Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] If you're looking at that slide and you say to yourself, huh, I thought there were 10 plagues.
[00:00:08] There were, but we're only going to talk about nine of them this morning.
[00:00:13] The tenth plague, the plague of death will be talked about next Sunday with the Passover that they. And all of that involves, that message involves with Pastor Tim. And it's a message that you do not want to miss.
[00:00:27] So before we begin this morning, let's pray.
[00:00:31] Father. I thank you, God, for the worship this morning and for the word that's already been spoken. I pray, God, that you will open our hearts, God, to a very familiar story, that we might indeed receive new light. And, Lord, that our hearts would be open to whatever you want to do with us in our hearts this morning, in our lives, God, that we would, Father, indeed have soft hearts before you, God, we give you this service. I give you this message, Father. It's in your will we pray these things. Amen.
[00:01:06] In our ongoing series on Moses, we have journeyed with him from the day of his birth to his time in Pharaoh's palace, through the killing of an Egyptian, his escape to the land of Midian, becoming a shepherd, his encounter with God at the burning bush, and his assignment from God to return to Egypt and set God's people free.
[00:01:32] God's plan for Moses was for him to be God's mouthpiece before Pharaoh, the initiator of miracles, and ultimately would lead 2 million, 2 to 3 million Hebrew people from their bondage of Egypt and to the promised land.
[00:01:49] Moses and Aaron are now in Egypt. They have had their first encounter with the elders of the Hebrews and with Pharaoh. And things are not going well.
[00:01:59] We saw last week God's encouragement to his people and his affirmation that everything would take place according to his word and his will, and they would indeed be set free from their bondage in Egypt.
[00:02:15] In chapter seven, Moses and Aaron are again in Pharaoh's presence.
[00:02:20] Pharaoh has been told to release the people of Israel so that all of them could leave with all their livestock for a three day journey into the wilderness.
[00:02:30] This time, as God predicted, Pharaoh demands to see a miracle. So Aaron throws down his staff, which immediately turns into a serpent.
[00:02:41] But the magicians and their dark arts are able to do the same thing. They throw down their staffs, who also turn into serpents.
[00:02:51] Aaron's serpent swallows them up.
[00:02:56] I don't know about you, but I'd find all that quite astounding.
[00:03:01] Pharaoh, though, was unimpressed and refuses, refuses to let God's people go.
[00:03:09] And so we begin the story of the plagues and the story of the heart of a man that would not bend.
[00:03:17] Like I said earlier, my prayer this morning is, even though this story is familiar to us, that maybe we'll glean something new from it.
[00:03:27] There were 10 plagues.
[00:03:29] Numbers in scripture have meaning. The number seven refers to completeness and perfection.
[00:03:35] The number 40 is a symbol of testing, probation and transition.
[00:03:41] The number 10 in Scripture has a meaning. It means perfect order, completeness, law and responsibility.
[00:03:50] For example, the Ten Commandments equals divine order and law.
[00:03:56] The number 10 represents generational order. There were 10 generations from Adam to Noah and 10 from Noah to Abraham.
[00:04:04] It is used in parables and prophecies. Jesus spoke of ten virgins and ten servants.
[00:04:11] And prophecy talks about ten horns regarding the ten plagues of Egypt. The number ten represents completeness and testing.
[00:04:21] The ten plagues means completely plagued, resulting in the fullness of God's justice and judgment on those who refuse to repent.
[00:04:30] God sent ten plagues on Egypt to humble its pharaoh.
[00:04:35] So how much time was covered to complete the 10 plagues?
[00:04:40] In doing some research, I found some wonderful information, but not necessarily a defense. Definitive answer.
[00:04:48] Most scholars believe that the plagues lasted no more than a year, some 10 months.
[00:04:54] One scholar believes and actually gives compelling evidence that because we know the duration of three of the plagues, the first plague lasted seven days. The ninth plague lasted three days, and the tenth plague lasted one night, beginning at midnight. And because of the timing of the destruction of the different crops, as we'll see in the plagues, and because of when the Jewish Passover takes place, his determination, he believes that the 10 plagues were completed in a five month period.
[00:05:29] If you stop and think about that, that's big, that's a lot for people to go through.
