Week 5, Day 3 in the LEB

Jan 31, 2024

Podcast: Play in new window (Duration: 21:45 — 12.45MB)
The reading for today is Exodus 7-9; Psalm 105; Ephesians 1.

Scripture quotations are from the Lexham English Bible. Copyright 2012 Logos Bible Software. Lexham is a registered trademark of Logos Bible Software.

Exodus 7

And Yahweh said to Moses, "See, I have made you as a god to Pharaoh, and Aaron your brother will be your prophet. You will speak all that I will command you, and Aaron your brother will speak to Pharaoh, and he will release the Israelites from his land. And I myself will harden the heart of Pharaoh, and I will make my signs and my wonders numerous in the land of Egypt. And Pharaoh will not listen to you, and I will put my hand into Egypt and bring out my divisions, my people, the Israelites, from the land of Egypt with great punishments. And the Egyptians will know that I am Yahweh when I stretch out my hand over Egypt and bring the Israelites out from their midst."

And Moses and Aaron did it; as Yahweh commanded them, so they did. (And Moses was eighty years old, and Aaron was eighty-three years old when they spoke to Pharaoh.)

And Yahweh said to Moses and to Aaron, saying, "When Pharaoh speaks to you, saying, ‘Do a wonder for yourselves,’ you will say to Aaron, ‘Take your staff and throw it before Pharaoh, and it will become a snake.’" And Moses and Aaron came to Pharaoh, and they did so, as Yahweh had commanded. And Aaron threw his staff before Pharaoh and before his servants, and it became a snake.

And Pharaoh also called the wise men and the sorcerers, and they also, the magicians of Egypt, did likewise with their secret arts. Each threw down his staff, and they became snakes, and Aaron’s staff swallowed up their staffs. And Pharaoh’s heart was hard, and he did not listen to them, as Yahweh had said.

And Yahweh said to Moses, "Pharaoh’s heart is insensitive; he refuses to release the people. Go to Pharaoh in the morning. Look, he is going out to the water, and you must wait to meet him on the bank of the Nile, and you must take in your hand the staff that was changed into a snake. And you must say to him, ‘Yahweh, the God of the Hebrews, has sent me to you, saying, "Release my people that they may serve me in the desert, and, look, you have not listened until now." Thus says Yahweh, "By this you will know that I am Yahweh. Look, I am about to strike with the staff that is in my hand the water that is in the Nile, and it will be changed to blood. And the fish that are in the Nile will die, and the Nile will stink, and the Egyptians will be unable to drink water from the Nile."’"

And Yahweh said to Moses, "Say to Aaron, ‘Take your staff and stretch your hand out over the waters of Egypt and over their rivers, over their canals, and over their pools and over all of their reservoirs of water, so that they become blood,’ and blood will be in all the land of Egypt and in vessels of wood and of stone."

And Moses and Aaron did so, as Yahweh had commanded, and he raised the staff and struck the water that was in the Nile before the eyes of Pharaoh and before the eyes of his servants, and all of the water that was in the Nile was changed to blood. And the fish that were in the Nile died, and the Nile stank, and the Egyptians were not able to drink water from the Nile, and the blood was in all the land of Egypt.

And the magicians of Egypt did likewise with their secret arts, and Pharaoh’s heart was hard, and he did not listen to them, as Yahweh had spoken. And Pharaoh turned and went to his house, and he did not take also this to heart. And all of the Egyptians dug around the Nile for water to drink, because they were unable to drink from the water of the Nile.

And seven days passed after Yahweh struck the Nile.

Exodus 8

And Yahweh said to Moses, "Go to Pharaoh, and say to him, ‘Thus says Yahweh, "Release my people so that they may serve me." And if you are refusing to release, look, I am going to plague all of your territory with frogs. And the Nile will swarm with frogs, and they will go up and come into your house and into your bedroom and onto your bed and into the house of your servants and among your people and into your ovens and into your kneading troughs. And the frogs will go up against you and against your people and against all of your servants.’"

