Exodus Week 8

Plagues were a response to a question.

(ESV)

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.”

Pharoah was not bothered by the fact that there was a God.

Egypt, according to most scholars, had somewhere in the neighborhood of eighty gods.

The plagues were a punishment of Pharaoh for his refusal to obey God and to move him to obey Yahweh.

In other words Pharoah and Egypt could tolerate the idea of God but only as long as he minded his own business.

And if we look at how we in the 21st century look at God we are ok to acknowledge the existence of God but only as long as he doesn’t ask us to be do something or be something that will make us uncomfortable. Its fine to believe that he is God as long as God has no real authority in our lives but when he does show that he has real authority or when we are asked to trust him beyond our own abilities then we actually begin to doubt that God would really ask us to not trust ourselves and trust him. I don’t know anyone who would actually say I won’t trust God with everything in my life or I won’t do what his Word tells me to do but when it comes down to it we don’t read, or listen to or obey Gods word when we attempt to do anything apart for complete trust in God and not ourselves.

Pharaoh would not hear of a God would would be above him and tell him what to do.

When we hear the story of the plagues and we often will have in our mind that this is a story of God against evil or a story of the church against the world but I want us to realize as we look at this a record of God answering all of our questions about who God is to us or in our minds.

When we look at the plagues that God sent to Egypt we see God defeating the Egyptian gods and what they represented.

But in truth this is a story of God against those who do not put their entire faith, being and existence in the hands of God. In other words this is a story of God vs our own hard heartnesss and stiffneckness.

It is a story of us who will make our existence all about our own efforts and our own abilities. What God is asking of Isreal, Egypt and us it to live under the total leadership of God and not our own.

That means that we follow Gods Word and live totally knelt before him as God. That a life of true purpose and fullness and thickness will only be found in God.

Everything was give to create worship but not be worshipped.

The Lord is the true God

The Lord is the mighty creator

the Lord is a just judge

The Lord is a gracious savior

Hapi- Egyptian God of the Nile -Water Turned to Blood The Nile represent a god of fullness of life

Water Turned to Blood The nile represent Life of abundance

Heket- Egyptian Goddess of Fertility, Water, Renewal

Heket- Egyptian goddess of Fertility, Water, Renewal - god represented as having the head of a frog - related to the first - God brought down the Egyptians life of fertility and fertility of its people and land

god represented as having the head of a frog

related to the first - God brought down the Egyptians life of fertility and fertility of its people and land

Geb- Egyptian God of the Earth - the plague of gnats that took away the peace from the people

Khepri- Egyptian God of creation, movement of the Sun, Often represented as a god with the head of a fly. This is the first plague to only effect the Egyptians. God is removing the comfort and wealth of the people.

Khepri- Egyptian God of creation, movement of the Sun,

Egyptian Plague- Ashes turned to Boils and Sores

Usually this Egyptian Goddess was depicted with the head of a cow.

Egyptian Plague- Hail rained down in the form of fire

Egyptian Plague- Locusts sent from the sky

Egyptian Plague- Three Days of Complete Darkness

(ESV)

16 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Say to Aaron, ‘Stretch out your staff and strike the dust of the earth, so that it may become gnats in all the land of Egypt.’ ”

17 And they did so. Aaron stretched out his hand with his staff and struck the dust of the earth, and there were gnats on man and beast. All the dust of the earth became gnats in all the land of Egypt.

18 The magicians tried by their secret arts to produce gnats, but they could not. So there were gnats on man and beast.

19 Then the magicians said to Pharaoh, “This is the finger of God.” But Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, and he would not listen to them, as the Lord had said.

20 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Rise up early in the morning and present yourself to Pharaoh, as he goes out to the water, and say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord, “Let my people go, that they may serve me.

21 Or else, if you will not let my people go, behold, I will send swarms of flies on you and your servants and your people, and into your houses. And the houses of the Egyptians shall be filled with swarms of flies, and also the ground on which they stand.

22 But on that day I will set apart the land of Goshen, where my people dwell, so that no swarms of flies shall be there, that you may know that I am the Lord in the midst of the earth.

23 Thus I will put a division between my people and your people. Tomorrow this sign shall happen.” ’ ”

24 And the Lord did so. There came great swarms of flies into the house of Pharaoh and into his servants’ houses. Throughout all the land of Egypt the land was ruined by the swarms of flies.

25 Then Pharaoh called Moses and Aaron and said, “Go, sacrifice to your God within the land.”

26 But Moses said, “It would not be right to do so, for the offerings we shall sacrifice to the Lord our God are an abomination to the Egyptians. If we sacrifice offerings abominable to the Egyptians before their eyes, will they not stone us?

