God s Greatness and Power

God s Greatness and Power Exodus 7-11 Justin Deeter June 7, 2015 Introduction The showdown begins. Yahweh, the God of Israel is about to flex his muscle and prove that he is the one true God. You may remember back in Exodus 5, Moses and Aaron confront Pharaoh and he responds with a question. Who is the Lord that I should obey his voice and let Israel go (Ex 5:2). Well now, Pharaoh is about to find out that answer. He is going to find out just who this Yahweh is, and he is great. This morning we are going to study Exodus 7-11, which covers the plagues that the Lord unleashes on the land of Egypt. However, there is a potential danger as we come to this passage. We are too familiar with it. Even if you are not a Christian, chances are you have seen or heard someone s version of this account. From the classic movie The 10 Commandments to the animated film The Prince of Egypt or to the newer and naturalistic version that came out this past year Exodus:Gods and Kings, there are a lot of versions of this story. May God give us fresh eyes this morning to see just what His Word tells us this morning. May he let us see how great he really is. May we be blown away this morning by the greatness of God. On this graduation recognition Sunday, I think this passage is incredibly important. Far to many Christians today think of god as to small. Many young people who grow up in the church go of to college with but a puny god of their own imaginations. As a result, so many are quick to abandon the true God for the various idols you will encounter on the college campus. What you graduates need more than anything is a vision of God s greatness that will anchor your soul in his awesome power and sovereignty. You need to be reminded (as we all do today!) of the greatness of the God we are gathered 1

here to worship. If we hope to bring glory to God with our lives (and that is the chief aim of every Christian), we must never cease to be amazed of the greatness of God. The plagues or signs tend to have a repeating pattern. The Lord tells Moses what he will do. Moses goes and tells Pharaoh to let the people go. Pharaoh refuses to let them go. The plague happens. Pharaoh makes a false promise. Moses asks the Lord to stop the plague. Pharaoh hardens his heart and refuses to let the people go. The cycle continues. There are some variations in the structure of each plague, but in general that formula is repeated across all ten plagues. Rather than walking through each individual plague this morning, I want to teach you four truths about God as we look at the plagues as a whole. As we learn more about just who this God is, the God we are gathered here to worship this morning, my prayer is that we would stand amazed and in awe of the greatness of God. 1. God Wields Great Judgement Over Idolatry Moses again goes to Pharaoh in chapter 7. Pharaoh asks Moses to prove himself by working a miracle. Aaron then drops his staff and it becomes a serpent, just as the Lord told him. Now why a serpent? Well the serpent is a sign of our great enemy back in Genesis. Yet, for Egyptian culture the serpent was also a sign of Pharaoh s divine power. That s why when we look at Egyptian artifacts you see snakes. If you look at one of the most famous Egyptian mummies, King Tut, you will notice that there is a snake on the forehead of his mask. It is a sign of kingly power that Pharaoh possess. By the staff turning into the snake, Pharaoh understands it to be a challenge to his authority and to his power. So he gathers his magicians together and by dark powers and secret arts they too replicated turning their staffs into serpents. This prelude to the plagues to come shows the clash that is about to ensue. It is Yahweh vs Pharaoh and the Egyptian pantheon of gods. As we prepare to study these plagues, modern readers can perceive God here as some sort of bully. Why does he need to cause such mayhem in 2

Egypt? Some imagine him as some sort of little kid who is throwing a temper tantrum. Yet, that is not what God is doing at all. Yes, God is executing judgement on the Egyptians, but he is also proving himself as greater than their idols. The plagues are not so much an attack on the Egyptians, but on their pantheon of false gods. James Boyce said, There were about eighty major deities in Egypt, all clustered about three great natural forces of Egyptian life: The Nile River, the land, and the sky The first two plagues were against the gods of the Nile. The next four were against the land gods. The final four plagues were against the gods of the sky, culminating in the death of the firstborn. (Ryken, Exodus, 216) The plagues then are God s judgement on the Egyptian gods as phonies. They are no gods at all; he is the one true God. There is no one greater and no one more powerful. Each plague challenges the Egyptian gods, and the plagues escalate to the most important gods in the Egyptian pantheon. As God turns the Nile into a river of blood and brings a swarm of frogs from within the river, these first two plagues prove that the Lord is greater than the pagan idols of the Nile river the Egyptians worship. As the plague of the gnats, flies, livestock, and boils unfolds, the Lord proves he is greater than the pagan idols of the land the Egyptians worship. Then in the final four plagues, God attacks the heavenly gods of the Egyptians. In the plague of hail, locusts, darkness, and the death of the firstborn. The greatest of all the Egyptian gods was the sun god. The 9th plague of darkness would have been paralyzing. There was no electricity or lights, so when the sun didn t come up for three whole days, imagine the terror. The people were paralyzed in darkness. The god that they trusted above them all didn t even show up. This gods name was Amon-Re, the biggest Egyptian god of them all. Yet, The Lord proves he is greater over the most powerful of the 3

