Paint It Black

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Paint It Black

On August 1, 1914, Sir Ernest Shackleton and his crew set sail from London aboard the ship Endurance. They were bound for Antarctica, where the famous explorer hoped to traverse the continent on foot. But Shackleton never made the trek because before the Endurance could reach land, the ship became hopelessly lodged in an ice pack. It was January 1915, and from this point on their goal was simply survival. The crew faced many hardships in the months that followed, including freezing temperatures and near starvation. But of all the frozen terrors they faced, none was more disheartening than the long polar night. The sailors grew uneasy as winter set in, and the light began to fade. In early May the sun vanished altogether, not to be seen again until late July. Shackleton’s biographer wrote, “In all the world there is no desolation more complete than the polar night. It is a return to the Ice Age—no warmth, no life, no movement. Only those who have experienced it can fully appreciate what it means to be without the sun day after day and week after week. Few men unaccustomed to it can fight off its effects altogether, and it has driven some men mad.” The bottom line is that humans need light and interaction to stay sane. Without light, we lose our sense of time, and without interaction, we become consumed with loneliness and boredom. With this sensory deprivation comes the strangest, most unimaginable psychological effects.

The Rolling Stones wrote a song in the mid-sixties called Paint it Black. At the end of the song it says – I wanna see it painted, painted black, Black as night, black as coal, I wanna see the sun blotted out from the sky, I wanna see it painted, painted, painted, painted black. In the song, the author has suffered a sudden loss, and can’t bear that life must go on without that person – his mourning has veiled his appreciation for the vibrant colors around him and he can’t even consider anyone else in his present state. There is little respite in the author’s grief, and as the song ends, he seems to sink deeper and deeper into his suffering saying “It’s not easy facing up when your whole world is black.”

These words can also reflect a spiritual truth in our world today. When we are living in darkness our lives are black and we want everyone around us and even all of creation to be black as well. But if we only knew what true blackness was like, we would probably do a closer self-examination and long for the Light. Eternal “outer darkness” is how Jesus describes hell. He says it is a place of weeping and gnashing of teeth, and He teaches us that it is a real place where real people will be sent. But being sent there is a voluntary choice. Jesus has offered us light, life, and peace in place of that; taking all of the darkness of the world upon Himself so that we could see the true Light of God once again. This morning in our scripture found in Exodus 10:21-29, the Egyptians are going to be plunged into darkness for three days. It will be a total darkness that can be felt, and they will not be able to see anyone else or even have the ability to leave their homes. The three days of physical darkness with certainly effect the Egyptians emotionally, but the darkness is really symbolic of their spiritual state. God doesn’t want them to stay in darkness which is why he keeps imploring Pharaoh to repent and let his people go. He wants Pharaoh and the Egyptians to “know” that he is Lord and in knowing and accepting that fact they can be brought into the light which brings us to the big idea that God wants us to understand from this passage this morning that God desires his people to live in the light.

Let’s pray: Lord God, we pause to thank you for the study of your Word. It is a light unto our path and food for our souls. May we be attentive to your Holy Spirit this morning as we dive into your Holy scriptures. Let us be convicted, corrected and instructed in righteousness by it. Please do what only you can do in our hearts and minds and wills. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

This morning there are two points. The first is No Warning found in Exodus 10:21-23. This is what God’s Word says, “Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand toward the sky so that darkness spreads over Egypt—darkness that can be felt.” So Moses stretched out his hand toward the sky, and total darkness covered all Egypt for three days. No one could see anyone else or move about for three days. Yet all the Israelites had light in the places where they lived.”

This morning, we are studying the ninth plague of darkness. It is the third plague in the third cycle of plagues and most resembles the plague of gnats and the plague of boils in that there was no warning to Pharaoh that it was coming. Having no warning would have brought Egypt to a standstill making its impact all the more dire and frightening. God instructs Moses to act and from that action God will bring the plague upon Egypt. In this instance, Moses is to stretch out his hand toward the sky and God will bring a darkness that “can be felt” over all of Egypt. Once God gave Moses the instructions, he immediately obeyed. He stretched out his hand and his staff, which is implied, toward the sky and instantaneously total darkness covered Egypt. Mackay says, “three days emphasized the completeness of God’s control over the situation in Egypt.” Total darkness is literally translated as ‘the darkest of darkness’ or “pitch-black darkness.” Alter describes it as “the claustrophobic palpability of absolute darkness.” Pharoah and the Egyptians would have seen the darkness as judgment and an ominous sign of what was to come. Total or “thick” darkness is used in the OT for the devastating effects of God’s judgment. Isaiah 8:22 says, “Then they will look toward the earth and see only distress and darkness and fearful gloom, and they will be thrust into utter darkness.” And Zephaniah 1:15 says, “That day will be a day of wrath—a day of distress and anguish, a day of trouble and ruin, a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and blackness.”

The darkness over Egypt was so intense that the Egyptians couldn’t see anyone else or even leave their house for three whole days. Can you imagine this? Imagine living in the same house with your family but it is so dark that you can’t even see them. Imagine not being able to even leave your house because it is so dark. This eerie darkness would have caused panic and foreboding throughout the land of Egypt. Some commentators say this plague was caused by an eclipse or a sandstorm that made light and visibility nonexistent. But think about this: they couldn’t even seem to light a candle and there were no outside lights such as the moon or the stars. God had made it so flint couldn’t be ignited, fires couldn’t be started, and the moon and the stars were no longer in the Egyptian sky. It was a true and total blackout sent by God, and the Egyptians could do nothing but “grope” around in the darkness. It would have been dangerous to move around because you could fall or run into things. It would have been easier just to be still. Again, for the third plague in a row it was unlike anything the Egyptians had experienced before.

But, surprise, the Israelites had light in the places where they lived. This was truly a supernatural darkness brought on by God and not some natural occurrence. Now we don’t know if the cycle of day and night continued in Goshen as normal, but certainly they were able to have light in their houses. The Israelites continuing to have light signified that the presence of the Lord was with his people. Guzik says, “Light is not only a physical property; it is an aspect of God’s character. What we see with the ninth plague is God, in judgment, withdraw His presence so significantly that the void remaining is darkness which may even be felt.” And concurrently, God is light for the Israelites as he is for us as well. Isaiah 60:3 says, “Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord rises upon you. See, darkness covers the earth and thick darkness is over the peoples, but the Lord rises upon you and his glory appears over you. Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn.” And Revelation 21:23-24 talking about the New Jerusalem says, “The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp. The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their splendor into it.” Physically, God made it so his people had light in order that the Egyptians and the Israelites would both know that he is the Lord. Isn’t that the way it should be? God’s people should be literal “lighthouses” in a dark world. (Big Idea).

The Egyptians were not only struggling physically in the darkness but emotionally as well. There would have been widespread panic and belief that the natural order of things had been stopped. It would have caused sensory deprivation, disorientation, depression and psychological distress. Since they believed that darkness brought death, they would have been terrified and had a sense of doom. They also worshipped the sun and the sun-god Ra. Every sunset represented death to them, but each sunrise offered them a hope of resurrection and the life-giving power of Ra. They had faith that the eternally rising sun could never be destroyed and each morning, they celebrated Ra’s victory over the forces of darkness and chaos. Darkness for three days straight was an attack by Yahweh on Ra and showed that Yahweh was more powerful than the most powerful god in Egypt. For Pharaoh it was even worse though. He was Egypt’s god, known as the son of Ra, the incarnation of Amon-Ra, who maintained the cosmic order. Quirke writes: “Within the reign of each king, he (Pharaoh) alone appears as the living representative of the sun god on earth and enjoys a unique sovereignty in the practical exercise of power.” Children in school were instructed to, according to Ryken, “Worship [Pharaoh], living forever, within your bodies and associate with his majesty in your hearts.… He is Re, by whose beams one sees, he is one who illuminates the Two Lands more than the sun disc.” They were to ascribe majesty and eternity to Pharaoh and even pray to him. Egyptian worship was deeply offensive to Yahweh as the Egyptians were worshipping a mortal man as the eternal god. Pharaoh was claiming attributes that belonged to Yahweh alone which was idolatry.

Idolatry is alive and well in our culture today as well. Origen wrote, “What each one honors before all else, what before all things he admires and loves, this for him is God.” Whatever we honor, admire, and love instead of God is our idol. The question is, what do we love most of all? Who is our supreme deity? Is it money, another person, a certain lifestyle, or ourselves. Walt Whitman’s famous poem, “Song of Myself”, says this: “I celebrate myself, and sing myself …the song of me rising from the bed and meeting the sun.… Divine am I inside and out, and I make holy whatever I touch.…If I worship one thing more than another it shall be … my own body.” We depend on our own abilities and admire our own accomplishments. We devote nearly all our attention to making our own plans, meeting our own needs, serving our own interests, and satisfying our own pleasures. We even complain about our own problems. It’s all about us. We idolize ourselves. Let us be a people who only worship the Lord and no one or nothing else. That brings us to our first next step on the back of your communication card: My next step is to stop making myself the object of my worship and turn my eyes upon Jesus and worship him alone.

That brings us to our second point this morning which is No Compromise found in Exodus 10:24-29. This is what God’s Word says, “Then Pharaoh summoned Moses and said, “Go, worship the Lord. Even your women and children may go with you; only leave your flocks and herds behind.” But Moses said, “You must allow us to have sacrifices and burnt offerings to present to the Lord our God. Our livestock too must go with us; not a hoof is to be left behind. We have to use some of them in worshiping the Lord our God, and until we get there we will not know what we are to use to worship the Lord.” But the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he was not willing to let them go. Pharaoh said to Moses, “Get out of my sight! Make sure you do not appear before me again! The day you see my face you will die.” “Just as you say,” Moses replied. “I will never appear before you again.”

Again, Pharaoh summons Moses and seems willing to let the Israelites go to worship the Lord, even though the plague is likely already over. Moses was probably summoned after the three days of darkness had finished. First, this is evidenced in that during the three days of darkness Pharaoh would not have been able to send anyone to get Moses. Second, Pharaoh didn’t have to ask Moses to ask God to stop the plague. It had already come to an end according to God’s timing rather than a prayer from Moses. Pharaoh now gives permission for Moses to take the women and children with him but makes the stipulation that he can’t take their flocks and herds with them. Pharaoh again tries to bargain with God and Moses. He still can’t let go of whatever authority he thinks he has and wants to control and dictate what happens to the Israelites. But Moses was not willing to compromise. He didn’t compromise during the previous plagues, and he wasn’t about to compromise now. He tells Pharaoh that they will not leave without their flocks and herds because that is where their sacrifices and burnt offerings will come from in their worship of the Lord. The proof that Moses and the Israelites were living in the light was their unwillingness to make even the smallest compromise in their commitment to worship God and him alone. (Big Idea) Moses uses the phrase “not a hoof is to be left behind” meaning every animal had to go with them. They would need some of the animals in order to worship the Lord, but he didn’t know exactly which ones and he wouldn’t know until they got to the desert. We may think that Moses was just making excuses here but actually it was while the Israelites were in the desert that God started to unwrap how the sacrificial system would work. We see this in Leviticus chapters 1-10.

This was Pharaoh’s third attempt to get Moses and the Israelites to compromise their worship to the Lord. First, it was “go, but don’t go too far” which for us today translates to give God your Sundays but do what you want the rest of the week. Second, it was “go but leave your children behind” which translates to you don’t have to influence your children, let them make their own decisions about worship, the church and Jesus instead of leading them in the way of Christ. Third, it was “go, take your children but leave your flocks and herds behind” which translates to you don’t need to surrender everything you have to Lord. As long as you give him a little bit, he will be happy. ​​ The human will hates absolute surrender. “Not a hoof is to be left behind” reflects the response of God to every attempt we make to surrender less than everything to Him. Do you believe that everything we have belongs to the Lord? Do you believe that God has the title to all we possess. Everything we have is given to us by God to be good stewards of for him. Our time, our talents and our treasures must be placed in his hands. ​​ “Not a hoof” means, that all that I have and all that I am is held at the disposal of the Lord. Those who are living in the light are the ones who refuse to hold anything back from the Lord. (Big Idea) Let us faithfully recognize that God wants all of us, our heart, soul, mind and strength, and that he wants everything we own to be used for his glory and for his work in the world. Let us refuse to hold anything back from him. That brings us to the second next step on the back of your communication card which is to “Not leave a hoof behind” surrendering my whole self and all my possessions to the Lord for his glory and his use.

Pharaoh does not have an opportunity to respond as God hardens his heart and he was not willing to let the Israelites go. In this context, as in 10:20, this is again a self-hardening of the heart by Pharaoh, the Lord’s action is passive. Despite the pressure from his own people he would not voluntarily allow them to leave Egypt. Normally, the reference to God hardening Pharaoh’s heart would signify the end of the plague narrative but here we see further interaction between Pharaoh and Moses. This change in the narrative alerts us to pay attention to what’s coming next. The hardening of Pharaoh’s heart causes him to respond in “violent fury” reacting angrily and irrationally expelling Moses from his sight, threatening him with death should he ever see him again. Ironically, after not being able to see anyone for three days, Pharoah tells Moses to get out of his sight. He is frantic, knows he is outmatched and not willing to admit defeat. We also see how much he has come to hate Moses as he threatens him with death. Moses agrees with and responds in the positive to Pharaoh’s ultimatum. He would never appear before Pharaoh again. Pharaoh has cut off his only means to salvation. Only Moses could help Pharaoh escape the spiritual darkness he was in, but he refused to listen and expelled Moses from his sight for good. The hardening of Pharaoh’s heart should be a clear warning to all of us to examine our hearts regularly to make sure we are not hardening our hearts toward the Lord.

Pharaoh’s actions were outrageous in a number of ways. First, it violated the immunity Moses should have had as a prophet of God. Moses spoke for God and so Pharaoh’s anger should have been directed toward God and not Moses. This violation would have been a serious breach in the ancient world. Second, it was mean-spirited and vindictive. Pharaoh had been given many warnings to let God’s people go and even after agreeing to do so he continuously went back on his word. Now instead of admitting he was wrong he threatens Moses with death. Third, it was cowardly. He tried to get rid of Yahweh’s demands by preventing his messenger from bringing those demands to him. An impasse has now been reached and the stage is set for the final interaction. If Pharaoh wasn’t going to deal with Moses it meant he was going to have to deal with Almighty God, himself, which should have been a daunting prospect. This points to the plagues narrative soon coming to a conclusion.

My conclusion is from Christian author Kate Hannon. Johanna had lived her entire life in the dark cave, deep underneath the earth’s surface. She’d never seen light—not pure light, anyway. There were little glimmers of light that reached her here and there—a fish that glowed, a glimpse of the outside world if she wandered too close to the edge, and an occasional traveler with a headlamp. Johanna, and the thousands of others who lived in the gigantic cave, passed their existence in darkness. They stumbled along, making their way as best as they could in the blackness, often falling to their deaths in huge drop-offs, getting bitten by poisonous creatures, or twisting an ankle on a rock—all because they couldn’t see. They daily walked right over incredible crystal formations and jewels, only they didn’t know it, because they couldn’t see them in the darkness. They remained oblivious to the breathtaking colors and dazzling designs. As odd as it may sound, these people lived in the darkness by choice. I know that sounds crazy—who would choose to stumble in the fearful darkness? Who would choose not to see? And why would they choose that?

Well, although very few admitted this was the reason, the people chose the darkness because they didn’t want to see themselves as they really were. In the darkness, they’d convinced themselves they were clean and healthy, and they didn’t want to admit that wasn’t true. Light showed them things as they really were. It showed them the dirt all over them. It showed them the dried-up blood and the uncared for wounds covering their bodies. It revealed the sores and disease that ravaged their bodies. It showed them their mangled hair and weak eyes. In short, it showed them that they were a mess. Had they only realized the healing and life that could be theirs if they were only willing to step into that light, they wouldn’t have hesitated for one moment. Had they only really understood that their present life in the dark cave ended only in death, they would have raced into the life the light offered to them. But instead they refused, living in darkness—loving it actually—rather than in the light of life. John 3:19-21 says, “This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God.”

Light is an amazing thing. Without it, we don’t know how to walk safely…nor can we see the beauty surrounding us. Light shows things as they really are—it reveals the truth about ourselves and the world around us. God is light and truth—and He reveals Himself in His Word, the Bible. Are we willing to let God show us the truth—even if it’s not initially pleasant? Are we connected to God through His Word and through prayer? Or are we trying to live this life on our own without God, “groping” around in the darkness? As I mentioned earlier, if we only knew what true blackness was like, we would probably do a closer self-examination and long for the Light. Jesus has offered us light, life, and peace in place of that; taking all of the darkness of the world upon Himself so that we could see the true Light of God once again.

1 John 1:5-7 says, “This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.” And Ephesians 5:8 says, “For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light.” God doesn’t want any of his creation to stay in darkness. He wants everyone to “know” that he is the Lord, accept him as their Savior and be brought into the light that only he can give. God desires his people to live in the light. That brings us to our final next step this morning which is to “Forsake the darkness, accept Jesus as my Lord and Savior and begin to live in the light.”

As the ushers prepare to collect the tithes and offerings and Gene and Roxey come to lead us in a final hymn, let’s pray: Heavenly Father, thank you that we can study your Word and in that we can show ourselves approved unto you, workmen that do not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the Word of truth. Help us to stop worshiping ourselves and turn our eyes toward you and worship you and you alone. Help us to “not leave a hoof behind” and to ​​ surrender our heart, mind, soul and strength to you along with all of our possessions. Let it all be for your glory and use. And Lord, help us to forsake the darkness and to live in the light. And if there are some today that do not know you as their personal Lord and Savior I pray that today would be the day of salvation. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Locust Legions

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Rescued

Locust Legions

(Exodus 10:1-20)

 

INTRODUCTION

“An ‘attitude indicator’ is an important piece of equipment on a plane. ​​ It shows the position of the plane in relationship to the horizon. ​​ As the plane climbs, there is ‘nose-high attitude,’ meaning that the nose of the plane is above the horizon. ​​ A ‘nose-down attitude’ for too long means it is going to crash. ​​ Monitoring a plane’s attitude is important, and sometimes it’s necessary to change the attitude in order to change the performance.

 

We reach the point of the story in Exodus where Pharaoh is about to crash. ​​ His ‘nose-down’ attitude has made his heart impenetrable, but God continues his assault upon the Egyptian powers and idolatry for instruction purposes as various plagues are unleashed.”

 

[Martin, Holman Old Testament Commentary, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, 41]

 

BODY

  • ME

    • Attitude indicator

        • There have been times in my life when my “attitude indicator” has been “nose-down”

        • It normally happens because of pride in my life

        • I want something to go a certain way and when it doesn’t my attitude is nose-down

        • If I don’t change my attitude and confess my pride, I will crash and burn

 

  • WE

    • Attitude indicator

        • How many of us can relate to having a “nose-down” attitude from time-to-time?

        • What causes us to have that attitude? ​​ (pride, fear)

 

Pharaoh has been refusing to obey God’s command to let His people go. ​​ Because of pride, his attitude has been “nose-down” for seven plagues. ​​ The Egyptians have been tolerant of Pharaoh’s attitude during all of those plagues and have held their tongues, but that is about to change. ​​ They are going to begin encouraging Pharaoh to be obedient to God’s command, but his pride will prevail. ​​ Surely, his relationship with his people is beginning to erode as they recognize the pride in his heart. ​​ The author wants us to understand that . . .

 

BIG IDEA – Pride ruins relationships.

 

Let’s pray

 

  • GOD (Exodus 10:1-20)

    • Instruction (vv. 1-2)

        • This is the second plague in the third cycle of plagues

          • Moses is instructed to go to Pharaoh, just like plagues 2 & 5

          • Where we see a difference is in the plague of frogs and the plague on livestock, the Lord says, “Go to Pharaoh and say to him.”

          • With the eighth plague, Moses is told to go to Pharaoh, but we are not told ahead of time what he is supposed to say

          • Instead, the Lord follows up His command to go “with an explanation that was for the benefit of Moses and the Israelites in general, throughout their generations.” ​​ [Stuart, The New American Commentary, Volume 2, Exodus, 243]

        • The Lord’s initiative

          • We see again that God had hardened Pharaoh’s heart and his officials hearts

          • This was certainly on purpose

            • The Lord wanted to perform His miraculous signs among the Egyptians

            • From the beginning, it was so Pharaoh and the Egyptians would know that God is the Lord

            • It was also that the Israelites would know that God is the Lord

            • It is all tied together

        • Sharing with the next generation

          • In the ancient Near East information was handed down through oral tradition

          • When the Israelites were finally free from Egyptian slavery, they would be able to share with future generations how God miraculously and powerfully brought plagues on the land of Egypt to encourage Pharaoh and his officials to let them go

          • PRINCIPLE #1 – Sharing about God’s miraculous power with future generations is vital!

            • Idaville UB Church

              • We have much to share with future generations

              • God provided the old school property in the 1960’s

              • He provided for the multipurpose room expansion in the 1990’s

              • He provided miraculously for the elimination of debt, multiple times (building, taxes, etc.)

              • He has provided miraculously through transformed lives (salvations, baptisms)

            • Personally

              • How has God shown His miraculous power in your life?

              • Have you shared that with family members recently?

            • #1 – My Next Step Today Is To: ​​ Share God’s miraculous power of ___________ with _________.

        • With the instruction complete, Moses and Aaron go to see Pharaoh

    • Interrogation (vv. 3-11)

        • Three Questions

          • Moses and Aaron (vv. 3-6)

            • Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and gave him the message from the Lord, the God of the Hebrews

            • Question #1 – How long will you refuse to humble yourself before me?

              • Pharaoh was dealing with pride, which affected his relationship with the Lord

              • Pride ruins relationships.

              • PRINCIPLE #2 – Humility before the Lord pleases Him.

                • Biblical background

                  • Proverbs 11:2, When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom.

                  • Proverbs 22:4, Humility and the fear of the Lord bring wealth and honor and life.

                  • Read Luke 14:7-11

                  • Philippians 2:3-4, Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. ​​ Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.

                  • James 4:6b, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”

                  • Micah 6:8, He has showed you, O man, what is good. ​​ And what does the Lord require of you? ​​ To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.

                • “When individuals or groups willingly acknowledge God’s sovereignty—not in general but over them—they assume their proper position and role in the created order. ​​ When people do not acknowledge the one true God as their own Lord, however, they are in rebellion against their very nature and eventually must be forcibly taught who is boss. ​​ The Bible teaches that everyone will eventually acknowledge the lordship of the only God; the Egyptians were required to acknowledge it, however reluctantly, through the plagues, before Yahweh (“before me”).” ​​ [Stuart, 244-45]

                • Are you being humble before the Lord or are you allowing pride to ruin your relationship with Him?

                  • Pride can cause us to not obey the Lord

                  • We may not ask fellow believers for help, because we are too proud

                  • Repentance and accepting salvation from the Lord, means we have to humble ourselves, admit we are a sinner, and need a Savior

                  • When we refuse to humble ourselves, we cannot benefit from the Lord’s wisdom

                  • His desire is that we walk with Him in humility

                • #2 – My Next Step Today Is To: ​​ Confess that my pride has ruined my relationship with the Lord and seek to be humble before Him.

