Imagine being tortured by boils all over your body. I am talking about boils that are filled with puss and blood. Not only are they painful to the touch, but to pop them is the most painful thing of all. Job had to deal with boils such as this and so did the Egyptians in the time of Moses. Because the Pharaoh would not hearken unto God, in order to let His people go free, the Egyptians did have to suffer immensely. It is written, “and the Lord said unto Moses and unto Aaron, Take to you handfuls of ashes of the furnace, and let Moses sprinkle it toward the heaven in the sight of Pharaoh. And it shall become small dust in all the land of Egypt, and shall be a boil breaking forth with blains upon man, and upon beast, throughout all the land of Egypt. And they took ashes of the furnace, and stood before Pharaoh; and Moses sprinkled it up toward heaven; and it became a boil breaking forth with blains upon man, and upon beast.” (Exodus 9:8-10) Thankfully, God’s people were not affected by such painful boils. How many people died because of these boils? It is unknown. They may have just suffered, which would also be so terrible.
The black death killed approximately 50 million people in Asia, Africa, and Europe. A quarter of the population succumbed to this plague. And guess what it looked like? “The bubonic plague is caused by a bacterium called Yersinia pestis and is characterized by chills, fever, vomiting, diarrhea, and the formation of black boils in the armpits, neck, and groin.” And so we see people dying because of boils that formed all throughout the body. Did God cause this because of the wickedness upon the earth? We will never know. All we do know is this plague is eerily similar to what happened to the people in Egypt also. As for these people, it is written, “and the magicians could not stand before Moses because of the boils; for the boil was upon the magicians, and upon all the Egyptians. And the Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh, and he hearkened not unto them; as the Lord had spoken unto Moses.” (Exodus 9:11,12) It is up to God to either continue a plague or cut it off. As for the Egyptians, hail was to come next. It is to0 bad that they had to suffer so much because of the hardness of the Pharaoh. However, God’s will was done. Amen.
Let us pray:
Oh Lord, I pray that we will hearken unto Your voice at all times in our lives. I would not wish to be afflicted because of a certain sickness because I went against Your will. I do know that plagues can come by Your hand and also the enemy. But as for me, I live each day in Your holiness and righteousness. This way if I am afflicted I will know that it is the enemy trying me. Because I am Your child, I will not be afflicted by Your hand. I do fear You, God, for You are the most powerful being on earth and in heaven. You are my King and I respect You so much as to do Your will as it is in heaven. Thank You for not allowing me to not get too sick because of COVID. I could have very easily died because of it, especially because of my nose and throat issues, but still, I have not been down because of COVID for work reasons. You have continued to strengthen me, in order for me to wake up each day with a renewed bill of health. I may not be healthy in that I have constant nose and throat issues, but at least I can still help my family and work, while not having COVID take me down. I believe in You, Lord. I trust in You, God. I love You. In Your Name, Jesus. I pray. Amen.