And Yahweh said to Moses, "Say to Aaron, ‘Stretch out your hand with your staff over the rivers, over the canals, and over the pools, and bring up the frogs on the land of Egypt.’" And Aaron stretched out his hand over the waters of Egypt, and the frogs went up and covered the land of Egypt. And the magicians did likewise with their secret arts, and they brought up frogs over the land of Egypt.

And Pharaoh called Moses and Aaron and said, "Pray to Yahweh, and let him remove the frogs from me and from my people, and let me release the people so that they can sacrifice to Yahweh." And Moses said to Pharaoh, "I leave to you the honor over me. When shall I pray for you and for your servants and for your people to cut off the frogs from you and from your houses? They will be left only in the Nile." And he said, "Tomorrow." And he said, "Let it be according to your word so that you will know that there is no one like Yahweh our God. And the frogs will depart from you and from your house and from your servants. They will be left only in the Nile."

And Moses and Aaron went out from Pharaoh, and Moses cried out to Yahweh over the matter of the frogs that he had brought on Pharaoh. And Yahweh did according to the word of Moses, and the frogs died from the houses, from the courtyards, and from the fields. And they piled them in countless heaps, and the land stank. And Pharaoh saw that there was relief, and he made his heart insensitive, and he did not listen to them, as Yahweh had spoken.

And Yahweh said to Moses, "Say to Aaron, ‘Stretch out your staff and strike the dust of the land, and it will become gnats in all the land of Egypt.’" And he did so, and Aaron stretched out his hand with his staff, and he struck the dust of the land, and it became gnats on the humans and on the animals; all of the dust of the land became gnats in all the land of Egypt. And the magicians did so with their secret arts to bring out the gnats, but they were not able, and the gnats were on the humans and on the animals. And the magicians said to Pharaoh, "It is the finger of God." But the heart of Pharaoh was hard, and he did not listen to them, as Yahweh had spoken.

And Yahweh said to Moses, "Start early in the morning and stand before Pharaoh. Look, he is going out to the water, and you must say to him, ‘Thus says Yahweh, "Release my people so that they may serve me." But if you are not about to release my people, look, I am about to send out flies among you and among your servants and among your people and in your houses; and the houses of Egypt will fill up with the flies and also the ground that they are on. But on that day I will distinguish the land of Goshen, where my people are staying, by there not being flies there, so that you will know that I am Yahweh in the midst of the land. And I will put a distinction between my people and your people; this sign will be tomorrow.’"

And Yahweh did so, and a severe swarm of flies came to the house of Pharaoh and the house of his servants and in all the land of Egypt; the land was ruined because of the flies. And Pharaoh called Moses and Aaron, and he said, "Go, sacrifice to your God in the land." And Moses said, "To do so is not right, because we will sacrifice to Yahweh our God a thing detestable to the Egyptians. Look, if we sacrifice before their eyes the thing detestable to the Egyptians, will they not stone us? We will go a journey of three days into the desert, and we will sacrifice to Yahweh our God according to what he says to us."

And Pharaoh said, "I myself will release you, and you will sacrifice to Yahweh your God in the desert. Only surely you must not go far. Pray for me." And Moses said, "Look, I am going out from you, and I will pray to Yahweh so that the flies depart from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people tomorrow. Only let not Pharaoh again deceive us by not releasing the people to sacrifice to Yahweh."

And Moses went out from Pharaoh and prayed to Yahweh. And Yahweh did according to the word of Moses and removed the flies from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people; not one was left. And Pharaoh made his heart insensitive also this time, and he did not release the people.

Exodus 9

And Yahweh said to Moses, "Go to Pharaoh and say to him, ‘Thus says Yahweh, the God of the Hebrews, "Release my people so that they may serve me." But if you are refusing to release and you still are keeping hold of them, look, the hand of Yahweh is about to be present with a very severe plague on your livestock that are in the field, on the horses, on the donkeys, on the camels, on the cattle, and on the sheep and goats. But Yahweh will make a distinction between the livestock of Israel and the livestock of Egypt, and not a thing will die from all that belongs to the Israelites.’" And Yahweh set an appointed time, saying, "Tomorrow Yahweh will do this thing in the land."

