Today I read Exodus 9 which includes the plagues of the cattle dying, boils and the hail of fire. The thing that really intrigued me about this chapter is when it came time for the plague of hail, the Lord warned the Egyptians so that any who would listen could actually be protected. And some listened. The scriptures state that there were those that heeded the word of the Lord and did not go out in the field that day and kept their cattle in with them also.
It's interesting to see that there there were some of the Egyptians that feared the Lord. And honestly that is not too surprising. It is not common to find a people where everyone is in agreement with the same thing. Even if they say they are or even act like they are, some may have reservations about it in their hearts. For example when Americans were still treating those with black skin like second class citizens and were practicing segregation, not every person with white skin treated them that way or felt they should be treated that way. Some probably wondered what the big deal was and why they were treated differently. It was not the popular opinion of the day, but I am confident that some had it. So it also was with Egypt. I am sure it was not the popular opinion to have, but I am pretty sure that there were some that felt they should just let the Israelites go free, especially once all the plagues started.
This story is a good example of all the evil that can come about because of one man. I was thinking the other day about wars and how silly it is that because a few men have a disagreement, hundreds of thousands of men, and women in these days, try and kill each other. When we are children we are taught to try and work out our differences without violence but for some reason that seems to go away when we are adults. Wars are fought over people having a difference of opinion and how things should be done. Not all wars certainly but a good deal of the wars in America's history happened because diplomacy failed. It is the same situation here in Egypt. Because of one man's hard heartedness, the Pharaoh, an entire nation suffered. It reminds me of Nephi when he is commanded to slay Laban where the Lord says it is better for one man to perish than an entire nation dwindle in unbelief. It would have been better for Egypt if the Pharaoh had died I think. But, that was not the plan God had in mind. God always has a plan, even if it doesn't make sense to us. Until tomorrow.
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