Plagues

AM Psalm 95*, 22 PM Psalm 141, 143:1-11(12)
Exod. 9:13-35 • 2 Cor. 4:1-12 • Mark 10:32-45

* for the Invitatory

When I first looked through today’s readings and saw that the reading from Exodus included a plague, I felt strongly obligated to reflect on it considering our current worldly situation. No, I do not think COVID-19 is a threatening message sent from God, but I do think there are some valuable lessons to extract from the reading, nonetheless.

This specific reading is about the plague of hail, the seventh of the ten plagues of Egypt caused by the Pharaoh’s refusal to set the Israelites free. In the beginning of the passage, God tells Moses to pass along a message to the Pharaoh. God wants Pharaoh to know that He could have destroyed all of Egypt by now, but that He instead wants Pharaoh to know firsthand His power, and what He is willing to do for His people. Hail fell on every inch of Egypt, completely destroying everything and killing everyone below. The Pharaoh told Moses that he admits to sin, and that he would release the Israelites when the hail stopped. Moses essentially told Pharaoh that he didn't believe him, but that he would stop the hail anyways to show Moses that it was truly an act of God. Sure enough, Pharaoh did not set the Israelites free as he had promised.

Although I feel extremely unqualified to speak on whether or not the ten plagues literally happened, I feel as though there are certain themes that are useful to us currently. One theme that I think is important is the perseverance of faith. No matter what happens, we know that we can trust God.

In this extreme time of uncertainty, I find myself looking to God for comfort, possibly in a similar, albeit less extreme, way to the Israelites who must have looked to God during the ten plagues. Whether someone believes in God or not, God still wraps His arms around all of us during this time of fear, just as He has throughout all of history. Right now, our environment is almost completely out of our control, but one thing we can know for certain is that God is with us. We also know that God will continue to be with us until the end, no matter how scary things get, just as He was there with the Israelites.

Written by Tel Johnson

Tel is a senior at Hendrix College. She is pre-medical and majoring in Health Sciences with a minor in psychology.