So That You Know There Is No One Like The Lord Our God (Exo 7:14 - Exo. 10:29)

Intro: Good morning FE, it is joy to be here together worshipping the Lord through singing and learning from his word. If you are joining us online, we are glad you are with us. I hope you are enjoying the weekly devotionals and this sermon series through the book of Exodus, I pray that the Lord will open our eyes to see his glory as we go through this book.

The Bible is a book, inspired by God, as the Holy Spirit used human authors to write what God wanted us to know about life and godliness, about life and living a life that honors and pleases God. In this revelation, the Lord reveals to us what he wants us to know about him. For example, a few months ago we walked through Psalms 23 together and we learned that the Lord is the good Shepherd and the Good Host. We love to read that Psalm because it is comforting, “he makes me ie down in green pastures” or “he prepares a table for me before my enemies”, it is comforting to know the Lord is our Shepherd. As believers we love to hear those words, we cling to those words, we even share those words so others can be comforted. Sometimes we focus on the things about the Lord that we enjoy or we love about him like “God is love” or “for God so loved the world, he gave his only Son that whoever believes in Him, will not perish but have everlasting life”. Those are beautiful truths that we should love, we should cling to, we should share with others. But if that is all we share, if that is all we believe, if that is all we cling to, we are not sharing the whole picture. We forget that John 3:18 says “whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God”.

The Bible reveals that the Lord is love and his love is amazing, it is a holy love, a love like no other. The Bible also reveals that the Lord is just and he will not let sin go unpunished, because the Lord is Holy, he cannot let sin go unpunished. The next few weeks we are going to see the glory of the Lord, which he reveals to us through the book of Exodus. We will see God’s love for his people, but we will also see the Lord’s justice come upon those who oppose him. God’s justice will be so clear, that when the people of God finally leave Egypt, Moses sings praises to the Lord and you know what he sings? “The Lord is a warrior, the Lord is his name…

Exodus 15:11–13 (ESV)

“Who is like you, O Lord, among the gods?

Who is like you, majestic in holiness,

awesome in glorious deeds, doing wonders?

You stretched out your right hand;

the earth swallowed them.

“You have led in your steadfast love the people whom you have redeemed;

you have guided them by your strength to your holy abode.

¿Quién como tú entre los dioses, oh Señor? ¿Quién como tú, majestuoso en santidad, temible en las alabanzas, haciendo maravillas? 12 Extendiste tu diestra, los tragó la tierra. 13 En tu misericordia has guiado al pueblo que has redimido; con tu poder los has guiado a tu santa morada.

The Lord is love and as we will see today and the next few weeks the Lord is a warrior also, executing his justice throughout the world. We must come and worship him for who he reveals himself to be through his Word.

As we move through Exodus, the Lord provides for us

A Preview of The Plan of God

he gives Moses and us a glimpse of what is coming.

Exodus 4:21–23 (ESV)

And the Lord said to Moses, “When you go back to Egypt, see that you do before Pharaoh all the miracles that I have put in your power. But I will harden his heart, so that he will not let the people go. Then you shall say to Pharaoh, ‘Thus says the Lord, Israel is my firstborn son, and I say to you, “Let my son go that he may serve me.” If you refuse to let him go, behold, I will kill your firstborn son.’ ”

21 Y el Señor dijo a Moisés: Cuando vuelvas[m] a Egipto, mira que hagas delante de Faraón todas las maravillas que he puesto en tu mano; pero yo endureceré su corazón de modo que no dejará ir al pueblo.22 Entonces dirás a Faraón: «Así dice el Señor: “Israel es mi hijo, mi primogénito. 23 Y te he dicho: ‘Deja ir a mi hijo para que me sirva’, pero te has negado a dejarlo ir. He aquí, mataré a tu hijo, a tu primogénito”».

I want you to imagine all that is going on. we must not forget Moses grew up in the courts of Pharoah, Moses most likely knows the Pharoah, they most likely grew up together and the Lord tells Moses, go to Pharoah and tell him to let my people go, perform all the miracles that I the Lord have put in your power to do. I want the Pharoah to see the power of the Lord. Then the Lord says “I will harden his heart”. The Lord says I will harden the heart of Pharoah and he will refuse to let my people go. The Lord sends Moses and tells you will not be very successful because I will harden the heart of Pharoah. Then the Lord says, because Pharoah refuses to let my firstborn son, the nation of Israel go to serve me, i will kill the first born son of Pharoah.

