By Sara Esther Crispe Every year around Passover, I teach the inner meaning of the ten plagues. And as I do, I try to reflect on which one is plaguing me the most. This year, it is definitely lice.
I would like to believe that I am thinking of lice simply because my child's class just had an outbreak. But no, I don’t believe it was being around children scratching their heads that is making me connect so strongly.
Lice is actually a bit bizarre to even be one of the ten plagues. I mean, looking through them, the others are quite devastating. We are dealing with all the water turning to blood, wild beasts, debilitating and paralyzing darkness, and more. But lice? Sure, it is annoying. An inconvenience. But an actual plague?
During the past month, a plague of locusts swept across Egypt and then into neighboring Israel. While not so uncommon, a number of news reports were quick to point out the significant timing of the occurrence—coming as it did just before the Passover and the Days of Unleavened Bread, which will be observed next week. At this time we reflect on God's deliverance of the ancient Israelites from slavery in Egypt. To free His people, God sent devastating plagues on Egypt, including locusts. In light of other recent events, there is much more to reflect on at this time as well.
It's been more than a month since I wrote the lead articles for the current issue of The Good News concerning the Arab Spring—covering Egypt's slide into Islamist tyranny and the drive toward an Islamic caliphate throughout the region and the wider Muslim world. Yet of course the threat to Israel remains. In fact, it may surprise you to learn that the Bible even foretells that slavery in Egypt and other lands lies ahead for many modern Israelites. I would like to have addressed this issue in the magazine, but length prevented me—and I'll still only be able to touch on it here.
Sea lions, pelicans and blue skies greeted us as we cut a path effortlessly through the salty paradise. We ventured about five miles out into the ocean before the angle of the sun told us it was time to head back in (real sailors don’t wear a watch). Terry pointed to a red roof in the distance, which was the locator for our docking area.
