The Fourth Plague

Exodus 8:20-32

“20 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Rise early in the morning and present yourself before Pharaoh, as he goes out to the water, and say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord: Let my people go, so that they may serve me, 21 because if you will not let my people go, I will send swarms of flies on you, your officials, and your people, and into your houses. The houses of the Egyptians shall be filled with swarms of flies, as will the land where they live. 22 But on that day I will set apart the land of Goshen, where my people live, so that no swarms of flies shall be there, that you may know that I the Lord am in this land. 23 Thus I will make a distinction between my people and your people. This sign shall appear tomorrow.’ ” 24 The Lord did so, and great swarms of flies came into the house of Pharaoh and into his officials’ houses; in all of Egypt the land was ruined because of the flies. 25 Then Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron and said, “Go, sacrifice to your God within the land.” 26 But Moses said, “It would not be right to do so, for the sacrifices that we offer to the Lord our God are offensive to the Egyptians. If we offer in the sight of the Egyptians sacrifices that are offensive to them, will they not stone us? 27 We must go a three days’ journey into the wilderness and sacrifice to the Lord our God as he commands us.” 28 So Pharaoh said, “I will let you go to sacrifice to the Lord your God in the wilderness, provided you do not go very far away. Pray for me.” 29 Then Moses said, “As soon as I leave you, I will pray to the Lord that the swarms of flies may depart tomorrow from Pharaoh, from his officials, and from his people; only do not let Pharaoh again deal falsely by not letting the people go to sacrifice to the Lord.”30 So Moses went out from Pharaoh and prayed to the Lord. 31 And the Lord did as Moses asked: he removed the swarms of flies from Pharaoh, from his officials, and from his people; not one remained. 32 But Pharaoh hardened his heart this time also and would not let the people go.”

The Pharaoh asked Moses to pray for him even though he had no intention of keeping his promise to Moses.  As soon as God withdrew the flies, Pharaoh withdrew his promise to Moses.

Have you ever known a person who asked for prayers for themselves but took no action in their personal lives to live in a better way or to address the problems that they faced?  God does expect us to pray for others.  But God does expect us to take action to improve our lives, especially our spiritual lives.

The Pharaoh’s pattern was to tell Moses what he wanted to hear, then take actions that were inconsistent with his words.  Each time, Moses was disappointed, but God was not.  

God knew the heart of the Pharaoh. God knew what needed to be done. God knew the progression of steps that needed to be taken in order to convince, not only the Pharaoh, but also the Egyptian people, that the Israelites should be set free.

God would deliver the Israelites, but in His time, and in His way.

“I sought the LORD, and he answered me; he delivered me from all my fears. (Psalm 34:4)”

May the love of Christ be with you,

Rev. Eric Lanier (Retired)

The Third Plague

Exodus 8: 16-19

“16 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Say to Aaron, ‘Stretch out your staff and strike the dust of the earth, so that it may become gnats throughout the whole land of Egypt.’ ” 17 And they did so; Aaron stretched out his hand with his staff and struck the dust of the earth, and gnats came on humans and animals alike; all the dust of the earth turned into gnats throughout the whole land of Egypt. 18 The magicians tried to produce gnats by their secret arts, but they could not. There were gnats on both humans and animals. 19 And the magicians said to Pharaoh, “This is the finger of God!” But Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, and he would not listen to them, just as the Lord had said.”

Years ago, while waiting near Charleston, S.C. for a 10k run to begin, I and all the other runners were covered from head to toe with tiny gnats that we could barely see.  All the runners were so miserable that they begged for the race to begin so that we could move away from that cursed spot of the earth.

The gnats sent from God covered all of the people and animals of Egypt. It is noteworthy that God created the gnats from the dust of the earth.  It harks back to the creation, when God created humans from the dust of the earth.

The magicians could not duplicate this feat, and, to their credit, they knew that it had the “finger of God” in it; the one true God.

But the Pharaoh was not yet convinced that he faced a power greater than himself, the most powerful ruler of the world, and the divine intermediary of the gods (albeit, false gods).

