The Fear of the Lord is Life

The Fear of the Lord is Life Exodus 9:13-35 Setting the Stage • God Keeps the Pattern for Effect – Final 3 • God Breaks the Pattern for Effect – at several points, God throughout this scene, God introduces new material meant to stand out. • 2 Major Points: God’s Resolve; Pharaoh’s Retreat God’s Resolve (9:13-26) A. God’s Warning: 1. God mercifully, yet forcefully explains His reasoning – “For … so that” pattern (v. 14; v. 16) 2. God lays out the facts – “I could have obliterated you and your people by now;” “I raised you up;” “You are exalting yourself [strong word of worship]” 3. God states His purposes – Worldwide Recognition of God’s Power, Uniqueness, and Mercy 4. God Threatens Unprecedented Hail God’s Resolve (9:13-26) B. God’s Fulfillment: 1. Hail the size of softballs; thunder that frightens everyone; fire emblazoning the clouds 2. Moses reiterates the terrifying nature of this hail/firestorm. 3. Moses outlines the catastrophic destruction upon allthing agricultural 4. God, yet again, makes a distinction between Egypt and Israel. Pharaoh’s Retreat (9:27-35) A. Pharaoh Cries: 1. Pharaoh “sent” for Moses, the same word for God’s command, “Send my people away.” 2. Astounding Confession: • I’ve sinned (religious connotation) • Yahweh is morally right (word for “just”) • All Egypt is guilty (criminally wicked) • Yahweh must be appeased by an intercessor (Moses/Aaron) • I will follow through 3. Moses Graciously Instructs – “so you may know …” Pharaoh’s Retreat (9:27-35) B. Pharaoh Sins: 1. Moses sees through Pharaoh’s foxhole prayer. 2. Pharaoh had one last human means available to him – 2 different forms of wheat and emmer (a different type of grain; we call it a subset of wheat) 3. Between the close of this plague and the start of the next (Locusts), Pharaoh’s opportunity for mercy slips by. Closing Thoughts • The LORD uses His absolute power to teach us about His nature – He alone reigns. • The LORD uses His absolute power to highlight His mercy – He sometimes brings pain to deliver us from greater perils. • The LORD shows the two poles of human response – (1) Fear is the path to blessing, wisdom, and salvation. (2) Disregard is the path to sin, death, and