              • After the Lord questions Pharaoh, He gives him a command

            • Command – Let my people go, so they can worship me

            • Consequence

              • If you refuse, I will bring locust into your land tomorrow

              • They will devour everything that survived the hail

              • They will fill every Egyptian house

              • It will be unprecedented – it will impact everyone

            • Moses turned and left Pharaoh

          • Pharaoh’s officials (v. 7)

            • After Moses and Aaron left, Pharaoh’s officials confronted him

            • Question #2 – How long will this man be a snare to us?

            • Recommendation – Let the people go

              • “That Oriental courtiers spoke so bluntly to Pharaoh is a measure of the desperation that they felt.” ​​ [Mackay, Exodus: A Mentor Commentary, 190]

              • Pharaoh’s officials understood the seriousness of the threatened plague of locusts

                • They were already reeling from the devastation caused by the hail

                • Locust were not a new problem for them, they knew how devastating this plague would be

                • “Though weighing at most two grams, a locust is able to eat its own weight of vegetation in a day. ​​ Swarms may cover many square miles and involve billions of insects. ​​ The devastating impact of locusts was feared and viewed as a sign of divine judgment.” ​​ [Mackay, 189]

                  • Read Joel 1:4-7

                  • Amos 7:1-3, This is what the Sovereign Lord showed me: He was preparing a swarm of locusts after the king’s share had been harvested and just as the second crop was coming up. ​​ When they had stripped the land clean, I cried out, “Sovereign Lord, forgive! ​​ How can Jacob survive? ​​ He is so small!” ​​ So the Lord relented. ​​ “This will not happen,” the Lord said.

              • Pharaoh’s officials already understood that Egypt was ruined from the hail

              • It seems as though Pharaoh is the last person to recognize this

              • Pride ruins relationships.

                • Pharaoh did not want to submit to the Lord, because it would strip him of power and authority

                • He was willing to allow his pride to ruin his relationship with his officials

            • The plea from Pharaoh’s officials must have had some impact, because he had Moses and Aaron brought back

          • Pharaoh (vv. 8-11)

            • It seems, at first, that the conflict between Pharaoh and the Lord has ended when he tells Moses and Aaron to go worship the Lord their God

            • Question #3 – But just who will be going?

              • Pharaoh asked the question, because he probably already knew the answer, but he wanted to be sure

              • Pharaoh was hesitant to let everyone leave, because he knew the impact it would have on Egypt

              • He was not stupid

            • Answer – everyone and everything

              • All ages

              • All sexes

              • All flocks and herds

              • The reason was because they were going to celebrate a festival to the Lord, which would involve men, women, and children

              • PRINCIPLE #3 – Worship should be a family affair.

                • When the laws for proper worship were given later on, the Israelite men were required to return to Jerusalem for three festivals each year (Passover, Feast of Weeks, and Festival of Booths)

                  • Deuteronomy 16:16-17, Three times a year all your men must appear before the Lord your God at the place he will choose: at the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the Feast of Weeks and the Feast of Tabernacles. ​​ No man should appear before the Lord empty-handed: ​​ Each of you must bring a gift in proportion to the way the Lord your God has blessed you.

                • Deuteronomy 6:6-9, These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. ​​ Impress them on your children. ​​ Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. ​​ Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. ​​ Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.

                • Darren Williamson shares six ways that family worship will bless your family [https://renew.org/family-worship-blessing/]

                  • Family worship will unify your family

                  • Family worship will provide space for family dialogue

                  • Family worship will become a life-giving spiritual tradition

                  • Family worship will reveal weaknesses in the family unit

                  • Family worship will invigorate Christian marriages

                  • Family worship will provide training ground for worship in the assembly of the church

                • Worship should be for more than just men – it should be encouraged and modeled by men as the spiritual leaders of the household

                • Guys we have to step up and lead our families in prayer, Bible reading, worship, church attendance, Scripture memorization, modeling the fruit of the Spirit, and much more

                • When we lead, our families will follow

                • #3 – My Next Step Today Is To: ​​ Lead my family in worshiping the Lord by _________.

                  • What is one thing you can begin doing to lead your family in worship?

                  • If you are part of a family unit that does not have a husband or father, then ladies I encourage you to take the lead

              • After Moses answered Pharaoh’s question, Pharaoh responded

            • Response – only the men can go to worship the Lord

              • Before Pharaoh says no, he makes a sarcastic remark

                • The way it is written in English makes it sound like Pharaoh is blessing them on their journey

                • Stuart says, “Were Pharaoh speaking modern colloquial English, he might have said something like: ‘Oh, sure, that’s fine. ​​ And it would certainly prove that Yahweh was with you if I actually allowed all our family members to go with you, but, look, it’s obvious you have evil in mind.’” ​​ [Stuart, 248]

              • He also accused Moses of planning something evil

              • Pharaoh knew if he only let the men go, they would return to be with their wives and children and any evil they were planning would be thwarted

            • Moses and Aaron were driven out of Pharaoh’s presence

              • Pharaoh was obviously angry with Moses’ answer

              • Pharaoh’s pride was ruining his relationship with Moses and Aaron

              • Pride ruins relationships.

        • The interrogation is done and it is time for the invasion

    • Invasion (vv. 12-15)

        • The Lord tells Moses to stretch our his hand over Egypt

          • This would begin the invasion

          • The locusts would consume everything growing in the fields that had been left by the hail (certain crops and fruits were unharmed by the hail)

        • Moses obeyed and God did the miraculous

          • “‘Made blow’ represents a word used for driving sheep or guiding armies. ​​ Here the Lord acts as shepherd and general to ensure that an east wind would blow in from the desert zone between the Nile and the Gulf of Suez, or even all the way from Arabia.” ​​ [Mackay, 193]

          • God was bringing this unprecedented swarm of locusts from a faraway location where they had hatched and matured

          • They were riding the Lord’s special wind all day and night in order to arrive in Egypt at just the right time and cover a specific area of land

          • PRINCIPLE #4 – God’s power is unlimited and it rules over every land.

        • The locusts did their job

          • They invaded all Egypt (settled down in every area of the country)

          • The swarm of locusts was unprecedented before or after

          • There were so many of them that the ground was completely covered

          • The land was now completely desolate and bare

          • “In destroying the vegetation, God not only left the land bankrupt, but He triumphed over Osiris, the Egyptian god of fertility and crops. ​​ He also proved that He had control over the wind.” ​​ [Wiersbe, The Bible Exposition Commentary, Pentateuch, 195]

          • God also showed His power over other Egyptian gods [Merida, Christ-Centered Exposition, Exalting Jesus in Exodus, 62]

            • Min, the patron god of crops

            • Isis, the goddess of life (who prepared flax for clothes)

            • Nepri, the god of grain

            • Anubis, the guardian of the fields

            • Senehem, the protector against pests

        • Pharaoh realized the extent of his pride

    • Intercession (vv. 16-19)

        • Pharaoh quickly summoned Moses and Aaron

          • He was perhaps in a panic at this point

          • There was no oasis along the Nile River anymore

          • It was as desolate as the desert

        • He confessed

          • The difference between Pharaoh’s confession this time and after the hailstorm was that he acknowledged who had sinned against – the Lord God and Moses and Aaron

          • PRINCIPLE #5 – God is honored when we acknowledge that we have sinned against Him.

            • “All sin, regardless of the perpetrator and the victim, is first sin against God. . . . This posture is what makes the difference between guilt for sin and sorrow for sin. ​​ Guilt says, ‘I am sorry I did it.’ ​​ Sorrow says, ‘I am sorry I did it to him.’ ​​ Guilt is feeling sorry for one’s sins because they are destroying one’s own life. ​​ Sorrow is feeling sorry for one’s sins because they grieve and break God’s heart.” ​​ [Hamilton, Exodus: An Exegetical Commentary, 160]

            • Do you have sorrow for your sin, because it has grieved and broken God’s heart?

            • Pride ruins our relationship with God, because it is sin

            • #4 – My Next Step Today Is To: ​​ Honor God by acknowledging that my sin of ___________ is against Him.

          • Once we acknowledge our sin and own it before the Lord, then we can seek forgiveness

          • That is exactly what Pharaoh did

        • He sought forgiveness

          • Pharaoh sought the Lord’s forgiveness and Moses and Aaron’s forgiveness for his sin of pride

          • After seeking forgiveness he asked for relief from the plague of locusts

            • Please pray to the Lord your God to take this deadly plague away from me

            • “Pharaoh’s point was that he saw Egypt dying as a result of the combined effect of the hailstorm and the locust invasion, not merely that the plague was deadly in some sense. ​​ His words do not suggest a focus on a plague but rather on death. ​​ Pharaoh was beginning to get the point: he realized that the plagues were leading to death, not merely inconvenience or temporary hardships.” ​​ [Stuart, 253]

        • “Moses proposed but God disposed.” ​​ [Stuart, 254]

          • Moses left Pharaoh and prayed to the Lord

          • The Lord changed the wind to a very strong west wind, which caught up all the locusts and drove them into the Red Sea

          • Every last locust was removed from Egypt

        • God had to make Pharaoh resolute at this point

    • Inflexible (v. 20)

        • The Lord had to make Pharaoh’s heart resolute, so He could complete the final two plagues

        • Pharaoh would not let the Israelites go

 

  • YOU

    • With whom are you going to share an example of God’s miraculous power?

    • Do you need to confess that your pride has ruined your relationship with the Lord and seek to be humble before Him?

    • How are you going to lead your family in worshiping?

    • Will you honor God by acknowledging that your sin is against Him?

 

  • WE

    • With whom can we share an example of God’s miraculous power?

    • Has pride ruined our relationship with the Lord?

 

CONCLUSION

“According to the National Geographic website (their kids' version that is) the Pufferfish can inflate into a ball shape to evade predators. Also known as blowfish, these clumsy swimmers fill their elastic stomachs with huge amounts of water (and sometimes air) and blow themselves up to several times their normal size … But these blow-up fish aren't just cute. Most pufferfish contain a toxic substance that makes them foul tasting and potentially deadly to other fish. The toxin is deadly to humans—1,200 times more deadly than cyanide. There is enough poison in one pufferfish to kill 30 adult humans, and there is no known antidote.

Like Pufferfish, human beings can blow themselves up with pride and arrogance to make themselves look bigger than they are. And this pride can become toxic to a marriage, a church, or a friendship. No wonder the late Bible scholar John Stott once said, ‘Pride is your greatest enemy, humility is your greatest friend.’”

 

Source: "Pufferfish," National Geographic Kids.

 

[https://www.preachingtoday.com/illustrations/2017/september/7090417.html]

11

 

/by

A Tef(Nut) to Crack

A Tef(Nut) to Crack

On May 8, 1784, the South Carolina Gazette reported that eight people were said to have been killed by hail along the Wateree River: “On the eighth of May last, a most extraordinary shower of hail, attended with thunder and lightning, fell in this district, and along the banks of the Wateree; the hail stones or rather pieces of ice, measured about 9 inches in circumference; it killed several people, a great number of sheep, lambs, geese, and the feathered inhabitants of the woods.” While death by hail is fairly rare in the US, in other places of the world, it is responsible for a fair number of fatalities. In 1928 in Klausenburg, Romania, six children were killed in a hailstorm during a Mayday festival. On April 14th, 1986, grapefruit sized hail hit Gopalganj, Bangladesh and killed 92 people. Those massive hailstones are in the Guinness Book of World Records as the world’s heaviest at 2.2 lbs. And as recently as 2009 fourteen people were killed by hail in the Anhui province of China. ​​ 

On the website atlasobscura, Dylan Thuras, writes, In 1942, a British Forest guard in Roopkund, India made an alarming discovery. Some 16,000 feet above sea level, at the bottom of a small valley, was a frozen lake absolutely full of skeletons. That summer, ice melt revealed even more skeletal remains, floating in the water and lying haphazardly around the lake’s edges. Something horrible had happened here. A National Geographic team set out to examine the bones in 2004. Besides dating the remains to around 850 AD, the team realized that everyone at the “Skeleton Lake” had died from blows to the head and shoulders caused by “blunt, round objects about the size of cricket balls.” This eventually led the team to one conclusion: In 850 AD this group of 200 some travelers was crossing this valley when they were caught in a sudden and severe hailstorm. An ancient folk song of the area describes a goddess so enraged at outsiders who defiled her mountain sanctuary that she rained death upon them with ice stones “as hard as iron.” Hail killed every last one of them.

In our scripture this morning we are going to see that the one true God, Yahweh, will send the full force of his plagues against Pharaoh and Egypt. Pharaoh has now been warned six times to let the Israelites go so that they can worship the Lord, but he has continued to harden his heart, refusing to do so. The Lord will again show that the gods of Egypt are impotent, and he will reveal other sovereign purposes for the plagues in addition to freeing his chosen people from slavery in Egypt. We will notice that God is acting not only in judgment but in mercy and that there is a bigger picture, so to speak, at work. In our scripture this morning, found in Exodus 9:13-35, God is going to give us insight into the bigger picture of what he is doing in Egypt and ultimately the world.

We, as individuals, tend to see only part of the picture. We tend to focus on ourselves and how the good or bad things in our lives affect only us. But because God is almighty, sovereign and eternal, and knows the beginning to the end of history, there are things that we can’t fathom or comprehend about what is going on around us. That’s the bigger picture that God is working out in the world but with the help of the Holy Spirit we can begin to see the bigger picture about what God is doing in, through and around us, we can gain wisdom and insight about the why and the what God is doing, in our families, our church, our community, and our world. When we are focused only on ourselves and on worldly things like Pharaoh was, we miss the opportunities to see God’s power, to give him glory and to bring others along on the salvation and sanctification journey with us. Let us be people who want to see the bigger picture that God has for us and that brings us to our big idea that Moses wants us to understand this morning that God desires his people to see and understand the bigger picture. This is important as we study the judgment and mercy in the plagues of Exodus, and it is important as we contemplate the discipline and blessing in our lives that we receive from our heavenly father. As we dwell on and ponder that big idea, let’s open our study into God’s Word with prayer: Heavenly Father, open our eyes and our eyes to your bigger picture this morning and in the future. Help us to see the why and what you are doing around us and give you praise, honor and glory for it. Let us not be so focused on ourselves that we miss what you are doing in the world. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Our first point this morning is Purpose found in Exodus 9:13-21. Follow along as I read those verses. This is what God’s Word says, “Then the Lord said to Moses, “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, 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 in all the earth. 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. 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. You still set yourself against my people and will not let them go. Therefore, at this time tomorrow I will send the worst hailstorm that has ever fallen on Egypt, from the day it was founded till now. Give an order now to bring your livestock and everything you have in the field to a place of shelter, because the hail will fall on every person and animal that has not been brought in and is still out in the field, and they will die.’” Those officials of Pharaoh who feared the word of the Lord hurried to bring their slaves and their livestock inside. But those who ignored the word of the Lord left their slaves and livestock in the field.”

This is the longest and most detailed narrative concerning a plague so far. It signals that a new intensity and seriousness is coming with future plagues. This seventh plague is similar to the first and the fourth in a couple of ways. First, the Lord’s instructions to Moses are similar. In Exodus 7:15, the plague of blood, Moses is to go to Pharaoh in the morning as he goes to the water. In Exodus 8:20, the plague of flies, Moses is to get up early and confront Pharaoh as he goes to the water. Here the Lord tells Moses again to get up early in the morning and to confront Pharaoh. We aren’t told where Moses is to confront him, but we can guess that he is again at the water, either washing or worshiping or both. Second, Moses continues to give Pharaoh the same message from the Lord, which is to let his people, the Israelites, go so that they can worship him. ​​ 

Then the message begins to differ in several ways. First, the plagues will become more intense and the consequences more serious than before. The Lord is now going to send the “full force” of his plagues against Pharaoh, his officials and the Egyptian people. The phrase, “full force” can be translated as “all.” The word “all” or “every” or “everything” appears twelve times in describing the seventh plague. This plague will show that there is no one like the Lord in “all” the earth, it will affect “every” man and animal, and “everything” growing in the field, and “all” vegetation and “every” tree. Every conceivable aspect of the land of Egypt will be caught up in these plagues. The word “plagues” is plural making us acutely aware that the Lord is not yet done sending them against Egypt. He will send these remaining plagues “against” or “to the hearts” of Pharaoh, his officials and the Egyptian people. “To their hearts” means they are “for their careful attention.” Pharaoh is running out of time to pay attention to what the Lord is trying to tell him so he can humble himself before Almighty God and be obedient to him. Shemesh says, “The Lord will strike Pharaoh precisely in the organ that perpetuates his transgression—his heart.”

Second, the Lord is sending these remaining plagues to their hearts so they may “know” something more about him. He sent the first plague so that they would know he is the Lord. He sent the second plague so that they would know that there is no one like the Lord. He sent the fourth plague so that they would know that the Lord was in the land of Egypt. And here he is going to send the seventh plague so that they would know that there is no one like the Lord in all the earth. He has already shown that he is the Lord and is above all other gods. He has shown that he is the God of the Hebrews and he is Lord over the land of Egypt, not Pharaoh. Now he is going to show that he is the Lord over all the earth. He is incomparable and unique. He is the Lord of everyone and everywhere. This speaks to both the Lord’s character and wonder-working power that separates him from all other deities. Goldingay says, it is “not the uniqueness of a theology but the uniqueness of a reality.” Our Lord is the only true and real God in all the universe.

The overarching purpose of the plagues was so that Pharaoh, the Egyptians, the entire world and even the Israelites would “know” the Lord. God wants us to “know” him, and he’s made a way through Jesus Christ for us to do that. He wants an intimate and personal relationship with us and that happens when we are redeemed, reconciled and restored to fellowship with the Almighty, our Creator. This “knowing” happens when we admit that we are a sinner, we believe that Jesus came to earth to save us from our sins and when we confess him as Lord over our lives and over all the earth. That brings us to our first next step this morning found on the back of your communication card which may be for you: My next step is to Accept Jesus as my Lord and Savior and be redeemed, reconciled and restored to an intimate and personal relationship with him.

Third, the Lord tells Pharaoh that he is also Lord over him because he holds his very life and the lives of the Egyptians in his hands. “For by now” introduces a climactic force to what the Lord could have done. The Lord could have stretched out his hand and “struck” or “destroyed” or “erased” them off the face of the earth, but he didn’t because there was a greater purpose, a bigger picture, for the sending of the plagues. Fourth, the Lord shows that he is sovereign; that he is in control of all things and all things run and move according to his purposes. Pharaoh deserved death but the Lord “raised up” or “spared” Pharaoh for a greater purpose. Fretheim says, “The question here is not what God could have done, as if God’s power were in doubt, but what should have been done had God not had a more comprehensive purpose that (Pharaoh’s) life could serve.”

The Lord then reveals his greater purpose or bigger picture for sending the plagues. It was so they would see his power and that his name would be proclaimed in all the earth. Yes, the Lord wanted to free his people so that they could worship him. Yes, the Lord wanted Pharaoh and the Egyptians to know that he is the Lord. But the bigger picture was that his great power would be seen by the Egyptians and the Israelites alike and that his name or his fame would be proclaimed in all the earth. In Romans 9:17, Paul quotes verse 16 in discussing divine sovereignty and divine mercy, and how the Jews and the Gentiles are on the receiving end of both. In Romans 9:18 Paul goes on to say, “So then he (talking about God), has mercy on whom he desires, and he hardens whom he desires.” The point is that Pharaoh, just like us, owes every breath to a holy, just and merciful God, and in spite of Pharaoh hardening his heart against God and his people, God had a plan to use the life of Pharaoh in a way that his power would be seen, and his name would be proclaimed in all the earth. We see this reality in Joshua 9 when the Gibeonites met with Joshua, they spoke of “the fame of the LORD,” saying, “we have heard reports of him: all that he did in Egypt.” And in 1 Samuel 4, when the ark of the covenant entered their camp, the Philistines said, “We’re in trouble! Nothing like this has happened before. Woe to us! Who will deliver us from the hand of these mighty gods? They are the gods who struck the Egyptians with all kinds of plagues in the desert.” The plagues made God famous and his name, his reputation and character, was proclaimed in all the earth.

The Lord then accuses Pharaoh of still setting himself against God’s people and refusing to let them go. “Setting himself” can also mean “treading on” or “barricading” himself against God’s people. Pharaoh was “exalting” himself in hostility over them, presuming to be their king when Yahweh was their true lord and king. The consequences of exalting himself over God’s people and refusing to let them go would be the worst hailstorm in the history of the civilization of Egypt. This describes the unprecedented severity of the plague that is coming. There had been nothing like it before and there would be nothing like it again. Mackay says, ‘Worst’ means ‘very heavy’, continuing the theme that the plagues are just retribution for Pharaoh’s hardness or heaviness of heart. Hamilton says, “A hailstorm over all Egypt would be about as common as a blizzard in San Diego from a nor’easter. It would be as unheard of as 24-7 darkness (the ninth plague) in the land of eternal sunshine. In total, it would be a storm that would demonstrate God’s power and sovereignty over all weather and nature.

We then again see a difference in the message to Pharaoh and the Egyptian people. For the first time the Lord warns the Egyptians to bring in their livestock and slaves from the field so they would be saved. God was inviting and even testing Pharaoh and the Egyptians to trust his word. It was a call to an act of faith. Pharaoh and the Egyptians had seen God’s power over and over again and was now given a chance to trust in him and believe in him as the sovereign Lord over all the earth. Again, we are confronted with the bigger picture of God’s mercy and judgment. He didn’t want to kill Pharaoh and the Egyptians. He wanted them to see his mercy toward them and fall down in worship to him as their Lord. God wanted survivors rather than victims.

Next, we see that this plague ups the ante, so to speak. The previous six plagues brought death to fish and livestock including horses, donkeys, camels, sheep and goats. And they definitely brought discomfort and uncleanliness to the Egyptian people. But with the seventh plague any of the Egyptians and their slaves who were caught outside in the hailstorm would perish. This is the first plague where people would be killed. This is also the first instance of Egyptians believing the word of the Lord. Moses records that some of Pharaoh’s officials feared the word of the Lord and took the warning seriously and brought their slaves and livestock inside. It was probably a minority, but it showed that the plagues were starting to affect the Egyptian people. They probably did not fear the Lord, himself, but at least they believed that he would do what he said he would do and had the power to do it. This would have been a belief that was short of conversion, and would not have been a saving faith in the one who revealed the coming hailstorm to them. We also see the flipside that there were others who ignored the word of the Lord. They paid no attention and they “set or hardened their hearts” just like their leader, Pharaoh, and left their livestock and slaves in the field. There is a truth here that when we, as human beings, are confronted by the word of the Lord, there are two choices we can make. We can fear the word of the Lord and obey, or we can ignore it and harden our hearts.

