The Deadliest Plague

Last week we saw the big picture of what God was doing through the plagues and the truths we needed to take away from them:

God will reveal Himself

Remorse isn’t repentance

God’s power is infinite & Satan’s isn’t

God is exclusive

There is mercy in judgment

While we haven’t discussed the plagues in depth, we can see what God was doing through them:

He was giving Pharaoh and the Egyptians opportunity to repent

He was giving Moses & Aaron the opportunity to be obedient

He was preparing Moses and the Israelites to trust Him

God is always in the business of doing more than what we’re aware of.

He was doing more than even we know through the plagues

What we do know however is that the 10 plagues were not reactions

The water turning to blood was not plan A

The frogs were not plan B

The death of the firstborn was not plan J

God knew what He was doing

He knows the future and He knows His timetable

That’s the thing about God – He knows it all

God knew it would take ten plagues to convince Pharaoh to let His people go.

And what we have in chapter 11 is a warning of what is going to take place if Pharaoh continues to refuse to relent and repent

Exodus 11

Why a warning now?

For the first 9 plagues God didn’t give a warning of the plague that was about to happen

He gave Pharoah opportunity to repent but when he didn’t, God told Moses to stretch out his hand and pronounce the judgment over the land – there was no warning

Now God is giving Pharaoh one more chance to repent before the judgment of death is given

None of the first 9 plagues caused death amongst any humans

Now with this 10th plague death of the firstborn son is the judgment

No one would be exempt except the Israelites – even the firstborn of the livestock would be affected

So in this chapter God lays it all out for them – In essence He gives them a glimpse into the future and again we see Pharaoh refuses

Throughout all of these signs & wonders God has been patient but that patience will turn to judgment. Remember that these signs & wonders evident to everyone – to both Egyptian & Israelite

It gave many people clear proof that God is omniscience and omnipotent and these signs encouraged everyone to repent of their sins and turn to God.

Everybody was going to be affected in some way.

Death has a way of getting people to see the fragility of life, humble themselves, and turn to God.

So why is this plague different from the others?

Because of what it reveals to us about God’s nature.

That’s what I want us to notice from this passage

God is Just

We all love justice – Law & Order, Judge Judy, The People’s Court

We want to see people get what they have coming to them

I like to listen to Cold Case Podcasts – where people who think they have gotten away with their crimes finally get caught and families get closure

We all want justice – when we’ve been done wrong – we demand that it be made right

However, when we’re the one in the wrong, we don’t want justice, we desire grace & mercy

We want leniency

God is just.

The world likes to think that God is love ( He is) and that He accepts and allows whatever they want because after all God is love

Those same people have a problem with the God of the OT - How could a God of love be a God of Wrath as well?

Voddie Baucham quote – “Why hasn’t He dealt with us already?”

Many people judge God according to their own finite, changing standards.

Instead of God being the standard for His own righteousness, they use themselves or their own opinions as the standard.

This is dangerous because that confuses the truth and reality in our thinking because the human heart is “deceitful” beyond our own understanding (Jeremiah 17:9).

It’s bad enough that God would allow these Egyptians and Pharaoh to experience what they have through these previous 9 plagues – it cost them their comfort, their livelihood and even their way of living

Now God pronounces death of the firstborn

Vs.4-7

Why would God go to this drastic of a measure against Pharoah & the Egyptians

We don’t know completely but we do know that God gets our attention

The firstborn held a particularly important position in the family and society,

They had privilege, mainly the firstborn would inherit a double portion of the father’s estate

In Egypt, the firstborn would ascend to the throne and continue the dynasty.

Whatever significance might have come from being the firstborn – whether it was religiously, politically, dynastically, and socially, it was all stripped away by the intensity of the plague

Some of you are quick learners and some of us are slow learners

God will go to whatever means to give you opportunity to turn to Him

There also comes an end to the leniency and judgment must take place

You know this to be true as a parent – My dad had a one warning rule – He told you once and then it was punishment

As we’ve seen through these plagues, God has been more than patient

Now God is going to remove all doubt about who’s in control

In the 1st9 plagues, God had Moses stretch out His hand

Now vs. 4 - “…I will go out in the midst of Egypt…”

God is going to put His full glory on display by this act of judgment

He is removing all doubt that He is the Judge of the Universe

It doesn’t matter if you like it or not or just want God to save everyone or not, He is not like that.

He takes sin seriously and will not allow sin to go unpunished.

