P a g e 1. Exodus 7-8

Transcription

1 Exodus 7-8 P a g e 1 Let s remember a little what has taken place up to this point. Remember Jacob came to Egypt with 70 people. As was promised to Abraham, God would build a nation in Egypt. After 400 years God would bring his nation back to the promise land. Joseph, Jacob s son was a mighty ruler in Egypt, he through God s wisdom was able to bring salvation to this people. And Egypt and the Pharaoh of Joseph s day honored this family of promise, and gave them the finest land in Goshen. The Egyptians would not intermarry with these circumcised Hebrews, for they were shepherds, and were considered unclean because of this. So God used the racism of the day to keep His people pure.

2 P a g e 2 God begin to bless the Hebrews, and over the course of 400 years they multiplied into a great nation within Egypt. So mighty, that when a new Pharaoh arose to power who knew not Joseph, he in fear of these people set task masters over them and afflicted them with the burden of hard slavery. And through this affliction the Hebrews once again cried out to the God of their ancestors. God heard their cries and remembered them. And God begins to set in motion his plan of deliverance. A baby was born to a Levite couple, who was beautiful and so unique the parents broke the law that the insecure Pharaoh enacted of infanticide and killing of the male babies. Jochebed the baby s mother sent him down the river where in Divine timing, a woman was bathing. And Pharaohs daughter saves the child a raises him in all the ways of Egypt.

3 This child Moses grew up in Egypt, but his early Hebrew upbringing never left his heart and mind. He knew God called him to lead his people out of Egypt, but failed to understand the timing God had. He in an attempt to start a rebellion defended a Hebrew and killed an Egyptian. P a g e 3 For which he was found out, and Pharaoh demanded his life. Moses then fled to Midian, where God will spend 40 years preparing this man for the ministry. He will break him of any self-dependency, and selfrighteousness, and really any self-esteem. This man Moses will be so broken, and so humiliated, that God will have to prod him along. Moses so unsure of himself is so defiant to God, that God will send his brother Aaron with him before Pharaoh. These brothers go before this king of Egypt with the terms of their God.

4 P a g e 4 And they are rejected by Pharaoh, and in this rejection even the Hebrews, whom Moses was supposed to be leading turn on him. We left last time this leader that God had chosen for this enormous task just defeated. And in the last verses of our reading last time we read Ex 6:28-30 And it came to pass, on the day the Lord spoke to Moses in the land of Egypt, 29 that the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, "I am the Lord. Speak to Pharaoh king of Egypt all that I say to you." 30 But Moses said before the Lord, "Behold, I am of uncircumcised lips, and how shall Pharaoh heed me?" Moses really at the lowest he can be, he wants to quit, he declares his own people reject him as though he is uncircumcised. He is done, Pharaoh rejected the terms God told Moses to bring, his ministry at this time seems empty and unfruitful.

5 P a g e 5 And now! Now that Moses is defeated, now this man of God that was chosen for this task is completely undone. Now God can begin His campaign against the gods of Egypt. From this point of despair, Moses will never be able to take credit for what is about to take place. His failures, will now bring God great glory. From this point, it will be God alone demonstrating His power and might. And now that Moses has reached his lowest, he too will see the power and might of this God who sent him. We will see Moses through the next few chapters finally rise to the place God wanted him to be. And Moses faith in his God, will give him a strength like never before. It is a very important point, that we see Moses for what he is here, because it brings a clearer context for the next few chapters.

6 God wanted to be clear that He would deliver His people, not Moses. And right after Moses resignation before God, God now can entrust him with his calling. Moses Before Pharaoh P a g e 6 7:1 So the Lord said to Moses: "See, I have made you as God to Pharaoh, and Aaron your brother shall be your prophet. 2 You shall speak all that I command you. And Aaron your brother shall tell Pharaoh to send the children of Israel out of his land. You see a prophet is the opposite of a priest, as the priest represents the people before God, the Prophet represents God before the people. Moses would hear from God, and Aaron his brother would bring the message before Pharaoh. And as we go through these chapters, we will see Aaron s part will not be necessary as Moses will gradually rise to the place God called him to.

