Meditate

8. Frogs, Gnats, and Flies

The Second Plague: Frogs

 8

Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go to Pharaoh and say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord: Let my people go, so that they may worship me.²If you refuse to let them go, I will plague your whole country with frogs.³The river shall swarm with frogs; they shall come up into your palace, into your bedchamber and your bed, and into the houses of your officials and of your people, and into your ovens and your kneading bowls.⁴The frogs shall come up on you and on your people and on all your officials.’ ”⁵And the Lord said to Moses, “Say to Aaron, ‘Stretch out your hand with your staff over the rivers, the canals, and the pools, and make frogs come up on the land of Egypt.’ ”⁶So Aaron stretched out his hand over the waters of Egypt; and the frogs came up and covered the land of Egypt.⁷But the magicians did the same by their secret arts, and brought frogs up on the land of Egypt.

⁸ Then Pharaoh called Moses and Aaron, and said, “Pray to the Lord to take away the frogs from me and my people, and I will let the people go to sacrifice to the Lord.”⁹Moses said to Pharaoh, “Kindly tell me when I am to pray for you and for your officials and for your people, that the frogs may be removed from you and your houses and be left only in the Nile.”¹⁰And he said, “Tomorrow.” Moses said, “As you say! So that you may know that there is no one like the Lord our God,¹¹the frogs shall leave you and your houses and your officials and your people; they shall be left only in the Nile.”¹²Then Moses and Aaron went out from Pharaoh; and Moses cried out to the Lord concerning the frogs that he had brought upon Pharaoh.¹³And the Lord did as Moses requested: the frogs died in the houses, the courtyards, and the fields.¹⁴And they gathered them together in heaps, and the land stank.¹⁵But when Pharaoh saw that there was a respite, he hardened his heart, and would not listen to them, just as the Lord had said.

The Third Plague: Gnats

¹⁶ Then the Lord said to Moses, “Say to Aaron, ‘Stretch out your staff and strike the dust of the earth, so that it may become gnats throughout the whole land of Egypt.’ ”¹⁷And they did so; Aaron stretched out his hand with his staff and struck the dust of the earth, and gnats came on humans and animals alike; all the dust of the earth turned into gnats throughout the whole land of Egypt.¹⁸The magicians tried to produce gnats by their secret arts, but they could not. There were gnats on both humans and animals.¹⁹And the magicians said to Pharaoh, “This is the finger of God!” But Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, and he would not listen to them, just as the Lord had said.

The Fourth Plague: Flies

²⁰ Then the Lord said to Moses, “Rise early in the morning and present yourself before Pharaoh, as he goes out to the water, and say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord: Let my people go, so that they may worship me.²¹For if you will not let my people go, I will send swarms of flies on you, your officials, and your people, and into your houses; and the houses of the Egyptians shall be filled with swarms of flies; so also the land where they live.²²But on that day I will set apart the land of Goshen, where my people live, so that no swarms of flies shall be there, that you may know that I the Lord am in this land.²³Thus I will make a distinction between my people and your people. This sign shall appear tomorrow.’ ”²⁴The Lord did so, and great swarms of flies came into the house of Pharaoh and into his officials’ houses; in all of Egypt the land was ruined because of the flies.

²⁵ Then Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron, and said, “Go, sacrifice to your God within the land.”²⁶But Moses said, “It would not be right to do so; for the sacrifices that we offer to the Lord our God are offensive to the Egyptians. If we offer in the sight of the Egyptians sacrifices that are offensive to them, will they not stone us?²⁷We must go a three days’ journey into the wilderness and sacrifice to the Lord our God as he commands us.”²⁸So Pharaoh said, “I will let you go to sacrifice to the Lord your God in the wilderness, provided you do not go very far away. Pray for me.”²⁹Then Moses said, “As soon as I leave you, I will pray to the Lord that the swarms of flies may depart tomorrow from Pharaoh, from his officials, and from his people; only do not let Pharaoh again deal falsely by not letting the people go to sacrifice to the Lord.”

³⁰ So Moses went out from Pharaoh and prayed to the Lord.³¹And the Lord did as Moses asked: he removed the swarms of flies from Pharaoh, from his officials, and from his people; not one remained.³²But Pharaoh hardened his heart this time also, and would not let the people go.

12. Living Sacrifices

³ For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of yourself more highly than you ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned.⁴For as in one body we have many members, and not all the members have the same function,⁵so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually we are members one of another.

69. Psalm 69

Psalm 69

Prayer for Deliverance from Persecution

To the leader: according to Lilies. Of David.

1

Save me, O God,

for the waters have come up to my neck.

2

I sink in deep mire,

where there is no foothold;

I have come into deep waters,

and the flood sweeps over me.

3

I am weary with my crying;

my throat is parched.

My eyes grow dim

with waiting for my God.

4

More in number than the hairs of my head

are those who hate me without cause;

many are those who would destroy me,

my enemies who accuse me falsely.

What I did not steal

must I now restore?

5

O God, you know my folly;

the wrongs I have done are not hidden from you.

6

Do not let those who hope in you be put to shame because of me,

O Lord God of hosts;

do not let those who seek you be dishonored because of me,

O God of Israel.

7

It is for your sake that I have borne reproach,

that shame has covered my face.

8

I have become a stranger to my kindred,

an alien to my mother’s children.

9

It is zeal for your house that has consumed me;

the insults of those who insult you have fallen on me.

10

When I humbled my soul with fasting,

they insulted me for doing so.

11

When I made sackcloth my clothing,

I became a byword to them.

12

I am the subject of gossip for those who sit in the gate,

and the drunkards make songs about me.

13

But as for me, my prayer is to you, O Lord.

At an acceptable time, O God,

in the abundance of your steadfast love, answer me.

With your faithful help¹⁴rescue me

from sinking in the mire;

let me be delivered from my enemies

and from the deep waters.

15

Do not let the flood sweep over me,

or the deep swallow me up,

or the Pit close its mouth over me.

16

Answer me, O Lord, for your steadfast love is good;

according to your abundant mercy, turn to me.

17

Do not hide your face from your servant,

for I am in distress—make haste to answer me.

18

Draw near to me, redeem me,

set me free because of my enemies.