Exodus 8:24 (The Fourth Plague)
Quote:
And the LORD did so; and there came a grievous swarm of flies into the house of Pharaoh, and into his servants' houses, and into all the land of Egypt: the land was corrupted by reason of the swarm of flies.
these were flies that hurt, flies that bite
the crops in Egypt were damaged and if the design of God's Creation with its inconveniences and annoyances to deter sin are not enough-
God works all things together He will personally intervene into the unrepentant sinner's life to punish them with pain and suffering so they might stop doing
that evil thing they want to keep doing
Exodus 8:25
Quote:
And Pharaoh called for Moses and for Aaron, and said, Go ye, sacrifice to your God in the land.
when the sinner starts to suffer real pain and consequences they may stop doing
that evil thing they previously kept doing
many people do repent and turn their life around at this stage
Exodus 8:31-32
Quote:
And the LORD did according to the word of Moses; and he removed the swarms of flies from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people; there remained not one.
But Pharaoh hardened his heart at this time also, neither would he let the people go.
the unrepentant sinner however does not have a real change of heart they only want the pain and suffering to go away
once the pain and suffering stop they go right back to their evil ways
Exodus 9:3-4 (The Fifth Plague)
Quote:
Behold, the hand of the LORD is upon thy cattle which is in the field, upon the horses, upon the asses, upon the camels, upon the oxen, and upon the sheep: there shall be a very grievous murrain.
And the LORD shall sever between the cattle of Israel and the cattle of Egypt: and there shall nothing die of all that is the children's of Israel
the unrepentant sinner does not change their ways when they start to suffer temporary pain and consequences which eventually go away
Exodus 9:6-7
Quote:
And the LORD did that thing on the morrow, and all the cattle of Egypt died: but of the cattle of the children of Israel died not one.
And Pharaoh sent, and, behold, there was not one of the cattle of the Israelites dead.
God gradually increases the pain and suffering and consequences to the point that the unrepentant sinner starts to look around at others and wonder "why are these horrible things happening to me and not everyone else?"
many people will finally get a clue at this point and repent and obey THE LORD
Exodus 9:7
Quote:
But the heart of Pharaoh was still hardened, and he did not let the people go.
but others will make excuses or claim they have bad luck or lash out in anger to make themselves feel better
the corrupted heart always seeks to justify itself
Exodus 9:8-9 (The Sixth Plague)
Quote:
And the LORD said unto Moses and unto Aaron, Take to you handfuls of ashes of the furnace, and let Moses sprinkle it toward the heaven in the sight of Pharaoh.
And it shall become small dust in all the land of Egypt, and shall be a boil breaking forth with blains upon man, and upon beast, throughout all the land of Egypt.
like the third plague of lice which personally touched the sinner's body because they become so comfortable putting up with inconveniences to do those
evil things they want to do
this sixth plague comes without warning and rots the body with disease from the inside out
the unrepentant sinner has decided no amount of temporary pain suffering and consequences will stop them from giving into their evil desires
Exodus 9:12
Quote:
And the LORD hardened the heart of Pharaoh, and he hearkened not unto them; as the LORD had spoken unto Moses.
for the soul that has gone this far wayward no amount of temporary pain suffering and consequences piled together seems to deter them from doing evil
God escalates further in the remaining plagues-
increasing amounts of permanent destruction, death, and eventually judgment unless they repent and worship and obey THE LORD THEIR GOD
