Exodus 9:8-10:29

Today is the last Sunday of the month, which means it’s Communion Sunday. Dad’s, or oldest son’s, please grab enough for your family. One of the men of the church will walk around with the elements and deliver them around to make sure all who need some get some.

Last week, Andy did an amazing job of connecting the dots between Paul and Moses from Colossians 2 and 3 and the beginning of Exodus. I know he moved some of you, because you told me. It never ceases to amaze me how serious these men take the Word of God, making it relatable and applicational to our lives. How many of you from last week have been moved to make some changes? To look at your role in life differently? Any of you organize your time better? Look at the things that mean the most to you and say “Does this mean the most to the Lord?”

It makes me proud to have them lead, to let them shine some...and it motivates me to step up my game too. If they’re giving this quality of a message, what am I doing? I’m very honored to be your pastor, and thankful to know you all and have you know me. That’s truly what we want to do as leaders in this church body. We want to make the Word come to life. Help you understand it, and apply it to your life.

As Andy was teaching us, he also went to John 5, where a man had been paralytic for 38 years. Once Andy said that number, what thought went thru my head? What does 38 mean to the Hebrew people? 38 has a numerical value that means exile, and also means sickness, and to reveal. This man had been paralytic for 38 years, full of sickness, and the Lord revealed himself at that time.

How many years were the Hebrews in exile? They were in the wilderness for 40, but the first 2 of those years were when they reached the promised land. 38 were the years of exile, and then the Lord would reveal the promised land to the Israelites.

There are another few 38’s in the Bible, but the other one I wanted to point you to that is relevant to the connections between Moses and Paul: How long was Paul’s ministry? He was converted about age 30. He was martyred at around 68 years. How many years is that? 38. 38 years Paul spent in exile from his life, living in the wilderness, revealing Jesus to the world. God’s Word is truly amazing in many more ways than we know. Numerology is not something I’m familiar with, but I know it exists, and it sheds different light on the Word that I have ever seen before.

There’s a difference between being in the wilderness and being in exile, right? Let’s define the terms before we get started today. What does wilderness mean? It means an uncultivated, uninhabited and inhospitable reigion. It’s a desolate, lonely place. What does exile mean? It means that you are barred from your native country. You can’t return.

When we turn our lives to Christ, we are no longer wandering. Like Andy was saying last week, we have a purpose, we have gifts, are we using them? When we turn our lives to Christ, as well, we are now in exile from the old person. The old is dead, the new has come. What are you not willing to leave at the cross? What is so important to you that you can’t let go? Are you afraid of what the Lord can do with little ol’ you? Are you afraid? Like Moses?

We talked about it a few weeks ago, it was the first 3 plagues that Aaron did the talking...after that, it was Moses. We’re going to hear more from Moses here from plague 6-9 today. Moses starts to get it, embracing his role. Let the Lord use you, let Andy’s message sink in from last week, let this message today settle in your heart. What can you do? What are you being called to do? Will it take God’s Mighty Hand to move you? Or are you going to try a little bit of uncomfortability help you find the person inside you that’s saying “This is truly the work of the Spirit thru me.”

Recap, the plagues are God’s way of showing He was sovereign over all of the Egyptian god’s. The Nile turning to blood, and all the water in pitchers and buckets also. All the water. And Pharaoh’s magicians didn’t make it go away, they made it worse. This was against Osirus, who’s life blood was the Nile.

Plague 2 was frogs from the Nile, they were everywhere, in the pots and pans, in their beds, everywhere. Pharaoh’s magicians again said “No problem” and again, made it worse. This was against Heqt, the frog headed god of fertility. The land stank because the frogs just died, they didn’t run into the water again.

Plague 3 was gnats or lice from the dust of the earth. This was against Geb, god of the earth. This one proved God had the ability to bring life from non-life...this struck fear in the hearts of the magicians saying “This is the finger of God.” They saw the writing on the wall...but Pharaoh didn’t.

Plague 4 was flies, and was against Kepheri, the god of creation, and the Lord brought a distinction between Goshen and Egypt, between God’s people and the Egyptians. This time God gives him a deadline. You have 1 day.

I’ll mention it again, Pharaoh in this story is representative of the devil. Egypt is the world we live in. The Hebrews are God’s chosen people, the church, believers in Christ. Don’t get me wrong, God loves the Jews, but He wants them to believe in Jesus.

