081 - A Tiny Army Ruins Mizraim

You pick up your Bible and one is more here than meets the is there something here for me.

I mean it's just words printed on paper right it may look like just print on the page but it's more than Inc. join us for the next half hour, as we explore God's word together as we learn how to explore it on our as we ask God to meet us there in its pages welcome to more than fly away the past year face all single flight so you say so today on more than Inc. and we are glad you're with this.

I hope got over the frog episode last time that he puts stinking wrongs right now so were not hearing what Esther look forward to spring history, young members a kid we used to collect frog eggs in the swampy customer houses will gelatinous around things. My brother brought him inside when you're put in some water and cramming the hatch that you knew tadpole's back but the milk I think so.

That's what I think of everything I can relate with this piles of stinking frog today.

We are past plagues one into entering the plague plague three and four today and were in the book of Exodus.

Check with the yellow next to this end, and got a slowly moving the Israelites up by going through a series of plagues with Pharaoh and in his heart is getting harder and harder and harder. And so today we do that as well.

God is actually using the natural realm, not as a cause, but the to demonstrate the fact that he is actually is real with Egyptian gods, exactly. So this is in many ways this is a direct affront against the Egyptian beliefs in the God system which the gods that are oriented toward nature that's gonna challenge those at every turn. So today in chapter were starting in verse 16 and really continue with this competition. Remember last time last time we left the frog stuff. Pharaoh said that he would release the people so that they could go and sacrifice to go free altogether. That's right, but he seemed to relent to some way and then and then God change the frog situation and froze it up as it was clearly Pharaoh was willing to acknowledge at least that there was this other guy said to me pleasing to him and I'll let you go and sacrifice to him. Yeah, I would like progress to me until he changed his mind and is not progress, that's work that's really coming in verse 16. You want to reinforce sure exactly how long after this is and those who accept a naturalistic explanation for the plagues would say well all those rotting frogs that produced lots of rain anywhere but in any case the next. This is the next play. Verse 16 of chapter 8 then the Lord said to Moses, saying, Aaron, stretch out your staff and strike the dust of the earth so that it may become gnats in all the land of Egypt, and they did so Aaron stretched out his hand with his staff and struck the dust of the earth and there were naps on man and beast. All the dust of the earth became Nancy and all the land of Egypt. The magicians tried by their secret arts to produce gnats, but they could not sell.

There were naps on man and beast. Then the magician said to Pharaoh.

This is the finger.

Pharaoh's heart was hardened and he would not listen to them as the Lord had said and there is our third plague, and when you stop no warning this time right warning to Pharaoh that is bad stuff coming guy just says now go and stretch out the staff and cats like Desta and I was wondering whether this is a direct response to first change of mind in the previous Amy is no warning here is like right you let them go. All he said you would.

Well how about this gnats yeah and you know and I would propose to.

I've never liked the translation of mats for this well in alternate translations, lies, lies, or no grown-up growing up in the humid East Coast chiggers were big boy scouts you know and they did come out of the ground immediately would be around leads aggressively having them up yet around your ankles. I am up in the kind of teacher skin so it's it's and then they leave these big red welts amidst the horrible kind of thing you've ever walked into a cloud of gnats, you know, it's just like this, like, like, you cannot get away from him and they are drawn to your breath by your faith.

Gnats are not as big a problem to me is chiggers are a psycho man. This this feels more to me like that because that is just a pain, chiggers and lights and mites and all this kind of stuff through horrible injuries. These tiny tiny invisible thing is overwhelming versus incoming about the dust of the earth, so not actually flying, which in the next but there flying like he actually points to the ground with a stick taps the ground and turns the dust of the ground into the things that are so sounds more like ground-based, bugs like that. This is what causes the magicians to say hey this is the finger of God because they couldn't this is not sleight-of-hand raises something either makes me think the magicians up to this point were thinking. That's not that I can do that, so they don't really have much respect for what's going on because they can replicate.

Right now is a lot we can't do this so there's suddenly their respect for what's going on here.

Suddenly I meant and then they it is really an admission of failure to Pharaoh who your glass and say we can't do this is the finger of God been able to reverse any of the stuff right on this right. You know how helpless are helpful were yelling as they can more frog last week.

We don't need more frogs and they were doing was undercutting the miraculous nature of what was happening right, they were able to reverse it right really combat right now in a funny turn of events. They are the ones that are testifying to who got it right this is this is God. This is God. Yeah, this is definitely God so this is these are quite annoying fact I that's why was I thinking. This is chiggers of these are chiggers. It's like this is a bed while chiggers bite the bite and the leaked terrible itching in these big red bumps a minute there just just annoying.

