Sovereign to Save, Sovereign to Judge

Good morning church family, lets pray before we get started...**PRAY**

INTRO

What we have in this text is one of the most epic literature encounters that has ever been been recorded. Notice I didn’t say story. While it is a story, that word is to vague and muddled with thoughts of fantasy.

This historic encounter does have its villain and its hero.

And yes a big problem is presented…so it has all the makings of a movie :)

But if we examine more carefully, allowing the first book of the Bible to guide our understanding of the second book and the books that follow to frame this text, I think you might be surprised about some of the details

The over arching theme of Genesis is God’s Calling as we see in his choosing Abram at 75 years old (Gen 12:1-9) to be the Father of Israel and issuing a decree

Gen 12:2-3 “2 And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.””

God further speaks to Abram in ch. 15 and starting in verse 13 ...Know for certain that your offspring will be sojourners in a land that is not theirs and will be servants there, and they will be afflicted for four hundred years. 14 But I will bring judgment on the nation that they serve, and afterward they shall come out with great possessions...16 And they shall come back here in the fourth generation...”

Then confirming his promise/covenant to Abram at 99 years old, the Lord said ch 17:4...Behold, my covenant is with you, and you shall be the father of a multitude of nations. 5 ... your name shall be Abraham,... 6 I will make you exceedingly fruitful, and I will make you into nations, and kings shall come from you. 7 And I will establish my covenant between me and you and your offspring after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your offspring after you.”

So in Genesis we see God’s everlasting covenant..... to be God to Abraham whom He has called and to his offspring

But that those who come from Abraham will be sojourners for four generations

Q: Let me ask you a question…Does God lie?

When He says something in Scripture, is it partly true or completely true?

From Scripture we learn that there are three things God cannot do…He cannot lie, he cannot die, and he cannot deny himself.

What God says he does, he keeps his promises thus we say God is Faithful, but God also has the Power to keep those promises and thus we say God is Sovereign

Isn’t this comforting to know the standard for TRUTH is a everlasting Almighty God who does not waver in his promises

Wavering in promises would be to change what he has said and thus God would be changing the rules, taking back his Word

One of my favorite verses is Prov 30:5 “Every word of God proves true; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him.”

God is faithful, trustworthy, perfect, holy, sovereign in all his ways, every decree, every judgement. Every WORD proves true.

ME STATEMENT

Has anyone heard of Pickleball? It’s all the craze these days. Cindy and I have been playing now for a few months and just like when we were in college and enrolled in a tennis class…she outshines me 90% of the time. One aspect just like tennis that you have in Pickleball is the serve. Oh boy do some people have a serve, like a bullet, or a spin that curves away as it bounces. The opponent must let it bounce then return to get the game started otherwise a point is scored.

A few weeks back in youth group, I was playing four-square with some of the youth and had made it to the king’s square, you know...the big dog spot and in that position they get to serve. Of course aware of how hard it is to return a spinning Pickleball serve, I proceeded to spin the serve in four-square. After knocking out several youth, I was starting to get a little arrogant in my king’s position to serve and dish out.

That’s when Marley Moody in a quite polite way said, “Mr. Greg, what happened to the gentleman’s serve?” That’s when I realized I was playing by the wrong rules.

Now this is not a perfect analogy but I was playing by my rules and was put in my place that I was being unfair.

WE STATEMENT

Man its so easy to see when someone else is unjust, unfair

Have you ever played by the wrong rules? Done things that were unfair, deceitful or can we say sinful?

It’s more difficult for us to see OUR own wrongs…am I correct?

As we’ve been studying Exodus, the Israelites were being ruled and in fact enslaved by the world’s most dominant and powerful nation, Egypt and the man in charge...

Pharaoh owned all the land, enacted laws, collected taxes, commander of army, officiated over religion and was responsible for maintaining cosmic order, balance and justice. He was considered sovereign as the god-king of the land

GOD STATEMENT AND STICKY STATEMENT

But is Pharaoh really sovereign? Who is really holding all the cards?