Now that the Lord had proclaimed his bigger purposes for the plagues which was to show his power and so that his name might be proclaimed in all the earth, we come to our second point this morning which is Plague seen in verses 22-26. This is what God’s Word says, “Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand toward the sky so that hail will fall all over Egypt—on people and animals and on everything growing in the fields of Egypt.” When Moses stretched out his staff toward the sky, the Lord sent thunder and hail, and lightning flashed down to the ground. So, the Lord rained hail on the land of Egypt; hail fell, and lightning flashed back and forth. It was the worst storm in all the land of Egypt since it had become a nation. Throughout Egypt hail struck everything in the fields—both people and animals; it beat down everything growing in the fields and stripped every tree. The only place it did not hail was the land of Goshen, where the Israelites were.”

The next day, Moses stretched out his hand and staff toward the sky and the Lord brought the hail over all of Egypt. It fell on the Egyptian men, their animals and on everything growing in the fields. It happened just as the Lord promised it would. Moses’ staff represented God’s divine power and presence and the sky was filled with thunder, hail and lightning. Moses stretching his staff toward the sky and the Lord bringing the storm are to be understood as almost simultaneous. Even though it was Moses who did the motions it is clear that it was the Lord who sent the plague. Literally, there was hail, and fire flaming within the hail. Motyer says, “fire kindled and rekindled itself without need of fuel to feed on and spreading in all directions.” The fire was self-perpetuating, and fire and water were able to coincide together. The coincidence of two such mutually exclusive elements as hail and fire must have been extraordinarily frightening and destructive.” ​​ 

 

We can only imagine what the Egyptians would have thought about this storm. They were probably terrified and believed that the wrath of God was being poured down upon them from heaven. The mention of the storm again being the “worst” in Egypt since it had become a nation acts as a reminder that this was judgment from God being poured out on them. The word “worst” is also translated “heavy” showing that as Ryken says, “Pharoah got exactly what he deserved – a storm every bit as heavy as his heart.” We are told that the hail struck everything in the fields, men and animals and it beat down everything growing in the fields and even stripped every tree. The word “struck” is often used to mean “a deadly blow.” Men and animals were killed, everything growing in the fields was beat down and the trees would have been smashed by the sheer force of the storm. This was a killer storm in which both the hail and lightning did major damage. We are then reminded of the power and sovereignty of God in that the only place it did not hail was in the land of Goshen, where God’s chosen people the Israelites were. This was truly a supernatural event sent from God as judgment upon Pharaoh and the Egyptian people.

 

As we have seen before this plague was also an attack on the Egyptian gods. When God said that they would know that there was none like him in all the earth – the comparison was between the Lord and the gods of Egypt. Currid says, “It is critical to remember that the Egyptians believed their gods to be personified in the elements of nature. The catastrophe of the hail was therefore a mockery of the Egyptian heavenly deities, including Nut, the female representative of the sky and personification of the vault of heaven, Shu, the supporter of the heavens who holds up the sky, Seth, who manifested himself in the wind and storms, and Tefnut, the goddess of moisture.” This is where the title of today’s sermon came from. I called it a “Tef(Nut) to Crack” but in reality cracking Tefnut was an easy feat for our God, further showing that the Lord was sovereign over all persons, places and things.

 

After God brought the worst hailstorm in the history of the civilization of Egypt that killed men, animals and devastated the crops in their fields, we now come to our third point this morning called Promise found in verses 27-33. This is what God’s Word says, “Then Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron. “This time I have sinned,” he said to them. “The Lord is in the right, and I and my people are in the wrong. 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.” Moses replied, “When I have gone out of the city, I will spread out my hands in prayer to the Lord. The thunder will stop and there will be no more hail, so you may know that the earth is the Lord’s. But I know that you and your officials still do not fear the Lord God.” (The flax and barley were destroyed, since the barley had headed and the flax was in bloom. The wheat and spelt, however, were not destroyed, because they ripen later.) Then Moses left Pharaoh and went out of the city. He spread out his hands toward the Lord; the thunder and hail stopped, and the rain no longer poured down on the land.”

As with the other plagues, we don’t know how long the devastating hailstorm continued before Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron. He summons them because he knows that they are the only ones who can stop the devastation that is taking place in Egypt. But when he did, he said something he had never said before. He seems to recognize Yahweh as God, but in the broadest sense. He confesses that he has sinned and that the Lord was right, and that he and his people were in the wrong. But as we look closer at his confession we notice a few things about it. First, he didn’t confess that he had sinned against God or even confess to God. Second, he didn’t confess all his sins he only confessed to sinning “this time” minimizing his sin. Maybe he didn’t believe that the other times he lied and hardened his heart were really sins at all. Pharaoh didn’t turn away from his sin looking for a relationship with the Lord. He was again grieved over the consequences of his sin, not grieved at his sin itself. Also, in calling the Lord “righteous” he was not talking about the Lord’s character, but his actions. Pharaoh was making as narrow a concession as he could, only admitting to doing wrong or being unfair not committing any evil. He didn’t have a fear of the Lord, so his confession didn’t show true repentance.

He then asked Moses again to pray to the Lord to stop the thunder and hail; they had had enough. In both Hebrew and Egyptian, “thunder” is used to mean “the voices of God.’ God had been speaking in judgment through this plague wanting Pharaoh to see his power and let his people go. Pharaoh just wanted the terrible storm to stop. Then we see the first of two promises made in this section. First, Pharaoh promises to let the Israelites go saying they do not have to stay in Egypt any longer. This was a reversal from the plague of flies when he would only give them permission to sacrifice in the land and then permission to leave Egypt as long as they didn’t go too far. Pharaoh was now giving permission to leave the land with no stipulations. He was willing to grant a privilege that he thought was within his power to grant. Second, Moses promises that when he has left the city he will pray to the Lord to stop the thunder and hail. The Lord is mentioned three times here meaning that it was the Lord that Moses would be praying to and it would be the Lord who stops the storm. The spreading out of Moses’ hands meant he would turn his palms upwards in supplication to the Lord. We again see the purpose that Pharaoh would “know” something about the Lord. He would know that the earth is the Lord’s and that he is in control of everything that happens on the earth, even the weather.

We also see that Moses is not naïve. He knew that Pharaoh and his officials could not be trusted to fulfill their promise because they did not have a fear of the Lord. We may wonder why Moses would seemingly give in and pray to stop the hail knowing Pharaoh’s past in reneging on his promises and hardening his heart. There are a couple of reasons. One, it would prove “that the earth belonged to the Lord” not to Pharaoh or the Egyptian gods. Two, it would also leave Pharaoh without an excuse for exalting himself above the Lord and against his people. Third, the Lord’s power would be seen not only in sending the hailstorm but in stopping it as well. Fourth, Moses believed in God’s sovereign purpose in what was happening. The use of the “Lord God” in verse 30 is the only place it is used in the Pentateuch outside of Genesis 2-3. It was probably used here to show that Pharaoh has to some degree been impressed by the power of God, but he doesn’t yet trust in or truly “know” the Lord. ​​ He has at least stopped claiming to not know him. In fact, now, he not only knows the Lord exist but admits that he was right in sending judgment on Pharaoh and Egypt.

We then get this curious aside. We are told that the flax and the barley were destroyed since they were almost full grown and ready for harvest. We are also told that the wheat and spelt were not destroyed because they were not yet ready for harvest. There are probably a couple of reasons why Moses gives us this information. First, it is a timestamp as to when this plague happened. Because the barley was nearly ripe, and the flax was blossoming points to January as to when the hailstorm hit Egypt. This level of exactness shows that this was a real and specific event in history. Second, it points to the devastating effects of the hail on Egypt’s economy. The flax and the barley would not have recovered, and those crops would have been lost. And the fact that the wheat and the spelt were spared showed the mercy of God in the midst of his judgment. Proving again that God had a bigger picture in mind. Moses and the Lord now keep their promises. Moses leaves Pharaoh, going out of the city, and spreads his hands in prayer toward the Lord and when he does the Lord stopped the thunder, hail and rain. The Hebrew suggest that Moses’ prayer brought immediate relief. Moses mentions twice that he would pray after leaving the city. This showed his complete trust in the Lord to protect his people from these plagues and there would be no question about whether the storm was stopped on its own or not.

After Moses and the Lord made good on their promise we come to our fourth point this morning which is Prevaricate found in verses 34-35. This is what God’s Word says, “When Pharaoh saw that the rain and hail and thunder had stopped, he sinned again: He and his officials hardened their hearts. So Pharaoh’s heart was hard and he would not let the Israelites go, just as the Lord had said through Moses.”

Moses kept his promise to pray to the Lord and God kept his promise to bring the devastating hailstorm to an end. But true to form, Pharaoh does not keep his promise. Now that the threat of the plague was over, he prevaricates, or lies and would not let the Israelites go. His admission of sin didn’t change his behavior and Moses records that Pharaoh sinned again. This is the first time that Pharaoh’s hardening of his heart has been called sin. Greenberg says, “He acknowledged guilt but went right on being guilty.” DeNeff says, “Any repentance that does not lessen our impulse to commit the same sin again is not genuine repentance.” There is a difference between remorse and repentance. The best way to tell true repentance is to see what happens after confession of sin. Ryken says, “True repentance is a complete change of heart that produces a total change of life.” We see this in scripture with King Saul and King David. In 1 Samuel 15:24-25 Saul says, “I have sinned. I violated the Lord’s command and your instructions. I was afraid of the men and so I gave in to them. Now I beg you, forgive my sin and come back with me, so that I may worship the Lord.” In Psalm 51:4b, David says, “Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight.” And in verse 10, he says, “Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.” Did you hear the difference? Saul, like Pharaoh, admitted he sinned but didn’t admit that he had sinned against God himself. He was motivated by a desire to escape punishment. David, on the other hand, admitted his sin against God and was motivated by a passionate desire for reconciliation and restoration.  ​​​​ 

We also notice that Pharaoh’s officials hardened their hearts as well. This probably included the earlier officials who had feared the word of the Lord and heeded the warning to bring their animals and slaves inside before the storm started. Pharaoh’s hardening had a negative effect on those around him. We are not surprised that Pharaoh has hardened his heart again and wouldn’t let the Israelites go. The Lord had already told Moses it would happen. After the plague of boils, we are told that the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart. It may have been that Pharaoh had been close to giving in to the Lord and letting the Israelites go but God’s plan had not been completed so he hardened Pharaoh’s heart. We now notice that Pharaoh is hardening his own heart again. Pharaoh was sure that he was the ultimate authority over his people and his land. It never occurred to him that there was an even more supreme being above himself. Even after being confronted by God, Pharaoh shut him out of his world and lived like he was in control of his destiny and the destiny of God’s people as well.

We, as human beings, tend to make everything about us. The Israelites fell prey to this as well. They were thinking that the Lord was sending these plagues so that they could be free. Of course, that was true, but God had a bigger picture in mind for them. As we continue to study the history of the Israelite people in the wilderness and in the Promised Land, we will see that it was a picture that they never really saw or understood for very long. God wanted them to worship and obey him as their Lord and be the conduit through which the world would be saved. They were going to see God’s power manifested in incredible ways over and over again but what did they do? They complained and accused Moses and God of bringing them in the wilderness to die. They refused to take the Promised Land the first time because the people were bigger than they were, and they didn’t think God could give them the victory. And they crucified Jesus, the Messiah, God’s Son, the one that they were waiting for. They completely missed the big picture of the purpose that God had created them for.

We see this missing of the big picture in an interview with the co-pilot of US Air flight 1549, which crash-landed in the Hudson River in New York City, a landing which everyone survived. In response to the question, “Was it a miracle?” co-pilot Jeffrey Skiles stated with absurd arrogance, “I wouldn’t say that. I would simply say that it’s just that everybody did our jobs and we had good fortune, as well.” We live in a world that is much like ancient Egypt. We have so deified everything and everyone that we actually think that we are in control.

I am also reminded of times of struggle and hurt in my own life. I can cry out “why is this happening to me, God” and never realize that he might be wanting me to see and confess my sin or see that the struggle I am going through is not for me but so that I can help someone down the road who is going through the same struggle. When we stop focusing on ourselves and with the help of the Holy Spirit we can start to see and understand God’s bigger picture in our lives. We can start to see the power of Almighty God which should cause us to proclaim his name in all the earth. The Lord is determined that the earth will know that He is Yahweh. This brings us to second and last next step this morning which is to Stop focusing on myself and strive to see and understand the bigger picture that God has for my life and the world around me.

This week a friend of mine prayed a benediction in a Bible study that I take part in on Tuesday nights and I think it’s appropriate to what we have talked about today so I would like to pray it over us now: “You go nowhere by accident. Wherever you go God is guiding you and wherever you are God has put you there. Amen.” Let us be people who want to see the bigger picture that God has for our lives.

As the praise team comes forward to lead us in our final song and the ushers prepare to collect the tithes and offering, let’s pray: Heavenly Father, thank you for your powerful Word and for your powerful name. Help us to “know” you as Lord and Savior and to be connected to you in an intimate and personal relationship. Help us to stop focusing on ourselves and strive to see and understand the bigger picture that you have for us and the world. We ask for the help of the Holy Spirit this morning as we strive for this understanding. In Jesus name, Amen.

 

/by

“Boiled” Over

,

Rescued

“Boiled” Over

(Exodus 9:8-12)

 

INTRODUCTION

Most of us are familiar with the story of Joni Eareckson Tada. ​​ She had just finished high school and was looking forward to college, when she and her sister went to the Chesapeake Bay for a swim. ​​ When Joni dove into the water she hit her head on the sandy bottom, snapping her head back and crunching her fourth and fifth cervical vertebrae.

 

On November 12, 2023 Alisa Childers had Joni on her podcast to discuss the nearest of Christ in 50 years of suffering.

 

In answering one of Alisa’s questions, Joni made this statement, “God permits what He hates. ​​ He’s not excited about suffering. ​​ He hates evil, obviously, but He permits what He hates to accomplish what He loves.” ​​ She then used the example of Christ’s suffering to illustrate that God permits what He hates to accomplish what He loves. ​​ She continued her answer by saying, “my friend said, Joni, it’s very much like you, um, God permitted what He hated, your spinal cord injury, just like He permitted those awful events leading up to the cross of Christ, but He permitted it in order to accomplish something good. ​​ He’s turning you from a headstrong, stubborn, rebellious teenager into a young woman who’s going to understand something of perseverance, something of endurance, who is going to allow her character to be refined, who is going to gain a deeper love for prayer and His Word, who is going to set her heart and hopes on Heaven. ​​ I mean He went on and on just envisioning for me things that at that point I could not envision for myself, but at least those ten words had hooked me, ‘God permits what He hates to accomplish that which He loves.’ ​​ And now I understand what it is that He loves in my life, Christ in me the hope of glory and my suffering.”

 

Alisa asked another question about the chronic pain that Joni experiences all the time. ​​ In response she said, “I realized that God shares His joy on His own terms and those terms call to us, for in some measure, to suffer as His own son suffered and, in a strange way I welcome the dark difficult guest of pain in my life. ​​ I welcome it because I know it is the gash through which more grace will pour into my life and I have counted that grace and that nearness and sweetness to Jesus Christ as worth the pain and that’s hard to say when I feel like screaming. ​​ But I believe it to this day and sometimes I lay on bed at night and I am so happy in Christ despite the pain that I am crying, but I’m so happy because He’s really worth it and I don’t know that I can convince people of it except that they just have to take me as saying the truth. ​​ That it’s a matter of faith. ​​ It’s a matter of stepping out.”

 

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HnpG3ZG8sI8]

 

Can we even imagine having that kind of hope and joy after being knocked down? ​​ Joni, through the help of family and friends, was able to eventually look up to Jesus. ​​ It took time. ​​ She continues to look up to Jesus after 56 years of being a quadriplegic. ​​ She uses Scripture, prayer, and music to sustain her.

 

BODY

  • ME

    • Our family has experienced times when we have been knocked down and had to look up to the Lord for help (health, jobs, relationships, etc.)

  • WE

    • How many of us have spent some time flat on our backs because of some illness, surgery, or injury to our bodies?

 

The Egyptians were going to find themselves in a world of hurt with this sixth plague. ​​ They were going to suffer from painful boils all over their bodies that kept them from being able to stand in Moses’ presence. ​​ All of the plagues the Lord brought upon the Egyptians was so they would know that He is God. ​​ This plague was not an exception. ​​ When they were knocked down, would they look up to the Lord? ​​ We will see. ​​ The same is true for us – when we are knocked down, will we look up to the Lord? ​​ Our big idea reflects that thought today. ​​ It is . . .

 

BIG IDEA – God may knock us down, so we will look up.

 

Let’s pray

 

  • GOD (Exodus 9:8-12)

    • Instruction (vv. 8-9)

        • Moses and Aaron were just given the instructions without having to meet Pharaoh at a certain time or place (just like the third plague of gnats)

          • This is the third plague in the second cycle of plagues

          • Next week we will begin the third cycle of three plagues, before the final plague

        • Instruction

          • The Lord spoke to both Moses and Aaron

          • They were to take handfuls of soot from a furnace

            • It is likely that the furnace where they got the soot, was one that was used by the Israelites for making bricks

            • Perhaps the Lord was using what was afflicting the Israelites to afflict the Egyptians

          • Moses was instructed to toss the soot up into the air in the presence of Pharaoh

          • God would miraculously transform it into fine dust that would cover the whole land of Egypt

            • “As the God of the Hebrews was Lord over the water, air, earth, and life itself, so he was Lord over all elements, including fire.” ​​ [Martin, Holman Old Testament Commentary, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, 44]

            • “What started as a small amount of soot was changed and vastly multiplied by divine fiat into a huge amount of fine dust, covering Egypt and causing festering boils on both humans and animals.” ​​ [Stuart, The New American Commentary, Volume 2, Exodus, 228]

            • Attributes of God

              • God is sovereign, which means He is Lord over everything (all elements, animals, and humans)

              • God is omnipotent (all-powerful)

              • God is Creator, so He is able to transform His creation according to His plan and purpose

            • The transformed soot would cover humans and animals throughout Egypt

          • Festering boils would break out on humans and animals

            • While it is not explicitly stated, most scholars agree that the Israelites and their animals were exempt from this plague – they did not break out with festering boils

            • This was the first plague that actually attacked the bodies of the Egyptians

            • The boils would have been visible and very uncomfortable [Hamilton, Exodus: An Exegetical Commentary, 145]

            • If you remember, the Egyptians were obsessed with cleanliness, especially concerning their bodies, so this would have prevented them from bathing as often as they would have liked and it definitely affected the cleanliness of their bodies

            • They would have been dealing with oozing sores all over their bodies

        • Attacking the gods of Egypt

          • The Egyptians looked to their gods for healing (Amon Re, Thoth, Imhotep, and Sekhmet) [Merida, Christ-Centered Exposition: Exalting Jesus In Exodus, 60]

          • “Perhaps this plague is connected with Sekhmet, the lion-headed goddess of plagues, who was viewed as responsible for epidemics, and also capable of healing those who were afflicted by them.” ​​ [Mackay, Exodus: A Mentor Commentary, 173]

          • They were going to find out that Sekhmet was powerless and impotent

          • Comedian, Christian McCartney, was on Huckabee the other night and he closed his set by saying, “Laughter is great medicine, but Jesus Christ is the only healer.”

          • The Lord was trying to get the Egyptians attention, so they would know that He is God

        • The instructions have been given, now it is time for action

    • Infection (vv. 10-11)

        • Moses and Aaron did exactly what the Lord had instructed them to do

          • They got handfuls of soot from a furnace

          • They stood before Pharaoh

          • Moses tossed the soot into the air

        • God kept His promise

          • The author does not state here that the soot turned into fine dust and covered the land of Egypt, but we know it happened because festering boils broke out on humans and animals

          • This was part of the Lord’s instructions to Moses and Aaron

            • The soot would turn into fine dust and settle on humans and animals

            • The fine dust would cause festering boils to break out on humans and animals

        • Magicians condition

          • Role of the magicians

            • Stuart outlines two reasons why the magicians were mentioned during the sixth plague when they haven’t been mentioned since the third plague [Stuart, 229]

              • It would help the reader understand that Pharaoh used the magicians as advisors during these plagues

              • If the physicians (magicians) could not heal themselves, it proved once again that God was more powerful than the gods or magicians of Egypt

            • “In ancient Egypt healing was frequently linked to magical rituals undertaken by priests in temples. ​​ The very priests to whom the Egyptians might have looked for help are themselves afflicted and their powerlessness to ward off this bodily ailment underlines yet again the superior strength of YHWH.” ​​ [Alexander, Apollos Old Testament Commentary, Volume 2, Exodus, 187]

          • The plague of boils was so bad that the magicians could not stand before Moses

            • PRINCIPLE #1 – God may use physical ailments to get our attention.

              • Notice that I use the word “may” in describing this principle

              • Not all physical ailments are a result of God trying to get our attention

                • Some of our ailments are simply the result of repetitive stress over time (knee cartilage gone; carpal tunnel in our wrists; bulging disks in our back; rotator cuff injuries; etc.)

                • Those physical ailments may afford us down time that we would not otherwise have or take

              • God may knock us down, so we will look up.

              • It is valuable to do some self-evaluation when we have time on our hands

                • Whether we are recovering from surgery due to repetitive stress on a part of our body

                • Or if we are sick from some virus that requires us to be quarantined

                • Perhaps we have time because we have lost our job

                • Whatever the case may be, it is important to spend time with the Lord

                • He may have been trying to get our attention for some time

                • Will we look up or will we continue to harden our hearts to His voice, to His prompting?

                • What are some ways that we can look up to the Lord when we are knocked down, when we cannot stand?

                  • Pray and ask the Lord to speak to you through His Word

                  • Pray and ask the Lord to speak to you through His Holy Spirit

                  • Pray and ask the Lord to speak to you through fellow believers

                  • Pray and ask the Lord to speak to you through worship

                • The Lord’s desire is for us to recognize that He is God (sovereign, omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent, healer, Creator, and so much more)

                • He wants us to look up to Him in repentance and dependence

              • #1 – My Next Step Today Is To: ​​ Look up to the Lord in __________ (repentance/dependence) since I am currently knocked down by ________.

            • The magicians were knocked down by the plague of boils

            • Their gods were useless, because they were false gods

            • The Lord was showing them that He is the only true God – He only could heal them and restore them

        • Perhaps this plague started to get Pharaoh’s attention

    • Indifference (v. 12)

        • “While it had been predicted in 4:21 that the Lord would harden Pharaoh’s heart, this is the first time that it is recorded as happening.” ​​ [Mackay, 175]

          • Maybe having boils all over his body, caused Pharaoh to start contemplating letting the Israelites go

          • God needed Pharaoh to stay the course of His redemptive plan

          • He needed Pharaoh to be willing to let the Israelites go without any strings attached or compromises

        • The plagues were not exclusively for Pharaoh and the Egyptians

          • They were also for Moses and the Israelites

          • God wanted the Israelites to recognize that He is in complete control [Enns, The NIV Application Commentary, Exodus, 219]

          • This is a great reminder for us also – God is in complete control of every aspect of our lives

 

  • YOU

    • Do you need to look up to the Lord in repentance or dependence as you struggle with being knocked down right now?