And Yahweh did this thing the next day; all the livestock of Egypt died, but from the livestock of the Israelites not one died. And Pharaoh sent to check, and it turned out not even one from the livestock of Israel had died, but Pharaoh’s heart was insensitive, and he did not release the people.

And Yahweh said to Moses and to Aaron, "Take for yourselves full handfuls of soot from a smelting furnace, and let Moses sprinkle it toward the heavens before the eyes of Pharaoh. And it will become fine dust over all the land of Egypt, and it will become on humans and on animals a skin sore sprouting blisters in all the land of Egypt." And they took the soot of the smelting furnace, and they stood before Pharaoh, and Moses sprinkled it toward the heavens, and it became skin sores sprouting blisters on humans and on animals. And the magicians were not able to stand before Moses because of the skin sores, for the skin sores were on the magicians and on all the Egyptians. And Yahweh hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he did not listen to them, as Yahweh had spoken to Moses.

And Yahweh said to Moses, "Start early in the morning and stand before Pharaoh. Look, he is going out to the water, and you must say to him, ‘Thus says Yahweh, the God of the Hebrews, "Release my people so that they may serve me. For at this time I am sending all of my plagues to you personally and among your servants and among your people so that you will know that there is no one like me in all the earth. For now I could have stretched out my hand, and I could have struck you and your people with the plague, and you would have perished from the earth. But for the sake of this I have caused you to stand—for the sake of showing you my strength and in order to proclaim my name in all the earth. Still you are behaving haughtily to my people by not releasing them. Look, about this time tomorrow, I am going to cause very severe hail to rain, the like of which has not been in Egypt from the day it was founded until now. And now send word; bring into safety your livestock and all that belongs to you in the field. The hail will come down on every human and animal that is found in the field and not gathered into the house, and they will die."’"

Anyone from the servants of Pharaoh who feared the word of Yahweh caused his servants and livestock to flee to the houses. But whoever did not give regard to the word of Yahweh abandoned his servants and his livestock in the field.

And Yahweh said to Moses, "Stretch out your hand to the heavens, and let there be hail in all the land of Egypt, on human and on animal and on all the vegetation of the field in the land of Egypt." And Moses stretched out his staff to the heavens, and Yahweh gave thunder and hail, and fire went to the earth, and Yahweh caused hail to rain on the land of Egypt. And there was hail, and fire was flashing back and forth in the midst of the very severe hail, the like of which was not in all the land of Egypt since it had become a nation. And the hail struck in all the land of Egypt all that was in the field, from human to animal, and the hail struck all the vegetation of the field and smashed every tree of the field. Only in the land of Goshen, where the Israelites were, there was no hail.

And Pharaoh sent and called Moses and Aaron and said to them, "I have sinned this time. Yahweh is the righteous one, and I and my people are the wicked ones. Pray to Yahweh. The thunder of God and hail are enough, and I will release you, and you will no longer have to stay." And Moses said to him, "At my leaving the city, I will spread out my hands to Yahweh. The thunder will stop, and the hail will be no more, so that you will know that the earth belongs to Yahweh. But as for you and your servants, I know that you do not yet fear the presence of Yahweh God."

And the flax and the barley were struck, because the barley was in the ear and the flax was in bud. But the wheat and the spelt were not struck, because they are late-ripening.

And Moses went from Pharaoh out of the city, and he spread his hands to Yahweh, and the thunder and the hail stopped, and rain did not pour on the earth. And Pharaoh saw that the rain and the hail and the thunder stopped, and he again sinned and made his heart insensitive, he and his servants. And Pharaoh’s heart was hard, and he did not release the Israelites, as Yahweh had said by the agency of Moses.

