Exodus: Power Struggle Exodus 7:8-13 Englewood Baptist Church Sunday morning, March 6, 2011

Transcription

1 Exodus: Power Struggle Exodus 7:8-13 Englewood Baptist Church Sunday morning, March 6, 2011 Please open your bible to Exodus 7. Put your bulletin in Luke 9. Have you ever participated in the sport called Tug of War? According to Wikipedia, its also known as tug o war, tug war, rope war, or as the rednecks say it, rope pullin. Show image. Kids love this game. You will find this interesting: this sport was included in the Olympic games from 1900 to 1920, but now it is played mostly at outdoor parties and special events. Tug of war is a demonstration of brute strength by two opposing groups. Two teams, pitted against one another, prove who has the greater power. It is a pure power struggle. Tug of war is a picture of the Old Testament as the people of God battled over control of their destiny. It was God on one side, Israel on the other. In one moment, they built a tabernacle to worship the Lord their God. In another moment, they pulled back, seized the reins and built their own god from gold. In one moment, they assembled for full days to listen to Ezra declare the Word of God. In another moment, they wanted to murder the prophets sent by God. The Old Testament is 39 books that depict the power struggle between God and the human will, the struggle for control. Tug of war not only pictures the Old Testament, it also pictures so many people in the New Testament. Saul rebelled against God and wanted control over his future, but on the road to Damascus, God took one yank of the rope and knocked him off his feet. Struck him blind and sent him on his way. Take Peter, as another example. Peter, the chief of the disciples, in one moment, he declares, I will die for you, Lord! Hours later, he says, I have never so much as laid on eyes on that man called Jesus. There was an inward battle of the will. Since the first bite of the apple, human beings have been this way. We have battled with God over the issue of control. This is what led the Lord, ultimately, to shorten the lifespan of men and women: Then the LORD said, My Spirit will not contend with man forever, for he is mortal; his days will be a hundred and twenty years. Gen 6:3

2 God s patience for the power struggle only lasts so long. He will not contend with man forever. Do you know that salvation comes when people stop pulling against the will of God? This is why Jesus said, Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of God. Have you given God full power, full control over your future? Or, are you still tightfisted on the rope. In Exodus 7, Moses now stands before the most powerful man on the planet. The superpower of Egypt faces off with the servant of God. The power struggle is about to begin. Watch what happens in the opening scene. Read Exodus 7:8-13. Power. More than money, more than exquisite foods, more than fancy houses, what human beings crave the most is power. People tend to want more than their share of power. It was Abraham Lincoln who said this: Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man s character, give him power. Abraham Lincoln Human beings cannot handle unrestrained power. For this reason, our government was built with a system of checks and balances, so that we would be protected from our own appetite. Accountability is a must when it comes to control. Pharaoh was a man who wanted no checks or balances. He wanted full control; he was a hoarder of power. This passage is the first scene of an ongoing struggle between Moses and Pharaoh, but even more so, between God and Satan s dark forces. I want to point out 3 truths about power in this text. What do we learn here in Exodus 7? 3 Truths About Power 1. God has wonder working power. (vv.8-9) Look again at v.8-9 God knew that Pharaoh would call Moses out for evidence. If you claim to speak on behalf of God, then back it up. Show me something God-like. Authenticate your message. And Aaron stands ready for the challenge. This rod of God is thrown to the ground. No magic formula pronounced. No secret chant. The supernatural stick strikes the ground and morphs into a snake.

