DBG - January 22 - Exodus 7-9

In this chapter we begin the Ten Plagues against Egypt.

vs. 1-6 – Moses receives a fresh commission and instructions from God.  By the time God is finished there will be no doubt that He is the Almighty. 

vs. 7 – Moses is 80 and Aaron 83 if you are keeping score.

vs. 8-10 – God commands Moses to have Aaron throw down his rod and it will turn into a serpent. This sign had been limited to Moses before and only shown to the Hebrews.  The extension of this to Aaron makes God (and Moses) look more powerful.

vs. 11 – The sorcerers in Egypt could reproduce the miracle and turn their own rods into serpents.  Whether this is through demonic power, trickery, or the hand of God for His own purposes is not clear. 

vs. 12 – This shows God’s dominance over the power of Egypt.  Yes, they could reproduce the miracle in some form, but it was weaker than what God had done.

vs. 13 – There is much debate as to whether God or Pharaoh is responsible for Pharaoh’s hardened heart.  Some see God overriding human free will for His grand purposes.  However, as we go along it is clear that Pharaoh chooses to harden his own heart at times.  There is something of a balance so that both God and Pharaoh can be said to have done it.

vs. 15 – Pharaoh was performing some sort of ceremony.  It likely has something to do with the flooding of the Nile, which gave the land of Egypt its life.  The Egyptian god Hapi is associated with the annual flooding.  Other gods associated with the river are Khnum and Osiris.

vs. 16 – The request is still for the Hebrews to go into the desert and observe a religious ceremony, not total emancipation.

vs. 17-18 – The Nile turning to blood would be a terrible omen against Egypt.  The nation was totally dependent on its water for life.

vs. 19 – Some skeptics have tried to explain away this miracle as being the result of a landslide of red mud or something like an algae bloom.  The problem with these ideas is that they do not account for ALL the water from the Nile – in the river, in containers, in reservoirs, in irrigation canals, etc. – turning to blood.  Not like blood, but real blood.

vs. 21 – The changing of the water to blood of course disrupts the entire ecosystem.

vs. 22 – Again the Egyptian sorcerers are able to reproduce this miracle.  Whether this is through demonic power, trickery, or the hand of God for His own purposes is not clear. 

vs. 23 – Pharaoh gave no thought to this miracle.  He would personally be well taken care of through this and was caused to believe that it was a type of magic that even his sorcerers could perform.

vs. 24 – In desperation the people begin to dig wells near the Nile, hoping to hit fresh water in the water table.

vs. 25 – The length of time for this plague was 7 days. 

In this chapter we continues with the Ten Plagues.

vs. 2-4 – The Second Plague was to be an invasion of frogs.  Frogs were part of the natural ecosystem and the Egyptians associated them with Nile floods and fertility.  The Egyptian goddess Heqit is pictured with a frog head and was the goddess of fertility.

vs. 7 - Again the Egyptian sorcerers are able to reproduce this miracle.  Whether this is through demonic power, trickery, or the hand of God for His own purposes is not clear.  Teh biggest question here is why in the world they wanted to make more frogs!

vs. 8 – Pharaoh shows signs of giving in at first.

vs. 9-10 – It is one of the strangest decisions in human history that Pharaoh decided to spend one more night with the frogs and not have Moses dispel them immediately.  Some think he was hoping they would go away on their own and was buying time.

vs. 12-14 – God was not through using the frogs as punishment.  Instead of driving them away they all die.  Now there are piles of stinking dead frogs everywhere.

vs. 15 – The Second Plague fails to turn Pharaoh’s heart.

vs. 16 – The next plague is not linked to a request to let the people go. 

vs. 17 – There is some debate about what particular insect is involved here.  Some say gnats, some lice, other mosquitoes.  I do not think we have to have the exact scientific classification to know this was awful.  This plague may be associated with either the god Seb or Set.

vs. 18-19 – For the first time the sorcerers could not replicate the miracle and confess to the power of God.

vs.  20 – The Fourth Plague begins with another call for Pharaoh to let the Hebrews go to worship God.

vs. 21 – These flies could be against the gods Khepri, Wadjet, or Nekhbet.

vs. 21-23 – Note here that this plague affects only the Egyptians.  The Hebrews in Goshen are unaffected by it. 

vs. 25 – Pharaoh offers a compromise.  He will let the Hebrews go worship but they must remain in Egypt.

vs. 26 – The fear Moses expresses is that the Egyptians will riot if they see the Hebrews offer some sacred animal as a sacrifice. 

vs. 28 – A second compromise is offered.  Pharaoh will allow them to go into the wilderness but not the three days journey requests.

vs. 29-31 – Moses agrees to intreat God to remove the flies, but cautions Pharaoh against changing his mind again like he did after the frogs.  To no one’s surprise, Pharaoh did just that and refused again to let the Hebrews go.

