Exodus CORRECTIONS

Please accept my apologies for any confusion. The Plagues did not change order or repeat! I made an error in sending some re-writes. Here are the devotions this week from Exodus 9 and 10 as they should appear up to today. We skipped October 10 for the Federal Holiday on Columbus Day/Indigenous Peoples Day. We need to catch up with Boils and Hail. Tomorrow will be Darkness. Thank you for your patience. JDH

<>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <><

Boiling Mad
Words of Faith 10-11-2022
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy © 2022
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
Faith Fellowship Church - Melbourne, FL   
www.faithfellowshipweb.com
<>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <><

Exodus 9
[8]  Then the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, "Take handfuls of soot from a furnace and have Moses toss it into the air in the presence of Pharaoh. [9]  It will become fine dust over the whole land of Egypt, and festering boils will break out on men and animals throughout the land." [10]  So they took soot from a furnace and stood before Pharaoh. Moses tossed it into the air, and festering boils broke out on men and animals. [11]  The magicians could not stand before Moses because of the boils that were on them and on all the Egyptians. [12]  But the LORD hardened Pharaoh's heart and he would not listen to Moses and Aaron, just as the LORD had said to Moses.

           This plague was not announced to Pharaoh. There are times when God will act without warning. This plague was the first to endanger human life through open sores and festering boils. The situation moved from annoying to miserable.
          Moses tossing soot from a furnace may have been a symbolic act. Similar to the use of their staffs in several plagues, it was a physical image that reinforced the connection of the coming plague to the prophets who were calling for the release of the Hebrews. Tossing soot into the air had the look of casting a spell and seemed to mock the magicians of Pharaoh's court.
           This was a miserable plague. The Egyptians were fearfully aware of epidemics. They worshiped Sekhmet, a lion headed goddess with alleged power over disease. They also worshiped Sunu, the pestilence God and Isis, the goddess of healing. But none of these idolatrous deities could deliver the people and their animals from their torments.
             Once again, the magicians were helpless to give any relief. They were affected in the same ways and found their deities to be powerless. Once again, Pharaoh persisted in his willful obstinance.
             As we journey in life, we need to be painfully aware of the price of willful obstinance in our relationship with God. It is one thing to have questions. It is quite another to stand defiant in the face of God. As the Prophet Isaiah declared: "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways," declares the LORD. "As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. (Isaiah 55:8-9)

             Father God, keep my heart far from the place of willful obstinance. Give me a heart that easily hears, trusts, and follows after You. In Jesus' Name.

Oh, Hail No
Words of Faith 10-12-2022
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy © 2022
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
Faith Fellowship Church - Melbourne, FL   
www.faithfellowshipweb.com
<>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <><

Exodus 9
        [13]  Then the LORD said to Moses, "Get up early in the morning, confront Pharaoh and say to him, 'This is what the LORD, the God of the Hebrews, says: Let my people go, so that they may worship me, [14]  or this time I will send the full force of my plagues against you and against your officials and your people, so you may know that there is no one like me in all the earth. [15]  For by now I could have stretched out my hand and struck you and your people with a plague that would have wiped you off the earth. [16]  But I have raised you up for this very purpose, that I might show you my power and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth. [17]  You still set yourself against my people and will not let them go. [18]  Therefore, at this time tomorrow I will send the worst hailstorm that has ever fallen on Egypt, from the day it was founded till now. [19]  Give an order now to bring your livestock and everything you have in the field to a place of shelter, because the hail will fall on every man and animal that has not been brought in and is still out in the field, and they will die.'"
       [20]  Those officials of Pharaoh who feared the word of the LORD hurried to bring their slaves and their livestock inside. [21]  But those who ignored the word of the LORD left their slaves and livestock in the field.
       [22]  Then the LORD said to Moses, "Stretch out your hand toward the sky so that hail will fall all over Egypt--on men and animals and on everything growing in the fields of Egypt." [23]  When Moses stretched out his staff toward the sky, the LORD sent thunder and hail, and lightning flashed down to the ground. So the LORD rained hail on the land of Egypt; [24]  hail fell and lightning flashed back and forth. It was the worst storm in all the land of Egypt since it had become a nation. [25]  Throughout Egypt hail struck everything in the fields--both men and animals; it beat down everything growing in the fields and stripped every tree. [26]  The only place it did not hail was the land of Goshen, where the Israelites were.
       [27]  Then Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron. "This time I have sinned," he said to them. "The LORD is in the right, and I and my people are in the wrong. [28]  Pray to the LORD, for we have had enough thunder and hail. I will let you go; you don't have to stay any longer."
        [29]  Moses replied, "When I have gone out of the city, I will spread out my hands in prayer to the LORD. The thunder will stop and there will be no more hail, so you may know that the earth is the LORD's. [30]  But I know that you and your officials still do not fear the LORD God."
        [31]  (The flax and barley were destroyed, since the barley had headed and the flax was in bloom. [32]  The wheat and spelt, however, were not destroyed, because they ripen later.) [33]  Then Moses left Pharaoh and went out of the city. He spread out his hands toward the LORD; the thunder and hail stopped, and the rain no longer poured down on the land. [34]  When Pharaoh saw that the rain and hail and thunder had stopped, he sinned again: He and his officials hardened their hearts. [35]  So Pharaoh's heart was hard and he would not let the Israelites go, just as the LORD had said through Moses.