When we think of the sovereignty of God, some of us may have this conception, that God is sovereign over the big things that happen in the world, but the little things, God doesn’t care too much about that. But the story of Exodus exposes that misconception, God is sovereign over all, even the the heart of Pharoah. Just think of all the little things that need to happen for us to get to this point, Moses has to be born and protected from the edict of Pharoah to kill all the babies, Moses had to be rescued from the Nile river and protected throughout his life, Moses had to escape from murdering an Egyptian, be protected while he was on the run, he had to become a shepherd, so he could see a burning bush and heed the call of God. All the little things in life lead to the big things and God is Sovereign over everything.

You may ask, then how can we be responsible and held accountable for what we do? After the sermon Alfredo can answer this for you. The Bible teaches these truths and they are hard for us to understand, but they are truths clearly taught in the Scriptures, God is sovereign over all and yet his sovereignty does not nullify human responsibility. Through out our passage today, we see the Lord harden Pharaohs heart and yet Pharaoh is held responsible for hardening his heart. Both truths are clearly taught in our passage and ultimately point to the truth that

God will accomplish what he purposes to do.

Over and over again, we will see this through out the book of Exodus.

So what happens when Moses goes to see Pharoah? How does Pharoah respond. We see

The rebellion and pride of Pharoah in his response to Moses.

Exodus 5:1–2 (ESV)

Afterward Moses and Aaron went and said to Pharaoh, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘Let my people go, that they may hold a feast to me in the wilderness.’ ” But Pharaoh said, “Who is the Lord, that I should obey his voice and let Israel go? I do not know the Lord, and moreover, I will not let Israel go.”

Después Moisés y Aarón fueron y dijeron a Faraón: Así dice el Señor, Dios de Israel: «Deja ir a mi pueblo para que me celebre fiesta en el desierto». 2 Pero Faraón dijo: ¿Quién es el Señor para que yo escuche su voz y deje ir a Israel? No conozco al Señor, y además, no dejaré ir a Israel.

Do you hear the pride and rebellion in Pharaohs voice? “Who is the Lord and why should I obey his voice?” I don’t know this Lord you are talking about Moses, get out of here with this non sense. How many times have you been in the seat of Pharoah? Knowing what the Lord is requiring of you, yet you do the opposite? You may not verbally say what Pharoah said, but when we sin, when we refuse to do what the Lord wants us to do and go our own way, in our heart we are saying to God, “who is the Lord, that I should obey his voice” Lord help us heed your voice in humility, help us live in obedience to you.

The Lord told Moses this was going to happen, the Lord said “I will harden Pharaohs heart.” Why did the Lord do this? The Lord did this because

The Lord’s Power and Glory are on Display as Judgement Comes Over Pharoah, Egypt and their gods.

Over the next three chapters, we see the Lord plague Egypt with 9 plagues,

All the water in Egypt is turned to blood.

Frogs cover all of Egypt

Gnats cover all of Egypt

Flies cover all of Egypt

The live stock in Egypt die

Boils cover all the Egyptians

Hail storm decimates what is left in Egypt

Locusts come and devour all the that is left in Egypt

Extreme Darkness falls on Egypt

These 9 plagues destroy the land all of Egypt, Egypt ruled the world, they were the leaders of the technological advances, Egypt was rich and powerful.They were no match for the Lord almighty and over and over again the Lord tells us why He is executing his justice over Egypt.

Exodus 7:17 (ESV)

Thus says the Lord, “By this you shall know that I am the Lord: behold, with the staff that is in my hand I will strike the water that is in the Nile, and it shall turn into blood.

7 Así dice el Señor: “En esto conocerás que yo soy el Señor: he aquí, yo golpearé con la vara que está en mi mano las aguas que están en el Nilo, y se convertirán en sangre.

Pharoah, you don’t know who I am? You don’t know why you should listen to me, let me show you why you should listen to me and when this is over, you will know that I am the Lord.

When the frogs were all over the land, Pharoah calls Moses and tell him to pray to the Lord, to remove the frogs. Moses says ok when do you want the Lord to remove the frogs?

