Exodus 7-10: Awesome God

Introduction

Water fountain downtown - free entertainment for the boys. They never ask to go. Fire museum - Never ask to go. They’ve grown up, interests change. The awe of the water fountain and fire museum just aren’t there any more.

Are you still in awe of God? Or, have your interests changed? Have you moved on from God? You’re hear, but your faith is more of ritual than a growing relationship with Jesus. Are you amazed by God as might have been when you first became a follower of Jesus or when you were going through a past season of spiritual growth?

I want you to live your life in amazement of how awesome our God is.

Exodus 7-11 is one of the dramatic stories in the entire Bible. It’s a showdown - the most powerful man in the world, Pharaoh, and the gods of Egypt vs. the One true God.

God wanted the known world to know Him as the One true God. This dramatic story should help us to remember the awesomeness of our God. Two truths from this text to encourage you if you’ve lost your awe for God.

Story:

Moses has already stood before Pharaoh. Pharaoh has already rejected the voice of the Lord. He’s asked the question, “Who is the Lord? (5:2).

The plagues (miracles or signs) are God’s answer to that question. Pharaoh about to see that God is the great I Am. To Moses: “See, I have made you like God to Pharaoh…” An allusion back to Genesis 1. We’re made in the image of God to rule with God. Moses invited to rule with God - to be an authoritative voice in Pharaoh’s life.

God also tells Moses that Pharaoh will not listen to him. God will harden Pharaoh’s heart (vs. 3).

A series of signs to demonstrate the power of God. Before the “plagues” Aaron’s staff becomes a serpent before Pharaoh. Pharaoh’s “magicians” are able to replicate the miracle - some sort of trickery, but Aaron’s staff swallowed theirs. God will not be mocked. vs. 13 - Pharaoh did not listen.

The plagues start - three sets. Order to the plagues. First three cause discomfort. Second three cause destruction. Final three cause devastation.

The plagues are a war against the gods of Egypt. E.G.:

1: The nile filled with blood. What was depended on to give life now brings death. Hapi - the god of the Nile has no power over Yahweh. People desperate for water - they dug around the Nile to drink dirty water.

2: Frogs - Heket - god of fertility symbolized by a frog. No power over Yahweh - God multiplies the frogs so that they are an annoyance.

9. Darkness - Ra - Sun god who would set in the evening to go to battle with spiritual forces and rise in the morning showing his victory. But, Ra no match for Yahweh - God brings darkness for three days.

3. Gnats - First two plagues, magicians were able to “replicate” in some way with their trickery - maybe demonic power or some kind of illusion. But, by third plague, they can no longer replicate. “This is the finger of God.” They acknowledge God’s power, but Pharaoh wouldn’t listen to them (8:19).

4. Swarms of flies - God spares the Hebrews from the flies in the land of Goshen where they were living - a distinction between God’s people and the Egyptians. The plagues getting more serious. The swarm of flies ruin the land (8:24). Pharaoh’s hard heart causing absolute chaos in Egypt. Sin leading to a deterioration of creation itself.

5. Death of livestock - again a distinction. Not a single one of the Hebrews livestock died.

6. Boils - Soot thrown from the furnace before Pharaoh and boils on the people and animals. People now being inflicted with bodily pain.

7. Hail - (9:13-27) - So severe that it struck down everything in the fields - animals, people, plants all under the devastation. Yet, Israelites safe in Goshen. 9:15-16 - God could have ended it all with one plague - but he keeps sending the plagues so that His name (Yahweh) might be known throughout the earth. God wants the world to know that He is the only true God who is worthy of worship, and He has no rivals.

After the 7th plague, Pharaoh acknowledges his sin (9:27). He acknowledges that the LORD is the righteous one, and his people are guilty. He asks Moses to ask God to relent and Pharaoh says he will let the people go. Moses knows that Pharaoh still does not believe God (9:30).

8. Locusts - Once again, God hardens Pharaoh’s heart (10:1). Locusts devour the land and eat what little produce is left in the fields. Pharaoh agrees to let the men of Israel go and worship, but not the women and children. The entire land becomes black with locusts.

9. - Darkness - Plagues are an undoing of creation - a reversal of Genesis 1-2. In the beginning, God created light. Now, the light is taken away and darkness for three days. But, in Goshen, there’s light.

Pharaoh agrees to let the people go - but God hardens Pharaoh’s heart. Pharaoh not willing to let God’s people go with their livestock for sacrifices.

