The Lord told Moses to go to Pharaoh and tell him again that He said, “Let My people go, that they may serve Me.” Has God ever sent you the same message over and over again, that you have ignored? If Pharaoh refused to let them go then God would smite all the territory with frogs. Frogs would come out of the river in abundance and go into all of their houses (servants included), into their bedrooms, beds, ovens and kneading bowls. God told Moses to tell Aaron to stretch out his hand with his rod over the streams, rivers and ponds to cause frogs to come upon the land of Egypt (Second Plague) . So, obviously Pharaoh refused to let the people go because Aaron stretched out his hand over the waters of Egypt and the frogs came and covered the land. The magicians did the same with their tricks and brought up frogs on the land as well. They made the problem worse! You would think Pharaoh would be upset with the magicians. Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron to ask the Lord to take away the frogs from him and the Egyptians and he would let the people go so that they may sacrifice to Him. Moses gave Pharaoh the honor of choosing when he would intercede on his behalf and on the behalf of the people to destroy the frogs from their houses, so that the frogs remained only in the river. Pharaoh said, “Tomorrow.” What?! Frogs here, frogs there, frogs, frogs, everywhere and Pharaoh said, “Tomorrow”? Why not right at that moment? Moses agreed and said, “Let it be according to your word, that you may know that there is no one like the Lord our God.” He said that the frogs would depart from them and their houses. They would remain in the river only. Moses and Aaron left Pharaoh. Moses cried out to the Lord about the frogs that He brought upon Pharaoh. God honored Moses prayer and the frogs died out of the houses, courtyards and fields. They gathered them in heaps and the land stank. The land just finished stinking because of the bloody waters and now it’s stinking because of the dead frogs. When Pharaoh saw the relief, he hardened his heart and did not listen, just as the Lord said.

The Third Plague – God told Moses to tell Aaron to stretch out his rod and strike the dust of the land, so that it would become lice throughout the land. The magicians tried to bring forth lice, but they could not. Since the magicians just made matters worse, God in His mercy did not allow them to bring forth lice. Lice was on man and beast. The magicians told Pharaoh that this was the “finger of God.” Pharaoh’s heart grew harder and again, he did not listen.

The Fourth Plague – The Lord told Moses to get up early the next morning and meet Pharaoh as he came out to the water. Moses was to tell Pharaoh again that the Lord said, “Let My people go, that they may serve Me.” This time if he didn’t let them go, God was going to send swarms of flies on Pharaoh, his servants, his people and into their houses. The Egyptians’ houses would be full of swarms of flies and also on the ground on which they stood. The Lord said that in that day, He would set apart the land of Goshen, where His people lived, so that no swarms of flies would go there. This would be so that Pharaoh would know that He is the Lord in the midst of the land. So now, why is the distinction made regarding the land of Goshen when it came to the plague of the swarms of flies? So, I googled. One source indicated that since swarms of flies could travel anywhere, God wanted Pharaoh to know that He could control where the flies went. The bloody waters, the frogs and the lice were readily contained, but for Pharaoh to see that flies were contained so that the swarms could not go to Goshen, Pharaoh would have to know that only the Lord is that powerful. God said that He would make a difference between His people and Pharaoh’s people. The flies came the next day. I noticed that Aaron was not told to use his rod for the swarms of flies. The Lord did just as He said and swarms of flies were throughout Egypt and the land was spoiled because of them. Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron and told them to go and sacrifice in the land (meaning, the land of Goshen, not allowing them to leave to go into the wilderness as God commanded). Pharaoh’s heart was very hardened to think he could modify what God had ordained His people to do. Have you or anyone you know tried to modify what God said, to satisfy yourself or someone else rather than God? Moses said it wouldn’t be right for them to sacrifice in the land because the Egyptians detested their sacrifices to the Lord and they would even stone them for doing so. He said that they needed to go three days’ journey into the wilderness to sacrifice as the Lord commanded. Pharaoh said that he would let the people go to sacrifice to God in the wilderness, but they shouldn’t go very far away. Pharaoh still isn’t getting it, that God is in control. Pharaoh again asked Moses to intercede for him. Moses agreed to entreat the Lord so that the swarms of flies would depart on the next day (tomorrow). When Pharaoh said, “Tomorrow” for the frogs, that seemed to set the precedent. He told Pharaoh not to deal deceitfully anymore in not letting the people go to sacrifice to God. Moses left Pharaoh. When he prayed, God removed the swarms of flies from the land of Egypt. Not one remained. Pharaoh, once again, hardened his heart and would not let the people go.

Next Stop? Exodus 9

To God Be The Glory!

Scripture for March 26th

Exodus 23:26 – No one shall suffer miscarriage or be barren in your land; I will fulfill the number of your days. (NKJV)