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Speaker 1: Previously on the chosen people.
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Speaker 2: We have both come with a message from the God of Israel.
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Speaker 3: What reproquested does this God have with the image.
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Speaker 4: Of raw Our God has commanded that Pharaoh let his people go into the wilderness to worship.
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Speaker 5: I do not know this God of yours, who is the lord that I should obey? I am the image of Rah, the Lord of the Nile.
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Speaker 6: The sun rises and sets according to My greatness, God, Let your people go. Moses, I do not acknowledge this God of yours.
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Speaker 7: Tread lightly.
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Speaker 2: Rameses, the God of the Hebrews, will not relent me.
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Speaker 8: I will hearden fellow's heart. I will show him signs of my power through you. Wonders shall descend upon you following arrows.
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Speaker 1: The onlookers gasped as the clear blue green currents of the Nile began to darken. The color shifted deepened, turning from blue to a murky red. The transformation was slow, at first, almost subtle, but then it spread like fire through dry reeds. The river was becoming thick and plotted, a red so dark it was nearly black, like the blood of a freshly slain bull left too long in the sun.
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Speaker 2: The lenses.
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Speaker 6: Your people will feel by you being further into their rods.
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Speaker 9: What my people lose in these sources will be taken from Gausa.
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Speaker 10: Pharaoh stood at the banks of the bloody Knie, but it wasn't the water that was choking his people. It was Pharaoh's own pride. Shallo my friends from here in the Holy Land, i'm ya l Extein with the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews. Welcome to the Chosen People. The Nile still reeks of blood. It's waters, once the life blood of Egypt, now flows thick and red, a constant reminder that the God of Israel is not to be trifled with. Pharaoh stands on the edge of the Nile, unyielding, as if the sight of his kingdom's greatest artery bleeding before his eyes could somehow be ignored. The people murmur, their crops, their lives have already begun to wither under this first strike. But Pharaoh and his arrogance does not flinch. His heart remains hard, like a stone, like iron. Egypt waits in a terrible, uneasy silence.
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Speaker 2: What's next, Moses.
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Speaker 3: It's been seven days and Pharaoh has yet relent.
00:03:06
Speaker 1: Miriam's question hung in the heavy air, like the scent of the rotting Nile. Moses, Miriam, and Aaron stood on the wooden platform overlooking the niles still tainted waters, now as sickly brownish red. The river had once been the life blood of Egypt.
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Speaker 7: But now it smelled of death.
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Speaker 1: Dead fish clogged the banks, their bodies bloated and swollen, the stench of iron and wrought filling the air. Seven days had passed since the Lord had made happy the God of the Nile bleed. The crimson tide had receded, but the aftermath lingered like a warning.
00:03:47
Speaker 7: Unheeded.
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Speaker 1: Egypt still felt the plague's bitter sting, and the people's murmurs had shifted from awe to dread.
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Speaker 7: Moses stared into.
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Speaker 1: The water, his mind not on the decay before him, but on the voice of the Almighty, which seemed to rise like a whisper from the river's depths.
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Speaker 7: There is more to come, he knew.
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Speaker 1: The Lord was not finished with Pharaoh nor with Egypt. His hand was still poised to strike again. Aaron and Miriam stepped back, giving Moses space to hear the voice.
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Speaker 7: They could not.
00:04:27
Speaker 1: They had watched him like this before, his face taut with concentration, his eyes distant, as if straining to catch some sound just beyond their hearing. How he heard the voice of God they did not understand, but that he did they could not doubt. After a few moments of silence, Moses turned to them. His voice, when it came was soft but steady.
00:04:53
Speaker 2: We are to return to Pharaoh's courts with an ultimatum. Haven't we done that already?
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Speaker 8: Pharaoh has refused.
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Speaker 2: Many things will happen before Pharaoh bends. We must remain persistent.
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Speaker 4: I'm with you, brother, Just tell me what to say and do.
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Speaker 7: And I shall obey.
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Speaker 3: What will be the next sign?