 

  • WE

    • We need to look up to the Lord in dependence as we struggle with being knocked down.

 

CONCLUSION

“Author and pastor Jim Van Yperen tells this story:

 

Margaret attended a church I served many years ago. Confined to a wheelchair for most of her adult life, Margaret lived with a body both contorted and misshapen, ravaged by multiple sclerosis. She spoke softly, often slurring her words in barely audible grunts. She drooled constantly and was in pain nearly all her waking hours. Margaret had grounds for complaint; but she did not complain. She loved Jesus, and she never missed church. Sunday morning and evening, midweek prayer meeting, and special gatherings, Margaret was always there, always in a neatly pressed dress.

 

One night, after I first arrived at the church, I was conducting a forum asking questions and facilitating dialogue with a group of about 20 people. I asked people to tell me their favorite Bible verse or a passage from Scripture that was personally meaningful. Several people offered verses that I noted on a flip chart up front. After many people spoke, Margaret let me know she wanted to say something. Most of the people had recited their verses from memory or read them aloud from Scripture. Since Margaret could not speak, I looked up the verse for the group and read it for her: ‘It was good for me that I was afflicted, that I may learn Thy statutes’ (Psalm 119:71 NASB).

 

Margaret smiled broadly and nodded her head. Her wheelchair was a testimony to grace.”

 

Source: Jim Van Yperen, "Making Peace: A Guide to Overcoming Church Conflict" (Jim Van Yperen, 2002), pp. 106-107.

 

[https://www.preachingtoday.com/illustrations/2005/january/15732.html]

7

 

/by

Field Fiasco

, , ,

Rescued

Field Fiasco

(Exodus 9:1-7)

 

INTRODUCTION

“Their tongues were cut off, but there was no spilled blood. No signs of struggle. No footprints or tire tracks were found. Investigators were stumped: who is going on a murderous rampage of cows in Texas, and how are there no clues surrounding their deaths?

 

It seemed a scene straight out of The Secrets of Skinwalker Ranch, the reality TV show on the History Channel about the Utah ranch that is supposedly the site of unexplained supernatural phenomena.

 

Across three Texas counties within the span of a few weeks, seven cattle were found dead under the same suspicious circumstances: lying on one side with the mutilated part of their face exposed, minus a tongue.

 

The cow-killing spree happened in Madison, Brazos and Robertson counties – all located in east-central Texas. Each cow was from a different pasture and herd.

 

‘A straight, clean cut, with apparent precision, had been made to remove the hide around the cow’s mouth on one side, leaving the meat under the removed hide untouched,’ the Madison county sheriff’s office said.

 

‘On two of the five cows, a circular cut was made removing the anus and the external genitalia. This circular cut was made with the same precision as the cuts noted around the jaw lines of each cow.’

 

Ranchers reported no predators or birds had scavenged the remains, a common theme in similar killings.

 

The official cause of most of the cows’ deaths is still unknown, but the freakish events have sparked memories of a long-held conspiracy theory about the mysterious deaths of livestock animals dating back to at least the 1970s in the US that lays the blame at the feet – or tentacles – of aliens in UFOs.

Back then, scores of animal mutilations across at least seven US states triggered a bout of speculation that outer space visitors were attacking – and sampling – earthly animals. Others thought it was all a part of a ritualistic killing.

 

In 1979, the FBI launched a formal investigation into similar killings sweeping New Mexico. But the appropriately named Operation Animal Mutilation concluded that the mysterious deaths of livestock animals killed in similar fashion to those seen recently in Texas were a result of natural predation.

 

The Robertson county sheriff’s office said a postmortem exam returned on Monday showed that the cause of death for one cow was pneumonia, but like the FBI’s investigation, the report did not explain the reasons for the animal’s injuries.

 

The Madison county sheriff’s office said: ‘Multiple similar incidents have been reported across the United States and we are actively coordinating with other agencies to find answers.’

 

Other ranchers in the area are fearful their bovines could be butchered next.

 

Mark Enloe of Enloe Ranch lives in Madison County, along the same stretch of highway where the cows in his town were attacked. He called the recent string of cow murders ‘concerning’.

 

‘I have cattle right in the same vicinity of where these [killings] have taken place, within a couple of miles. I’m sure trying to keep an eye out, watching and making trips up and down the road several times during the day and night to just check and see if anything strange is going on.’

 

Enloe said his neighbor was taking more precautions by putting up cameras around his cows in case he’s targeted next.

 

And Enloe’s friend Steve Cole, who just happens to be Madison County’s justice of the peace, has even more reason to worry. One of his cows was found dead of unnatural causes mere days ago. Although his cow was not mutilated, he’s not confident these incidents aren’t related.

 

Roughly 15 minutes down the road is the B&B Cattle Company. On a phone call with its owner, Brad Barrett, a loud ‘moo’ can be heard in the background.

 

‘We always take precautions to make sure the [cattle] stay safe, but not anything more than normal … We have plenty of dogs. If something’s awry, oh, I’ll definitely know if I’ve got my dogs,’ he said.

 

The sheriff’s offices in all three counties did not respond to a Guardian request for comment.

 

A $5,000 reward is being offered by the Animal Legal Defense Fund for any information that leads to the arrest and conviction of the person or people who may be responsible for the deaths of these cows.”

 

[https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/may/08/cow-deaths-murders-texas]

 

BODY

  • ME

    • Free chicken meal

        • Quite a few years ago our neighbor man called us to let us know that one of our chickens was lying dead in his yard

        • Before we were able to get outside and retrieve the dead chicken, the perpetrator returned and ate the chicken

        • It was another neighbor’s dog that had gotten lose

        • When we finally got outside, we could tell that the dog had been running circles around the chicken pen

        • The dog eventually made a hole in the chicken wire and caught one of our chickens, killed it, and it deposited it in the neighbor’s yards

        • We have had other chickens die of natural causes

    • Red beet raid

        • For all of the years we have had a garden, we have never had any issues with wildlife raiding it and eating up the plants

        • That all changed this past growing season

        • The year before we had a bumper crop of red beets and we were looking forward to another prosperous year

        • Unfortunately, some deer decided to venture into our garden for the first time and they ate all of the baby red beet plants

        • We could see their hoof prints in the soft soil

 

  • WE

    • How many of us have experienced some kind of damage to our pets, farm animals, or plants?

    • It is frustrating and concerning when it happens

 

While ranchers in Texas have not figured out the cause of death and the mutilation of their cows, Pharaoh and the Egyptians were warned a day ahead of the coming destruction of the livestock in their fields. ​​ The Lord was warning them of the consequences of refusing to obey His command to let His people go. ​​ It would be costly for them. ​​ The same is true for us. ​​ What the author wants us to understand today is that . . .

 

BIG IDEA – Refusing to obey God’s commands is costly.

 

Let’s pray

 

  • GOD (Exodus 9:1-7)

    • Command (vv. 1-4)

        • This is the fifth time the Lord instructed Moses to go to Pharaoh with His message

          • How was Moses’ feeling at this point?

          • We are not told how he is feeling about doing the same thing over and over again with the same negative results

          • What we do know is that Moses obeyed and continued to obey another five times

          • Application

            • How many of us have stopped after being rejected just one time?

            • Is there a difficult conflict that God is asking you to face repeatedly? ​​ [NIV Life Application Bible, footnote for Exodus 9:1]

            • Are you ready to throw in the towel?

            • I want to encourage you to not give up, especially when you know what God is calling you to do is the right thing

            • Moses realized that persistence is rewarded

            • That is not always easy to see when you are in the middle of the conflict or difficulty

            • Resolve today to keep being obedient no matter how long it takes

            • God is faithful!

            • Paul reminded Timothy of this truth when he was encouraged him to remain faithful

            • 2 Timothy 2:11-13, Here is a trustworthy saying: ​​ If we died with him, we will also live with him; if we endure, we will also reign with him. ​​ If we disown him, he will also disown us; if we are faithless, he will remain faithful, for he cannot disown himself.

            • #1 – My Next Step Today Is To: ​​ Keep being obedient to what God is asking me to do no matter how long it takes.

          • Moses faithfully shared the Lord’s message with Pharaoh

        • Message

          • The Lord, the God of the Hebrews

            • The phrase, “the God of the Hebrews,” has not been used since Moses’ first encounter with Pharaoh

            • During the plague of flies, the Lord made a distinction between His people and Pharaoh’s people

            • The Lord is now expressing that there are two groups in Egypt and He is identifying with the Hebrews [Mackay, Exodus: A Mentor Commentary, 169]

            • They are His people

          • Let my people go

            • This has been the recurring command from the Lord

            • The reason the Lord is command their release is so they can worship Him

          • If you refuse

            • The Lord used this same phrase during the second plague of frogs and a similar phrase with the plague of flies

            • We will see this phrase again with the plague of locusts

            • The Lord adds a phrase in this message that is not found in any of the other confrontations, continue to hold them back

              • This phrase indicates that Pharaoh is restraining the Israelites from being where God wants them to be [Stuart, The New American Commentary, Volume 2, Exodus, 221]

              • God is ready for the Israelites to return to the Promised Land, but Pharaoh is holding them back from accomplishing this

              • God will not allow anyone or anything to get in the way of His plan or purpose

              • In God’s sovereignty, He has five more plagues for Pharaoh and his people to experience before he will release the Israelites

            • The hand of the Lord will bring a terrible plague

              • The magicians recognized the plague of gnats as the finger of God

              • But, with the fifth plague they would experience God’s whole hand

              • The fifth plague affected the Egyptians livestock out in the field

                • Any horses, donkeys, camels, cattle, sheep, and goats that were in the field would die from the plague

                  • “Domesticated animals were treasured as enormously valuable assets in Bible times.” ​​ [Stuart, 222]

                  • Bulls, cows, and rams were also part of ​​ Egyptian cult worship

                  • The Lord was once again targeting the Egyptian gods

                  • Some animals were considered sacred

                  • Apis, the bull-god of Memphis

                  • The ram of Amun

                  • “. . . Hathor, the mother and sky goddess was depicted as a cow.” [Enns, The NIV Application Commentary, Exodus, 216]

                  • Mnevis, sacred bull worshiped at Heliopolis

                • “All of God’s creation, human and nonhuman, are liable to be caught up in the disastrous consequences of one malevolent human being. ​​ The ripple effect of one’s stubbornness and stupidity can be massive.” ​​ [Hamilton, Exodus: An Exegetical Commentary, 143]

                • PRINCIPLE #1 – Refusing to obey God’s commands is costly.

                  • Have you experienced that in your own life?

                  • Has your stubbornness and stupidity caused disastrous consequences for you and your family, friends, and coworkers?

                  • Have you been on the receiving end of a family member, friend, or coworker who has been stubborn and stupid?

                  • Your stubbornness and stupidity may not have cost others their livestock, but it may have cost them their health as they have worried about you, their savings as they have tried to help you, their sleep as they have stayed awake praying for you, maybe even their own job or other relationships

                  • #1 – My Next Step Today Is To: ​​ Repent of my stubbornness and stupidity and seek forgiveness from those I have hurt.

                • In the field

                  • This seems to be significant that it would only be the livestock in the field

                  • We will see animals being affected by the boils (6th plague), livestock being killed with hail (7th plague), and the death of the firstborn livestock (10th plague)

                  • “The information that it is only the livestock that is out in the open that is going to be affected afforded those Egyptians who took the warning seriously the opportunity to bring even more animals under cover than would ordinarily be kept there (see 9:19). ​​ This may go some way towards explaining the presence of animals affected by subsequent plagues (9:9, 19; 11:5; 12:29) [Mackay, Exodus: A Mentor Commentary, 170]

            • The plague would affect the Egyptian livestock in the field, but would not affect the Israelites livestock at all

          • Distinction foretold

            • Just as the Lord had done with the flies, he made a distinction between His people and Pharaoh’s people

            • This distinction did two things:

              • It exposed the impotence (powerlessness) of the Egyptian deities that were represented by these animals [Mackay, 171]

              • It was a nationwide humiliation of the Egyptian people [Stuart, 222]

            • PRINCIPLE #2 – God is able to be precise in His punishment.

              • He is able to protect certain people and things while allowing devastation and destruction to destroy others

                • We see God’s omnipotence and sovereignty through this

                • Hawaii

                  • In August of 2023 there were a series of wildfires that swept across the island of Maui in Hawaii

                  • They were devastating and destructive

                  • In the midst of that destruction there was an historic church that was untouched

                  • The Maria Lanakila Catholic church was spared

                • West Virginia

                  • On March 5, 2019 it was reported that at fire broke out at the Freedom Ministries Church in Daniels, WV

                  • There was extensive damage to the building, but the fire department wrote, “Not a single Bible was burned and not a single cross was harmed!”

                • We may not always understand why these kinds of things happen, but we can trust in the power and sovereignty of God

                  • “It’s hard enough to go through difficulty, but doubly hard when it seems like others aren’t.” ​​ [Courson, Jon Courson’s Application Commentary, Old Testament, Volume 1: Genesis—Job, 258]

                  • How many of us can relate to that statement

                  • Maybe you are going through a difficult situation right now and you are frustrated because family, friends, neighbors, and coworkers seem to be doing just fine

                  • They appear to be thriving and flourishing while you are floundering

                  • God is sovereign and in control of your situation

                  • Perhaps there is something specific He is trying to teach you that He is not trying to teach your family, friends, neighbors, or coworkers

                  • He is allowing you to experience difficulty, so that you will recognize that He is the Lord

                  • He is able to be precise in His discipline, so we will pay attention to what He is trying to accomplish in our lives

                  • He wants us to be transformed into the likeness of His Son, Jesus

                • God loves us and wants what is best for us and sometimes that requires us to experience precise punishment

              • #2 – My Next Step Today Is To: ​​ Embrace God’s precise discipline, so He can accomplish His plan in my life.

              • Perhaps you are not experiencing the Lord’s precise discipline in your life right now – Praise the Lord!

              • #3 – My Next Step Today Is To: ​​ Pray for ______ (name) as they are experiencing _______.

            • Refusing to obey God’s commands is costly.

          • God’s message to Pharaoh was clear – He wanted His people released and if Pharaoh refused the Egyptians livestock in the fields would die, but the Israelites livestock would be spared

        • After sharing the Lord’s message with Pharaoh, Moses then shared the Lord’s timing

    • Consummation (vv. 5-7)

        • Timeframe

          • The Lord gave the Egyptians a day to prepare

          • If they were smart, they would remove their livestock from the fields

          • “A definite time was also fixed for the coming of the plague, as in the case of the previous one (8:23), in order that, whereas murrains [an infectious disease affecting cattle or other animals] occasionally occur in Egypt, Pharaoh might discern in this one the judgment of Jehovah.” ​​ [Keil & Delitzsch, Commentary on the Old Testament, Volume 1, The Pentateuch, 316]

          • It would not be a natural occurrence that would affect all livestock – Egyptian and Israelite alike

          • This would be a supernatural disease on the Egyptian livestock that would not cross over to the Israelite livestock

        • God was on time

          • God kept His promise to bring the plague the next day

          • PRINCIPLE #3 – God keeps His promises.

            • God did not make an idle promise and He was not bluffing

            • He kept His promise to the Israelites on multiple occasions

              • He rescued them from slavery

              • He brought them into the Promised Land

              • He sent them into captivity when they disobeyed His commandments, decrees, and statutes

              • He restored them from captivity when they returned to Him

              • He always had a king from the line of David on the throne – including Jesus

              • He sent Jesus to take our punishment for sin

              • The list could go on and on

            • We can trust Him to keep His promises even today

              • When we follow His commandments, decrees, and statues, He will provide for and bless us

              • When we choose to rebel against Him, He will discipline us

              • When we confess our sins, He will forgive us and cleanse us because He is faithful and just (1 John 1:9)

              • He will save us, provide eternal/everlasting life, and allow us to become His children when we repent of our sins (Rom. 10:9, 10; John 3:16; John 1:12)

            • #4 – My Next Step Today Is To: ​​ Rejoice in the fact that God always keeps His promises.

          • Distinction delivered

            • All of the Egyptian livestock died, but not one Israelite animal died

              • Most scholars agree that the word “all” here is hyperbole for “most” of the livestock

              • This would make sense when we look at verse 3 and realize that only the livestock in the fields died

              • It was a significant number of livestock that the livestock that remained was insignificant

              • Stuart considers another secondary meaning of the Hebrew word for all, “It is due simply to the fact that the Hebrew word kol, usually means ‘all,’ can mean ‘all sorts of’ or ‘from all over’ or ‘all over the place.’ ​​ In this verse the better translation of the full expression would be ‘all sorts of Egyptian livestock died’ or Egyptian livestock died all over the place.’” [Stuart, 223-24]

            • PRINCIPLE #2 – God is able to be precise in His punishment.

          • I am sure the Egyptian people realized that refusing to obey God’s commands was costly

            • They lost a valuable asset that helped with cultivating the land, so plants could grow

            • They also lost a valuable resource that provided meat and milk

        • Checking up on God

          • Pharaoh had not forgotten God’s words about making a distinction between His people and Pharaoh’s people

          • He sent some men to investigate the livestock of the Israelites

          • “If a similar situation was found in Goshen, the Israelite enclave, it would prove that the plague had been natural . . .” [Stuart, 224]

          • Pharaoh did not want it to be true, but it was – not one of the Israelite animals had died

          • PRINCIPLE #3 – God keeps His promises.

        • Even though Pharaoh verified that God had kept His promise to protect the Israelite livestock, his heart did not change

    • Coldhearted

        • Pharaoh’s heart was unyielding

        • He still refused to let the Israelites go

        • Proverbs 28:14, Blessed is the man who always fears the Lord, but he who hardens his heart falls into trouble.

        • Ephesians 4:18, They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them die to the hardening of their hearts.

 

  • YOU

    • Keep being obedient to what God is asking you to do no matter how long it takes.

    • Embrace God’s precise discipline, so He can accomplish His plan in your life.

    • Whom do you need to pray for that is experiencing God’s precise discipline?

    • Rejoice in the fact that God always keeps His promises.

 

  • WE

    • We need be continue to be obedient to what God has asked us to do no matter how long it takes.

    • We need to embrace God’s precise discipline of us, so He can accomplish His plan in our church.

    • We need to pray for those who are experiencing God’s precise discipline.

    • We need to rejoice in the fact that God always keeps His promises.

 

CONCLUSION

“Out of parental concern and a desire to teach our young son responsibility, we require him to phone home when he arrives at his friend's house a few blocks away. He began to forget, however as he grew more confident in his ability to get there without disaster befalling him. The first time he forgot, I called to be sure he had arrived. We told him the next time it happened, he would have to come home.

 

A few days later, however, the telephone again lay silent, and I knew if he was going to learn he would have to be punished. But I did not want to punish him! I went to the telephone, regretting that his great time would have to be spoiled by his lack of contact with his father. As I dialed, I prayed for wisdom. ‘Treat him like I treat you,’ the Lord seemed to say. With that, as the telephone rang one time, I hung up. A few seconds later the phone rang, and it was my son.

 

‘I'm here, Dad!’

 

‘What took you so long to call?’ I asked.

 

‘We started playing and I forgot. But Dad, I heard the phone ring once and I remembered.’

 

‘I'm glad you remembered,’ I said. ‘Have fun.’

 

How often do we think of God as One who waits to punish us when we step out of line? I wonder how often he rings just once, hoping we will phone home.”

 

Source: Dennis Miller, Antioch, Illinois. Leadership, Vol. 6, no. 2.

 

[https://www.preachingtoday.com/illustrations/1997/june/715.html]

 

God has been letting the phone ring once with Pharaoh and hanging up. ​​ He wants Pharaoh to know that He is the Lord. ​​ He is being gracious, merciful, and patient with Pharaoh. ​​ He wants Pharaoh to call Him back.

 

Has God let the phone ring once with you and hung up? ​​ Do you need to call Him, so you will not have to experience the costly consequences of refusing to obey Him?

12

 

/by

Let’s Make A Deal

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Let’s Make a Deal

Let’s Make a Deal debuted on television in December 1963. The premise of the show involved guests wearing crazy costumes, winning merchandise and being offered the opportunity to take the items they had already won and trade them for items they could not see. The items were hidden behind doors or in boxes and the contestant had to make a choice. If they chose to trade the prizes they had already won, they might get something better, or they might get a “Zonk.” ​​ That is, they might leave with something worthless. The show succeeded because there was always someone willing to make a deal. There was always someone ready to compromise by trading what they already had for what they thought would be something better.

This morning we continue our study of Exodus in 8:20-32. God’s chosen people, the children of Israel, are in slavery in Egypt. God has sent Moses to Pharaoh to demand he let His people go. When Pharaoh refuses God sends plagues on Pharaoh, the Egyptians and the land. Through the first three plagues, water to blood, frogs and gnats, Pharaoh has hardened his heart toward the Lord and has refused to let the people go. In the second plague, Pharaoh outright lied saying he would let the people go if Moses would pray to God to take the frogs away. In the fourth plague, this morning, we are going to see a “Let’s make a deal” scenario play out, as Pharaoh offers to let God’s people go, but only on his terms. ​​ He will attach a condition or compromise to their leaving. He will in effect say to Moses, “I know God said to let His people go, and I will, but first, let’s make a deal.” He wanted Moses and Israel to compromise that which God had promised them, which was total freedom from slavery, for something much less.

The same goes for us today. Pharaoh stands for Satan, Egypt stands for the world and the children of Israel stands for the church, all those who are saved by grace. When we are saved by the blood of Jesus Christ and commit to lives to the Lord, we are called to leave the world and our old master, Satan, behind. The world and Satan are forever trying to call us back to our old selves and convince us to make a deal with him and to compromise our faith. But, with the Devil, there are no upgrades, only “Zonks.” Satan wants us to compromise by trading what we already have from the Lord, for something much less.

God wants us to lead a life of obedience that is Spirit-filled and blessed by Him. The Devil wants us to trade the blessings of God for the rubbish of this world and he will offer us every compromise at his disposal to attempt to lead us astray. Sadly, many people, Christians included, will fall for his tricks. But don’t be discouraged this morning. John 16:33 says, “I have told these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” By the cross, Jesus has conquered Satan and the grave. With the Holy Spirit living within us and helping us to obey all that Jesus commanded, we have the same power to overcome Satan and the world. We do not have to trade the blessings of God for something less. We don’t have to compromise with Satan or the world. That brings us to our big idea this morning that God calls his people to obedience, not compromise. And with the Holy Spirit within us it can be done.

Let’s pray: Heavenly Father, open our eyes, ears, hearts and minds to your Word this morning. Don’t let us leave this place unaffected or unchanged. Help us to be obedient to your commands and not compromise the great things we have with you for the trash of this world that Satan wants to give us. Thank you for your Holy Spirit within us. We worship you. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

There are three points this morning. The first is Complete found in Exodus 8:20-24. Please follow along as I read those verses. This is what God’s Word says, “Then the Lord said to Moses, “Get up early in the morning and confront Pharaoh as he goes to the river and say to him, ‘This is what the Lord says: Let my people go, so that they may worship me. If you do not let my people go, I will send swarms of flies on you and your officials, on your people and into your houses. The houses of the Egyptians will be full of flies; even the ground will be covered with them. “‘But on that day, I will deal differently with the land of Goshen, where my people live; no swarms of flies will be there, so that you will know that I, the Lord, am in this land. I will make a distinction between my people and your people. This sign will occur tomorrow.’” And the Lord did this. Dense swarms of flies poured into Pharaoh’s palace and into the houses of his officials; throughout Egypt the land was ruined by the flies.”