[00:05:38] These plagues were not just arbitrary.
[00:05:41] God didn't just pick them out of the air.
[00:05:43] They were systematic, deliberate and precise and were chosen by God to take on the Egyptian gods, the false deities that the Egyptian people believed in.
[00:05:56] The Egyptians had a God for everything, from a God of the river, the God of childbirth, the God of crops. The list just went on and on.
[00:06:05] Thus Pharaoh's response to Moses when he demanded that he let God's people go so they could go and worship their God. When, when Pharaoh said, who is this God? I do not know him, he was speaking truth.
[00:06:22] Why it, why was it so important that God target these false gods?
[00:06:29] After all, they were made by man out of wood or stone.
[00:06:34] They couldn't see or hear or speak. And they Certainly couldn't do anything.
[00:06:39] Then why?
[00:06:40] Because the Egyptian people believed in them.
[00:06:44] They believed that their gods had power and authority over their crops, the rising and falling of the Nile river and provided for their daily needs.
[00:06:55] God's purpose was to show them through powerful manifestations, the truth.
[00:07:00] Like we sang about this morning, there is only one God.
[00:07:05] Nor were these plagues to demonstrate God's power only to Pharaoh and the Egyptians.
[00:07:10] The people of Israel still believed in God and worshiped him.
[00:07:15] But they did not necessarily believe that God could or would release them from the incredible yoke of bondage they had in Egypt.
[00:07:26] They too were about to see to what extent God would go to to deliver his people.
[00:07:33] Before we begin, I want you to know that we're going to be going through chapter seven to 10 through 10 in Exodus. We're going to look at a lot of scripture.
[00:07:42] Some will be on the screen, most will not. Pastor doesn't like it if I go over 30.
[00:07:49] At the rate I was going, we were up to 60 or 70. So I had to cut. So.
[00:07:55] So if you have your Bible or your phone, please follow along if you can.
[00:08:01] In Exodus chapter 7, we see the first plague of the plagues, of all the plagues, and the first Egyptian deity on God's hit list. Plague number one, water turns to blood. The targeted deity, happy Egyptian God of the Nile.
[00:08:18] Disruption of economy and daily life.
[00:08:22] God told Moses and Aaron to head to the Nile where Pharaoh would be in the morning.
[00:08:28] They were to demand again, in the name of Jesus, in the name of God, that Pharaoh let God's people go. But they also acknowledged that Pharaoh was continuing to be very stubborn.
[00:08:40] In Exodus 7, 17, 18, we read, so this is what the Lord says.
[00:08:46] I will show you that I am the Lord. Look, I will strike the water of the Nile with the staff in my hand and the river will turn to blood. The fish in it will die and the river will stink.
[00:08:59] The Egyptians will not be able to drink any water from the Nile.
[00:09:04] But this plague not only affected the Nile River.
[00:09:08] Scripture goes on to tell us that every river, every pool, every stream, every reservoir, and every jar and jug of water made out of wood or stone turned to blood.
[00:09:23] All water in the land of Egypt was turned to blood.
[00:09:27] And the fish died and the water smelled bad and there was no good water to drink in all of Egypt. Obviously, this plague would strike at the core of Egypt's economy, economy and daily life.
[00:09:41] And how long did this plague last? Exodus 7:25 tells us, Seven days passed from the time the Lord struck The Nile demonstrating God's incredible power.
[00:09:53] Yet Pharaoh did not budge.
[00:09:57] God sent Moses and Aaron back to Pharaoh. And we are to see the unveiling of the second plague. Plague 2 frogs invade the land.
[00:10:06] Targeted deity. The frog headed goddess Heket, Egyptian goddess of fertility water and renewal results.
[00:10:15] Foul stench across the land. Disruption of daily life, sanitation issues.
[00:10:21] In Exodus 8:1:2, Moses says to Pharaoh, this is what the Lord says. Let my people go so they can worship me.
[00:10:30] If you refuse to let them go, I will send a plague of frogs across your entire land.
[00:10:38] God goes on to describe the level of this plague.
[00:10:42] The Nile would swarm with frogs that would come out and go into their homes, the homes of their servants, into their bedrooms and on the people and into their ovens, into and into their kneading bowls.
