Currently, we are in the last days of summer. The gnats and flies (along with mosquitoes) are making a comeback outside while we garden or try to eat a lunch on the back porch. To say we do not like these pesky insects is an understatement. We especially get annoyed when they come into our home, hover around our food and land on our faces while we are trying to eat! Maybe we need to pray like Moses, asking God to get rid of them all! This mere nuisance is a reminder of the story of God through Moses about the power our God has over all His creation! God controls the gnats and flies—AND frogs! There is no one like our God!
What God does is amazing! What God always does is beyond our wildest imaginations! Don’t let these acts of power slide by our deeper thinking. God even controlled WHO the flies landed on! “I’ll set Goshen where my people live aside as a sanctuary—no flies in Goshen. That will show you that I am God in this land. I’ll make a sharp distinction between your people and mine.” Wait, what?! Yes! There is NO ONE like our God!
My prayer…Could our home and yard be a sanctuary like Goshen with no flies, gnats or mosquitoes? Nothing is impossible with God! Then again, maybe we need to go a bit deeper into the story…it’s not about the creepy frogs and pesky insects as much as it is about the power of God.
Exodus 8, The Message
Strike Two: Frogs
1-4 God said to Moses, “Go to Pharaoh and tell him, ‘God’s Message: Release my people so they can worship me. If you refuse to release them, I’m warning you, I’ll hit the whole country with frogs. The Nile will swarm with frogs—they’ll come up into your houses, into your bedrooms and into your beds, into your servants’ quarters, among the people, into your ovens and pots and pans. They’ll be all over you, all over everyone—frogs everywhere, on and in everything!’”
5 God said to Moses, “Tell Aaron, ‘Wave your staff over the rivers and canals and ponds. Bring up frogs on the land of Egypt.’”
6 Aaron stretched his staff over the waters of Egypt and a mob of frogs came up and covered the country.
7 But again the magicians did the same thing using their incantations—they also produced frogs in Egypt.
8 Pharaoh called in Moses and Aaron and said, “Pray to God to rid us of these frogs. I’ll release the people so that they can make their sacrifices and worship God.”
9 Moses said to Pharaoh, “Certainly. Set the time. When do you want the frogs out of here, away from your servants and people and out of your houses? You’ll be rid of frogs except for those in the Nile.”
10-11 “Make it tomorrow.”
Moses said, “Tomorrow it is—so you’ll realize that there is no God like our God. The frogs will be gone. You and your houses and your servants and your people, free of frogs. The only frogs left will be the ones in the Nile.”
12-14 Moses and Aaron left Pharaoh, and Moses prayed to God about the frogs he had brought on Pharaoh. God responded to Moses’ prayer: The frogs died off—houses, courtyards, fields, all free of frogs. They piled the frogs in heaps. The country reeked of dead frogs.
15 But when Pharaoh saw that he had some breathing room, he got stubborn again and wouldn’t listen to Moses and Aaron. Just as God had said.
Strike Three: Gnats
16 God said to Moses, “Tell Aaron, ‘Take your staff and strike the dust. The dust will turn into gnats all over Egypt.’”
17 He did it. Aaron grabbed his staff and struck the dust of the Earth; it turned into gnats, gnats all over people and animals. All the dust of the Earth turned into gnats, gnats everywhere in Egypt.
18 The magicians tried to produce gnats with their spells but this time they couldn’t do it. There were gnats everywhere, all over people and animals.
19 The magicians said to Pharaoh, “This is God’s doing.” But Pharaoh was stubborn and wouldn’t listen. Just as God had said.
Strike Four: Flies
20-23 God said to Moses, “Get up early in the morning and confront Pharaoh as he goes down to the water. Tell him, ‘God’s Message: Release my people so they can worship me. If you don’t release my people, I’ll release swarms of flies on you, your servants, your people, and your homes. The houses of the Egyptians and even the ground under their feet will be thick with flies. But when it happens, I’ll set Goshen where my people live aside as a sanctuary—no flies in Goshen. That will show you that I am God in this land. I’ll make a sharp distinction between your people and mine. This sign will occur tomorrow.’”
