As we read the story about Moses receiving the call from God to return to Egypt after being exiled for 40 years in the land of Midian, we witness God’s amazing hand at letting the people of Israel out from the oppression of Pharaoh king of Egypt.
As we read about plague after plague God sends on Pharaoh, his servants and the Egyptians, it can be hard to comprehend the effects of all these afflictions. Can we imagine having gnats, flies and frogs cover the earth?
Frogs over the Land
1Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go to Pharaoh and say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord, “Let My people go, that they may serve Me. 2But if you refuse to let them go, behold, I will smite your whole territory with frogs. 3The Nile will swarm with frogs, which will come up and go into your house and into your bedroom and on your bed, and into the houses of your servants and on your people, and into your ovens and into your kneading bowls. 4So the frogs will come up on you and your people and all your servants.” ’ ” 5Then the Lord said to Moses, “Say to Aaron, ‘Stretch out your hand with your staff over the rivers, over the streams and over the pools, and make frogs come up on the land of Egypt.’ ” 6So Aaron stretched out his hand over the waters of Egypt, and the frogs came up and covered the land of Egypt. 7The magicians did the same with their secret arts, making frogs come up on the land of Egypt.
8Then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron and said, “Entreat the Lord that He remove the frogs from me and from my people; and I will let the people go, that they may sacrifice to the Lord.” 9Moses said to Pharaoh, “The honor is yours to tell me: when shall I entreat for you and your servants and your people, that the frogs be destroyed from you and your houses, that they may be left only in the Nile?”
10Then he said, “Tomorrow.” So he said, “May it be according to your word, that you may know that there is no one like the Lord our God. 11The frogs will depart from you and your houses and your servants and your people; they will be left only in the Nile.” 12Then Moses and Aaron went out from Pharaoh, and Moses cried to the Lord concerning the frogs which He had inflicted upon Pharaoh. 13The Lord did according to the word of Moses, and the frogs died out of the houses, the courts, and the fields. 14So they piled them in heaps, and the land became foul. 15But when Pharaoh saw that there was relief, he hardened his heart and did not listen to them, as the Lord had said.
The Plague of Insects
16Then the Lord said to Moses, “Say to Aaron, ‘Stretch out your staff and strike the dust of the earth, that it may become gnats through all the land of Egypt.’ ” 17They did so; and Aaron stretched out his hand with his staff, and struck the dust of the earth, and there were gnats on man and beast. All the dust of the earth became gnats through all the land of Egypt. 18The magicians tried with their secret arts to bring forth gnats, but they could not; so there were gnats on man and beast. 19Then the magicians said to Pharaoh, “This is the finger of God.” But Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, and he did not listen to them, as the Lord had said.
20Now the Lord said to Moses, “Rise early in the morning and present yourself before Pharaoh, as he comes out to the water, and say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord, “Let My people go, that they may serve Me. 21For if you do not let My people go, behold, I will send swarms of flies on you and on your servants and on your people and into your houses; and the houses of the Egyptians will be full of swarms of flies, and also the ground on which they dwell. 22But on that day I will set apart the land of Goshen, where My people are living, so that no swarms of flies will be there, in order that you may know that I, the Lord, am in the midst of the land. 23I will put a division between My people and your people. Tomorrow this sign will occur.” ’ ” 24Then the Lord did so. And there came great swarms of flies into the house of Pharaoh and the houses of his servants and the land was laid waste because of the swarms of flies in all the land of Egypt. (Exodus 8:1-24)
Can we imagine having intense storms with hail and lightning which have not been seen in Egypt before?
The Plague of Hail
18Behold, 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. 19Now 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.” ’ ” 20The one among the servants of Pharaoh who feared the word of the Lord made his servants and his livestock flee into the houses; 21but he who paid no regard to the word of the Lord left his servants and his livestock in the field.
22Now 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.” 23Moses 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. 24So 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. 25The 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. 26Only in the land of Goshen, where the sons of Israel were, there was no hail. (Exodus 9:18-26)
Can we imagine living for three days in complete darkness?
Darkness over the Land
21Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand toward the sky, that there may be darkness over the land of Egypt, even a darkness which may be felt.” 22So Moses stretched out his hand toward the sky, and there was thick darkness in all the land of Egypt for three days. 23They did not see one another, nor did anyone rise from his place for three days, but all the sons of Israel had light in their dwellings. (Exodus 9:21-23)
No, most of these plagues are beyond our ability to imagine. We whine and complain when our phone does not work or the internet goes down—things which Pharaoh and the Egyptians would never ever consider a necessity.
And then there came the final plague—the death of the firstborn.
The Last Plague
1Now the Lord said to Moses, “One more plague I will bring on Pharaoh and on Egypt; after that he will let you go from here. When he lets you go, he will surely drive you out from here completely. 2Speak now in the hearing of the people that each man ask from his neighbor and each woman from her neighbor for articles of silver and articles of gold.” 3The Lord gave the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians. Furthermore, the man Moses himself was greatly esteemed in the land of Egypt, both in the sight of Pharaoh’s servants and in the sight of the people.
