91 God said to Moses, "Go to Pharaoh and tell him, 'God, the God of the Hebrews, says: Release my people so they can worship me. 2 If you refuse to release them and continue to hold on to them, 3 I'm giving you fair warning: God will come down hard on your livestock out in the fields - horses, donkeys, camels, cattle, sheep - striking them with a severe disease. 4 God will draw a sharp line between the livestock of Israel and the livestock of Egypt. Not one animal that belongs to the Israelites will die.'" 5 Then God set the time: "Tomorrow God will do this thing." 6 And the next day God did it. All the livestock of Egypt died, but not one animal of the Israelites died. 7 Pharaoh sent men to find out what had happened and there it was: none of the livestock of the Israelites had died - not one death. But Pharaoh stayed stubborn. He wouldn't release the people. Strike Six: Boils
8 God said to Moses and Aaron, "Take fistfuls of soot from a furnace and have Moses throw it into the air right before Pharaoh's eyes; 9 it will become a film of fine dust all over Egypt and cause sores, an eruption of boils on people and animals throughout Egypt." 10 So they took soot from a furnace, stood in front of Pharaoh, and threw it up into the air. It caused boils to erupt on people and animals. 11 The magicians weren't able to compete with Moses this time because of the boils - they were covered with boils just like everyone else in Egypt. 12 God hardened Pharaoh in his stubbornness. He wouldn't listen, just as God had said to Moses. Strike Seven: Hail
13 God said to Moses, "Get up early in the morning and confront Pharaoh. Tell him, 'God, the God of the Hebrews, says: Release my people so they can worship me. 14 This time I am going to strike you and your servants and your people with the full force of my power so you'll get it into your head that there's no one like me anywhere in all the Earth. 15 You know that by now I could have struck you and your people with deadly disease and there would be nothing left of you, not a trace. 16 But for one reason only I've kept you on your feet: To make you recognize my power so that my reputation spreads in all the Earth. 17 You are still building yourself up at my people's expense. You are not letting them go. 18 So here's what's going to happen: At this time tomorrow I'm sending a terrific hailstorm - there's never been a storm like this in Egypt from the day of its founding until now. 19 So get your livestock under roof - everything exposed in the open fields, people and animals, will die when the hail comes down.'" 20 All of Pharaoh's servants who had respect for God's word got their workers and animals under cover as fast as they could, 21 but those who didn't take God's word seriously left their workers and animals out in the field.
22 God said to Moses: "Stretch your hands to the skies. Signal the hail to fall all over Egypt on people and animals and crops exposed in the fields of Egypt." 23 Moses lifted his staff to the skies and God sent peals of thunder and hail shot through with lightning strikes. God rained hail down on the land of Egypt. 24 The hail came, hail and lightning - a fierce hailstorm. There had been nothing like it in Egypt in its entire history. 25 The hail hit hard all over Egypt. Everything exposed out in the fields, people and animals and crops, was smashed. Even the trees in the fields were shattered. 26 Except for Goshen where the Israelites lived; there was no hail in Goshen. 27 Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron. He said, "I've sinned for sure this time - God is in the right and I and my people are in the wrong. 28 Pray to God. We've had enough of God's thunder and hail. I'll let you go. The sooner you're out of here the better." 29 Moses said, "As soon as I'm out of the city, I'll stretch out my arms to God. The thunder will stop and the hail end so you'll know that the land is God's land. 30 Still, I know that you and your servants have no respect for God." 31 (The flax and the barley were ruined, for they were just ripening, 32 but the wheat and spelt weren't hurt - they ripen later.) 33 Moses left Pharaoh and the city and stretched out his arms to God. The thunder and hail stopped; the storm cleared. 34 But when Pharaoh saw that the rain and hail and thunder had stopped, he kept right on sinning, stubborn as ever, both he and his servants. 35 Pharaoh's heart turned rock-hard. He refused to release the Israelites, as God had ordered through Moses.