It's just really bad. Well, it doesn't say that, but you do have the impression that these were these were irritating because it's whatever they were, yeah, which is white so I think gnats is kind of weak translation problem with this is because that naps don't visibly come about grounding the swarm point here is in Pharaoh's heart was hardened yeah you wouldn't listen even to his pain was magicians exactly exactly. Artie said that the people who he should have great respect for because they are also the conduit into the God system for the guy they like the priest guys who have a connection to the gods, and so they are pointing to an other God.

So when they say you know this is someone else I don't think you which is interesting is that the priesthood class which is these guys are in we were always in Egypt, very hygienic, super, super, hygienic, and so very clearly this is a very big deal in Egypt and so so when you have the dust of the ground, which is not hygienic but when it symbolically when the dust of the ground which is dirty and on your sandals action codes up and afflicts your body clings to you. Yeah, it's like it's like this unhygienic.

This uncleanness crawls up your legs and make sure clean. So for the magicians and for the presets, like you do everything you can to wash and keep clean.

But now, what happens when the dirt itself crawls up on you. Here's like and they can't stay clean and not only that, but it's not just on people's on it's on the animals as well. So some people speculate that even in this particular case, the fact that these came up on the animals made animals to uncleanness, sacrifice, and some even to eat. Yeah so so you you always look at Jesus watch people sweep because the drill ground getting their feet and stuff and slaves do that servants would just wash people's feet washed his disciples to let me know clear here that that's exactly right.

What I'm saying is that that dirt represents the kind of unhygienic uncleanness of the world, and hereby him, tapping the dirt in the dirt kind of symbolically crawling up on them and causing affliction. He saying I don't care how much you try make yourself clean you not clean infected dirt itself is going crawl up on this kind of imagery right you shiver.

I know I know that's what that imagery is lost to be this: that is not to simply swing away with my Pharaoh's heart was obstinate, he would not go tough and rigid and unmoved.

So it's go to part two fourth plague today.

Okay first 2020.

The Lord said to Moses, rise up early in the morning and present yourself to Pharaoh as he goes out to the water only.

That say to him, thus says the Lord. Let my people go, that they may serve me or else, if you will not let my people go, behold, I will send swarms of flies on you and your servants and your people and into your houses and the houses of the Egyptians shall be filled with swarms of flies and also on the round on which they stand.

But on that day I will set apart the land of Goshen where my people dwell, so that no swarms of flies shall be there, that you may know that I am the Lord in the midst of the earth. Thus, I will put a division between my people and your people tomorrow.

This sign will happen and the Lord did so, there came great swarms of flies into the house of Pharaoh and his servants houses throughout all the land of Egypt. The land was ruined by the swarms of flies yeah yeah this is bad and just to be will be clear, I was curious about this I am. I hung up on pests or what, but not well it when you when you look at the Hebrew which is was kind of fun. If you have waited to research the people behind these things. Which by the way, if you have a computer aided Bible study thing will help you label the word here is not flies to swarms is this is the word swarms so was up from speculation about swarms of what swarming insects yeah and you get a little bit of insight if from some other passages when you go to Psalm 7845 it's actually it that she talks about this event right here and it says that in this event, they were eaten they were devoured by cities were biting fighting flies well for us in the summertime should go out camping you say is the latest death, even life.

Yeah so and and so I checked out are the mosquitoes in Egypt. Oh buddy big time yeah yeah big time so this could as well be swarms of mosquitoes, which heightens per our experience, no flashes of the buggy in the house little by their biting flies.

There are but most people experience mosquitoes in here if that's the case then one house be horrible. This is just behold these are just even last year we were to go out to antelope Island. Yeah, may I discovered not to go because it's that time that the fighting flies hatch salt flats out there don't come out here unless you're wearing a bee suit. Yeah, because they're so bad biting flies are so bad they would disable you and there they do have swarms of them right so so so this is that this is a better email picture it says now get up early in the morning and glad to meet Pharaoh as he goes out to the water. He was doing that before the Nile turned to blood, so it must be Pharaoh's habits to go out to the water in writing what he did what he did that we don't know. Maybe Egyptologists know that I don't speculation it was a worship to God says no get up and meet them in the morning.

