A promise of judgement and deliverance!

Introduction

Thus far in our sermon series titled “Redemption Set Free to serve” we have seen 9 plagues. The first plague was the Nile river being turned to blood (Exodus 7:14-24), second was the frogs (Exodus 7:25-8:15), third was gnats (Exodus 8:16-19), fourth was flies (Exodus 8:20-32), fifth was ruin of all livestock (Exodus 9:1-7), sixth was the boils (Exodus 9:8-12), seventh was the hail storm (Exodus 9:13-35), eighth was the attack of the locust (Exodus 10:1-20), ninth was darkness (Exodus 10:21-29). This morning come to what will serve as God’s final warning and promise to both Pharoah and Gods people the people of Egypt.

This is the point of the narrative in Exodus where God is letting us know that he is done playing games with Pharaoh and his lil hard heart. God has given Pharoah 9 different chances to let his people go but he is so entangled with his own sin and hard heart all 9 miraculous signs did not do anything to Pharoah in regards to submitted to God so now the gloves come off.

On the other side of the coin Moses and Aaron have continued to be obedient to what God has told them to do through out the whole narrative even though Pharaoh has made a mockery of them and had not taken heed to there words from The Lord. Also God’s people the people of Egypt need liberation they've been under the evil hand of pharoah and have been enslaved waiting on God to show up and show out for them with hand of deliverance.

It sets the stage for the final and most devastating plague on Egypt: the death of the firstborn. This chapter marks the climax of God’s confrontation with Pharaoh and the deliverance of Israel from slavery. Through Exodus 11, we see God’s justice, sovereignty, and mercy on display.

Read Exodus 11 “The Lord said to Moses, “Yet one plague more I will bring upon Pharaoh and upon Egypt. Afterward he will let you go from here. When he lets you go, he will drive you away completely. Speak now in the hearing of the people, that they ask, every man of his neighbor and every woman of her neighbor, for silver and gold jewelry.” And the Lord gave the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians. Moreover, the man Moses was very great in the land of Egypt, in the sight of Pharaoh’s servants and in the sight of the people. So Moses said, “Thus says the Lord: ‘About midnight I will go out in the midst of Egypt, and every firstborn in the land of Egypt shall die, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sits on his throne, even to the firstborn of the slave girl who is behind the handmill, and all the firstborn of the cattle. There shall be a great cry throughout all the land of Egypt, such as there has never been, nor ever will be again. But not a dog shall growl against any of the people of Israel, e…”

God is Just. (1-3)

The Lord literally says to Moses “Yet one plague more I will bring upon Pharaoh and upon Egypt. Afterward he will let you go from here”. Sometimes God’s justice and sovereignty does not look like the way we want it too. We know that God is sovereign meaning he is in absolute full control of everyone and everything. We also know God is a just judge that will not turn a blind eye to sin.

The Israelites have been in bondage for over 400 years crying out to God to be set free from slavery. See heres the thing we can’t put a time stamp on God’s justice. Oftentimes the deliverance we long for from The Lord is on the back end of long suffering. But the thing that's most pressing is that the Israelites never stopped crying out to God. They knew who God was and what He can do despite there circumstance. They had spiritual endurance they were not quick to tap out like us.

It takes the power of the holy spirit, and a certain level of maturity in your faith to not tap out on God when you've been suffering or in a hard season for a long time. Christians we need more grit we need a spirit of standing on God’s word and his promises. The fuel that drives your life cannot be your circumstance and season in your in because they ebb and flow. We must stand on the unchanging God of the bible and hold fast to his word.

This passage should also remind us of how patient God is. God has given Pharoah and the people of Egypt plagues to wake up repent and set free His people. Don’t get it twisted God’s patience runs out with this last plague but how long is God’s patient. He has given so many opportunities for pharoah to turn from sin but his heart is so hard. This last plague is going to reveal the depths of Pharaohs rebellion and hard heart.

Christian don’t catch your self on the other side of God’s patience running out. Don’t let grace be the means for your unrepentance and sin. When we have a proper understanding of his grace that never runs dry it empowers us to a life of quick repentance, and as Phillip Mitchel pastor out in Atlanta says “aggressively deal with our sin”.

God is going to make an example out of Pharoah to not play with Him or his people were about to see the wrath of God in this final plague. The reality that pharoah faces is one all whom consistently disobey God and have hard hearts towards him. The wrath of God is what we all deserve apart from grace.

