November 11, 2008 7:58 AM
Johnbob wrote:
It reminds me of the movies where a dog will bark or a cat will meow because they can sense 'spirits' of different sorts. Maybe he is just saying that in Egypt, there will be 'spirits' (angels) killing the firstborn (and they will wonder why the dogs are barking), but among the Isrealites, since the angels will 'pass over', there won't be any dogs barking.
That is just a 'before I've had my coffee' guess... Reply to this
November 11, 2008 8:03 AM
Johnbob wrote:
Or maybe it was a difficult to translate verse - in effect, it is really saying 'the dogs won't be barking at any man or animal', implying that they will be barking at the angels.
Anyway, I think I've put enough thought into this verse : ) ---- I don't think it is one of those salvation-dependent verses! Reply to this
November 11, 2008 12:49 PM
Tony wrote:
Maybe he was mad that pharaoh was so hard hearted that it came to this and so many innocent people had to die. But was it pharaohs heart or God's plan Reply to this
November 11, 2008 1:04 PM
Johnbob wrote:
Sorry - looks like we were typing out our replies at the same time. I think you are right - probably directed toward Pharaoh. If you compare the current situation to the anger he exhibits in the coming chapters, then while it is directed toward Pharaoh, the root of it seems to be frustration. Even the end of Exodus 5 - Moses can't see past the current situation and 'vents' toward God (maybe not exactly anger, but more of a 'woe is me' attitude? -- probably a bit of both). I am looking forward to reading more about it in the coming chapters. Reply to this
November 11, 2008 12:50 PM
Johnbob wrote:
Also, towards whom was his anger directed? I assume it was toward Pharaoh for being so stubborn? It is an odd emotion since this is the last plague - you would think he is going to be happy since they are on the eve of victory over their opressors. Or you would think he would feel relief. Or maybe even be overwhelmed/sad about the death and pain that is about to take place on people he knows who will lose loved ones. But maybe he is just mad that it has come to this for the sole reason of Pharaoh's hard-heartedness.
Moses' anger has gotten him into trouble in the past (killing the Egyptian?) and will get him into trouble in the future.
So I suppose I could ask how our anger is going. I don't struggle with 'outward' anger, like losing my temper, but I do struggle a lot with 'inward' anger. I am a 'stuffer' - which is not good. So as I write, I need to remind myself to vent in some manner (prayer, writing, talking things through, etc.) so that I won't explode one day. Reply to this
November 11, 2008 12:47 PM
Tony wrote:
"but the LORD hardened Pharaoh's heart, and he would not let the Israelites go out of his country." Why was the Lord so intent on destroying the Egyptians? Why not just let the people go? How much more do we remember this story because of the plagues instead of the kindness? What if pharaoh would have let the people go, would anybody remember the story better? How do we relate this story to our lives? If we as individuals are Gods people, and satan is pharaoh, what are our plagues? Before we became Christians we had our sin that we would not let go of. Think back and remember those times, remember those sins, remember the results (plagues) of those sins. Most of the conversion stories we hear are pretty mild. I was met, invited out, studied, and here I am. But what about our plagues! My wife Terry was met when she was working as manager at Fredericks of Hollywood. The women were shopping for the marriage retreat. Terry gave them her name and number and then we were bombarded with calls to come to church. We finally gave in. Terry studied and you could really see a change in her, it was awsume. I studied because the men asked me to so I did. I had no real convictions back then and I was only doing it because I was asked. Years of going to church, making relationships, reading the bible, and not much change. My biggest plague was and still is anger. I control it much better now, though my wife would disagree. I have may plagues that are not that obvious, to me or others, that I am sure God is continually working on. Our plagues are simple everyday problems to us that we let get out of control because we are stubborn. When we get out of ourselves and look at the other persons point of view, we can see what jerks we can really be. God has hit us with many things, sickness (plagues and boils) financial loss ( locust and hail destroyed the crops), loss of loved ones (first borne). We are not far from the pharaohs heart. We want to do right, but God says, not now, it's not the time, and our hearts get hardened. Is it really God or is it satan? Why would God harden our hearts? God wants us to rely on HIm for everything, without Him we can do nothing. We can't leave Egypt (our sin), we can't avoid the plagues. Things happen, why we don't know, but they do. Reply to this
I wonder why verse 7 says "But among the Israelites not a dog will bark at any man or animal."
