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Exodus 8:20-21

20          Then 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, ‘This is what the Lord says: “Let My people go, so that they may serve me.

21          For if you are not going to 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 live.

Plague #4 – Flies Flying Around

The flies came and infested Pharaoh’s house, the servants’ houses, and made the land unusable. Pharaoh asked Moses to plead with God on his behalf so that the flies may depart, which Moses did. And again – as verse 32 states: “But Pharaoh hardened his heart this time also, and he did not let the people go.” This man has dealt with blood, frogs, and gnats – and still chooses to ignore the demands of Yahweh (who caused this to him) for His own selfish gain.

The blood disrupted the agriculture, economy, and religion of Egypt. The frogs disrupted the life and fertility of the land. The gnats disrupted religious customs. What will the flies disrupt? Let’s talk about this!

Timing is Key

In ancient Near East culture, early morning time was used for important activities. It was a way to make sure that Moses would intercept Pharaoh at a key time. Pharaoh’s routine probably included religious or ceremonial routines by the Nile. Moses confronting Pharaoh here was a challenge to the Egyptian God and reveals the power of Yahweh over all things. God wants Moses to take a position of confrontation and authority, to directly challenge Pharaoh and the Egyptian gods. The proclamation Moses was to give was: “Let My people go so they may worship Me.” God is separately Himself from Egypt and their gods through protecting the Israelites and judging Pharaoh’s oppression. The Egyptians will suffer because of the choices of Pharaoh, while Israel is being formed into a people that will take care of each other when this system collapses.

God is demanding the liberation of the Israelites. This is the foundation of everything that is ongoing between Pharaoh and Yahweh. The goal of the liberation wasn’t just to be freed from the Egyptian oppression, but to be able to serve and worship Yahweh. It’s

REFLECTION CHECKPOINT: Sometimes we may feel like slaves to certain things (our job, addictions, etc.) and it takes us away from serving and worshiping God.

The Purpose of Our Spiritual Freedom

The purpose of the Israelites’ receiving freedom wasn’t just about the freedom. It was about the ability to go out and worship God authentically, and faithfully. Humans do have the free will to do whatever they want in this life. However, as a response to God’s gift of freedom and liberation from our bondage to sin, we should respond with servitude and worship. Us serving God is about standing in solidarity with the oppressed and resisting any comparable systems today. Let’s think about it from a different, but related perspective.

When someone we love and adore does something for us, we often are met with feelings of deep gratitude and a sense of wanting to repay what they did for us back to them, often with maybe a more valuable response. We have the choice to take what they did and just move forward with our life, not thinking about repaying them in any stretch. Our hearts, however, often pull us in a direction to honor that person for what they did for us. The same thing is where our hearts should be for God. Because He rescued us from our bondage to sin, our response should be a loving faithfulness to go out and serve Him and worship Him, and to do this out of a place of gratitude and love. To go out and be His hands and feet to all the world, sharing the Good News about what God has done for us and what He can do for others. To hear their stories, meet their needs, and respond to them in the same selfless way God responds to us.

REFLECTION CHECKPOINT: What is one thing you can do today that honors the gift of our spiritual freedom?

The Real Meaning of the Flies

The plague of flies shows God’s power over nature and the ability to disrupt the Egyptians daily life. It shows that no one is exempt from God’s judgment. The flies will infest the houses of Pharaoh, the officials, and the citizens. It shows that the damage caused by one person’s decision can affect the greater community surrounding them. The flies will affect the houses and the land. They will invade personal spaces and the walkways, showing that it would be nearly impossible to escape the nuisance and discomfort.

REFLECTION CHECKPOINT: What in your life is a nuisance that you would like to get rid of and how would you like to do that?

Caring For Others When the World Won’t

Despite the harm the plagues caused to the Egyptians, God still protected His people. God has humanity’s protection at heart, even when the leaders of this world are often looking out for themselves. We know that these plagues are a result of Pharaoh’s oppressive decisions to keep the Israelites in slavery. While they may suffer in the moment as a result of Pharaoh’s decisions, they are working to continue to care for the people around them. The Israelites are still battling against the daily oppressive efforts of the Egyptian regime to receive a daily right to a fair life. We don’t tend to think about it in this story since it focuses on the conversation between Moses, Yahweh, and Pharaoh. Doesn’t that sound like our world?

The news and media outlets tend to think about the major storylines that happen but rarely talk about how these headlines affect the people as a result of it. I think about what’s going in Venezuela right now with the capture of Maduro and the overhaul that’s going on within their government and society. We often hear about how the “US captured a dictator” and how the “US will govern the country and get their oil” and how their government is scrambling trying to right the ship that was steered in the wrong direction for many years. We don’t truly think about how it’s affecting the Venezuelan citizens, how it’s affecting their economy and surrounding nations, or how other countries are viewing both Venezuela and the United States. A lot of people are upset with the U.S. government in how they captured Maduro, how they didn’t receive the approval from the Senate or the House first, and how the capture was more or less a way to overtake the Oil Economy there. Overall, we can learn how powerful nations that pursue key resources can affect everyday citizens and other vulnerable groups.

Everything needs to have a system of checks and balances, and when that system is broken – we need to pause what we’re doing to fix it. We don’t avoid It, for that’s how people get hurt, abused, and even killed. We must work through the difficulties of a broken system to still navigate with respect, dignity, and honor. Our systems were often not made for our society today. They are stuck with the time they were created, and often not updated adequately to affect society today. As a result, many people in marginalized communities are negatively affected with these policies and structures. This is when it’s important for us to lift up those voices that are negatively affected and ask them how we can make a change, and then to go out be their hands and feet in this world. Remember, we are called to challenge the unjust systems of this world, not just mend the neutral ones. We can do this talking with our legislators about the adverse effects current policies or systems, or it could be as simple talking with your neighbors to see how you can be of help to them. How this looks is different in each community, but it should all have God’s love at heart.

REFLECTION CHECKPOINT: What is one way you can go out and be God’s hands and feet today?

Part 5: How Pharaoh’s Stubbornness Led to Economic Ruin || Plagues Galore || Part 5