EXODUS 9
8 And the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “Take handfuls of soot from the kiln, and let Moses throw them in the air in the sight of Pharaoh. 9 It shall become fine dust over all the land of Egypt, and become boils breaking out in sores on man and beast throughout all the land of Egypt.” 10 So they took soot from the kiln and stood before Pharaoh. And Moses threw it in the air, and it became boils breaking out in sores on man and beast. 11 And the magicians could not stand before Moses because of the boils, for the boils came upon the magicians and upon all the Egyptians. 12 But the Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh, and he did not listen to them, as the Lord had spoken to Moses.
– Exodus 9:8-12
EXODUS 9 THE PLAGUE OF BOILS
A poem by ILMA inspired by these verses
When Moses didn’t release God’s people after the livestock were killed
God instructed Moses to turn handfuls of soot from the kiln
He asked Moses to throw it in the air and it will become fine dust
These will be all over Egypt and will break as sores on man and beasts.
Here is the sixth plague which was boils. According to a commentary, this was a judgment against several gods over health and disease “Sekhmet, Sunu and Isis”. Notice that God gave Pharaoh no warning here just like when he infested them with gnats. When God has given us so many admonitions and warnings and we still don’t heed them, we will be surprised one day when the punishment will come to us without a notice.
Mentioned several times throughout the Old Testament, boils were historically thought to be a punishment for an individual’s sins. In Job 2:7, Satan went out from the presence of the Lord and struck Job with loathsome sores from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head. Although Job didn’t have sin, God allowed Satan to tempt him to deny God by inflicting him with these boils. God wants to prove Job’s faithfulness to Satan. But the friends didn’t know that God allowed Satan to inflict his body with disease. That’s why Job’s friends thought that Job was hiding some sins because he had these boils all over.
REFLECTION
- Why do you think God didn’t warn Pharaoh of this sixth plague unlike the other ones?