101 God said to Moses: "Go to Pharaoh. I've made him stubborn, him and his servants, so that I can force him to look at these signs 2 and so you'll be able to tell your children and grandchildren how I toyed with the Egyptians, like a cat with a mouse; you'll tell them the stories of the signs that I brought down on them, so that you'll all know that I am God." 3 Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and said to him, "God, the God of the Hebrews, says, 'How long are you going to refuse to knuckle under? Release my people so that they can worship me. 4 If you refuse to release my people, watch out; tomorrow I'm bringing locusts into your country. 5 They'll cover every square inch of ground; no one will be able to see the ground. They'll devour everything left over from the hailstorm, even the saplings out in the fields - they'll clear-cut the trees. 6 And they'll invade your houses, filling the houses of your servants, filling every house in Egypt. Nobody will have ever seen anything like this, from the time your ancestors first set foot on this soil until today.'" Then he turned on his heel and left Pharaoh. 7 Pharaoh's servants said to him, "How long are you going to let this man harass us? Let these people go and worship their God. Can't you see that Egypt is on its last legs?" 8 So Moses and Aaron were brought back to Pharaoh. He said to them, "Go ahead then. Go worship your God. But just who exactly is going with you?" 9 Moses said, "We're taking young and old, sons and daughters, flocks and herds - this is our worship-celebration of God." 10 He said, "I'd sooner send you off with God's blessings than let you go with your children. Look, you're up to no good - it's written all over your faces. 11 Nothing doing. Just the men are going - go ahead and worship God. That's what you want so badly." And they were thrown out of Pharaoh's presence.
12 God said to Moses: "Stretch your hand over Egypt and signal the locusts to cover the land of Egypt, devouring every blade of grass in the country, everything that the hail didn't get." 13 Moses stretched out his staff over the land of Egypt. God let loose an east wind. It blew that day and night. By morning the east wind had brought in the locusts. 14 The locusts covered the country of Egypt, settling over every square inch of Egypt; the place was thick with locusts. There never was an invasion of locusts like it in the past, and never will be again. 15 The ground was completely covered, black with locusts. They ate everything, every blade of grass, every piece of fruit, anything that the hail didn't get. Nothing left but bare trees and bare fields - not a sign of green in the whole land of Egypt. 16 Pharaoh had Moses and Aaron back in no time. He said, "I've sinned against your God and against you. 17 Overlook my sin one more time. Pray to your God to get me out of this - get death out of here!" 18 Moses left Pharaoh and prayed to God. 19 God reversed the wind - a powerful west wind took the locusts and dumped them into the Red Sea. There wasn't a single locust left in the whole country of Egypt. 20 But God made Pharaoh stubborn as ever. He still didn't release the Israelites. Strike Nine: Darkness
21 God said to Moses: "Stretch your hand to the skies. Let darkness descend on the land of Egypt - a darkness so dark you can touch it." 22 Moses stretched out his hand to the skies. Thick darkness descended on the land of Egypt for three days. 23 Nobody could see anybody. For three days no one could so much as move. Except for the Israelites: they had light where they were living. 24 Pharaoh called in Moses: "Go and worship God. Leave your flocks and herds behind. But go ahead and take your children." 25 But Moses said, "You have to let us take our sacrificial animals and offerings with us so we can sacrifice them in worship to our God. 26 Our livestock has to go with us with not a hoof left behind; they are part of the worship of our God. And we don't know just what will be needed until we get there." 27 But God kept Pharaoh stubborn as ever. He wouldn't agree to release them. 28 Pharaoh said to Moses: "Get out of my sight! And watch your step. I don't want to ever see you again. If I lay eyes on you again, you're dead." 29 Moses said, "Have it your way. You won't see my face again."
111 God said to Moses: "I'm going to hit Pharaoh and Egypt one final time, and then he'll let you go. When he releases you, that will be the end of Egypt for you; he won't be able to get rid of you fast enough. 2 "So here's what you do. Tell the people to ask, each man from his neighbor and each woman from her neighbor, for things made of silver and gold." 3 God saw to it that the Egyptians liked the people. Also, Moses was greatly admired by the Egyptians, a respected public figure among both Pharaoh's servants and the people at large.
4 Then Moses confronted Pharaoh: "God's Message: 'At midnight I will go through Egypt 5 and every firstborn child in Egypt will die, from the firstborn of Pharaoh, who sits on his throne, to the firstborn of the slave girl working at her hand mill. Also the firstborn of animals. 6 Widespread wailing will erupt all over the country, lament such as has never been and never will be again. 7 But against the Israelites - man, woman, or animal - there won't be so much as a dog's bark, so that you'll know that God makes a clear distinction between Egypt and Israel.' 8 "Then all these servants of yours will go to their knees, begging me to leave, 'Leave! You and all the people who follow you!' And I will most certainly leave." Moses, seething with anger, left Pharaoh. 9 God said to Moses, "Pharaoh's not going to listen to a thing you say so that the signs of my presence and work are going to multiply in the land of Egypt." 10 Moses and Aaron had performed all these signs in Pharaoh's presence, but God turned Pharaoh more stubborn than ever - yet again he refused to release the Israelites from his land.
