Bible Club: Exodus

[madnak]

Yes, I'm bad. I haven't finished it yet. Also I've pretty much given up on being a "nice guy."

The plagues of Egypt were awful.

Ostensibly, God is trying to convince Pharaoh to let his people leave. And yet, "I will harden Pharaoh's heart that I may multiply My signs and My wonders in the land of Egypt." It sounds almost like he wants to drop as many plagues as possible. To impress the Egyptians? Why wouldn't God soften Pharaoh's heart, instead of hardening it? And hey, why bother with the Pharaoh at all? We know God is powerful enough to ferry the Israelites away without Pharaoh's permission. It seems like God just wants to torture the Egyptians.

First the Nile turns to blood, the fish die, and the water becomes undrinkable. That's famine. The upper classes might not be affected too much, because they have plenty stored up, but the lower classes (especially the slaves) will likely begin to starve. Then come the frogs - at least there's something to eat! Then the flies devastate the land and bring disease to the people. Many are certainly dying at this point. But God's not through yet - all the livestock have to die. Conditions are now absolutely torturous in Egypt. Then the boils - it sounds like severe, festering networks of them. Then the hail that destroyed anything left after the insects and plague. You wonder what the locusts had to eat. But it was clear that after them "nothing green was left on tree or plant of the field through all the land of Egypt." Half the population must be starving at this point, the economy is shattered beyond repair, Egyptians will be living in misery for decades to come (the lucky ones that live, anyhow). BUT AGAIN THE LORD HARDENS PHARAOH'S HEART! Yes, again, God himself decides he's not through yet, and hardens Pharaoh's heart to make him refuse Moses and Aaron. God really wants to keep this song-and-dance routine going. The darkness is just a teaser, everyone's probably delirious from hunger anyhow. The main event - he kills off every firstborn, from the Pharaoh's to the slave girl's. A tragedy for old Pharaoh, but absolute doom for the farmers and slaves, who depend on the firstborn son to get much of the necessary work done - Egypt is in pandemonium, the people are suffering torment upon torment... God's work is finally done.

But hey, at least he decided not the harden Pharaoh's heart this time. Joy?

This is one of the cruelest and most absurd stories in the whole book, and I challenge anyone to explain the "moral" to me. Other than, "when God wants his fireworks, God damn well gets his fireworks."

Leviticus is another fun one - since I'm not done with Exodus I'm going to postone Leviticus until two weeks from now.