November 20, 2004

Reading through the Bible in one Year: Ezra 6-10

Weekly Memory Verse: 1 John 5:11-12

Good Evening Brothers and Sisters,

Exodus 9:1-7 (NASB95)
¹ Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go to Pharaoh and speak to him, ‘Thus says the Lord, the God of the Hebrews, “Let My people go, that they may serve Me. ² “For if you refuse to let them go and continue to hold them, ³ behold, the hand of the Lord will come with a very severe pestilence on your livestock which are in the field, on the horses, on the donkeys, on the camels, on the herds, and on the flocks. ⁴ “But the Lord will make a distinction between the livestock of Israel and the livestock of Egypt, so that nothing will die of all that belongs to the sons of Israel.” ’ ” ⁵ The Lord set a definite time, saying, “Tomorrow the Lord will do this thing in the land.” ⁶ So the Lord did this thing on the next day, and all the livestock of Egypt died; but of the livestock of the sons of Israel, not one died. ⁷ Pharaoh sent, and behold, there was not even one of the livestock of Israel dead. But the heart of Pharaoh was hardened, and he did not let the people go.^[1]

God gave Pharaoh a warning in this passage, it is also interesting that the magicians are not trying to keep up.  If you had the track record that Pharaoh had had, already surviving four plagues, don’t you think that you would have taken the warning seriously?

God established that He was greater than any god in Egypt.  The trial of the Egyptian gods is not over though.  In the plague on the livestock, several Egyptian gods were involved.  Please note:  This plague would have been economically distressing for the Egyptians. Also many animals were sacred (cf. 8:26), particularly, as stated earlier, the bull which represented the god Apis or Re, and the cow which represented Hathor, the goddess of love, beauty, and joy. Hathor was depicted in the form of a woman with the head (or sometimes only the horns) of a cow. Also Khnum was a ram-god. ^[2]

Another thought, yesterday we saw that the bugs infested the land, but not in the land of Goshen where the Jews resided.  This continued in this plague, God continued the protection of the Jews by limiting the plague only to the Egyptians.  This may be significant since in verse 6 it clearly indicates that all of the Egyptian livestock died.  Yet later in the story, the Egyptians are shown to own more livestock.  Think about that for a moment, if a slave that owned livestock and all of the owners died, wouldn’t he take possession of the slave’s livestock?   

Pharaoh remained unchanged in his attitude, it is interesting that he checked out the story about the Hebrews though.  It indicates that Pharaoh was curious enough to check to see if the claims that Moses made was true or not.

One final thought on this passage, some have suggested that the flies and bugs left contamination in the land which caused the livestock to get sick.  I wonder at the validity of this since the Jewish animals did not get sick.  On the other hand, the bugs were not in the land of Goshen.  Something to think about, God uses natural consequences to punish men, and to draw them back to Himself.  The work of God in the plagues of the Egyptians is evident, and this was validated by God speaking through Moses and Aaron before the event happened.  If God chose to use a natural epidemic that was the result of an infestation of insects, who cares?  The point is that God designed the situation.

I have ignored the one basic premise that the plagues have been built upon to this point.  All of the plagues and the signs offered by Moses prior to the plagues was to prove the presence of Yahweh, the Hebrew God.  The question that lingers in the background for the Egyptians is, “what next?”

Exodus 9:8-12 (NASB95)
⁸ Then the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “Take for yourselves handfuls of soot from a kiln, and let Moses throw it toward the sky in the sight of Pharaoh. ⁹ “It will become fine dust over all the land of Egypt, and will become boils breaking out with sores on man and beast through all the land of Egypt.” ¹⁰ So they took soot from a kiln, and stood before Pharaoh; and Moses threw it toward the sky, and it became boils breaking out with sores on man and beast. ¹¹ The magicians could not stand before Moses because of the boils, for the boils were on the magicians as well as on all the Egyptians. ¹² And the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he did not listen to them, just as the Lord had spoken to Moses. ^[3]

The next plague affected everyone in Egypt.  Can you imagine the rumors that must have been running among the Egyptians?  The word had to be out that this had become a spiritual war.  This plague was not announced in advance.  God told Moses and Aaron to toss the soot into the air, and the pain began. 

