lord of the flies
A nearby farmer unwittingly fertilized his fields with chicken manure. I personally thought that one could tell the difference — chicken — cow, but I don’t work around the stuff enough to know. Apparently not, and now the entire region is infested with flies. Everywhere you go — flies. The news has carried ‘fly reports’ and some local restaurants have closed until cooler weather sets in. We’ve had an unusually warm October to this point.
So I did some research on the fly plague of Moses’ day. Did you know that the Egyptians believed that they were touched by their ‘fly-god’ when a type of fly would lay larvae on them to feed off their dead skin? There was also another kind of fly in Egypt called the “Dogfly”. This kind of fly bit people and animals.
Can you imagine? The dogflies would bite and leave an open flesh wound while the other flies would lay their larvae in the wounds. The Scriptures said it became “oppressive” like a yoke or heavy covering. Obviously, they couldn’t turn to the fly-god for help. Everything was desecrated.
I think one message God wanted to deliver was — I’ll make your own gods oppress you like you’ve done to my people. We know it was God’s will to break the will of Pharoah along with his people to let the Hebrews go. But I also think there’s another great faith lesson here. A truth that jumps at me is the thing or the god that you love the most is going to become your judge, your pain, your bondage, and your oppressor. The fly was one of the worshipped in their culture. They obviously didn’t have malls. Could shopping and ultimately debt & accumulation become our own painful bondage? In fact, the average American is bombarded every single day with advertisement after advertisement. And now the ads act like gods themselves. They promise that if you just purchase this product a kind of “redemption” or “restoration” or “wellness” will take place — if you only have this product. Each ad sidetracks the mind from the Spirit ever so slightly again and again as they come in swarms.
How about the unquenchable thirst for fun or recreation that may leave us value-less and empty? I deal with fathers all the time who “walk out” on their kids emotionally if not literally for the swarming gods of fun.
God could decide that if we want it so much, He may just send it – abundantly. Here’s a soul question – is more better? Pharoah took about 3 days to ponder that one.
I also think about the title “Beelzebub.” It was a term of derision. It called satan — the lord of the dung heap or the lord of the flies. These pesky dudes are reminding me of satan’s incessant activity - where he doesn’t belong and where we don’t want him to be.
Around the house, I’ve taken on the title “Fly-Slayer.” I’m proud of it. Now Reilly is asking if he can “spank the flies too daddy.”
We’re ready for cold weather now.
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