We are going to see this morning that God is sovereign and that He is Sovereign to Save but also Sovereign to Judge

Which happens to be our sermon title and the ONE THING I want you to remember today if I asked you next week what this sermon was all about :)

God is sovereign to save and sovereign to judge

Turn with me to Exodus chapter 11 as we look at our first of 3 points

1. God is Sovereign Over All and Faithful to His Promises (vv. 1-3)

Ex 11:1-3 “1 The Lord said to Moses, “Yet one plague more I will bring upon Pharaoh and upon Egypt. Afterward he will let you go from here. When he lets you go, he will drive you away completely. 2 Speak now in the hearing of the people, that they ask, every man of his neighbor and every woman of her neighbor, for silver and gold jewelry.” 3 And the Lord gave the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians. Moreover, the man Moses was very great in the land of Egypt, in the sight of Pharaoh’s servants and in the sight of the people.”

These three verses are used parenthetically, in other words ...explaining and in addition…here to remember God’s previous instructions to Moses

The phrase, “The Lord said” refers back to Exodus chapter 4 and verse 22-23 where God was telling Moses what to say to Pharaoh “Thus says the Lord, Israel is my firstborn son…Let my son go that he may serve me…if you refuse to let him go, behold, I will kill your firstborn son.”

The Lord said...“Yet one plague more” and this being the most devastating yet unleashed against Pharaoh and Egypt

The word "plague” is generally understood to be a synonym for “pestilence”

But this word “plague” (ne-ga) is a different Hebrew word than previously used, emphasizing the climatic (kli-MAD-ik) act of divine judgement meaning “stroke” or “blow”...its more devastating, more severe

On top of that, this last plague is a direct attack and squarely aimed at Egypt’s god-King who blatantly thumbs his nose at Almighty God

Pharaoh is no match for God, and a reminder... that their is NO ONE that can match God, no one can withstand Him

Kings, rulers, though they be the most powerful leader, country, or empire....the prophet Daniel speaking to Nebuchadnezzar in Dan 2:21 “he removes kings and sets up kings” and again Dan 4:37 “those who walk in pride he is able to humble”

At the end of this verse 1, the word completely means that the captivity of God’s chosen people will end, will stop, will be finished!

That the Israelites will by God’s mighty hand be separated from their bondage to Egypt

Although it says Pharaoh “will let them go”, it is God who is directing their redemption, finishing completely their enslavement

This is a new start for God’s chosen people, after being in bondage for over 400 years

I believe this act of redemption by God foreshadows the redemption that Jesus offers

in that, before a person becomes a true believer, they are in bondage to sin with no hope of escape by their own doing

through the gift of faith in the work of Jesus (who said “It is finished”)... God’s chosen people are led out of bondage to sin and given a new life, a new start

In verse 2 God tells Moses "in the hearing of the people”, the LXX reads “His people” to ask for silver and gold jewelry

Would YOU give away your gold or silver? No way!

But that is exactly what happened as God had said to Abraham back in Genesis 15:14 “they will come out with great possessions”

And in verse 3 “the Lord gave the people favor”

Ties back to Ex 3:21-22 “21 And I will give this people favor in the sight of the Egyptians; and when you go, you shall not go empty, 22 but each woman shall ask of her neighbor, and any woman who lives in her house, for silver and gold jewelry, and for clothing...So you shall plunder the Egyptians.””

In Ps 105:25 Moses declares that men’s hearts are turned this way or that by God “that the Egyptians were impelled by Him “to hate His people” but then in Ps 106:46 “He caused them to be pitied by all those who held them captive.”

Why this back and forth... so that Sovereign God might be glorified and make way for their divine deliverance

How abundant God is in his goodness, his mercy, and his power, that He is sovereign!

Since its part of the sermon title, you may be wondering what exactly is sovereign?

Sovereign essentially means that God has the power, wisdom, and authority to do anything He chooses within His creation. That his will will be done and done perfectly.

What God had said to Abraham, the promise he made is now being fulfilled just as God said it would.

Over and over and over, this book testifies that no word of God can fail!

He is not a rule changer, nor does he deny himself by breaking his rules, God does not CHANGE

Josh 1:5 “...Just as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you or forsake you.”

John 14:18 “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.”

Do you know God is trustworthy? That You can trust His word as God is always faithful to his promises.

TRANSITION: OK, we have seen that God is faithful as his word is fulfilled and sovereign over all to do exactly what he has said. This leads us to our next point starting in verse 4, that....

2. God is Sovereign to Judge (11:4-8; 12:29-32)

in order to understand the context and ongoing dialogue in verse 4, we need to look back to chapter 10, verse 28

NINTH PLAGUE: DARKNESS

The ninth plague God brought was that he caused darkness over the land of Egypt in v. 10:22

The darkness continued for three days which can be understood as the full manifestation of God’s withdrawal.

