Week 3: Plagues and more plagues (Exodus 5-11) Discussion Questions

Transcription

1 Week 3: Plagues and more plagues (Exodus 5-11) Discussion Questions Read or refer to Exodus 5:1-19 Situation deteriorates 1. As God sets about to rescue his people, everything initially became harder for them. The Israelites were denied straw and told to gather their own but still produce the same number of bricks. The foreman grumble to Moses (5:19-21). Yet we know that God s promises would certainly be fulfilled. What s the key to joyful living even when a situation appears to be deteriorating? Read Exodus 5:22-23 Moses grumbles (again) 2. Share with the group the last time you cried out to God something like What are you doing God!? What are you thinking? Why am I in this mess! 3. Do you reckon it s OK to sound off with God? What often happens when we do? (Optional see Psalm 13). Read Exodus 6:1-12 God promises (again) 4. God restates his promises and has Moses restate them to the Israelites. Note 6:7 I will take you as my own people, and I will be your God. Mark said these words have two definitive time frames of fulfilment. Do you recall what they were? (One, relatively short term, one massively long term.) 5. What confidence can we have that God is good for his promises to us for example of our complete deliverance of evil and our entering his promised new creation? Skim through Exodus 7-11 Plagues intensify 9. Did anything stand out for from the account of the plagues? How do you react to all that God did to the Egyptians through this amazing set of events? 10. Why did God bring so many plagues? What was God up to in the plagues? (Refer to the sermon.) Our references is again Exodus 7-11 Pharaoh vacillates 11. We read that Pharaoh s heart became hard; that Pharaoh hardened his own heart and that God hardened Pharaoh s heart. Which was it?? Why would God seemingly frustrate his own good purposes? (refer 9:13-16) Read Exodus 11:9-10 Pharaoh vacillates 12. The whole plan of the plagues is presented as God s plan to multiply his wonders and leave everyone in no doubt that he is the God who brought his people up from Egypt. He could have simply wiped his people out. He could have wiped us out! But he displays his mercy for his great glory! What will you take from this week s sermon and discussion questions?

2 Exodus # 3 The God who rescues Plagues and more plagues Exodus Situation deteriorates 2. Moses grumbles (again) 3. God promises (again) 4. Plagues intensify 5. Pharaoh vacillates 6. Wonders multiplied You may think you ve gone back to Sunday school the plagues from the Exodus account But they throw up some questions for us don t they? Let s just list them first so we recall what we re talking about 1. Water of the Nile turned into blood 2. The plague of frogs 3. The plague of gnats 4. The plague of flies 5. The plague on the livestock 6. The plague of boils 7. The plague of hail 8. The plague of locusts 9. The plague of darkness 10. The final plague on the firstborn Was all of this necessary? Was it all justified? I mean - some of them were nuisance value, but others especially the last were just devastating. And then you have that last verse in our Old Testament reading 10:20 But the LORD hardened Pharaoh s heart, and he would not let the Israelites go. So let s get this straight. The LORD wants his people out of there. They want out of there. Moses is putting in the hard yards with Pharaoh and tearing his hair out in the process The LORD could surely just do it... so. why is he making things harder for Moses and his people and for himself let alone the Egyptians - by hardening Pharaoh s heart? Why prolong the agony? Why work against yourself? And again we want to keep asking the question what has all this to do with us? So I hope to tackle these and other questions on our way through this morning. Situation deteriorates Did you note as you read these chapters through the week that initially, things only got worse for the Israelites and for Moses? (see chapter 5) On Moses and Aaron s first visit to Pharaoh the question came back, why are you taking the people away from their labour? Get back to your work!

3 You re a distraction Moses with your high hopes of leading people out of here... Result: no more straw for making bricks they had to gather their own straw but still make as many bricks as before! Foremen complained, Pharaoh accuses them of laziness... sends them back to work. You know who they went looking for then? Moses and Aaron you have made us a stench to Pharaoh... and have put a sword in their hand to kill us... You ve made things a lot worse You came promising rescue You reckon God hears our cries Now things are impossible... what were you thinking? / Hard sometimes to trust God isn t it? You ve prayed, you ve looked to him; you ve waited. And sometimes, things have only become worse! Or seemed to. We re at an advantage here. We know how the story ends. They didn t! And maybe in the midst of your story today you don t know how it s going to end. But with God with God who never changes and who will never leave you or forsake you the end of the story will be all good. Can you trust him in that? Moses grumbles (again) Well you know who Moses now turns to! 5:22 O Lord, why have you brought trouble upon this people? Is this why you sent me? Ever since I went to Pharaoh to speak in your name, he has brought trouble upon this people, and you have not rescued your people at all! He really takes it up to God doesn t he? What are you doing!? (1) things have only become worse (2) you haven t done what you said you would do Please explain yourself! Is it OK to speak to God like this? (A Muslim, by the way, wouldn t dare say anything like this to Allah...! Allah s will is unquestionable) Have you ever spoken to God like this? Of course! We all have surely! Why God? Why now? Why this way? What are you doing? Why is everything going wrong? What are you thinking? Many of the Psalmists write in just this way. (see Psalm 13) But isn t that beautiful honesty the mark of real relationship? Isn t this what people do when there is a relationship of openness and understanding and intimacy?

