The Showdown Begins

Exodus 5:2 “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.””

Now, we’re going to add a little punch to this.

A long time ago - sometime after the 10 commandments were given, the Jews decided that God’s name was too holy to be pronounced.

The third commandment says to not use the name of the Lord in vain - they took that very literally.

So the best way to not use it in vain, is to never use it.

If you never say it, well then, you can’t use it in vain.

That kind of makes sense to someone who is all into rules

But it’s also kind of ridiculous when you think about it.

Because taking the Lord’s name in vain isn’t just using a word, it’s how you live your life.

Because they were known as God’s people, they wore God’s name just like we wear Jesus’ name every time we are called Christian.

So every time they disobeyed God they used His name in vain.

Just like we do.

That’s why we need a Savior.

We can never follow the rules.

Even in our best attempt to do it right, we do it wrong.

We need a redeemer - and bless God we have one in Jesus.

The reason we’re talking about this is our Bibles are translated with that deference to God’s name in place.

In this Exodus story, when you see LORD in all capital letters, that’s the name YHWH.

And you are saying, thanks for telling me that for the 100th time Randy.

Well, you’re welcome - but here’s the point.

If we will read these texts in particular and use the name YHWH every time we see LORD in all caps, it changes something about the story.

We are anesthetized to the word God and Lord.

We hear it all of the time used in all kinds of ways.

But Yahweh is the name God told Moses to use.

Yahweh is God’s name.

When you call him by name it makes things more personal.

Now listen to Pharaoh one more time, Exodus 5:2 “But Pharaoh said, “Who is Yahweh, that I should obey his voice and let Israel go? I do not know Yahweh...””

That's way more intense.

Pharaoh was a religious man.

He knew the gods of the Egyptians - he was proclaimed to be a god himself.

“But I don’t know any Yahweh.”

This sets the story up.

When someone denies God like that, you know it’s not going to turn out good.

Not then and not now.

And so, with chapter 7, the showdown begins.

Kids, you are going to hear all kinds of things in school.

People believe all kinds of things about all kinds of things

And some of them seem to make sense but you must keep in mind.

There is one God who created all that is

And there is one God who sent a Savior just for you.

Learn all you can of God’s Word now so you can know when people are just making stuff up.

On your worship guide, you are listening for three words Yahweh, Pharaoh and Moses.

Pay careful attention and see what you hear.

We’re reading this morning Exodus 7:8-25.

I’m going to substitute Yahweh for LORD as we read this and see if you can’t hear the story better.

Hear now the Word of the Lord from Exodus 7:8-25

Exodus 7:8–25 ESV

Then the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “When Pharaoh says to you, ‘Prove yourselves by working a miracle,’ then you shall say to Aaron, ‘Take your staff and cast it down before Pharaoh, that it may become a serpent.’ ” So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and did just as the Lord commanded. Aaron cast down his staff before Pharaoh and his servants, and it became a serpent. Then Pharaoh summoned the wise men and the sorcerers, and they, the magicians of Egypt, also did the same by their secret arts. For each man cast down his staff, and they became serpents. But Aaron’s staff swallowed up their staffs. Still Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, and he would not listen to them, as the Lord had said. Then the Lord said to Moses, “Pharaoh’s heart is hardened; he refuses to let the people go. Go to Pharaoh in the morning, as he is going out to the water. Stand on the bank of the Nile to meet him, and take in your hand the staff that turned into a serpent. And you shall say to him, ‘The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, sent me to you, saying, “Let my people go, that they may serve me in the wilderness.” But so far, you have not obeyed. 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. The fish in the Nile shall die, and the Nile will stink, and the Egyptians will grow weary of drinking water from the Nile.” ’ ” And the Lord said to Moses, “Say to Aaron, ‘Take your staff and stretch out your hand over the waters of Egypt, over their rivers, their canals, and their ponds, and all their pools of water, so that they may become blood, and there shall be blood throughout all the land of Egypt, even in vessels of wood and in vessels of stone.’ ” Moses and Aaron did as the Lord commanded. In the sight of Pharaoh and in the sight of his servants he lifted up the staff and struck the water in the Nile, and all the water in the Nile turned into blood. And the fish in the Nile died, and the Nile stank, so that the Egyptians could not drink water from the Nile. There was blood throughout all the land of Egypt. 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. Pharaoh turned and went into his house, and he did not take even this to heart. And all the Egyptians dug along the Nile for water to drink, for they could not drink the water of the Nile. Seven full days passed after the Lord had struck the Nile.

The is the Word of the Lord.

Thanks be to God

Man, there are so many things to think about here.

Let’s start by trying to understand a little bit about Pharaoh here.

Pharaoh is just like every unbeliever

Look at verse 9, Exodus 7:9 ““When Pharaoh says to you, ‘Prove yourselves by working a miracle,’

Have you ever heard the term “confirmation bias?”

What that means is people tend to favor information that reinforces what they deeply believe.