My mother used to say that the reason people would not go to church was because they did not want to believe there was a power greater than themselves.  We want to believe that we are all powerful, that we have all the answers, that our future is in our own hands.

We do have the freedom to choose and make decisions, but we are all acting within the will and power of God. 

His plan will ultimately prevail.

His goodness and love will ultimately triumph over all evil.

His glory will shine forth over all worldly things.

May the love of Christ be with you,

Rev. Eric Lanier (Retired)

The Second Plague

Exodus 8: 1-15

“1 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go to Pharaoh and say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord: Let my people go, so that they may serve me. 2 If you refuse to let them go, I will plague your whole country with frogs. 3 The Nile shall swarm with frogs; they shall come up into your palace, into your bedchamber and your bed, into the houses of your officials and of your people, and into your ovens and your kneading bowls. 4 The frogs shall come up on you and on your people and on all your officials.’ ” 5 And the Lord said to Moses, “Say to Aaron, ‘Stretch out your hand with your staff over the rivers, the canals, and the pools, and make frogs come up on the land of Egypt.’ ” 6 So Aaron stretched out his hand over the waters of Egypt, and the frogs came up and covered the land of Egypt. 7 But the magicians did the same by their secret arts and brought frogs up on the land of Egypt. 8 Then Pharaoh called Moses and Aaron and said, “Pray to the Lord to take away the frogs from me and my people, and I will let the people go to sacrifice to the Lord.” 9 Moses said to Pharaoh, “Kindly tell me when I am to pray for you and for your officials and for your people, that the frogs may be removed from you and your houses and be left only in the Nile.” 10 And he said, “Tomorrow.” Moses said, “As you say! So that you may know that there is no one like the Lord our God, 11 the frogs shall leave you and your houses and your officials and your people; they shall be left only in the Nile.” 12 Then Moses and Aaron went out from Pharaoh, and Moses cried out to the Lord concerning the frogs that he had brought upon Pharaoh. 13 And the Lord did as Moses requested: the frogs died in the houses, the courtyards, and the fields. 14 And they gathered them together in heaps, and the land stank. 15 But when Pharaoh saw that there was a respite, he hardened his heart and would not listen to them, just as the Lord had said.”

The magicians of the Pharaoh could, supposedly, make the frogs appear in the same way that God made them appear.  But they could not make the frogs go away.  Only God could make them go away.

The “divine” Pharaoh was forced to ask Moses to pray for the removal of the frogs.  Pharaoh, who was supposed to be the intermediary between the people and the “gods”, asked Moses to intermediate between Egypt and the one true God.

God was gradually bringing the Pharaoh to an understanding of who He was and who he, the Pharaoh, was in relation to the one true God.

There are people who exist today who feel and act as if they are god.  But there is no position, power, or material wealth that a human being can ever hold or possess that will elevate them to that level.

And the Pharaoh was being taught this lesson.

May the love of Christ be with you,

Rev. Eric Lanier (Retired)

The First Plague

Exodus 7:14-24 

“14 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Pharaoh’s heart is hardened; he refuses to let the people go. 15 Go to Pharaoh in the morning, as he is going out to the water; stand by at the bank of the Nile to meet him, and take in your hand the staff that was turned into a snake. 16 Say to him, ‘The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, sent me to you to say, “Let my people go, so that they may serve me in the wilderness.” But until now you have not listened. 17 Thus says the Lord, “By this you shall know that I am the Lord.” See, with the staff that is in my hand I will strike the water that is in the Nile, and it shall be turned to blood. 18 The fish in the river shall die, the river itself shall stink, and the Egyptians shall be unable to drink water from the Nile.’ ” 19 The Lord said to Moses, “Say to Aaron: Take your staff and stretch out your hand over the waters of Egypt—over its rivers, its canals, and its ponds, and all its pools of water—so that they may become blood, and there shall be blood throughout the whole land of Egypt, even in vessels of wood and in vessels of stone.”20 Moses and Aaron did just as the Lord commanded. In the sight of Pharaoh and of his officials he lifted up the staff and struck the water in the Nile; all the water in the river was turned into blood, 21 and the fish in the river died. The river stank so that the Egyptians could not drink its water, and there was blood throughout the whole land of Egypt. 22 But the magicians of Egypt did the same by their secret arts; so Pharaoh’s heart remained hardened, and he would not listen to them, as the Lord had said. 23 Pharaoh turned and went into his house, and he did not take even this to heart. 24 And all the Egyptians had to dig along the Nile for water to drink, for they could not drink the water of the river.”