         The phrase "Oh, Hail No" has been popularized in modern culture... with a little different spelling. This is one place where it seems to fit quite well. We can almost hear Pharaoh uttering something like this!  
          The Plague of hail was the first to be physically destructive. It begins the third cycle-- plagues seven, eight, and nine. These will be the most severe. The destructive deluge of hail caused tremendous economic distress.
         Moses once again to see Pharaoh in the early morning. The request was, once again, simple: "Let my people go so that they may worship me." But there was a little more. This time, God would send the full force of His plagues against Pharaoh, the officials, and the people. God had been patient thus far in not displaying the full fury of his wrath.
         The hail storm that was coming was massive. It was without precedent. When we experience a hail storm, we talk about "dime" size or "golf ball" size hail. We don't know the diameter of the hailstones. We only know that the destruction was massive. The word "all" is used over and over in this passage.
         In his grace, God told Pharaoh to have livestock and people brought into shelter. Some of the Egyptians heeded the warning. Though the hail did not fall on the Israelites in the land of Goshen, men and animals were killed by the ferocious storm. Crops were crushed and fields stripped.
         The devastation was so great that Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron to confess his sin. He acknowledged that God was right and consented to release the Israelites. Moses must have recognized that the repentance was superficial. Pharaoh once again hardened his heart against God.
          After Moses' prayer was answered, Pharaoh once again rescinded his offer. In essence, Pharaoh uttered the exact phrase with a little different meaning: "Oh, hail no!" He would not allow them to go. He forgot all about his confession of sin and wrong. Now there would be more "Hail" to pay.
        What is our take-away?
        Until we realize and confess that God Almighty is exactly that, the Sovereign Ruler of the Universe, we will face destructive forces. God wants your heart. He wants freedom for His people. He will do whatever it takes to get both.

       Father God, make me softened to Your Word and direction. Show me the path that leads to peace with the Maker of the universe. May I learn Your lessons in gentle ways. In Jesus' Name.

Locusts
Words of Faith 10-13-2022
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy © 2022
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
Faith Fellowship Church - Melbourne, FL   
www.faithfellowshipweb.com
<>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <><