[00:10:58] Basically wall to wall to wall frogs.
[00:11:02] No one escaped the plague of frogs from the court of Pharaoh to the lowliest servant. As scripture tells us in 8 6, the frogs covered the land of Egypt.
[00:11:16] Now, interestingly, frogs were considered sacred in Egypt. You're remember the frog headed deity and they were not to be killed.
[00:11:27] Such a dilemma the people of Egypt had before them.
[00:11:31] Now scripture does tell us that Pharaoh's magicians through their black arts could call frogs forth, but they couldn't make them go away.
[00:11:41] At this point, it appears Pharaoh might be relenting. He calls for Moses and Aaron and says in Exodus 8:8, plead with the Lord to take the frogs away from me and my people. I will let your people go so they can offer sacrifices to the Lord.
[00:11:57] And so God did so. The frogs died and their foul smelling bodies were piled in heaps.
[00:12:06] And the land smelled terribly, leading to a definite problem with sanitation.
[00:12:13] Pharaoh's response.
[00:12:15] But when Pharaoh saw that relief had come, he became stubborn.
[00:12:20] He refused to listen to Moses and Aaron, just as the Lord had predicted.
[00:12:28] Just as the Lord had predicted.
[00:12:32] Pharaoh had yet to learn that this God, who brought these plagues onto his land, knew him. He knew Pharaoh inside and out. He knew every response he was going to make and every movement he was going to take.
[00:12:45] The road ahead was about to get rougher. For this prideful, arrogant man, the next plague came quickly and without warning to Pharaoh or his magicians. The plague of gnats.
[00:12:59] Or as some commentators interpret it, the plague of lice.
[00:13:04] Plague 3 Targeted deity Geb, Egyptian God of the dust of the earth.
[00:13:14] Extreme physical discomfort.
[00:13:17] How many of us have had to deal with lice head lice over the years?
[00:13:23] If indeed this is what the plague consisted of? Can you imagine an Entire country covered with them.
[00:13:31] So the Lord said to Moses in Exodus 8, 16, 17, tell Aaron, raise your staff and strike the ground.
[00:13:38] The dust will turn into swarms of gnats throughout the land of Egypt. When Aaron raised his staff and struck the ground with his staff, gnats or lice infested the entire land, covering the Egyptians and their animals.
[00:13:56] All the dust in the land of Egypt turned to gnats or lice.
[00:14:01] This time, Pharaoh's magicians could not match this plague and declared with their own mouths, this is the finger of God.
[00:14:09] The Next Plague Plague 4 flies Targeted deity Khepri, who had the head of a fly, Egyptian God of creation.
[00:14:20] Results, destruction, discomfort, carrier of diseases, total chaos.
[00:14:27] God directs Moses to meet Pharaoh again by the river with these words found in Exodus 8, 20, 21 and 24.
[00:14:35] Let my people go so they can worship me. If you refuse, then I will send swarms of flies on you, your officials, your people, and all the houses. The Egyptian homes will be filled with flies and the ground will be covered with them.
[00:14:54] And the Lord did just as he said. A thick swarm of flies filled Pharaoh's palace and the houses of his officials.
[00:15:03] The whole land of Egypt was thrown into chaos by the flies.
[00:15:09] Now I'll tell you something about me. I hate flies.
[00:15:12] I will hunt them down and kill them.
[00:15:16] And I cannot imagine swarms of flies.
[00:15:22] Flies are destructive and they carry diseases because they hang out where there's waste, garbage, and dead things.
[00:15:30] They pick up dangerous bacteria and transfer it.
[00:15:36] But with the onslaught of this plague, something was very different.
[00:15:43] Something had happened.
[00:15:45] It had changed.
[00:15:47] Up to this point, all of Egypt, including the land of Goshen where the Hebrew people lived, experienced the first three plagues.
[00:15:56] But this time, God was not only going to prove his mighty power over his creation, but he was going to make a distinction between the Egyptians and God's own people living in the region of Goshen.
[00:16:10] See the words.
[00:16:12] But this time, God says, I will spare the region of Goshen where my people live.
[00:16:18] No flies will be found there.
[00:16:21] Then you will know that I am the Lord and that I am present even in the heart of your land.
