8:20-23
And so to the fourth plague, a plague of flies. This time Pharaoh is given a warning. The previous plague was probably given partly in response to Pharaoh’s reneging on his promise to let the people go if Moses stopped the plague of frogs. So Moses reissues the command to Pharaoh to let God’s people go. There is another key difference this time, the land of Goshen, where God’s people dwelt, will be exempt from the plague. Pharaoh may have thought that God would only go so far because He would not destroy His own people. This distinction between God’s people and the Egyptians would show that that would not hinder God.
8:24-27
True to form Pharaoh does not respond to God’s command, and so the fourth plague is enacted. Pharaoh tries a form of compromise, so he is at least getting worried at this point. He wants the people to worship the Lord within the land of Egypt. Moses refuses, offering the argument that their religious practice would be an abomination to the Egyptians. This could then lead to the Egyptians attacking the Hebrews.
No comments:
Post a Comment