7 P a g e 7 And after Moses begins to see the power and might of this God whom he is representing, his confidence, not in himself, but in his God, will strengthen. And Aaron, Moses security blanket will gradually be unnecessary. So they are commanded to speak only that which God commands them. And there truly is safety in any ministry when God s Word is central to all that happens. Simply say all that God says, and watch as God begins to work. The temptation to overcome, is for Moses in the emotion of all the wrong done to him, to insert his own agenda and words beyond what God speaks to him. But Moses will find strength in simply obeying God here, there will be no need to speak, or do anything beyond what God asks of him. I imagine many ministries today are missing out on witnessing the power of God, because they feel as

8 P a g e 8 though they have to go beyond just simply teaching His Word. It is not enough they say. We must do more, people in today s culture will not sit through long homilies, we must tickle their ears with pep talks and motivational speaking. And for the sake and fear of the people, they will forsake what God says. So Moses and Aaron are commanded to only speak God s Word. And we read on 3 And I will harden Pharaoh's heart, and multiply My signs and My wonders in the land of Egypt. 4 But Pharaoh will not heed you, so that I may lay My hand on Egypt and bring My armies and My people, the children of Israel, out of the land of Egypt by great judgments. 5 And the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord, when I stretch out My hand on Egypt and bring out the children of Israel from among them." A declaration of war is given to Moses and Aaron.

9 God will destroy the gods of Egypt, and assert His power and might over them. P a g e 9 The demonic powers and strongholds of Egypt will be judged and it will be such a heavy blow, that the people of Egypt will know the God of Heavens Armies, Yahweh is the one true God. There is no power in heaven or on earth that is more powerful and mighty. And in the face of this power, the religious Pharaoh s heart will harden. God as we will see will be very merciful to Pharaoh and give him many chances to come to Him. But this hardening of hearts can be better understood, God will strengthen Pharaoh in the position he has. Or God will reveal what is in Pharaoh s heart already. The Pharaoh s of Egypt were steeped in religion; they were intertwined into the worship of the thousands of gods in Egypt.

10 P a g e 10 The question Pharaoh asked Moses in Ex. 5:2 And Pharaoh said, "Who is the Lord, that I should obey His voice to let Israel go? I do not know the Lord, nor will I let Israel go." Perhaps was a sincere one. You see the Egyptians had a symbol for everything, they took an idea that could be intellectual only and would make it into an image. They had gods that represented every phase and function in life. In fact, as we discussed last time, they changed monotheism the belief of one God into polytheism. I quote Sir Wallis Budge who studied Egyptology for the British Museum. He says They believed in the existence of one great God, self-produced, self-existent, almighty, and eternal. They however felt That this Being was too great and mighty to concern Himself with the affairs and destinies of human beings

11 P a g e 11 And because of this He permitted the management of this world. To fall into the hands of hordes of gods and demons, and good and bad spirits. So when Moses and Aaron brought the news of the God of the Hebrews, perhaps it intrigued Pharaoh enough to test this God. He did not kill Moses and Aaron, but respected them enough to test their God. He only threatens death at the end of the series of plagues, if they come before him again. And as we go through these 10 Signs and Judgements of God we will see it was a direct assault on all of the many satanic gods that ruled in Egypt. God will show He is the ultimate authority over any hosts or hordes of gods. Even Jesus, who faced a Legion or thousands of Demons in Gadarenes, showed His authority over those devils when He cast them into the pigs who then committed suicide. Our God surely is the King of kings, and Lord of lords.

12 P a g e 12 Now it is said that all satanic worship, and spiritualism has its roots in the religion of Egypt. And those fallen angels, who constantly try to exalt themselves over the One True God, will from culture to culture use different names, and altered methods, but all throughout history, they find their end when Yahweh steps in and reclaims the worship due to Him. We recently had a woman who had her roots in Santeria and tied into these false spirits. She came in with her husband last Friday, and prayed to the One True God, Jesus, and in her prayer, I cannot get it out of my head. She prayed, mind you she was not coached, but Spirit led, Jesus you are the Lord of lords, and King of kings, and You have authority over these spirits. And you know what happened? Christ showed His Authority, and this sister asked Christ in to her life, she is now free from those spirits, and walking full of life and joy.

13 P a g e 13 And this is the same God, that Moses and Aaron are speaking on behalf of, and God will do something He has never done prior to this, through many signs and wonders He will separate His people from the paganism that ruled in Egypt. And we will see Satan and his cohorts indeed have power as well. And this perhaps is the draw of the Wiccan today, and other cultic belief s. The supernatural is very real. But my hope as we study this portion of scripture is that your eyes will open to the fact that although the darkness has power, the Light is all the more powerful. My hope is the hope of the apostle Paul for the church in Ephesians that you understand. Eph. 1:17-23 that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, 18 the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the

14 P a g e 14 riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, 19 and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power 20 which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, 21 far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come. 22 And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, 23 which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all. And in this great battle before us in the text, may you understand this is your God too! Let s read on 6 Then Moses and Aaron did so; just as the Lord commanded them, so they did. 7 And Moses was eighty years old and Aaron eighty-three years old when they spoke to Pharaoh.