21 From there Jesus took a trip to Tyre and Sidon. 22 They had hardly arrived when a Canaanite woman came down from the hills and pleaded, "Mercy, Master, Son of David! My daughter is cruelly afflicted by an evil spirit." 23 Jesus ignored her. The disciples came and complained, "Now she's bothering us. Would you please take care of her? She's driving us crazy." 24 Jesus refused, telling them, "I've got my hands full dealing with the lost sheep of Israel." 25 Then the woman came back to Jesus, went to her knees, and begged. "Master, help me." 26 He said, "It's not right to take bread out of children's mouths and throw it to dogs." 27 She was quick: "You're right, Master, but beggar dogs do get scraps from the master's table." 28 Jesus gave in. "Oh, woman, your faith is something else. What you want is what you get!" Right then her daughter became well.
29 After Jesus returned, he walked along Lake Galilee and then climbed a mountain and took his place, ready to receive visitors. 30 They came, tons of them, bringing along the paraplegic, the blind, the maimed, the mute - all sorts of people in need - and more or less threw them down at Jesus' feet to see what he would do with them. He healed them. 31 When the people saw the mutes speaking, the maimed healthy, the paraplegics walking around, the blind looking around, they were astonished and let everyone know that God was blazingly alive among them.
32 But Jesus wasn't finished with them. He called his disciples and said, "I hurt for these people. For three days now they've been with me, and now they have nothing to eat. I can't send them away without a meal - they'd probably collapse on the road." 33 His disciples said, "But where in this deserted place are you going to dig up enough food for a meal?" 34 Jesus asked, "How much bread do you have?" 35 At that, Jesus directed the people to sit down. 36 He took the seven loaves and the fish. After giving thanks, he divided it up and gave it to the people. 37 Everyone ate. They had all they wanted. It took seven large baskets to collect the leftovers. 38 Over four thousand people ate their fill at that meal. 39 After Jesus sent them away, he climbed in the boat and crossed over to the Magadan hills.
(Read Matthew 15:21-28)
The dark corners of the country, the most remote, shall share Christ's influences; afterwards the ends of the earth shall see his salvation. The distress and trouble of her family brought a woman to Christ; and though it is need that drives us to Christ, yet we shall not therefore be driven from him. She did not limit Christ to any particular instance of mercy, but mercy, mercy, is what she begged for: she pleads not merit, but depends upon mercy. It is the duty of parents to pray for their children, and to be earnest in prayer for them, especially for their souls. Have you a son, a daughter, grievously vexed with a proud devil, an unclean devil, a malicious devil, led captive by him at his will? this is a case more deplorable than that of bodily possession, and you must bring them by faith and prayer to Christ, who alone is able to heal them. Many methods of Christ's providence, especially of his grace, in dealing with his people, which are dark and perplexing, may be explained by this story, which teaches that there may be love in Christ's heart while there are frowns in his face; and it encourages us, though he seems ready to slay us, yet to trust in him. Those whom Christ intends most to honour, he humbles to feel their own unworthiness. A proud, unhumbled heart would not have borne this; but she turned it into an argument to support her request. The state of this woman is an emblem of the state of a sinner, deeply conscious of the misery of his soul. The least of Christ is precious to a believer, even the very crumbs of the Bread of life. Of all graces, faith honours Christ most; therefore of all graces Christ honours faith most. He cured her daughter. He spake, and it was done. From hence let such as seek help from the Lord, and receive no gracious answer, learn to turn even their unworthiness and discouragements into pleas for mercy.
(Read Matthew 15:29-39)
Whatever our case is, the only way to find ease and relief, is to lay it at Christ's feet, to submit it to him, and refer it to his disposal. Those who would have spiritual healing from Christ, must be ruled as he pleases. See what work sin has made; what various diseases human bodies are subject to. Here were such diseases as fancy could neither guess the cause nor the cure of, yet these were subject to the command of Christ. The spiritual cures that Christ works are wonderful. When blind souls are made to see by faith, the dumb to speak in prayer, the maimed and the lame to walk in holy obedience, it is to be wondered at. His power was also shown to the multitude, in the plentiful provision he made for them: the manner is much the same as before. All did eat, and were filled. Those whom Christ feeds, he fills. With Christ there is bread enough, and to spare; supplies of grace for more than seek it, and for those that seek for more. Christ sent away the people. Though he had fed them twice, they must not look for miracles to find their daily bread. Let them go home to their callings and their own tables. Lord, increase our faith, and pardon our unbelief, teaching us to live upon thy fulness and bounty, for all things pertaining to this life, and that which is to come.
