September 29, 2024
Reading: Exodus 9:1-12
Focus: Exodus 9:7 – Pharaoh investigated and found that not even one of the animals of the Israelites had died. Yet his heart was unyielding, and he would not let the people go.
Father God, Thank You again for another day. Thank You for Your mercy. Help us to be willing to do Your will. In Jesus Name. Amen.
We’re going to look at the next two plagues this week. The fifth plague affected all of the Egyptian cattle “out in the field”. That phrase is important here. We’ll look into that. The sixth plague is boils. Boils on the people and the remaining animals.
The fifth plague brought economic disaster. The death of the cattle created great losses in agriculture, transportation, the military, food and other economic goods. Not only that, cattle were sacred to the Egyptians. The golden calf the Israelites created while at Mount Sinai harkens back to this worship of cattle. The most sacred cattle were the Apis bull. This particular bull, in the Egyptian pantheon, was said to be the son of the goddess, Hathor. The bull was the symbol of strength, fertility and the power of the Pharaoh. It was believed that its breath could cure disease and just being close to it would bring blessings to an individual.
The Apis bull was not just any old bull. It had to have specific characteristic markings. A black coat with a white triangle, resembling a scarab beetle on its forehead. It also had to have a white patch on the right flank, a double tuft of hair on the tail and a double crescent moon marking on its back. These markings indicated that that particular bull was the manifestation of the god Ptah, who was considered a creator god. The death of an Apis bull was a national tragedy in Egypt. The bull was mummified and buried in a grand tomb in Memphis, Egypt.
So, Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and repeated God’s command to let the Israelites go, so that they could worship Him. The warning came with the caveat that if he did not let them go, “. . . the hand of the Lord will being a terrible plague on your livestock in the field. On your horses, donkeys, and camels and on your cattle, sheep and goats.” Again, there is the distinction that the animals belonging to the Israelites would not die. Then, the Lord set at time. Tomorrow. There are two instances of mercy here. God said that the animals “in the field” would be affected. And then, the event would occur the next day. If anyone paid attention and believed that what God said would be, they had the time to move their animals out of their fields.
The next day, it happened just as God said it would. The Egyptian livestock died and every one of the Israelite livestock lived still. Pharaoh even sent people to check if this was true. Obviously he believed enough that he just had to check it out. However, even this still didn’t change his mind. The livestock were merely possessions. He probably couldn’t have cared less for the animals or for those whose lives were ruined by the loss of valuable animals. He was king.
This plague was a clear sign of God’s judgement and power. It shows that His power is greater than any of the Egyptian gods. It tells the Egyptians that worshipping their gods was an exercise in futility. They were stone and mud. They were animals that could neither speak nor help them in any way. It shows them that God alone has the power of life and death. Sadly, this last will be demonstrated again before Pharaoh lets the Israelites go.
Pharaoh was warned. God said, “Let my people go.” Note that word “my”. God is making it known that the Israelites were His, not Pharaoh’s. His protection of the Israelites’ livestock shows His favor upon His people. But Pharaoh still would not let them go. The sixth plague came without warning, and this is the first time humans were physically tormented. When the death of their cattle did not affect them, God sent a plague that affected the people themselves. Moses and Aaron were instructed to take handfuls of soot from a furnace and Moses was to toss the soot into the air. The soot became a fine dust and covered the entire land of Egypt. Every person and every animal in Egypt were afflicted with festering boils. Now I researched boils and found that they are usually deeply infected hair follicles. Man and beast usually have hair all over, even in the hidden places. They can be pea-sized or as big as golf balls. They can be in the armpits, the groin, anywhere hair grows. They are red, pus filled and painful
Of course, it follows that the Egyptians would call on the goddess, Sekhmet, the goddess of healing. She was also believed to be the hot winds of the desert. She was believed to be able to cause plagues as well as heal sicknesses. She was the wife of the god Ptah and sister to other goddesses. But again, their pleadings were unheard by the goddess.
As before, the Israelites were completely untouched by this plague of boils. And the Egyptians, who were characteristically a very clean people were rendered unclean by the boils. Even the priests, who were supposedly ‘close’ to the gods were unable to worship or even plead with their gods for healing. The magicians could not even face Moses and Aaron because they were covered by boils. These magicians mocked God by imitating His work, now they were shamed before their peers and the people. Their ‘magic’ was exposed as simply tricks and illusion. It is interesting to note, that by the end of the plague of boils, only Moses and Aaron, and God, were standing before Pharaoh. We will not see these priests and magicians from here on out. And Pharaoh was still not convinced.
Here the Bible tells us that God hardened Pharaoh’s heart. Up until now, God had been offering mercy, but Pharaoh resisted and refused all opportunities to submit to the will of God. There comes a time when God will give a rebellious heart over to its own lusts, delusions and sin. When man continually closes his eyes to God, there will come a time that God will allow them to keep their eyes closed.
We need to watch to see just who or what we worship. Do we worship money? A football star? A pop star? People have things in their life that rise to the top of their priorities. Our top priority should be the worship of God, alone. There should be nothing more important that God in our lives. My dad used to tell me that God should be our first love. I often wondered what he meant, until I really and truly fell in love. I love my husband of nearly 47 years more than any other person in my life. I thought I had fallen in love before I met him but looking back those ‘loves’ hold no candle to the love I have for my husband. That is how our love for God should be. It should outshine our love for anything else. God should be our first love. This relationship with God will bless and prosper all of our lives.
I’m not saying that everything will be rosy and perfect. I am saying that our relationship with God will bring us joy. Not happiness. Joy. Two very different things. Joy is contentment with whatever circumstance we find ourselves in. And happiness . . . well happiness is what we feel when we get that perfect gift or buy that perfect car. In that relationship we can find peace, wisdom, guidance, protection and freedom from sin. We have a place and a person to take our frustrations and anger to. A safe place, a safe person to listen to us and who will not tell everyone else, nor will He look down on us when we fall. The relationship is a pure friendship and a sonship. Not only will we be loved as one of His people, but we will be loved a one of His children. How comforting it is to climb into the lap of God to share our day, good or bad, and be held close with infinite love and absolutely no judgement. He will show us what we may have done wrong and what to do to correct it. He will show us unconditional love. There is nothing that will separate us from the love of God unless we continually harden our hearts, as Pharaoh did, against His word.
Is God your first love?
Father God, Thank You for Your mercies every day. Help us to keep You at the top of our priorities. Help us to not harden our hearts against Your will. In Jesus Name. Amen.
Food for Thought
- How do the plagues reveal about the character of God?
- Why do you think it was important that God affect the economy of Egypt?
- What do you think was the purpose of afflicting the Egyptians with boils while keeping the Israelites safe from them?
- Has God ever used difficult circumstances in your life to bring about something good? How did you respond during the times of hardship?
- What is your top priority in life? Do you need to make a change?