15 P a g e 15 And of course their age is given here, they are two very old men! They are at a point in their life where they should be settling down a little. They are nowhere in a place to lead a great nation into the promise land. And again the facts show us, God chose these men, that no man should Glory in His presence. These old men, will not be able to take credit for anything that is about to happen! So God begins! Aaron's Miraculous Rod(Ex 4:1-5) 8 Then the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, 9 "When Pharaoh speaks to you, saying, 'Show a miracle for yourselves,' then you shall say to Aaron, 'Take your rod and cast it before Pharaoh, and let it become a serpent.'" 10 So Moses and Aaron went in to Pharaoh, and they did so, just as the Lord commanded. And Aaron cast down his rod before Pharaoh and before his servants, and it became a serpent.

16 Now this translation is perhaps off with the word serpent. The word tannin is not translated anywhere else in scripture as a serpent but a dragon. Or even more accurately a marine or land monster. So the description may more be that of a crocodile. P a g e 16 And if indeed this is an attack on the gods of Egypt, this would be a direct assault on one of their great symbols. Sebak was the deity of evil with a crocodile head and Apepi, the ongoing arch enemy of all the solar gods appeared in the form of a crocodile. Supposedly Apepi made it his mission every day to prevent the rising of the sun-god Ra. He would use thunderstorms, hurricanes, and rain and the like to obscure the light of the sun with clouds or even fog. The Egyptians had a ritual in Thebes, in the Temple of Amen-Ra that would be an attempt to destroy Apepi.

17 It was a prominent worship in the land of Egypt. P a g e 17 And God strikes his first blow their, and Aarons rod is turned into a crocodile. But Satan has power too, and his servants are capable of lying signs and wonders. Let s see what happens 11 But Pharaoh also called the wise men and the sorcerers; so the magicians of Egypt, they also did in like manner with their enchantments. 12 For every man threw down his rod, and they became serpents. But Aaron's rod swallowed up their rods. 13 And Pharaoh's heart grew hard, and he did not heed them, as the Lord had said. And we will see Pharaoh is deeply involved in his religion, the wise men, sorcerers, and the magicians seem to stay pretty near to Pharaoh. And they appeal to their source of power, which perhaps was slide of hand magic, or supernatural as well.

18 P a g e 18 But God does something here, even though darkness has power as well. God shows His authority over this copycat miracle, by eating the production of Satan s servants. Pharaoh, perhaps intrigued by what Moses and Aaron have done, does not kill them, but we see his heart hardened all the more. He thinks If my magicians can do something similar than perhaps this is nothing new. This God of the Hebrews knew this man would be obstinate, but He started small, giving Pharaoh a shot at repentance, He gave him a chance to spare the people for what was about to happen. Pharaoh s heart is being confronted for sure. But on the other hand, Moses is being dealt with as well. He has just witnessed the power of this God he is representing. God met Moses in his faith and obedience.

19 P a g e 19 This humbled man, will now understand in his humility God will lift him up. In Moses no strength could be found, in Moses God there was power and might. And Moses now knows God will be his strength, and he will gradually get bolder and bolder as he watches God work. So many Christian workers with gifts, talents and even resources work apart from God s power, because in their own resources the can do much. But the real work begins when we can just get out of the way, and step back and watch God work. Moses finds security in this, and so should we. So God will strike the second blow next! The First Plague: Waters Become Blood 14 So the Lord said to Moses: "Pharaoh's heart is hard; he refuses to let the people go. 15 Go to Pharaoh in the morning, when he goes out to the water, and you shall stand by the river's bank to meet him; and the

20 P a g e 20 rod which was turned to a serpent you shall take in your hand. 16 And you shall say to him, 'The Lord God of the Hebrews has sent me to you, saying, "Let My people go, that they may serve Me in the wilderness"; but indeed, until now you would not hear! 17 Thus says the Lord: "By this you shall know that I am the Lord. Behold, I will strike the waters which are in the river with the rod that is in my hand, and they shall be turned to blood. 18 And the fish that are in the river shall die, the river shall stink, and the Egyptians will loathe to drink the water of the river."'" Now Pharaoh the worshipper, was going down early in the morning for his worship to the sacred Nile. The Egyptians depicted the Nile as Hapi, an intersex person with a large belly with the breasts of a woman, and the ceremonial false beard; it was a picture of fertility and nourishment. They even had a hymn that they sang "Praise to thee, O Nile, who comes forth on the land to make Egypt live!

