The War Didn’t End In Egypt
Notes
Transcript
Last week…we saw Moses meet with God and God sent him to go confront the king of Egypt.
Not only did the king NOT listen to Moses…he actually doubled down and made things WORSE for the Israelite people.
PRAY
P. 41
1 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Now you will see what I will do to Pharaoh: Because of my mighty hand he will let them go; because of my mighty hand he will drive them out of his country.”
This led to 10 plagues - God’s “mighty acts of judgement” being leveled against Egypt.
Plague #1 — River turns to blood
14 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Pharaoh’s heart is unyielding; he refuses to let the people go. 15 Go to Pharaoh in the morning as he goes out to the river. Confront him on the bank of the Nile, and take in your hand the staff that was changed into a snake. 16 Then say to him, ‘The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, has sent me to say to you: Let my people go, so that they may worship me in the wilderness. But until now you have not listened. 17 This is what the Lord says: By this you will know that I am the Lord: With the staff that is in my hand I will strike the water of the Nile, and it will be changed into blood. 18 The fish in the Nile will die, and the river will stink; the Egyptians will not be able to drink its water.’ ”
The Egyptian people worshiped the Nile River as a god.
The Nile provided their water and fed their crops...without it, they would starve to death.
The king of Egypt had also given an order that all the Hebrew baby boys should be thrown into the Nile and drowned, using it as weapon AGAINST God's people.
So God's first blow against the Egyptians was to dominate their false god.
Deliverance through judgment has begun.
Plague #2 — Frogs
25 Seven days passed after the Lord struck the Nile.
1 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go to Pharaoh and say to him, ‘This is what the Lord says: Let my people go, so that they may worship me. 2 If you refuse to let them go, I will send a plague of frogs on your whole country. 3 The Nile will teem with frogs.
A plague of frogs might seem silly at first but every plague is building momentum in God's war against the false gods that are harming His people.
The Egyptians worshiped a false god called Heqet - they claimed her as the god of life and fertility.
When this false god was depicted in artwork, she always had the head of frog.
And so, now...God is making a mockery of their idol worship by sending an overwhelming number of frogs...they would eventually despise the number of frogs. And when the plague was over, the frogs didn't just disappear...they began to die and there were so many that the piled up and began to stink and contaminate everything.
Plague #3 — Gnats
16 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Tell Aaron, ‘Stretch out your staff and strike the dust of the ground,’ and throughout the land of Egypt the dust will become gnats.”
This plague came without a specific warning to Pharaoh and with it, God used the very earth to turn against the Egyptians. The people of Egypt had begun to worship the very ground of the earth, making a mockery of God's creation...and with this plague, God proved to the Egyptians that He is STILL the God of creation.
Plague #4 — Flies
20 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Get up early in the morning and confront Pharaoh as he goes to the river and say to him, ‘This is what the Lord says: Let my people go, so that they may worship me. 21 If you do not let my people go, I will send swarms of flies on you and your officials, on your people and into your houses. The houses of the Egyptians will be full of flies; even the ground will be covered with them.
And then God adds…but the flies won’t bother you Israelites…
God’s enemy was plagued, while God’s people were free.
And that is the refrain of history, isn’t it???
God’s enemies are plagued with the consequences of their own idolatry…
While God’s people are free (even if life is hard right now)
Plague #5 — Livestock
1 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go to Pharaoh and say to him, ‘This is what the Lord, the God of the Hebrews, says: “Let my people go, so that they may worship me.” 2 If you refuse to let them go and continue to hold them back, 3 the hand of the Lord will bring a terrible plague on your livestock in the field—on your horses, donkeys and camels and on your cattle, sheep and goats.
The Egyptians had a false god named Hathor - ironically enough, the god of protection - that had the head of a cow.
God is making an emphatic point that NO IDOL can protect you.
ALL protection and provision comes from God alone.
When we try to build our own supports, we will fail every time.
Plague #6 — Boils
8 Then the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “Take handfuls of soot from a furnace and have Moses toss it into the air in the presence of Pharaoh. 9 It will become fine dust over the whole land of Egypt, and festering boils will break out on people and animals throughout the land.”
This plague was delivered without warning. Moses and Aaron simply walked in and threw ashes in the air, which turned into boils.
The Egyptian people were under attack physically AND mentally AND spiritually here.
Physically
The boils were incredibly painful.
Mentally
The Egyptians were proud and viewed all other people as "less than" themselves. For all the Egyptians to develop skin diseases - which were viewed as impurities - while all other nations were protected was incredibly shameful and demoralizing to them.
Spiritually
The Egyptians had a false god of healing, yet discovered their false god had no actual power to heal at all.
Plague #7 — Hail
13 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Get up early in the morning, confront Pharaoh and say to him, ‘This is what the Lord, the God of the Hebrews, says: Let my people go, so that they may worship me, 14 or this time I will send the full force of my plagues against you — (God’s not even been really trying yet…) — and against your officials and your people, so you may know that there is no one like me in all the earth.