Finally, the tenth plague - the passover - God brings death to every family. We’ll look at the tenth plague next week. But so far in the story, we’re seeing that Pharaoh is determined to oppose God, and God is determined to show His glory and bless His people. Two truths from this story:

Never stop being aware of the deceitfulness of sin.

You know the destructive nature of sin, but this passage reminds us:

Sin will cause you to reject clear evidence of God’s work. Obvious that God was at work. Pharaoh even acknowledged it, but he rejected. What about you? Are you so content in your sinfulness that you ignore the work of God around you?

Sin will cause you to defy the voice of God. Pharaoh not only rejected clear evidence of God’s work, he defied God’s voice. Seven times God told Pharaoh to let His people go and Pharaoh refused. How many of us have grown so used to our sin that we don’t even listen to the voice of God? How many of us ignore?

Sin will bring unimaginable chaos to your life. The plagues are a story of life as the Egyptians knew it coming undone/decreation. Maybe you feel the affects of your sin right now. Maybe your sin is causing your life to come undone - relationships breaking. You lack peace. You lack joy. You feel like you are under the judgment of God because of your sin.

Sin will take you to a place of no return. We did not spend much time looking at the interactions between Moses and Pharaoh - but a clear pattern. Pharaoh asks for relief, several times promises to let the people go, goes back on his word, and even acknowledges God. However, ultimately his heart was hard. Several times the text says God hardened Pharaoh’s heart. The text also says several times that Pharaoh hardened his own heart (Ex. 8:15; 32; 9:34). Sin had already hardened Pharaoh’s heart. He was already an enemy of God, and God allowed sin to take it’s full course in Pharaoh’s heart so that He could ultimately display His glory to the world (Romans 9:17-18). Be careful. Your heart can become so hardened to the things of God that God will give you over to your sin (Romans 1:24).

This passage is a clear warning. God is zealous for His glory, and He has made His name known. He desires for you to know Him. You are in dangerous territory when you defy the God of all creation. This morning see that if you are living a life of constant rebellion instead of living a life under the Lordship of Jesus Christ, know that your eternal destiny is in jeopardy.

Never stop being amazed by the glory of God.

There’s a clear warning in this story for those who reject God, but there’s also a clear encouragement for those of us who believe. We’re encouraged to constantly see the glory of God. Look at what He has done!

See the undeserved blessing and protection of God. Israel wasn’t different than Egypt. They were sinners as well, but in God’s grace He chose them to be His covenant people. He protected them from His judgment. Think about your undeserved blessings. Every gift God gives you is an act of His grace, not your merit. Think of His protection over your life. He will not let anyone snatch you from His hands (John 10:28-29).

See the seemingly impossible victory that God has given you. There was no way that Israel could be saved from slavery unless there was a miracle, and that’s exactly what they got - a dramatic display of the miraculous power of God. God has done a miracle in your life as well. Your salvation is a miracle of death to life. Give God praise. You were on your way to hell, but God delivered you through the death and resurrection of His Son.

See how God is making every thing right. God brought justice to Pharaoh and the Egyptians that defied God. He made it right for Israel, and He is making everything right for you as well. There will come a day that you inherit the new heavens and new earth and everything will be right.

See how God is on a mission to redeem people from every walk of life. God makes His name known not only to Moses and the Hebrews, but to all of Egypt. Most in Egypt would continue to defy the name of God and continue to walk in idolatry. However, some of the Egyptians believed and left Egypt with the Hebrews through the Red Sea (Exodus 12:38). In God’s grace, He was giving the Egyptians a chance to believe. And some did! God is still on a mission to redeem.

The most powerful display of the glory of God is not the ten plagues or the crossing of the Red Sea, but the crucifixion. At the cross, Jesus, God incarnate, died in our place suffering the punishment we deserve only to rise from the dead three days later so we could be given the gift of life. Set your eyes on Jesus. Turn to Him. Worship Him for what He has done.

Three challenges:

Quit embracing substitutes for God. Pharaoh and Egypt guilty of idolatry. So are you. Those things you try to find satisfaction in will never satisfy. What in your life gets more devotion and more of your love than God Himself? That’s your idol. It will not save you.

Worship God with intentional devotion. Every day, determine to remember what God has done, and give Him your devotion. When you consider His work, how can you not spend time with Him daily? How can you not serve Him? How can you be more intentional in your worship?

Repent of resisting God’s work. Hear the warning from this passage. God will have no rivals. If you are not a follower of Jesus, turn to Him. Revelation 16 - a repeat of the plagues - Rev. 16:9. “They did not repent and give Him glory.” Do not let that be your story!