4 And it s often in connecting with God in those raw, hard, brutal moments... that you feel his presence and he touches your life with his peace... and the reminder of his precious promises. That s precisely what God does here reminds Moses of his promises God promises (again) 6:1 Then the LORD said to Moses, now you will see what I will do to Pharaoh. Because of my mighty hand he will let them go; because of my mighty hand he will drive them out of his country. So God restates his promise. This is what I said I would do and I will do it. And not only will Pharaoh let my people go, in the end he will drive them out. 6:5 I've established my covenant... I've heard their groaning. So having restated his promises to Moses, he now tells Moses to restate them to the Israelites. Exodus 6:6-8 [6] "Therefore, say to the Israelites: `I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians. I will free you from being slaves to them, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with mighty acts of judgment. [7] I will take you as my own people, and I will be your God. Then you will know that I am the Lord your God, who brought you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians. [8] And I will bring you to the land I swore with uplifted hand to give to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob. I will give it to you as a possession. I am the Lord.' " Note : I will take you as my own people and I will be your God... Ring any bells...? 3 weeks ago we saw that the ultimate fulfilment of this will be in the new creation. Rev 21 I will be their God and they will be my people. In the shorter term... This will find its fulfilment when Israel is brought into the Promised Land! That's where this is all heading! We won't get there until we hit the book of Joshua... So Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers... Joshua... Into the Promised Land... But we're on that trajectory. Well v9, Moses goes and tells this to Israel. They do not listen because of their cruel bondage. God says to go and tell Pharaoh but Moses says look if Israel won't listen why will Pharaoh listen since I speak with faltering lips? Literally uncircumcised lips! Unclean? No mark of the presence of God in his speech? So the question is... Is God good for his word? Can his covenant promises be trusted? And is he sufficiently powerful to bring about what he has promised? / This is a question for us too This same God has covenanted with us to bring us to our promised inheritance the new creation! He died our death. He's forgiven our sin. He's reconciled us to himself. He's given us His Spirit as a deposit of all that is to come. Can we trust him to finally deliver? The way is hard for some. There are painful things happening right now in all our families. We find the going tough And around the globe Christians are under targeted attack. Is God good for his word? Will he bring us home? And we look back to the cross and we see there his love; his devotion, his absolute commitment to us...

5 And we rest in him... Even though the way is hard or the path is uncertain. for he is good for his promises and one day will bring us safe to our eternal home into his beautiful and brilliant presence forever Plagues intensify They certainly get worse as they go along... Is this just God showing his strength, flexing his muscles...building his reputation? What's going on here? Certainly we are told in a number of places that these are so there will be no doubt that it is God who brought his people out of Egypt. But it's not as if God's a show off! Yes it's a demonstration of his power. But it's also a demonstration of his determination to save his people It will forever be a reminder that they could not save themselves. God will be forever known in the history of the Israelites that he is the God who brought his people out of Egypt. But it's more than that too. It's God's judgment on Pharaoh and the Egyptians. They are not morally neutral. They have enslaved a nation of people. But there will be judgment and justice They bow down to foreign gods; to idols... This will be judgment... Fascinating isn t that the Egyptian magicians matched the plague in the first couple of instances So 7:22 the Egyptian magicians did the same things by their secret arts; 8:7 the frogs the magicians did the same things by their secret arts; they also made frogs come up on the land of Egypt have to almost laugh at that they made more frogs come thereby contributing to the problem one would have thought it may have been more helpful for them to make LESS!! to make the ones Moses produced go away! How was this possible? secret arts? probably the work of the Evil One! (by the time you get to the next plague the gnats 8:18 although the magicians tried, they could not!) Notice the LORD is able to make each plague cease just as powerfully and instantaneously as he brings them on in the first place! And notice that in each case the Israelites are not impacted! so with the plague on the livestock 9:7 Pharaoh investigated and found that not even one of the animals of the Israelites had died! Question what part does God play in modern-day plagues or events of natural disaster? Can we say with any surety they are the judgment of God? Answer? We re not told. Some extreme Christians often will claim a natural disaster in America for example is God s judgment for all the abortions that take place.