21 P a g e 21 O thou Hidden of Nature, a darkness even by day, whose following praises him, who moistens the field! Creation of Ra to make all animals live, who satiates the desert, a place far from rain. Beloved of Geb, directing Neper, Lord of Fishes, who drives the waterfowl downstream... Maker of Barley, Creator of Emmer Wheat, to make festive in the temples..." And the place where the Egyptians main life source came from will be made a mockery of the True Provider, Yahweh. He will make this supposed god of life, a place of death and stench. And the praise that should have been attributed to God, was given to Egypt s main river. This river really brought life into the deserts of Egypt, when it would overflow its banks it would fertilize the soil and ready it for the crops. The Egyptians worship the creation and totally disregarded the Creator.

22 And God will make a curse out of what had been formally a blessing. P a g e Then the Lord spoke to Moses, "Say to Aaron, 'Take your rod and stretch out your hand over the waters of Egypt, over their streams, over their rivers, over their ponds, and over all their pools of water, that they may become blood. And there shall be blood throughout all the land of Egypt, both in buckets of wood and pitchers of stone.'" 20 And Moses and Aaron did so, just as the Lord commanded. So he lifted up the rod and struck the waters that were in the river, in the sight of Pharaoh and in the sight of his servants. And all the waters that were in the river were turned to blood. 21 The fish that were in the river died, the river stank, and the Egyptians could not drink the water of the river. So there was blood throughout all the land of Egypt. Now there have been attempts to prove this judgment scientifically. And there really is the temptation to lean toward the scientific explanations of these wonders.

23 Some think this was simply a Red-tide that these harmful algae blooms took over the Nile, it was a natural phenomenon. P a g e 23 And Moses instructed in the wisdom of Egypt could perhaps know specifically when this phenomenon took place, and at the right time put his staff in the water. Or some think that the red clay soil in Ethiopia through over flooding was broken up, and began to disperse down river into the Egyptian waters. Creating a Blood-like water. Now however you try to explain this away, the record leaves tidbits of details that kind of forces the hand of scientific explanation into uncertainty. It records it was both in buckets of wood and pitchers of stone. This was something Divine, beyond any human explanation. The water was turned to blood, not the color of blood, or bloodlike.

24 P a g e 24 But dawm or Blood OT:1818 (Biblesoft's New Exhaustive Strong's Numbers and Concordance with Expanded Greek-Hebrew Dictionary. Copyright 1994, 2003, 2006 Biblesoft, Inc. and International Bible Translators, Inc.) God here asserting His authority over this praised body of water. Even the streams and ponds, the rivers and all the bodies of water were made into this undrinkable water. The fish, the main staple of the Egyptians was killed off. And now the sufferings begin. God here showing even something so massive, so powerful was futile when faced with its Creator. If only Pharaoh in the private court headed the terms of Yahweh, he could have spared his nation this great heart ache. But again the mighty Pharaoh appeals to his own deity s spokesmen

25 P a g e Then the magicians of Egypt did so with their enchantments; and Pharaoh's heart grew hard, and he did not heed them, as the Lord had said. 23 And Pharaoh turned and went into his house. Neither was his heart moved by this. 24 So all the Egyptians dug all around the river for water to drink, because they could not drink the water of the river. 25 And seven days passed after the Lord had struck the river. Pharaoh s heart was hardened because of the trickery of his own magicians. Would it not be better for them to turn the blood back into water? But the dark powers of Satanism can only mimic, he is powerless in this conflict with the Almighty. God s Mercy is still shown here, he does give a way for the Egyptians and even the Israelites to find water. It is laborious, but if they dig down on the embankment, the sand would filter the water, and they would have potable water again.