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It reminds me of the movies where a dog will bark or a cat will meow because they can sense 'spirits' of different sorts. Maybe he is just saying that in Egypt, there will be 'spirits' (angels) killing the firstborn (and they will wonder why the dogs are barking), but among the Isrealites, since the angels will 'pass over', there won't be any dogs barking.
That is just a 'before I've had my coffee' guess...
Reply to this
Or maybe it was a difficult to translate verse - in effect, it is really saying 'the dogs won't be barking at any man or animal', implying that they will be barking at the angels.
Anyway, I think I've put enough thought into this verse : ) ---- I don't think it is one of those salvation-dependent verses!
Reply to this
So another question. Why was Moses hot with anger after telling Pharaoh about the last plague?
Reply to this
Maybe he was mad that pharaoh was so hard hearted that it came to this and so many innocent people had to die. But was it pharaohs heart or God's plan
Reply to this
Sorry - looks like we were typing out our replies at the same time. I think you are right - probably directed toward Pharaoh. If you compare the current situation to the anger he exhibits in the coming chapters, then while it is directed toward Pharaoh, the root of it seems to be frustration. Even the end of Exodus 5 - Moses can't see past the current situation and 'vents' toward God (maybe not exactly anger, but more of a 'woe is me' attitude? -- probably a bit of both). I am looking forward to reading more about it in the coming chapters.
Reply to this
Also, towards whom was his anger directed? I assume it was toward Pharaoh for being so stubborn? It is an odd emotion since this is the last plague - you would think he is going to be happy since they are on the eve of victory over their opressors. Or you would think he would feel relief. Or maybe even be overwhelmed/sad about the death and pain that is about to take place on people he knows who will lose loved ones. But maybe he is just mad that it has come to this for the sole reason of Pharaoh's hard-heartedness.
Moses' anger has gotten him into trouble in the past (killing the Egyptian?) and will get him into trouble in the future.
So I suppose I could ask how our anger is going. I don't struggle with 'outward' anger, like losing my temper, but I do struggle a lot with 'inward' anger. I am a 'stuffer' - which is not good. So as I write, I need to remind myself to vent in some manner (prayer, writing, talking things through, etc.) so that I won't explode one day.
Reply to this
I have been called a valcano many times. I smoulder and one day I will erupt.
Reply to this
"but the LORD hardened Pharaoh's heart, and he would not let the Israelites go out of his country."
Why was the Lord so intent on destroying the Egyptians? Why not just let the people go? How much more do we remember this story because of the plagues instead of the kindness? What if pharaoh would have let the people go, would anybody remember the story better? How do we relate this story to our lives? If we as individuals are Gods people, and satan is pharaoh, what are our plagues? Before we became Christians we had our sin that we would not let go of. Think back and remember those times, remember those sins, remember the results (plagues) of those sins. Most of the conversion stories we hear are pretty mild. I was met, invited out, studied, and here I am. But what about our plagues!
My wife Terry was met when she was working as manager at Fredericks of Hollywood. The women were shopping for the marriage retreat. Terry gave them her name and number and then we were bombarded with calls to come to church. We finally gave in. Terry studied and you could really see a change in her, it was awsume. I studied because the men asked me to so I did. I had no real convictions back then and I was only doing it because I was asked. Years of going to church, making relationships, reading the bible, and not much change. My biggest plague was and still is anger. I control it much better now, though my wife would disagree. I have may plagues that are not that obvious, to me or others, that I am sure God is continually working on. Our plagues are simple everyday problems to us that we let get out of control because we are stubborn. When we get out of ourselves and look at the other persons point of view, we can see what jerks we can really be. God has hit us with many things, sickness (plagues and boils) financial loss ( locust and hail destroyed the crops), loss of loved ones (first borne). We are not far from the pharaohs heart. We want to do right, but God says, not now, it's not the time, and our hearts get hardened.
Is it really God or is it satan? Why would God harden our hearts? God wants us to rely on HIm for everything, without Him we can do nothing. We can't leave Egypt (our sin), we can't avoid the plagues. Things happen, why we don't know, but they do.
Reply to this