6 We don t have a word in the Bible on that. But I also have no doubt that when such events cause people to rethink their life to turn and call out to God to abandon their self-sufficiency to recognize that they need someone beyond themselves I have no doubt that the Spirit of God has been at work. Fascinating to note that then Israel finally does leave Egypt it seems some of the Egyptians themselves joined them Had the plagues caused them to see and to marvel at the power of God? Had they been a chastisement upon them such that they now wanted to follow and serve the one true God? Good question! As the plagues intensify Pharaoh vacillates. Let me show you 1. Confronted with the water of the Nile turned into blood the fish died, the river smelled blood was everywhere!... 7:22 But the Egyptian magicians did the same things by their secret arts, and Pharaoh s hard became hard; he would not listen to Moses and Aaron, just as the LORD had said. Instead, he turned and went into his palace, and did not take even this to heart. 2. Frogs everywhere! 8:8 Pray to the LORD to take the frogs away from me and my people and I will let your people go to offer sacrifices but 8:15 when Pharaoh saw that there was relief, he hardened his heart and would not listen to Moses and Aaron, just as the LORD had said. 3. The plague of gnats 8:19 Pharaoh s heart was hard and he would not listen 4. The plague of flies initially sacrifice HERE. Then I will let you go only not very far now pray for me!... and then once the flies were gone at the hand of the LORD, 8:32 but this time also Pharaoh hardened his heart and would not let the people go. 5. The plague on the livestock 9:7 his heart was unyielding and he would not let the people go 6. The plague of boils 9:12 - But the Lord hardened Pharaoh s heart and he would not listen to Moses and Aaron, just as the Lord had said to Moses. 7. The plague of hail - This time I have sinned, he said to them. The Lord is in the right, and I and my people are in the wrong. 28 Pray to the Lord, for we have had enough thunder and hail. I will let you go; you don t have to stay any longer... 9:34 When Pharaoh saw that the rain and hail and thunder had stopped, he sinned again: he and his officials hardened their hearts. 35 So Pharaoh s heart was hard and he would not let the Israelites go.. 8. The plague of locusts 10:8 go worship the Lord but tell me who will be going? Let only the men go. Then comes the plague they d never seen anything like it I have sinned against the Lord your God and against you. 17 Now forgive my sin once more and pray to the Lord your God to take this deadly plague away from me. But once the Lord had rid the land 10:20 - But the Lord hardened Pharaoh s heart, and he would not let the Israelites go 9. The plague of darkness - 27 But the Lord hardened Pharaoh s heart, and he was not willing to let them go. 10. The final plague on the firstborn more detail next week but 12:31 Up! Leave my people, you and the Israelites! Go, worship the LORD as you have requested. Take your flocks and herds, as you have said, and go. And also bless me. What is going on here? We don t have to wonder the text itself tell us Plague of hail 9:13 - Get up early in the morning, confront Pharaoh and say to him, This is what the LORD, the God of the Hebrews, says: let my people go, so that they may worship me, 14 or this time I will send the full force of my plagues against you and against your officials and your people, so you may know that there is no one like me

7 in all the earth. 15 For by now I could have stretched out my hand and struck you and your people with a plague that would have wiped you off the earth. 16 But I have raised you up for this very purpose, that I might show you my power and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth. God could have wiped Pharaoh and his people off the earth just like that! End of story. Only that would have been the end of the story. God had raised Pharaoh up for the very purpose of the display of his power and the proclamation of his name in all the earth! In Romans, the Apostle Paul makes it clear that God can raise up from himself any one for any purpose. He is who is! And Pharaoh who hardens his own heart as many times as God hardens it! is being used by God for the display of his mighty power. In the end 11:9 Pharaoh will refuse to listen to you so that my wonders may be multiplied in Egypt! Wonders multiplied That s why we re here over 3000 years after talking about God s mighty power now! Because the wonders were multiplied. If it were just a small thing that God did in bringing his people out wouldn t even be recorded or remembered let alone commemorated and celebrated But if it was a big thing and it was! then his name is made great! // And isn t the proclamation of the great name of God what we pray for every time way pray Hallowed be thy name? whatever it takes Lord yes even if it means hard things terrible things whatever it takes to hallow your name cause your name to be known and valued and reverenced // And friends you know (don t you?) that we all once had hard hearts toward God. And he could have one foul swoop of his outstretched hand, caused us to be wiped off the earth. But for the display of his great mercy so the world might know his glory he sent his Son into the world to die our death and be raised from death so we could be put right with him for all eternity!! If it was a small thing God did in rescuing us then it s no big deal and we might as well all be down the beach this morning But if it was a big thing a magnificent thing if he s multiplied his wonders so that we might see his glory all the more then this morning we stand in awe and we pray O Lord hallowed be your name!!! // We need to finish. So one final thing to say if your heart is hard toward God don t let it get any harder Hard hearts will just get harder. Hardened by you. Hardened by God. So how about today - you allow God to display his grace in you as you open your heart to him and draws you to himself..! These plagues the judgment of God, the power of God, the mercy of God for the rescue of his people and ultimately for the glory of his name The cross. The judgment of God, the power of God the mercy of God for the rescue of his people and ultimately for the glory of his name