27 We must go three days’ journey into the wilderness and sacrifice to the Lord our God as he tells us.”

28 So Pharaoh said, “I will let you go to sacrifice to the Lord your God in the wilderness; only you must not go very far away. Plead for me.”

29 Then Moses said, “Behold, I am going out from you and I will plead with the Lord that the swarms of flies may depart from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people, tomorrow. Only let not Pharaoh cheat again by not letting the people go to sacrifice to the Lord.”

30 So Moses went out from Pharaoh and prayed to the Lord.

31 And the Lord did as Moses asked, and removed the swarms of flies from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people; not one remained.

32 But Pharaoh hardened his heart this time also, and did not let the people go.

The demand on Pharoah is to let the people go for three days. Is Moses lying? We know that God is going to take them farther and longer than three days. I would say at this point Modes knows nothing more than what he says. I want us to watch this as we go forward.

Hathor-Egyptian Goddess of Love and Protection - Goddess was depicted with the head of a cow. God takes aways the livestock of the people. Their riches

1 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go in to Pharaoh and say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord, the God of the Hebrews, “Let my people go, that they may serve me.

2 For if you refuse to let them go and still hold them,

3 behold, the hand of the Lord will fall with a very severe plague upon your livestock that are in the field, the horses, the donkeys, the camels, the herds, and the flocks.

4 But the Lord will make a distinction between the livestock of Israel and the livestock of Egypt, so that nothing of all that belongs to the people of Israel shall die.” ’ ”

5 And the Lord set a time, saying, “Tomorrow the Lord will do this thing in the land.”

6 And the next day the Lord did this thing. All the livestock of the Egyptians died, but not one of the livestock of the people of Israel died.

7 And Pharaoh sent, and behold, not one of the livestock of Israel was dead. But the heart of Pharaoh was hardened, and he did not let the people go.

Isis- Egyptian Goddess of Medicine and Peace - Usually this Egyptian Ashes turned to Boils and Sores - God takes away their health and even inflicts the magicians with boils so painful that they can’t stand .

8 And the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “Take handfuls of soot from the kiln, and let Moses throw them in the air in the sight of Pharaoh.

9 It shall become fine dust over all the land of Egypt, and become boils breaking out in sores on man and beast throughout all the land of Egypt.”

Notice that their is no break between the death of all of their livestock and the boils

10 So they took soot from the kiln and stood before Pharaoh. And Moses threw it in the air, and it became boils breaking out in sores on man and beast.

11 And the magicians could not stand before Moses because of the boils, for the boils came upon the magicians and upon all the Egyptians.

12 But the Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh, and he did not listen to them, as the Lord had spoken to Moses.

13 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Rise up early in the morning and present yourself before Pharaoh and say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord, the God of the Hebrews, “Let my people go, that they may serve me.

14 For this time I will send all my plagues on you yourself, and on your servants and your people, so that you may know that there is none like me in all the earth.

15 For by now I could have put out my hand and struck you and your people with pestilence, and you would have been cut off from the earth.

16 But for this purpose I have raised you up, to show you my power, so that my name may be proclaimed in all the earth.

17 You are still exalting yourself against my people and will not let them go.

Nut- Egyptian Goddess of the Sky - Egyptian Plague- Hail rained down in the form of fire - took away their food

18 Behold, about this time tomorrow I will cause very heavy hail to fall, such as never has been in Egypt from the day it was founded until now.

19 Now therefore send, get your livestock and all that you have in the field into safe shelter, for every man and beast that is in the field and is not brought home will die when the hail falls on them.” ’ ”

20 Then whoever feared the word of the Lord among the servants of Pharaoh hurried his slaves and his livestock into the houses,

21 but whoever did not pay attention to the word of the Lord left his slaves and his livestock in the field.

22 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand toward heaven, so that there may be hail in all the land of Egypt, on man and beast and every plant of the field, in the land of Egypt.”

23 Then Moses stretched out his staff toward heaven, and the Lord sent thunder and hail, and fire ran down to the earth. And the Lord rained hail upon the land of Egypt.

24 There was hail and fire flashing continually in the midst of the hail, very heavy hail, such as had never been in all the land of Egypt since it became a nation.

25 The hail struck down everything that was in the field in all the land of Egypt, both man and beast. And the hail struck down every plant of the field and broke every tree of the field.

It decimates the land - makes it look like a war zone.

26 Only in the land of Goshen, where the people of Israel were, was there no hail.

27 Then Pharaoh sent and called Moses and Aaron and said to them, “This time I have sinned; the Lord is in the right, and I and my people are in the wrong.

