Parallel Plagues

Exodus 11:9-10 "And the Lord said unto Moses, Pharaoh shall not hearken unto you; that my wonders may be multiplied in the land of Egypt.  And Moses and Aaron did all these wonders before Pharaoh; and the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart, so that he would not let the children of Israel go out of his land"

BEFORE God let the Israelites go out of Egypt He needed to teach them two things, and make sure that the knew/understood them.  One of the things the God wanted the people to know was that He was powerful enough to protect and provide for them while they were going through the desert to Canaan.  I think that one of the reasons that God sent all the plagues was so that he could showcase all of the powers that He was going to use while the people were in the desert.  First God used turning the Nile river into blood to show that He could control the earth’s natural resources and in particular the water, because while the Israelites were in the desert he would need to make the bitter water okay to drink.  God used the death of all the Egyptian’s animals to show that he totally controlled all the animals on earth, because when the people asked Moses for meat God had to kill the whole population of quail in the desert to provide for the people!  God used the Fire and Ice from heaven and the three days of darkness to show that he controlled the weather and elements, and he used the darkness later to protect the people from the Egyptians when they were crossing through the water, and he used the fire later to destroy the people when they complained against God and Moses.   Just a tip that we can learn from that…don’t complain about the people God puts in control of you because you might end up a burnt crisp.  And lastly He used the plague of boils to show that he controlled the human body, because when the serpents came into the camp and bit the people he would need to heal them miraculously.   I think that the other reason the God hardened the peoples heart was to teach them patience.  When God said that He would do something for them He always did, but rarely did he do it right away.  Most of the time God said that He would do something for Israel, but they would have to wait and keep the faith.  If they didn’t wait and keep the faith then He would hold off on fulfilling the blessing or promise until later or until the next generation.  So we need to remember that in everything we need to have faith.  Secondly, sometimes God does bad things to bad people, not just because they are bad, but to show us how he can use his power, or will use his power, in our lives.

-Levi