Image from andrewkantor.com
And the LORD set a time, saying, "Tomorrow the LORD will do this thing in the land." And on the morrow the LORD did this thing; all the cattle of the Egyptians died, but of the cattle of the people of Israel not one died. And Pharaoh sent, and behold, not one of the cattle of the Israelites was dead. But the heart of Pharaoh was hardened, and he did not let the people go. And the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, "Take handfuls of ashes from the kiln, and let Moses throw them toward heaven in the sight of Pharaoh. And 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 ashes from the kiln, and stood before Pharaoh, and Moses threw them toward heaven, 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 were 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. (Exodus 9:5-12 Revised Standard Version)
Friday is here, so get fired up for a fabulous day, dear Friend! You can thank me now that I did not use any of the photos I found for the second plaque we are going to discuss today! Whew! I pray this finds you and yours doing well; from where I write the temperature is not in the 40s, so that for me is a great thing! I trust it is for you as well.
The challenge for Moses representing God against Pharaoh continues. Really, it was Pharaoh, who thought he was a god against the one true living God. Pharaoh had magicians who could keep up so far with each plaque and Pharaoh could claim he was not impressed, and was not going to release the free labor force he had in the Jews who were his slaves. God still persisted, and the two plaques we will study today were these: The first was to hit the cattle of Egypt with a sickness. God had told Moses that the cows of the Jews would not be affected, only the Egyptians cows. And so it was. We don't know the nature of the plaque though some scholars believe it could have been anthrax because of the other plagues' conditions, which made it right for these poor animals to have this disease. It made for the cattle to become worthless and they died. This affected the diet of the Egyptians, but still Pharaoh said no go.
Next, God tells Moses to take ashes from the kiln, and in the presence of Pharaoh to toss them into the air and it spread like a fine dust throughout the land and this caused boils to come upon the people. Boils are not pleasant. I had a couple when I was in high school and I'll sum it up in one word: torture. Painful blisters that can grow and make you miserable. And I'm talking one boil. I don't even want to image more than one boil on me, or even on my worst enemy; well, maybe... no, I kid. The images on google image tell the story. The boils got so bad the magicians called in sick. They could not even put in an appearance before Moses and their boss to see if they could match the plaque or even remove it. Yet, the hardness of Pharaoh's heart stayed, and again he said no to liberty for the captives. They were still his slaves.
The entire book of Exodus is an exercise in patience. Waiting on God's time is never easy for some, impossible for others. The process we are studying right now took 400 years for that prayer to be answered. And the process did not happen as many would have liked. "Just send a big bolt of lightening and kill Pharaoh!" many would have, and probably, did say. But, God works in mysterious ways, usually ways we can't and don't understand. And for many humans, "patience is a virtue but (they) don't have the time!"*. Our time is usually dictated to be now, now, now. The society that employs microwave, texts, emails - too busy to wait, and we want it now.
"Good things come to those who wait," said a person who just doesn't know us! "Hurry up and wait," our fathers told us they learned in the Army. If Exodus says or teaches anything it is, Wait upon the Lord. The options were completely unbearable. To remain under a ruler who hated them, the Jews would never realize how good they had it with Moses and his deliverance attempts. Right now, in this story, they're part of an audience who is witnesses the supreme power of God against human will. Each step or each plague was intended to show the people how God worked. If you resist God and seek your will over His, you will discover the same. I sought to hide from God and ended up where I shared some time ago, sitting across from another seminary drop-out. "My will, not thine" will have me join the choir of those in Hell. "Thy will, not mine" is the beautiful song that got those who are in Heaven there. What will you sing?
PRAYER: Patient Father, speak to me a restless and anxious soul. Help me learn from these stories of Moses and You, how awesome you are, and what you are capable of doing on our behalf. Bless us with patience and wisdom. This we pray in Christ Jesus our Lord, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! Show your patience in a way that blesses others!
Eradio Valverde