So fearful was this "thick darkness" that the Egyptians "They did not see one another, nor did anyone rise from his place"

which was by God against Egypts most cherished gods, Ra the sun god.

Striking is the contrast presented in the next sentence: "But all the people of Israel had light where they lived"

This light was as supernatural as the darkness

Remember in 10:24 Pharaoh said to go but leave your flocks and herds, which we will see again in a few verses

Ex 10:28-32 “28 Then Pharaoh said to him, “Get away from me; take care never to see my face again, for on the day you see my face you shall die.” 29 Moses said, “As you say! I will not see your face again.”

VERSE 4 So Moses said, “Thus says the Lord: ‘About midnight I will go out in the midst of Egypt, VERSE 5 and every firstborn in the land of Egypt shall die, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sits on his throne, even to the firstborn of the slave girl who is behind the handmill, and all the firstborn of the cattle.

Next week we are going to see in Mark’s sermon how God protects his chosen people and their firstborn from this tenth plague

So Moses is speaking to Pharaoh during the plague of darkness…Pharaoh says “on the day you see my face you shall die.”

Pharaoh couldn’t see because of the darkness when he threatens the life of Moses

It seems (but it is not certain) that the tenth plague happened the same night that the ninth plague of darkness ended

Disease, desolation, and darkness had visited Pharaoh’s land and now death itself was to do its work

This is a lesson we must learn, that God is not indifferent to sin, while he is patient, longsuffering he will not let the guilty go unpunished

EX 34:6-7 “6 ...“The Lord (God is) merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, 7 keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty...”

The three days of darkness upon Egypt utters a solemn warning for all who are not in Christ.

The warning is, if you who are unsaved continue on your present course, if you go on ignoring the mercy of God, refuse to heed His warning to flee the wrath to come, that you will be cast into “the outer darkness” (Matt 8:12)

AW Pink in his commentary on Exodus said, “What point do these plagues give…? He reminds us in Hebrews 10:31 that "It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God" (Heb. 10:31)! Be warned, then, dear reader. Today, if you will hear His voice, harden not your heart. Remember what befell Pharaoh for hardening his (heart)! Flee then to the Divinely appointed Refuge. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved.”

Abundant was Pharaoh’s opportunity to repent of his wicked defiance and obey God, believing that all God was commanding through Moses will surly come to pass and merciful was God to announce these 10 plagues before they occured

VERSE 6 There shall be a great cry throughout all the land of Egypt, such as there has never been, nor ever will be again.

And Ex 12:30 includes that “...for there was not a house where someone was not dead.”

Death at every house, from the rich to the poor, no Egyptian home was spared

Money couldn’t save them, position and power couldn’t save them, nothing except the mercy of God could save them

VERSE 7 But not a dog shall growl against any of the people of Israel, either man or beast, that you may know that the Lord makes a distinction between Egypt and Israel.’”

I don’t know how it is, but I have a neighbor whose dogs start barking as soon as I walk out the front door and his dogs are across the street and behind his house

It’s not natural for dogs not to bark at noise and here we see again God’s protection for his chosen people that as they are leaving in haste, that they are leaving in peace while the Egyptians cry in great anguish

The text is careful to say Yahweh makes the distinction

This again shows the contrast between those under His protection verses those under his wrath

Ps 85:8 “Let me hear what God the Lord will speak, for he will speak peace to his people...”

VERSE 8 And all these your servants shall come down to me and bow down to me, saying, ‘Get out, you and all the people who follow you.’ And after that I will go out.” And he went out from Pharaoh in hot anger.

verse 8 ends the dialogue that started back in 10:28

Is there anyone in the congregation who just has to get the last word? :)

It’s a problem for some I know…they say “goodbye”, you say “see ya later,” they say…”NO I’ll see YOU later!”…no matter what you say they have to get the last word

I know that illustration is funny but it can be a real issue especially among friends, coworkers, spouses

But you know who gets the last word? God!

He who created this world…He who spoke and created something from nothing…He gets the last word (Amen?)

In God’s confidence, Moses is clearly not intimidated by this bully, in fact Moses by God’s power gets the last word even saying "your servants will come bow down to me”

The end of verse 8, it says that Moses “went out from Pharaoh in hot anger”

Do you know what causes great agony among pastors who faithfully preach the Word?

