There ain’t no flies on us
There ain’t no flies on us
There might be flies on some of you guys
But there ain’t no flies on us, huh!

Some people use repellent while others burn coils
You can plant some citronella or try essential oils
But if the flies are bugging and you just can’t get no rest
The best advice that I can give is pack up, and move West!

This old camp song comes to my mind as we read about the plagues God sends to bring Pharoah to his knees.  We know God wins in the end, right? But for a minute, imagine sitting around the campfire, singing camp songs, while swatting all the bugs buzzing around you while hearing tree frogs in the background. We knew that this was going to be part of the backdrop of camp. We didn’t particularly like the bug bites, sunburn, or the lack of sleep at camp, but we loved being together, away from home, on the adventure to make do with less luxury items like water supply and dependable shelter in bad weather.  I grew up going to church camp that was less than stellar in amenities.

However, imagine not being able to walk from your bed, to the bathroom without stepping on a carpet of frogs!  Imagine having flies surround your eyes, nose, ears, making it impossible to eat unless you like flies as an appetizer with your food!  Imagine gnats coming in like a black cloud to cover every living thing!  Pharoah and his court are used to the luxury of having all that his hard heart desires.  He is accustomed to servants who stand ready to deliver his heart’s desires whenever he demands it.  But now who’s in charge?

God will provide opportunities, with ways and means, for Pharoah’s demanding heart to change.  This series of challenges is not only meant to free the Hebrews from slavery but it is mainly meant for the whole world to know that “there is no one like the Lord our God”!

God sends His created creatures, such as frogs, gnats, and flies as the first series of unfortunate events to show His power in all and over all.   And the most powerful miracle of all is keeping the flies off God’s own people in the process!  Yes! God is amazing—can I get an amen!

Yeah, there might be flies on some of you guys; but there ain’t no flies on us!  Boom!

Exodus 8

 ¹Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go to Pharaoh and say to him, ‘This is what the Lord says: Let my people go, so that they may worship me. ² If you refuse to let them go, I will send a plague of frogs on your whole country. ³ The Nile will teem with frogs. They will come up into your palace and your bedroom and onto your bed, into the houses of your officials and on your people, and into your ovens and kneading troughs. ⁴ The frogs will come up on you and your people and all your officials.’”

⁵ Then the Lord said to Moses, “Tell Aaron, ‘Stretch out your hand with your staff over the streams and canals and ponds, and make frogs come up on the land of Egypt.’”

⁶ So Aaron stretched out his hand over the waters of Egypt, and the frogs came up and covered the land. ⁷ But the magicians did the same things by their secret arts; they also made frogs come up on the land of Egypt.

⁸ Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron and said, “Pray to the Lord to take the frogs away from me and my people, and I will let your people go to offer sacrifices to the Lord.”

⁹ Moses said to Pharaoh, “I leave to you the honor of setting the time for me to pray for you and your officials and your people that you and your houses may be rid of the frogs, except for those that remain in the Nile.”

¹⁰ “Tomorrow,” Pharaoh said.

Moses replied, “It will be as you say, so that you may know there is no one like the Lord our God. ¹¹ The frogs will leave you and your houses, your officials and your people; they will remain only in the Nile.”

¹² After Moses and Aaron left Pharaoh, Moses cried out to the Lord about the frogs he had brought on Pharaoh. ¹³ And the Lord did what Moses asked. The frogs died in the houses, in the courtyards and in the fields. ¹⁴ They were piled into heaps, and the land reeked of them. ¹⁵ 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.

The Plague of Gnats

¹⁶ Then the Lord said to Moses, “Tell Aaron, ‘Stretch out your staff and strike the dust of the ground,’ and throughout the land of Egypt the dust will become gnats.” ¹⁷ They did this, and when Aaron stretched out his hand with the staff and struck the dust of the ground, gnats came on people and animals. All the dust throughout the land of Egypt became gnats. ¹⁸ But when the magicians tried to produce gnats by their secret arts, they could not.

Since the gnats were on people and animals everywhere, ¹⁹ the magicians said to Pharaoh, “This is the finger of God.” But Pharaoh’s heart was hard and he would not listen, just as the Lord had said.

