Livestock – Plague # 5
Exodus 9:1-7
May 29, 2022
For about 400 years the Israelites had been in Egypt, and during that time they had lost much
of their faith in the God of their forefathers. They still believed that God existed, and they
worshiped Him, but they doubted that He could, or would do very much for them about
their situation. Sometimes, we do this today. By the end of their time in Egypt, they were
slaves, and their slavery was brutal. The Egyptians were pagan and worshiped a wide variety of
gods, many of whom were related to their natural surroundings. There was a god of the
sun, of the river, of childbirth, of crops, and the list goes on until you get to around 2000 gods.
When the Nile flooded and fertilized their farmland, they saw it as evidence of their gods’
powers and good will. When Moses demanded that Pharaoh to let the people go, Pharaoh
responded by saying, (Exodus 5:2) “Is that so?” retorted Pharaoh. “And who is the
LORD? Why should I listen to him and let Israel go? I don’t know the LORD, and I will
not let Israel go.” This began a challenge to see whose God was more powerful. It seems
likely that these plagues were each designed to show the weakness of Egypt’s gods of nature.
“The first plague, turning the Nile to blood, was a judgment against Apis, the god of the Nile,
Isis, goddess of the Nile, and Khnum, guardian of the Nile. The Nile was also believed to be the
bloodstream of Osiris, who was reborn each year when the river flooded. The river, which
formed the basis of daily life and the national economy, was devastated, as millions of fish died
in the river and the water was unusable. Pharaoh was told, “By this you will know that I am the
LORD” (Exodus 7:17).”
“The second plague, bringing frogs from the Nile, was a judgment against Heqet, the frog-
headed goddess of birth. Frogs were thought to be sacred and not to be killed. God had the frogs
invade every part of the homes of the Egyptians, and when the frogs died, their stinking bodies
were heaped up in offensive piles all through the land (Exodus 8:13–14).”
“The third plague, gnats, was a judgment on Set, the god of the desert. Unlike the previous
plagues, the magicians were unable to duplicate this one and declared to Pharaoh, “This is
the finger of God” (Exodus 8:19).”
“The fourth plague, flies, was a judgment on Uatchit, the fly god. In this plague, God clearly
distinguished between the Israelites and the Egyptians, as no swarms of flies bothered the areas
where the Israelites lived (Exodus 8:21–24).”
“The fifth plague, the death of livestock, was a judgment on the goddess Hathor and the
god Apis, who were both depicted as cattle. As with the previous plague, God protected His
people from the plague, while the cattle of the Egyptians died. God was steadily destroying the
economy of Egypt, while showing His ability to protect and provide for those who obeyed Him.
Pharaoh even sent investigators (Exodus 9:7) to find out if the Israelites were suffering along
with the Egyptians, but the result was a hardening of his heart against the Israelites.”
www.gotquestions.com
God is using these plagues to paint a picture of His own character. He is almighty. There is
no one who can do what God can do. He is all-knowing – no one knows even a small fraction of
what God knows. He is everywhere present at the same time.
Pharaoh needed to know God, and Egypt needed to know God. Israel needed to know God.
We need to know God.
1 ¶ “Go back to Pharaoh,” the LORD commanded Moses. “Tell him, ‘This is what the
LORD, the God of the Hebrews, says: Let my people go, so they can worship me.
2 If you continue to hold them and refuse to let them go,
3 the hand of the LORD will strike all your livestock — your horses, donkeys, camels,
cattle, sheep, and goats — with a deadly plague.
4 But the LORD will again make a distinction between the livestock of the Israelites
and that of the Egyptians. Not a single one of Israel’s animals will die!
5 The LORD has already set the time for the plague to begin. He has declared that he
will strike the land tomorrow.’ ”
6 And the LORD did just as he had said. The next morning all the livestock of the
Egyptians died, but the Israelites didn’t lose a single animal.
7 Pharaoh sent his officials to investigate, and they discovered that the Israelites
had not lost a single animal! But even so, Pharaoh’s heart remained stubborn, and he
still refused to let the people go.
- What were God’s instructions to Moses? (9:1) Why do you think God continues to give the
same instructions? What is God demonstrating?
1 ¶ “Go back to Pharaoh,” the LORD commanded Moses. “Tell him, ‘This is what the
LORD, the God of the Hebrews, says: Let my people go, so they can worship me.