Seeing some sit idle and deaf Sunday after Sunday to the divine warning given in God’s word, some like Pharaoh in complete defiance

Moses had come to him over and over and over, yet Pharaoh had not ears to hear nor eyes to see the coming wrath of God

We will come back to verses 9-10 but turn the page with me to chapter 12 and verse 29 as we see the outcome of this dialogue

Ch 12 VERSE 29 At midnight the Lord struck down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sat on his throne to the firstborn of the captive who was in the dungeon, and all the firstborn of the livestock.

God had proclaimed his plan beforehand and now makes good, doing exactly as He said

Listen to the prophet Isaiah, Isa 44:7 “7 Who is like me? Let him proclaim it. Let him declare and set it before me, since I appointed an ancient people. Let them declare what is to come, and what will happen.”

VERSE 30 And Pharaoh rose up in the night, he and all his servants and all the Egyptians. And there was a great cry (v. 6) in Egypt, for there was not a house where someone was not dead.

The word “all” (kol in Hebrew) is used 4 times in verses 29-30, meaning all, whole, everyone, everything, total

Matthew Henry said of this death plague, “...it reached-from the throne to the dungeon... prince and peasant stand upon the same level before God’s judgement, for there is no respect of persons with him”

Job sheds some light on this speaking about God, Job 34: 19-20 “19 who shows no partiality (par-SHE-ality) to princes, nor regards the rich more than the poor, for they are all the work of his hands? 20 In a moment they die; at midnight the people are shaken and pass away, and the mighty are taken away by no human hand.”

VERSE 31 Then he (Pharaoh) summoned Moses and Aaron by night (one commentator said it was by messenger since Moses and Aaron had left before the final plague) and said, “Up, go out from among my people, both you and the people of Israel; and go, serve the Lord, as you have said. 32 Take your flocks and your herds, as you have said, and be gone, and bless me also!””

And now see this god-King who is no match for the real and Living God in what he says…he says

Go! All your people, all your kids, all your livestock, go with everything you have commanded...“as you have said, as you have said”

And to show his still stony and prideful heart, tries to sneak in a easy blessing saying “bless me also” yet completely failing to obey God until it was too late

TRANSITION: So in this section we have seen God’s sovereign judgement had come to Pharaoh and every Egyptian home, that God is Sovereign to Judge. Let us now look to the last point as we turn back to chapter 11 verse 9 and see that...

3. God is Sovereign to Save His Chosen People, Magnifying His Glory (11:9-10)

These two verses can be read as a summary or epilogue

VERSE 9 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Pharaoh will not listen to you, that my wonders may be multiplied in the land of Egypt.”

If you missed it last week or maybe you’re still wondering WHY? Why all these plagues? What’s the purpose? Why does Pharaoh not relent?

Hear God’s word as to the WHY...”that my wonders may be multiplied”

It is Yahweh, Almighty God, Creator of heaven and earth, who desires to be made known to the world

It is all about God’s glory!

VERSE 10 Moses and Aaron did all these wonders before Pharaoh...

Moses and Aaron were obedient as human agents of God, doing wonders for all to see

WHY were they doing wonders? v.9 “that my wonders may be multiplied”

The last time I preached on October 30, the sermon was titled “God’s Riches in Glory”

Summarizing the letter, I said that its main theme was found in the doxology and our purpose for living is to give… God… glory!

Now in the book of Exodus, turning back in time roughly 1500 years from when Paul wrote Philippians, what do we see?

We see that it is all about God, its all about HIS glory

I love Matt Papa’s song “Christ The True and Better”…listen to this verse

Christ the true and better Moses, called to lead a people home

Standing bold to earthly powers, God’s great glory to be known

VERSE 10 ...and the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he did not let the people of Israel go out of his land.

The text here says that the Lord hardened…that Yahweh alone strengthens Pharaoh’s heart to resist

Even before certain death, Pharaoh refuses to humble himself (Ex 14:8)

You have probably already pondered one of these questions, but...

How is it fair that God hardened Pharaoh’s heart?

Was God forcing Pharaoh to do evil?

What does it mean that God hardened his heart anyway?

These are actually very important theological questions and thankfully the book of Romans gives us some insight

Rom 9:14 “What shall we say then? Is there injustice on God’s part? By no means!”

Everything God does is right and just and we should trust Him rather than question Him

Rom 9:15 “For he says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.””