This is the beginning of the fourth plague, the second cycle of plagues that God has sent against Pharaoh and Egypt. The first cycle consisted of water turning to blood, frogs and gnats. The fourth plague is similar to the first plague, the fifth plague will be similar to the second and the sixth plague will be similar to the third. The first similarity is that Moses was to “present” himself to Pharaoh as he went to the water or the Nile River. Pharaoh and the Egyptians worshipped the gods of the Nile so it was probably his ritual to go to the river each morning to worship. The second similarity is that Moses was to tell Pharaoh to let God’s people go so they could worship him. The third similarity is that Moses was to announce the fourth plague. The fourth plague would consist of swarms of flies being sent on Pharaoh and his officials, on the people and in their houses. It would be a complete infestation where Pharaoh, his officials and the Egyptian people lived; even the ground would be infested. There would be so many flies that Stuart says, “you won’t even be able to put a foot down without stepping on lots of them.” There would be no escape from them.

In verse 21 we see a play on words: If Pharaoh will not “send” God’s people out of Egypt, God will “send” the swarms of flies against Egypt. The language of “send against” was a sign of divine response and punishment to his people’s slavery in Egypt. The choice was Pharaoh’s as to whether the plagues stopped or not. Would he be obedient to Almighty God or not? (Big Idea) These swarms of flies were not your ordinary housefly. They were made up of many different kinds of insects including dog flies, sandflies, horseflies, March flies, fleas, mosquitoes, midges, and even gnats again. The Septuagint identifies them as biting insects. This plague would be a complete infestation of biting insects sent against Pharaoh, his officials and the Egyptian people. There would be nowhere where these insects could not to get to them and bite them.

We also see some differences with the first plague. First, Moses didn’t have to identify the Lord to Pharaoh. In Exodus 7:16, Moses identified the Lord as the God of the Hebrews. After three plagues, Pharaoh knew it was Yahweh who was sending these plagues. Second, Moses didn’t need to identify where the Israelite people would go. Pharaoh didn’t need to be reminded that God had commanded them to go three-days into the desert. Moses may have left that part out fueling Pharaoh’s compromising response later on in the narrative. Third, the magicians will not be present, and Pharaoh will not call them. He knew after the plague of gnats that his gods were defeated and that there was no reason to summon the magicians. Also, Aaron is absent signifying that this is now between Moses and Pharaoh. Fourth, no staff would be needed to perform this miraculous sign. This would be a direct display of God’s power. All the Lord would have to do is speak and the plague would happen. That brings us to our first principle that God is All-powerful. We have seen this time and time again throughout our narrative.

Fifth, the first and second plagues were an attack on the water as all water above the ground was turned to blood and frogs came out of the Nile. The third plague was an attack on the earth as the dust of the ground became gnats. But the fourth plague will be different. It will be an attack on the air as swarms of flies overtake Pharaoh and the Egyptians. Like the frogs, the fly was revered because they seemed to bring life out of death. Ross says, “As the maggots came crawling out of rotting flesh, only to fly away, they manifested a power over death that was very appealing to a people obsessed with surviving after death.” This plague seems to be connected to the ichneumon fly which the Egyptians considered a manifestation of the god Uatchit. There also seems to be a connection with “Beelzebub” which means “Lord of the flies.” Beelzebub was actually a tool of Satan and one of the representations of Satan’s power in Egypt. Luke 11:15 says, “But some of them said, “By Beelzebub, the prince of demons, he (Jesus) is driving out demons.” Dunnam says, “They depended on Beelzebub to guard them against ravenous flies, but this plague convinced them he was impotent causing them to look elsewhere for relief.” The Lord has complete sovereignty and power over the gods of Egypt. He is also in control of all nature. That brings us to our second principle that God is in control of all nature. He is in control of the water, the earth, and the air. He created all nature, and he sustains all nature, and we can worship him for that this morning.

Lastly, probably the greatest difference between the fourth plague and the others is that we are told explicitly that the plague of flies would not happen in Goshen, where his people resided. The question we may ask is: has Goshen been exempt from the plagues so far? Stuart says, “At this point Moses chose to make the distinction explicit. It will appear as a feature in some of the subsequent plague accounts as well (nos. 5, 7, 9 and 10), but not in all of them—indicating that the cases where the distinction is overtly described are intended to suggest to the reader the general pattern that prevailed in all ten plagues. It is possible that Goshen has been exempt and we are now only being told. Pharaoh may or may not have been aware, but he is also now being told and he will not be able to ignore the fact that it is the Lord God of the Hebrews that is bringing these plagues.

The Lord was going to deal differently with the land where his chosen people lived. The Lord was going to make a distinction between the Israelites – his people and the Egyptians – Pharaoh’s people. The complete infestation of flies that the Lord promised to send against Egypt would be non-existent in the land of Goshen where his people were living. The reason given for this was so that Pharaoh would know that the Lord of the Hebrews is in the land. Pharaoh thought he was the king of Egypt, and he was in control of his land, and wielded the power there. But the Lord was going to let him know that was not the case. Yahweh is the Lord of all the world even the land of Egypt and all power is his.

The fact that it would only happen in Egypt and not in Goshen would be a miraculous sign from the Lord. It would also be miraculous because it would have a starting time, which would be the next day. This would prove that the plague of flies was not be a natural phenomenon or something that happened by chance. This sign was supposed to change the heart of Pharaoh into softening his heart and letting God’s chosen people go. But it was also a sign to the Israelites that they were still God’s chosen people. Magonet says, “This degree of discrimination moves the events beyond a natural cataclysm into a precise divine intervention.” Here God is granting his people a serene immunity because they are, after all, his people. The language of “knowing” and “sign” should have been a “sign” to Pharaoh of future disaster. This same distinction will be made again in Exodus 11:7 with the death of the firstborn sons. Even the word “ruin” used in verse 24 points to something more disastrous than a fly infestation.

Pharaoh did not comply with the Lord’s command, and he sent dense swarms of flies into Pharaoh’s palace, into the houses of his officials and throughout Egypt. The land was “ruined” or “corrupted” by the flies. This corruption would have kept the Egyptians from worshipping their gods because of being unclean, as they were with the plague of gnats. The imperfect form of the verb “ruin” is used to signify that the ruining continued for a period of time. Ryken says, “These were blood-sucking bugs that tormented both man and beast.” Literally, the swarms are described as “heavy”, meaning they were so numerous they became a burden to the Egyptians. Psalm 78:45 confirms this, saying, “He sent swarms of flies that devoured them.” These biting flies terrorized the people and devastated the countryside. The flies fed on the people and devoured them. We again see the principle that God is All-Powerful as he is able to use the even the smallest of his creations with such destructive force.

Now that the land was completely infested with flies, we could expect Pharaoh to comply with the Lord’s demands to let his people go which brings us to our second point this morning, called Compromise, found in verses 25-29. Please follow along as I read. This is what God’s Word says, “Then Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron and said, “Go, sacrifice to your God here in the land.” But Moses said, “That would not be right. The sacrifices we offer the Lord our God would be detestable to the Egyptians. And if we offer sacrifices that are detestable in their eyes, will they not stone us? We must take a three-day journey into the wilderness to offer sacrifices to the Lord our God, as he commands us.” Pharaoh said, “I will let you go to offer sacrifices to the Lord your God in the wilderness, but you must not go very far. Now pray for me.” Moses answered, “As soon as I leave you, I will pray to the Lord, and tomorrow the flies will leave Pharaoh and his officials and his people. Only let Pharaoh be sure that he does not act deceitfully again by not letting the people go to offer sacrifices to the Lord.”

We don’t know how long it took Pharaoh to summon Moses and Aaron, but once it happened they must have thought that Pharaoh was ready to let the Israelites go to worship the Lord. Pharaoh wanted relief and had seemingly started to crack under the burden of the flies. He was now willing to let the Israelites go but he was not willing to let them go to the desert. Instead, he was only willing to allow the Israelites “a holiday” in order to sacrifice to their God in the land of Egypt. This may have been seen as a capitulation on Pharaoh’s part, but it really wasn’t. They would continue to be under his jurisdiction, and he wouldn’t have to recognize their God’s superiority. Interestingly, Pharaoh now admits the existence and power of the Lord that He had claimed earlier to not “know.” But even now he only recognizes him as God of the Hebrews and not as God of all creation.

Pharaoh was offering to make a deal with Moses and Aaron to compromise that which God had promised them, which was total freedom from slavery, for something much less. Nothing but the complete release of God’s chosen people out of the land of Egypt and out of slavery was going to do. These were God’s people not Pharaoh’s. They were created to worship the one true God of the universe, the Lord God Almighty, not Pharaoh. This brings us to our third principle that God is pleased when we fulfill our created purpose to worship him and him alone. ​​ We see this in Psalm 148:5, “Let them praise the name of the Lord, for at his command they were created.” And in Psalm 86:9, “All the nations you have made will come and worship before you, Lord, they will bring glory to your name.” And in Exodus 20:3, “You shall have no other gods before me.” We were created to worship the Lord and that is why God brought the plagues upon Egypt. It was so His people could be free to worship him and him alone. That brings us to our first next step on the back of your communication card which is to Fulfill my created purpose to worship the Lord and have no other gods before Him.

Next, we see Moses’ response to Pharaoh’s compromise. This was not going to fly with God nor with Moses. Moses knows that staying in Egypt would violate God’s command and he refuses to compromise saying that sacrificing to the Lord in the land of Egypt would not be right. The sacrifices the Israelites would make would be detestable to the Egyptians and would cause them to stone them. Cole says, “Moses refuses on the grounds that to sacrifice in Egypt would be like killing a pig in a Muslim mosque or slaughtering a cow in a Hindu temple. In the sense that the Egyptians would consider the sacrifice of a sacred animal as blasphemous.” The Egyptians would stone the Israelites on principle. Then Moses reiterates that they must take a three-day journey into the desert to offer sacrifices to the Lord, as he has commanded them. Pharaoh knew this three-day journey meant that he would never see the Israelites again. He would lose his free slave labor force and that was something he wasn’t prepared to do. We see the truth that Pharaoh knew that the Israelites wouldn’t be able to get away with making sacrifices in the midst of the Egyptians because he didn’t argue with Moses about it. He immediately tried again to get Moses to compromise. He said that he would let the people go as long as they didn’t go too far. He seemed to be allowing them to leave but really, he was keeping them on a short leash. They could only go as far as he could send his army after them to easily bring them back. This was as far as Pharaoh was going to go even with the plague of flies ruining the people and the land.

This goes to show that it wasn’t about the Israelites worshipping their God. It was about the Israelites freedom and whose they really were. ​​ “I will let you go” shows that Pharaoh believed he still owned and controlled God’s chosen people. Spurgeon says, “They were not Pharaoh’s people; Pharaoh never chose them, he had never brought them where they were. He had not fought with them and overcome them. They were not captives in war, nor did they dwell in a territory which was the spoil of fair conflict.” As Christ-followers, we are called to be in the world but not of it. We can’t compromise by worshiping “in the land” or worshiping the way the world wants us to. The world would say “worship on Sundays but the rest of the week do whatever you want.” The world would say “go ahead and worship but don’t be extreme, God will be okay with a little bit of worship or half-hearted worship.” No, we are to be obedient to the Lord and leave sin behind completely. Satan wants Christians to mix the world and church to the point where there is no distinction between God’s people and his people. Instead of being hated by the world like Jesus was Christians are joining the world and blurring the lines. We want to offer sacrifices to God but remain within the friendly confines of Egypt. But our scripture teaches us that we must not settle for the deals that Satan wants to make with us and compromise with the world

Jesus said we would worship the Lord “in spirit and in truth” and that means two things. One, it means leaving Egypt for the wilderness and ultimately the promised land. Two, it means total obedience to the Lord. ​​ We can’t compromise our faith; we must obey Jesus completely without compromise. (Big Idea) Spurgeon explained it like this: God’s demand is not that his people should have some little liberty, some little rest in their sin, no, but that they should go right out of Egypt.… Christ did not come into the world merely to make our sin more tolerable, but to deliver us right away from it. He did not come to make hell less hot, or sin less damnable, or our lusts less mighty; but to put all these things far away from his people and work out a full and complete deliverance.… Christ does not come to make people less sinful, but to make them leave off sin altogether—not to make them less miserable, but to put their miseries right away, and give them joy and peace in believing in him. The deliverance must be complete, or else there shall be no deliverance at all.” When it comes to obeying the Lord there can be no deals and no compromise. That brings us to our second next step which is to Obey the Lord completely, leaving Egypt (the world) and compromise behind.

Pharaoh then asked Moses to pray for him. “Now pray for me” shows Pharaoh knew exactly who the plagues came from, and how they could be stopped which was by humbly appealing to the Lord. Moses tells Pharaoh that as soon as he leaves him, he will pray to the Lord and tomorrow the flies will be completely gone. This would be proof to Pharaoh, the Egyptians and also to the Israelites that this plague was another miraculous sign from the Lord. The fact that the flies would leave at the precise moment that Moses said they would, would be all the proof Pharaoh needed to “know the Lord” and to let God’s people go. Pharaoh had already hardened his heart three times, so Moses warns Pharaoh to not act deceitfully again by not letting the people go to make sacrifices to the Lord.

After the plague of the flies brought ruin to the land and Pharaoh tried to get Moses to compromise by not going too far from Egypt to make sacrifices, we now come to our third point this morning, which is Choice, found in verses 30-32. Please follow along as I read. This is what God’s Word says, “Then Moses left Pharaoh and prayed to the Lord, and the Lord did what Moses asked. The flies left Pharaoh and his officials and his people; not a fly remained. But this time also Pharaoh hardened his heart and would not let the people go.”

Moses leaves Pharaoh and prays to the Lord just as he promised, and the Lord did just as Moses asked. The flies completely left Pharaoh, his officials and his people, not one fly remained. Now Pharaoh had a choice to make. He could choose to let God’s people go, or he could choose to harden his heart again. This brings us to our fourth principle this morning that God is pleased when we choose him as our Lord. God wants us to be obedient to him. He is long-suffering, not wanting anyone to perish and this was true of Pharaoh as well. God longed for Pharaoh to choose repentance and begin to serve and worship Him. God wanted to show his mercy toward Pharaoh instead of forcing him into submission, but Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, and he resolved to stand against God and his chosen people. Making choices is the privilege and price of being human. Every choice we make forms our character and the more choices we make forms a habit within us. As responsible human beings we need to make proper moral choices. When we become Christ-followers, God calls us to choose obedience to him, and every time we do it forms our Christian character. But if we choose to not obey the Lord and harden our hearts toward him then we form a different kind of character. No one knows when the “point of no return” will be, which was where Pharaoh found himself. Pharaoh had hardened his heart to the Lord and his people for so long and so many times that he was beyond that point of no return, and he would reap the punishment of his choices not only for himself but for the Egyptian people as well. Maybe that is where you are at this morning. Maybe you have been hardening your heart toward the Lord for a while now. He has been pursuing you and you have continued to put him off. If you are able to recognize this then you are not too far gone like Pharaoh was. We all have a choice to make when confronted by the Lord and you can still choose to soften your heart and bow before Almighty God this morning and accept him as your Savior and make him Lord of your life. That brings us to our last next step which is to Soften my heart, bow before Almighty God, accept him as my Savior, and live in obedience to Him and His commands.

I want to end with two short illustrations: In the early 1900’s through the 1960’s Broadway Presbyterian Church was a powerful witness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ in Upper Manhattan, but from the 1960’s to the 1990’s a subtle change began to take place. A change in emphasis stole in as massive feeding programs for the homeless were undertaken. Church membership slipped from over 1000 to 120. In the soup kitchens, prayers were not even offered over meals out of concern that the clients might resent it. And it was discovered that the same people were coming through the lines year after year. There was no change taking place in their lives. What happened? The decisive point of the battle, the Gospel of Jesus Christ, had been surrendered. Free food doesn’t transform lives, The resurrected Christ transforms lives. (World Magazine, 26 January 2002).

The second comes from A. T. Pierson: Suppose you had a thousand-acre farm, and someone offered to buy it. You agree to sell the land except for one acre right in the center which you want to keep for yourself. Did you know that in some areas the law would allow you to have access to that one lone spot? And that you would have the right to build a road across the surrounding property in order to get to it? So it is with us as Christians if we make less than 100-percent surrender to God. We can be sure that the devil will take advantage of any inroad to reach that uncommitted area of our lives. (Encyclopedia of Illustrations #1775).

We have all heard Satan say at one time or the other, “Let’s make a deal.” He has tempted us to trade something precious for something worthless. He has tempted us to trade our testimony for empty promises and wasted years. The great thing about our God is his mercy, grace and forgiveness. When we fall, Jesus will forgive us and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. He will restore us to life in Him. So I want to encourage all of us this morning that with the help of the Holy Spirit within we do not have to fall for Satan’s deals and compromises. And if we do our heavenly Father will let us trade in that which the Devil has given us for something more precious than gold.

As the ushers come to collect the tithes and offerings and the praise team comes to lead us in a final song, let’s pray: Heavenly Father, I thank you for your Word. It is true and tells us of your mighty deeds for your people. We can trust in it for our lives. I praise you because you are all-powerful and that you are in control of all nature. I also praise you for creating us to worship you alone and that we can choose you as our Lord. Help us to fulfill our created purpose by worshiping you and having no other gods before you. Help us to obey you completely, leaving Egypt and compromise behind. And Lord, I pray that we all would soften our hearts towards you, bow before you, accept you as our Savior and live in obedience to you and your commands. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

 

 

 

 

/by

Prince Of Peace

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4th Sunday of Advent

Prince of Peace

(Mark 4:35-41; Isaiah 9:6; John 14:27)

 

INTRODUCTION

“In the autumn of 1873, Horatio Spafford, a wealthy Chicago businessman, placed his wife, Anna, and their four children on the Ville du Havre sailing from New York to France. He was forced to stay in the United States for several more weeks to settle some business matters before he could journey to join the family in Europe.

 

The evening of November 21 found the Ville du Havre prow-east toward France on a calm Atlantic. The journey was progressing beautifully. A few hours later, about two o'clock in the morning on November 22, the Ville du Havre was carrying its sleeping passengers over a quiet sea when two terrific claps like thunder were followed by frightening screams. The engine stopped, the ship stood still. Passageways were filled with terrified, half-dressed people shouting questions that no one could answer. The Ville du Havre had been rammed by the English vessel, the Lochearn.

 

Mrs. Spafford saw three of her children swept away by the sea while she stood clutching the youngest child. Suddenly, she felt her baby torn violently from her arms. She reached out through the water and caught little Tanetta's gown. For a minute she held her again. Then the cloth wrenched from her hand. She reached out again and touched a man's leg in corduroy trousers. She became unconscious. She awoke later, finding that she had been rescued by sailors from the Lochearn. But her four children were gone.

 

In the meantime, Horatio Spafford was back in the United States, desperate to receive news of his family. Finally, the blow fell. A cable arrived from Wales stating that the four daughters were lost at sea, but his wife was still alive. He was crushed with what had happened. All night he walked the floor in anguish. Toward the morning he turned to his friend, Major Whittle, and said, ‘I am glad to trust the Lord when it will cost me something.’

 

On the way across the Atlantic to join his wife, the captain announced that they were now passing the place where the Ville du Havre was wrecked. For Horatio Spafford, this was passing through the valley of the shadow of death. He sat down in his cabin on the high seas, near the place where his children perished, and wrote the hymn that would give comfort to so many, titled "It Is Well with My Soul."

 

Source: John Huffman, "The Fruit of the Spirit Is Peace," PreachingToday.com

[https://www.preachingtoday.com/illustrations/2005/october/16165.html]

 

Verse 1

When peace, like a river, attendeth my way. ​​ When sorrows like sea billows roll. ​​ Whatever my lot, Thou has taught me to say. ​​ It is well, it is well with my soul.

Verse 2

Though Satan should buffet, tho’ trials should come. ​​ Let this blest assurance control. ​​ That Christ has regarded my helpless estate, and hath shed His own blood for my soul.

 

Peace is a lot like joy, it can be experienced even when there is turmoil and chaos, hardship, trouble, violence, and fear. ​​ As the hymn so beautifully captures, this journey of peace is not immune from those things. ​​ In fact, they are central to the story. ​​ We learn that peace is not the absence of trouble but rather the presence of God.

 

BODY

  • ME

    • Minimally high blood sugar and blood pressure

        • It wasn’t long after moving from Ohio to Missouri that I went to the doctor for a regular physical

        • The bloodwork caused the doctor to order a glucose tolerance test

        • Those are always fun, aren’t they, especially for someone who hates needles

        • The test revealed that I had minimally high blood sugar

        • I was also struggling with minimally high blood pressure numbers

        • The doctor asked me all the questions they normally ask to determine if there was anything I should stop doing

          • Do you smoke? ​​ (No)

          • Do you drink alcohol? (No)

          • Do you take drugs? (No)

        • The doctor then asked me a couple of other questions

          • Do you exercise regularly? (No)

          • Are you under any stress? (YES!)

            • We had just moved to Missouri not long before the appointment

            • We had bought our first home

            • I started a new job at the Headquarters of Child Evangelism Fellowship

            • Judy had had a miscarriage before we moved to Missouri and now she was expecting Levi

        • The doctor’s response was, “Well, there’s nothing I can tell you to stop doing, but I would encourage you to start exercising every day.”

    • Daily exercise

        • I started riding a stationary bike in our basement

        • I started out slow and eventually was riding between 20-30 minutes a day

        • I lost a little bit of weight, I didn’t need to lose much back then

        • The cardio-vascular workout was good for my heart

        • We started eating a low sugar diet also

    • Peace in the middle of trouble

        • Exercise was a part of what I started doing, but I also started praying specifically about my blood sugar and blood pressure

        • Prayer is what motivated me to continue to exercise and it helped to bring me peace

        • I knew that everything was going to be alright, because God was with me

 

  • WE

    • What pain are you facing this season?

    • What struggles are weighing you down?

    • What anxiety and stress are stirring up chaos in your spirit?

    • Those pressures and problems can be both external and internal

        • We often take the external pressures and problems and internalize them

          • When we internalize those pressures and problems we begin to experience health problems

          • It’s our body’s way of telling us that something isn’t right

          • Stomach ulcers are a sign that our body is producing too much acid

          • High blood pressure can be an indication that stress is present

          • Headaches and muscle aches can be an indicator that our bodies are tense

          • Insomnia can be a result of our brains trying to process the problems and pressures we are experiencing

    • Are you willing to open your heart to God’s peace even in the midst of your struggles?