Conservatives listen to Fox News and Newsmax.

Liberals listen to CNN and MSNBC.

Confirmation bias.

We believe the thing that supports us being right.

Pharaoh is no different.

He knows who the Egyptian gods are and, listen, the Hebrews had been in Egypt for 400 years

How many times had anyone mentioned the name Yahweh?

Can you say never?

We don’t hear the name YHWH until the burning bush.

As far as Pharaoh is concerned, Moses and Aaron made this all up.

He’s never heard this name.

But there is a problem for Moses and Aaron just like for us.

We can’t prove God exists - it’s not our job to prove God exists - only God can prove that God is.

Look at the story.

Exodus 7:9 ““When Pharaoh says to you, ‘Prove yourselves by working a miracle,’ then you shall say to Aaron, ‘Take your staff and cast it down before Pharaoh, that it may become a serpent.’ ””

Prove yourself - you are on trial, Moses - prove you are telling the truth.

That’s how we feel sometimes, right.

We think we need to prove God is real - but we can’t.

And we can’t because that’s not our job.

I’ve heard a lot of Christians trying to prove God’s existence by saying all kinds of things were of God.

Healings, jobs, new cars, new houses - you name it - we say God did it.

And those who don’t believe in God will say, medicine did the healing, you worked hard and got the job, you saved money and bought the cars and the house.

For every “supernatural” explanation we give, they have a “natural” explanation.

It’s that confirmation bias thing - we are all going to believe that thing that supports our belief.

We can’t convince someone else to believe - we can’t talk anyone into God.

So if that is the case, why bother telling anyone about Jesus then?

Well, look at what happened next.

Moses and Aaron did just as the Lord told them - they threw the staff on the floor and it became a snake.

Now, hear the story - verse 11, “Pharaoh summoned the wise men and sorcerers...”

They weren’t there when Aaron tossed the staff on the floor but you sure could bet your last nickel they heard about it before they got there.

Now, these wise men and sorcerers - I did a lot of reading about them and everyone I read agrees that they were simply magicians.

Magic was very popular and these guys were the cream of the crop.

It doesn’t appear they were demon possessed or had demonic power

It appears they were - simply - magicians.

I didn’t know this and I never want to be close to it, but there is a spot on a cobra right behind his head

Where if you press it just right the cobra will stretch out and become stiff as a board.

It would look like a staff with a carved snake’s head.

In fact, it looked a lot like the snake’s head that was on Pharaoh’s headdress that says he is the supreme ruler of the people

When the wise men and sorcerers came in, they stood in front of Pharoah and tossed their cobras on the ground

The shock of hitting the floor woke the cobras up and now you have a room full of snakes.

Exodus 7:12 “For each man cast down his staff, and they became serpents. But Aaron’s staff swallowed up their staffs.”

Pharaoh summoned wise “men” and “sorcerers.”

Both plural - so there had to be at least 4 there.

One God snake

At least 4 trick snakes - who were real, honest to goodness, slithering, dangerous snakes.

And the God snake - created from a dead piece of wood - ate one snake at a time until they were all gone.

First he ate one snake, and then another snake, and then another snake, and then the last snake.

Nothing could stop him and the whole time, they all stood with their mouths hanging open until it was over.

And then Aaron picked up his staff.

How long did that take?

A few minutes - ten minutes - half an hour - as they all stand there and watch the God snake slowly devour all of the others.

The Lord will make His name known.

You don’t know my name Pharaoh?

I am Yahweh.

But, confirmation bias - listen, Pharaoh didn’t want to believe in YHWH - he was perfectly comfortable with his religion.

Just like your next door neighbor

Just like your cousin or aunt or child or mama and daddy.

We have to understand that for them to change their belief will require something more than we can offer.

It requires a supernatural act of God - it requires God to do only that which God can do.

The Lord uses what we do - just like He’s using Moses’ and Aaron’s obedience - to change the hearts of those He is calling.

But we don’t change hearts, God does.

It may take time but we do not stop trying.

The stakes are too high to quit.

It truly is a life and death decision on earth.

It’s a heaven and hell issue for eternity.

But seeing all of that, Pharoah remains unconvinced.

So they come back later - we don’t know how much later - and turn all of the water in the land to blood.

Pharaoh’s magician’s again duplicate the feat.

Exodus 7:23 “Pharaoh turned and went into his house, and he did not take even this to heart.”

For seven days the Nile was rank and the dead fish smelled and the birds gathered by the river banks for a feast.

The magicians could turn water to blood but they could not undo what YHWH had done.

And for seven days, YHWH made the Nile run red.

Every day Pharaoh heard, I am Yahweh.

So here’s the question - if the Lord does the convincing - what is our part?

Do we even have a part?

Look at verse 10 Exodus 7:10 “So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and did just as the Lord commanded...”

Look at verse 20 Exodus 7:20 “Moses and Aaron did as the Lord commanded.”