Don't go into his house. You meet him where he's going but the core the miracle here is not the fact that there's sudden swarms because it will always flies, but that the swarms didn't show up in Goshen so it would be like going out camping was go on mosquitoes right in your campsite has done mosquitoes the people Esther have none, and you say, what are you doing right and they say well, God protects us, so God says I'll set apart the land of Goshen were my people are living there won't be any swarms of flies there that you may know, and thus I will put a division between my people and your people, you'll know that I am Yahweh. I am that I am in the midst of the earth. You know there already was an ethic and ethnic division between the Egyptians and people would come down from came the Jews, but in this particular case, God saying, but you understands much more than that.

These are my people, that makes them different. That's the division were talking about.

So as a result of that, this plague is not convinced them that this audience what's going to happen on the last plague to because there is there is a way in which the plague itself will not visit them but got designed to do that here and you know that these are not your people. These are my PIP.

That's the division that seems God is exactly limited demonstrate that there my people, and tomorrow this sign shall happen.

So this is as this is the first time we find that there's no staff there is no method doesn't say Moses did anything just went to Pharaoh and said here's what's going what's going to happen. Scrap does in it and the swarms are in the house of Pharaoh. But remember, now they don't have screens on their windows so were talking about restless nights and all that kind of stuff happen to Pharaoh and I have to do a servants houses all throughout the land. And I like what it says here in the end of 24 land was ruined. I was fascinated by that were ruined by the swarms of flies do you know that's exactly the same word that is used about Sodom and Gomorrah. It means utter destruction distraction was it was ruined.

The land was useless.

Basically, in the land was useless for the locusts yeah exactly exactly. So this is this is a deal this is really bad. It is ruined as much as Sodom and Gomorrah was ruined.

The swarms have ruined Egypt ruined Egypt know that while this is the first time also that the Texas and the Lord did so the Lord's right prior to this we had and Moses stated and parented it and are the Lord smote the river, but this is a pretty bold statement for some for the Lord did so Lord day so it's startling.

He's clearly the faster he's the one in charge was push on and see what maybe this will change for you read. Maybe this will change his mind. First 25 so then Pharaoh called Moses and Aaron and said that's myself go sacrifice to your God within the land sacrifice I got a good compromise.

Frank is proposing a panel you can sacrifice but cannot stay here when you say you stay here, so stay within the land.

26 but Moses said would be right to do so for the offerings. We shall sacrifice to the Lord our God, are an abomination to the Egyptians. I mean if we sacrifice offerings abominable to the Egyptians before their eyes will they not stone us. We must go three days journey into the wilderness and sacrifice to the Lord our God, as he tells us as he tells us not like what you're proposing is a compromise. We need to go we need to leave your go three days out so interestingly enough incentive mode instead of Pharaoh saying okay you can do it.

He just says we can kinda do it but want to stay here well and then he says okay you can go sacrifice to God in the wilderness, but you don't go very far away.

Verse 28 S. is three days out is out of sight right. Yeah that's that's up yeah and in the desert you can travel if you're working on. About 15 miles a day so you're you're pretty good ways out when you do that so yeah so he does is doesn't 20 just reiterates his compromise so verse is not eligible to sacrifice Lord your God am a big guy in the wilderness only.

You must not go very far. So first is you gotta stay here and in and Moses makes a good argument know and is best argument is that's not the way God wants us to do it so I'm not going to do it your way.

God's way and then Pharaoh inches back a little bit so okay you can still your sacrifice and you can leave here but don't go very far. Stay where I can see stay so it's really diminished control and plead for me and plea for so still I'm sorry for myself as miserable execs pray for his look what I'm doing for you so I'm doing this night complete for me and say will God he's being a little compliant server coming around so plead for me in the end of verse 28 because I'll tell you if this is swarms of mosquitoes.

We are desperately miserable, desperately yeah so the Moses response from 29 response and Moses said, behold, I'm going out from you and and I will plead with the Lord that the swarms of flies may depart from Pharaoh and from his servants, and from his people tomorrow.

Only let not Pharaoh cheated again by not letting the people go to sacrifice Lord don't change your mind.

I'll plead the Lord but don't change your mind. This is getting bolder as he really really is. Can you imagine wagging your finger. Pharaoh was in charge the world on a much called him on his call tracking you don't do this again. I'm warning you don't do this, don't.

Don't cheat again.

So in verse 30. So Moses went up from Pharaoh and prayed to the Lord okay and the Lord did as Moses asked, look at that.

That's the same thing wanting to miss prayer Lord, the Lord did as Moses asked, and remove the swarms from Pharaoh from his servants, and from his people and 19 remain not one swarms are uncountable. I mean, they're just huge one remained in Pharaoh's response 32 Pharaoh hardened his heart. This time also and did not let the people go did not let the people go. He said you can go a little ways in the winning let go a little ways he would know which makes you think. Was he actually lying before knowing that he wasn't to let him go, or was, and he gets some relief. He says that how I'm thinking better that hassle and go now what is in the previous plagues when when they were taken away their take away did recur was Kelly my thinking if I just do whatever I can do from taking why state must say whatever I have to say in order for this to relent and and I have to imagine to some degree.

