NOTES for Exo 8:1-32
Egypt is defeated once again, and even the priests of the Egyptian gods acknowledge the victory of the God of Israel. For the author and readers of this story, the Lord is stronger than every circumstance, every enemy, even the stubborn pharaoh and the whole Egyptian power.
Here we touch the astonishing mystery of faith. Almost every one of us knows and remembers situations when God overcomes troubled circumstances, helps in distress, heals... But we also know cases when God did not heal, did not save, did not prevent disaster. Every day, around us, in the news and directly before us, we see how many misfortunes happen in the world, and against this background the victorious rout of Egypt by the "plagues" from God looks like a naive, childishly cruel little tale about a good and stern God who wipes out hordes of enemies with one stroke.
Will we have enough faith, like the biblical author, to see God's victory in the midst of this world, even before that triumph is shown to our eyes?