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Speaker 1: Moses looked away for a moment and tilted his head. He sighed, then replied with a monotone voice.
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Speaker 2: Frogs, frogs, Yes, frogs.
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Speaker 4: I'm going to stand before the most powerful man alive and threaten him with frogs.
00:05:38
Speaker 2: Yes, let's go erin. I will relay the exact words and deeds to you on the way, Miriam, you return and prepare the people. Prepare them for frogs. Frogs.
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Speaker 1: Miriam, Moses and Aaron ascended the wide stairs leading to the pools of Pharaoh's palace, the same pools where Moses had been drawn from the waters as an infant. Ramses was there, reclining on a stone bench, watching his children splash and play in the cool water. Now that it no longer ran red with blood, Moses couldn't help but feel a pang of memory. He could almost see himself and Ramses as boys playing in these same waters, laughing as they chased each other through the shallows. But those days were long gone, buried beneath the weight of years and the blood of slaves. The guards escorted them, but none dared touch them. Fear had begun to creep into the hearts of the Egyptians, though not yet into the heart of Pharaoh. Ramses looked up as they approached, a sneer. Curling his lips, he gestured toward the playing children and spoke with a mockery that cut through the air like a blade.
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Speaker 9: Ah.
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Speaker 6: You never got a chance to meet my children, Moses. But I told them stories about you. I told them how you were plucked out of this very place and spared.
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Speaker 9: By my dear sister.
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Speaker 6: She was a fool not to drown you, though, moment she heard your cries.
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Speaker 1: Moses, ignored the slight. His eyes lingered on the children, their laughter mixing with the rippling of the water. They reminded him of the simpler times when they were brothers in all but blood.
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Speaker 2: I have fond memories of these fools. You always pretended to be the sea monster, and I I would be the unsuspecting fisherman.
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Speaker 6: They're enough of this. Why have you come, Moses? Let me guess more demands from your god?
00:07:53
Speaker 5: More thurmits.
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Speaker 2: The Lord demands that you let his people go, at least for a few days, into the wilderness, so that they might worship him.
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Speaker 6: Ech, you are peasant. God ruined our supply of fish and clean water for a week, but we have recovered whatever twicks you have up your sleeve.
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Speaker 2: I will be ready for there will be more plagues. Ramses cannot be foolish.
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Speaker 6: And what plague is to come next?
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Speaker 2: Frogs?
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Speaker 8: Frogs? Yes, frogs.
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Speaker 1: For a moment there was silence. Then Rameses laughed, a deep, guttural laugh that echoed off the stone walls.
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Speaker 6: Very well, Moses, bring your frogs. I care not Nevermund remind Moses here what he has seemed to have forgottenen.
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Speaker 1: The slithery priest emerged from the shadows of the colonnade. His cat like grin almost glowed in the darkness.
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Speaker 3: Frogs, you, sir, you should know, Hebrew, that frogs are a sign of blessing from the goddess has kept. They represent fertility, abundance from the Nile.
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Speaker 2: There will be no blessing, Rameses. The Nile will team the frogs. It will come upon your palace, your bedroom, and the houses of all your people. They will leap into your ovens and kneading those. They will be inescapable.
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Speaker 3: We do not fear your God, Hebrew. Now leave the Pharaoh before we have the guards toss you out.
00:09:40
Speaker 1: Moses turned to Aaron and nodded. Aaron stepped forward, his face grim with purpose. He stretched out his staff over the water. For a long moment, nothing stirred except the laughter of Ramsy's children as they splashed in the pools. Then the surface of the nile te trembled, small ripples at first, then violent bubbles. The waters churned and frothed, as if something monstrous was rising from the depths. Suddenly the frogs came, hundreds, then thousands, then tens of thousands. They surged from the water like a living tide, their croaks deafening, their bodies, leaping and scrambling over each other in their lad rushed to the shore. Ramses children scorned as the frogs surrounded them, swarming up the steps of the palace. Ramses leaped to his feet, his face a mask of shock.
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Speaker 7: One of the servants.
