The Destruction of Egypt

Missionary From China

China is all about saving face

They are a surveillance state that has all of the information, but is careful to only pursue action that makes them look good

They want foreigners to travel there because it keeps up their credibility

90% of military spending is on payroll

He described the church in China as persecuted, but exploding

He has started several seminaries in China

He said the 2 biggest differences between the church in China and America is that in America, we have a country that has been blessed by the Gospel, Bible knowledge is commonplace, where in China, this is absolutely not the case.

Before I share the other main difference, I wanted to just share two brief stories that he shared to help us understand just what persecution in China looks like. Again, the honor/shame system in China keeps the military from just barging into all of the churches with weapons and arresting everyone. That would look bad on them to the outside world. Instead, they monitor, keep tabs, and wait to see if what you’re doing is negatively impacting the government or their image. He mentioned one woman who worked with the same ministry he is a part of. She had been in it her whole life and decided to retire after a career shrouded in secrecy. It wasn’t until she was retired and done working for the ministry that a friend of the ministry who worked within the government was able to bring some files that the government had made on some of the ministry workers. There was her file, with dates, when she started, what she did in the middle, when she retired, photos from surveillance cameras, everything. They never chose to act on her case. On the other hand, they had a young man who works with their ministry who disappeared for 3 months. They had no idea where he was. When he returned, he explained that they had taken, arrested, beaten, and tortured him.

The next thing he said was perhaps the most profound, and will stick with me for probably the rest of my life. He said that the other main difference that the church in China very easily understands is that the sin of man is not sufficient to explain the evil we see in this world. There was one in the garden who sought the destruction of man before sin ever entered.

It was always the job of man to crush the head of the serpent. Adam failed and instead of being used as an instrument of victory over evil in the hands of the Lord, he was an instrument of death and destruction in the hands of the enemy.

Exodus Overview

If we approach Exodus, particularly the plagues from this perspective, it helps us understand whats really going on here. This is not just a story of God judging sinful people, this is also a story of God judging the forces of darkness and evil in this world.

Before we jump into the text with our newfound perspective, I want to show the graphics that Roland wanted to share last week to give a visual representation of where we’ve been and where we’re going in Exodus.

Now I want to look at the 10 plagues. We have coved 1-7 so far, we will cover 8 and 9 today, Locusts and Darkness.

I also want to bring up this next chart with I think is super interesting and definitely helpful when we’re trying to understand the significance of each individual plague.

The whole Bible, more specifically, here in Exodus, and even more specifically, here in the plagues, Yahweh is making one point unmistakably clear. I am the great I am. I am Yahweh, God of the Hebrews, creator and sustainer of all things.

Exodus 10

v. 1-2 God Hardens Pharoah’s heart

v.2 dealt harshly- Humiliate

Romans 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 is claiming victory over evil, Pharoah as serpent, Egypt as world, and he is using his own, chosen man, to fight against this evil. Now this man wasn’t perfect, but he does point to the perfect one who would come and take on sin and the devil and defeat them forever.

v. 3-6 Vastness and devastation of the Locusts

v. 7-11 Pharoah continues to try and compromise

v. 10- Were Pharaoh speaking modern colloquial English, he might have said something like: “Oh, sure, that’s fine. And it would certainly prove that Yahweh was with you if I actually allowed all your family members to go with you, but, look, it’s obvious you have evil in mind.

Women and children did not need to be involved in worship in the Egyptian worship system

This is not how God demands his people to worship. When we come here, our whole family is a part of this church. We all come here to expence God together.

Nothing short of a total and complete Exodus from Egypt will be sufficient.

Never make a deal with the devil, because he will lie, cheat, and steal all the way through to ensure he comes out better

v. 12-15 These plagues keep intensifying. At this point, we are no longer talking about things that are inconvenient, even to those who were not spiritual among them. These attacks still maintain the theme of attacking the gods of Egypt, but now the physical destruction is far more than uncomfortable, we are talking destruction.