3 Now, those of you who ask hard questions the inquiring minds want to know: Did Aaron have his own staff, or did Moses and Aaron share this one staff? The text says that God said to Aaron, Throw your staff down. This has caused some debate. Possibly, Aaron was outfitted with his own staff. Certainly God had the resources to produce two, but it could very well be that just as Aaron did the speaking, he also did the staff dropping. We don t really know. Put that on the list of things that you are going to ask famous people when you get to heaven. Another question arises: What kind of snake was this? In Exodus 4, when Moses threw his staff down, the Bible says that it turned into a serpent. However, when Aaron performs this miracle, the Bible says that the staff turned into a tannin, t-a-n-n-i-n, which is means large reptile. Of course, the Nile river was filled with crocodiles, so some scholars believe that Aaron s staff became alligator-ish, not a creature that makes men shriek, but a monster that would have made men run. Again, a crocodile is within the realm of possibility, but it seems to be a stretch since the word tannin takes on the meaning of deadly cobra snakes in other places in Scripture, such as Psalm 91:13. The most likely solution is that the staff turned into a poisonous snake, like a cobra, that could kill a man with an ounce of venom. But let s not miss the forest for the trees. The important fact here is no zoological, what kind of reptile this was. The important fact is theological: what was God trying to say in this opening miracle. Let me provide some history that will help us here. Ancient manuscripts reveal that the Pharaoh held great fear in his heart for the snake-god, and when a new pharaoh would take the throne of Egypt, he would take the royal crown, which had a cobra on the crest of his crown, and he would speak these words to the sovereign Snake God: O Great One, O Magician, O Fiery Snake! Let there be terror of me like the terror of thee. Let there be fear of me like the fear of thee. Let there be awe of me like the awe of thee. Let me rule, a leader of the living. Let me be powerful, a leader of spirits. ----taken from Kingship and the Gods, by H. Frankfort With these words, Pharaoh surrendered to the sovereignty of Satan and his host of counterfeit gods. This background helps us understand what Aaron was doing when he threw his staff down before Pharaoh. It was more than just a cool trick. It was a declaration of war: My God vs. Your God. A direct assault on the sovereignty of the Pharaoh and all of his secret forces. Aaron was about to swallow up the foundation of Pharaoh s belief system. I like what Kent Hughes says here in his commentary: To draw a modern comparison, it would be like taking a bald eagle into the Oval Office and wringing its neck.

4 Aaron wasn t saying, Watch this, isn t that neat? Can we talk now? No, Aaron was locking eyes with Pharaoh and saying from a position of strength, We didn t come to play. God is not interested in negotiations. This is a total takeover of control. Surrender now, or see what happens. God was shooting a missile at Pharaoh s crusty heart. Let me tell you something: God the Holy Spirit follows the same strategy today, when he seeks to establish his throne in a sinner s heart. He assaults the soul of a man and aims his missiles at a man s greatest source of power. If we crave physical strength more than we crave God, then the Spirit will strike a man with illness. If a man lives for pleasure, then God will take away all pleasure and make him miserable. If a man seeks financial security as his god, then the Lord will chip away at his savings until the man has no dollar to draw hope from. Whatever gods we place on the crest of our crown, the Lord will see fit to swallow them up. So what god is on the crest of your crown? God will accept no rivals. Whatever you are counting on today, outside of Christ, you can expect one thing: God will prove why it cannot be trusted. He alone has pow r, pow r wonder working power. Do you believe that? 2. God puts power in the hands of obedient servants. (v.10) I want you to read with me again v.10 Do you see the spiritual growth of Moses? The statement is made so matter-of-fact that we almost miss it, but Moses has taken Olympic sized strides in his faith since chapter 3 and the burning bush. Prior to this moment, Moses wanted nitpick with God over every detail of the plan. He second-guessed God on every issue. He interrupted God and offered objections and excuses as to why he wasn t fit for the role. But here, it says simply, And Moses and Aaron did exactly what God told them to do. This is measurable progress. Moses is on his way to powerful living. Do you know that God puts power into the hands of the obedient? He is just waiting for you to let go of the rope, and open up your hands, so that kingdom authority can be your for the taking. I told you we were going New Testament. Go with me to Luke 9. Jesus. The 12 disciples. For the first time, he is turning them loose. Look what he says in Luke 9. V.1-6. What do we learn here? Jesus divied out the power to the people who would submit. The disciples were sent out with no fireworks to shoot, no trick up their sleeve. By

