Day Seven - The Plague of the Flies

This devotion has a lot of information in it!  Without lots of meditation, it might be challenging to present this to your children.  The main idea to grasp is that God judged the Egyptians with flies which is something they experienced during their own idol sacrifices. It is interesting to note that God’s people were not plagued by the flies. God’s people did not sacrifice to idols, but to their Living God and gave what was required to do so.

Pharaoh asked Moses to sacrifice to his God.  Moses knew that in order to do so – he would need to take a three day journey so he could sacrifice properly.

WOW – lots of information on sacrifice and the god of this world!


It is also interesting to note that the judgment of flies corresponded to the Eqyptian sacrifices to idols. Read through the material below and then reflect on God’s Word as it relates to the god of this world and our own lives as a living sacrifice.

The Israelites along with the Egyptians have now experienced three judgment plagues in God’s process for deliverance. It was fun remembering the blood, the frogs, and the lice; however, this was far from fun! We’ve seen the pictures of the destruction from earthquakes and hurricanes. Can you imagine waking up every day to something as powerful as Haiti? God is Almighty and He alone is to be worshiped and praised.

How was Pharaoh’s heart after each of these plagues ~ hard or soft?
You’re right! Pharaoh’s heart was hardened after the water was turned to blood. When Pharaoh saw that there was relief from the frogs, he hardened his heart again and did not listen. And even though the magicians in the land pointed to the finger of God, Pharaoh did not listen and hardened his heart.
WOW – are there times in our own lives when we allow our hearts to remain hard even though God is speaking and bringing consequence for our sin?

At the end of the evening of the 3rd plague, Moses received a word from the Lord:
Now the LORD said to Moses, "Rise early in the morning and present yourself before Pharaoh, as he comes out to the water, and say to him, 'Thus says the LORD, "Let My people go, that they may serve Me.”For if you do not let My people go, behold, I will send swarms of flies on you and on your servants and on your people and into your houses; and the houses of the Egyptians will be full of swarms of flies, and also the ground on which they dwell.

By this time, we have learned that when God says He is going to do something—He does it! God is a God of His Word – a promise keeper!
Be sure to notice that when Judgment Four comes to the people, there will be a separation or division between God’s children and the Egyptians:

"But on that day I will set apart the land of Goshen, where My people are living, so that no swarms of flies will be there, in order that you may know that I, the LORD, am in the midst of the land.

"I will put a division between My people and your people. Tomorrow this sign will occur.'""

Then the LORD did so. And there came great swarms of flies into the house of Pharaoh and the houses of his servants and the land was laid waste because of the swarms of flies in all the land of Egypt.

Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron and said, "Go, sacrifice to your God within the land."
The idea of sacrifice here is important because Pharaoh was attempting to deceive Moses even in this.
But Moses said, "It is not right to do so, for we will sacrifice to the LORD our God what is an abomination to the Egyptians. If we sacrifice what is an abomination to the Egyptians before their eyes, will they not then stone us? "We must go a three days' journey into the wilderness and sacrifice to the LORD our God as He commands us."

The Israelites were to offer sacrifices to God and Pharaoh knew this. Their specifications for the sacrificial animal were different from the Egyptians. And Pharaoh knew this. Moses knew that if they sacrificed in front of the Egyptians (as Pharaoh suggested), the Egyptians would react in a rage.

“It would be an abomination to God should they offer the Egyptian sacrifices, and an abomination to the Egyptians should they offer to God their own sacrifices, as they ought; so that they could not sacrifice in the land without incurring the displeasure either of their God or of their task-masters; therefore he insists: We will go three days’ journey into the wilderness.” Matthew Henry

Today – we are to offer our own lives as a living sacrifice to God – this is what He commands:
“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.” Romans 12:1

An acceptable sacrifice to God must include:
1. Separation from evil
2. Separation from distractions
3. Sacrifice as God’s commands, Moses said, "We will sacrifice as God shall command us, and not otherwise.’’
“Though they were in the utmost degree of slavery to Pharaoh, yet in the worship of God, they must observe his commands and not Pharaoh’s.” Matthew Henry

Pharaoh said, "I will let you go, that you may sacrifice to the LORD your God in the wilderness; only you shall not go very far away. Make supplication for me."

Then Moses said, "Behold, I am going out from you, and I shall make supplication to the LORD that the swarms of flies may depart from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people tomorrow; only do not let Pharaoh deal deceitfully again in not letting the people go to sacrifice to the LORD."

Moses went out from Pharaoh and made supplication to the LORD.
The LORD did as Moses asked, and removed the swarms of flies from Pharaoh, from his servants and from his people; not one remained.

But Pharaoh hardened his heart this time also, and he did not let the people go.

The FALSE gOD – IDOL of the Eqyptians was the beetle.

Beetles were everywhere sculptured and deified: “The land was corrupted by reason of the swarms of flies or the great Egyptian beetles. Greenleaf
The fly was always present at the sacrifices to idols which took place in the land of Egypt.
The prince of the power of the air – Beelzebub – was glorified as Ekron – the god of flies.

Teaching Points
1. The Egyptians ONLY experienced this plague of flies. God protected His children and He knew who His children were.
2. This plague made Israel a separate and Holy people
3. Pharaoh knew that Moses and Aaron needed to sacrifice to their God
4. Pharaoh wanted Moses to remember him to the Lord – make supplication to me, BUT Pharaoh didn’t want Moses’ God to be his God!
5. God answered Moses’ prayer
6. Pharaoh had no relationship with God and continued to harden his heart
7. Let’s look at what the Bible says about the Prince of the power of the air – the god of this world:

Ephesians 2:1-10
"And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air (chief leader, authority in rank over the air), of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest. But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ by grace you have been saved, and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.
For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.
For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them. "

2 Corinthians 4:1-
"Therefore seeing we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we faint not; but have renounced the hidden things of dishonesty, not walking in craftiness, nor handling the word of God deceitfully; but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God.


But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them. For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord; and ourselves your servants for Jesus' sake.
For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ."

John 12:31 "Now judgment is upon this world; now the ruler of this world shall be cast out. And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to Myself.”

As a living sacrifice – the god of this world will act as the fly. Flies swarmed around the sacrifice. We must be careful to obey God in everything and be careful of the deception and lusts after the world that will come against us as we daily offer our lives to the Lord.

Ephesians 6:12
"For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.”