Psalm 105

Give thanks to Yahweh; proclaim his name;
make known his deeds among the peoples.
Sing to him; sing praises concerning him;
tell of all his wonderful works.
Boast about his holy name.
Let the heart of those who seek Yahweh rejoice.
Make supplication to Yahweh and his might;
seek his face continually.
Remember his wonders that he has done,
his signs and the judgments of his mouth,
O offspring of Abraham his servant,
you descendants of Jacob, his chosen ones.
He is Yahweh our God;
his judgments are in all the earth.
He remembers his covenant forever,
the word that he commanded
for a thousand generations,
that he made with Abraham,
and by his oath swore to Isaac.
He then confirmed it to Jacob as a statute,
to Israel as an everlasting covenant,
saying, "To you I will give the land of Canaan
as the allotment that is your inheritance."
When they were few in number
a trifle—and were sojourners in it,
and they wandered about among the nations,
from one kingdom to another people,
he allowed no one to oppress them,
and he rebuked kings on account of them,
"Do not touch my anointed ones,
nor harm my prophets."
Then he called for a famine upon the land;
he broke every supply of bread.
He sent a man on ahead of them;
Joseph was sold as a slave.
They clamped his feet in fetters.
His neck went into irons.
Until the time his word came about,
the word of Yahweh tested him.
The king sent and he freed him;
the ruler of the peoples sent and let him loose.
He made him lord of his house
and ruler of all his possessions,
to obligate his officials as he saw fit
and teach his elders wisdom.
Then Israel came to Egypt,
and Jacob was a sojourner in the land of Ham.
And he made his people very fruitful.
He also made them stronger than their enemies.
He turned their heart to hate his people,
to deal deceitfully against his servants.
He sent his servant Moses,
together with Aaron whom he had chosen.
They set before them the words concerning his signs
and portents in the land of Ham.
He sent darkness and made it dark,
and they did not rebel against his words.
He turned their waters into blood
and it killed their fish.
Their land swarmed with frogs,
even in the chambers of their kings.
He spoke, and there came flies
and gnats throughout all their territory.
He gave hail for their rains
and the fire of lightning in their land.
And he struck their vines and fig trees,
and shattered the trees of their territory.
He spoke and there came locusts
and young locusts without number.
And they ate up all the vegetation in their land,
and they ate up the fruit of their ground.
And he struck down all the firstborn in their land,
the first of all their virility.
Then he brought them out with silver and gold,
and there was none among his tribes who stumbled.
Egypt was glad when they departed,
because the fear of them had fallen upon them.
He spread out a cloud for a covering,
and fire to give light at night.
They asked, and he brought quail,
and satisfied them with the bread of heaven.
He opened the rock and waters flowed;
they coursed through the dry places like a river.
For he remembered his holy promise;
he remembered Abraham his servant.
And so he brought out his people with joy,
his chosen ones with rejoicing.
And he gave to them the lands of the nations,
and they inherited the labor of the peoples,
so that they might observe his statutes,
and keep his laws.
Praise Yah.

Ephesians 1

Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, to the saints who are in Ephesus and faithful in Christ Jesus: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Blessed is the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him in love, having predestined us to adoption through Jesus Christ to himself according to the good pleasure of his will, to the praise of the glory of his grace that he bestowed on us in the beloved, in whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace, that he caused to abound to us in all wisdom and insight, making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure that he purposed in him, for the administration of the fullness of times, to bring together all things in Christ, the things in the heavens and the things on the earth, in him in whom also we were chosen, having been predestined according to the purpose of the One who works all things according to the counsel of his will, that we who hoped beforehand in Christ should be for the praise of his glory, in whom also you, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, in whom also when you believed you were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the down payment of our inheritance, until the redemption of the possession, to the praise of his glory.

Because of this I also, hearing of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, do not cease giving thanks for you, making mention in my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him (the eyes of your hearts having been enlightened), so that you may know what is the hope of his calling, what are the riches of the glory of his inheritance among the saints, and what is the surpassing greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his mighty strength which he has worked in Christ, raising him from the dead and seating him at his right hand in the heavenly places, above all rule and authority and power and lordship and every name named, not only in this age but also in the coming one, and he subjected all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of the one who fills all things in every way.