When you do that you think and will maybe another place going to come but how could be worse than this, so if we if we have this taken away from us.

It can get worse so I'll just change my mind.

I get both the worlds these good worlds. I have my plague to take away this discomfort from this plague and I'll still keep the people because what else can. What else can happen that could be as thinking as well.

We speculate we really down. Now we should talk for a minute about this hardened heart back to that hardhearted you know.

Now we've collected up a little a little list of characteristics of this hardened heart, refusing to listen.

No matter what year is count tell you what the evidence is. He refused to listen and refuse to obey God. You can't see and stay intent on his own way, even if it takes you know, reneging on your deals and lying when all I can misrepresenting what can really happen days of misery. Yeah yeah and so is harnesses his heart is really is advancing right here. So much so that he's just in a boldfaced way single promises but I'll do something else and write that hard to sustain command terms of a lack of integrity about his word.

He wants what he wants and he's going to get it by manipulating Moses for Moses to manipulate God is how he's thinking we can begin to think now that you can and see demonstrated in Pharaoh that you can the word of the Lord can come to you and go in your ear without penetrating your heart right right so you know the question for us than is when we hear God's voice do we hear God's voice yeah when our hearts are we teachable does it penetrate sink in.

And that's at the heart of Jesus line these many times as if you have writers to hear writers that hear listen listen to this.

Don't list this letter go in one ear and out the okay you got ears, you need to listen because it's possible for you to hear, but not really listen, and that's clearly what's going on with very clear and well, especially this time and this is one of the times and assess but Pharaoh hardened his heart. Yes, his heart was hardened on the Lord hardened his heart, but Pharaoh hardened his heart that underscores we we are responsible for the condition of our heart.

We can direct our heart set our heart particular direction. Yeah. And I think it's it's interesting to note that this was a hardening of his heart that resulted.

I mean he was a he was allowing them to do the small baby step out of the country right not to do that know I know I gave lip service. What you think that's what I'll do. And there's something about the hardening of parts of happen when you feel like you're actually given in some in your being yeah magnanimous on the small things, not the big things and then you renege on that.

That makes her heart even harder than just luck altogether. You can do this so that that's that's a really incremental hardening. This is the bad do you think and get away with this. So I make small promises and renege on small promises in the small premises.

So what's the big deal and into pardoning your heart, it's it said said well were coming down to the end of our time. So what else do you want to say about this particular plague.

Once again God is, is to let deliberately knocking off one or maybe more than one that God so called God's Egypt right they had a goddess who was the goddess of the marshes and who controlled all the flies in the life and flying insects that were there and they actually would wear protective amulet flies to ward off disease that they recognize flies carry disease not so I learned it's in my reading that it was not uncommon for a Pharaoh to give awards of like a golden fly to soldiers in honor of her assistance for this yeah because you get isn't that interesting. It's a sign of persistent supplies do indeed have it just won't go so no flies actually figure quite prominently.

I guess in the mythology of Egypt yeah is there persistent well demonstrating know in the fall for us. We many times get flies in our house and they don't bite, but they can be real not just a single persistent fly in the room can make you miserable dive bomb your face and stuff like that I'm there. Very persistent. So imagine this is swarms no matter where you cannot get away from the swarms swarms of persistent tests. It's horrible, it's just horrible. Yeah. So we've completed the fourth plague and we will push under the fifth plague next time and in this process we document the downfall of Pharaoh in the increasing hardening of his heart which he is self inflicting on himself as well as God giving a Marine opportunity to go there and he's inflicting them on him and he's just not relent. He will eventually were not even halfway through now. Don't overlook this huge statement right in the middle here.

He says I will set apart my people.

Yeah right that you may know that I am the Lord. So this idea of God's people being set apart for his own deliverance in the midst of something that's going to fall on everybody else and that said apartness is always central to the first discussions said to go to Pharaoh and tell them let my people. They are not your people there writing my people go. And that's going to be the contention only through your warfare wants to maintain what's going on Egypt and he want him to be his people, he'll eventually say well I guess when he says I'll put a division between my people and your people that working other places is translated as a ransom for our redemption so that proved to be important like stories and keep an eye out for that.

So glad you're with us and join us next time to jump in fifth plague and Jim is here on Main Street church is solely responsible to contact us with your questions or comments