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Speaker 1: Grabbed a groom to swap the frogs away, but nevermund coulidly stop them.
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Speaker 3: No, tho it is what bidden to kill dwarves? Do you want to anger the cat and her husband?
00:10:54
Speaker 9: The great guard?
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Speaker 8: Room?
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Speaker 7: Who will with at the angle of the guard.
00:11:01
Speaker 1: Moses and Aaron turned up the stairs to leave Pharaoh in his household in disarray. He was not long before every pond, river and canal was overflowing with frogs. They leapt into each hole, dying under their own weight and filling the streets with blood. Days passed, and the once lively croaking of frogs turned to a nightmarish chorus. The stench of death filled the air as the frogs began to die, their bodies littering the streets, clogging the gutters, rotting under the relentless Egyptian sun. The people of Egypt were driven to madness by the sound and the smell. But still Pharaoh's heart did not bend. Rameses, his composure slipping, turned to Nebermund, his voice low and dangerous.
00:11:54
Speaker 6: How do we con thrall these?
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Speaker 7: Neebermunn? Is there any power on God's or for us to combat this?
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Speaker 3: Yes, Pharaoh, these are mere tricks.
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Speaker 6: You see.
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Speaker 3: Our magicians have been able to conjure similar things from the water. We too can make frogs appear.
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Speaker 11: Do not tell me that you have made more frogs up here. That is the last thing I want from you. I am telling you to make it stop.
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Speaker 7: We cannot not fallow.
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Speaker 3: It seems to be, of course, outside of our control.
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Speaker 1: Pharaoh through an urn against the palace wall. Its shattered pieces fell upon dozens of frogs hopping against the wall's edge. Pharaoh's chest rose and fell with rage.
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Speaker 2: Blague me Moses at once.
00:12:57
Speaker 1: Moses and Aaron stood before Pharaoh, the great halls of the palace overrun by frogs. The croaking was deafening, the stench unbearable. Rameses sat on his throne, his eyes bloodshot, his face gaunt with sleepless nights. He leaned forward, his voice hoarse with desperation.
00:13:20
Speaker 9: Pray to your God to make these frogs disappear.
00:13:27
Speaker 2: You know the terms, Pharaoh, fine, I.
00:13:30
Speaker 6: Shall allow your people to go offer sacrifices in the wilderness. Just make these madness anne.
00:13:38
Speaker 1: Moses could see the cracks forming in Pharaoh's resolve, the weariness in his eyes. He pitied the man with a familiar brotherly affection.
00:13:49
Speaker 2: I will leave you with the honor of sitting the time. When would you like me to pray for you and your officials. Once I pray, the frogs will retreat to the Nile's the war as you wish.
00:14:06
Speaker 1: The next day, Moses cried out to the Lord, and the frogs died where they lay. The streets of Egypt were clogged with their bodies, a testament to the Lord's dominion over the gods of the Nile. Yet even in the face of this, Pharaoh's heart hardened once more. He withdrew his promise, refusing to let the Hebrews go. The Lord knew that Pharaoh's heart was hardened. He refused to bend, and things that don't bend tend to break. The Lord came again to Moses and declared the next.
00:14:42
Speaker 8: Move, tell eron to stretch out his sturf and strike the dust of the ground throughout the land of Egypt. The dust would become nurds Arun did as commanded.
00:14:58
Speaker 1: He came before Pharaoh's feet with his star firmly held in his hand. In one fell swoop, he struck the earth. The dust rose in great clouds, twisting and writhing in the air, before transforming into a swarm of gnats. They descended upon Egypt, covering man and beast alike. The buzzing was incessant, filling the air with an endless drone that round out all the thought. The fields lay empty, the workers driven mad by the swarm, and even the mighty Pharaoh could find no refuge from the gnats that plagued his land. Ramses sat brooding in the cool shadows of his palace, his heart a cauldron of rage and denial. The scent of decay and blood lingered on the air. The remains of the frogs, their putrid corpses now rotting beneath the relentless sun, mixed with the buzzing of the gnats that still swarmed around him. It was a constant, maddening hum. No corner of his palace was free from the relentless sound, no refuge from the itching bites that covered his skin. Pharaoh, the living god of Egypt, had become a man tormented by insects. Rameses clenched his fists, his knuckles white, as Nebermund stood beside him, powerless and pale, swatting at the gnats with desperate futility.
