Week 3 Exodus
Chapters seven to twelve tell the story of the ten plagues of Egypt.
One of the things I hadn’t seen before was that three times Moses is told to speak with Pharaoh in the morning. The Lord said: go to Pharaoh in the morning as he goes down to the river. Stand on the river bank and meet him there. That was before the first plague – blood. Moses didn’t meet Pharaoh in the morning before the second & third plagues – frogs & lice.
Then the Lord told Moses: get up early in the morning and meet Pharaoh as he goes down to the river. That was before the fourth plague – insects. Moses didn’t meet Pharaoh in the morning before the fifth & sixth plagues – pestilence & boils.
Then the Lord told Moses: get up early in the morning. Go to Pharaoh and tell him… That was before the seventh plague – hail. Moses didn’t meet Pharaoh in the morning before the eighth & ninth plagues – locusts & darkness.
It’s hard to know what to make of those morning meetings. And it’s hard to know what to make of Pharaoh getting no advance warning at all before the third, sixth, and ninth plagues. Boom! They just happened.
But it seems like there’s a distinction being made between the first second and third sets of plagues.
What exactly it is I don’t know for sure. It’s too complicated a distinction if you’re just reading through.
Note: quotes from Exodus 7:15, 8:20, 9:13 (NLT)