Scripture Reference: Exodus 8:20-10:29
2. Resisting
Please read Exodus 9:1-12 for the background to this section.
As you study the account of the plagues of Egypt, keep in mind the purposes God was fulfilling through these momentous events. First of all, He was manifesting His power to Pharaoh and his officials and proving to them that He alone is the true and living God. At the same time, the Lord was exposing the futility of the Egyptian religion and the vanity of the many gods they worshiped, including Pharaoh himself. All that God did to Egypt was a reminder to His people that their God was fighting for them and they didn’t have to worry or be afraid.
The fifth plague (verses 1-7). Moses announced to Pharaoh that unless he released the Israelites within twenty-four hours, all the livestock in the Egyptian fields would be the next target for the demonstration of Jehovah’s power. God would send a terrible pestilence upon the horses, donkeys, camels, cattle, sheep, and goats in the fields, and they would die. We don’t know what this pestilence was and it’s useless to speculate. One thing is sure: God sent the plague and the livestock in the fields perished. Since some of the gods of Egypt were identified with bulls, cows, rams, and other livestock, this judgment was another successful attack on the Egyptian religion.
But God also kept His promise and protected the livestock that belonged to the Jews living in the land of Goshen. When Jacob and his family came to Egypt during the time of Joseph, they brought their flocks and herds with them (Genesis 45:10; 47:1; 50:8). During their time of bondage, the Jews were allowed to keep livestock, for at the Exodus, they took their flocks and herds with them (Exodus 12:37-38).
How did Pharaoh respond to this terrible plague? He hardened his heart and resisted the authority of the Lord. “Blessed is the one who fears the LORD always, but whoever hardens his heart will fall into calamity” (Proverbs 28:14). The opposite of a hard heart is a heart that fears God, and that reverential fear motivates us to obey the Lord’s commands. “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom” (Proverbs 9:10), but the hardhearted person is ignorant of God and His truth (Ephesians 4:18).
The sixth plague (verses 8-12). There was no warning given this time. Moses and Aaron simply went to one of the lime-kilns, filled their hands with soot, threw the soot into the air, and trusted God to do the rest. God kept His promise, for wherever the soot landed on the Egyptians and their cattle, it produced painful festering ulcers and boils. Once again, the Jews in Goshen were protected.
Pharaoh summoned his court magicians, but they weren’t able to go to the palace. The boils had caught up with them and they could do nothing about it! The experience was not only painful but also embarrassing, because the Egyptians were obsessed with physical cleanliness. They took frequent baths, but the festering sores would make that difficult.
The nation of Egypt was being devastated and the people were in great pain, but Pharaoh would not yield. He continued resisting the Lord and His servants, and each act of disobedience only hardened his heart more. “He who is often reproved, yet stiffens his neck, will suddenly be broken beyond healing” (Proverbs 29:1). For Pharaoh, the worst was yet to come.
To Be Continued
FOR THE LOVE OF GOD 