Egyptian gods. The last plague, the death of the first born, is reserved for Pharaoh s most precious god. Himself. You see, Pharaoh was thought to be the incarnation of Amon-Re. He was the son of the Sun god. These last two plagues challenge Pharaoh s own claim of divinity. It culminates as the Lord attacks the divine line of Pharaoh in the death of the firstborn. God is communicating through these plagues judgement on Egypt s idols and on their idolatry. Idolatry is cosmic treason. There is but one God and he is the Lord, the creator of the heavens and earth. As the plagues fall on Egypt, God is judging the Egyptians for their idolatry, for their worship of these false gods. As the plagues progress, it is amazing how quick many of Pharaoh s servants begin to recognize that they are in over there heads. The magicians and there dark arts are able to keep up for a while. They were able to replicate on a small scale turning the nile water into blood and by making frogs come up on the land. Yet, by the third plague the magicians are outmatched. They cannot replicate the plague of the gnats and they tell pharaoh that, This is the finger of God (Ex 8:19). These idols are no match for the great I Am. Though our idolatry may have become more modern, idolatry is just as rampant in 2015 as it was in Exodus. Though we might not have pagan deities we worship, we place our trust, our identity, and our hopes in earthly things. We worship idols of money, fame, autonomy, comfort, and pleasure. We bend our knees to them and pledge our allegiance to them. Yet the plagues against the Egyptians teach us this morning, that all idolators will one day receive the judgement and justice of God s wrath. This is the great problem with humanity, because every single one of us are idolators. We are all sinners. We have all committed cosmic treason, and judgement is coming. God is a just and jealous god. He will not see his worship, praise, and glory be given to false gods. In his justice and holiness he judges our idolatry and judges idolators. 4

2. God Wields Great Power Over the Cosmos A second thing we learn about God is that he wields great power over the cosmos. The sort of power God wields over the created order is astonishing. Who could do such things? Who could turn a river of water into blood? Who could rain fiery hail from heaven on the land of the Egyptians, but not in Goshen where the Israelites live? Who could call forth millions of locusts and then throw them into the Red Sea at his command? Who could could cover the land with thick darkness for three whole days? God yields great power over his creation. He rules over it and is able to break the natural laws he put in place by his divine command. His arm is strong. With the birth of the philosophy of the enlightenment what began to emerge a naturalistic worldview. Many of the cultural elites became deists, include some of America s founding father s. They understood that the universe is self-sustaining. God may have created it, but he does not interfere. He has wound up the world and lets it run on its own. Yet what we read about here in Exodus does not align with the way most people think about the world or how most people think about God. He may be out there but he doesn t interfere with the world or my life. In Exodus we see that God not only is the creator of the world, but the ruler of the world. He bends creation to do what he wills. He is not an absent land lord, but rather the providential overseer ruling over swirling galaxies and commanding legions of the tiniest gnats to do his will. The whole series of plagues is meant to be a contest between Yahweh and the Egyptian gods, yet it isn t even a contest. Its a slaughter. If it was a basketball score it would be 1000 to 0. This is complete and total annihilation of the competition. In these plagues, God is demonstrating his complete and total power of his creation. It isn t even up for debate; the cosmos obeys his every command. 5

3. God Wields Great Sovereignty Over Human Hearts A third aspect of who God is that we see in this passage is God s sovereignty over human hearts. As we begin Exodus 7, God tells Moses before he goes to Pharaoh and the plagues unfold, that God is going to harden the heart of Pharaoh. This idea of Pharaoh s harden heart recurs throughout the entire section on the plagues. In fact just in these few chapters we are looking at today the idea of Pharaoh s hardened heart comes up 15 different times. Sometimes we see that it is God who hardens Pharaoh s heart and at other times the passage says it is Pharaoh who hardens his own heart. So who is doing the hardening? Is Pharaoh not responsible for his own actions? Is God forcing him to do something against his will? No, that s not the case at all. We see that Pharaoh is following his own stubborn and sinful will. Yet, at the same time we know that God is completely sovereign, even over Pharaoh s heart. We often wrestle with how God s complete and total sovereignty over his creation works with free will and human responsibility. Admittedly, these things are beyond our understanding. There is mystery to the Scriptures teaching, because the Bible affirms both. Humans are completely and totally free, making real choices yet the sovereign hand of God guides them all. This is the mystery of divine providence. So God is hardening Pharaoh s heart and Pharaoh is hardening his own heart. God isn t so much forcing Pharaoh to refuse to let the people go against his own will, rather God is letting Pharaoh s own wicked heart do the hardening. God is just not intervening to stop it from hardening. We see this pattern throughout the plagues. In the midst of the plague he will ask for it to stop and tells Moses that he ll let the people go. As soon as the God calls off the plague, Pharaoh s heart hardens. When it is not under the duress of the plagues, Pharaoh s stubborn heart is strengthened to continue to be stubborn. We might ask then, well why is Pharaoh s heart being hardened? Why is God wanting his heart to continue to be hardened and why is God allowing it to 6

