Friday: Further Thought - The Plagues

Daily Lesson for Friday 25th of July 2025

Read Ellen G. White, “The Plagues of Egypt,” Pages 265–272, in Patriarchs and Prophets.

Image © Stan Myers from GoodSalt.com

“His [God’s] people were permitted to experience the grinding cruelty of the Egyptians, that they might not be deceived concerning the debasing influence of idolatry. In His dealing with Pharaoh, the Lord manifested His hatred of idolatry and His determination to punish cruelty and oppression. . . . There was no exercise of supernatural power to harden the heart of the king. God gave to Pharaoh the most striking evidence of divine power, but the monarch stubbornly refused to heed the light. Every display of infinite power rejected by him, rendered him the more determined in his rebellion. The seeds of rebellion that he sowed when he rejected the first miracle, produced their harvest.”—Ellen G. White, Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 268.

“The sun and moon were objects of worship to the Egyptians; in this mysterious darkness the people and their gods alike were smitten by the power that had undertaken the cause of the bondmen. Yet fearful as it was, this judgment is an evidence of God’s compassion and His unwillingness to destroy. He would give the people time for reflection and repentance before bringing upon them the last and most terrible of the plagues.”—Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 272.

Discussion Questions

Dwell more on the question of why Pharaoh allowed himself to be so hardened that, in the face of what must have been the obvious and correct choice—Let the people go!—he still refused. How could someone become so self-deceived? What kind of warnings should we take from this for ourselves about how we can truly get so hardened in sin that we make utterly disastrous decisions when the correct decision and the right path have been right before us the whole time? What other Bible characters have made the same kind of error? Think, for example, of Judas.
At one point, amid the devastation that Pharaoh had brought upon his own land and people, he declared, “ ‘I have sinned this time; the Lord is the righteous one, and I and my people are the wicked ones’ ” (Exodus 9:27, NASB). Though a wonderful confession of sin at the time, how do we know that it wasn’t a genuine one?

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Some thoughts on this week’s lesson:
I have been enjoying a week of travelling along the mid-north coast of New South Wales, often out of the intrusive reach of the Internet. Now that I am back I am posting a few thoughts on “The Plagues”. I have been unable to read other comments while I am away so I hope that I am presenting something a bit different to what others have said.
Here are a few thoughts:

We should probably avoid playing the game, “My God is bigger and more powerful than your god” game. That has the potential to become self-centred about our view of God. We may need reminding that all of us have no claim to righteousness in ourselves and that our deliverance is a gift by grace and not based on merit.
Most of the plagues can be attributed to natural causes if we are not people of faith. In Australia we have rivers that run red in flood, hailstorms that can deroof whole suburbs of houses, locust plagues that can decimate grain crops, sunshine that can induce cancer and so on. What is important is not whether they are natural events, but rather their timing and effect. God is quite capable of using natural events for his own purposes.
Pharaoh’s “hardening of his heart” was a result of his own decisions. That should remind us that we are quite capable of making decisions that harden our own hearts, and sometimes that hardening takes place within our own definitions of religious and spiritual experience. Sometimes God needs to shake us a bit so that we understand our relationship with him.
We should be careful not to extrapolate the plagues of Egypt as a pretext for judging nations and political systems in our modern world. All too often I have heard it said that the reason for some calamity now-a-days is due to the sinfulness of the people who have been affected by it. That is a stretch too far. Good people are dying in tragic circimstances today and we need to show compassion and the spirit of liberation as we minister to them irrespective of our perception of their sinfulness.

... And just to show you where I have been this week, here is a photo for you to enjoy:
Crystal Falls, Dorrigo NP
Peaceful Sabbath!

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Friday: Further Thought – The Plagues — 4 Comments

Motanya Dan on July 24, 2025 at 9:45 am said:

A good father gives, guides, and corrects out of love, but not all children understand his heart. Some grow ungrateful and resist his instruction, choosing their own way instead. Jesus shared the parable of the prodigal son to show how rebellion leads to ruin. The son demanded his inheritance, left home, and ended up in misery, feeding pigs. It was only when he recognized his father's goodness that he returned in repentance (Luke 15:11–24). This story reflects how many treat God not realizing His patience and love, they turn away until brokenness brings them back. “Or do you show contempt for the riches of His kindness, forbearance and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness is intended to lead you to repentance?” (Romans 2:4, NIV).