In this chapter we continue the Ten Plagues

vs. 1-3 – Pharaoh is given time to change his mind before the Fifth Plague hits the livestock.  This is some sort of infections plague.

vs. 4 – Again this only affects the Egyptians and not the Hebrews.

vs. 5-6 – This seems to target the gods Apis and Hathor.

vs. 7 – Pharaoh’s heart is again hardened, not because of the loss of livestock, but because the Hebrews were not affected.

vs. 8-9 – The Sixth Plague is to be announced again with no warning to Pharaoh.  It is a plague of boils that affects both human and animal alike.   This targets Sekhmet, goddess of diseases and healing.

vs. 10 – The purpose of the ashes is that there is a visible sign to know Moses started the plague.

vs. 11 – The plague also seems to only affect the Egyptians.

vs. 12 – Again, Pharaoh refuses to budge.

vs. 13 – The Seventh Plague begins with another call to let the Hebrews go to worship in the wilderness, still not a call for full emancipation.

vs. 14-17 – God is exalted in His might and power through the humiliation of Egypt.

vs. 18 – Hail would target the gods Set, Nut and Horus.

vs. 19-21 – God allows those that would heed His warning to get their animals to safety before the hail began to fall.

vs. 23-25 – Rain is not common in Egypt, where the main source of water is the Nile, and hail even less common.  Now the combination of hail and lightning killed livestock, destroyed crops, and devastated plant life.  I have heard stories about times in my home in Texas that hail was so bad that it killed cattle.  I have seen hail storms beat fields flat and take most of the leaves out of trees.  All of that pales in comparison to the devastation poured out on Egypt.

vs. 26 – Again God spares the Hebrews from the judgment.

vs. 27-28 – Pharaoh is so moved by this destruction as to signal for surrender, but once danger is past his heart hardens again.

vs. 30 – Moses does not trust in Pharaoh’s sudden act of repentance.

vs. 31 – The harvest season for barley and flax in Egypt is around February. 

vs. 32 – The harvest season for wheat and rye in Egypt is around April.

vs. 34-35 – As Moses suspected, Pharaoh goes back on his word and again refuses to let the Hebrews go to worship in the wilderness.

God is trying to teach the world a lesson in these chapters.  He alone is the Almighty God.  He leaves little doubt that any other so-called deity could not match the smallest display of His power.  In stroke after stroke He humiliates the false gods and establishes Himself as supreme.  Yet we also see the only match for the greatness of God is the hardness of men’s hearts.  Our sinful natures cause us to rebel against Him even against insurmountable proof of His power and His love for us.  Pharaoh refused to repent and humble himself, but he will not be the only one.  Even the children of Israel who witness all this will give into fear and doubt.

Today we are going to feature a Black Spiritual that dates back to the Civil War era.  “Go Down, Moses” ranks among the very best of this genre.  It recounts the story of Moses facing off with Pharaoh demanding to let the Hebrew children go.  It certainly also had a subversive meaning to the slaves in America longing for freedom.  My favorite recording of this song is by the Harmonizing Four featuring their outstanding bass Jimmy Jones. 

When Israel was in Egypt's land,
let my people go;
oppressed so hard they could not stand,
let my people go.

Refrain:
Go down, Moses, way down in Egypt's land,
tell old Pharaoh: Let my people go!

The Lord told Moses what to do,
let my people go;
to lead the childr'n of Israel through,
let my people go. [Refrain]

The pillar of cloud shall clear the way,
let my people go;
a fire by night, a shade by day,
let my people go. [Refrain]

As Israel stood by the waterside,
let my people go,
at God's command it did divide,
let my people go. [Refrain]

When they had reached the other shore,
let my people go;
they sang the song of triumph o'er,
let my people go. [Refrain]

Oh, let us all from bondage flee,
let my people go;
and let us all in Christ be free,
let my people go. [Refrain]