 

Through this journey of peace, today, we can be assured that . . .

 

BIG IDEA – God’s presence provides peace.

 

Let’s pray

 

This journey of peace is certainly an appropriate journey for our world today. ​​ Just as the ancient Roman world must have felt during that first Christmas, our world seems full of violence, warfare, and uncertainty. ​​ In addition, the pressures of our daily lives barrage us at an unparalleled pace. ​​ Ours is a world in desperate need of peace! ​​ However, it is a world where the Prince of Peace has walked and He understands. ​​ He has come, and He is present. ​​ His peace is available to us today.

 

  • GOD

    • Peace in the Midst (Mark 4:35-41)

        • The first Christmas

          • We sing about that first Christmas night being a silent night where everything was calm and bright

          • I’m not sure that’s exactly what the characters in the Christmas story were experiencing

            • The city of Bethlehem was hustling and bustling with an influx of those who were from the line of David

            • The city was filled to beyond capacity with people from all over the region

            • These travelers were tired, dirty, and probably testy

            • Everyone was trying to find a place to stay and perhaps food to eat

            • Mary and Joseph were perhaps anxious, nervous, and stressed as Mary went through her first delivery

            • It was shortly after giving birth that the shepherds began to arrive

          • King Herod

            • Sometime during Jesus’ first two years of life, the Magi arrived in Jerusalem

            • They questioned King Herod about the whereabouts of the baby who had been born king of the Jews

            • Matthew tells us that King Herod was disturbed and all Jerusalem with him (Matthew 2:3)

            • The news of Jesus’ birth did not bring peace to King Herod and since the King was disturbed, so were his subjects

            • King Herod ordered that all the boys, two years of age and younger, living in Bethlehem and the surrounding vicinity, were to be killed (Matthew 2:16)

            • Imagine the chaos King Herod’s order created in Bethlehem and the surrounding villages

            • The parents of two year old boys and younger were not experiencing peace

          • Application

            • Can you relate to the chaos that those who were part of the first Christmas were experiencing?

              • Perhaps you’re going to be traveling or have already traveled to be here this morning and you understand the exhaustion, frustration, and testiness that the travelers in the 1st Century felt

              • Maybe you’re experiencing the interruptions of a quiet family time together as others come to see you

              • Some of you may be experiencing the birth of a child or the loss of a loved one during this Christmas season, so you understand the exhaustion and emotions involved in both of those scenarios

            • Our journey of peace is not one separated from the realities of life but a journey of peace in the midst of life with all its noise and chaos

            • SONG LYRICS – “The Rain Keeps Falling” by Andrew Peterson

              • I tried to be brave but I hid in the dark
                I sat in that cave and I prayed for a spark
                To light up all the pain that remained in my heart
                And the rain kept falling

                Down on the roof of the church where I cried
                I could hear all the laughter and love and I tried
                To get up and get out but a part of me died
                And the rain kept falling down

                Well I'm scared if I open myself to be known
                I'll be seen and despised and be left all alone
                So I'm stuck in this tomb and you won't move the stone
                And the rain keeps falling

                Somewhere the sun is a light in the sky
                But I'm dying in North Carolina and I
                Can't believe there's an end to this season of night
                And the rain keeps falling down
                Falling down
                Falling down

                There's a woman at home and she's praying for a light
                My children are there and they love me in spite
                Of the shadow I know that they see in my eyes
                And the rain keeps falling

                I'm so tired of this game, of these songs, of the road
                I'm already ashamed of the line I just wrote
                But it's true and it feels like I can't sing a note
                And the rain keeps falling down
                Falling down
                Falling down

                Peace, be still
                Peace, be still

                My daughter and I put the seeds in the dirt
                And every day now we've been watching the earth
                For a sign that this death will give way to a birth
                And the rain keeps falling

                Down on the soil where the sorrow is laid
                And the secret of life is igniting the grave
                And I'm dying to live but I'm learning to wait
                And the rain is falling

                Peace, be still
                Peace, be still

                I just want to be new again
                (Peace, be still)
                I just want to be closer to You again
                (Peace, be still)
                Lord, I can't find the song
                I'm so tired and I'm always so wrong

                Help me be brave tonight
                Jesus, please help me out of this cave tonight
                (Peace, be still)
                I've been calling and calling
                This rain just keeps falling
                (Peace, be still)
                I've been calling and calling
                But this rain just keeps falling and falling

                Is it You
                Is it You
                (Peace, be still)
                Is it true
                Is it You
                (Peace, peace)

              • The lyrics contain a long and honest confession of so many struggles

              • Notice that interjected into the lyrics are the words of Jesus, “Peace. ​​ Be still.”

              • We can have peace in the midst of life in a fallen world with God’s presence in our lives

              • The words that Jesus spoke are found in Mark 4:35-41

        • Jesus calming the storm

          • Read Mark 4:35-41

          • The disciples were in a situation where they felt helpless

          • They were afraid!

          • Jesus was sleeping peacefully in the stern of the boat – the storm did not bother Him

          • After the disciples woke Him up, He immediately rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet, Be still!” (most translations have “Peace, Be still!”

          • Jesus asked His disciples why they were so afraid

            • His second question concerned their faith in Him

            • The disciples should have known by this point that Jesus was all-powerful

            • His power, from God, extended to all of creation

            • God’s presence was with Jesus, so Jesus’ presence provides peace

          • Application

            • Jesus’ presence in our lives provides peace also

            • We don’t have to be fear when pain, struggles, anxiety, and stress stir up chaos in our spirit

            • We can have faith in Jesus who is all-powerful, all-knowing, and sovereign

            • Perhaps you need to express that faith today

            • #1 – My Next Step Today Is To: ​​ Trust by faith in the peace that Jesus’ presence can bring during the pain, struggles, anxiety, and stress of ________________.

              • I’ve found that Jesus’ peace can be found in reading God’s Word the Bible

              • It can also be found in praying – that’s us talking to God

              • God talking to us requires us to sit quietly and patiently before Him – we can experience peace in those moments as well

              • Some people have a specific place where they go to find peace from the chaos of their lives

        • Jesus brings peace right into the center of our hurt and frantic striving

        • He brings power to cease the noise, calm the storm, and overwhelm our hearts with His restorative sense of perfect peace

        • He is indeed the Prince of Peace

    • Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6)

        • Isaiah 9:6, For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. ​​ And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

          • Peace is not just a feeling or a state of being

          • Peace is a person

          • Jesus is the Prince of Peace

          • By sending His Son, God sent peace into the world

            • Paul tells the Ephesian Gentiles that before they came to faith in Christ, they were separate from Christ

              • Ephesians 2:12, remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world.

              • That is the condition of every person who is born – we are separated from God and Christ and we have no hope

              • Sin is what separates us from God and Christ

              • Sin is the rejection of God and His authority in our lives

              • We become our own boss/authority

              • God’s Word tells us that when we reject Him and become our own boss, that there is a consequence for that – for the wages of sin is death (Rom. 6:23)

            • When we reject God and His plans and way we are really at war with Him

              • Perhaps you’ve experienced that in the past or are experiencing that right now

              • You know that God is pursuing you, because He puts people in your life who talk to you about Him

              • Your reaction towards them is harsh and unkind, not because you don’t like them but because you’re at war with God – you’re not at peace with God

              • Phil Robertson of Duck Dynasty talks about his life in his book Happy, Happy, Happy

                • He thought he was happy, but he was busy “romping, stomping, and ripping with [his] drinking buddies”

                • He owned a honky-tonk bar at this point in his life

                • His sister decided that Phil needed to hear about Jesus, so she brought her pastor, Bill Smith, with her to the bar

                • This was Phil’s reaction, “‘You some kind of preacher?’ ​​ I immediately asked him. ​​ When Smith told me he was, I added, ‘You ever been drunk?’ ​​ ‘Yes, I used to drink a few beers,’ he told me. ​​ ‘Well, what’s the difference between you and me?’ ​​ I asked him. ​​ ‘You’ been drunk, and I’m getting drunk right now. ​​ There ain’t a dime’s worth of difference between you and me, Jack. ​​ You ain’t putting any Bible on me. ​​ That’s the way I was born.’” [Robertson, Happy, Happy, Happy, 79]

            • God made a way for us to be reconciled to Him – to have peace with Him

              • It is through the Prince of Peace – Jesus!

              • Ephesians 2:14-18, For he himself is our peace, who has made the two one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, by abolishing in his flesh the law with its commandments and regulations. ​​ His purpose was to create in himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace, and in this one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility. ​​ He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. ​​ For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit.

                • In this passage, Paul is talking to both Jews and Gentiles

                • He was explaining that through Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection, all people could now be reconciled to God – it wasn’t just for the Jews anymore

                • Jesus’ sacrifice brought peace between the Jews and the Gentiles

                • It also brought peace between God and humanity

                • Romans 5:1, Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.

                  • There is nothing we can do on our own to deal with our sin problem

                  • There is nothing we can do on our own to deal with our rejection of God

                  • God in His infinite wisdom, justice, and love provided a way for us to be reconciled to Him – to have peace with Him

                  • It is through faith in what Jesus Christ did for us on the cross

                  • Justified can be defined as “just as if I have never sinned”

                  • That is how God sees us when we admit we are sinners, repent of our sins, and trust in Jesus by faith

              • Perhaps you’re ready to be reconciled to God today – to be at peace with God

                • You’re ready to end the war with God

                • You’re ready to accept God’s authority in your life instead of rejecting it

                • #2 – My Next Step Today Is To: ​​ Recognize Jesus as the Prince of Peace, admit I am a sinner, repent of my sins, and have peace with God through faith in Jesus Christ.

        • Peace with God does not guarantee freedom from pain, struggles, anxiety, and stress

          • We are human and still fallible

          • We still make mistakes and fail to trust God in every area of our lives

          • Mary’s example

            • In the midst of all that was happening that first Christmas, we are told that Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart (Luke 2:19)

            • On the surface, Mary’s life did not become more peaceful

            • If anything, things got crazier with the announcement of her miraculous pregnancy and the birth of a new baby

            • But Mary was learning to trust the One who was in control

          • When we can surrender control – stop worrying, stop planning, stop striving – to the Prince of Peace, we can find rest in Him

            • The inner and outer chaos, anxiety, noise, and busyness of life may not change, but we can experience peace because we trust the One in control

            • Where do you need to surrender and enter the journey of peace this season?

            • I want to encourage you to pause and embrace the words of the Psalmist, Be still, and know that I am God (Psalm 46:10)

            • The same things I mentioned earlier about how to find Jesus’ peace also apply to being still, and knowing that God is God (reading God’s Word, spending time in prayer, and repeating Scripture)

            • This can happen in the morning before your day begins, throughout your day as needed, and before going to bed

        • While we can experience peace through Jesus Christ, we also realize that the world around us may still be experiencing pain, struggles, anxiety, and stress

    • Peace for the World (John 14:27)

        • All we have to do is look at the news coverage to realize that our world is not at peace

          • Countries are at war

            • Ukraine and Russia

            • Israel and Palestine

          • Hostages are being mistreated

          • Refugees are far from home

          • Our neighbors are hurting

          • There is violence in our schools and in our streets

          • Church leadership teams are discussing strategies to provide a safe and secure environment for their parishioners to worship in

          • There is anger in our families

        • While Jesus brought peace to the earth when He came the first time, it is not a perfect or complete peace

          • We live in the tension between the already and not yet

          • We know that Jesus has won the battle over sin and death, but the manifestation of that victory is still to be revealed when Jesus comes again

          • In the interim, we are encouraged to draw close to God and to rely on Him for His peace

          • God’s presence provides peace

          • Philippians 4:6-7, Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. ​​ And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

            • God’s peace doesn’t make sense to us as humans

            • It’s beyond our understanding sometimes

            • Have you or someone you have known experienced that kind of peace?

              • Perhaps they’ve gotten news about their health that is concerning, but instead of worrying about it they immediately began to pray and while they should be stressed, they’re at peace

              • When someone losses their job or is just struggling financially, yet they’re not anxious about the situation, but are trusting God, it doesn’t make sense – that’s the peace of God that transcends our understanding

            • Our natural inclination is to worry, fret, and complain instead of turning to God in prayer, waiting on Him, and experiencing His peace

              • So often we come to God asking Him to change our circumstances or those around us

              • Sometimes God answers our prayer by changing our circumstances or those around us

              • More often, He uses the difficult circumstances to change us – He wants us to be transformed and to grow in our faith

              • He is all-powerful, all-knowing, and sovereign

              • He knows what’s best for us

              • He will not give us more than we are able to bear, without providing a way of escape

              • Perhaps you’re feeling anxious, right now, about a particular circumstance in your life

              • Now is the time to turn to God in prayer and present your petitions to Him with thanksgiving

              • #3 – My Next Step Today Is To: ​​ Turn to God in prayer with thanksgiving, because I am feeling anxious about ________________.

          • Jesus gave His disciples a promise that is still relevant for us today

            • He promised them the gift of peace

            • John 14:27, Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. ​​ I do not give to you as the world gives. ​​ Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.

            • We can claim that promise for ourselves

            • We don’t have to be afraid, because we serve a God who is in control of everything

            • Whatever is causing you pain, struggle, anxiety, and stress now, in the end, Jesus’ peace will overcome it

            • His peace will sustain us through our difficulties, which may be great but are also momentary (2 Cor. 4:17)

 

  • YOU

    • You can trust by faith in the peace that Jesus’ presence can bring during the pain, struggles, anxiety, and stress that you’re currently experiencing

    • You can recognize that Jesus is the Prince of Peace, admit you are a sinner, repent of your sins, and have peace with God through faith in Jesus Christ

    • You can turn to God in prayer with thanksgiving about the circumstances you’re feeling anxious about

 

God’s presence provides peace.

 ​​ ​​​​ 

CONCLUSION

“[John Stott says], Let me quote from the end of Kenneth Latourette's seven-volume history of the expansion of Christianity. Referring to Jesus he says, ‘No life ever lived on this planet has been so influential in the affairs of men as that of Christ. From that brief life and its apparent frustration has flowed a more powerful force for the triumphal waging of man's long battle than any other ever known by the human race.’

 

‘Through it, millions of people have had their inner conflicts resolved. Through it, hundreds of millions have been lifted from illiteracy and ignorance and have been placed upon the road of growing intellectual freedom and control over the physical environment. It has done more to allay the physical ills of disease and famine than any other impulse, and it has emancipated millions from chattel slavery and millions of others from thralldom to vice. It has protected tens of millions from exploitation by their fellows, and it has been the most fruitful source of movements to lessen the horrors of war and to put the relations of men and nations on the basis of justice and peace.’

 

This is the influence of Jesus through his followers in society. Don't underestimate the power and the influence that even a small minority can exert in the community.”

 

Source: John Stott, “Christians: Salt and Light,” Preaching Today, Tape No. 109.

 

[https://www.preachingtoday.com/illustrations/1996/september/1941.html]

12

 

/by

Gnat A Good Day

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Rescued

Gnat A Good Day

(Exodus 8:16-19)

 

INTRODUCTION

“Pests—bugs and rodents—even the thought of them makes our skin crawl. But pests find their way into everyone's home at one time or another. The question is, do we hate these pests enough to do what it takes to get rid of them? One survey says that depends on what sort of pest is in the house. Researchers found that people will dish out their hard earned money for an exterminator—meaning they are really serious about getting results—when the following pests are in their home:

 

Twenty-four percent of adults—that's one in four—will pay an exterminator to kill spiders.

 

Roughly the same number, 27 percent of adults, will pay to annihilate ants.

 

With the next pest the percentage jumps to just over half, as 56 percent will pay to banish bedbugs.

 

The same percentage, 56 percent, will pay to get rid of rodents. (That's mice and rats. This is getting creepier and creepier!).

 

Fifty-eight percent will pay to kill cockroaches. (Maximum creepy!)

 

And then the number jumps again when we talk about the bug that can bring the house down: termites. Eighty-seven percent of adults—that's 9 out of 10—will pay to terminate termites.

 

Notice that except for termites, almost half of adults will live with some very unpleasant creatures rather than pay a professional to ensure the pests are eradicated. This survey also showed that many people are willing to endure a certain kind of pest, but not others.

Take that concept to a spiritual dimension and the same thing holds true. Many people are willing to live—or feel they have to live—with spiritual ants, spiritual spiders, spiritual bedbugs, spiritual cockroaches, spiritual mice, spiritual rats, or spiritual termites. Some sins we tolerate in ourselves; others we won't.

 

Source: Anne R. Carey and Keith Simmons, "Calling the Exterminators: Critters that bug us most," USA Today Snapshots (May 22-25), 1A; based on survey of 1,253 adults by Global Strategy Group for Orkin.

[https://www.preachingtoday.com/illustrations/2009/july/3072009.html]

 

We are going to talk about pests and the power of God today, so I want to share two personal stories, one about pests and the other about the power of God.

 

BODY

  • ME

    • Baseball

        • When I first started playing baseball, they put me in the outfield

        • Playing baseball in the summer meant dealing with pesky gnats

        • They would swarm around my head and get in my eyes, ears, nose, and mouth

        • I would take my hat off and try to swat them

        • I would try to smash them between my hand and baseball glove

        • I don’t remember who gave me this incredible advice, but they told me to put my hand over my head, because the gnats would swarm to the highest part of my body – It worked!

        • I would stand in the outfield with my hand raised, so the gnats wouldn’t swarm around my head

    • Earthquakes

        • Our family experienced the power of God through earthquakes in Southern California

        • The first one we experienced was during a worship service on a Sunday morning

        • The worship leader was transitioning between songs and he said, “Our God is an awesome God.”

        • At that exact moment our chairs started shaking and the projection screen hanging up front started swaying

        • Once everything settled back down, the worship leader said, “I guess God agrees,” and he continued with the next worship song

 

  • WE

    • Perhaps all of us have had to deal with pests in our houses or swarming around our heads

    • Hopefully we have all experienced the power of God in miraculous ways and not just through natural occurrences

 

“There are two sins of man that are bred in the bone, and that continually come out in the flesh. One is self-dependence and the other is self-exaltation. It is very hard, even for the best of men, to keep themselves from the first error. The holiest of Christians, and those who understand best the gospel of Christ, find in themselves a constant inclination to look to the power of the creature, instead of looking to the power of God and the power of God alone.”

 

Source: C.H. Spurgeon in Sermons on Sovereignty. Christianity Today, Vol. 35, no. 2.

 

[https://www.preachingtoday.com/illustrations/1996/april/1398.html]

 

As we will see with the third plague, the magicians were not able to imitate or duplicate it. ​​ They acknowledged before Pharaoh that something divine and not human or natural had taken place. ​​ God continued to make Himself known to Pharaoh and the Egyptians. ​​ We will learn today that . . .

 

BIG IDEA – God has all authority and power.

 

Let’s pray

 

  • GOD (Exodus 8:16-19)

    • No caution (vv. 16-17)

        • With the third plague there are none of the following items that were found in the first two plagues

          • No forewarning (Pharaoh was warned about the coming of the first two plagues)

          • No time of warning (i.e. “in the morning”)

          • No instruction formula (i.e. “station yourself;” “go to Pharaoh”)

        • Instructions for Moses

          • Once again Moses hears from the Lord and tells Aaron what to do

          • Aaron was to stretch out his staff and strike the dust of the ground

            • There are a couple of potential gods that this plague was targeting

              • It could be Seth (Set), the Egyptian god of the desert [Wiersbe, The Bible Exposition Commentary, Pentateuch, 190]

              • It could have also been Geb, the Egyptian deity of the earth. ​​ “God was challenging their trust in the soil and the god of the ground.” ​​ [Merida, Christ-Centered Exposition: Exalting Jesus in Exodus, 58]

            • When Aaron struck the ground, God’s power would be released

          • The result of Aaron’s obedience was that the dust throughout Egypt would become gnats

            • The exact identity of this pesky bug is not certain

            • Some suggest that it could be a gnat, lice, or mosquitoes

            • Keil & Delitzsch believe they were not lice, but rather “a species of gnats, so small as to be hardly visible to the eye, but with a sting which, according to Philo and Origen, causes a most painful irritation of the skin. ​​ They even creep into the eyes and nose, and after the harvest they rise in giant swarms from the inundated rice-fields.” ​​ [Keil & Delitzsch, Commentary on the Old Testament, Volume 1, The Pentateuch, 313]

          • With the instructions complete we see Moses’ and Aaron’s obedience

        • Obedience

          • They did this

            • Moses obediently shared the message from the Lord with Aaron

            • Aaron obediently stretched out his hand with the staff in it and struck the dust of the ground

          • Gnats were on humans and animals

            • This would have been particularly annoying to the Egyptians and especially the priests, because they were known for being hyper hygienic

            • “The Egyptians in general, and the priests in particular, were fanatical about cleanliness; and the priests frequently washed and shaved their bodies in order to be acceptable to their gods.” ​​ [Wiersbe, 190]

            • “So terrible a curse did the Egyptian nobles consider lice that they shaved their bodies every other day.” ​​ [Courson, Jon Courson’s Application Commentary, Old Testament, Volume 1: ​​ Genesis—Job, 254]

            • Imagine how the priests and nobles felt when all of a sudden there were gnats/lice crawling all over them – their worst nightmare had come true – they were unclean, contaminated, and humiliated

          • All the dust in the land of Egypt became gnats

            • When Aaron struck the dust of the ground, it was just “the dry loose particles on the top of the soil” and not all of the ground [Mackay, Exodus: A Mentor Commentary, 162]

            • The use of the phrase “all the dust” is a figure of speech helping the reader to understand that this plague was vast, far-reaching, complete and total [Mackay, 162]

            • “Just as the fertilizing water of Egypt had twice become a plague, so through the power of Jehovah the soil so richly blessed became a plague to the king and his people.” ​​ [Keil & Delitzsch, 313]

            • God was attacking everything the Egyptians relied on and worshiped, so they would know who He was

          • PRINCIPLE #1 – God is the God of all nature.

            • God has all authority and power.

            • He was able to make dust of the land and transform it into gnats

            • There were certainly gnats already present in Egypt at this point, but God’s plague of gnats allowed for the supernatural multiplication of gnats, so that they were crawling on every human and animal found in Egypt

            • God is still the God of all nature

              • That is true because God is unchanging (immutable)

              • God created the seasons

              • God is the One who allows plants and animals to rest during the winter months

              • God is the One who brings new life each spring

              • God is the One who provides a harvest during summer and fall

              • God is the One who controls how many acorns are produced each year (He provided an abundance this year)

              • God is the One who controls how many flies and mosquitoes we have in the summer

              • God provides incredible sunrises and sunsets

              • God directs the migration of birds

              • God creates new life through children being conceived and born

              • God knows the number of our days

            • #1 – My Next Step Today Is To: ​​ Worship God for being the God of _______________.

