Year of the Bible: Part Two of Twelve 预览

More Plagues.

God carried out the promised plague on the livestock, and he again distinguished between Egypt and Israel by preserving Israel's livestock. The economy of Egypt is starting to crash due to these plagues.

God told Moses and Aaron to throw soot into the air, and dust would settle on the land, causing boils on men and animals. Painful suffering was widespread, and even Pharaoh's officials could not stand before him because they were affected by the plague. Pharaoh was heartless in his response to the suffering of his people.

God gave another opportunity for Pharaoh to release the people. Tony Evans tells us, "Don't miss that with each plague, God was allowing Pharaoh to humble himself and repent, even while he was demonstrating his sovereign power over his creation. God increased the pressure until Pharaoh finally confessed that the Lord was God and that he was not".

God was merciful enough to warn them that the 7th plague, hail, was coming and should bring all living things into a shelter. Some of Pharaoh's officials had begun to respect and fear the Lord. They brought their remaining livestock into a shelter. Some lost their living things because they followed the direction of Pharaoh. People and animals died in the hail, and again, God did not allow the land of Goshen to be touched. God showed His glory, yet Pharaoh and his loyal subjects were blatantly ignoring the signs.

After the hail, Pharaoh confessed his guilt and declared the Lord as the true God. But, Moses knew he could not trust the Egyptian leader. Pharaoh was paying lip service to God, but was not displaying real heart change.

Question: What does today's content tell you about what God is like?

Prayer Focus: Kindness is a secret weapon and a fruit of the Spirit, and a hard heart can block its flow through you. Invite the Spirit of God to soften your heart with love and truth, so you can be ready and able to show God's kindness to those in your life today.

Go Deeper: In the list of the gods of Egypt. Which god was affected by each plague mentioned today? Livestock, Boils, Hail

•Khuum: the guardian of the Nile.
•Hapi: the spirit of the Nile.
•Osiris: the Nile was believed to be the bloodstream of Osiris
•Heqt: a frog-like god of resurrection.
•Hathor: a mother goddess who was a cow.
•Apis: a bull of the god Ptah, a symbol of fertility.
•Minevis: also a bull, the sacred bull of Heliopolis
•Imhotep: the god of medicine
•Nut: the sky goddess
•Seth: the protector of crops
•Re, Aten, Atum, and Horus: all sun gods
•Pharaoh was also said to be divine.