Exodus 10   
      [1]  Then the LORD said to Moses, "Go to Pharaoh, for I have hardened his heart and the hearts of his officials so that I may perform these miraculous signs of mine among them [2]  that you may tell your children and grandchildren how I dealt harshly with the Egyptians and how I performed my signs among them, and that you may know that I am the LORD."
      [3]  So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and said to him, "This is what the LORD, the God of the Hebrews, says: 'How long will you refuse to humble yourself before me? Let my people go, so that they may worship me. [4]  If you refuse to let them go, I will bring locusts into your country tomorrow. [5]  They will cover the face of the ground so that it cannot be seen. They will devour what little you have left after the hail, including every tree that is growing in your fields. [6]  They will fill your houses and those of all your officials and all the Egyptians--something neither your fathers nor your forefathers have ever seen from the day they settled in this land till now.'" Then Moses turned and left Pharaoh.
      [7]  Pharaoh's officials said to him, "How long will this man be a snare to us? Let the people go, so that they may worship the LORD their God. Do you not yet realize that Egypt is ruined?"
       [8]  Then Moses and Aaron were brought back to Pharaoh. "Go, worship the LORD your God," he said. "But just who will be going?"
       [9]  Moses answered, "We will go with our young and old, with our sons and daughters, and with our flocks and herds, because we are to celebrate a festival to the LORD."
       [10]  Pharaoh said, "The LORD be with you--if I let you go, along with your women and children! Clearly you are bent on evil. [11]  No! Have only the men go; and worship the LORD, since that's what you have been asking for." Then Moses and Aaron were driven out of Pharaoh's presence. [12]  And the LORD said to Moses, "Stretch out your hand over Egypt so that locusts will swarm over the land and devour everything growing in the fields, everything left by the hail."
       [13]  So Moses stretched out his staff over Egypt, and the LORD made an east wind blow across the land all that day and all that night. By morning the wind had brought the locusts; [14]  they invaded all Egypt and settled down in every area of the country in great numbers. Never before had there been such a plague of locusts, nor will there ever be again. [15]  They covered all the ground until it was black. They devoured all that was left after the hail--everything growing in the fields and the fruit on the trees. Nothing green remained on tree or plant in all the land of Egypt.
       [16]  Pharaoh quickly summoned Moses and Aaron and said, "I have sinned against the LORD your God and against you. [17]  Now forgive my sin once more and pray to the LORD your God to take this deadly plague away from me." [18]  Moses then left Pharaoh and prayed to the LORD. [19]  And the LORD changed the wind to a very strong west wind, which caught up the locusts and carried them into the Red Sea. Not a locust was left anywhere in Egypt. [20]  But the LORD hardened Pharaoh's heart, and he would not let the Israelites go.

      Things were ramping up. The situation was getting more and more serious. If Pharaoh refused to humble himself before God, then God would bring a terrible locust infestation.
      Flying by the millions, locusts can completely devastate miles of crops, eating leaves and even tree bark. Much of a city's or a nation's food supply from crops can be wiped out entirely in minutes or hours.   
       This extensive economic disaster caused Pharaoh's officials to realize that retaining their slaves was not worth the price. Egypt, they said, is ruined. So Pharaoh succumbed to Moses' general petition and said Go.
        We have heard this before. Though Moses never said he would return the people, Pharaoh sensed they would be gone permanently if they took all their family members, flocks, and herds. This, he said, was evil. So he introduced another compromise: Have only the men go. Moses and Aaron, unwilling to settle for this compromise, were expelled from the court.
         Bad will now go to worse. As a result of Pharaoh's stubbornness, God told Moses to stretch out his hand so that locusts would come. He extended his staff, and an east wind blew all day. Some say "east wind" can mean "fierce wind" because such winds typically blow across Egypt from the south. We get the picture.
          The devastation was beyond imagination; their numbers were so massive that the ground was black. All of Egypt was affected, deprived of her natural beauty, with tragic economic, social, and theological consequences.
           This was an attack once again on the gods of Egypt. Nut, the Egyptian sky goddess, could not control these locusts, and Osiris, god of crop fertility, could not prevent the destruction of the crops.
           Pharaoh again repented of his sin and pleaded for relief, but his actions later revealed an insincere heart. In response to Moses' petition, God relented of this judgment, but Pharaoh again reneged on his promise. Again.
            We should recognize that locusts can come in many forms. The insects that attack crops are horrible. But we can also encounter an economic locust swarm that eats everything in sight. There are also relational locust attacks where sinful gossip sweeps across the landscape.
             Whatever the case, we need to recognize that the safe place is among God's people under the Lord's protection. He is the only one who can give us a covering from the devastating forces of the world around us.

             Father God, I want to be in Goshen. I need to be in your protection. Cover me with Your love and allow me Your mercy. In the powerful Name of Jesus.