So what do we do with the plagues?

So now we come to the plagues: signs to Pharaoh that God is God and is not to be messed with.

So the River Nile is turned to blood, the fish die, the river stinks and there is no fresh water to drink…….and Moses touches the river with his staff and all the water in the land of Egypt is contaminated.

 But the Egyptian magicians did the same things by their secret arts, and Pharaoh’s heart became hard; he would not listen to Moses and Aaron, just as the Lord had said.  Exodus 7:22

Then there’s the frogs – millions of frogs hopping up out of the rivers and invading homes and bedrooms and beds and ovens and mixing bowls…..again the magicians do the same….Pharaoh asks Moses to pray to his God (tomorrow lol!). Moses prays, the frogs die and are gathered together into stinking heaps and –

But when Pharaoh saw that there was relief, he hardened his heart and would not listen to Moses and Aaron, just as the Lord had said.  Exodus 8:15

So then come the gnats – the dust of the earth turned into gnats. Even the magicians are stumped this time and say

‘This is the finger of God!’ Exodus 8:19

But Pharaoh will not listen.

Then come the flies – to everyone but the Israelites. Pharaoh tries a compromise to get the Israelites to worship God within Egypt but Moses stands firm and is not having it. So Pharaoh agrees. Moses prays, the flies go away……

But this time also Pharaoh hardened his heart and would not let the people go.  Exodus 8:32

By this time, are we not all screaming – will he never learn?

Then a deadly plague kills all the the horses, donkeys, camels, cows and sheep of the Egyptians (and not the Israelites) and still Pharaoh will not let the people go.

Then Moses throws a handful of soot in the air that becomes a fine dust over all Egypt that causes festering boils on all Egyptians and their animals. No good.

Then the heaviest hail to fall ever falls on the land – so heavy that it kills humans and animals and destroys plants and trees. Pharaoh begs Moses to make it stop but when he does, he hardens his heart once again.

Locusts then devour the last remnant of the crops and fill all the houses and guess what? the same cycle of begging, prayer, relief and heart-hardening happens again.

So then there is a dense darkness for three days (apart from where the Israelites lived)

So now we come to the worst punishment of all –

 So Moses said, “This is what the Lord says: ‘About midnight I will go throughout Egypt. Every firstborn son in Egypt will die, from the firstborn son of Pharaoh, who sits on the throne, to the firstborn son of the female slave, who is at her hand mill, and all the firstborn of the cattle as well.”  Exodus 11:4-5

Here in Chapter 12 we come across very strict and detailed instructions regarding the institution of the first Passover –

“This is a day you are to commemorate; for the generations to come you shall celebrate it as a festival to the Lord—a lasting ordinance.”  Exodus 12:14

And they do! They still are.

So when God saw the blood on the door frame, he would pass over the home and if not, the firstborn would be killed. Fierce stuff.

So then, that’s it. Pharaoh has had enough and knows he cannot win –

During the night Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron and said, “Up! Leave my people, you and the Israelites! Go, worship the Lord as you have requested. Take your flocks and herds, as you have said, and go. And also bless me.”  Exodus 12:31-32

In the end, the Egyptians are glad to see the back of the Israelites and are begging them to go.

So what can we learn from this? Does God still send plagues to teach people a lesson? Is that what the HIV virus and the Ebola virus are? Some people would like to think so. I do not. I definitely do not. I serve a loving God who allows things to happen – the natural outworkings of a fallen world – but does not sit up in the sky raining down punishments on unsuspecting victims…that sounds too much like the Greek gods of old –

The gods may throw the dice
Their minds as cold as ice
And someone way down here
Loses someone dear  (The winner takes it all – ABBA)

We all know, we’ve all seen it – the modern plagues of cancer and unemployment and depression and illness and bereavement and stress and victims of crime etc etc etc are tragically random and strike those we consider to be good as well as those we feel deserve it…..sometimes (often) there is no reasonable explanation. Shit happens.

I guess we can take whatever life throws at us and transform it into a powerful learning experience. We’ve seen it happen. We know the power of shining through a horrendous experience – just look at my friend’s blog ‘Amanda’s Chemo Journey’ if you don’t know what I’m talking about.

That is living life to the full in my opinion. We often have little control over what happens to us, but we can control how we respond to it and how we find the beauty in the brutality, the good in the evil, the God in the seemingly God-forsaken……