Moses is told to go back to Pharaoh and repeat God’s instructions to let the Israelites go and
worship God. God gives the same instructions because this is what God wants to happen.
God has not changed His mind, nor will He. The only real question to Egypt was, will they
cooperate with God, or will they fight against God. God is demonstrating His love for both
Israel and Egypt. He wants to bless Israel and draw them closer to Him. He wants Egypt to
come to know Him. He would like to use both of these nations to tell the world about the one
true and living God. - Instead of worshiping the one true God, Egypt was worshiping about 2000 gods. What sort of
things, personal desires, or lusts do people place in front of God on their list of priorities today?
(Board) Family, job, hobbies, possessions, substances, political ideologies, entertainment, science - Which livestock was affected by this plague of death? 3 (NIV) the hand of the LORD will
bring a terrible plague on your livestock in the field—on your horses and donkeys and
camels and on your cattle and sheep and goats.
It is the livestock in the field. Up until now these plagues had mostly been just a nuisance or
aggravation. Now this plague brings death. What do we call it when we refuse to listen to
God? Sin. Where does sin lead? Ro 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free
gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.
- In what way do you think God was working in this plague to get Egypt’s attention? How can
economic hard times gain our focus?
He was impacting their economy. We are just beginning to experience more difficult times in
our economy. Our country has been in hard times before, and it is never easy. When inflation
rises, we can’t buy all the things we used to buy. Gas is twice as high as it was. Grocery prices
are frightening. Supplies are getting harder to come by, and we are seeing our retirement
savings getting smaller every day. When the times are hard, our economy gets our attention.
God loves people so much that He wants to get their attention so that He can redirect
their lives. - In what way did the Lord show a distinction between Egypt and Israel? How would you have
viewed this difference had you been living there? (9:4-5)
4 But the LORD will again make a distinction between the livestock of the Israelites
and that of the Egyptians. Not a single one of Israel’s animals will die! 5 The LORD
has already set the time for the plague to begin. He has declared that he will strike
the land tomorrow.’ ”
If I had been there and been an Israelite, I would have rejoiced at God’s good favor toward me.
If I had been there and been an Egyptian, I would have been interested in knowing more
about why the Israelites establish this plague when I did not. I hope I would have been drawn
to God. - What is important about the statement, “And the LORD did just as he had said” in this story?
After this plague, what might the Egyptians be thinking about their god and goddess who looked
like cattle? (9:6)
6 And the LORD did just as he had said. The next morning all the livestock of the
Egyptians died, but the Israelites didn’t lose a single animal.
There is power in the word of God. If God says something, you can count on it being true.
God knows everything. This information about God always doing what He says He will do gives
us the perfect opportunity to consider the gods Egypt worshipped. If God is right and
keeps His word, and the gods of Egypt can’t do the same, then Whom should we worship? - What did Pharaoh’s investigators discover? Why do you think some people’s heart can remain
stubborn toward God no matter what happens? (9:7)
7 Pharaoh sent his officials to investigate, and they discovered that the Israelites
had not lost a single animal! But even so, Pharaoh’s heart remained stubborn, and he
still refused to let the people go.
Pharaoh’s investigators saw that the Israelites had not lost any animals at all. Once again, God
had done exactly what He said He would do. The cause of Pharaoh’s stubbornness may have
been caused by his desire to actually be who people told him he was. By his own command
people treated him as the ultimate ruler, governing both the physical realm and the spiritual. He
thought he owned everything he saw, and had the power to decide whether a person would live
or die. Pharaoh believed his own press report, and he liked it. It is often very difficult to let go
of our own power.
- Thinking back to the list we made in question 2, how do our little gods, or idols, compare to
the true and living God? What are we learning from life’s experiences about our relationship with
God?
Family, job, hobbies, possessions, substances, political ideologies, entertainment, science, or
desires often gain priority they don’t deserve.
While these things listed are important, none of them deserved top priority on our list. God owns
the number one spot, and when we put anything or anyone in His spot, the whole list is out of
order. When first things aren’t first, second things can’t be second, and third things can’t be
third. Therefore, our whole life is out of order. Nothing and nobody can do for us what God can
do.
We are learning that our relationship with God is the building block for the rest of our life. It all
builds on the foundation of our relationship with God through Jesus. We need to recognize God
as number One in our lives, and then we can watch the rest of life fall into proper order. It is at
that point, with that decision, that our lives really impact the world around us.