[00:16:27] I will make a clear distinction between my people and your people.
[00:16:33] This miraculous sign will happen tomorrow.
[00:16:37] The land of Goshen, where the Hebrews dwelt in Egypt, is primarily identified as a fertile northeastern region of the Nile delta.
[00:16:46] With this plague, flies would be all around the area of Goshen, but none would enter.
[00:16:54] As we heard last week in our message from Pastor Tim, the people of Egypt were discouraged and refused to believe that Moses to believe the message that Moses had brought to them, the words of God's encouragement, hope and the fulfillment of his promise.
[00:17:15] Having had to suffer through the first three plagues, I am sure that that only contributed to their disbelief.
[00:17:23] But now, seeing God's hand protecting them from this fourth plague most likely began to affect their attitudes and perhaps a ray of hope for them was dawning on the horizon once again. Pharaoh called Moses to his court and and try to compromise by telling him that they could go and sacrifice as long as they stayed within Egypt.
[00:17:48] But Moses held his ground, explaining to Pharaoh that the sacrifices the Lord required would be an abomination to the Egyptian people and they would most likely stone the Israelites because of it.
[00:18:03] So they needed to go three days journey into the wilderness.
[00:18:07] Now we need to remember, as Pastor Tim brought out last Sunday, there was never going to be a three day journey.
[00:18:16] This was a test to see where Pharaoh's heart truly was.
[00:18:21] Pharaoh seemed to agree with that and told Moses they could quote, go not very far and entreated Moses to have the flies removed. Moses believed that they were talking about the same timeline, but also warned Pharaoh not to deceive the Lord.
[00:18:37] He left Pharaoh's presence, sought God and God removed all the flies from the land.
[00:18:43] With each plague, Pharaoh's heart hardened when the flies were gone.
[00:18:50] Pharaoh was so blinded and so stubborn and he refused to let God's people go.
[00:18:58] Plague 5 Death of the Livestock Targeted deity Hather, who had the head of a cow.
[00:19:06] Egyptian goddess of love and protection.
[00:19:10] Economic disaster in food, transportation, military supplies, farming and economic goods produced by livestock.
[00:19:19] In Exodus 9:1:7 we find the story again. Moses came into the presence of Pharaoh, repeating God's demands that he let God's people go, because if he doesn't this time, all the livestock in Egypt will die.
[00:19:36] God also told Pharaoh that he would make a distinction between the livestock of Egypt and those of God's people, the Israelites, that their livestock would live and that all this would take place the very next day.
[00:19:53] And it did.
[00:19:55] The very next day, all the livestock in Egypt were dead.
[00:20:01] Chapter 7 of verse 9, verse 7 of chapter 9 reads, Pharaoh sent his officials to investigate and they discovered that the Israelites had not lost a single animal.
[00:20:15] But even so, Pharaoh's heart remained stubborn and he refused to let the people go.
[00:20:24] Things are now going to take a very dramatic shift.
[00:20:29] The plagues of water turned to blood, the frogs, the gnats or lice, the swarms of flies and the death of the cattle and the livestock were directed to the land and the economy and the general discomfort of the people of Egypt.
[00:20:44] What was to come next would take it to another level, as in the third plague of gnats. Moses and Aaron do not declare openly to for what was coming next.
[00:20:55] Rather, they showed him plague. Six Boils and sores Targeted deity Isis, Egyptian goddess of medicine and peace.
[00:21:07] Results, extreme pain and discomfort people considered unclean.
[00:21:13] First personal physical attack on the Egyptian people as found in Exodus 9, 8, 17. God told Moses and Aaron to go to Pharaoh, take some soot from a kiln and throw it into the air.
[00:21:29] And as he did, it became boils and sores on both man and beast across all of Egypt.
[00:21:36] Even the Egyptian magicians could do nothing because of the boils and sores on their own bodies.
[00:21:43] Cleanliness was extremely important to the Egyptian people, and with the outbreak and boils of sores, they became unclean.
[00:21:52] Therefore, the magicians who were also declared unclean could not only not perform their rituals before their gods, they could no longer come into the presence of Pharaoh.
[00:22:03] Thus they disappear from the pages of history and only Moses and Aaron are left standing.