The hard thing for the Egyptians was that they were concerned with their health.  They had two gods that were devoted to epidemics, “Moses’ tossing soot from a furnace may have been a symbolic act, like his and Aaron’s use of their staffs in several plagues. The Egyptians, fearfully aware of epidemics, worshiped Sekhmet, a lion-headed goddess with alleged power over disease; Sunu, the pestilence god; and Isis, goddess of healing. Yet these deities could not deliver the people and animals from their torments. The magicians of Egypt were again helpless (cf. 8:18) because they were similarly afflicted (9:11) and found their own deities powerless. Yet Pharaoh persisted in willful obstinance (v. 12)”^[4]

Three more gods bit the dust!  Today many of us have traded our belief of God for humanistic philosophies.  We believe more in the healing power of our doctors than in the healing power of God.  What we have forgotten is that God ordains the doctors to be able to heal and to give us health.  In our health-centered society, laden with health clubs, juice bars, and fancy diets, we have forgotten that God is in control of our health.  In a way we have become just like the Egyptians, treasuring our health over our relationship with God.  I want to clarify one point on this, I believe in doctors, I believe that God ordained them to do the fine work that they are capable of doing.  Our God is the only God of healing, just as the Egyptians found out.  The false gods of healing could do nothing against the wrath of God as He rained it among the Egyptian people.

I am going to close here, if you wish to add comments to the study, please feel free to write in.

Father, as we consider Your word today, I pray that Your awesome power will be displayed in each of our lives.

In Him,

Joe Turner.

November 21, 2004

Reading through the Bible in one Year: Psalms 134-136

Weekly Memory Verse: 1 John 5:11-12

Good Evening Brothers and Sisters,

Exodus 9:13-17 (NASB95)
¹³ Then the Lord said to Moses, “Rise up early in the morning and stand before Pharaoh and say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord, the God of the Hebrews, “Let My people go, that they may serve Me. ¹⁴ “For this time I will send all My plagues on you and your servants and your people, so that you may know that there is no one like Me in all the earth. ¹⁵ “For if by now I had put forth My hand and struck you and your people with pestilence, you would then have been cut off from the earth. ¹⁶ “But, indeed, for this reason I have allowed you to remain, in order to show you My power and in order to proclaim My name through all the earth. ¹⁷ “Still you exalt yourself against My people by not letting them go.

Romans 9:17-22 (NASB95)
¹⁷ For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, “For this very purpose I raised you up, to demonstrate My power in you, and that My name might be proclaimed throughout the whole earth.” ¹⁸ So then He has mercy on whom He desires, and He hardens whom He desires. ¹⁹ You will say to me then, “Why does He still find fault? For who resists His will?” ²⁰ On the contrary, who are you, O man, who answers back to God? The thing molded will not say to the molder, “Why did you make me like this,” will it? ²¹ Or does not the potter have a right over the clay, to make from the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for common use? ²² What if God, although willing to demonstrate His wrath and to make His power known, endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction? ^[1]

This will be a short study today.  A few observations on this passage.  Look at the words that God used regarding the reason He had not destroyed Pharaoh completely.  God actually raised Pharaoh up and allowed him to remain in order to demonstrate his power.  God made it clear that He could have wiped them off the face of the earth, and struck them with every plague imaginable.  Instead he gave out the plagues one at a time in succession in order to demonstrate that He is all powerful and that He demanded worship.

In a way these verses are the lull before the storm.  Pharaoh had thought that things would not become worse up to this point, the final few plagues are much worse in comparison than the first ones.  God was sending a fair warning that things were not going to be getting easier, it was going to become much worse.  In light of what had happened to date, you would think that Pharaoh would have been on his knees begging for the mercy of God.  Rather, he continued to act as if God did not have any power.

