Day 30

IV From the Patriarchs to the Exodus - 1606 - 1462 B.C. ~ cont.

F. Moses, the deliverer ~ cont.

4. The ten plagues ~ cont.

b. Frogs - Exodus 8:1-7; 8:8-11; 8:12-15

c.  Lice - Exodus 8:16-19
d. Flies - Exodus 8:20-23, 24-28, 29-32
e. Murrain - Exodus 9:1-5, 6, 7
f. Boils - Exodus 9:8-12
g. Hail - Exodus 9:13-19, 20-26, 27-35
h. Locusts - Exodus 10:1-6, 7-13; 12:1-2; 10:14-15, 16-20

Murrain?  What is that?

H1698 - From H1696 (in the sense of destroying); a pestilence.

• H1696 - A primitive root; perhaps properly to arrange; but used figuratively (of words) to speak; rarely (in a destructive sense) to subdue.

H1698 is used 49 times in 48 verses.  Except for Exodus 9:3 where it is translated murrain and Hosea 13:14 where it is translated as plagues, all the other instances are pestilence.

That did not help...Gill's commentary:

a very grievous murrain: or "pestilence" (y), a very noisome one, and which would carry off great numbers; the Targums of Onkelos and Jonathan render it a "death", as the Jews commonly call a pestilence, whether on man or beast, because it generally sweeps away large numbers.

Not a lot of information available about murrain, other than it is a disease which kills cattle.  :-O

Browsing for information on the murrain and the 10 plagues and came across this site, which supposedly has a natural answer for the plagues.  Ultimately God is always in control and whether HE used natural means to bring about the plagues or just made them happen, I do not know.  I do know HE is in complete control.

Father separates the land of Goshen from the rest of Egypt with the fourth plague - flies.  Ick...flies, always remind me of sin and Baalzebub (king of the flies - 2 Kings 1:2).

Came across this site which discussed how the 10 plagues correspond to the top 10 gods or goddesses of Egypt.

Day 29

IV From the Patriarchs to the Exodus - 1606 - 1462 B.C. ~ cont.

E. Moses' commission ~ cont.

2. Moses' objections - Exodus 4:1-13
3. Moses complies - Exodus 4:14-18
F. Moses, the deliverer
1. Returns to Egypt - Exodus 4:19-29
2. Reports to the people - Exodus 4:30-31
3. Contends with Pharaoh
a. Burdens increased by Pharaoh - Exodus 5:1-23
b. Final instructions - Exodus 6:1-30; 7:1-77
c. Rods turn to serpents - Exodus 7:8-14
4. The ten plagues
a. Rivers to blood - Exodus 7:15-25

Exodus 4:11 - And the Lord said unto him, Who hath made man's mouth or who maketh the dumb, or deaf, or the seeing, or the blind? have not I the Lord?

I made a notation by this verse to remind myself to look at the NT verse regarding one of the blind man.

Joh 9:1  And as Jesus passed by, he saw a man which was blind from his birth.
Joh 9:2  And his disciples asked him, saying, Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind?
Joh 9:3  Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him.

Solely for the purpose of glorifying God are we given, or not given, anything we have (or do not have).  Whether it be sight, hearing, ability to walk, spouses, children, physical family, work.  This is a much needed reminder at this juncture of my life.  To be content and glorify Father.  Regardless of what I have or do not have.  I fall short in this area, much prayer appreciated.  :-D

Exodus 4:24 - And it came to pass by the way in the inn, that the Lord met him, and sought to kill him.

Why?

Well, quite an interesting lesson on Moses, Zipporah (a Midianite) and apparently their younger son who had not been circumcised. I browsed all the commentaries and decided to share this one from Jamieson, Faussett and Brown:

the Lord met him, and sought to kill him — that is, he was either overwhelmed with mental distress or overtaken by a sudden and dangerous malady. The narrative is obscure, but the meaning seems to be, that, led during his illness to a strict self-examination, he was deeply pained and grieved at the thought of having, to please his wife, postponed or neglected the circumcision of one of his sons, probably the younger. To dishonor that sign and seal of the covenant was criminal in any Hebrew, peculiarly so in one destined to be the leader and deliverer of the Hebrews; and he seems to have felt his sickness as a merited chastisement for his sinful omission. Concerned for her husband’s safety, Zipporah overcomes her maternal feelings of aversion to the painful rite, performs herself, by means of one of the sharp flints with which that part of the desert abounds, an operation which her husband, on whom the duty devolved, was unable to do, and having brought the bloody evidence, exclaimed in the painful excitement of her feelings that from love to him she had risked the life of her child [Calvin, Bullinger, Rosenmuller].

Several of the commentaries suggest that at this juncture Moses sent his wife and sons back to his father-in-law. This site alludes to how indisposed the child would have been having just received circumcision.

Highlights our need to be cognizant of what sin we have in our life, but are avoiding.  Especially if we are allowing our judgment to be clouded by our feelings and/or affection for another.