The Story Through the Bible Exod 8-9
The Story through the Bible • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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Second round of three
Quick recap of the pattern we identified with the first three plagues. We have a couple patterns that overlap.
First is pharaoh’s involvement Plague A - Meet Pharaoh Nile/Water/Field | Plague B - Go in to Pharaoh | Plague C no contact.
Second is warnings Plague A - Warning | Plague B - Warning | Plague C - No Warning
Third is what the plague addresses - element water/air/sky | Lifestyle | Body
Let’s see what we notice as we’re reading the first plague of the second set of 3 - Plague #4
Then the Lord said to Moses, “Rise up early in the morning and present yourself to Pharaoh, as he goes out to the water, and say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord, “Let my people go, that they may serve me. Or else, if you will not let my people go, behold, I will send swarms of flies on you and your servants and your people, and into your houses. And the houses of the Egyptians shall be filled with swarms of flies, and also the ground on which they stand. But on that day I will set apart the land of Goshen, where my people dwell, so that no swarms of flies shall be there, that you may know that I am the Lord in the midst of the earth. Thus I will put a division between my people and your people. Tomorrow this sign shall happen.” ’ ” And the Lord did so. There came great swarms of flies into the house of Pharaoh and into his servants’ houses. Throughout all the land of Egypt the land was ruined by the swarms of flies.
Morning - meeting at water - Demand for the people to be let go - warning - ***Goshen will be set apart!*** So we have something new. We speculated whether the Israelites had to do with the problems of the other plagues before and here I think we get an answer of yes they dealt with the other plagues otherwise it wouldn’t make sense to point out how they are now excluded.
Now, what was this plague - I’m sure we’ve got a myriad of translations because of the vague nature of this word. I wanted to make it clear I’d prefer to just use the word “swarm” here without adding flies or anything else. In the same way that the previous plague was generic as tiny biting insect things not neccessarily gnats or flies this is also generic with the intended understanding of a swarm of things likely mixed vermon/pests. Though the swarming air and land leads us to ask what could do that in that region, and it’s going to be beetles and biting flies - as apposed to the tiny biting flying things of the previous plague. The beetles specifically point to Khepri (rising sun form of Ra) which is depicted as the scarab beetle. The “ruin” of the land is kind of ceremonially or ruin it by making it miserable not ruin it by destroying it - that happens later.
Question on the fourth plague?
Results:
Then Pharaoh called Moses and Aaron and said, “Go, sacrifice to your God within the land.” But Moses said, “It would not be right to do so, for the offerings we shall sacrifice to the Lord our God are an abomination to the Egyptians. If we sacrifice offerings abominable to the Egyptians before their eyes, will they not stone us? We must go three days’ journey into the wilderness and sacrifice to the Lord our God as he tells us.” So Pharaoh said, “I will let you go to sacrifice to the Lord your God in the wilderness; only you must not go very far away. Plead for me.” Then Moses said, “Behold, I am going out from you and I will plead with the Lord that the swarms of flies may depart from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people, tomorrow. Only let not Pharaoh cheat again by not letting the people go to sacrifice to the Lord.” So Moses went out from Pharaoh and prayed to the Lord. And the Lord did as Moses asked, and removed the swarms of flies from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people; not one remained. But Pharaoh hardened his heart this time also, and did not let the people go.
Like many that do not truly want to follow God they will try different things, first compromise - okay i’ll be obedient within this thing - (stay in the land) When that isn’t acceptable okay but we need to limit the amount of obeying of hte Lord (don’t go very far) - Finally is just rejecting God because the compromise and limitations weren’t a genuine desire to be with God anyway.
Fifth Plague
Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go in to Pharaoh and say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord, the God of the Hebrews, “Let my people go, that they may serve me. For if you refuse to let them go and still hold them, behold, the hand of the Lord will fall with a very severe plague upon your livestock that are in the field, the horses, the donkeys, the camels, the herds, and the flocks. But the Lord will make a distinction between the livestock of Israel and the livestock of Egypt, so that nothing of all that belongs to the people of Israel shall die.” ’ ” And the Lord set a time, saying, “Tomorrow the Lord will do this thing in the land.”
What do we notice here?
Go in to Pharaoh - Demand for the people to be let go - Warning - Israelites livestock will be spared!
So our new addition to the pattern continues in separating out God’s people from the Egyptians.
Next we ask ourselves who does this attack in the Egyptian pantheon.
Deity TargetedDomain/RoleTheological SignificanceApisThe Sacred Bull (The most significant cult animal, associated with fertility and the god Ptah).Apis was a living, worshipped manifestation of the gods, critical for the national economy and religion.HathorCow Goddess (Goddess of love, fertility, and protection).The cow and bull were central to Egyptian religion and agriculture.Why the Attack?This was a direct economic and religious strike. By destroying the livestock—the wealth and food supply of Egypt—Yahweh proved that the gods supposedly dwelling in those animals were powerless to protect their own physical forms or their devotees' livelihood.
Questions on plague 5?
results
And the next day the Lord did this thing. All the livestock of the Egyptians died, but not one of the livestock of the people of Israel died. And Pharaoh sent, and behold, not one of the livestock of Israel was dead. But the heart of Pharaoh was hardened, and he did not let the people go.
So the sacrificial system is destroyed for the egyptians but preserved for the Israelites
And the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “Take handfuls of soot from the kiln, and let Moses throw them in the air in the sight of Pharaoh. It shall become fine dust over all the land of Egypt, and become boils breaking out in sores on man and beast throughout all the land of Egypt.” So they took soot from the kiln and stood before Pharaoh. And Moses threw it in the air, and it became boils breaking out in sores on man and beast. And the magicians could not stand before Moses because of the boils, for the boils came upon the magicians and upon all the Egyptians. But the Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh, and he did not listen to them, as the Lord had spoken to Moses.
Now, straight to the 6th plague - what do we notice here?
No meeting (within the sight of) - no demand - no warning - Egyptians man and beast the exception isn’t explicit but still implied.
Who does this directly oppose?
Deity TargetedDomain/RoleTheological SignificanceImhotepGod of Medicine and Healing.An early Egyptian polymath and architect, later deified as a god of healing.SekhmetGoddess of Plague, Healing, and Warfare (Often depicted with a lioness's head).Egyptians feared her as a bringer of plague but also worshipped her to ward off disease.Why the Attack?The boils attacked the physical person of the Egyptians, including the priests who needed to be ritually clean to serve their gods.
—Yahweh's disease proved that the gods of healing (Imhotep and Sekhmet) were incapable of protecting the bodies of their worshippers, let alone healing them. Furthermore, the priests' ritual impurity meant they couldn't stand before their own gods to intercede.
#note to self:
PLAGUE - WARNING TYPE - LOCATION/CONTEXT - REALM OF DIVINE ACTION
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1 Water to Blood A-Type Meet (Nile) Element - Nile/Water
2 Frogs B-Type Go (Palace) Lifestyle - Fertility/Life
3 Gnats/Lice C-Type No Warning Body - Irresistible Personal Affliction
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4 Flies/Swarms A-Type Meet (Nile) Element - Air/Distinction
5 Livestock B-Type Go (Palace) Lifestyle - Property/Wealth
6 Boils C-Type No Warning Body - Irresistible Personal Health
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7 Hail A-Type Meet (Court/Field) Element - Sky/Storms
8 Locusts B-Type Go (Palace) Lifestyle - Sustenance/Harvest
9 Darkness C-Type No Warning Body - Sight| Sun/Ra
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