Exodus 8:10 (ESV)

And he said, “Tomorrow.” Moses said, “Be it as you say, so that you may know that there is no one like the Lord our God.

10 Y él respondió: Mañana. Entonces Moisés dijo: Sea conforme a tu palabra para que sepas que no hay nadie como el Señor nuestro Dios.

So that you know there is no one like the Lord, it will be done.

Before the Lord send the worst hail storm in the history of the earth, this is what Moses is to say to Pharoah...

Exodus 9:15–17 (ESV)

For by now I could have put out my hand and struck you and your people with pestilence, and you would have been cut off from the earth. But for this purpose I have raised you up, to show you my power, so that my name may be proclaimed in all the earth. You are still exalting yourself against my people and will not let them go.

15 Porque si yo hubiera extendido mi mano y te hubiera herido a ti y a tu pueblo con pestilencia, ya habrías sido cortado de la tierra. 16 Pero en verdad, por esta razón te he permitido permanecer: para mostrarte mi poder y para proclamar mi nombre por toda la tierra. 17 Y todavía te enalteces contra mi pueblo no dejándolos ir.

Again Pharoah asks Moses to go tot the Lord and ask him to stop the storm because it was so devastating and

Exodus 9:29 (ESV)

Moses said to him, “As soon as I have gone out of the city, I will stretch out my hands to the Lord. The thunder will cease, and there will be no more hail, so that you may know that the earth is the Lord’s.

29 Y Moisés le dijo: Tan pronto como yo salga de la ciudad, extenderé mis manos al Señor; los truenos cesarán, y no habrá más granizo, para que sepas que la tierra es del Señor.

We see the Lord execute his justice over Pharoah and Egypt, yet at the same time we see the love of the Lord for his people. Salvation from judgement.

When the Lord sends the flies, he says...

Exodus 8:22 (ESV)

But on that day I will set apart the land of Goshen, where my people dwell, so that no swarms of flies shall be there, that you may know that I am the Lord in the midst of the earth.

22 Mas en aquel día yo pondré aparte la tierra de Gosén en la que mora mi pueblo, para que no haya allí enjambres de insectos, a fin de que sepas que yo, el Señor, estoy[w]en medio de la tierra;

When the plague on the Livestock comes on Egypt, the Lord says...

Exodus 9:4 (ESV)

But the Lord will make a distinction between the livestock of Israel and the livestock of Egypt, so that nothing of all that belongs to the people of Israel shall die.” 

4 Pero el Señor hará distinción entre los ganados de Israel y los ganados de Egipto, y nada perecerá de todo lo que pertenece a los hijos de Israel”».

When darkness comes on the Land the Lord says...

Exodus 10:23 (ESV)

They did not see one another, nor did anyone rise from his place for three days, but all the people of Israel had light where they lived.

23 No se veían unos a otros, nadie se levantó de su lugar por tres días, pero todos los hijos de Israel tenían luz en sus moradas.

The Lord expresses his love and salvation for his people by protecting them from the justice of God, to distinguish the people of God from the people of Egypt, this is nothing but the God’s mercy, God’s grace and the steadfast love of the Lord for his people. The Lord is showing love towards his people and the Lord is executing his justice over the people of Egypt.

The Lord is publicly shaming and triumphing over his enemies.

On of the main characters in our passage are the magicians of Egypt, we are told that when the water was turned to blood and when the Lord sent frogs, the magicians were able to do the same. I have always found these statements strange, because of all the water is blood, how can they do the same if all the water is blood. Or when Egypt is covered in frogs, how do they know which frog was sent by the Lord and which frog was sent by the magician. But the scripture says they did the same and as a result, Pharaohs heart was hardened.

Exodus 7:22 (ESV)

But the magicians of Egypt did the same by their secret arts. So Pharaoh’s heart remained hardened, and he would not listen to them, as the Lord had said.

22 Pero los mago de Egipto hicieron lo mismo con sus encantamientos; y el corazón de Faraón se endureció y no los escuchó, tal como el Señor había dicho.

Exodus 8:7 (ESV)

But the magicians did the same by their secret arts and made frogs come up on the land of Egypt.

Y los magos hicieron lo mismo con sus encantamientos, e hicieron subir ranas sobre la tierra de Egipto.

But when the Lord sent the gnats, here is what happens...

