Welcome back to today’s Time in the Word! Thank you for coming along on the Ten Plagues devotional journey. Today we tackle the plague of boils. Have you ever had a boil? I have had several boils on my back in my early adult years.
I will spare you the details of how I got rid of my boils. Suffice it to say their removal was a painful adventure. If you’ve ever seen Dr. Sandra Lee’s reality T.V. show “Dr. Pimple Popper” you can imagine how it went. If you don’t know what a boil is, you can check it out here.
A grumpy group of folks
Can you imagine an entire country’s people full of boils? Not one boil or two boils, but a body full of boils. I thought having one boil on my back at a time was painful. The boil made it hard to sleep and I had to be careful when dressing that I didn’t hit my boil with my hand, or the neck of the shirt.
A boil, at peak fill, puts tremendous pressure on the skin. A boil can make a person pretty grumpy. I bet most of Egyptian life came to a halt. Everyone was in survival mode.
Plague Number Six: Boils
Scripture Exodus 9: 8-12, https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Exodus+9%3A8-12&version=NIV
Something interesting takes place here in the plague of boils. It was Aaron who performed the act of producing the plague, but today God instructs Moses to do it. Moses is to take handfuls of soot and toss them into the air. The soot would spread in the air (a supernatural act) and it would cause boils on what animals remained as well as all Egyptian people. Pharaoh’s heart was once again hardened by God.
Egyptian god or goddesses the plague confronted– Barnes Bible Chart pdf
- Sekhmet– goddess, controlled epidemics and could heal
- Serapis– the god of healing
- Imhotep– the god of wisdom and healing, was deified
Interesting notes and insights
- Moses and Aaron continued to be obedient to God. Moses performed the plague.
- Pharaoh’s court magicians cannot even appear before the court and Moses because the boils are so painful. They also could not appear before Pharaoh because the spiritual, demonic connections had been severed.
- This plague affects the human body as well as the remaining animals.
- If we look back to the first plagues, they began in nature/environment- water, frogs, lice, flies. Then we move to mammals that caught a disease and died. Now we have arrived at the plague afflicting animals and human’s skin. God is demonstrating his supernatural powers over all creation.
- I read the plague of boils was thought to be smallpox. Another article suggested that the boils were ulcerated skin sores on the outside- just some possible suggestions.
- Do you think the boils disfiguring the skin were possible retribution for the beatings they took from cruel taskmasters?
- Can you see God working in the Egyptian cult beliefs by destroying their gods one by one?
Can you see any plagues in your life, that God is using to draw you closer to him? Could it be possible that plagues are happening in our country? Look around, be discerning. What do you see happening?
Next week we witness the plague of hail and its destruction of the Egyptian people’s lives. Thank you for joining me here in Time in the Word.
Michele Bruxvoort is sure to draw you in with her delightful sense of humor and love for living life. She enjoys reading, repurposing, as well as remodeling the family home with her husband. Drawing from her life experience as wife, mom, and follower of Jesus, Michele brings you a very honest and real perspective on life. When you don’t find her writing, you can find her mowing lawns, stocking shelves, taking care of her grandbaby and tackling her latest life adventure.
Wisconsin native and empty-nester, she now makes her home with her husband of 27 years in the South West Prairie plains of Minnesota.