00:16:27
Speaker 6: Ah, can you do nothing about this.
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Speaker 7: My lord?
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Speaker 3: We have called upon a Ghip, the god of the earth, but he does not answer. These gnats. They are beyond our control. This is not the work of any magic known to our priests. The gods remained silent.
00:16:53
Speaker 1: Ramsey's eyes blazed with fury, though beneath the anger there was something else.
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Speaker 7: Fear.
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Speaker 1: It gnawdered him like a rat in the dark, eating away.
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Speaker 7: At his confidence. But he would not show it.
00:17:09
Speaker 1: He was Pharaoh, He was the god King, unbowed and unbreakable. Yet Moses, the name tasted bitter on Rameses's tongue. Moses, the boy who had once played in these pools, who had grown up in his palace, had become his greatest adversary, wielding the power of a god he did not know or understand, and Now this God of Moses was stripping away the layers of his divinity, exposing him not as a deity but as a man who could not command the dust of the earth or the creatures of the air. Nebermund shifted nervously, clearing his throat, as if to break the tension.
00:17:52
Speaker 7: That hung in the air.
00:17:54
Speaker 3: Perhaps, my lord, it is time to.
00:18:01
Speaker 7: Reconsider Moses and his God. They are relentless.
00:18:09
Speaker 3: Each plague has grown worse and the people.
00:18:13
Speaker 6: Do you suggest I bend to that peasant god.
00:18:17
Speaker 9: He will not break me.
00:18:20
Speaker 5: I will crush him beneath the heel of Egypt.
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Speaker 2: He is nothing but a dog, an insect calling.
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Speaker 6: At my feet.
00:18:30
Speaker 12: Of course, for you are the Lord of the Nile and image of raw, I suggest you best Moses and his God in a battle of wits, off with a lip service.
00:18:44
Speaker 1: Perhaps that morning Moses and Aaron met Pharaoh by the banks of the Nile. He was floating on a pontoon to escape the gnats emerging from the dust, fanned beside him at all times, keeping the bugs at bay. But the Lord would not ease up on Pharaoh. He would continue to press him until he broke. Aaron spoke on behalf of Moses shouting across the Nile to Pharaoh. Aaron's voice was like metal to stone to Pharaoh's ears.
00:19:21
Speaker 4: Pharaoh, thus says the Lord, let my people go so they may worship me in the wilderness. If you do not let my people go, I will send a swarm of flies on you and all your officials.
00:19:35
Speaker 2: Every home will be swarmed with flies.
00:19:38
Speaker 7: The ground will be dark with them.
00:19:42
Speaker 3: Capri, the god of motion and rebirth, takes the form of a fly. Sheep would never lay a hand on Pharaoh's people.
00:19:52
Speaker 2: Fools, have you learned nothing.
00:19:54
Speaker 3: It is you who seems to have not learned. Slave Pharaoh is inevitable.
00:20:05
Speaker 4: When the flies come, the Lord will deal differently in the land of Goshen, Thus says the Lord. No flies will swarm when my people dwell. I will make a distinction between my people and your people. Then you will understand who has the power here in this land.
00:20:27
Speaker 1: Moses and Aaron gave no room for response. They turned and departed from Pharaoh. The following day, the flies came. Dense swarms poured into Pharaoh's palace, darkening the air. Their buzzing and near deafening roar. They swept through the streets of Egypt, covering the land like a plague of shadows. The skies turned black with their numbers, and the people were driven to madness as the insects filled their home, their mouths, their very beds. No corner of Egypt was spared. Yet in Goshen, where the Hebrews dwelled, the air remained clear. Not a single fly buzzed in the fields, and the people went about their work unhindered.