26 Now that last statement is important, 7 days had passed. Again had that not been written, we might think the second plague of frogs was a result of the Nile river being overwhelmed with death. Some even try to accredit the next series of plagues together as one continuous series of events compounding on the previous event. P a g e 26 I will only mention it here one time, but I will not carry this theme throughout the plagues. I do not believe we can try to explain away the miraculous through science. Some believe the fish rotting from this red-tide carried Anthrax, the sun rotting fish provided a great ecosystem for the Anthrax to manifest itself. Even though scientists in Egypt and East Africa have never seen any trace of this "naturally occurring" in algae; anthrax is soil-based and not found in the Nile

27 P a g e 27 The proponents of this theory believe the frogs carried the anthrax into the grass and grazing places of the sheep and cattle, thus killing off the cattle by the fifth plague. The rotting fish and putrefying water would create the perfect ecosystem to breed mosquitos or lice of plague three. And the flies or beetles would multiply rapidly on the carcasses of the fish and frogs. The anthrax would be an irritant to the human s skin that would create the boils of plague six. Now if inhaled Anthrax is almost always lethal. It would be more harmful then just boils on the skin. Again I get very uncomfortable trying to accredit scientific reasoning to works of God. It seems that could be the very reason Pharaoh missed the fact until it was too late that he was indeed dealing with God the Creator. He tried to justify by reason the supernatural.

28 P a g e 28 So as we journey through this war of the gods I will only teach from the supernatural, as I believe God did these things in ways that are far beyond any human understanding. God is trying to get the attention of Pharaoh, and his heart continues to harden. And to find the jump to the seventh plague of hail and then the eighth of locust and the ninth of darkness in this chain of anthrax assumption is too great a leap for this preacher. I am much more comfortable attributing these acts of war to God. He started small and in His mercy each time progressing to greater and greater degrees of judgment, all the while looking for those who would have faith in Him. So the next plague The Second Plague: Frogs 8:1 And the Lord spoke to Moses, "Go to Pharaoh and say to him, 'Thus says the Lord: "Let My people go, that

29 P a g e 29 they may serve Me. 2 But if you refuse to let them go, behold, I will smite all your territory with frogs. 3 So the river shall bring forth frogs abundantly, which shall go up and come into your house, into your bedroom, on your bed, into the houses of your servants, on your people, into your ovens, and into your kneading bowls. 4 And the frogs shall come up on you, on your people, and on all your servants."'" The next assault on these false gods would be on Heka, the frog-headed goddess. And perhaps Hapi again who was depicted at times as holding a frog out of whose mouth flowed a stream of nourishment. Showing the close relationship between the two gods. The frog goddess was one of the oldest and the mother of goddesses. She was the goddess of fertility, connected to assisting the midwives. This goddess is portrayed participating in the birth of royalty at times.

30 And Yahweh, about to show His power over this symbol of false doctrine. P a g e 30 Frogs historically are connected to the occult practices. Even in Revelation we see demonic figures described as these creatures. Rev 16:13 And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs coming out of the mouth of the dragon, out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet. These creatures were worshipped in Egypt. And because they are sacred, God will make them a pest, and because of their status, the Egyptians could not kill them, or harm them in any way. God will bring an abundance of them upon the land, so much so they will be in their kitchens, their beds, their places of food preparation. And I don t know if you have ever been around these slimy amphibians?

31 P a g e 31 But they are nasty. They give you the heebie jeebies, I think that is the scientific word for it. When we were in the Philippines, at night these big old toads come out by the thousands. You have to watch where you step if you are in a grassy area. And if you are walking in sandals and one of those miserable creatures touches your skin, it sends chills instantly up your spine. This plague of course is supernatural, frogs do not have any special immunity to what the fish were exposed too, they should have died with the fish, but seven days passed, and God will create an abundance of these slimy beasts. 5 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, "Say to Aaron, 'Stretch out your hand with your rod over the streams, over the rivers, and over the ponds, and cause frogs to come up on the land of Egypt.'" 6 So Aaron stretched out his hand over the waters of Egypt, and the frogs came up and covered the land of Egypt. 7 And the

32 P a g e 32 magicians did so with their enchantments, and brought up frogs on the land of Egypt. And just a miserable situation here. Wherever one stepped was one of these frogs, wherever one sat to find rest there were these frogs. This would cause great anxiety for the people of Egypt. They were helpless to their own foolish beliefs that these creatures were divine, wisdom would say they are pests! The magicians can again only replicate this, and they are powerless to stop it. And their folly is exposed, for even Pharaoh makes an appeal to Moses God for reprieve of this miserable situation. 8 Then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron, and said, "Entreat the Lord that He may take away the frogs from me and from my people; and I will let the people go, that they may sacrifice to the Lord."

