The Plagues Pt. 1

Intro

The Plagues Overview

Plague 1:

The water turned to blood. It started with the Nile. But then it spread to literally all of their water. Water that was in jars and bowls were turned to blood too. The people had to work to find clean water. Somehow, the magicians were able to copy this plague. But the 7 days meant they couldn’t reverse the plague.

Plague 2:

Frogs came from literally everywhere! If there was a body of water, which still may have been blood, there were frogs hopping out of it! The magicians were able to copy this as well. And when the Lord relented, all the frogs didn’t hop away, they just died instead. so everything smelled awful.

Plague 3:

With no warning to Pharaoh, the dust became gnats! Has anyone ever been to Egypt? I’ve seen pictures and it’s a pretty dusty place. Now imagine that dust, but gnats. I think about the sandstorm in that Mission Impossible movie. Just innumerable gnats. The magicians tried, but failed, to replicate this miracle. They chose to concede that this was the working of God.

Plague 4:

Pharaoh was warned about this one, but the Lord sent swarms of flies to the land of Egypt. But he didn’t send them on the land of Goshen where the people of Israel lived. This was the first distinction between the Israelites and the Egyptians. Also the first protection from a plague.

Plague 5:

Once again the Israelites weren’t affected by this plague. Only the Egyptians’ livestock were diseased and killed.

Plague 6:

Now again with no warning, boils came upon everyone in the land of Egypt, even the magicians. Only the Israelites were boil-free. This is the first to physically harm any people.

Plague 7:

This is my favorite of the plagues. The Lord gave adequate warning and even provision for safety from this plague. He allowed the people and livestock to seek shelter. Then sent hail and fire to rain upon all of Egypt. The only area not impacted was Goshen. The hail killed anyone who did not seek shelter and destroyed almost all of the crops.

Plague 8:

Pharaoh still wouldn’t budge, so the Lord sent locusts to eat everything that was left. If it was green, it was gone. So now the Egyptians had no food. No livestock, no crops.

Plague 9:

The final plague that we’re going to cover today is the plague of darkness. Once again, it came without warning. God just sent the darkness for 3 days (interesting amount of time).

The Historical Context

The plagues accomplished multiple purposes. The first of which was economical impact.

The second was an impact to the Egyptians’ worship. Almost every plague was a direct attack to a major Egyptian deity.

The final purpose is interwoven in the others. To show that there is no one like the Lord our God!

So What?

God sent plagues on the people of Egypt and hardened Pharaoh’s heart. So what?

What can we learn from this? How can this impact our lives on a daily basis 3,500 years later?

Let’s start from the beginning, God originally told Moses a couple chapters back that Pharaoh wouldn’t let them go without a “strong hand” from the Lord. So he prepared him for the fight.

But what if Moses got into the third plague and decided “man, this isn’t worth it. These gnats are so annoying. I’m not gonna keep subjecting myself to this.” What if he gave up when the calling got hard?

How often are we called and we give up when it gets hard?

Also, how often are we on the flip side? Where God tells Pharaoh before the locusts came, “how long will you refuse to humble yourself before me?” This calls us out big time! As Americans, WE are our own God. WE make our own decisions. WE know whats best for us! WE are the final authority for our lives.

But what the Bible says is to humble ourselves, and pray, and seek his face.

Jesus told us to lay down our burdens, to deny ourselves, and follow him. There is no selfishness when it comes to the cross of Jesus. There is no ME anymore. Thats what I love about John 3:30 “He must increase, but I must decrease.””

So before you commit to becoming a Christian, are you ready to be in second place?

As soon as you put yourself in the passenger seat, guess what?

God will use you to make his name known throughout the world! It’s when we let go of self that breakthrough and ministry really happen.

Closing

So how are you going to make God’s name known throughout the world?

As an example like Pharaoh? Or as the obedient servant, Moses?