Pharaoh’s rebellion shows the same spirit. Despite God's clear signs and repeated chances to humble himself, Pharaoh hardened his heart (Exodus 8:15, 32; 9:12). He enjoyed power and blessing but rejected the Giver. His pride led Egypt into disaster, not because God was harsh, but because Pharaoh refused to surrender. Like the prodigal, Pharaoh had a chance to return—but unlike the son, he never did. His story warns us: to rebel against God is to reject the very source of life. “Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts” (Hebrews 3:15, NIV). Understanding God's heart leads not to resistance, but to repentance and restoration.

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Maurice Ashton on July 24, 2025 at 11:42 pm said:
Some thoughts on this week’s lesson:
I have been enjoying a week of travelling along the mid-north coast of New South Wales, often out of the intrusive reach of the Internet. Now that I am back I am posting a few thoughts on “The Plagues”. I have been unable to read other comments while I am away so I hope that I am presenting something a bit different to what others have said.
Here are a few thoughts:
- We should probably avoid playing the game, “My God is bigger and more powerful than your god” game. That has the potential to become self-centred about our view of God. We may need reminding that all of us have no claim to righteousness in ourselves and that our deliverance is a gift by grace and not based on merit.
- Most of the plagues can be attributed to natural causes if we are not people of faith. In Australia we have rivers that run red in flood, hailstorms that can deroof whole suburbs of houses, locust plagues that can decimate grain crops, sunshine that can induce cancer and so on. What is important is not whether they are natural events, but rather their timing and effect. God is quite capable of using natural events for his own purposes.
- Pharaoh’s “hardening of his heart” was a result of his own decisions. That should remind us that we are quite capable of making decisions that harden our own hearts, and sometimes that hardening takes place within our own definitions of religious and spiritual experience. Sometimes God needs to shake us a bit so that we understand our relationship with him.
- We should be careful not to extrapolate the plagues of Egypt as a pretext for judging nations and political systems in our modern world. All too often I have heard it said that the reason for some calamity now-a-days is due to the sinfulness of the people who have been affected by it. That is a stretch too far. Good people are dying in tragic circimstances today and we need to show compassion and the spirit of liberation as we minister to them irrespective of our perception of their sinfulness.
... And just to show you where I have been this week, here is a photo for you to enjoy:

Peaceful Sabbath!

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Reply ↓
JC Zielak on July 25, 2025 at 4:01 am said:

God is wonderful! And He knows even the secrets of my heart better! He knows the motivations that I cannot recognize. And He can help me with my flaws because He knows how to fix them. I need to accept His ways for me and trust in His blessings! Every single thing is a blessing; it's a matter of acceptance.

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John Herscher on July 25, 2025 at 4:46 am said:

Beautiful picture Maurice. We were wondering where you had gone.

Your 1st comment. You are right. Looking back to Abram, he believed and it was then counted to Him as righteousness. Genesis 15:6.
Of course, Abram did not stop with belief he followed through with obedience to Gods command, thus the father of the Israelite nation. As we fast forward to Moses time Moses and Arron also followed trough, with their belief in God, though on Moses part, with fear and trepidation.
How ever God kept him as His ambassador of a very important mission.

I want to bring out a point that is of last week, that I did not give last week. Satan's snake through the magicians of Pharaoh were just illusions just as Pastor Shawn Boonstra brought out in his series several years back. I picked this up in Patriarchs and Prophets in my reading.

The magicians did not really cause their rods to become serpents; but by magic, aided by the great deceiver, they were able to produce this appearance. It was beyond the power of Satan to change the rods to living serpents. The prince of evil, though possessing all the wisdom and might of an angel fallen, has not power to create, or to give life; this is the prerogative of God alone. But all that was in Satan's power to do, he did; he produced a counterfeit. To human sight the rods were changed to serpents. Patriarchs and Prophets 264.2

Important point is they were able to produce this appearance(illusion). The prince of evil has no power to create, or resurrect, we must remember this in these last days.

Glad to see you had a good and safe trip without injury. God is indeed good to us.

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Friday: Further Thought – The Plagues

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Friday: Further Thought – The Plagues — 4 Comments

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