One other thing is interesting when you reflect on the history of Egypt.  You would think that after the Jews were removed from Egypt by divine force that they would become enemies of Egypt.  This does not prove to be true through history.  Later during the times of the kings, alliances are made with Egypt, much later than that, Jesus is brought up in Egypt while Mary and Joseph are fleeing from Herod.  God chiseled a place in the hard hearts of Egypt, and continued to work through that land through the New Testament times. 

I wonder how often we do the same thing in our lives.  God sends us a wake-up call and we hit the snooze button.  I sincerely believe that God is sending a wake-up call to all believers today and that we are to start walking the Christian walk in our lives.  Unfortunately many of the Christians today have fallen asleep, and have become so worldly that it's impossible to tell them from the unbelievers.  God is calling, reaching out to us, and waiting for us to respond to Him.  If we don't respond to Him, I believe He will methodically start removing the gods from our lives that take His place.  He will find ways to discredit and take the fun out of all of the toys and treasures that we set our hearts on today.  Think about that for a moment, what is it that is more important to you than reading the Bible, going to church, or spending time in prayer?  What is it that consumes your thoughts and drives your reason for existence?  What is it that motivates you to work overtime, or put up with staying marked up and ready for work?  If it is not God and His work, then is it something that is taking the place in your life that God should have?  We don't think that we have idols in our lives today because we don't carve faces out of stone, wood or plastic and offer prayers to them.  In reality our gods have snuck up on us unaware, taking control of us without our knowledge, and have a deathgrip on our spiritual lives.  Pharaoh didn't know any difference, he was raised with his gods.  We also don't know any difference because our gods have been sold to us by the way of tradition and media from the time we were infants.  However, we know who the true God is and what His position is supposed to be in our lives.  The real question is whether we are going to do anything about it or if we are going to wait for God to start removing the little gods that have infiltrated our lives for us?  It all comes down to personal choice, God won't make our decision for us, but He will help us in making the decision. 

I would challenge you to consider what is more important than God in your life and offer it up to Him in prayer.  Ask Him to change your attitude toward it and ask Him to be the Lord of your life.  Then wait for His response.  One warning on this, don't try to do this without drawing from His strength through prayer, idols don't go away easily.  Things that are in the place of God want to remain there.

I am going to close here, if you wish to add your comments, feel free to write in.

Father, as we consider Pharaoh and his warning today, open our eyes to our responses to Your guidance in our lives.  Show each one of us what is more important in our lives than You are.

In Him,

Joe Turner.

November 22, 2004

Reading through the Bible in one Year: Ecclesiastes 9-10

Weekly Memory Verse: 2 Timothy 2:2

Good Evening Brothers and Sisters,

Exodus 9:17-35 (NASB95)
¹⁷ “Still you exalt yourself against My people by not letting them go. ¹⁸ “Behold, about this time tomorrow, I will send a very heavy hail, such as has not been seen in Egypt from the day it was founded until now. ¹⁹ “Now therefore send, bring your livestock and whatever you have in the field to safety. Every man and beast that is found in the field and is not brought home, when the hail comes down on them, will die.” ’ ” ²⁰ The one among the servants of Pharaoh who feared the word of the Lord made his servants and his livestock flee into the houses; ²¹ but he who paid no regard to the word of the Lord left his servants and his livestock in the field. ²² Now the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand toward the sky, that hail may fall on all the land of Egypt, on man and on beast and on every plant of the field, throughout the land of Egypt.” ²³ Moses stretched out his staff toward the sky, and the Lord sent thunder and hail, and fire ran down to the earth. And the Lord rained hail on the land of Egypt. ²⁴ So there was hail, and fire flashing continually in the midst of the hail, very severe, such as had not been in all the land of Egypt since it became a nation. ²⁵ The hail struck all that was in the field through all the land of Egypt, both man and beast; the hail also struck every plant of the field and shattered every tree of the field. ²⁶ Only in the land of Goshen, where the sons of Israel were, there was no hail. ²⁷ Then Pharaoh sent for Moses and Aaron, and said to them, “I have sinned this time; the Lord is the righteous one, and I and my people are the wicked ones. ²⁸ “Make supplication to the Lord, for there has been enough of God’s thunder and hail; and I will let you go, and you shall stay no longer.” ²⁹ Moses said to him, “As soon as I go out of the city, I will spread out my hands to the Lord; the thunder will cease and there will be hail no longer, that you may know that the earth is the Lord’s. ³⁰ “But as for you and your servants, I know that you do not yet fear the Lord God.” ³¹ (Now the flax and the barley were ruined, for the barley was in the ear and the flax was in bud. ³² But the wheat and the spelt were not ruined, for they ripen late.) ³³ So Moses went out of the city from Pharaoh, and spread out his hands to the Lord; and the thunder and the hail ceased, and rain no longer poured on the earth. ³⁴ But when Pharaoh saw that the rain and the hail and the thunder had ceased, he sinned again and hardened his heart, he and his servants. ³⁵ Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, and he did not let the sons of Israel go, just as the Lord had spoken through Moses.^[1]

