“O you who hear prayer, to you shall all flesh come.” Psalm 65:2
St. Peter's Roman Catholic Church, Rome NY (that's my wife Elizabeth with the baby stroller)
Plagues
§Next in the book of Exodus come ten plagues. The reasoning behind the plagues? “But I know that the king of Egypt will not let you go unless compelled by a mighty hand. So I will stretch out my hand and strike Egypt with all the wonders that I will do in it; after that he will let you go.” (Ex 3:19-20 ESV)
§The plagues come in 3 groups of 3- The 1st plague in each group of 3 always starts in the morning when the Pharaoh has gone down to the banks of the Nile.
§Do not confuse these plagues with anything that your modern mind can think up- The CDC is no match for the very hand of God Almighty.
§The plagues come in 3 groups of 3- The 1st plague in each group of 3 always starts in the morning when the Pharaoh has gone down to the banks of the Nile.
§Do not confuse these plagues with anything that your modern mind can think up- The CDC is no match for the very hand of God Almighty.
Exodus 7:14- 8:19
Plagues 1-3
§Egyptians relied on the Nile for everything from transportation to its annual (predictable) floods that helped water the crops. The Egyptian “god” Hapi was the god of the Nile and turning the entire Nile into blood would have been a rebuke to him.
§When Yahweh tells Aaron and Moses that even the water that’s in vessels of wood and stone would turn to blood this is a direct attack against the Egyptian belief that their gods inhabited vessels made of wood, stone, and clay.
§We are reminded that Pharaoh would need some coaxing because of his hardened heart.
§Verse 25 reminds us that the plagues did not happen in rapid succession one right after the other but instead had time in between.
§Egyptians relied on the Nile for everything from transportation to its annual (predictable) floods that helped water the crops. The Egyptian “god” Hapi was the god of the Nile and turning the entire Nile into blood would have been a rebuke to him.
§When Yahweh tells Aaron and Moses that even the water that’s in vessels of wood and stone would turn to blood this is a direct attack against the Egyptian belief that their gods inhabited vessels made of wood, stone, and clay.
§We are reminded that Pharaoh would need some coaxing because of his hardened heart.
§Verse 25 reminds us that the plagues did not happen in rapid succession one right after the other but instead had time in between.
Plagues 1-3 continued
§The waters of the Nile proved deadly and everything died off in there. Moses and Aaron then went in and told Pharaoh that the Lord wanted his people to leave but Pharaoh refused to listen.
§Next come the frogs. Frogs in your house, your bed, your couch, your stove, your washing machine. This would have made things very difficult to live normally- frogs can be annoying and stubborn.
§Once again (like the staff into snake and Nile into blood) Pharaoh’s magicians are able to reproduce the plague with magic.
§We are also reminded that Pharaoh has a hardened heart.
§Next come the frogs. Frogs in your house, your bed, your couch, your stove, your washing machine. This would have made things very difficult to live normally- frogs can be annoying and stubborn.
§Once again (like the staff into snake and Nile into blood) Pharaoh’s magicians are able to reproduce the plague with magic.
§We are also reminded that Pharaoh has a hardened heart.
Plagues 1-3 finale
§After the respite from the frogs lets Pharaoh change his mind Moses and Aaron are told to move onto the next plague. These few short verses that talk about the gnats might not seem like much but they are important.
§There were so many gnats that they seemed like a giant dust storm. You thought that some gnats bothering you during a picnic were annoying think of an entire dust storm of them.
§This marks the first plague that the magicians are unable to reproduce with magic- the game is about to change.
§Of course Pharaoh refuses to let anyone leave because his heart is hardened.
§There were so many gnats that they seemed like a giant dust storm. You thought that some gnats bothering you during a picnic were annoying think of an entire dust storm of them.
§This marks the first plague that the magicians are unable to reproduce with magic- the game is about to change.
§Of course Pharaoh refuses to let anyone leave because his heart is hardened.
Exodus 8:20- 9:12
Plagues 4-6
§As had happened in plague 1, on the morning of plague 4 Pharaoh went down to the Nile (either to worship at the river or to bathe in it).
§Once again Moses and Aaron gave Pharaoh his ultimatum from Yahweh before issuing the warning about the upcoming plague. This time the Hebrews are exempted (like Congress from Obamacare) from the full force of this plague because Yahweh makes a distinction between Egypt and the land of Goshen.
§After the flies came Pharaoh asked for a respite; Moses prayed the flies away and once again (this came as a total shock to me) Pharaoh’s heart was hardened and they weren’t allowed to leave.
§As had happened in plague 1, on the morning of plague 4 Pharaoh went down to the Nile (either to worship at the river or to bathe in it).
§Once again Moses and Aaron gave Pharaoh his ultimatum from Yahweh before issuing the warning about the upcoming plague. This time the Hebrews are exempted (like Congress from Obamacare) from the full force of this plague because Yahweh makes a distinction between Egypt and the land of Goshen.
§After the flies came Pharaoh asked for a respite; Moses prayed the flies away and once again (this came as a total shock to me) Pharaoh’s heart was hardened and they weren’t allowed to leave.
Plagues 4-6 continued
§The Egyptians had multiple animal gods and animal-headed gods including but not limited to Apis & Mnevis (bull gods), Hathor (cow god), and Khnum (ram god).
§This plague against the Egyptian livestock was intended to show the Egyptians that Yahweh was bigger and more powerful than any Egyptian animal deity.
§Their gods were not powerful enough to save their livestock but the Israelite livestock in Goshen were unharmed.
§Even after seeing the full force of this plague Pharaoh remains steadfast in his heart-hardedness.
§This plague against the Egyptian livestock was intended to show the Egyptians that Yahweh was bigger and more powerful than any Egyptian animal deity.
§Their gods were not powerful enough to save their livestock but the Israelite livestock in Goshen were unharmed.
§Even after seeing the full force of this plague Pharaoh remains steadfast in his heart-hardedness.
Plagues 4-6 finale
§Why handfuls of soot from a kiln to create boils? Actually there is no clear answer…
§Maybe these boils were black in color because of the soot.
§More than likely it was because the kilns were used to fire bricks and bricks are symbolism of this Israelite bondage.
§These boils were so bad they covered every single Egyptian in Egypt (but not Israelite in Goshen) from head to toe; Pharaoh’s magicians aren’t even able to stand up.
§And now for something completely different- Pharaoh’s hardened heart won’t allow the Israelites to leave.
§Maybe these boils were black in color because of the soot.
§More than likely it was because the kilns were used to fire bricks and bricks are symbolism of this Israelite bondage.
§These boils were so bad they covered every single Egyptian in Egypt (but not Israelite in Goshen) from head to toe; Pharaoh’s magicians aren’t even able to stand up.
§And now for something completely different- Pharaoh’s hardened heart won’t allow the Israelites to leave.