Locust swarms are not an unnatural thing in the middle east. When they pass through a land, they would leave behind just sticks. If you didn’t know what it was, it would look like a fire went through the land. There would be nothing green left.

v.16-20 Even Pharoah, the incarnation of sin and evil on this earth, responds to God’s judgement outwardly in the only way that man can, asking forgiveness.

v.21-28 Egyptians saw darkness as a curse from the gods and a sign of the grave.

There are two ways to take v.21. Either this was a sandstorm, or this is better translated, “A darkness that will require groping around”

Night was a time when the criminals were out and without weapons, armor, and a large group, you did not leave your home at night.

Again, Moses is steadfast to what the Lord has commanded, total, complete, permanent Exodus from Egypt

Conclusion

When I think on that idea of man’s sin not being sufficient to explain the evil of Egypt, or more specifically Pharoah, the more true that phrase seems to ring for me. Remember our typologies. God sent Moses, a type of Jesus through whom he would do his redeeming work for Israel, a type of the christian. God sent Jesus to redeem his people not by destroying sin, but by destroying the serpent and redeeming his people from sin. God is not simply judging the sinful people of Egypt, He is telling every generation from that point on that He is the God who will one day, send a better redeemer to crush the head of the serpent.

And as we approach in the next two chapters the 10th and final plague, we see Egypt totally destroyed, but remember God’s purpose in all of these plagues.

Exodus 6:7 “I will take you to be my people, and I will be your God, and you shall know that I am the Lord your God, who has brought you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians.”

Exodus 7:5 “The Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord, when I stretch out my hand against Egypt and bring out the people of Israel from among them.””

Exodus 7:17 “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.”

Ezekiel 29:6 “Then all the inhabitants of Egypt shall know that I am the Lord.

Psalm 46:10 ““Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!””

Isaiah 5:16 “But the Lord of hosts is exalted in justice, and the Holy God shows himself holy in righteousness.”

He is simultaneously just, as it says in Romans 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

There are two ways that God reveals himself to the world. What we see here in Egypt is both General Revelation, where God makes known to all creation that He is the Lord. The name of the Creator is Yahweh, and his signature is on every aspect of creation. All creation was so made to bring glory to His great name.

Then there is Special revelation, where God, in his divine and inexplicable mercy, chose Abraham, with whom He would have a deep, personal relationship with all of his generations, and through whom He would bless all of the nations. This special blessing and revelation was not just for Abraham, but also his seed.

In Jesus, we are now adopted into the spiritual family of Abraham and inherit that same promise.

Although the rocks would cry out, proclaiming the name of the Lord, God has given us, His church, that great honor. While the story of the Exodus is still a way that God makes Himself known to all the nations, by His grace, He also uses our Church, our families, and each of us individually to make His name known on all the Earth.

Don’t take that for granted. God is using your friendships, your marriage, the training of your children, the way you choose to live your life to proclaim His great name.

Lets make that the prayer of our church, that God’s will with us would be done.

That He would use us to proclaim that our God is

El Shaddai, God Almighty

El Elyon, God Most High

Jehova Jireh- Provider

Jehova Rapha- Healer

Jehova Shalom- Peace

Jehova Nissi- Our banner

And that banner says…

LORD, Yahweh, The Eternal I AM

Lets pray that the LORD would use us to make His name known before all the nations. Lets pray that the Lord would use us to share the Gospel, the good news of a new and eternal King who has come. Remember back from when we went through Hebrews. A new and better Prophet has come to tell us who our God is. A new and better High Priest has come to intercede on our behalf before the Lord. A new and better King has come, and he is coming back for His bride, the church, where He will reign forever on His throne. His name is Jesus.

That Jesus came to die for us and restore us to perfect and eternal union with God.

But be careful. If you pray that prayer, He will use you. If we pray that prayer as a church, He will continue to use us in this community in ways that none of us could imagine. God is at work in this world, and He has invited us to be a part of it. Lets agree with Him and His great purpose for us, His church, that He is sovereign, His plan is perfect, and we want Him to use us to work out His will for us. Agree with me in prayer.