The magicians of the Pharaoh were able to turn the water into blood, so the Pharaoh went into his house with his heart still cold and hard. I am sure he drank a cup of cool, clear water that one of his slaves had dug from a new well along the Nile.

He did not take into his heart the suffering of his own people because he wanted to prove the the gods of Egypt were greater than any God of the Israelites.  And if he proved this, then this meant that he, Pharaoh, was also greater.

The struggle between Pharaoh and Moses was a struggle between the belief in the false gods of Egypt and the one true God; the struggle between the false belief in a divine Pharaoh and the true Creator of the Universe. 

Sometimes we cling to false beliefs because those beliefs support the way we live. If those beliefs were to be proven false, we would have to change in a way that would alter our way of seeing things, and our way of relating to people.

Moses represented change to the Pharaoh in the way Christ represents change to us.

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!” (2 Corinthians 5:17)

May the love of Christ be with you,

Rev. Eric Lanier (Retired)

The Staff

Exodus 7: 8-13

“8 The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, 9 “When Pharaoh says to you, ‘Perform a wonder,’ then you shall say to Aaron, ‘Take your staff and throw it down before Pharaoh, and it will become a snake.’ ” 10 So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and did as the Lord had commanded; Aaron threw down his staff before Pharaoh and his officials, and it became a snake. 11 Then Pharaoh summoned the wise men and the sorcerers, and they also, the magicians of Egypt, did the same by their secret arts. 12 Each one threw down his staff, and they became snakes, but Aaron’s staff swallowed up theirs. 13 However, Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, and he would not listen to them, as the Lord had said.”

We do not know how the “wise men,sorcerers, and magicians” of the Pharaoh, with their secret arts, performed their “wonder”, but we do know that Aaron’s staff swallowed theirs.  

The power of God is the ultimate power of the universe. It is the power that spoke the universe into existence and created the heavens and the earth;  the power that

set into motion all the planets; the power that caused the light to shine into the darkness; the power that created all life.

No sorcerer’s magic will ever prevail against the one true God.  

Nothing false can prevail against God… 

the God of truth and love.

“No wisdom, no understanding, no counsel can avail against the Lord.” 

(Proverbs 21:30)

May the love of Christ be with you,

Rev. Eric Lanier (Retired)

Persistence

Exodus 6:10-13

“10 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, 11 “Go and tell Pharaoh king of Egypt to let the Israelites go out of his land.” 12 But Moses spoke to the Lord, “The Israelites have not listened to me; why should Pharaoh listen to me, poor speaker that I am?” 13 Thus the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron and gave them orders regarding the Israelites and Pharaoh king of Egypt, to free the Israelites from the land of Egypt.”

The Israelite slaves have not, to this point, listened to Moses.  Pharaoh certainly has not listened to Moses.  All of Moses’ fears about himself, and  his mission have come true.  He kept telling God that he would be no good at the work God wanted him to do.  And now everything that Moses told God had happened.

Yet, God persisted.  In God’s mind, Moses was the man, the only man, for the job. God could see into the very soul of Moses and he knew Moses’ abilities and limitations better than Moses himself.

So, God told Moses and Aaron to go back to Pharaoh and demand the release of the Israelites.

