Moses - Part 13
Notes
Transcript
Recap
Recap
*Last week, we ended on 7:7 - ages of Moses and Aaron
1. The Proof Requested
1. The Proof Requested
9 When Pharaoh shall speak unto you, saying, Shew a miracle for you: then thou shalt say unto Aaron, Take thy rod, and cast it before Pharaoh, and it shall become a serpent.
“Show me a miracle!”
The world still says, “PROVE IT!”
Just as the Jews did to Jesus instead of accepting His Word
38 Then certain of the scribes and of the Pharisees answered, saying, Master, we would see a sign from thee.
Or the people at the cross
40 And saying, Thou that destroyest the temple, and buildest it in three days, save thyself. If thou be the Son of God, come down from the cross.
42 He saved others; himself he cannot save. If he be the King of Israel, let him now come down from the cross, and we will believe him.
Or even satan himself
3 And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread.
6 And saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone.
Maybe even Doubting Thomas
25 The other disciples therefore said unto him, We have seen the Lord. But he said unto them, Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe.
Asking for signs and miracles before believing is nothing new…
When people make statements like:
If God is real, why doesn’t He show Himself?
If God loves everyone, why doesn’t everyone go to Heaven?
If God is real, why is there murderers, rapists and all sorts of evil?
The problem is that these questions indicate a lack of understanding of WHO God is and HOW HE works…
1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
2. The Prepared Response
2. The Prepared Response
9 When Pharaoh shall speak unto you, saying, Shew a miracle for you: then thou shalt say unto Aaron, Take thy rod, and cast it before Pharaoh, and it shall become a serpent.
Once again - Moses and Aaron did not need to play improv here and figure out what to say…
God told them ahead of time what would happen… what to say…
God has given us a prepared response as well…
When the Pharisees said:
38 Then certain of the scribes and of the Pharisees answered, saying, Master, we would see a sign from thee.
Jesus said the proof was Him:
39 But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas: 40 For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale’s belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.
Second example:
3 Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, 4 And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation. 5 For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water:
answer:
9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
3. The Powerless Replacement
3. The Powerless Replacement
10 And Moses and Aaron went in unto Pharaoh, and they did so as the Lord had commanded: and Aaron cast down his rod before Pharaoh, and before his servants, and it became a serpent. 11 Then Pharaoh also called the wise men and the sorcerers: now the magicians of Egypt, they also did in like manner with their enchantments. 12 For they cast down every man his rod, and they became serpents: but Aaron’s rod swallowed up their rods.
Satan claims he offers everything you could ever want or need...
16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.
When tempting Jesus, he offered:
The lust of the flesh:
3 And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread.
The pride of life:
5 Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple, 6 And saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone.
Lust of the eyes:
8 Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them; 9 And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me.
Pharaoh believed he had everything he needed:
Magicians to work enchantments
Yet notice the effect of their magic...
It had temporal and a lesser degree of effect:
Aaron’s snake swallowed theirs...
Why didn’t they reverse the plague issued?
4. The Progressive Rebuke
4. The Progressive Rebuke
13 And he hardened Pharaoh’s heart, that he hearkened not unto them; as the Lord had said.
14 And the Lord said unto Moses, Pharaoh’s heart is hardened, he refuseth to let the people go. 15 Get thee unto Pharaoh in the morning; lo, he goeth out unto the water; and thou shalt stand by the river’s brink against he come; and the rod which was turned to a serpent shalt thou take in thine hand. 16 And thou shalt say unto him, The Lord God of the Hebrews hath sent me unto thee, saying, Let my people go, that they may serve me in the wilderness: and, behold, hitherto thou wouldest not hear. 17 Thus saith the Lord, In this thou shalt know that I am the Lord: behold, I will smite with the rod that is in mine hand upon the waters which are in the river, and they shall be turned to blood. 18 And the fish that is in the river shall die, and the river shall stink; and the Egyptians shall lothe to drink of the water of the river. 19 And the Lord spake unto Moses, Say unto Aaron, Take thy rod, and stretch out thine hand upon the waters of Egypt, upon their streams, upon their rivers, and upon their ponds, and upon all their pools of water, that they may become blood; and that there may be blood throughout all the land of Egypt, both in vessels of wood, and in vessels of stone. 20 And Moses and Aaron did so, as the Lord commanded; and he lifted up the rod, and smote the waters that were in the river, in the sight of Pharaoh, and in the sight of his servants; and all the waters that were in the river were turned to blood. 21 And the fish that was in the river died; and the river stank, and the Egyptians could not drink of the water of the river; and there was blood throughout all the land of Egypt. 22 And the magicians of Egypt did so with their enchantments: and Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, neither did he hearken unto them; as the Lord had said. 23 And Pharaoh turned and went into his house, neither did he set his heart to this also. 24 And all the Egyptians digged round about the river for water to drink; for they could not drink of the water of the river. 25 And seven days were fulfilled, after that the Lord had smitten the river.
**We are going to find that the plagues had a progressively increasing level of severity on them...
**God always brings just the right level of chastening and judgement
II Timothy 4:8 tells us that Jesus is the “Righteous Judge”...
Also exemplified in:
Amos 4...
Problem: King Jeroboam set up an idol
Judgement?
No food (vs. 6)
No water (vs. 7)
Business Failures (vs. 8)
Violent Death of some (Vs. 10)
A near death experience (vs. 11)
Final step
12 Therefore thus will I do unto thee, O Israel:
And because I will do this unto thee,
Prepare to meet thy God, O Israel.
Leviticus 26...
14 But if ye will not hearken unto me, and will not do all these commandments; 15 And if ye shall despise my statutes, or if your soul abhor my judgments, so that ye will not do all my commandments, but that ye break my covenant:
Distress & terror
Disease, drought and famine
Defeat before enemies
Death from war, animals and plagues
Destruction of cities and the nation
Disbursement and exile
10 For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure; but he for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness.
To be fair, he has also brought harsh judgement on certain things:
Flood - 120 years of preaching righteousness and then flood, no progression
Sodom - warning from angels to Lot’s family - then fire from Heaven
Nadab and Abihu - strange fire - the fire devoured them
Korah, Dathan and Abiram - No warning, earth swallowed them up
Ananias and Sapphira - struck dead immediately, but given the chance to tell the truth first