33 P a g e 33 So a halfhearted repentance from Pharaoh, he is sorry he provoked God to do this act, however he is still not fully surrendering himself. He makes the deal many do today. God get me out of this, and I will serve you with all my heart. There were many nights, because of the drugs pumping through my veins that I thought my heart was going to explode, or stop working altogether. I would plead with the God of my father, Please don t let me die like this, I promise if you get me through this night, I will throw every baggy I have in the toilet. And morning would come, and I would as arrogantly as Pharaoh mock this God I appealed to. And like Pharaoh, God dealt with me, and exposed my folly. Unlike Pharaoh, I eventually appealed to God s Grace, and Mercy, and received salvation, and a pardon for my sins.

34 We read nothing of the like from this king of Egypt. Only hardness of heart to this God of Mercy. So the dialogue continues P a g e 34 9 And Moses said to Pharaoh, "Accept the honor of saying when I shall intercede for you, for your servants, and for your people, to destroy the frogs from you and your houses, that they may remain in the river only." 10 So he said, "Tomorrow." And he said, "Let it be according to your word, that you may know that there is no one like the Lord our God. 11 And the frogs shall depart from you, from your houses, from your servants, and from your people. They shall remain in the river only." Moses confidence in his God is growing, as he is witnessing the power of his God. Pharaoh has for the first time left the high ground of his rule and opulence, and he is knocked off his lofty throne. The appeal is reversed for the first time here for Moses.

35 Moses is used to going before this man with his request, and Moses must wait each time for his decree. Oh how the tides have turned. Pharaoh is forced to appeal to Moses, and Moses is now engaged in his calling. P a g e 35 He does not have to use Aaron as his spokesman here. He understands now, God wants to use him, and after all the humiliating preparation, Moses sees, it is not by might nor by power, but by God s Spirit will these things happen. And Moses confidence in his God is so much, that he allows Pharaoh to pick the time when his God will end this plague. You can almost feel the excitement of this man Moses as he is just watching in awe God use him, a man who is afraid to speak, a man who has been a failure, a man who wasted all of his good years in depression shepherding sheep.

36 P a g e 36 He thinks, God is using me here! This is exhilarating, this is beyond anything I could have planned for! God You are so powerful and mighty; you are my God! Oh the excitement as Moses now has the upper ground for the first time. And God has dealt so well with this man Moses, and was careful to break any ounce of pride in him, that Moses is ready for this. And He somewhat toys with Pharaoh, You pick Pharaoh, and watch my God work, He will stop whenever you say, so that you know Pharaoh, my God is King of kings, and Lord of Lords. I could just stay in this moment with Moses all night, but we must move on, the realities of our fight here on earth are ongoing. We will get victories, but just know there is another battle or crisis waiting for you. 12 Then Moses and Aaron went out from Pharaoh. And Moses cried out to the Lord concerning the frogs which He had brought against Pharaoh. 13 So the Lord did

37 P a g e 37 according to the word of Moses. And the frogs died out of the houses, out of the courtyards, and out of the fields. 14 They gathered them together in heaps, and the land stank. 15 But when Pharaoh saw that there was relief, he hardened his heart and did not heed them, as the Lord had said. And the sad biography of this man Pharaoh, he hardened his heart. Because of his hardening he will force God s hand to continue on in this war with the gods that have consumed his heart and mind. Surely, Pharaoh must be thinking. My gods must know how faithful I am to them! Surely, they will act soon. I worship them authentically and continually. Who is this God of the Hebrews to stand against us? He is waiting for these false gods, these demonic spirits to come to his aid. Little does he know that even they must give an account to the God of the Jews.

38 As Job reveals to us in Job 1:6 Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came among them. P a g e 38 Pharaoh your gods are powerless to Yahweh; they can do nothing without His permission. They must give an account for all they do. And hopefully this man will soon find the merciful God of the Hebrews and reach out to him for salvation. Pharaoh is a man of great faith, he spent his whole life dedicated to the worship of his gods, what a mighty thing it would have been if he would have just surrendered. But the story continues The Third Plague: Lice 16 So the Lord said to Moses, "Say to Aaron, 'Stretch out your rod, and strike the dust of the land, so that it may become lice throughout all the land of Egypt.'" 17 And they did so. For Aaron stretched out his hand with his rod and struck the dust of the earth, and it became

39 P a g e 39 lice on man and beast. All the dust of the land became lice throughout all the land of Egypt. The next god to be dealt with was Geb, the earth god. And God would mock this false god by taking the dust of its land, and making a miserable irritant out of it. Josephus remarks the misery was so unbearable it seemed death would be the only escape. One year when we went to Mexico, it was after a fair amount of rain fell, and the mosquitos were thick. The poor youth kids by the time we left were just full of tormenting red itchy bumps all over their bodies. We all could not sleep, even though we had bug spray on, those pests would buzz right in ears as if they were mocking us the whole time. Every time you would finally get your eyes closed, you would hear this buzz in your ear. It was maddening. The bites were relentless. That was nothing compared to the torment of the Egyptians, thousands upon thousands of these of these