00:21:16
Speaker 7: This was no accident.
00:21:18
Speaker 1: It was a sign, a message to Pharaoh and all of Egypt. The God of Israel was a god who could protect his own, while the gods of Egypt were powerless to protect even their so called god. King in the palace, Pharaoh's composure shattered. His servants wailed, swatting futilely at the swarms. The air was thick with the smell of decay and fear. Rameses once the image of divinity was reduced to pacing in frustration, his robes stained with sweat, his eyes wild with fury. He pointed at Moses with the crook of his hand and shouted.
00:22:00
Speaker 9: Now, your people to sacrifice to their god. Yet they must do so within my borders, No.
00:22:07
Speaker 2: Rameses, it cannot happen that way. The sacrifices we offer the Lord, our God, would be detestable to the Egyptians. If we worship our God within your borders, it would create turmoil.
00:22:20
Speaker 7: You can stone us.
00:22:22
Speaker 2: We must make a three day journey into the wilderness. Very will, I will let you go into the wilderness.
00:22:31
Speaker 6: Now, pray for me at once.
00:22:34
Speaker 2: Pray for the flies to cease. As soon as I leave, I shall. How can I trust it you'll act deceitfully? How can we trust it you won't go back on your word.
00:22:49
Speaker 6: I guess that's the risk you'll have to take.
00:22:54
Speaker 9: Leave me.
00:22:55
Speaker 6: Pray for the flies to cease.
00:22:57
Speaker 7: See what I declay?
00:23:00
Speaker 1: With a slow nod, Moses turned and left the throne room, Aaron.
00:23:05
Speaker 7: Following close behind.
00:23:07
Speaker 1: That very day, Moses called out to the Lord, and the flies ceased. The air cleared, and the people of Egypt breathed a collective sigh of relief. Yet, as the silence settled over the land and the streets began to clear of the dead insects, Rameses's heart hardened once more. He would not let the Hebrews go. His pride, his belief in his own divinity would not allow him to bend. The Lord watched, and he knew that Rameses's defiance had not yet reached its peak. Pharaoh still clung to the illusion of his power, still believed he could withstand the judgment that had already begun to fall upon him like a hammer upon iron. But the gods of Egypt were crumbling one by one, and soon there would be nothing left but dust and broken idols. The God of Israel would not relent. The plagues were far from over.
00:24:21
Speaker 10: What a story, the tension, the defiance, and then God's raw power. It's staggering. Pharaoh's stubbornness and his refusal to see the truth is infuriating, with much worse yet to come, and still he won't bend. It's terrifying to see someone at the edge, watching his world fall apart in yet he clings to his pride like lifeline. And there's the waiting, the pause between plagues, when the land holds its breath, waiting to see what will happen next. But Pharaoh's heart is hard, and with each act of resistance, you know that isn't done. The worst is still ahead. But now let's talk about the plagues. The plagues you probably learned about them in Sunday school. But what can we learn today as the Chosen people, about the first wave of plagues that God sent to Egypt that maybe you didn't think about before. The famous nineteenth century Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch paints an interesting picture of the plague of frogs. Rebbi Hirsch explains that generally the frog is a timid, lowly animal. Frogs are frightened of people. They hop away from a human who tries to approach. But during the Plague of frogs, thousands upon thousands of frogs descended upon Egypt, and these frogs are anything but timid. There are frogs everywhere, croaking away, jumping into people's food, hopping into beds. Frogs everywhere. But what does this plague demonstrate to the Egyptians? Rebbi Heirs says that it speaks to them about slave He said that slave owners justify having slaves with two arguments. First, they argue that the slave owner belongs to an altogether higher order of human beings, and second, they argue that power and riches permit a slave owner to literally be lured over their slaves, while the frogs dispelled this notion. As rebbei Hirsch put it, they boldly entered the precincts of human beings and hopped all over them, including upon Pharaoh himself upon the throne. The plague of frogs was meant to teach the Egyptians, says Rebbi Hirsh, that even the lowliest animal had lost all respect for them and their overbearing arrogance over their Hebrew slaves. When Jewish children learn of the plagues each Passover during the sat Or dinner, they are taking part in an education that has been going on for thousands of years, in education of another generation of the Chosen People, who are telling over this story to the next generation.
