August 2, 2025 Morning Devotional
Morning Devotion: Read Exodus - The Fourth Plague: Flies
Exodus 8:20 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.
The Egyptians had a culture concerning cleanliness. Shaving the body and cleaning the skin was an important process in the life of the Egyptians.
When the flys were introduced their lifestyle was interrupted. These flys were not just the ordinary flies but flies that attacked the person. We in the north have the black fly; in certain times of the year this little bothersome creature will land on its victim and bite them, eating their flesh. It causes a welt and infection, inching and burning. Wearing white helps to ward off theses pests. The priest would wear white and light coloured clothes to ward off this kind of pest.
The god of the Egyptians was Beelzebub the god of the flies, and the sun god Ra which was represented by the flying beetle know as the scarab. Both of these false god’s were attacked with this one plague of the flies.
There are many religions that mandate cleanliness on the outside. Some wash their feet, and hands and arms and even rinse out their noses to rid themselves of the devil. This process will never save the soul. Some try to be clean with baptism and communion and confessionals.
Titus 3:5 Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; 6 Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour;
The cleansing must be from the Lord. 1Corinthians 6:11 And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.
Christian, walk in the light of the Lord and be clean. 1John 1:7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.
Notice, at this point God separated his children and their land from the rest of the Egyptians. The land of Goshen had no flies and the people suffered no ill affects and bites.
Exodus 8:22 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.
God makes it very clear at this point: there will always be a separation between those two are truly born again and those who are not.
In these ends times, the believer may suffer as God’s people did with the first three plagues in Exodus. Then there will be clear separation. Just before God exacts judgment upon this world, he will separate the believers. He will take us home in what is called the rapture. The wrath of the lamb of God will overcome this lost world while the believer is safe in heaven.
Don’t let your heart become hardened against the LORD.
The choice is still yours,
Pastor Cook