24 And God did just that. Thick swarms of flies in Pharaoh’s palace and the houses of his servants. All over Egypt, the country ruined by flies.
25 Pharaoh called in Moses and Aaron and said, “Go ahead. Sacrifice to your God—but do it here in this country.”
26-27 Moses said, “That would not be wise. What we sacrifice to our God would give great offense to Egyptians. If we openly sacrifice what is so deeply offensive to Egyptians, they’ll kill us. Let us go three days’ journey into the wilderness and sacrifice to our God, just as he instructed us.”
28 Pharaoh said, “All right. I’ll release you to go and sacrifice to your God in the wilderness. Only don’t go too far. Now pray for me.”
29 Moses said, “As soon as I leave here, I will pray to God that tomorrow the flies will leave Pharaoh, his servants, and his people. But don’t play games with us and change your mind about releasing us to sacrifice to God.”
30-32 Moses left Pharaoh and prayed to God. God did what Moses asked. He got rid of the flies from Pharaoh and his servants and his people. There wasn’t a fly left. But Pharaoh became stubborn once again and wouldn’t release the people.
WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?
The Magicians of Pharaoh came to the limits of their evil power. I’m reminded immediately of our assurance from John, Jesus’ beloved disciple who writes, “You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.” Satan, the Prince of this world, as Jesus calls him, is NO MATCH for God who lives in us because of Jesus’ redemption of us from the world. We must tap into God’s power, the same power that rose Jesus from death!
“Ain’t some flies on some of you guys, but there ain’t no flies on me! Huh!” This church camp cheer is about this very story…or could be. Mm, did the Goshenites begin the chant? I wonder. But what I do know and believe about our God is this: Believers are not immune from the “flies in the ointment” of our existence but we cling to and rely on power of God to see us through all our circumstances and situations no matter what happens around us or to us. There is no one like our God! Huh!
“Do you finally believe? But the time is coming—indeed it’s here now—when you will be scattered, each one going his own way, leaving me alone. Yet I am not alone because the Father is with me. I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.”–Jesus, John 16:32-33
Bear in mind as we travel through the subsequent plagues that God has a plan, God will execute His plan and God will overcome those in the world of Moses and His People. His Promises are unfailing. His love is everlasting. Where God sends; He will provide. What God says; God will do. It would be in our best interest to do what God says in our own lives! Trust God, He knows what is best for each one of us. He loves us more that we can comprehend!
Yes, there is NO ONE like our God! Still, always, and forever!
Unfortunately, believers like you and I today make similar “Egyptian compromises” as we seek to serve the Lord. The enemy tells us we do not have to be separated from sin because we can serve God “in the land.” God’s reply is found in 2 Corinthians 6:14–18. “Don’t go too far away,” the enemy whispers, “or people will call you a fanatic.” James 1:27 and 4:4 demolish that proposal.
Let my people go, is still “on the table” of discussion today as the evil one does everything in his limited power to keep us in bondage to him. Don’t give the enemy a seat at your table!
True service to God means giving Him authority over all our possessions and all the people in our family for whom we are responsible. Not to do so is to disobey Mark 10:13–16; Ephesians 6:4; and Deuteronomy 6:6–13. Once we start to negotiate the will of God and see how close we can get to the world, we have already disobeyed Him in our hearts. Don’t mess with God. There is no one like our God!
The story of God does not end here…stay tuned! God wasn’t through speaking to Pharaoh or judging the gods of Egypt. Jehovah God had seven more plagues to send, and when they were finished, the nation of Egypt would be bankrupt. “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God” (Heb. 10:31).
Lord,
I come to you with a humbled heart. Rid me of the arrogance that creeps in when I think I’m in control which is as annoying as insects hovering around food. Take my life, all of it, and use me for Your glory. I’m yours. I’m listening. You are the Bread of Life and the Living Water for my soul. There is no one like You! I trust in You, dear Jesus!
In Jesus Name, Amen
Daily Manna (Coffee with Jesus) 