00:27:04
Speaker 2: Well.
00:27:05
Speaker 10: The plague of Nantz is a turning point in the education of Pharaoh and his magicians. So far, Pharaoh's magicians had been able to duplicate the first two plagues with their magic, the plagues of blood and frogs. But here the Bible tells us that they could not. Verse nineteen tells us that they said, quote this is the finger of God end quote. Suddenly, Pharaoh's magicians realize that what is happening goes far beyond magic. The Egyptians are beginning to understand.
00:27:38
Speaker 2: That there is a power in the world, the power of God, that is far.
00:27:42
Speaker 10: Stronger than anything the best magicians could conjure. Have you had moments in life where something amazing happened and you were at tempted to cry out, quote, this is the finger of God end quote. I know I have, and I hope that this Bible study that we're doing together each day helps you to see God's finger.
00:28:02
Speaker 2: Everywhere in your life. I know it helps me.
00:28:07
Speaker 10: In Hebrew, the fourth plague is called rov. There are two schools of thought and Jewish tradition about the translation of this word. Some say that it means swarms of flies, and this is a translation found in many English versions of the Bible as well. But another school of thoughts suggests that this plague was a mixture of wild beasts roaming Egypt. But whichever plague it was, this was a very destructive plague. And there's something else here. The Bible specifically states that this plague stopped right at the border between Egypt proper and the land of Gashen, where the Israelites lived. The Jewish sages point out that this plague clearly announced that God is involved directly and intimately with the world. God chose to stop the flies or the wild beast before they could attack the chosen people. This message is so relevant to all of us today. God is not just the God of the cosmos. He is the God of what happens with each and every person and each nation every single day. For me, that's a really comforting thought. Do you feel that comfort as well, that God of the infinite universe also cares about you, that He cares about us wherever we are today. Earlier I mentioned Ray by Samson Raffel Hirsh. Ra By Hirsh saw a pattern in the plagues. He believed that the plagues escalated deliberately from discomfort to catastrophe. And why was that well, because God is patient. God gave Pharaoh time to repent, time to turn back, but with each refusal, chaos grew, until Egypt was engulfed in more than punishment, It was engulfed in its own, slow, deliberate unraveling. God's mysterious plagues weren't random, they weren't half hazard. They were God creating order amidst the chaos of Egypt. Creation amidst decreation life amidst death, and through it all God showed his justice, his patience, and his ultimate authority over the universe. These plagues show us today what can happen when we forget the giver of life, and they also remind us that there's always.
00:30:36
Speaker 2: A way to God.
00:30:38
Speaker 10: If only Pharaoh had chosen it, the Egyptian people wouldn't have suffered so very much.
00:30:47
Speaker 1: You can listen to The Chosen People with Isle Eckstein ad free by downloading and subscribing to the Pray dot Com app today. This prey dot com production is only made possible by our dedicated team of creative talents. Steve Gattina, Max Bard, Zach Shellabarger and Ben Gammon are the executive producers of The Chosen People with Yile Eckstein, Edited by Alberto Avilla, narrated by Paul Coltofianu. Characters are voiced by Jonathan Cotton, Aaron Salvato, Sarah Seltz, Mike Reagan, Stephen Ringwold, Sylvia Zaradoc and the opening prayer is voiced by John Moore. Music by Andrew Morgan Smith, written by bre Rosalie and Aaron Salvato. Special thanks to Bishop Paul Lanier, Robin van Ettin, Kayleb Burrows, Jocelyn Fuller, and the team at International Fellowship of Christians and Jews. You can hear more Prey dot com productions on the Prey dot com app, available on the Apple App Store and Google Play Store. If you enjoyed The Chosen People with Yile Eckstein, please rate and leave a review.