The truth is, No one is deserving of God’s mercy, but rather are deserving of his wrath, as Rom 3:23 reminds us “for ALL have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”

God has in fact shown MERCY that we have breath and life...

That He is under no obligation to show mercy to anyone

Rom 9:16 “So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy.”

Thankfully our God, the same God of Moses is patient and loving, and compassionate... but MERCY to save eternally comes ONLY from God and not based on human will nor trying to be good

While God desires none perish, He shows mercy on some and wrath on others

Rom 9:17 “For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, “For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I might show my power in you, and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.””

God’s sovereign purposes and power...his attributes are on full display

While He is Sovereign to Save, He is also Sovereign to Judge

Rom 9:18 “18 So then he has mercy on whomever he wills, and he hardens whomever he wills.”

Both Isaiah and Jeremiah describe people as clay and God as the Potter

And Paul as well, Rom 9:21 “Has the potter no right over the clay, to make out of the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for dishonorable use?”

Did the Israelites deserve God’s MERCY? Or did they work to earn their freedom from captivity?

God’s MERCY had nothing to do with their spiritual goodness, their faithfulness or inherent righteousness

As we continue in our Exodus series, this will be clearly seen, that they are a “stiff-necked people”...

and stiff-necked can be likened to hard-hearted…they in fact were NO BETTER than Pharaoh

It was by His mercy, ALL GOD who previously chose Abraham, and now ALL GOD who is making good on His Word

May we be reminded that in Exodus chapter 8, that Pharaoh hardened his own heart 3 times

Apart from God’s saving grace, all people have a heart of stone

Pharaoh just like everyone else was a sinner from birth, separated from God because of the seed of sin passed down from Adam

For God to harden Pharaoh’s heart means that God only solidified and finally judged Pharaoh for his sin

Thus it was that both God hardened him by His just judgment, and Pharaoh by his own free will.

God did not make Pharaoh wicked, God does not MAKE people evil

If God makes people evil, then would God not also be evil?

All the evil, and suffering, devastation we see in this world is a result of man’s sin, it is NOT of God’s doing, God is NOT evil

TRANSITION: In this third point, v. 9-10 we have seen that God is Sovereign to Save His Chosen People and that He does so to magnify His Name. In conclusion...

Conclusion

... you may be wondering, how does the New Testament and Jesus fit into all of this?

Didn’t Jesus come to rescue sinners, pay for the debt of sin, didn’t God come to to save?

Like the Israelites who were born into captivity as slaves in Egypt, we are born into sin

Apart from Christ, all live as sinners, start and end their day as sinners and the wrath of God remains upon them

YOU STATEMENT

Are YOU still in bondage, still a slave to sin and in fact in love with your sin that you’re not willing to turn away from it?

Are YOU still playing by your rules, rules that say its OK to continue in a life of sin, rules that let you do what you want, even disregarding God and His word?

By God’s word, He says to stop mocking Him, stop despising his words lest His wrath rise up against you (2 Chronicles 36:16)

In all your earthly pleasures and willful disobedience to God, you are making your heart diamond-hard as NOT to hear (Zech 7:12)

Continue my friend and one day God may harden your heart as He did Pharaoh

But as Hebrews 3 verses 7-8 as the Holy Spirit says, “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts”

If God is drawing you to Him today, run to Him, quit being slow to move, quit hardening your heart

OR…maybe YOU have been resisting God’s call to obey Him and as Pastor Terry said last week, you are seeking the things of this world over the ONE Living God who made all things

Is there any area where you’ve hardened your heart, even as a believer?

For the unbeliever and believer alike, how should we respond? In repentance

If you don’t truly know Him and he is pressing down on you this morning…He says to repent and believe in the gospel, believe in Jesus

WE STATEMENT

Collectively as a church, are WE listening and believing more in the things of this world ..the things that we can see and touch, believing in our own abilities and talents, OR are WE trusting God, believing that God is Sovereign, and that we desire God to be sovereign in this church?

What’s our desire, God’s glory or our glory?

Let me leave you with one last verse that I think sums up this passage...

ECC 7:18 (NASB) It is good that you grasp one thing and also not let go of the other; for the one who fears God ...comes forth with both of them.

Elders’s, Matt and your team, go ahead and come forward. If you need prayer or if Almighty God by His Spirit is working on your heart today, I’d encourage you to come pray with one of our elders.

PRAY (for a Holy Fear of Almighty God)