Notice as you read through this plague that God warned them of the hail storm that was coming.  Look back at verse 17, the key thought is carried from the last statement.  Pharaoh built himself up at the expense of the Hebrews.  He made his nation wealthy by drawing from the labor of the Hebrews.  In the plague of the hail, God promised to eliminate a large portion of the actual wealth of the land.  He promised to destroy any unprotected animal, man and crop that was still in the field.  At this time, some of the people were starting to believe in the Lord and adhered to His warning, others still chose not to believe and paid the consequences.

One thing that stood out to me on the first reading was the way that Moses walked through the hailstorm to talk with Pharaoh.  He had to be exposed to the elements in order to get into the presence of the Pharaoh, yet he walked through without the fear of being destroyed.  Imagine walking fearlessly through a hailstorm that has hailstones large enough to shatter trees and to kill people fearlessly, then to declare that God will stop the storm once you walk back through it and arrive at Goshen.  Moses was making a statement that God is not only in control of the weather, He is also in charge of each hailstone and orders where they strike.  Moses knew beyond a shadow of a doubt what God's power was capable of.  He experienced God's power and watched it's effect, there wasn't any doubt that God could control the hailstones.  That in itself should have been proof for Pharaoh that God controls all.  The other amazing thing is that the land of Goshen did not have any hail at all. 

The storm hit, and Pharaoh realized that he was wrong.  It is interesting that he admitted that he had sinned.  You cannot sin unless you admit that there is a mark to miss.  In order to admit to sin, you must have a standard that you have failed to meet.  God had revealed Himself to Pharaoh enough so that he realized that there was a standard to live by.  When Pharaoh saw his error in not listening to Moses, his conscience started hurting him, convicting him of sin.  But the same conscience did not bother him when he saw the deliverance and decided to harden his heart toward God.

Moses made an interesting observation, that Pharaoh did not fear God.  Fear here is not the shaking in the boots type of fear, although that is included in the concept.  The true meaning may fall under standing in awe of, respecting, reverence, including the aspect of downright being fearful.  Pharaoh may have considered himself as an equal to God up to this point.  After all, God seemed to be bargaining with him.  Pharaoh was so self-assured that he could not see that God was bringing on the plagues in order to offer the Egyptian people a chance. 

Regarding the Egyptian gods, there were three that were supposed to be in charge of the skies, "Nut and Shu, and Seth the protector of crops", (Believer's Study Bible).  God brought the wrath upon Pharaoh, and included in it another devastating blow to the false gods.

I am going to close here, worked the better part of last night, and enjoyed the snow.  If you have comments be sure to send them in.  Shelley is going back to the surgeon today for a checkup, I will update you tomorrow on her condition.

Father, as we consider the awesome power that was displayed for Pharaoh, build into each one of us a respect for Your power and Your word so that we will not take it lightly.

In Him,

Joe Turner.