Steak Buffett

Exodus 9: 1-7

Same story, next verse. This time livestock is in danger. If they don't value their health...we'll hit them in the wallets- or their stomachs. Either way it has the same result- hardening of the heart. The story seems to be told in an abbreviated format too. Even Moses is getting bored with it.

Just like last time, the Israelites were protected. But all around them total devastation. I wonder what it would have been like to be an average Joe (or Joseph) in this era. If you're an Egyptian you see an unyielding tyrant of a leader determined to have his way. As you look around you, your way of life is crumbling- you've endured horrible plagues, your livelihood has been stripped from you (if you depend on livestock for your way of life)- and it could all be spared so easily.

If you're an Israelite, you look around and see devastation- unable to change any of it. Granted, the context creates a little different picture than haves and have-nots. These are the captors suffering while the slaves thrive, but I wonder if the Israelites felt vindication, or pity. Look at what these people are enduring...and it's not their fault. Did they pray for the Egyptians? Did they offer them some of what they had? Or did they smirk and gloat?

And how do react today?