRECIOUS SON JESUS CHRIST?