All Consuming Fire
“For our G’d is a consuming fire” – Hebrews 12:29
This week we study the Parashah Va’eira (וארא), Exodus 6:2-9:35, Isaiah 66:1-24, and Matthew 12;1-14. Va’eira, meaning “And I appeared” comes from the second verse of the Torah portion Exodus 6:3. The portion begins with the four expressions of Redemption. The Almighty G’d promises to remove His People from the bondage of slavery, rescue His People, redeem His People, and take them as His Bride. This my friends, is a rich narrative of how The Holy One “woos” His Bride. During the time of “courtship” a prospective groom will have ample opportunity to prove to his desired bride what kind of man he is and what he can offer her.
“…I am HaShem” Exodus 6:2 is ample evidence to prove that The Holy One will carry out His Word, which does include punishment for sin and reward for virtue. The Holy One made a covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and He is now ready to fulfill it.
During this portion Moses has his doubts, but the Holy One, blessed be He, tells Moses how He will triumph over Pharoah. Ten plagues, three sets of three plagues, followed by the Plague of the firstborn (meant to breakdown the Pharoah) were intended to establish three principles for all time. The first of three established The Holy One’s existence, the second established His providence in all earthly affairs (and that materialism is NOT His thing), and the third proves His unmatched power.
Within each set, the first two had warnings and the third came without any warning at all. Note that the first of each set was delivered at the River and the second at the palace, both places that the Pharoah considered himself “master”. Pharaoh’s “hardening of the heart” was due to the natural consequence of continuous sin. Our Sages state that, ” One who is willing to purify himself is assisted from Above, one who intends to defile himself is given the opportunity to do so.” Yes, man has free choice, but if you continue down a path of sin, it becomes harder and harder to retreat.
So let’s break down these plagues!
Blood. Aaron is told to smite The Nile and the water was turned to blood, wells that were dug around the river turned to blood, and the Midrash even notes the saliva that left the mouths of the Egyptians turned to blood. The only source of clear water was in Goshen, where the Children of Israel resided. The Egyptians were forced to buy water from the Children of Israel with gold and silver. This plague lasted 7 days.
Frogs. Once again, Aaron smites the Nile (Moses cannot preform this task because the Nile contained the very water that protected his “basket”) and there were frogs everywhere. Super-sized frogs, armies of baby frogs, frogs croaking around the clock. They filled the palace, invaded the Egyptian houses, infested their beds, their tables, and their ovens, biting them, even intruding their bodies. Not a single Egyptian could escape the frogs. When this plague came to an end the stench of dead frogs permeated the entire land. Pharaoh had no true repentance. Once Pharoah had relief from the infestation, he resumed his throne as king.
Lice. No warning for this plague and Pharaoh’s own magicians even concede that this was the Hand of G’d. Once again it was Aaron who would now smite the dust to release the lice. It was improper for Moses to preform this task because it was the dust which concealed the body of the Egyptian which he slew. The lice infested the Egyptians, their crops, and their animals. This plague was forseen by Jacob and is the very reason he asked Joseph to bury him in the Cave of Machpelah in Hebron. This plague may have been uncomfortable for Pharaoh but not enough to soften his heart.
Wild Beasts. This plague came with warning, the Holy One was now going to prove His Omnipotence! After three weeks of warnings the Holy One sent a mixture of wild beasts upon Egypt. Lions, bears, snakes, scorpions, mice, weasels, birds of prey, insects, and so on. The beasts invaded the Egyptians, the flies and mosquitos swarmed their eyes and ears. Pharoah pleaded for mercy and Moses prayed on his behalf to the Holy One, but still Pharoah did not relent.
Pestilence. (Otherwise known as the epidemic) This was a heavy pestilence that struck the Egyptian animals. The pestilence spared the animal’s of the Children of Israel, not one perished.
Boils. Moses, Aaron, and the Holy One partnered up to bring on this plague. By the command of the Holy One, Aaron gave two fists full of soot to Moses, then Moses threw the soot up into the sky, then HaShem converted the soot to leprous boils which descended upon the Egyptians. These “boils” consisted of 24 different kinds of leprosy. Blisters covered the Egyptians bodies, even the soles of their feet were affected so they couldn’t stand. The Torah does not mention that Pharoah himself was afflicted, only his people.
Hail. The loud thunder and flames from heaven terrified the Egyptians. They feared they would suffer as Sodom had in Abraham’s time. A miracle within a miracle, fire shot downward in unison with the water. Fire and water are by nature hostile elements to one another, but this time they join forces at the command of HaShem. Thus says The Holy One, “THERE IS NONE LIKE ME ON EARTH”! At this point He could have wiped them out, but The Holy One wanted to proclaim His Name throughout the world! Whoever was in the fields was hit by frozen ice and burnt by fire, crops were destroyed, and entire trees were broken. Some of the Egyptians tried to flee to Goshen to escape, but hail fell upon them there as well. Never did the hail touch one of the Children of Israel.
I know that if you are still reading this you find these plagues as interesting as I did. There are seven plagues listed in this week’s portion. When the Holy One appeared to Moses in the opening verses He wanted all “to see” His Glory! Va’eira comes from the Hebrew root raah, meaning “to see”. Still today the Holy One has a great desire for us all “to see” Him. The Messiah Yeshua states in His sermon on the Mountain, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see G’d”.
Stay tuned until next week for the final plagues that Pharoah and the Egyptians experienced in the book of Exodus. It’s not the last we will see of the plagues. The Voice from heaven is loud and clear, “Come out of her, my people, lest you participate in her sins and receive her plagues“. -Revelation 18:4
Happy day! Shalom,
Hallelujah Girl