Moses is who gives the command about the flies here. This so irritated Pharaoh that he tries to trick Moses into having his own people kill the Israelites by telling them to sacrifice in town, but Moses catches it and says we need to go. Pharaoh retorts “ok, go, but don’t go too far, go pray for me to your God and stop this.” So Moses goes and prays and the flies leave, but Pharaoh again hardened his heart.

How many times does satan ask us to compromise? To do it his way? He’ll never quit with it, get used to it. Learn how to fight it. He doesn’t need all of you, just to distract and keep you from doing anything the Lord doesn’t want you to do.

Plague 5, was against Hathor and Apis - goddess and god of cattle. God tells Moses to tell Pharaoh that all of the Egyptian livestock will be killed Tomorrow, if you don’t let My people go. But none of the Egyptians will die. He gave him a chance this time, devastated the economy of the Egyptians...but they would get more from somewhere, probably from the Hebrew people. God blessing them, and cursing Egypt...bringing back his promise to Abraham.

Which brings us to now. We don’t know exactly how long the plagues lasted, or how long the whole process took. I’ve seen estimates from 40 days, which is hard for me to subscribe to, to 2 years. The math for Moses’ life is 120 years, so that means that this couldn’t have been a very long time, for 40 years, 40 years, and 40 years. So, the expedience of time. 40 days is enough time to replenish livestock if you import them. It’s also about time for 2 seasons of crops too. I don’t know, the Bible doesn’t say, so I’m not going to worry about it! Let’s get on to the 6th plague

Plague #6

Exodus 9:8–12 NKJV

8 So the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “Take for yourselves handfuls of ashes from a furnace, and let Moses scatter it toward the heavens in the sight of Pharaoh. 9 And it will become fine dust in all the land of Egypt, and it will cause boils that break out in sores on man and beast throughout all the land of Egypt.” 10 Then they took ashes from the furnace and stood before Pharaoh, and Moses scattered them toward heaven. And they caused boils that break out in sores on man and beast. 11 And the magicians could not stand before Moses because of the boils, for the boils were on the magicians and on all the Egyptians. 12 But the Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh; and he did not heed them, just as the Lord had spoken to Moses.

This plague was against Sekhemet - god of disease, Sunu - god of healing, Isis - goddess of health.

The furnace talked about here is also translated as a kiln. It could be that they took these ashes from one of the kilns that fired the bricks that the Israelites would make for Pharaoh. We don’t know for sure, but this ash would prove God’s power over man and beast.

Even the magicians were done now, they turned their backs on Pharaoh and we would not hear from them again.

All of the plagues up to this point reverse creation. Man was given dominion over the animals, now their own bodies were being turned against them with these sores.

After all 6 of these plagues, the Lord steps in and hardens Pharaoh’s heart. There’s a reason why He’s given him now to a reprobate mind. Plague 7: 2 SLIDES

Exodus 9:13–21 NKJV

13 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Rise early in the morning and stand before Pharaoh, and say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord God of the Hebrews: “Let My people go, that they may serve Me, 14 for at this time I will send all My plagues to your very heart, and on your servants and on your people, that you may know that there is none like Me in all the earth. 15 Now if I had stretched out My hand and struck you and your people with pestilence, then you would have been cut off from the earth. 16 But indeed for this purpose I have raised you up, that I may show My power in you, and that My name may be declared in all the earth. 17 As yet you exalt yourself against My people in that you will not let them go. 18 Behold, tomorrow about this time I will cause very heavy hail to rain down, such as has not been in Egypt since its founding until now. 19 Therefore send now and gather your livestock and all that you have in the field, for the hail shall come down on every man and every animal which is found in the field and is not brought home; and they shall die.” ’ ” 20 He who feared the word of the Lord among the servants of Pharaoh made his servants and his livestock flee to the houses. 21 But he who did not regard the word of the Lord left his servants and his livestock in the field.