          • God’s power allowed for the supernatural multiplication of gnats when Aaron obediently struck the dust with his staff

        • When the magicians attempted to duplicate or imitate this plague, they were unsuccessful

    • No copy (vv. 18-19a)

        • The magicians attempted to duplicate the miraculous sign, but they failed

          • Whatever trickery they had used with turning water to blood and having frogs come up from the Nile, was not working with turning dust into gnats

            • “The first two plagues concern the water, which is the life and power of Egypt, politically, economically, and religiously. ​​ The gnats however, come from the dust of the earth, which is not the Egyptians ‘power source.’ ​​ Their magic and secret arts are empowered by the Nile, but with the third plague, the magicians are out of their element.” ​​ [Enns, The NIV Application Commentary, Exodus, 210]

            • God proved to the magicians that He was not only God of the water, but also God of the land

          • PRINCIPLE #2 – God has the power to limit the deceptive skills of imposters.

            • God could have limited the magicians skills to duplicate the first two plagues, but He chose not to

              • With the third plague, He not only proved His power and authority over the land, but also over the deceptive skills of the magicians

              • This is the last time the magicians are mentioned in the plague series

              • Their deceptions have been exposed, so their “skills” are no longer needed

            • Modern imposters

              • Because God has all authority and power, He is able to do the same thing today

              • He has the power to limit Satan’s deceptive skills in our culture (politics, economy, education, religion)

                • God is ultimately in control of who serves as our President, Senators, Representatives, Supreme Court Justices, Judges, etc.

                  • He is able to bring to light any deception that is being propagated through those individuals

                  • He can and will allow the truth to be uncovered

                • God is aware of every conflict that is happening in our world right now

                  • He knows what is true and what is false

                  • He knows when politicians and news anchors are making false claims about what is happening and who is to blame

                • God is still a part of our educational system whether or not administrators or teachers acknowledge Him

                  • He is able to speak truth through science, because He is the One who created it

                  • He is able to limit the false narratives that certain individuals and groups are using to deceive our children into believing a lie

                • God is also able to speak truth through His Word when others misuse or misinterpret it

                  • His Word will not return to Him empty, but will accomplish what He desired and achieve the purpose for which He sent it (Isaiah 55:11)

                  • Those who are speaking falsely about His Word will be revealed and dealt with

                  • Read Matthew 13:24-30

                • #2 – My Next Step Today Is To: ​​ Trust God to limit the deceptive skills of ___________, so that truth prevails.

          • The magicians were proven to be powerless, while God was proven to have all authority and power over the land too

          • The magicians simply acknowledge that Moses and Aaron were not the ones who originated this plague

        • Finger of God (finger of a god)

          • The magicians wanted to save face before Pharaoh, so they told him that this was the finger of God

            • It did not necessarily mean that the magicians were accepting the God of the Israelites as the originator of the plague

            • They did not want Pharaoh to think that Moses and Aaron were superior to them in any way (virtue or knowledge) [Keil & Delitzsch, 314]

            • “The expression ‘this is the finger of God,’ in light of its usage in Exod 31:18 and Deut 9:10, would seem to mean something like ‘a supernatural act of God’ rather than literally referring to God’s hand or figuratively conveying a sense such as ‘something easy enough for him to do with just a finger.’ ​​ The magicians were not confessing to their own conversion to true faith; they were simply saying that the plague was divine in origin, not human.” ​​ [Stuart, The New American Commentary, Volume 2, Exodus, 212]

            • A power greater than Moses and Aaron and the magicians was at play

            • A god greater than the gods of Egypt had orchestrated this miraculous sign

          • PRINCIPLE #3 – God has all authority and power.

            • That is also our big idea today

            • This principle is evident through the other references to the phrase “finger of God” in the Bible

              • Giving of the law

                • Exodus 31:18, When the Lord finished speaking to Moses on Mount Sinai, he gave him the two tablets of the Testimony, the tablets of stone inscribed by the finger of God.

                • Deuteronomy 9:10, The Lord gave me two stone tablets inscribed by the finger of God. ​​ On them were all the commandments the Lord proclaimed to you on the mountain out of the fire, on the day of the assembly.

                • God’s authority and power to determine right from wrong is evident through the giving of the Ten Commandments, that show us our need of a Savior

              • Creation of the heavens

                • Psalm 8:3-5, When I consider the heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him? You made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor.

                • God’s authority and power over creation is evident through His ability to create the heavens, including the placing of the moon and stars

              • Casting out of demons

                • Luke 11:20, But if I drive out demons by the finger of God, then the kingdom of God has come to you.

                • God’s authority and power over Satan’s minions is evident through Jesus’ ability to drive out demons

            • All three of these, and many others, prove God’s “creative omnipotence” [Keil & Delitzsch, 314]

            • God has all authority and power

            • #3 – My Next Step Today Is To: ​​ Acknowledge God’s authority and power over __________________.

        • The magicians were not able to copy, duplicate, or imitate the plague of gnats, but that did not change Pharaoh’s attitude or heart

    • No change (v. 19b)

        • Pharaoh’s heart remained hard even though his magicians admitted that this sign was divine and not human

        • “The evidence presented to him was not going to overturn his inner desire to maintain his independence from the Lord and his opposition to him. ​​ It was not a lack of information that was the problem. ​​ Pharaoh was displaying the inner heart rebellion against God that is typical of fallen mankind.” ​​ [Mackay, 163]

        • Read Hebrews 10:26-31

 

  • YOU

    • What do you want to worship God for being the God of?

    • Whose deceptive skills do you need to trust God to limit, so that truth prevails?

    • What do you need to acknowledge that God has authority and power over?

 

  • WE

    • What do we want to worship God for being the God of?

    • Whose deceptive skills do we need to trust God to limit, so His truth prevails?

    • What do we need to acknowledge that God has authority and power over?

 

CONCLUSION

“In an article for Leadershipjournal.net, pastor Clark Cothern shares how a power outage at his church revealed the power of God:

 

Our church meets in a rented gym. We're looking for property and are eager to settle into a more permanent structure. Someday. For now we are navigating the path of being somewhat nomadic.

 

One Sunday in June, we experienced a few spotty rain showers. No high winds. No lightning. A very normal Sunday in the Midwest. We were two weeks away from a forced, six-week relocation, due to our facility's parking lot being repaved.

 

We planned to become much more ‘unplugged’ as we used the smaller meeting space in a graciously cooperative nearby church. We were prepping our congregation and praying earnestly that the changes would turn into an opportunity for us to get to know God better. We knew we would be in for some unexpected teachable moments.

After the announcements, including the explanation of our upcoming change of location, and after some high-energy, electrically charged musical worship, we began our time of Communion.

 

As people formed two lines, making their way up the center aisle, Steve, our worship leader, played an appropriately worshipful song on the electric piano. Halfway through the song, and with half the congregation yet to reach the Communion elements, the lights went out. Instant silence. Well, almost. All you could hear were the piano keys thumping in rhythm to the song Steve had been playing. Steve grinned and stopped thumping.

 

Someone had to say something, so I said, ‘Isn't it good to know that God's power will be displayed whether or not we have electricity?’ People chuckled and, realizing we could all still see well enough to continue, they continued coming forward to the table.

 

I began singing a praise song everyone knew. Within two measures everyone had joined in, voices only. Harmonies floated in the room from places where we normally didn't hear them. A sense of community enveloped the room. It was a holy moment.

 

What began as a fairly typical time of Communion in familiar surroundings was transformed into a unique time of worship and a supercharged awareness of God's presence.

 

When everyone had obtained their bread and juice and returned to their seats, I prayed, ‘Lord, thank you that your power is on display, especially when our power is gone. Continue to pour out your power as we look into your Word. Amen.’

 

At that very instant—a nanosecond after ‘Amen’—the electricity came on again. Air conditioner compressors roared. Pop machine motors whirred. Sound system amplifiers hummed. And all the lights came on.

 

For a brief moment, everyone gasped. Then the entire congregation burst into laughter. I said, ‘Oh, now He's just showing off!’ More laughter. Holy laughter. The kind of laughter when you know you've just seen God's power displayed along with his humor.

 

Looking back, I think God was showing us that our upcoming changes would be just fine. He was showing us that worship isn't about our preferences. We knew that no matter what the changes in our worship space, he would be there to meet us.”

 

From our sister publication Leadership Journal, © 2009 Christianity Today International. For more articles like this, visit Leadershipjournal.net.

 

Source: Clark Cothern, “Power outage or Power display?” 

Leadershipjournal.net (10-3-09).

 

[https://www.preachingtoday.com/illustrations/2009/november/3112309.html]

11

 

/by

Not Hoppy

, ,

Rescued

Not Hoppy

(Exodus 8:1-15)

 

INTRODUCTION

“Realize that you can't keep your promises. That may seem like a strange first step toward the goal of keeping promises, but it's true.

 

Consider this question: If we could keep our promises, wouldn't we have done it by now? How many times have we made the same promises? Let's face it, rededication to keep promises won't work. If it did, we wouldn't find it necessary to keep rededicating ourselves. Many of us have struggled with promise-keeping for one reason: We have focused on our performance more than on Jesus Christ. We have tried to keep our promises, but the Bible teaches that effective Christian living doesn't come by trying. It comes by trusting Christ to express his life through us. He is the only One who can successfully keep promises.

 

Before we can be effective promise keepers, we must become promise receivers. The Bible is clear about God's promise: the One who has given us his life will be the One who lives it for us. Only Jesus Christ can effectively live the perfect life. He lives inside believers today and wants to reveal His perfect life through us.

 

Source: Steve McVey, president of Grace Walk Ministries. Men of Integrity, Vol. 1, no. 2.

 

[https://www.preachingtoday.com/illustrations/1997/may/3158.html]

 

BODY

  • ME

    • Sin

        • As a teenager and young adult, I remember promising the Lord that I would never do certain things again

        • I would have limited success with not giving in to temptation, but it seems like after a couple of months I would give in to the temptation again

        • Once again I would make a promise to the Lord, because the Holy Spirit would convict me of my sin

        • Accountability was the key to finally getting a handle on the temptations that so easily entangled me

        • I am not fully sanctified yet, so that means I still struggle with temptation from time-to-time and I still give in to temptation also (accountability has lessened the times I have given in to temptation)

        • Hebrews 12:1-2, Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. ​​ Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

 

  • WE

    • Have you ever broken a promise to someone else?

    • Have you ever broken a promise to God?

    • Perhaps we all need to throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles and fix our eyes on Jesus

 

Moses and Aaron were instructed to return to Pharaoh and give him another message from the Lord. ​​ When he refused to obey the message, another plague came on the Egyptians. ​​ This time Pharaoh recognized that the Lord was the One who had orchestrated the plague, so he asked Moses and Aaron to pray to the Lord to remove the plague. ​​ He promised that if the Lord would remove the plague, he would let the Israelites offer sacrifices to the Lord. ​​ Pharaoh did not keep his promise once the Lord removed the plague. ​​ What we can learn from this narrative today is that . . .

 

BIG IDEA – We need to keep our promises to God.

 

Let’s pray

 

  • GOD (Exodus 8:1-15)

    • Proclaim (vv. 1-5)

        • To Moses

          • Go to Pharaoh

            • Hamilton suggests that Moses and Aaron are supposed to go to Pharaoh’s home or palace when they are instructed to “God to Pharaoh.” [Hamilton, Exodus: An Exegetical Commentary, 129]

            • There is a pattern in how Moses and Aaron approach Pharaoh in the three groups of three plagues

              • Early in the morning (1 – blood; 4 – flies; 7 – hail)

              • Go to Pharaoh (2 – frogs; 5 – livestock; 8 – locusts)

              • God’s command (3 – gnats; 6 – boils; 9 – darkness)

            • He went to Pharaoh and gave him this message from the Lord

          • The Lord not only gave Moses instructions, He also gave instructions to Pharaoh

        • To Pharaoh

          • Let my people go

            • The Lord once again commands Pharaoh to let the Israelites go so they can worship Him

            • This is and will be a repeated command from the Lord to Pharaoh as the plagues progress

            • “Michelle attempts to teach her children the ‘please and thank you’ of polite society. She also helps them memorize Scripture. One day, her 4-year-old son, John, was tussling and wrestling with his mom in a good-natured contest. Losing the battle, he wanted to be released. ‘What's the magic word?’ encouraged Michelle, ready to comply with his wish.

              ‘Let my people go ... (Exodus 8:1)’ came the reply.”

              Source: Thelma Baddorf, Dillsburg, Penn. "Lite Fare," Christian Reader.

              [https://www.preachingtoday.com/illustrations/1996/july/215.html].

          • Consequence of refusing

            • Nile will teem with frogs

              • God was once again proving that He was in control of and had power over the Egyptian deities

                • The goddess Heqet (hay-ket) was portrayed as a woman with a frog’s head and was associated with fertility, childbirth, and new life and growth

                • The Egyptians viewed frogs as sacred, so they would ​​ never think of killing them

              • The Hebrew word for “teem” can also be translated “swarm”

              • It is the same Hebrew used for the Israelites in Exodus 1:7, but the Israelites were fruitful and multiplied greatly [swarmed] and became exceedingly numerous, so that the land was filled with them

            • No place will be exempt

              • Palace, bedroom, bed, houses, people, ovens, kneading troughs

                • The dwelling places of Pharaoh and his officials would have had multiple floors/levels with the bedrooms on the upper floors

                • The servants and other common folk would only have one story dwellings or basic shacks

                • Beds would have been on the floor and not elevated like our modern beds

                • Kneading troughs were probably on the floor, since many Egyptians used their feet to knead the dough

              • “The frogs would go everywhere—without virtually any limitation—including the interior of the palace (mentioned first to be sure Pharaoh knew he would not be immune), bedrooms, beds, and cooking utensils (mentioned as well to complete the picture of a gross manifestation of all places where humans lived).” ​​ [Stuart, The New American Commentary, Volumes 2, Exodus, 204]

            • PRINCIPLE #1 – God’s wrath is complete and total.

              • I mentioned this principle last week, but it applies here too

              • There would not be a person or place that would not be affected by the plague of frogs

          • The Lord also had some instructions for Aaron

        • To Aaron

          • Stretch out your hand with your staff over the streams and canals and ponds

          • Make frogs come up on the land of Egypt

          • It seems clear that the water of the Nile had been cleared out from the plague of blood, since the frogs were coming up from the streams, canals, and ponds

        • Aaron was obedient to the Lord’s command

    • Plague (vv. 6-7)

        • God’s power caused the frogs to swarm and cover the land

          • It is not stated again by the author, but we know that the frogs went into Pharaoh’s palace and made it all the way to his bedroom and bed

          • They went into the houses of Pharaoh’s officials and the people of Egypt

          • They also were found in their ovens and kneading troughs

          • In fact, they were hopping up on everyone (Pharaoh, officials, and people)

          • While the Egyptians considered frogs sacred, I’m sure they preferred to view them from a distance and not have them hopping on them all the time

        • The magicians were able to imitate the plague of frogs

          • As I mentioned last week with the Nile turning to blood, Pharaoh probably was not looking for more of the same plague, but rather to have the plague reversed

          • The magicians were simply adding to the hardship and making it worse instead of better

          • PRINCIPLE #2 – “God’s work can be imitated but never equaled.” ​​ [Hamilton, 131]

            • Have you found that to be true in your life?

              • We can certainly imitate God’s love, but we cannot equal His love because He loves us perfectly

              • We can imitate God’s grace, but we cannot equal His grace because His grace has given us salvation which we do not deserve

              • We can imitate God’s generosity, but we cannot equal His sacrificial giving of Jesus for our sins

              • We can imitate all of God’s attributes, but we cannot equal the impact or scope of His attributes (wisdom, goodness, faithfulness, mercy, truth, justice, etc.)

            • #1 – My Next Step Today Is To: ​​ Worship the Lord because His _______ (attribute of God) is unequaled.

          • The magicians were able to imitate the plague of frogs, but they were not able to equal the scope and impact of God’s plague of frogs – they were everywhere!

        • We are not told how long the plague of frogs had been going on when Pharaoh finally said, “enough is enough, get Moses and Aaron and bring them here”

    • Plead (v. 8a)

        • Pharaoh asked Moses and Aaron to pray to the Lord to take the frogs away from him and his people

          • What an incredible change in Pharaoh to actually acknowledge the author of the plague – the Lord!

          • If you remember when Moses and Aaron first approached Pharaoh they told him, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel says . . .” (Ex. 5:1)

          • Pharaoh’s response was, “Who is the Lord that I should obey him and let Israel go? ​​ I do not know the Lord and I will not let Israel go.” (Ex. 5:2)

          • The Lord’s purpose in bringing the plagues on Pharaoh and the Egyptians was so they would know Him (Ex. 7:17)

          • “This is a significant climb-down for the man who previously had said, ‘I do not know the Lord and I will not let Israel go’ (5:2). ​​ He is now tacitly acknowledging the existence of the Lord, that it was the Lord who had caused the plague of frogs, that he was able to remove the frogs when Egyptian resources could not, and that it was appropriate for Israel to sacrifice to him.” ​​ [Mackay, Exodus: A Mentor Commentary, 158-59]

          • There is hope for Pharaoh, but he has a long way to go yet

        • PRINCIPLE #3 – God is pleased when we recognize that He is in control.

          • Where are you today?

            • What slimy situation keeps hopping up on you and getting into every area of your life?

              • Is it an addiction?

              • Does it have to do with finances?

              • Is it oppression from Satan – some spiritual battle?

              • Is it related to your job?

              • Is a relationship causing issues?

              • Are you struggling emotionally? ​​ (anxiety/depression/loneliness/sadness)

              • Are you wondering what God is doing in a certain situation, but it seems like He is not answering or speaking?

            • Have you recognized that God is in control of that situation?

            • Have you placed that burden at the foot of the cross, seeking Jesus’ help?

          • #2 – My Next Step Today Is To: ​​ Recognize that God is in control of __________ and cry out to Him for help.

        • Pharaoh sought the Lord’s help with the slimy frogs that were everywhere and he promised to do something in return

    • Promise (v. 8b)

        • He promised the Lord that if He would remove the frogs, he would let the Israelites go to offer sacrifices to the Lord

        • As we will see in verse 15, it seems like Pharaoh made this promise lightly

        • We have to be careful not to make promises to the Lord, we do not intend to keep

          • Ecclesiastes 5:4-5, When you make a vow to God, do not delay in fulfilling it. ​​ He has no pleasure in fools; fulfill your vow. ​​ It is better not to vow than to make a vow and not fulfill it.

          • Matthew 5:33-37, “Again, you have heard that it was said long ago, ‘Do not break your oath, but keep the oaths you have made to the Lord.’ ​​ But I tell you, Do not swear at all: either by heaven, for it is God’s throne; or by the earth, for it is his footstool; or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the Great King. ​​ And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make even one hair white or black. ​​ Simply let your ‘Yes’ be “Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one.

          • James 5:12, Above all, my brothers, do not swear—not by heaven or by earth or by anything else. ​​ Let your “Yes” be yes, and your “No,” no, or you will be condemned.

          • Is there a promise you have made to the Lord that you need to fulfill?

          • We need to keep our promises to God.

        • Pharaoh promised to let the Israelites go so they could worship the Lord, if the Lord would remove the plague of frogs

    • Propose (vv. 9-11)

        • Moses’ allowed Pharaoh to choose the time for him to pray and ask the Lord to remove the plague of frogs from Pharaoh, his officials, people, and their houses

          • “Giving the Egyptian king this power of timing is from a human point of view apologetically brilliant on God’s part: if the king could say when the frogs would go away, he would personally know that the timing was not due to the simple consequences of natural processes or a fiat of the gods of the Egyptians but the sovereignty of the God of Israel.” ​​ [Stuart, 208]

          • The prayer to remove the frogs would not include those still living in the Nile – it would not be a prayer to remove all frogs from Egypt (imagine the bug problem they would have without any frogs)

        • Pharaoh’s choice

          • Immediately, right? ​​ Nope, tomorrow

          • Why didn’t Pharaoh ask for immediate relief?

            • Keep in mind, we are not told when Moses and Aaron were summoned to Pharaoh’s court – it could have been in the evening

            • Maybe Pharaoh was hoping that the frogs would leave of their own accord and he would not have to keep his promise to let the Israelites go [Wiersbe, The Bible Exposition Commentary, Pentateuch, 190]

            • He could have also been building anticipation by letting the word spread that the frogs were going to be leaving the next day and if they didn’t, Jehovah and His servants would be discredited [Wiersbe, 190]

            • We are left to speculate, because it is not stated why Pharaoh chose a time, other than immediately

          • Moses’ replied to Pharaoh’s choice

        • Moses’ told him that it would happen just as Pharaoh said, so he would know there was no one like the Lord, God

          • The frogs would leave the houses of Pharaoh, his officials, and his people

          • They would no longer being hopping up on Pharaoh, his officials, or his people

          • The only frogs left would be those living in the Nile that had not invaded the rest of the land

        • Moses did what he promised to do – he kept his promise to Pharaoh

        • We need to keep our promises to God.

    • Pray (vv. 12-14)

        • Moses cried out to the Lord about the frogs

          • Moses and now Pharaoh knew who to petition about their problem

          • PRINCIPLE #4 – “God uses the prayers of His faithful servants.” ​​ [Martin, 49]

            • We see the power of prayer when the Lord’s servant prays according to His will [Stuart, 210]

              • Psalm 4:1, Answer me when I call to you, O my righteous God. ​​ Give me relief from my distress; be merciful to me and hear my prayer.

              • James 5:13-16, Is any one of you in trouble? ​​ He should pray. ​​ Is anyone happy? ​​ Let him sing songs of praise. ​​ Is any one of you sick? ​​ He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. ​​ And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. ​​ If he has sinned, he will be forgiven. ​​ Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. ​​ The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.

            • Have you experienced this in your own life?

              • Who has prayed for you?

              • What did you experience? ​​ (relief from distress or trouble, healing, and/or forgiveness of sins through the power of prayer)

              • Is there something you need prayer for today?

              • #3 – My Next Step Today Is To: ​​ Ask for prayer for _______________.

              • If you wrote something down that you would like prayer for, I want to encourage you to take the bold next step of coming forward this morning, so we can pray for you

                • We’ll return to the message in just a moment

                • I want to ask our board members, lay ministers, and their spouses to join me at the front of the sanctuary to help in praying for those who come

                • Our leadership is here to pray a prayer of faith over you for relief from distress or any trouble you are facing, for healing, and for forgiveness of sin

                • We have anointing oil available for those who are seeking healing from sickness

                • (Logan would you come and play quietly)

                • I invite you to come for prayer now

          • Moses knew he could cry out to the Lord for help, so that’s exactly what he did

        • The Lord responded

          • The Lord did what Moses asked

          • The frogs died in the houses, courtyards, and fields

            • This is probably not how Pharaoh and the Egyptians thought the Lord would get rid of the frogs

            • They were probably hoping the frogs would hop on back to the Nile

            • I have found that specific prayers are better than general prayers

              • I used to pray, asking God to let me see deer – He did, but they were never close enough in bow season or the right gender in rifle season

              • Now I pray specifically, asking God to let me get a deer – the past couple of years His answer has been “No”

            • Instead the Egyptians had to collect all of these dead frogs and pile them up into heaps

              • Sin is messy and requires clean up

              • Sin also reeks – it stinks

          • The Lord kept His promise to Moses and Pharaoh and ended the plague of frogs

        • When Pharaoh saw that there was relief, he pulled out of his promise to the Lord and the Israelites

    • Pull out (v. 15)

        • Pharaoh did exactly what the Lord said he would do

          • He hardened his heart and would not follow through with his promise

          • “Sadhu Sundar Singh, writes in Wisdom of the Sadhu:

            Once when I was in the Himalayas, I was sitting upon the bank of a river. I drew out of the water a beautiful, round stone and smashed it. The inside was dry. The stone had been lying a long time in the water, but the water had not penetrated the stone.