40 P a g e 40 insects covering their skin, crawling into their ears, every time they opened their eyes more of these ticks would crawl in and bite. The rage this would cause is immeasurable. As God is increasing at every blow His power. And one last time Pharaoh s satanic priests try to work their own power. 18 Now the magicians so worked with their enchantments to bring forth lice, but they could not. So there were lice on man and beast. 19 Then the magicians said to Pharaoh, "This is the finger of God." But Pharaoh's heart grew hard, and he did not heed them, just as the Lord had said. So even these masterful con artists are powerless in the enormity of this plague. They now have a Holy fear of the God of Israel. They accredit this wonder to the finger of God. And in their frustrated works, Pharaoh s heart grows harder.

41 Is there any hope for this man? Let s read on The Fourth Plague: Flies P a g e And the Lord said to Moses, "Rise early in the morning and stand before Pharaoh as he comes out to the water. Then say to him, 'Thus says the Lord: "Let My people go, that they may serve Me. 21 Or else, if you will not let My people go, behold, I will send swarms of flies on you and your servants, on your people and into your houses. The houses of the Egyptians shall be full of swarms of flies, and also the ground on which they stand. 22 And in that day I will set apart the land of Goshen, in which My people dwell, that no swarms of flies shall be there, in order that you may know that I am the Lord in the midst of the land. 23 I will make a difference between My people and your people. Tomorrow this sign shall be."'" Now up to this point the plagues touched both Egypt and the Hebrews in Goshen.

42 Maybe this is the reason Pharaoh s heart remained steadfast. He justified this to some other explanation because Israel was suffering too. P a g e 42 Now remember, these stiff-necked people of Israel too were immersed in idolatry, we will see later on that they revert back to it, and God possibly dealing with them, and reminding them who was God. They must return to the God of their ancestors, they cannot serve these false gods in Egypt alongside Him. They must choose who they will serve. I imagine it was quick work for them to return to Yahweh, because from this point on, God will differentiate between Egypt and Israel. From now on the judgement will fall only on Egypt. As the hearts of God s people are solely fixed on Him, and they have a healthy fear of who their God is.

43 P a g e 43 Israel too must be humbled, it is not by any great work, or amazing loyalty they have shown to God that He is going to save them. For they are a rebellious and obstinate people, but only because of who their God is, will salvation come. God said to Abraham that He would give his descendants an inheritance, not because they are deserving, but because He is God and true to His Word. And we too should have a Holy Fear of this God we worship week after week. He owes us nothing, we are deserving of nothing, we are not special on our own merits. We are His, by simply believing in the Word He has given to humanity. That if you believe on the Name of Jesus, and Confess with your mouth you will be saved. If you confess your sins, He will be faithful and Just to forgive you, and cleanse you of all unrighteousness.

44 P a g e 44 Our God is the same God who fulfilled His promise to Abraham, He will be faithful to fulfill His promises to us. But we must always remember, it is only because of Who He Is that any of us can find salvation. If you think you are deserving of anything based on your own merits, it will not be long until you fall from that great opulence of self-worth you are standing on. God separated these people to Himself, because of the Word He spoke. And I imagine the Israelites are grateful at this point for the separation and reprieve they are going to receive from their God. I imagine any idolatry was done away with in Goshen at this point. They realized they cannot serve God and the gods of Egypt together. So God will take an assault now on Ra, the sun-god, by making a mockery of his sacred scarab beetle.

45 P a g e 45 The Egyptians had these gold beetles throughout the tombs in Egypt. They were important to their worship of Ra, and here they are a tormenting swarm about the land The word here swarm could mean a various assortment of creatures swarming through the land. And if they were indeed these sacred beetles, smashing them would be forbidden. Josephus actually records for us; this plague was the first time human life was taken. The people were so miserable by the multitude of beetles here that Josephus records the work ceased, that tempers were so flared up by the misery of the people s torments that men killed one another. What a distressing situation to not be able to defend yourself from such pests. We have these giant green beetles sometimes at our house, I believe they are called the figeater beetle.