[00:22:13] Now, one might think that this would be a good time for Pharaoh to reconsider his stand.
[00:22:19] But no, no.
[00:22:21] His heart continues to remain proud and hardened.
[00:22:28] The Lord sent Moses back to Pharaoh to once again tell him to let God's people go so they can worship him. But this time it came with an ultimatum.
[00:22:37] If you don't, says God, I will send more plagues on you and your officials and your people.
[00:22:44] Then you will know that there is no one like me in all the Earth.
[00:22:49] By now I could have lifted my hand and struck you and your people with a plague to wipe you off the face of the Earth.
[00:22:58] But I have spared you for a purpose.
[00:23:00] To show you my power and to spread my fame throughout the Earth.
[00:23:06] But you still lord it over the people and refused to let them go.
[00:23:13] God could have ended this sooner. He could have destroyed Pharaoh and the Egyptian people and allowed Moses to lead the people of Israel from the land easily.
[00:23:25] But instead, all that was happening in the midst of these plagues was guided by the hand of God.
[00:23:32] He had a purpose and a plan.
[00:23:35] That these people of Egypt would not only know his power, but that they would turn and worship him.
[00:23:44] The next plague would be deadly. This time, not only animals, but people would die.
[00:23:50] But in this plague, we not only see God's great power, but we see his mercy and his grace.
[00:24:00] Plague 7 hail and fire targeted Deity Nut, Egyptian goddess of the sky. Results death to man and beast. Destruction of crops.
[00:24:13] Yes, hail and fire were to rain down upon Egypt.
[00:24:17] The prescribed size of hail for it to be deadly is about 4 inches, about the size of a softball.
[00:24:24] One biblical commentator had these things, things to say about this particular plague. And I quote, there were new features in this plague. He says it is ushered in with an unusually long and exceeding awful message.
[00:24:44] It is the first plague that attacks human life, and it does this on a large scale. All those exposed to it will perish.
[00:24:53] It is more destructive than any previous plague to property.
[00:24:58] It is accompanied with terrible demonstrations. Thunder, hail and fire.
[00:25:04] It is made to test the degree of faith to which the Egyptians have attained.
[00:25:10] Hail and thunder, or even rain were rare in Egypt. And such phenomena as accompanied this storm was unknown to the Egyptians. Close quote.
[00:25:22] However, unlike the other plagues, this time, this time God gives Pharaoh and his people fair warning. Quick, order your livestock and servants to come in from the fields to find shelter.
[00:25:36] Any person or animal left outside will die when the hail falls.
[00:25:44] And were there Egyptians who were now becoming believers at least in God's power and His Word?
[00:25:52] Yes.
[00:25:53] We read in Exodus 9:20, some of Pharaoh's officials were afraid because of what the Lord had said. They quickly brought their servants and livestock in from the fields.
[00:26:05] But in the land of Goshen, where God's people dwelt, there was no thunder, no hail or fire fell.
[00:26:15] But you can bet that the Israelites heard the screams and great confusion going on all around them as they, the Israelites, continued to witness God's judgment against Egypt and his mercy and protection to his own people.
[00:26:30] I'm sure that the hearts of the Hebrews were beginning to see more clearly God's love for him and his steadfastness to His Word.
[00:26:38] Perhaps. Yet they may have thought they would indeed be set free.
[00:26:45] Besides the death of the people and animals by the hail and fire, there was the destruction of crops. But again we see God's mercy and grace.
[00:26:54] The crops that were ripening in the fields at that time were flax and barley, both used mainly for clothing and drink.
[00:27:03] The loss of these crops would have made life uncomfortable, but would not have affected the main food supply, which was wheat and didn't come to fruit until sometime later.
[00:27:13] That's a beautiful example of God giving Pharaoh and the Egyptians another opportunity to turn to him.
[00:27:20] And Pharaoh's response after summoning Moses and Aaron.
[00:27:24] This time I have sinned, he confessed. The Lord is the righteous one and my people and I are wrong.
[00:27:31] Please beg the Lord to end this terrifying thunder and hail. We've had enough. I will let you go. You don't need to stay any longer.
[00:27:41] Verse nine continues. All right, Moses replied.