28 Plead with the Lord, for there has been enough of God’s thunder and hail. I will let you go, and you shall stay no longer.”

29 Moses said to him, “As soon as I have gone out of the city, I will stretch out my hands to the Lord. The thunder will cease, and there will be no more hail, so that you may know that the earth is the Lord’s.

30 But as for you and your servants, I know that you do not yet fear the Lord God.”

31 (The flax and the barley were struck down, for the barley was in the ear and the flax was in bud.

32 But the wheat and the emmer were not struck down, for they are late in coming up.)

33 So Moses went out of the city from Pharaoh and stretched out his hands to the Lord, and the thunder and the hail ceased, and the rain no longer poured upon the earth.

34 But when Pharaoh saw that the rain and the hail and the thunder had ceased, he sinned yet again and hardened his heart, he and his servants.

35 So the heart of Pharaoh was hardened, and he did not let the people of Israel go, just as the Lord had spoken through Moses.

1 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go in to Pharaoh, for I have hardened his heart and the heart of his servants, that I may show these signs of mine among them,

2 and that you may tell in the hearing of your son and of your grandson how I have dealt harshly with the Egyptians and what signs I have done among them, that you may know that I am the Lord.”

3 So Moses and Aaron went in to Pharaoh and said to him, “Thus says the Lord, the God of the Hebrews, ‘How long will you refuse to humble yourself before me? Let my people go, that they may serve me.

Seth- Egyptian God of Storms and Disorder - Locusts sent from the sky - took away their crops and completely covered the Egyptians lands

4 For if you refuse to let my people go, behold, tomorrow I will bring locusts into your country,

5 and they shall cover the face of the land, so that no one can see the land. And they shall eat what is left to you after the hail, and they shall eat every tree of yours that grows in the field,

6 and they shall fill your houses and the houses of all your servants and of all the Egyptians, as neither your fathers nor your grandfathers have seen, from the day they came on earth to this day.’ ” Then 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 understand that Egypt is ruined?”

8 So Moses and Aaron were brought back to Pharaoh. And he said to them, “Go, serve the Lord your God. But which ones are to go?”

9 Moses said, “We will go with our young and our old. We will go with our sons and daughters and with our flocks and herds, for we must hold a feast to the Lord.”

10 But he said to them, “The Lord be with you, if ever I let you and your little ones go! Look, you have some evil purpose in mind.

11 No! Go, the men among you, and serve the Lord, for that is what you are asking.” 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, so that they may come upon the land of Egypt and eat every plant in the land, all that the hail has left.”

13 So Moses stretched out his staff over the land of Egypt, and the Lord brought an east wind upon the land all that day and all that night. When it was morning, the east wind had brought the locusts.

14 The locusts came up over all the land of Egypt and settled on the whole country of Egypt, such a dense swarm of locusts as had never been before, nor ever will be again.

15 They covered the face of the whole land, so that the land was darkened, and they ate all the plants in the land and all the fruit of the trees that the hail had left. Not a green thing remained, neither tree nor plant of the field, through all the land of Egypt.

16 Then Pharaoh hastily called Moses and Aaron and said, “I have sinned against the Lord your God, and against you.

17 Now therefore, forgive my sin, please, only this once, and plead with the Lord your God only to remove this death from me.”

18 So he went out from Pharaoh and pleaded with the Lord.

19 And the Lord turned the wind into a very strong west wind, which lifted the locusts and drove them into the Red Sea. Not a single locust was left in all the country of Egypt.

20 But the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he did not let the people of Israel go.

Ra- The Sun God - Three Days of Complete Darkness - only in Egypt - Produced fear and and proved that God controlled the sun and not Ra

21 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand toward heaven, that there may be darkness over the land of Egypt, a darkness to be felt.”

22 So Moses stretched out his hand toward heaven, and there was pitch 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 people of Israel had light where they lived.

24 Then Pharaoh called Moses and said, “Go, serve the Lord; your little ones also may go with you; only let your flocks and your herds remain behind.”

25 But Moses said, “You must also let us have sacrifices and burnt offerings, that we may sacrifice to the Lord our God.

26 Our livestock also must go with us; not a hoof shall be left behind, for we must take of them to serve the Lord our God, and we do not know with what we must serve the Lord until we arrive there.”

Notice again Moses says three days journey. And we must take our livestock because we don’t know what the the Lord will have us do when we get there.

Moses and Isreal are going on faith not knowing what they will do when they get 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 care never to see my face again, for on the day you see my face you shall die.”

29 Moses said, “As you say! I will not see your face again.”