April 22, 2018: Day 8 – Exodus 8

Once again the Lord commands Moses to go before Pharaoh and warn him of the plagues to come.  The first plague was turning the water to blood, and then they follow in succession:  frogs, gnats, and flies.  After each of these plagues Pharaoh says that he will let the people go, but then he changes his mind, just as the Lord said that he would.  I think it is interesting that the magicians are able to turn the Nile to blood, they are able to bring out frogs, but when he gets to the gnats, they are at a loss.  It seems like from now on they will be at a loss.

There is a longer dialogue with Moses and Pharaoh, and it almost seems as if he is interested in knowing why the Israelites can’t just go and worship their God in their own homes.  Moses comes up with a good reason, even if I wonder it was simply for the attempt to get the people away from the land and away from their place of slavery.