4Moses said, “Thus says the Lord, ‘About midnight I am going out into the midst of Egypt, 5and all the firstborn in the land of Egypt shall die, from the firstborn of the Pharaoh who sits on his throne, even to the firstborn of the slave girl who is behind the millstones; all the firstborn of the cattle as well. 6Moreover, there shall be a great cry in all the land of Egypt, such as there has not been before and such as shall never be again. 7But against any of the sons of Israel a dog will not even bark, whether against man or beast, that you may understand how the Lord makes a distinction between Egypt and Israel.’ (Exodus 11:1-7)
29Now it came about at midnight that the Lord struck all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sat on his throne to the firstborn of the captive who was in the dungeon, and all the firstborn of cattle. 30Pharaoh arose in the night, he and all his servants and all the Egyptians, and there was a great cry in Egypt, for there was no home where there was not someone dead. 31Then he called for Moses and Aaron at night and said, “Rise up, get out from among my people, both you and the sons of Israel; and go, worship the Lord, as you have said. 32Take both your flocks and your herds, as you have said, and go, and bless me also.” (Exodus 12:29-32)
When the Israelites are preserved if they put the blood of a lamb on their doorposts and remain inside their dwelling, a great victory comes to the Israelites. Despite this triumph, it is recorded in Jewish literature, only 20% of the Israelites leave Egypt. Yes, that’s right. It is recorded 4 our of every 5 Israelites remain behind in Egypt. Despite God’s many wonders, it was easier to remain in the land of slavery than to leave the comfort and safety of the unknown to travel to freedom.
Fleeing from the enemy; pushed up against the sea
After God delivers Israel from the hand of Pharaoh, the Israelites travel into the wilderness. Before they are able to completely escape the clutches of Pharaoh, the find themselves trapped between the sea of Reeds and Pharaoh’s army. The situation looks bleak. God did 10 incredible miracles and now everything is going to end. If the Israelites are captured, they will be executed by Pharaoh and his army. There seems to be no hope.
10As Pharaoh drew near, the sons of Israel looked, and behold, the Egyptians were marching after them, and they became very frightened; so the sons of Israel cried out to the Lord. 11Then they said to Moses, “Is it because there were no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? Why have you dealt with us in this way, bringing us out of Egypt? 12Is this not the word that we spoke to you in Egypt, saying, ‘Leave us alone that we may serve the Egyptians’? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness.”
The Sea Is Divided
13But Moses said to the people, “Do not fear! Stand by and see the salvation of the Lord which He will accomplish for you today; for the Egyptians whom you have seen today, you will never see them again forever. 14The Lord will fight for you while you keep silent.”
15Then the Lord said to Moses, “Why are you crying out to Me? Tell the sons of Israel to go forward. 16As for you, lift up your staff and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it, and the sons of Israel shall go through the midst of the sea on dry land. 17As for Me, behold, I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians so that they will go in after them; and I will be honored through Pharaoh and all his army, through his chariots and his horsemen. 18Then the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord, when I am honored through Pharaoh, through his chariots and his horsemen.”
19The angel of God, who had been going before the camp of Israel, moved and went behind them; and the pillar of cloud moved from before them and stood behind them. 20So it came between the camp of Egypt and the camp of Israel; and there was the cloud along with the darkness, yet it gave light at night. Thus the one did not come near the other all night.
21Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and the Lord swept the sea back by a strong east wind all night and turned the sea into dry land, so the waters were divided. 22The sons of Israel went through the midst of the sea on the dry land, and the waters were like a wall to them on their right hand and on their left. 23Then the Egyptians took up the pursuit, and all Pharaoh’s horses, his chariots and his horsemen went in after them into the midst of the sea. 24At the morning watch, the Lord looked down on the army of the Egyptians through the pillar of fire and cloud and brought the army of the Egyptians into confusion. 25He caused their chariot wheels to swerve, and He made them drive with difficulty; so the Egyptians said, “Let us flee from Israel, for the Lord is fighting for them against the Egyptians.”
26Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the sea so that the waters may come back over the Egyptians, over their chariots and their horsemen.” 27So Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the sea returned to its normal state at daybreak, while the Egyptians were fleeing right into it; then the Lord overthrew the Egyptians in the midst of the sea. 28The waters returned and covered the chariots and the horsemen, even Pharaoh’s entire army that had gone into the sea after them; not even one of them remained. 29But the sons of Israel walked on dry land through the midst of the sea, and the waters were like a wall to them on their right hand and on their left.
30Thus the Lord saved Israel that day from the hand of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore. 31When Israel saw the great power which the Lord had used against the Egyptians, the people feared the Lord, and they believed in the Lord and in His servant Moses. (Exodus 14:10-31)
Verse 31 seems to be a poignant one. The Israelites only began believing in God once the Sea of Reeds was parted and God drowned their enemies. This seems unbelievable to many people. How could God do so many miracles, and yet, the Israelites had so little faith?
The answer is that they were hardened under the harsh hand of slavery. They lived in constant fear. The Egyptians punished them and treated them cruelly. It is often easier to stay in an abusive relationship than to flee to safety because there is comfort in the known, even if that comfort comes at a high cost.
For the Israelites, being rescued from Egypt was still not enough. Throughout the 40 years in the wilderness, the Israelites constantly whined and complained to Moses that it would have been better for them to stay in bondage in Egypt. Do we do the same thing? Does God rescue us from oppression and then we lament to God how hard our life is?
Often freedom comes at a high price. We must travel on an unfamiliar path. We must be brave and be willing to fail. We must trust God and know that even if it takes 40 years to reach the Promised Land, God is faithful. He will not break His oath. He will guide us and lead us.
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