Exodus 9:22–35 NKJV

22 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand toward heaven, that there may be hail in all the land of Egypt—on man, on beast, and on every herb of the field, throughout the land of Egypt.” 23 And Moses stretched out his rod toward heaven; and the Lord sent thunder and hail, and fire darted to the ground. And the Lord rained hail on the land of Egypt. 24 So there was hail, and fire mingled with the hail, so very heavy that there was none like it in all the land of Egypt since it became a nation. 25 And the hail struck throughout the whole land of Egypt, all that was in the field, both man and beast; and the hail struck every herb of the field and broke every tree of the field. 26 Only in the land of Goshen, where the children of Israel were, there was no hail. 27 And Pharaoh sent and called for Moses and Aaron, and said to them, “I have sinned this time. The Lord is righteous, and my people and I are wicked. 28 Entreat the Lord, that there may be no more mighty thundering and hail, for it is enough. I will let you go, and you shall stay no longer.” 29 So Moses said to him, “As soon as I have gone out of the city, I will spread out my hands to the Lord; the thunder will cease, and there will be no more hail, that you may know that the earth is the Lord’s. 30 But as for you and your servants, I know that you will not yet fear the Lord God.” 31 Now the flax and the barley were struck, for the barley was in the head and the flax was in bud. 32 But the wheat and the spelt were not struck, for they are late crops. 33 So Moses went out of the city from Pharaoh and spread out his hands to the Lord; then the thunder and the hail ceased, and the rain was not poured on the earth. 34 And when Pharaoh saw that the rain, the hail, and the thunder had ceased, he sinned yet more; and he hardened his heart, he and his servants. 35 So the heart of Pharaoh was hard; neither would he let the children of Israel go, as the Lord had spoken by Moses.

This plague is against Nut - sky goddess, and Set - storm god, chaos. Some would also say Osiris, the god of the underworld and afterlife too.

God tells Moses to address Pharaoh differently in this passage, doesn’t he? Verse 16 and 17 - I’ll put it back up on the board:

Exodus 9:16–17 NKJV

16 But indeed for this purpose I have raised you up, that I may show My power in you, and that My name may be declared in all the earth. 17 As yet you exalt yourself against My people in that you will not let them go.

God raised Pharaoh up to bring the Lord glory. Men are evil, so are women, I want to be an equal opportunity offender here. God will either hold us up or crush us to demonstrate His Glory. Why does God allow this kind of behavior? Isn’t he just and fair? He is. The last thing we want, though, is His justice. We want His Grace. Justice means we all go to hell. Mercy and Grace only God truly understands. We think we do, but we screw that up too. We make it a condition, like a treat we’re offering to someone. It’s so much more than that.

Why does God allow evil to happen to people? To prove that He alone is Good. If there is no evil, there is no good. It’s a dichotomy. That word means it pits two opposite forces together. If there is evil in this world, there must be good too. I’ve touched on this before too, God had already written your birth date on the calendar before He even started writing this book. He could be saying this to us too: Exodus 9:16 “16 But indeed for this purpose I have raised you up, that I may show My power in you, and that My name may be declared in all the earth.”

Isn’t that cool? Good or bad choice we make, His power will be on display. Why not choose to fight evil instead of letting it overcome you?

Now, with this plague, there has to be some time lapse. Either another season of livestock has been produced, or the Egyptians purchased livestock again from a neighbor or the Israelites. This would enrich the Israelites if that’s what the Egyptians did. Preparing them for their journey.

We also get a strange passage in verses 20, 21

Exodus 9:20–21 NKJV

20 He who feared the word of the Lord among the servants of Pharaoh made his servants and his livestock flee to the houses. 21 But he who did not regard the word of the Lord left his servants and his livestock in the field.

The Israelites didn’t have to worry about this hail, so this must mean that SOME of the Egyptians were starting to believe in Yahweh. We’ll see in future chapters that there are Egyptians that go with the Israelites when they leave. The Lord is changing the hearts and minds of Pharaoh’s people. That’s a powerful message to him as well. It even cut to his heart.

This hail struck the livestock, broke trees, shredded the spring crops, but left the late crops for another devastation. The Egyptians were being economically destroyed, and this opened Pharaoh’s eyes MOMENTARIALY to the fact that he has sinned against the Lord.

The enemy knows he’s always in sin and in opposition to the Lord. But Pharaoh tells them to get out, go pray for him, and as soon as the hail was done, he called them back and his heart was permanently hard.

The 8th plague: 2 SLIDES

Exodus 10:1–10 NKJV

1 Now the Lord said to Moses, “Go in to Pharaoh; for I have hardened his heart and the hearts of his servants, that I may show these signs of Mine before him, 2 and that you may tell in the hearing of your son and your son’s son the mighty things I have done in Egypt, and My signs which I have done among them, that you may know that I am the Lord.” 3 So Moses and Aaron came in to Pharaoh and said to him, “Thus says the Lord God of the Hebrews: ‘How long will you refuse to humble yourself before Me? Let My people go, that they may serve Me. 4 Or else, if you refuse to let My people go, behold, tomorrow I will bring locusts into your territory. 5 And they shall cover the face of the earth, so that no one will be able to see the earth; and they shall eat the residue of what is left, which remains to you from the hail, and they shall eat every tree which grows up for you out of the field. 6 They shall fill your houses, the houses of all your servants, and the houses of all the Egyptians—which neither your fathers nor your fathers’ fathers have seen, since the day that they were on the earth to this day.’ ” And he turned and went out from Pharaoh. 7 Then Pharaoh’s servants said to him, “How long shall this man be a snare to us? Let the men go, that they may serve the Lord their God. Do you not yet know that Egypt is destroyed?” 8 So Moses and Aaron were brought again to Pharaoh, and he said to them, “Go, serve the Lord your God. Who are the ones that are going?” 9 And Moses said, “We will go with our young and our old; with our sons and our daughters, with our flocks and our herds we will go, for we must hold a feast to the Lord.” 10 Then he said to them, “The Lord had better be with you when I let you and your little ones go! Beware, for evil is ahead of you.