Look at vs.3 where we see the favor of God on the Israelites despite what their circumstances is. Oftentimes the road to being in God’s favor is the one least traveled which is obedience unto suffering. We love to say things like “I’m blessed and highly favored” and I’m not saying their is no truth to that if you are a christian you are blessed because of all that God has graciously given you and your ultimate favor over your life is found in Christ.

Verse 3 is also dope to be because God had favor over his people in the presence of their enemies the very ones that had them in chains. This is a reminder of Psalm 23:5 “You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.” Don’t miss it though if the people had been wallowing in there sorrows because of there circumstances they may have missed out on the favor of God

How many of us can’t see all that God is doing in our-lives because our eyes are only in the things that were hard.

2. God is always faithful to His people (vs 4-8)

Moses tells Pharaoh exactly what The Lord says will happen with the final plague and this was different than all the previous plagues. The previous plagues targeted Egyptians land, livestock, and crops. This plague strikes at the heart of the Egyptians human life, specifically the firstborn sons who represented the future and strength of every household.

This last plague would not be simply inconvenient or uncomfortable it would be devastating and irreversible. All 9 plagues the people could somewhat bounce back from but not this one. This plague would ruin what the Egyptians home structure was set which was the law of Primogeniture is a system of inheritance where the eldest child, typically the eldest son, inherits the family estate, title, or wealth, to the exclusion of younger siblings.

But this is God’s justice because if you remember back in Exodus 1:22 “Then Pharaoh commanded all his people, “Every son that is born to the Hebrews you shall cast into the Nile, but you shall let every daughter live.”” Now Pharoah is going to experience the very gruesome vile actions he had upon the Israelites. The same cruelty Pharoah met God’s people with his the same way in which God’s judgement would meet him.

The Egyptian people are about to face death of the first born because of the hard heart, sin, and no repentance of man that calls himself a king.

What a reminder that when your sin unintentionally but most certainly consequentially affects the people around you. Where you are spiritually can either be a blessing to those around you or a cursing to those around you. Sin is a equal opportunity offender when you walk in sin its impacted will be felt by the people you love most and that around you.

What we ought to learn from this that the same God we run to for grace and mercy is the same God that will not turn a blind eye to sin and foolishness.

What I love here is the clear difference and separation we see between the Egyptians and Israel look at vs.7

Moses speaks the words of The Lord which is a promise that God will be there for his people and that it will be a clear distinction between the people of Israel which are God’s people and the Egyptians he goes as far as saying not even a dog shall growl at his people.

“The Lord hath put a difference between those who are his people and those who are not. There are many distinctions among men which will one day be blotted out; but permit me to remind you at the outset that this is an eternal distinction.” (Spurgeon)

In Jesus high priestly prayer hes praying over all Christians to the father pleading to The Father in John 17:14–19 “I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. And for their sake I consecrate myself, that they also may be sanctified in truth.”

Nate spoke a word over us two weeks ago that we need to remember to be a light and shine and that's the call of the christian. We are in Christ we have been saved from the wrath of God and the penalty of sin and have been saved to a new life of righteousness, holiness and to a community of believers called the church.

There is a clear eternal distinction between the person in Christ and the one that is lost. The Israelites were submitted to the God of the bible the God of Jacob, and the Egyptians were submitted to Pharoah who was a mere man and also to many false gods. There is a distinction and it should be clear. You are either dead in your trespasses and sins (Ephesians 2:1–2 “And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience—” or you are either what 2 Corinthians 5:17 “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” These two realities do not look the same.

As believers, we are called to be distinct from the world. Our salvation sets us apart, not because we are inherently better, but because of God’s mercy and grace. Like Israel, we are protected from judgment, not by our works, but by God’s covenant in Christ.

Because we are in Christ we are different church and one of the clearest differences is how we suffer. As Christians we ought to suffer well. The Israelites have been in slavery for years under Pharoah they could have easily followed the way of Pharoah but they would not bend the knee. How do you suffer christian?

We all just endured Hurricane Helene most of us went days without power, no air, a lot of us lost vehicles took damage to our homes, had to throw out so much food the list goes on how did you fair during this?

Did you suffer in a way that glorifies God, was there a difference in you with how you dealt with this terrible hurricane verses someone that does not know Jesus? Who we are during times like this reveals where we are spiritually and the true condition of our hear. This tragedy may have revealed that you need to do some serious checking of the heart.

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