#147 A Game of Thrones Exodus 8

16 And the Lord said unto Moses, Say unto Aaron, Stretch out thy rod, and smite the dust of the land, that it may become lice throughout all the land of Egypt.

17 And they did so; for Aaron stretched out his hand with his rod, and smote the dust of the earth, and it became lice in man, and in beast; all the dust of the land became lice throughout all the land of Egypt.

18 And the magicians did so with their enchantments to bring forth lice, but they could not: so there were lice upon man, and upon beast.

19 Then the magicians said unto Pharaoh, This is the finger of God: and Pharaoh's heart was hardened, and he hearkened not unto them; as the Lord had said.

20 And the Lord said unto Moses, Rise up early in the morning, and stand before Pharaoh; lo, he cometh forth to the water; and say unto him, Thus saith the Lord, Let my people go, that they may serve me.

21 Else, if thou wilt not let my people go, behold, I will send swarms of flies upon thee, and upon thy servants, and upon thy people, and into thy houses: and the houses of the Egyptians shall be full of swarms of flies, and also the ground whereon they are.

22 And I will sever in that day the land of Goshen, in which my people dwell, that no swarms of flies shall be there; to the end thou mayest know that I am the Lord in the midst of the earth.

23 And I will put a division between my people and thy people: to morrow shall this sign be.

24 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.

25 And Pharaoh called for Moses and for Aaron, and said, Go ye, sacrifice to your God in the land.

26 And Moses said, It is not meet so to do; for we shall sacrifice the abomination of the Egyptians to the Lord our God: lo, shall we sacrifice the abomination of the Egyptians before their eyes, and will they not stone us?

27 We will go three days' journey into the wilderness, and sacrifice to the Lord our God, as he shall command us.

28 And Pharaoh said, I will let you go, that ye may sacrifice to the Lord your God in the wilderness; only ye shall not go very far away: intreat for me.

29 And Moses said, Behold, I go out from thee, and I will intreat the Lord that the swarms of flies may depart from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people, to morrow: but let not Pharaoh deal deceitfully any more in not letting the people go to sacrifice to the Lord.

30 And Moses went out from Pharaoh, and intreated the Lord.

31 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.

32 And Pharaoh hardened his heart at this time also, neither would he let the people go. Exodus 8:16-32

From the dust they came, and something so small yet loathed by all. A nation covered in lice and this time even the magicians of Pharaoh cannot by way of their own magic duplicate it, so they must advise that this is the hand of God. When those who are for you tell you the thing which you do not want to hear, maybe it is time to listen. Maybe it is time to reconsider. The earth is the Lords and nature obeys the voice of its Creator, and so much so that He can divide out His people from the plague. The land of Goshen is untouched by the flies. Moses and Aaron meet with Pharaoh again, and again the king's word is of little value. It is often that we are told we are free to believe in our God, but you cannot say that you disagree with the religion of others. You cannot refer to the actions of others in a negative way, and you must practice this way in this place. God has told Moses how He will be worshiped and where. Pharaoh's pride and desires would keep the people of God in the land, but the thing made does not have rule over the Maker. God is calling them out in Spirit and in truth, and so they must also worship in like manner. Moses intreats God on behalf of the Pharaoh, and the plague is lifted once again, but how long will the patience of God hold out? Pharaoh refuses to let the people go and like a game of the insane, he has crushed the magnitude and worth of his own words. He has rolled the dice again, saying what needs to be heard, but not doing what needs to be done. 

1 John 2:4-5 (Phi) The man who claims to know God but does not obey his laws is not only a liar but lives in self-delusion. But the more a man obeys God's laws the more truly and fully does he show his love for him. Obedience is the test of whether we live in God or not.

It is easy to say yes Lord, and some would commend themselves on that point, but what has he asked you to do? The only value in Pharaoh's words were that he recognized what was needed, but he acted upon his pride rather than submitting to authority above his own. The sacrifice of the lips is damning evidence when we later weigh out our actions. I pray that my words and my actions become the same, and that they glorify the God Who made me.