Exodus 10:11–20 NKJV

11 Not so! Go now, you who are men, and serve the Lord, for that is what you desired.” And they were driven out from Pharaoh’s presence. 12 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the land of Egypt for the locusts, that they may come upon the land of Egypt, and eat every herb of the land—all that the hail has left.” 13 So Moses stretched out his rod over the land of Egypt, and the Lord brought an east wind on the land all that day and all that night. When it was morning, the east wind brought the locusts. 14 And the locusts went up over all the land of Egypt and rested on all the territory of Egypt. They were very severe; previously there had been no such locusts as they, nor shall there be such after them. 15 For they covered the face of the whole earth, so that the land was darkened; and they ate every herb of the land and all the fruit of the trees which the hail had left. So there remained nothing green on the trees or on the plants of the field throughout all the land of Egypt. 16 Then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron in haste, and said, “I have sinned against the Lord your God and against you. 17 Now therefore, please forgive my sin only this once, and entreat the Lord your God, that He may take away from me this death only.” 18 So he went out from Pharaoh and entreated the Lord. 19 And the Lord turned a very strong west wind, which took the locusts away and blew them into the Red Sea. There remained not one locust in all the territory of Egypt. 20 But the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he did not let the children of Israel go.

This is against Neper and Nepheri, the god and goddess of grain. Again, Moses gives Pharaoh a chance to change or things would get worse still. Pharaoh’s circle is getting smaller and smaller, his magicians have left him, now his servants were pleading with him to give in and let them go. Like King Saul, when power gets to your head, it hardens your heart. That power can corrupt anyone, and the Lord will make an example out of it. He ALWAYS does. Your sin will find out out, hope it isn’t made public. Repent while you have the chance. Not like Pharaoh did: forgive me this once! No, Lord, forgive us EVERY SIN! Right?

Pharaoh again tries to get Moses to compromise on doing what the Lord had called him to do, but the Lord knew his words were empty.

Swarms of locusts can consume a whole country’s vegetation in days. This plague fully encompasses the land in darkness. They came from the east, as the Israelites would come from, and they would return to the Red Sea, where the Israelites were being sent to.

God was showing His power over the land by leaving them with nothing. Just as those of us without Jesus in our lives will be left with nothing. Our God is a consuming fire. It will burn and melt away anything that is not of Him. All we can hope for is that we have anything precious that survives the fire. That depends on us and how we use the gifts the Lord has entreated us with. We have an outreach coming up, come serve with us! It will be difficult for some of you, but the Word will be preached, Worship will happen, AND people might just get to encounter Jesus thru you. Wouldn’t that be sweet?

We will close with the 9th plague:

Exodus 10:21–29 NKJV

21 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand toward heaven, that there may be darkness over the land of Egypt, darkness which may even be felt.” 22 So Moses stretched out his hand toward heaven, and there was thick darkness in all the land of Egypt three days. 23 They did not see one another; nor did anyone rise from his place for three days. But all the children of Israel had light in their dwellings. 24 Then Pharaoh called to Moses and said, “Go, serve the Lord; only let your flocks and your herds be kept back. Let your little ones also go with you.” 25 But Moses said, “You must also give us sacrifices and burnt offerings, that we may sacrifice to the Lord our God. 26 Our livestock also shall go with us; not a hoof shall be left behind. For we must take some of them to serve the Lord our God, and even we do not know with what we must serve the Lord until we arrive there.” 27 But the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he would not let them go. 28 Then Pharaoh said to him, “Get away from me! Take heed to yourself and see my face no more! For in the day you see my face you shall die!” 29 So Moses said, “You have spoken well. I will never see your face again.”

