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All of Egypt is abuzz with the nearly apocalyptic events that have unfolded since Moses went before Pharaoh again. I have to admit, I was shocked to see Moses return after the mess he made the first time he went before Pharaoh.
If there is one thing you can’t fault Moses for, it’s his tenacity. From what I can gather, his persistence derives from his belief that our God is the one orchestrating these unusual events.
Since I last wrote we all but lost hope in Moses and his brother Aaron. Yet to my surprise, Moses has left quite an impression on the Egyptians!
Here’s what happened.
About a week and a half ago Moses appeared to Pharaoh just as he entered the Nile for a morning dip. Moses again requested that Pharaoh release the Israelites. “The LORD God of the Hebrews has sent me to you, saying, ‘Let My people go’” (Exodus 7:16).Pharaoh smirked at Moses’ request and replied, “I don’t know your God and I’m not releasing your people, now leave me be.”
Moses stretched out his staff over the Nile and with great conviction struck the water. The freshwater river, by which Egypt lives, began to bleed; literally it transformed into blood. Pharaoh rushed toward the shore and moments later fish corpses floated to the surface of the Nile. The stench of death emanated from the Nile waters and it has been unbearable to breathe ever since. In desperation for fresh water the Egyptians have been digging around the Nile to find water not contaminated by dead fish.
Seven days after Moses cursed the Nile, God told him to go to Pharaoh again to “Let My people go, that they may serve Me” (Exodus 8:1) or else the God of the Hebrews would curse the land of Egypt with frogs. Pharaoh’s persistence is much like Moses’; he denied Moses’ appeal. So Moses struck the waters again with his staff and frogs emerged from the waters and covered the land.
The frogs leapt into houses, bedrooms, and beds. They found their way into kitchens, ovens, and even kneading bowls. It was a disgusting sight to see. For about a day or so I spent most of my time sealing up my room so that I wouldn’t be sleeping with frogs.
Moses must have really annoyed Pharaoh with the frogs because he actually agreed to let us go! So the frogs returned to the Nile, but the stubbornness of Pharaoh didn’t. He went back on his word and refused to let us go.
I’m beginning to think this is more than just a standoff on who can perform the best magic tricks in Egypt. Whenever Moses engages with Pharaoh it’s said that he invokes the name of our God in order to show His power over Pharaoh. Many Israelites are saying Moses isn’t the one creating the plagues, that he’s just a servant of God who is judging Pharaoh for the way he’s mistreated us! If this is true, this is looking more like a revolution, a divine revolution, on who has the ultimate say over us Hebrews and whose God or gods are real.
I’ll keep you posted.
Uzzi
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