[00:27:45] As soon as I leave the city, I will lift my hands and pray to the Lord. Then the thunder and hail will stop, and you will know that the Earth belongs to the Lord.
[00:27:56] But I know, says Pharaoh, that you and your officials still do not fear the Lord God.
[00:28:04] And true to Pharaoh's heart, Moses words. The moment the hail and thunder and fire ceased, so did Pharaoh's declaration to let God's people go.
[00:28:16] The turnabout was immediate.
[00:28:18] God sent Moses back to Pharaoh with the same command. Let my people go.
[00:28:23] If not, a plague of locusts would cover all Egypt the very next day.
[00:28:28] Whatever crops were left from the hail would be completely consumed by the swarms of locusts.
[00:28:34] Plagueate targeted deity Seth, Egyptian God of storms and disorder.
[00:28:43] Final destruction of all crops, imminent death of people.
[00:28:48] According To Exodus chapter 10, the locusts would devour what little was left of the crops after the hailstorm, including all the trees growing in the field.
[00:28:58] These locusts would overrun the palaces and homes of all the officials and all the houses in Egypt.
[00:29:04] It would be so severe that God declared that never in the history of Egypt have your ancestors seen a plague like this one.
[00:29:14] Having said what he came to say, Moses departed Pharaoh's presence.
[00:29:18] But for the people of Egypt, things had become desperate.
[00:29:23] Exodus 10:7 Pharaoh's officials now came to Pharaoh and appealed to him. How long will you let this man hold us hostage?
[00:29:32] Let the men go to worship the Lord, their God. Don't you realize Egypt lies in ruins?
[00:29:41] In this verse, the word men refers to all people.
[00:29:45] They were clear. For the sake of Egypt, great Pharaoh, let all the Israelites go.
[00:29:52] Earlier we saw that the magicians declared that the plague of flies were by the finger of God.
[00:29:59] Next, with the plague of hail, we saw many of the Egyptian people believing that this God meant business, and they pulled their people and livestock into safety. And now, with the land laid waste by hail, their livestock dead, as well as many people and the approaching destruction of the locusts, Pharaoh's highest officials were pleading with him to let the Israelites leave.
[00:30:25] The word ruins in this verse means literally, desolation.
[00:30:32] Egypt was at its end and everyone seemed to know that except Pharaoh.
[00:30:40] Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron and said they could leave. But he wanted to know who would be going with them.
[00:30:46] You remember, Moses had answered this question more than once.
[00:30:50] Moses told him that all the people and all the flocks would be going.
[00:30:55] Pharaoh's response was not only swift and pointed, but he now understood that this was not a request for a three day journey into the wilderness, but the exodus of the entire nation of Israel from Egypt for good.
[00:31:17] The Lord will certainly need to be with you, said Pharaoh. If I let you take your little ones, I can see through your evil plan.
[00:31:26] Never.
[00:31:27] Only the men may go and worship the Lord, since that is what you requested. And Pharaoh threw them out of the palace.
[00:31:35] So God gave the command. Moses raised his staff and the Lord caused an east wind to blow over the land all day and through the night.
[00:31:45] And when morning arrived, the east wind had brought the locusts.
[00:31:51] God's word tells us that it was the worst locust plague in Egyptian history. And there's never been another one like it since.
[00:31:58] The locusts covered the whole country and darkened the land. They devoured every plant in the fields and all the fruit on the trees that had survived the hailstorm.
[00:32:07] Not a single leaf was left on the trees and plants throughout the land of Egypt.
[00:32:14] But there were no locusts in the land where Israel dwelt.
[00:32:19] Moses was immediately recalled back to the court of Pharaoh with words he had used before.
[00:32:25] Exodus 10, 16, 17. I have sinned against the Lord your God and against you. He confessed. Forgive my sin just this once and plead with the Lord your God to take this death from me.
[00:32:39] Moses petitioned God, who delivered a strong west wind that blew the locusts into the Red Sea. Not a single locust was left in the land of Egypt.
[00:32:49] And yet again, Pharaoh's heart was hardened and he would not let God's people go without warning to Pharaoh.
[00:33:00] Moses was instructed by God to lift up his hand toward heaven for the ninth plague.