This plague is against Ra - sun god, Pharaoh identifies with Osiris and Ra - begins and ends with him. This darkness lasts 3 days. What does 3 mean in the Bible? It signifies divine completeness. Always remember the 3’s. It symbolizes the trinity. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. 3 in 1. When things happen in 3’s, it’s important to pay attention to them, a lesson is being taught most times.

These 3 days would point to the spiritual darkness that would befall the world after the crucifixion of Jesus. The enemy thought he won and was taking his victory lap. Little did he know that Jesus was setting the captives free and making a way for us to be His Righteousness in earth by putting our faith in Him.

Pharaoh wants another compromise...make sure you come back here. Just like the devil to hold something from us to keep bringing us back. He will never quit that, though.

The choice in our lives is real. What will it take? What does he have hold of that you keep returning to him? What do you need to give up? What needs to get left at the foot of the Cross?

It’s hard to give it up, isn’t it? It’s hard to trust that the Lord knows what He’s doing. It keeps calling you back. For the last 2 weeks, we were talking about Colossians 3. Some of you in this room, it may be your first official communion. A few of our young people got baptized and now they’re able to partake. What happens when we are put under the water? The old person is gone, the new has come. Our sins are washed away, not by the water, the water is a symbol. It’s judgement to those who don’t believe. It’s a new birth for those who accept Jesus and His free gift of life. But there is a price to pay for us.

Colossians 3:5–10 NKJV

5 Therefore put to death your members which are on the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. 6 Because of these things the wrath of God is coming upon the sons of disobedience, 7 in which you yourselves once walked when you lived in them. 8 But now you yourselves are to put off all these: anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy language out of your mouth. 9 Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old man with his deeds, 10 and have put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him,

Put to death, what does that mean? It means we have to take action to destroy it. That man or woman can never have dominion over us again. If it rears it’s ugly head, we should be ashamed and seek forgiveness from the Lord and be grieved. It should worry us, not that He won’t forgive us, but we have let down our heavenly father!

Put to death the lust of your heart. It is wicked and evil. Men, respect a woman’s boundaries. Women, chase after purity. It’s the only sin that is against God and against our own bodies. Your purity is a prize to be achieved and earned, not a bargaining chip. If ANYONE puts that condition on your relationship that person has no business in your life. A man or woman of God will take that seriously. Believe me, that is so hard and lonely. You’ll be ridiculed, labeled...but it’s worth it. The blessings that come from having a right relationship in purity are like nothing I can ever experience even.

You’ll notice, filthy language is something we need to put off...How do you feel about that? How do you demonstrate you’re changed? Can people always see you? When you’re on the phone with someone...how do you let them know you’re changed? I will challenge anyone who calls themselves a Christian and thinks foul language is OK. It’s not. The Greek word I can’t even pronounce, that’s how foul it is to me...It means abusive, shameful, dishonest. Let your words be seasoned with salt, not cayenne pepper.

I tell my kids, your vocabulary should bring joy to people. What’s more joyful than substituting a curse word with nonsense? Try it, you’ll get smiles. One of my office workers says “Oh nuggets.” Brings a smile to my face every time...especially when she spills something and it’s excited and rushed.

But, putting on the new man, that Christ has redeemed, what do we put on?

Colossians 3:12–17 NKJV

12 Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering; 13 bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do. 14 But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection. 15 And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful. 16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. 17 And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.

Parents, I want you to pray these things over your families today. Demonstrate it to your children what this means. Put your sin to death. Stop entertaining satan. He doesn’t deserve a place in your heart or your mind. Teach them how to put off the things this world cherishes, the dirty rags and grave clothes, and put on the new clothing and come out of that grave.

Those of you without children, prepare for those times to teach others. Open your mouths, lead righteously. Endure hardship honorably in the eyes of the Lord. Knowing that Christ endured the Cross for us in the same way.

On that Cross, our sin was nailed. Out of the grave we are called. The Body and The Blood are the atoning sacrifice. Let’s stand and partake together and pray.

Amazing grace, How sweet the sound That saved a wretch like me. I once was lost, but now I am found, Was blind, but now I see. 'Twas grace that taught my heart to fear, And grace my fears relieved. How precious did that grace appear The hour I first believed. Through many dangers, toils and snares I have already come, 'Tis grace has brought me safe thus far And grace will lead me home. The Lord has promised good to me His word my hope secures; He will my shield and portion be, As long as life endures. Yea, when this flesh and heart shall fail, And mortal life shall cease I shall possess within the veil, A life of joy and peace. When we've been there ten thousand years Bright shining as the sun, We've no less days to sing God's praise Than when we've first begun.