The Plague of Flies

²⁰ Then the Lord said to Moses, “Get up early in the morning and confront Pharaoh as he goes to the river and say to him, ‘This is what the Lord says: Let my people go, so that they may worship me. ²¹ If you do not let my people go, I will send swarms of flies on you and your officials, on your people and into your houses. The houses of the Egyptians will be full of flies; even the ground will be covered with them.

²² “‘But on that day I will deal differently with the land of Goshen, where my people live; no swarms of flies will be there, so that you will know that I, the Lord, am in this land. ²³ I will make a distinction between my people and your people. This sign will occur tomorrow.’”

²⁴ And the Lord did this. Dense swarms of flies poured into Pharaoh’s palace and into the houses of his officials; throughout Egypt the land was ruined by the flies.

²⁵ Then Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron and said, “Go, sacrifice to your God here in the land.”

²⁶ But Moses said, “That would not be right. The sacrifices we offer the Lord our God would be detestable to the Egyptians. And if we offer sacrifices that are detestable in their eyes, will they not stone us? ²⁷ We must take a three-day journey into the wilderness to offer sacrifices to the Lord our God, as he commands us.”

²⁸ Pharaoh said, “I will let you go to offer sacrifices to the Lord your God in the wilderness, but you must not go very far. Now pray for me.”

²⁹ Moses answered, “As soon as I leave you, I will pray to the Lord, and tomorrow the flies will leave Pharaoh and his officials and his people. Only let Pharaoh be sure that he does not act deceitfully again by not letting the people go to offer sacrifices to the Lord.”

³⁰ Then Moses left Pharaoh and prayed to the Lord, ³¹ and the Lord did what Moses asked. The flies left Pharaoh and his officials and his people; not a fly remained. ³² But this time also Pharaoh hardened his heart and would not let the people go.

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?

There is no one like our God.  You can refuse to see His glory at work, deny His existence, rebel against all He teaches, but He is still God.  God will be God no matter if we believe Him or not.  Truth is truth whether we believe Him or not.  It isn’t “our truth” or “your truth”, it is God who is Truth!  Hardened hearts today struggle to explain God on their terms without using God’s name in the discussion of denying his existence.  Weird, right?  Chew on this prayerfully. 

After the plague of flies, Pharaoh suggested two compromises. Moses refused to compromise and make a deal with Pharaoh.  Moses is learning to do exactly what God says and nothing less! 

Where does our compromising meters land when dealing with the world of unbelievers who suggest there are many ways to God—ways that do not include the sacrifice of Jesus, His Son?  Have you ever found yourself adjusting your beliefs to go along with the world’s values, “making deals” with God? The Lord wants our obedience above everything else. And he is with us, right in the middle of it all.  There is no one like our God.  Let the world know what God says!

“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. 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.

Later, God will ask the Hebrews to provide an act of sacrifice as a further sign of distinction between them and their Egyptian neighbors that is a matter of life or death.  Stay tuned!

Lord, God,

You are amazing!  You teach us today’s skills for living by walking us through the exodus of your people from the slavery they endured along with the Egyptians gods they had to learn to avoid.  With you, there is no compromise.  You are God.  There is no other God but you.  I will trust what you say because you are God who never fails.

In Jesus Name, Amen

And we’re singing—Firm Foundation (He’s Gonna Make A Way); Songwriters: Cody Carnes / Chandler Moore / Austin Luke Kaleolanakila Davis

Christ is my firm foundation
The rock on which I stand
When everything around me is shaken
I’ve never been more glad
That I put my faith it Jesus
‘Cause He’s never let me down
He’s faithful through generations
So why would He fail now?
He won’t

I’ve still got joy in chaos
I’ve got peace that makes no sense
And I won’t be going under
I’m not held by my own strength
‘Cause I built my life on Jesus
He’s never let me down
He’s faithful in every season
So why would He fail now?
He won’t

He won’t fail, He won’t fail

Rain came, wind blew
My house was built on You
I’m safe with You, I’m gonna make it through…

‘Cause, He’s gonna make a way, He’s gonna make a way…