Sermon Tone Analysis

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.