5 simple obedience, they were given power. By simple obedience, they were transformed into world changers. Every Christian s goal should be simple obedience. When God tells me to do something, I do it. That is the way in. That is what makes a person power-full. What made Moses great is that he did EXACTLY what God told him to do. Now, one more passage. I can t let this rest just yet. Go with me to closing words of John. John 21. Jesus has reappeared to Peter. Peter is completely powerless, hiding out in shame because he was proven to be a complete wimp. He knows that he has earned the reputation of a coward at best, a traitor at worst. At this point, he is probably thinking that he should take the road of Judas and end it all. His life is a disappointment to God. But Jesus appears here, on the other side of Easter, to re-instate Peter to his position of leadership. He asks Peter several times, Do you love me?? Pick up with me, at v. 17 Now, Jesus knows he has Peter s full attention since his ego is smaller than a seed. Look what he says to Peter v Just do what I say, Peter! It s not about you any more. It s not about what you want for yourself. It s about what I want for you. Obedience. You would think that Peter would respond like a new marine at boot camp. Sir, yes sir! But no, look what Peter says v Peter! Why does it matter what John will do? I m not talking to John! I m talking to you! You follow me! Why does it take us so long to learn? We become power-full when we become obedient servants. All God wants to hear from us is Yes, sir. And all God wants to say to us is, Well done, my good and faithful servant. Don t worry about what he s doing. Don t worry about what she s doing. You just do exactly what I tell YOU to do. Exodus 7:10 is my new life verse: So, Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and they did just as the Lord commanded. I have now updated what I hope to have written on my tomb. On that stone: Here lies Ben Mandrell, servant of God. He did what God told him to do. That is what makes for a powerful life. Are you doing what God has commanded?

6 Now, back to Exodus 7. Let s look again at what happens when Aaron drops the stick. 7:10b 3. Satan has real power. This is my least favorite part of the passage. I don t like what this says. This brings me no joy to preach, but this passage says that my greatest enemy has great power. I want my enemies to look like a declawed toothless cat, don t you? It doesn t help me sleep well at night to know that other countries have big missiles ready to fire at me. Pharaoh not only had physical strength, with foot soldiers, spears, and armored chariots. He also had strong spiritual allies. The prince of darkness was on his side. This prince of darkness is a force to be reckoned with. Now, what are we supposed to do with Pharaoh s magic show here? Through secret arts, these men duplicate the miracle of God. Some scholars explain this through natural means. Nothing supernatural here, they say, just a clever illusion like David Copperfield. Just like a man pulls a rabbit out of a hat, these magicians had a bag of tricks. By sleight of hand, they were making snakes appear. This just so happened to be one of their sugar stick tricks. This is possible, that this was nothing more than illusion, but the Bible gives us no reason to doubt the plain meaning of the text. Pharaoh s priests had access to supernatural, spiritual power. Do you know that the Bible says one day, a powerful man will come into the world. He is the embodiment of evil. Just as Jesus was heaven wrapped in skin; one day there will be a hellish copycat version. The anti-christ is Satan s final attempt to pull back on the rope of God. This is what 2 Thessalonians says about this: The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with the work of Satan displayed in all kinds of counterfeit miracles, signs and wonders, 10 and in every sort of evil that deceives those who are perishing. They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. 2 Thess. 2:9-10 What does this passage tell us? Satan is the true knockoff artist. Every good thing that God gives, Satan has a counterfeit. And one day, there is coming into the world a satanic false religion like none other seen in history. Its object of worship will be the most powerful, evil, deceitful person to ever live he will blow people away by his magic, his power and his charm. The man of lawlessness, the AntiChrist--He will be the culmination of Satan s long tug of war with the Lord the grand finale of hell s show of power. And I want you to notice what happens to the people who are cold toward God, according to 2 Thess. The end of v.10, they end up in hell because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. Pharaoh had an opportunity right here in chapter 7 to stop the plagues. His snakes

7 became a snack. He saw it happen with his eyes, but his heart became hard as stone. Let me tell you where Satan s favorite stomping ground truly lies. It s inside the human heart. Pharaoh had a crusty, cold, self-absorbed heart, and we know what happened to him Catch the irony in this: some time later, Pharaoh was fighting against God, chasing the God s people down the middle of the separated sea, suddenly, the power of God swallowed him up. Like the rod of God that gobbled up Egypt s snakes, in a second!, the power of God overpowered Pharaoh. He perished because he refused to love the truth and so be saved. I want to tell you that Exodus 7 is a preview of the book of revelation. Let me give you Cliff notes version of the end time. Here is: end times for dummies. Ready? In the end, Satan kicks up a lot of dust. Lots of people die. Lots of power is shifted. Millions of people deceived. But then one day, the power of God is unleashed from heaven. God lets Jesus loose, and the Christ pounces like a Lion on a mouse, and devours the Anti-Christ. He swallows him up. So here is the bad news: Satan has great power. Here is the good news for the born again believer: Greater is He that is in you than He that is in the world. If you are here today, and you have never opened up your heart to God, if you have never put yourself on the winning side of the rope, I beg you and I plead with you while the clock is still ticking, before it s too late respond to the truth, and be saved. You will become powerful.