Over 20 times in the book of Exodus we will hear that phrase repeated

They did what the Lord commanded and that unleashed the power of God in their community.

Our job in this culture is to do just that:

We are to do as the LORD has commanded

Now that’s something you would expect to hear at church

Heard it, got it, let’s go home.

Only, let’s don’t.

Let’s break it down a bit.

See, we have confirmation bias too.

And when we hear those words we hear with an ear that says that we are doing that.

That we are, for the most part, doing what the Lord commanded.

But knowing that we believe things that support our views - let’s take a second look to do a gut check.

What does it look like to do what the Lord has commanded?

Simply, it means first, that you have knowledge of what the Lord wants or expects.

And second, that your relationship with the Lord is intense enough that you put that knowledge into action.

That’s what faith is -we’ve talked about that.

Faith isn’t believe that God is

James says, “Even the demons believe...”

But they don’t act on it.

We need to ask ourselves: Who do we most resemble?

Do we resemble Moses and Aaron who it seems were scared puppies but still trusted the Lord would deliver them.

They still did what they were called to do, even though they were really knock-kneed nervous about it.

Or do we resemble the demons - who know Jesus.

Can even say His name and what He’s about.

But don’t do what we have been commanded to do.

Like Pharaoh - Exodus 7:23 “Pharaoh turned and went into his house, and he did not take even this to heart.”

Pharaoh was eager to NOT believe.

Just like your friends and neighbors who are unchurched and don’t follow Jesus - they are eager NOT to believe.

Pharaoh was eager to not believe.

So eager that he believed his magicians were a match for YHWH

Even though his eyes told him something completely different.

God’s snake ate Pharaoh’s snakes.

God’s blood lasted a full seven day week.

That had to shake Pharaoh.

But Pharaoh didn’t want to be changed.

Lots of people, maybe even some of us, look at these signs and we try to explain them by natural phenomena.

The Nile turns red once a year, every year, always has.

The frogs came out of the water and it was just a bad year for frogs.

The frogs and fish died and so the flies swarmed.

It’s easy to explain the Lord away when that's what we want to do.

But when the Lord does His thing.

When the Lord opens our eyes

Then it’s impossible to deny what we see.

Yahweh is the all powerful God.

We don’t have to prove the existence of God.

We simply have to know God and do as he has commanded.

And as the old song says, “He will take care of the rest.”

The Lord’s Spirit may be working on some of you right this moment.

You’ve denied what you’ve seen for a long time

But its getting harder and harder to deny it.

And you don’t want to change

But you know you can’t stay the way you are.

I invite you this morning to change.

To turn away from the way you’ve lived

And turn to Jesus.

Trust him to wash away your sins and to put you on His path.

Trust Jesus to save you and take you to the Promised Land He has for you.

But it’s not simple.

It’s not just praying a prayer.

It’s knowing Jesus and then following Him for the rest of your life.

Jesus is inviting you right now to a life time commitment.

You follow Him.

And He will change your life.

If everyone will stand and bow your heads.

The music will play softly for a few moments and while it does

If you know the Lord is calling you to follow him, come tell me.

Let’s stand.

Communion

Do you remember the scripture Luke read earlier in the service?

It was Matthew 24 and it was Jesus telling us something to do

Or rather, not to do.

Jesus tells us what we are seeing.

There are all kinds of people telling us how to “save” ourselves.

Be what you feel.

Do what you want to do.

You should be accepted regardless of your behaviors.

These people anti-Christs.

And with every book published

Every podcast released

Every social media post saying “this is the real way, walk in it.”

Jesus is telling us no, don’t go there.

They are doing their best to lead you astray.

You know the truth.

You know that YHWH truly did deliver Israel into the promised land to make for Himself a people.

And He made that people so one day a Savior would be born.

A God man - something that is so difficult to wrap our heads around that people have written libraries of books trying to explain.

A man came from God.

To live and to die.

To save a people - His people - from their sins

And to deliver them unscathed to a new heaven and a new earth.

It is an amazing - and to many unbelievable story.

John 1:12–14 “But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.”

We who bear His name have been changed by Him.

We’ll never be the same.

We come here this morning to do two things

Remember that He has made us brand new

And to remember Matthew 24:27 “For as the lightning comes from the east and shines as far as the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.”

So the Lord delivered the Hebrews from slavery to make a people.

And Jesus delivered all believers from the bondage of sin to set us free to follow Him.

And one day Jesus will return to deliver us one more time from this perishable world, to the imperishable.

Where we will be His people and He will be our God.

Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 11:23-26

1 Corinthians 11:23–26 ESV

For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.

Even so, come quickly Lord Jesus.

Prayer

At First Baptist, if you are a believer, baptized after you were saved, you are invited to join us at the Lord’s table.

Everyone please exit your pew on the left and proceed to the table closest to you.

When you receive the elements, you may consume them then or take them back to your seat and reflect before you take them.

The gluten free host is at _____________ table.

Please quietly, pensively come.

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