IN each of these plagues notice that the Lord told Moses what to do, and each time he first asked the king to let the Hebrews free.
1St Plague: God told Moses to stand by the river when the king and his servants came there, and that Aaron should take the rod and strike the water, and the water would turn to blood. They did this and the king saw what happened, but he did not care, although for seven days they could not use, the water and the fish died.
2nd Plague: Again God told Moses for Aaron to stretch the rod over the water and frogs came upon the land, so many of them that they came into every part of their houses, even in the beds and ovens. These were so troublesome that the king begged Moses to have them kept in the river. God granted this, yet the king would not obey God’s word.
3rd Plague: God said Aaron should strike the dust with the rod, and lice, or gnats, came on people and animals. These are tiny, but hurtful, and the king should have seen that God could use even the smallest insect as He willed. The magicians tried to do the same, but could not, and told the king, “This is the finger of God,” meaning these had come by God’s power, but he did not believe them. It seems that they did not try again to imitate God’s works. In 2 Timothy 3:8, 9,8Now as Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses, so do these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, reprobate concerning the faith. 9But they shall proceed no further: for their folly shall be manifest unto all men, as theirs also was. (2 Timothy 3:8‑9) these men are named, and they show us that evil cannot always continue against God.
4th Plague: Great swarms of flies came, so the houses were filled and outside also. Before this, the troubles seem to have been over all Egypt, but now God said He would make a difference, and there were no flies sent in Goshen, where the Hebrews lived. The king said if God would take away the flies, he would let the people worship in Goshen. Moses told him they must go a three days’ journey from Egypt. The king said they could go a little way only. But when the flies were taken away, so “there remained not one”, he again refused to let them leave.
5th Plague: A very serious disease came on the cattle, camels, asses, and sheep of the Egyptians, but it did not come to the Hebrew’s animals.
To be continued.
ML 02/07/1937