            It is just like that with the ‘Christian’ people of the West. They have for centuries been surrounded by Christianity, entirely steeped in its blessings, but the Master's truth has not penetrated them. Christianity is not at fault; the reason lies rather in the hardness of their hearts. Materialism and intellectualism have made their hearts hard. So I am not surprised that many people in the West do not understand what Christianity really is.”

            Source: Sadhu Sundar Singh, excerpted from Wisdom of the Sadhu, the Bruderhof Communities website.

            [https://www.preachingtoday.com/illustrations/2003/september/14601.html]

        • PRINCIPLE #5 – God’s desire is that we repent and not just seek His deliverance.

          • Pharaoh

            • Pharaoh’s promise was not genuine, because he just wanted the frogs gone – his pleading was pointless

            • When the frogs were gone, Pharaoh’s true intentions were revealed

          • Us

            • The same can be said of us

            • “Many sinners aren’t interested in repenting and receiving God’s grace; they want only to be delivered from God’s judgment.” ​​ [Wiersbe, 190]

            • How many times have we pleaded with God to deliver us from distress, trouble, sickness, or sin when we are facing the consequences of our own actions?

            • We make promises that we have no intention of keeping once relief comes

              • I’ll go to church every week

              • I’ll read the Bible every day

              • I’ll pray before every meal

              • I’ll help a family member, friend, or neighbor whenever they ask

              • I’ll stop going to the nightclub

              • I won’t hang out with those people anymore

              • I won’t drink alcohol ever again

              • I won’t smoke marijuana again

              • I won’t pop those pills any more

              • I won’t look at pornography

              • I won’t get angry while driving or speed again

              • The list of promises we make is endless

            • True repentance is a 180 degree turn from the wrong we are doing to the right we should be doing

              • It is easier said than done, though

              • Read Romans 7:15-25

              • Read Romans 6:1-14

            • If you have been seeking deliverance and not repentance, it’s time to accept the crucifixion of your old self through the blood of Jesus

              • Galatians 2:20, I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. ​​ The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

              • Jesus loves you so much that He gave His life as a ransom for you on the cross – He died in your place, taking your punishment for sin

              • 2 Corinthians 5:15, And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.

              • Ephesians 2:8-9, For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast.

            • #4 – My Next Step Today Is To: ​​ Repent of my sins and allow Christ to live in me.

 

  • YOU

    • Worship the Lord because His attributes are unequaled.

    • Recognize that God is in control of your situation and cry out to Him for help.

    • Ask for prayer from the leadership or a friend.

    • Repent of your sins and allow Christ to live in you.

 

  • WE

    • Worship the Lord because His attributes are unequaled.

    • Recognize that God is in control of our situation and cry out to Him for help.

    • Ask for prayer for the situations we are facing.

 

CONCLUSION

“How many a hardened rebel on shipboard, when the timbers are strained and creaking, when the mast is broken, and the ship is drifting before the gale, when the hungry waves are opening their mouths to swallow the ship up alive and quick as those that go into the pit—how many a hardened sailor has then bowed his knee, with tears in his eyes, and cried, ‘I have sinned!’ ​​ But of what avail and of what value was his confession? ​​ The repentance of his that was begotten amidst the thunder and the lightning, ceased so soon as all was hushed in quiet, and the man who was a pious mariner when on board ship, became the most wicked and abominable of sailors when he placed his foot on terra firma.”

 

[Spurgeon cited by Martin, Holman Old Testament Commentary, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, 40]

11

 

/by

Bloodbath

, ,

Rescued

Bloodbath

(Exodus 7:14-25)

 

INTRODUCTION

“Miroslav Volf, a Christian theologian from Croatia, used to reject the concept of God’s wrath. He thought that the idea of an angry God was barbaric, completely unworthy of a God of love. But then his country experienced a brutal war. People committed terrible atrocities against their neighbors and countrymen. The following reflections, from Volf’s book Free of Charge, reveal his new understanding of the necessity of God’s wrath:

 

My last resistance to the idea of God’s wrath was a casualty of the war in the former Yugoslavia, the region from which I come. According to some estimates, 200,000 people were killed and over 3,000,000 were displaced. My villages and cities were destroyed, my people shelled day in and day out, some of them brutalized beyond imagination, and I could not imagine God not being angry.

 

Or think of Rwanda in the last decade of the past century, where 800,000 people were hacked to death in one hundred days! How did God react to the carnage? By doting on the perpetrators in a grandfatherly fashion? By refusing to condemn the bloodbath but instead affirming the perpetrators’ basic goodness? Wasn't God fiercely angry with them?

 

Though I used to complain about the indecency of the idea of God’s wrath, I came to think that I would have to rebel against a God who wasn’t wrathful at the sight of the world’s evil. God isn’t wrathful in spite of being love. God is wrathful because God is love.”

 

Source: Miroslav Volf, Free of Charge (Zondervan, 2006), pp. 138-139.

 

[https://www.preachingtoday.com/illustrations/2011/march/5032811.html].

 

Hamas’ attack on October 7, 2023 was one of the bloodiest in Israel’s history with approximately 1,200 people killed in one day. ​​ Because God is loving and just, He will hold those individuals responsible for their actions. ​​ His wrath will be righteous and just.

 

BODY

  • ME

    • Love and wrath

        • I wish I could perfectly balance love and wrath

        • I tend to love well those who love me

        • My wrath is not always just or righteous – it is not motivated by love for sure

 

  • WE

    • Love and wrath

        • How about us?

        • Is our love and wrath balanced?

 

As we talked about two weeks ago, God was going to lay His hands on the Egyptians and with mighty acts of judgment; He was going to bring the Israelites out of Egypt. ​​ God was doing this so that Pharaoh and the Egyptians would know Him. ​​ The Egyptians were relying on their gods as their source of life, but the Lord was about to prove that their gods were nothing. ​​ The conflict that we are going to learn about today was between the God of the Israelites and the gods of Egypt. ​​ The Egyptians worshiped the god and goddess of the Nile as their source of life, but they were going to learn that God is the source of life. ​​ The same is true for us. ​​ There is only one source of life. ​​ We are going to learn today that . . .

 

BIG IDEA – God is our source of life.

 

Let’s pray

 

  • GOD (Exodus 7:14-25)

    • God’s Instruction (vv. 14-15)

        • God knows each person’s heart

          • The Lord let Moses know that Pharaoh’s heart was unyielding

            • Pharaoh refused to let the Israelites go

            • “In the power struggle between the Lord and Pharaoh, Pharaoh is intransigent [unwilling to change his view]. ​​ He has made up his mind not to yield in any way.” ​​ [Mackay, Exodus: A Mentor Commentary, 149]

          • PRINCIPLE #1 – God is omniscient (all knowing).

            • God knew Pharaoh’s heart was unyielding

            • He knows what is in our hearts also

              • He knows if our heart is tempted by lust, greed, hatred, and anger

              • He knows if our heart is bitter and hard

              • He knows if our heart finds joy in gossip

              • He knows if our heart is crushed and hurting

              • He knows if our heart is genuinely seeking Him or something other than Him

              • He knows every thought and intention of our heart

              • Hebrews 4:12-13, For the word of God is living and active. ​​ Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. ​​ Nothing in all of creation is hidden from God’s sight. ​​ Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.

                • How many times when we are having our quiet time with the Lord, that His Word arrests us in our spirit

                • The verses that we read for our devotions convicted us of an attitude that we have been harboring in our hearts

                • In those times, it is important to cry out to the Lord like King David did

                • Psalm 139:23-24, Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. ​​ See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.

              • #1 – My Next Step Today Is To: ​​ Ask the Lord to search my heart and test my thoughts, so I can confess any offensive way found there.

            • God knows our hearts

          • God also knew Pharaoh’s heart, so He instructed Moses to meet him by the Nile River

        • Meet Pharaoh by the Nile River

          • This was probably something that Pharaoh did every morning

            • In Exodus 8:20 we see that Moses went to Pharaoh in the morning as he went to the water

            • Pharaoh wasn’t taking a leisurely walk along the banks of the Nile, or taking his daily bath in the Nile, or checking on the Nile’s water level, rather he was going there to worship the gods of the Nile [Keil & Delitzsch, Commentary on the Old Testament, Volume 1, The Pentateuch, 310]

              • The god of the Nile was Hapi (associated with fertility)

              • The goddess of the Nile was Isis (life and magic)

          • “The attack on the Nile is in effect an attack on Egypt’s gods . . . [by] the true God on false ones.” ​​ [Enns, The NIV Application Commentary, Exodus, 200]

          • It was also an attack against Pharaoh and the Egyptian people, because the Nile was the source of life for them

            • It represented their deity

            • It provided water to drink for humans and animals

            • It provided water to irrigate their crops (remember they were living in a desert climate)

            • It provided transportation for them

            • The Nile would flood every year and provide the water that was needed for the region (this helped them to set their calendar too)

            • The Nile was their source of life

            • God is our source of life.

              • PRINCIPLE #2 – God is pleased when we turn to Him as our source of life.

                • The reality is that we do not always turn to the Lord as our source of life

                • We may turn to the stock market, economic growth, a new president, senators, representatives, or governor for our hope

                • We may turn to medical professionals, medicine, and holistic approaches to deal with our health issues (God can certainly use those things to help us)

                • We may turn to family members, estates, friends, the church, government programs, illegal activities, etc. to provide for us (God can certainly use the church, family members, friends, and government programs to provide for our needs temporarily)

                • For the long term, we need to rely on God as our source of life

              • #2 – My Next Step Today Is To: ​​ Rely on God as my source of life instead of _______________.

            • Pharaoh and the Egyptians were relying on the Nile and the deities associated with them for their source of life

          • Moses waited on the bank of the Nile for Pharaoh with his staff in his hand

        • Take your staff with you

          • Remember that Moses staff was also referred to as the staff of God

          • It represented the power of God and it pointed to heaven and the Lord who was the One, ultimately, responsible for the mighty acts that took place in Egypt

        • The Lord had a message for Pharaoh that He would communicate through Moses

    • Object of God’s Wrath (vv. 16-18)

        • When Pharaoh arrived at the Nile, Moses gave him a message from the Lord

          • Let my people go, so they can worship me in the desert

          • Pharaoh, you haven’t listened to me yet, so here is what I’m going to do:

            • With the staff of God I am going to strike the water of the Nile, and it will be changed to blood

            • Because of this transformation, the fish are going to die causing the river to stink

            • The Egyptians will not be able to drink the water, because it is blood and has decaying fish in it

          • The Lord was going to change the water of the Nile to blood, so that Pharaoh would know that He is the Lord

            • The conflict between the One true God and the gods of the Nile would literally be a bloodbath

            • God Almighty would humiliate the gods of the Nile by transforming the lifeblood of Egypt into death instead

            • God wanted Pharaoh to know that Hapi and Isis were nothing, void of any power to give or sustain life

            • He wanted Pharaoh and the Egyptians to know that He is the only source of life

            • God is our source of life.

          • PRINCIPLE #3 – God is more powerful than any other god.

            • King Belshazzar of Babylon

              • In Daniel 5 we read about King Belshazzar having a great banquet for a thousand of his nobles

              • He had the gold and silver goblets brought that had been taken from the temple in Jerusalem

              • Everyone drank from the goblets and praise the gods of gold and silver, bronze, iron, wood, and stone

              • Suddenly the fingers of a human hand appeared and wrote on the wall

              • When no one else was able to tell the king what the writing meant, Daniel was summoned and he explained everything to the king

              • Daniel 5:22-23, “But you his son, O Belshazzar, have not humbled yourself,, though you knew all this. ​​ Instead, you have set yourself up against the Lord of heaven. ​​ You had the goblets from his temple brought to you, and you and your nobles, your wives and your concubines drank wine from them. ​​ You praised the gods of silver and gold, of bronze, iron, wood and stone, which cannot see or hear or understand. ​​ But you did not honor the God who holds in his hand your life and all your ways.”

            • All other gods are impotent – they have no power or abilities at all, because they are made from inanimate objects

            • #3 – My Next Step Today Is To: ​​ Worship God as the only true God, who is all-powerful!

          • God was about to show Pharaoh and the Egyptian people that their gods were powerless, weak, and impotent compared to Him

          • He would give them an opportunity to know Him through turning the waters of Egypt into blood

        • Moses shared the Lord’s message with Pharaoh before he shared the Lord’s message for Aaron

    • Mediator of God’s Wrath (v. 19)

        • Aaron would be the mediator of God’s wrath on Pharaoh and the Egyptian people

        • The message from the Lord was that Aaron needed to take his staff and stretch out his hand over the waters of Egypt

          • This plague would be comprehensive

          • It included the Nile river, all the streams that feed into it, all the man-made canals for irrigation, all natural gathering of water in ponds and all man-made gathering of water in reservoirs

          • There is a lot of discussion about what is meant by even in the wooden buckets and stone jars

            • The original Hebrew does not have the words “buckets” or “jars”

            • It would read more like, and there will be blood throughout all the land of Egypt, both in wood and in stone

            • I think the best explanation I read concerning the reference to wood and stone, is that it is another way of saying that all water supplies on the surface in Egypt would be turned to blood

          • PRINCIPLE #4 – God’s wrath is complete and total.

            • His wrath against Pharaoh and the Egyptians would not be incomplete and partial

            • They had oppressed and mistreated the Israelites for far too long and now it was time to discipline the offenders

            • God’s punishment would be righteous and just

            • “Those who live in defiance of God should realize that he longs for them to repent. ​​ It is not in the nature of God to oppress his opponents so that they are forced to their knees in submission to his will, even if such actions may be morally justifiable. ​​ To do so, would make God like Pharaoh. ​​ Remarkable as it may seem, God is even prepared to strengthen the resolve of those who stand against him, rather than override their own free will.” ​​ [Alexander, Apollos Old Testament Commentary, Volume 2, Exodus, 201-202]

          • God’s wrath against the gods of the Nile would be complete and total

            • Did this plague affect the Israelites living in Goshen?

            • We know from Exodus 8:22 that God tells Moses that He will deal differently with the land of Goshen where His people live – no swarms of flies will affect them

            • From that point on the plagues do not affect the Israelites

            • So, when we see that God begins to deal differently with the land of Goshen with the fourth plague, we assume that the three plagues preceding that one, affected the Israelites

            • In most translations of the Bible, with the exception of the NIV, and in the Hebrew, verse 19 is translated this way, Stretch out your hand over the waters of Egypt, over their streams, over their canals, and over their ponds, and over their reservoirs

            • “The use of the third person masculine plural suffix (not reflected in the NIV) seems to specify that it is the Egyptians who will be affected by the plague.” ​​ [Enns, 202]

            • If the Israelites were affected by the plague, then they would have done what the Egyptians did in verse 24, as we will see in a moment

        • Aaron would be the mediator of God’s wrath as he lifted up his staff and stretched it out over the waters of Egypt

    • Obeying God’s Instruction (vv. 20-21)

        • Moses and Aaron once again obeyed the Lord’s command

          • This is a recurring theme throughout Exodus as we saw the last two weeks – Moses and Aaron are obedient to the Lord’s command

          • PRINCIPLE #5 – God is pleased when we are obedient to Him.

          • There is some discussion about who did what and with what

            • Did Moses lift up his staff in front of Pharaoh and his officials and strike the water of the Nile?

            • Aaron took a staff and stretched out his hand over the streams, canals, ponds, and reservoirs (was this Moses’ staff?)

            • Perhaps the best explanation comes from Mackay’s commentary when he says, “Moses in verse 20 struck the Nile itself, while Aaron in terms of the instructions of verse 19 stretched the staff out over the other sources of water in the land.” ​​ [Mackay, 153]

            • It would seem as though Aaron used Moses’ staff (the staff of God) and then gave it back to Moses, who in turn struck the Nile river

          • As soon as Moses struck the Nile, God’s power was released and all the water sources were turned to blood

          • PRINCIPLE #4 – God’s wrath is complete and total.

        • PRINCIPLE #3 – God is more powerful than any other god.

          • He showed His sovereign power over the gods of Egypt

          • The source of life for Egypt was now a source of death

          • The fish in the Nile river died and their rotting flesh smell so bad that the Egyptians could not drink the water

            • As a child, we would go to my Grandparents farm in Orrstown on many occasions

              • I was always hopeful they would have something else to drink in their refrigerator, because the well water smells like rotten eggs (sulfur)

              • Many times I had to drink stinky water

              • I found that if the water was refrigerated, it didn’t smell as bad and I could choke it down

            • My Grandparent’s well water was not harmful to me, it just didn’t smell good

          • That was probably not the case with the Nile river – it probably would have made the Egyptians sick

        • Marginalizing the supernatural

          • The supernatural is always hard to understand and believe, so we go to extreme measures to explain away the supernatural with the natural

          • This is true of this narrative in the Bible

            • Some people have a hard time believing that all of the water sources in Egypt turned into actual blood

            • So, they explain it through natural phenomenon that happened in ancient Egypt

            • “Hort (1957: 87-95) has argued that what transpired here is an unusually high and threatening rise of the Nile brought on by an excess in the flow of water from the White Nile (especially) and the Blue Nile, the confluence of which produces the Nile. ​​ The larger the flow of water, the more red earth each river sweeps along in its channel. ​​ Add to this movement of red earth the mass appearance of flagellates (microorganisms) in the water. ​​ At night they consume huge amounts of oxygen, thus producing a large fish kill.” ​​ [Hamilton, Exodus: An Exegetical Commentary, 125-26]

            • There you have it, the supernatural explained by the natural

            • I believe in an all-powerful God who is able to do anything – nothing is impossible for Him, therefore, He can turn water into blood, which would not provide the necessary oxygen for fish to survive or for humans to consume

            • Here is something else to consider before we explain away the supernatural

            • “The dramatic, even instantaneous nature of this act is striking. ​​ A naturalistic explanation does not do justice to the theological thrust of this passage. . . . Were this merely a natural phenomenon, Pharaoh could simply have countered, ‘But this happens all the time, Moses! ​​ Can’t your God do any better than this?’ ​​ But the fact that the magicians had to appeal to their ‘secret arts’ (v. 22) suggests that there was more here than red sediment pouring into the Nile. . . . the fact that this phenomenon happened at God’s command is the central concern of the biblical writer. ​​ The point is not so much what happened to the Nile, but that it happened as an explicit act of judgment by God on the Egyptians. ​​ The purpose of this plague—indeed, the entire confrontation between Moses and Pharaoh—is so that Egypt will know that ‘I am the Lord’ (v. 17; cf. 7:5).” ​​ [Enns, 201]

        • We see the marginalization of the supernatural through what the Egyptian magicians did

    • Imitation of God’s Wrath (v. 22a)

        • The magicians were once again able to imitate the supernatural like they had done with turning their staffs into snakes

        • They would also be able to produce frogs as we will see next week

        • If I were Pharaoh, I wouldn’t want my magicians to duplicate the plague, but rather to reverse the plague

          • I would want them to turn the bloody Nile and all the other water sources back into water

          • The magicians did not have any power to accomplish the supernatural

          • They were simply using some kind of trickery to make it look like they had done the same thing, it wasn’t the same thing, it was fake

          • The magicians didn’t make things better, they made them worse

        • Pharaoh’s attitude toward God did not change

    • Ignoring God’s Wrath (v. 22b-23)

        • After seeing his magicians do the same thing, Pharaoh’s heart became hard and he would not listen to Moses and Aaron

        • The Lord had already prepared Moses and Aaron for this outcome

        • Pharaoh just turned around and went back inside his palace

        • He didn’t take this plague to heart

        • Pharaoh didn’t seem to be concerned that the source of life for he and his people had been removed

        • He still did not consider God to be the source of life

        • God is our source of life.

    • Result of God’s Wrath (vv. 24-25)

        • The Egyptians had to dig along the Nile to get drinking water, which tells us that the subterranean water sources were not affected, only the surface water

        • They had to do this for one week

    • Application

        • I don’t want to miss the opportunity to talk about the source of our eternal life

          • God is the source of our physical and spiritual lives

          • He created us in His image, but when sin entered the world through Adam and Eve’s disobedience that sin extended to all humanity (Rom. 3:23)

            • Good person test

            • If we claim we have not sinned, we make him [God] out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives (1 John 1:10)

          • What deserve separation from God for all eternity (Rom. 6:23a)

          • God loves us (Jer. 31:3; John 3:16a; Rom. 5:8a)

          • God’s plan to redeem us

            • John 3:16-17, For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. ​​ For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.

            • Romans 5:8, But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

          • Jesus satisfies everything the Egyptians were seeking in the Nile and everything we are seeking in our own lives

            • John 7:37-39, On the last and greatest day of the Feast, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. ​​ Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him.” ​​ By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. ​​ Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified.

            • John 6:35, Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. ​​ He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will be thirsty.

            • John 14:6, Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. ​​ No one comes to the Father except through me.”

          • Jesus is the source of our eternal life!

        • #4 – My Next Step Today Is To: ​​ Accept Jesus as my source of eternal life.

 

  • YOU

    • Ask the Lord to search your heart and test your thoughts, so you can confess any offensive way found there.

    • Rely on God as your source of life instead of something else.

    • Worship God as the only true God, who is all-powerful!

    • Accept Jesus as your source of eternal life.

 

  • WE

    • Ask the Lord to search our hearts and test our thoughts, so we can confess any offensive way found there.

    • Rely on God as our source of life instead of something else.

    • Worship God as the only true God, who is all-powerful!

 

CONCLUSION

“Lt. George Dixon was a genteel, well-respected man in the Confederate Army. In the early days of the war, his fiancée gave him a $20 gold piece. During the battle of Shiloh, a union minie ball struck him—actually it struck the gold coin, which saved his life. The coin, soundly dented, was to remain with him wherever he went. It became his good luck piece, and he would often be seen kneading the coin in his hand.

 

And where did Lt. Dixon take the coin? Onto the C.S.S. Hunley, the confederate submarine he staunchly believed could break the Union blockade. After sinking the U.S.S. Housatonic, the Hunley herself sank, taking Lt. Dixon and his crew to their deaths. Ultimately, his golden good luck piece could not save him. Recently the coin was found when the submarine was raised.

 

Man seeks out and trusts in many forms of security. Ultimately there is only one source of life and security: Jesus.”

 

Source: "Scientists Find Gold Coin in Confederate Sub," CNN.com; submitted by Len Sullivan, Tupelo, Mississippi.

 

[https://www.preachingtoday.com/illustrations/2001/august/13202.html]

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