[00:33:06] The plague of darkness targeted deity Ra, Egyptian God of the sun. Results Deep psychological terror. Religious impact. Hopelessness brought all movement in commerce and military to a standstill.
[00:33:23] In Exodus chapter 10, we read that darkness fell upon the land.
[00:33:28] Three days of darkness, darkness that was so immense it could be physically felt, covered all the land of Egypt.
[00:33:37] Scripture tells us in Exodus 10:23 that in all that time, the people could not see each other and no one moved.
[00:33:46] However, in the land of Goshen, where the people of Israel lived, there was light. As usual.
[00:33:53] Ra was Egypt's chief deity.
[00:33:57] Pharaoh was supposedly the incarnation of the sun God Ra.
[00:34:02] But by blotting out the sun God showed complete supremacy over their number one deity.
[00:34:10] Pharaoh called for Moses with a compromise that Moses leave, taking all the people of Israel. But they had to leave the Livestock.
[00:34:19] Moses was clear with Pharaoh that all the livestock needed to leave with them in order to worship God.
[00:34:29] The next words from Pharaoh would usher in God's final judgment against Egypt.
[00:34:35] One that would bring even the great Pharaoh to his knees.
[00:34:40] A finality he did not see coming.
[00:34:44] Get out of here.
[00:34:46] Pharaoh shouted at Moses. I'm warning you, never come back to see me again. The day you see my face, you will die.
[00:34:57] And Moses reply was just as final.
[00:35:01] Very well, I will never see your face again.
[00:35:08] The final plague to come, the plague of death, would be targeted against Egypt's greatest God, Pharaoh himself.
[00:35:18] You know, Pharaoh had the power.
[00:35:21] He had the power to end the plagues of Egypt. All the cards were in his hands.
[00:35:26] All he had to do was say yes to God and let the Israelites go. And it would have been all over, or maybe never even have started to begin with.
[00:35:36] And yet, Pharaoh's hardened heart, his pride, brought not only destruction upon Egypt as a country, but also onto his own people.
[00:35:48] From the introduction of Pharaoh in these chapters in Exodus, until he passes from the pages of history, we see a man consumed with pride, puffed up with self, believing that he is more powerful than any God, deceitful in his humility and concessions, all of which continues to harden his heart.
[00:36:10] Ten times throughout Scripture we see the words Pharaoh hardened his heart or God hardened Pharaoh's heart. In truth, Pharaoh made a decision to harden his own heart through pride by resisting and opposing God's will, as one commentator explains.
[00:36:29] Certainly it must never be said that God causes a man to be wicked.
[00:36:34] Pharaoh was responsible for his own evil choice and for the turning of his heart from God.
[00:36:40] However, when people set their wills against God, then God gives them up to their base desires.
[00:36:48] Romans 1:21 24 talks about this.
[00:36:53] Yes, they knew God, but they wouldn't worship him as God or even give him thanks.
[00:36:58] And they begin to think of foolish ideas of what God was like.
[00:37:03] As a result, their minds became dark and confused.
[00:37:07] Claiming to be wise, they instead became utter fools.
[00:37:11] And instead of worshiping the glorious ever living God, they worshiped idols made to look like mere people and birds and animals and reptiles.
[00:37:23] So God abandoned them to do whatever shameful things their hearts desired.
[00:37:29] God never wanted to destroy Egypt, its people, or even Pharaoh.
[00:37:34] He wanted them to know him as their God.
[00:37:38] Even in the midst of the plagues, God continued to show his mercy towards them, over and over.
[00:37:45] So what do we learn from this true story? What is God saying to us?
[00:37:50] Well, first of all, God is very serious that we have no Other gods before him.
[00:37:57] The gods of Egypt were made of wood and stone. But an idol does not need to be seen. Something man made, something that we hold in our hands.
[00:38:05] An idol is anything or anyone that takes the place of God in our lives.
[00:38:11] In truth, though Pharaoh believed in and worshiped the false gods, there was a God that he worshipped and believed in even more.
[00:38:21] And it is the same God that we struggle with, the God of self, which is a direct result of the sin of pride.
[00:38:30] In fact, most sins are the direct result of the sin of pride.
