The Contest with Pharaoh: LORD of the Locusts & the Light

Introduction

The LORD’s Perfections

Pharaoh’s Heart

One Sided Contest

Plagues 1 Through 7

Know the LORD

Exodus 10:1–2 ESV

1 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go in to Pharaoh, for I have hardened his heart and the heart of his servants, that I may show these signs of mine among them, 2 and that you may tell in the hearing of your son and of your grandson how I have dealt harshly with the Egyptians and what signs I have done among them, that you may know that I am the Lord.”

The LORD’s Purpose

Who the LORD is

Know Easy or Hard

Exodus 9:14–16 ESV

14 For this time I will send all my plagues on you yourself, and on your servants and your people, so that you may know that there is none like me in all the earth. 15 For by now I could have put out my hand and struck you and your people with pestilence, and you would have been cut off from the earth. 16 But for this purpose I have raised you up, to show you my power, so that my name may be proclaimed in all the earth.

Already told to Pharaoh

The Eighth Plague

Exodus 10:3–6 ESV

3 So Moses and Aaron went in to Pharaoh and said to him, “Thus says the Lord, the God of the Hebrews, ‘How long will you refuse to humble yourself before me? Let my people go, that they may serve me. 4 For if you refuse to let my people go, behold, tomorrow I will bring locusts into your country, 5 and they shall cover the face of the land, so that no one can see the land. And they shall eat what is left to you after the hail, and they shall eat every tree of yours that grows in the field, 6 and they shall fill your houses and the houses of all your servants and of all the Egyptians, as neither your fathers nor your grandfathers have seen, from the day they came on earth to this day.’ ” Then he turned and went out from Pharaoh.

Humility (How Long/Refuse)

The Locusts are Coming

The Likes of Have NeverBeen Seen Before

Abrupt Leaving

Isaiah 45:22–23 ESV

22 “Turn to me and be saved, all the ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other. 23 By myself I have sworn; from my mouth has gone out in righteousness a word that shall not return: ‘To me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear allegiance.’

Every Knee, this is also attributed to Jesus.

Philippians 2:10–11 ESV

10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

No-one is exempt

Second Thoughts

Exodus 10:7–11 ESV

7 Then Pharaoh’s servants said to him, “How long shall this man be a snare to us? Let the men go, that they may serve the Lord their God. Do you not yet understand that Egypt is ruined?” 8 So Moses and Aaron were brought back to Pharaoh. And he said to them, “Go, serve the Lord your God. But which ones are to go?” 9 Moses said, “We will go with our young and our old. We will go with our sons and daughters and with our flocks and herds, for we must hold a feast to the Lord.” 10 But he said to them, “The Lord be with you, if ever I let you and your little ones go! Look, you have some evil purpose in mind. 11 No! Go, the men among you, and serve the Lord, for that is what you are asking.” And they were driven out from Pharaoh’s presence.

Servants Sort of Get It

You think this is a game?

We are All Leaving

Driven Out

They’re Here

Exodus 10:13–15 ESV

13 So Moses stretched out his staff over the land of Egypt, and the Lord brought an east wind upon the land all that day and all that night. When it was morning, the east wind had brought the locusts. 14 The locusts came up over all the land of Egypt and settled on the whole country of Egypt, such a dense swarm of locusts as had never been before, nor ever will be again. 15 They covered the face of the whole land, so that the land was darkened, and they ate all the plants in the land and all the fruit of the trees that the hail had left. Not a green thing remained, neither tree nor plant of the field, through all the land of Egypt.

Moses Obeyed

Understood the Assignment

The Ruin is Real

Pharaoh Can’t Take This

Exodus 10:16–20 ESV

16 Then Pharaoh hastily called Moses and Aaron and said, “I have sinned against the Lord your God, and against you. 17 Now therefore, forgive my sin, please, only this once, and plead with the Lord your God only to remove this death from me.” 18 So he went out from Pharaoh and pleaded with the Lord. 19 And the Lord turned the wind into a very strong west wind, which lifted the locusts and drove them into the Red Sea. Not a single locust was left in all the country of Egypt. 20 But the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he did not let the people of Israel go.

Second time he has mentioned that he sinned and wants some sort of forgiveness or was in the wrong.

Exodus 9:27 ESV

27 Then Pharaoh sent and called Moses and Aaron and said to them, “This time I have sinned; the Lord is in the right, and I and my people are in the wrong.

The Ninth Plague

Exodus 10:21 ESV

21 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand toward heaven, that there may be darkness over the land of Egypt, a darkness to be felt.”

No Announcement to Pharaoh

Darkness - Across the Land of Egypt

Felt Darkness

Can’t Take the Darkness

Exodus 10:24–29 ESV

24 Then Pharaoh called Moses and said, “Go, serve the Lord; your little ones also may go with you; only let your flocks and your herds remain behind.” 25 But Moses said, “You must also let us have sacrifices and burnt offerings, that we may sacrifice to the Lord our God. 26 Our livestock also must go with us; not a hoof shall be left behind, for we must take of them to serve the Lord our God, and we do not know with what we must serve the Lord until we arrive there.” 27 But the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he would not let them go. 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.”

Go Away - Leave Your Flocks

Everything Goes With Us

Not Letting You Go

The Sun God of Egypt (Ra)

Given this story, the Sun God Ra has always been the greatest god in Egypt. In the Old Kingdom (2800 BCE), when Egypt established its institutions and expressed its royal ideology, the divinized king of Egypt was considered the son of the Sun God.

American Research Center in Egypt (https://arce.org/resource/ra-creator-god-ancient-egypt/)

What do we See about God?

A. God Acts for His Glory (Deservedly so)

B. Everyone will be Humbled before the LORD

C. The Only True God