As Christians, we are familiar with the parable that Jesus told of the Sower.  The Sower, while sowing seed, encountered hard ground, rocky ground, weedy and thorny ground, dry ground.  Most of the seed that the Sower threw would land on this type of ground.  But, some of the seed would land on fertile ground.  

In our Christian lives, it is rare that we meet with instant success.  But we are to keep trying, putting our trust in God, in the power of the gospel message, and in the work of the Holy Spirit to eventually turn rocky, dry, weedy ground into rich and fertile soil.

God has called us to Himself.  He knows our very souls.

The work to which He has called us awaits.

And He knows that we are up to the task.

May the love of Christ be with you,

Rev. Eric Lanier (Retired)

“10 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, 11 “Go and tell Pharaoh king of Egypt to let the Israelites go out of his land.” 12 But Moses spoke to the Lord, “The Israelites have not listened to me; why should Pharaoh listen to me, poor speaker that I am?”

13 Thus the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron and gave them orders regarding the Israelites and Pharaoh king of Egypt, to free the Israelites from the land of Egypt.”

The Israelite slaves have not, to this point, listened to Moses.  Pharaoh certainly has not listened to Moses.  All of Moses’ fears about himself, and  his mission have come true.  He kept telling God that he would be no good at the work God wanted him to do.  And now everything that Moses told God had happened.

Yet, God persisted.  In God’s mind, Moses was the man, the only man, for the job. God could see into the very soul of Moses and he knew Moses’ abilities and limitations better than Moses himself.

So, God told Moses and Aaron to go back to Pharaoh and demand the release of the Israelites.

As Christians, we are familiar with the parable that Jesus told of the Sower.  The Sower, while sowing seed, encountered hard ground, rocky ground, weedy and thorny ground, dry ground.  Most of the seed that the Sower threw would land on this type of ground.  But, some of the seed would land on fertile ground.  

In our Christian lives, it is rare that we meet with instant success.  But we are to keep trying, putting our trust in God, in the power of the gospel message, and in the work of the Holy Spirit to eventually turn rocky, dry, weedy ground into rich and fertile soil.

God has called us to Himself.  He knows our very souls.

The work to which He has called us awaits.

And He knows that we are up to the task.

May the love of Christ be with you,

Rev. Eric Lanier (Retired)

Listening to God

Exodus 6:1-9

“1 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Now you shall see what I will do to Pharaoh: indeed, by a mighty hand he will let them go; by a mighty hand he will drive them out of his land.” 2 God also spoke to Moses and said to him, “I am the Lord. 3 I appeared to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob as God Almighty, but by my name ‘The Lord’ I did not make myself known to them. 4 I also established my covenant with them, to give them the land of Canaan, the land in which they resided as aliens. 5 I have also heard the groaning of the Israelites whom the Egyptians have enslaved, and I have remembered my covenant. 6 Say therefore to the Israelites: I am the Lord, and I will free you from the burdens of the Egyptians and deliver you from slavery to them. I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great acts of judgment. 7 I will take you as my people, and I will be your God. You shall know that I am the Lord your God, who has freed you from the burdens of the Egyptians. 8 I will bring you into the land that I swore to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; I will give it to you for a possession. I am the Lord.” 9 Moses told this to the Israelites, but they would not listen to Moses, because of their broken spirit and their cruel slavery.”

Moses delivered God’s message of deliverance to The Pharaoh, but he would not listen because he was too lofty and entitled; he was (in the mind of the Egyptians) a god.

Moses delivered God’s message of deliverance to the Israelite slaves, but they did not listen, or could not listen, or did not believe the message due to the nature of their circumstances: their broken spirits and their cruel enslavement.

As Christians, God speaks to us every day through the Holy Spirit.  In order to hear His voice we must intentionally listen.  Sometimes our circumstances prevent us from doing this.  Sometimes we have broken spirits.  Sometimes we have confusing or cruel circumstances in our lives that cause us to suffer.

But, even if we refuse to hear or are unable to hear, God is still present and acting, and moving in this world…

Always.

May the love of Christ be with you,

Rev. Eric Lanier (Retired)