[00:38:33] Pride blinds us and is, in the case of Pharaoh, left unchecked and unconfessed. Pride will entrap us and cause the hardening of our hearts.
[00:38:44] There is a reason pride is considered one of the seven deadly sins which is listed in as they are listed in Proverbs 6, 16, 19.
[00:38:56] So what is pride? I think we know.
[00:38:58] But just in case, pride is an excessive love of self, an exaggerated sense of self importance, viewing oneself as superior to others.
[00:39:10] The Bible has much to say about pride. Pride goes before destruction and a haughty spirit before a fall.
[00:39:18] The Lord detests the proud, they will surely be punished.
[00:39:22] Pride is many times compared to its opposite, humility.
[00:39:26] When pride comes, then comes disgrace. But with humility comes wisdom.
[00:39:32] Don't be selfish. Don't try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves.
[00:39:40] The God of self promoted by the sin of pride is a wicked tax semester, demanding its own rights and ways. And if we continue to serve it, the outcome will be like that of Pharaoh. A hardened heart that will continually rebel against God.
[00:39:57] So what must we do in battling the God of self? How must pride be dealt a death blow in our lives?
[00:40:06] The answer to that question is in the form of a question. And it's the same question that God asked Pharaoh in Exodus 10:3.
[00:40:14] How long will it be before you humble yourself before God?
[00:40:19] When we are humble, we are not boastful or act with self importance.
[00:40:25] When we are humble, we have a teachable spirit, especially towards God.
[00:40:31] When we are humble, we value others more than we value ourselves.
[00:40:36] Humility keeps in perspective who God is and who we are not.
[00:40:42] It is humility that brings freedom.
[00:40:45] It is humility that draws us into the presence of God, the God of self and its source. The sin of pride must bow down before the mighty hand of God in confession, repentance and humility.
[00:40:59] There can be no other gods in our lives but the one true God.
[00:41:04] But there's one more thing that we see in this story of Pharaoh and the plagues.
[00:41:11] Something so very beautiful, and it is played out daily in our own lives.
[00:41:17] God is indeed a God of great power and might.
[00:41:20] He rules all of heaven and earth, and he proved that to Pharaoh and the Egyptian people over and over by means of the plagues.
[00:41:28] There is nothing that will not ultimately bow before God, but He is also a God of mercy and grace, a God of long suffering.
[00:41:38] In second Peter 3. 9, we read the Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead, he's patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.
[00:41:51] God wanted Pharaoh and all of Egypt to obey his demands.
[00:41:57] But in spite of the plagues that would accomplish this through his mercy and his long suffering, he also wanted them to know how much he loved them and how he hoped that they would worship Him.
[00:42:12] And if we look at our own lives, each and every day, we would see how God's mercy and grace is continually being shown, regardless of what mindset we're in, what we're in, or what we're doing at any time.
[00:42:26] He is long suffering.
[00:42:30] The lessons of the heart of Pharaoh and the nine plagues Megan, you can come up, Team, please. What have we learned from this morning?
[00:42:39] First of all, to have no other gods in our lives, including the God of self.
[00:42:46] To acknowledge and confess any form of the sin of pride in our lives.
[00:42:51] To understand that though we may never experience things in our lives like the plagues of Egypt, I pray not that God may indeed bring situations and people across our paths that cause great discomfort, hoping that we will surrender to Him. He is patient, he is merciful, and he is long suffering.
[00:43:12] God is continually calling out to us to surrender to him, to surrender everything we are to Him.
[00:43:18] He loves us so very much.
[00:43:21] The question how long will it be before we humble ourselves before God?
[00:43:29] Megan and the team are going to lead us in our final song of worship. And I'm asking Jennifer Stare and Jason Guyer if they'll come down and join me here in front as we worship this morning. And I know the service has gone a little long.
[00:43:43] If there's anything, anything in your lives that you would like us to pray with you with this morning, we're happy to do that. If the message is spoken to you in any way, if you've come with a burden, if there's someone that you want to stand in for and be prayed for, we are here. The altars are open.
[00:44:04] God is long suffering, merciful and gracious, and he loves us and he wants us to come to him with everything, to bow before him with everything, and to just allow him to pour his love out on us.
[00:44:19] So as we sing this morning, come, if you would.