46 P a g e 46 If one is near us, my wife and daughters go running for their lives, as if this little bug threatens their very existence. I have seen them caught in a woman s hair, and the woman panicked as though she was burning alive. I cannot imagine this scene with swarms of bugs just landing on everyone. The chaos would be insane. They had no screens, just open airways in their homes, to put up something over them would make the heat unbearable in the deserts of Egypt. These insects were in everything, on everything, and there was no escaping these creeping crawling things, that flew. I recall again in the Philippines, this creature on the wall as big as my hand in our room. My wife would have nothing to do with that room as long as that thing lived.

47 The problem was it was on the wall above the top bunk which only gave me about a foot of room between the bed and ceiling. I courageously crawled up there to ease my wife s fears. And as I bravely raised my shoe to kill this dastardly insect, it unbeknownst to me had wings. And as soon as I went to swat, it began propelling its wings and took a straight shot at my head. P a g e 47 I wish I could tell you my courage remained steadfast, but stuck between bed and ceiling I panicked. My wife shut the door and ran. As I wrestled this terrifying creature to its death. I screamed in such terror and fear, I swore never to tell this story again. But here it fits so well, if I found myself an Egyptian in this land with swarms of bugs in every crevice of my home, I would be suicidal at best. I hate bugs

48 P a g e And the Lord did so. Thick swarms of flies came into the house of Pharaoh, into his servants' houses, and into all the land of Egypt. The land was corrupted because of the swarms of flies. 25 Then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron, and said, "Go, sacrifice to your God in the land." So here Moses is given his first concession from Pharaoh. If you want to sacrifice to your God, do so in Egypt. And Moses so empowered by his God, and embolden by the power of His might will make no concessions. And Moses again having the upper hand says 26 And Moses said, "It is not right to do so, for we would be sacrificing the abomination of the Egyptians to the Lord our God. If we sacrifice the abomination of the Egyptians before their eyes, then will they not stone us? 27 We will go three days' journey into the wilderness and sacrifice to the Lord our God as He will command us."

49 Moses points out that the Egyptians will think their sacrifices of the cattle to Yahweh would be an abomination. They will surely destroy the Hebrews for killing the cattle to their God. Maybe that was Pharaoh s plan all along. But no compromise is made on Moses part. And how many Christians, who are called to be separate from this world compromise here. P a g e 49 Egypt is a picture of the world in scripture, and many believer has compromised with the world to worship their God. Some Christians think it is acceptable to have church in a bar now, let s drink like the world to reach the world. Or they compromise, and keep those friends that continually pull them into temptation, and continually drag them into their former ways. Make no concession Christian, to be a part of the world.

50 Stand against the Pharaoh in your life and say no. P a g e 50 And declare I will be separate, set-apart to my God. Reading on we see in 28 So Pharaoh said, "I will let you go, that you may sacrifice to the Lord your God in the wilderness; only you shall not go very far away. Intercede for me." 29 Then Moses said, "Indeed I am going out from you, and I will entreat the Lord, that the swarms of flies may depart tomorrow from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people. But let Pharaoh not deal deceitfully anymore in not letting the people go to sacrifice to the Lord." 30 So Moses went out from Pharaoh and entreated the Lord. 31 And the Lord did according to the word of Moses; He removed the swarms of flies from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people. Not one remained. 32 But Pharaoh hardened his heart at this time also; neither would he let the people go. And Pharaoh makes another stand.

51 P a g e 51 But once the trial is past, Pharaoh quickly forgets the fierceness of God s wrath, as God s Mercy momentarily is given, Pharaoh quickly hardens his heart again, and turns on his promise. He is not willing to give up his gods, they are all he has ever known, they are all he has ever prayed too, these false gods have been his only reality his whole life. This is his first encounter with this new God, and how can a God of an inferior race of slaves be more powerful than thousands of Egyptian gods? And Pharaoh here given so many chances by our merciful God, clings instead to what he knows. And the war will continue next week Maybe some of you here tonight, are in this conflict, you know of God, but you are not willing to give up your little gods of this world. I would strongly encourage you tonight to do as that woman did last Friday here in my office, and choose the Lord of lords and King of kings, and all those false spirits will flee.

52 She told me those good spirits she was raised to know; too were all she knew. P a g e 52 But she was confronted with the Jesus we teach about here, and she reached out to Him, and He freed her. This God we are reading about tonight is my God, and He is the God of this church, His merciful hand is extended out to all who would believe. Come to Him tonight, if you have not already, leave those little g gods behind. Find the New Life the God of the scriptures offers. Come up for prayer tonight if you have any prayer needs.