be hardened? We get insight in the seventh plague. Let s read from Exodus 10:14-17. For this time I will send all my plagues on you yourself, and on your servants and your people, so that you may know that there is none like me in all the earth. For by now I could have put out my hand and struck you and your people with pestilence, and you would have been cut off from the earth. But for this purpose I have raised you up, to show you my power, so that my name may be proclaimed in all the earth. You are still exalting yourself against my people and will not let them go. (Exodus 9:14 17, ESV) So here God tells Pharaoh what he is doing. Simply put, if God wanted too he could wipe Pharaoh and the Egyptians off the face of the earth. He could strike them with instant pestilence and kill them all. But God has another plan and purpose for Pharaoh. You see God s purpose in the plagues is the exaltation of his own name. The reason these plagues are unfolding as they are and the reason he is hardening Pharaoh s heart is so that he may know that there is none like him in all the earth. Look at the key verse in v. 16, But for this purpose I have raised you up, to show you my power, so that my name may be proclaimed in all the earth. You see God s work here through the plagues is so that both Pharaoh and Israel might know just who this Yahweh is. Yet, God wants the whole earth to hear about his greatness and God tells us that he has raised up Pharaoh for this purpose, to display his power over him and thus prove himself the glorious, omnipotent, and true God of all the cosmos. God tells Pharaoh to his face, I will use you for my glory whether you want to or not. What sovereignty! So how do we understand the hardening of Pharaoh s heart and what exactly does it mean? Well thankfully, Scripture helps us to answer that question. The apostle Paul would look at what going on here in Exodus and see it as evidence of God s sovereign election in salvation. For he says to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion. So then it depends not on 7

human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy. For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I might show my power in you, and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth. So then he has mercy on whomever he wills, and he hardens whomever he wills. (Romans 9:15 18, ESV) You see God is not only sovereign over the cosmos, but sovereign over every human heart. God shows mercy on whoever he wills, and he hardens whomever he wills. He is the great sovereign God reigning and ruling over every human heart. 4. God Wields Great Love Over Salvation Fourthly, a key thing we learn about God is his great love over salvation. Throughout the plagues we see that God in his grace makes a distinction between the Egyptians and Israel. As we study the Scriptures we see that God s judgement and salvation mingle. Mercy and punishment go hand in hand. We see that clearly here on the great plagues of Egypt. The fierce displays of God s awesome power and wrath towards Egypt are also means salvation and deliverance for Israel. Throughout the plague God makes a distinction. The livestock of the Egyptians die, but not the livestock of Israel. Hail falls on the lands of Egypt but not in Goshen where God s people live. The death of the firstborn touches every home in Egypt, but the homes of Israel are spared by the passover lamb, as we will see next week. The most crucial great display of where God s love and judgement meet is the cross of Christ. It is there we see God s fierce and wrathful judgement for sin. As Jesus hung on the cross he did so bearing the full weight of God s wrath for our sins. Yet, at the same time the cross is the great display of the love of God. The sacrifice Jesus endures shows us that God provided a way for us to be forgiven and saved from our sin. Jesus took our judgement, so that we wouldn t have too. 8

This is the wonders of the love of God! God shows us love through the judgement of his son. If you are apart from Christ Jesus, you are just like the Egyptians. If you go into eternity without Jesus you will face a torment and suffering far greater than all the plagues of Egypt combined. Yet, if you would trust in Jesus you will be saved. If you would but let Jesus take your judgement for you, you can receive his righteousness and be forgiven of all your sin! This is the good news of the Gospel, that even though we are all wicked idolators just like the Egyptians, God provides a way for salvation for those who would trust in Jesus for salvation! Final Thoughts So what s the main application to this message this morning? Well there are perhaps many, but I want to focus on one. Worship. As we read this passage it is easy for us to moralize it into life lessons, but that would be to miss the point completely. The plagues in Egypt is God revealing his fierce-some, terrifying, and great self. He reveals himself in this great display of power so that we might know that he is the Lord. God is a great God. He wields great judgement over idols. He wields great power over the cosmos. He wields great sovereignty over our hearts, and he wields great love over our salvation! When Moses first encounters Pharaoh the question he responds with is, Who is the Lord? By the end of these plagues Pharaoh will no longer have any doubt just who this Yahweh is. Do you know Him? Have you experienced this God in all his greatness? He is the great and one true God. May we respond this morning in worship that this is the God whom we are gathered to worship. The same God who summoned the frogs and threw down the hail. That is the God we are gathered here to worship. He is great and he is glorious. He is terrifying yet he is safe. He is filled with judgement, yet filled with love. Praise be to God that the one true God loved us so much that he sent his own son Jesus to absorb the judgement we deserve. May we conclude our time together in a crescendo of praise, worshiping over the greatness of just who this God is. 2015 Forest Hills Baptist Church 9