Daily Lesson for Thursday 24th of July 2025

Nut was the Egyptian goddess of the sky and heavens and was often depicted as controlling what happened under the sky and on the earth. Osiris was the god of crops and fertility. In the Bible, hail is often as­sociated with God’s judgment (Isaiah 28:2,17; Ezekiel 13:11-13). During this plague, those who hide their property in a safe shelter will be protected (Exodus 9:20-21). Everyone is now tested: will they, or will they not, believe God’s Word and act accordingly?

Image © Educational Concepts Collection at Goodsalt.com

God announces that His purpose in letting Pharaoh live is for the whole earth to know Him (Exodus 9:16). The king of Egypt now confes­ses that he has sinned, but later he changes his mind.

The Egyptian god of storm, war, and disorder was called Seth. Together with Isis, they were considered agriculture deities. Shu was a god of the atmosphere. Serapis personified divine majesty, fertility, healing, and afterlife. Not one of the Egyptian gods could stop God’s judgments (Exodus 10:4-20) because idols are nothing (Isaiah 44:9-10,12-17).

Pharaoh’s servants urged him to let Israel go, but he refused again. He offered a compromise, which Moses rightly rejected because women and children are a vital and inseparable part of worship and the faith community.

Finally, Ra was the principal Egyptian god, the sun god. Thoth was a moon god. Neither was able to give light. Pharaoh again tries to bargain, but in vain. A three-day period of darkness struck Egypt, but there was light where the Israelites lived. The separation could not be more spectacular.

Yet, no matter the battering that his nation took, Pharaoh was determined to fight back and not to relent. Though we don’t know his deeper motives, at some point it could have become purely a pride thing. No matter how powerful the evidence, no matter how obvious it was what was happening (even his own servants declared, “ ‘How long shall this man be a snare to us? Let the men go, that they may serve the Lord their God. Do you not yet know that Egypt is destroyed?’ ” [Exodus 10:7, NKJV]), and no matter that the correct choice was right there before him—after a bit of waffling, Pharaoh still refused to surrender to God’s will and let the people go.

What a dramatic example of the words “Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall” (Proverbs 16:18, NKJV).

<–Wednesday Friday–>

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Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/25c-04-hail-locusts-and-darkness/

Join It Is Written Sabbath School host Eric Flickinger and this quarter’s author, Dr. Jiří Moskala, as they provide additional insights into this week’s Sabbath School lesson.”

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Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/4-the-plagues-it-is-written-discussions-with-the-author/

View an in-depth discussion of The Plagues in the Hope Sabbath School class led by Pastor Derek Morris.
Click on the image below to view the video:

With thanks to Hope Channel – Television that will change your life.

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Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/4-the-plagues-hope-sabbath-school-video-discussion/

Join the Hit the Mark panel as they discuss Sabbath School Lesson 4 – The Plagues. It’s the fastest hour of the week!

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Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/the-plagues-hit-the-mark-sabbath-school/

Daily Lesson for Wednesday 23rd of July 2025

The Egyptian god Uatchit was the fly god and of swamps and marshes. The god Khepri (of the rising sun, creation, and rebirth) was depicted with the head of a scarab beetle. These “gods” were defeated by the Lord. In this account (Exodus 8:20-24), while the Egyptians were suffering, the Hebrews were protected. In fact, no further plagues affected them.

Again, all this was an attempt by God to let Pharaoh know that “ ‘I am the Lord in the midst of the land’ ” (Exodus 8:22, NKJV).

Image © Review & Herald Publishing at Goodsalt.com

Thus, Pharaoh began to bargain. No doubt the pressure was mounting. He was willing for Israel to worship their God and to sacrifice to Him, but only in the land of Egypt (Exodus 8:25). His conditions could not be met because some of the animals were considered sacred in Egypt, and sacrificing them would have caused violence against the Hebrews. Also, this was not God’s plan for Israel.

Meanwhile, the next plague (Exodus 9:1-7) falls on the livestock. Hathor, the Egyptian goddess of love and protection, was depicted with the head of a cow. A bull god Apis was also very popular and highly regarded in ancient Egypt. Thus, in this fifth plague, additional principal deities were defeated when the Egyptians’ livestock died.

In the sixth plague (Exodus 9:8-12), the total defeat of Isis, the goddess of medicine, magic, and wisdom, is made manifest. We also see the defeat of such deities as Sekhmet (goddess of war and epidemics) and Imhotep (god of medicine and healing). They are unable to protect their own worshipers. Ironically, now even the magicians and sorcerers are so afflicted that they cannot appear in court, which shows that they are helpless against the Creator of heaven and earth.

For the first time in the story about the ten plagues, a text says that “the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart” (Exodus 9:12, NIV). However confusing this phrase might be, when understood in the full context, it reveals again that the Lord will let us reap the consequences of our own continual rejection of Him.

<–Tuesday Thursday–>

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Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/25c-04-flies-livestock-and-boils/