Exodus 9:14
For I will at this time send all my plagues upon thine heart, and upon thy servants, and upon thy people; that thou mayest know that [there is] none like me in all the earth.
Plagues are a good thing if they draw you to the Lord. Plagues are devastating if they drive you from the Lord.
I am teaching through Exodus, we are covering the ten plagues. I am getting a lot of ObjectLessons. ObjectLessons are an instructional design tool, that allows creating illustrations that allow an aid in learning and on teaching. Although I could easily come up with 20 ObjectLessons I won’t wear you out. Here’s the top 4.
As I am teaching about the plagues of Pharoah, we are getting assaulted with plagues. The more we know, the more we are responsable for. We are tested to see if we can actually practice what we preach. The world (Egypt) wants us to compromise. Will we?
James 3:1-2 (KJV) – “My brethren, be not many masters, knowing that we shall receive the greater condemnation.
Most of the plagues we see in Pharoah’s time will be duplicated again ( on a much larger scale) during the upcoming tribulation (Read Matthew and Revelation). Like Pharoah, many will harden their hearts for destruction instead of opening their hearts to the Lord for salvation.
For example, I taught about the Nile river turning into blood.
Exodus 7:21 and all the waters that were in the river were turned to blood.
ObjectLessons of things God touched;
1. – Their water supply – Egyptians worshipped the Nile. It was their God, and besides that, they were clean freaks, so they loved taking baths. I do too! Not because I am a clean freak, but because it’s hot down here!! We loose electricity a lot! (cutting off our water supply in the process). As a medium sized school, in the hot tropics, that is a disaster for a learning environment, plus with hundreds of people passing through, with 7 bathrooms, it’s a bio-hazard. (Another bi-product of hard heartedness is stickiness. Sin stinks!) We have a generator but it is really expensive to run and very noisy during school hours. Power outages are a real problem. Praying about solar, but looks like it will be 18k to install. Bigger water tanks, on a tower would help, but that’s another 5k. No water today means no shower. Sin stinks (Another ObjectLessons as well) as I said before!
That’s ok. I ask God, what is He trying to teach us? How does this make me more like Jesus? It’s drawing me towards God, not turning me away from Him, even though I am hot and stinky and eaten alive by mosquitoes and bed bugs, but Praise the Lord!
Money would help everything, but that brings up another plague. The Lord killed Egypt’s livestock, $GNP$!
Exodus 9:6 And the LORD did that thing on the morrow, and all the cattle of Egypt died:
2. – Their economy – In any country, agriculture is a huge income source. Thanks to the Lord, I can use my own $ to pay for a lot of PureHeartChildren’sFund ministry expenses but not for all of what God is showing us to do. We depend on donations to complete the work. With the uncertainty of the economy of America, donations have drastically diminished but God keeps us afloat! That in itself is a miracle.
It’s ok though. I ask God ‘What is the reason for this Lord?’ Now I know He’ll provide. Like the Israelites didn’t loose livestock, (income to keep on going) neither will we. I see it now because if you keep on reading that same verse
Exodus 9:6 …..but of the cattle of the children of Israel died not one.
So, while money’s down, I don’t worry, I know we will have enough. And I am healthy! I prided myself on my health, since I started really believing for my health. At 65 that’s a big deal. Well, this year(exactly the day my Medicare kicked in) I had little dance with the -c- word, which God healed me from. Plus I felt if I kept doing lots of push ups, walking a lot in mountains and lifting weights, I would always be able to continue to do so, but these past few weeks I couldn’t. I feel like all of a sudden I lost 75% of my energy, strength and conditioning. I can only walk 25% of what I usually walk. I can only Lift weight 15 minutes instead of an hour. I was concerned. Turns out I had lung problems. But All is good. Just an infection from breathing too much dust from decomposed toilet paper and hospital waste at the dump. Taking disgusting medicine (I hate pills) but the dra thinks I’ll be fine. Here’s another funny story. I have heard of boils all my life, but thought I was exempt. Well, two weeks ago, I got one in my armpit. It was a ‘religious experience’. It affected everything in my life!! Another great ObjectLesson for me.
Exodus9:9 and shall be a boil breaking forth with blains upon man, and upon beast, throughout all the land.
3. – Their health – I always heard of boils. I have heard of people complain about them. I Did not understand or empathize with them though, until I got one. Now I understand and empathize. Thank you Jesus for making me more empathetic like You!!!
I have seen people dragging themselves around at work because of another excuse called ‘bedbugs’. Never had a problem. No concept about what can be so bad about them. It’s something funny for my english class to learn, ‘good night, sleep tight, don’t let the bedbugs bite’. Well, not that funny now. It finally happened!! Because we have an average of about 1,000 people a week traipsing through our home we finally got them with a fury. Unbelievable. Imagine trying to sleep a bed of live mosquitoes. That’s what bedbugs are like.
Exodus 8:6 smite the dust of the land, that it may become lice throughout all the land of Egypt.
4. – Their pests that bug them – We learned to eat cockroaches and worms in the army for protein. When I was working with the Indians my bug and worm diet expanded even more. But bedbugs completely freak me out now. Again, what for Lord? I ask, Instead of asking why me? It cost too much money, and way too much time, but I choose to praise Him in this storm! So it’s all good (praying that this final professional job did the trick).
ObjectLesson? God’s watching our hearts. So are others. I was tempted to not have a Bible class today. I was panicking. Back Up Diesel Power plant blaring. No water. Half poisoned by a loosing chemical war with bedbugs. (Just changed pest control companies, even more expenses). Sleepless. But God showed me that we need a Bible study more than ever!!!! Disaster or Salvation. You decide. My whole staff agreed btw. What a blessing they all are!!
Josh 24:15 And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.