We Must Take Sin Seriously

Growing up, I was known to do some things that were… maybe not so smart

It’s a wonder I made it this far

Many times as a result of doing something dangerous I would hear:

You’re playing with fire

You’re skating on thin ice

Don’t go grabbing that tiger by the tail

You reap what you sow – Granny’s favorite

You’re guilty too – we all are – maybe not with evil knevil type stunts but with other areas of our lives

If there’s one area in particular that we play fast and loose with, it’s with sin

We put degrees on our sin and somehow we justify and even excuse what God has called wrong

It is not a light matter.

All sin is worthy of death.

While God is patient and kind, He also hates sin and takes it seriously.

We’re to hate sin as He hates sin

We should take sin seriously, especially the sin of rejecting God willfully.

If we’re to learn anything from this historical account of the plagues and the Egyptians, it’s this:

You must take sin seriously

Why? Because all sin is against God and there is a consequence for sin

Romans 6:23 – For the wages of sin is death…

The Egyptians however were not concerned with their sin and willfully continued to keep going in the direction they were going

Vs.9-10

Even with the pronouncement of death Pharaoh and his taskmasters refused to heed God’s warning and let the Israelites go

Some people are slow learners… bless their hearts

We all know someone like this… sometimes it’s us

We think that there is time, God will let this pass, surely He doesn’t care about small insignificant sins

Is there such a thing as insignificant sin?

Why then do we placate sin? Flirt with temptation?

Is it because the judgment/punishment isn’t immediate?

We must take sin seriously if we’re going to reap the benefits and blessing that God has for us

How could we ever expect God to bless attitudes or actions that are contrary to His Word?

We can’t and we shouldn’t be surprised when He doesn’t

Instead we should take sin as seriously as God does and we shouldn’t be surprised when He deals with our sin

If you remember, the Egyptians had a national policy to kill the firstborn of the Israelites.

Pharaoh made this policy and asked his people to enforce it.

God is going to judge them in the same way.

The next time you want things to be fair in life, remember this.

This is fairness epitomized.

We should never complain, but we should especially not complain if the trouble happening to us is because of our own mistakes or our own sins against others.

You reap what you sow?

The Egyptians had ten chances to repent and didn’t take them.

How many chances have you and I received?

God does deal with sin but He also is merciful.

God Preserves His Own

I’ve said it often, if it comes down to one of my kids or wife and you… It was nice knowing you.

I’m going to look after my own and you would too.

So we shouldn’t be surprised that God would not only deliver His own, he sovereignly provides and preserves His own.

This is the last plague, the Israelites are about to be released

They’ve been slaves for the last 400 years and now they’re going to be on their own.

God provides for them through the favor of their enemies

Vs. 2-3

Scholars have also tried to explain what the silver and gold represent.

Some say they were Israel’s wages. God wanted to make sure that his people got paid for all the work they did in Egypt.

Others say it was the price of redemption, which was always required for release from slavery.

Still others consider it a form of military tribute, which God made the Egyptians pay their conquerors.

Some even say the Israelites plundered the Egyptians and deceitfully took from them.

In any case, the silver and gold were a sign of divine favor.

It would have been enough to escape from Egypt in one piece, but in His mercy God arranged to provide His people with what they needed for their journey (although, as we shall see, the plunder turned out to be a mixed blessing!).

God often does this: In addition to spiritual salvation, he gives his people material blessings that go far beyond what they need or even ask.

Why?

Because He is merciful?

Because He is loving?

Because He is just?

Yes

Because God will preserve His own.

There are many things to learn about God from His miracles in Egypt.

He sent the plagues in order to demonstrate His power, jealousy, justice, mercy, and sovereignty.

In a word, God did it to show His glory, which is the sum total of all His perfections.

The plagues were all part of God’s plan to reveal His glory in the salvation of His people.

Even Pharaoh’s opposition was part of the plan.

Each time he hardened his heart, God performed another miracle, further multiplying His wonders.

God did it all for His glory.

The same is true of everything that God has ever done—it is all for his glory.

That is why you and I have been shown mercy in our own lives.

Knowing that we would fall into sin, God made a plan for our salvation, and this too was for His glory

Have you accepted His gracious, merciful and free offer of forgiveness from your sin?

Or are you hardening your heart?

Do you take sin as seriously as you should?

Maybe there are some habitual, unrepentant sins that you need to confess and repent from.

If so, there’s no time like the present

When you do, not only are you delivered from that sin, it gives glory to God for His Power and Majesty

That’s really what it’s all about

Does your life give glory to God?

I pray that through the acceptance of His free gift of salvation, it will!