Exodus 8:18–19 (ESV)

The magicians tried by their secret arts to produce gnats, but they could not. So there were gnats on man and beast. Then the magicians said to Pharaoh, “This is the finger of God.” But Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, and he would not listen to them, as the Lord had said.

18 Y los magos trataron de producir piojos con sus encantamientos, pero no pudieron; hubo, pues, piojos en hombres y animales. 19 Entonces los magos dijeron a Faraón: Este es el dedo de Dios. Pero el corazón de Faraón se endureció y no los escuchó, tal como el Señor había dicho.

Then when the Lord sent the boils,

Exodus 9:11 (ESV)

And the magicians could not stand before Moses because of the boils, for the boils came upon the magicians and upon all the Egyptians.

11 Y los magos no podían estar delante de Moisés a causa de los furúnculos, pues los furúnculos estaban tanto en los magos como en todos los egipcios.

The Lord is shaming and triumphing over his enemies.

After the plague of darkness Pharoah has had enough of Moses, enough of the plagues and enough of the Lord and we read

Exodus 10:27–28 (ESV)

But the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he would not let them go. 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.”

27 Pero el Señorendureció el corazón de Faraón, y este no quiso dejarlos ir. 28 Entonces Faraón dijo a Moisés: ¡Apártate de mí! Guárdate de no volver a ver mi rostro, porque el día en que veas mi rostro morirás.

Pharoah has had enough, yet he refuses to let the people go. The Lord is shaming and triumphing over Pharaoh and we here the echoes from Exodus 4, the Lord telling the world what is coming...

Exodus 4:23 (ESV)

“Let my son go that he may serve me.” If you refuse to let him go, behold, I will kill your firstborn son.’ ”

23 Y te he dicho: ‘Deja ir a mi hijo para que me sirva’, pero te has negado a dejarlo ir. He aquí, mataré a tu hijo, a tu primogénito”».

The Lord was also shaming and triumphing the so called gods of Egypt. If we had the time, we could go through each plague and how each plague was a judgement over one of the gods that Egypt worshipped. The so called gods of Egypt were no match for the Lord. We read in

Exodus 12:12 (ESV)

and on all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments: I am the Lord.

y ejecutaré juicios contra todos los dioses de Egipto. Yo, el Señor.

The Lord is shaming and triumphing over his enemies. The Lord is a warrior, the Lord is his name.

Over and over again we read with out stretched hands the Lord executed his justice over his enemies. I can’t help to think about Jesus Christ our Lord, hanging on the cross with out stretched hands, in what appears to be defeat, the Lord is executing his justice over his enemies, in what appears to be the shaming of the son of God, the Lord will shame and triumph over his enemies.

We read in Colossians

Colossians 2:13–15 (ESV)

And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him.

13 Y cuando estabais muertos en[o] vuestros delitos y en la incircuncisión de vuestra carne, os dio vida juntamente con Él, habiéndonos perdonado todos los delitos, 14 habiendo cancelado el documento de deuda que consistía en decretos contra nosotros y que nos era adverso, y lo ha quitado de en medio, clavándolo en la cruz. 15 Y habiendo despojado a los poderes y autoridades, hizo de ellos un espectáculo público, triunfando sobre ellos por medio de Él.

Through Jesus’ death on the cross, we are made alive with Christ, we who wear dead in sin, are resurrected to new life. Why? Because Jesus cancelled the record of debt that stood against us with it’s legal demands. In other words you owed a debt to God because you have broken his law, you have sinned and because of your sin, you are condemned and deserve the justice of the Lord, but for those who are followers of Jesus, his death is our ransom to God, Jesus’ death on the cross cancels out the debt we owe God and we are considered just, holy, as if we have never sinned. The debt we owed God is nailed to the cross.

Not only that, Jesus victory becomes our victory. Paul tells us Jesus disarmed the rulers and authorities, in other words, your adversary, the devil, the one who desires to steal from you, destroy you, to kill you. He has no power over you because as followers of Jesus his victory is our victory, Jesus disarmed him and when you become a follower of Jesus you are transferred from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of light.

At the Cross, the Lord our Warrior put to open shame and triumphed over his enemies. He conquered, death he conquered sin, he disarmed the power of darkness and he is calling those bound by sin and satan, come and find freedom and forgiveness for I am the Lord, come, see, know that there is no one like the Lord our God.