18 Therefore, at this time tomorrow I will send the worst hailstorm that has ever fallen on Egypt, from the day it was founded till now.
The king, of course, does not listen and hail falls...killing both people and animals and destroying crops. The only place where it did not hail was...the Israelites homes.
Plague #8 — Locusts
3 So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and said to him, “This is what the Lord, the God of the Hebrews, says: ‘How long will you refuse to humble yourself before me? Let my people go, so that they may worship me. 4 If you refuse to let them go, I will bring locusts into your country tomorrow. 5 They will cover the face of the ground so that it cannot be seen. They will devour what little you have left after the hail, including every tree that is growing in your fields.
God is systematically proving His might over whatever the Egyptians might think they have.
Plague #9 — Darkness
21 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand toward the sky so that darkness spreads over Egypt—darkness that can be felt.” 22 So Moses stretched out his hand toward the sky, and total darkness covered all Egypt for three days. 23 No one could see anyone else or move about for three days. Yet all the Israelites had light in the places where they lived.
For 3 days EVERYTHING in Egypt stopped.
People were isolated and cut off.
Work was shut down.
Families couldn't find their way home.
Everyone was lost and confused.
The Egyptian people had to be more demoralized than ever…
Plague #10 — Death of firstborn
4 So Moses said, “This is what the Lord says: ‘About midnight I will go throughout Egypt. 5 Every firstborn son in Egypt will die, from the firstborn son of Pharaoh, who sits on the throne, to the firstborn son of the female slave, who is at her hand mill, and all the firstborn of the cattle as well. 6 There will be loud wailing throughout Egypt—worse than there has ever been or ever will be again. 7 But among the Israelites not a dog will bark at any person or animal.’ Then you will know that the Lord makes a distinction between Egypt and Israel.
With one final plague - one final act of judgment - God will strike down the firstborn of everyone in Egypt, beginning with the son of the Pharaoh.
If there was a false god that reigned supreme in Egypt, it was the pride of the people. And the pride of the people all began with the pride of their king. In this plague, God will strike directly at that pride - demonstrating His utter and complete dominance over every sinful thing.
But God gave His people a way out - a path to deliverance.
They were to take a small lamb, slaughter it and spread the blood on the doorframes of their houses - so that everyone could see it. Then they were to eat the cooked lamb and be prepared to move quickly - at the moment God called them to move.
Then, when the Lord moved through the land to strike down the firstborn in every home, He would see the blood on the doorway and would PASSOVER that home.
With the 10 plagues, God demonstrated complete dominance over sin and brokenness.
With the 10 plagues, God went to war to rescue His people.
But it wasn't the ONLY TIME God would go to war to rescue His people...
Let me remind you of the good news:
The plagues weren’t the final victory — the cross was.
In Egypt, God went to war against false gods…
He struck the Nile
He mocked their idols
He shattered their pride
But Egypt wasn’t the final battlefield…
God would go to war again!
Not with frogs…
Not with hail…
Not with darkness…
But with a cross.
Because the purpose of Exodus is the same purpose in creation…
Which is the same purpose in redemption…
Which is the same purpose in heaven…
To reveal that God alone is supreme.
There is...
NOTHING more glorious than the glory of God
NOTHING more powerful than the might of God
NOTHING more worthy of honor, worship and obedience than God
Just like God used the blood of a lamb to rescue His people in Egypt…
He used the blood of Jesus—the Lamb of God—to rescue ALL people in ALL places for ALL time.
When Jesus went to the cross…
God wasn’t negotiating with sin — He was defeating it.
The cross wasn’t weakness — it was warfare.
The resurrection wasn’t recovery — it was victory.
What began in Egypt…was finished at Calvary.
The plagues weren’t the final victory — the cross was.
INVITATION: Allow God to win the victory in your life by surrendering to His work…
CHALLENGE: Our job is to tell that good news to everyone we know….
14 How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? 15 And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!”
Invite Tyler Kalebic and Elder to join me on the stage…
8:00 - Mick O’Hanahan
9:30 - Josh Francis
11:00 - Jonathan Fellows
ORDINATION
Address Church:
This is Tyler Kalebic.
Tyler is an Ozark Christian College Student
Tyler has also been an active part of the Connect Christian Church family for nearly two years
He’s been serving with our Student Ministry and listening intently for God to lead him
One thing I love about Tyler is that he’s not afraid to take chances, try something new, and learn as he goes
This morning, Tyler has come to be ORDAINED by our church.
Ordination is the church’s public recognition of God’s call on a person’s life.
It affirms their calling…
Confirms their character…
Sets them apart to serve Christ and shepherd the church
Today, we are ordaining Tyler to be a MINISTER of the Gospel.
Our elders have met with Tyler and are pleased to invite you to witness this moment with him this morning.
Address Tyler:
8 Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?” And I said, “Here am I. Send me!”
It’s similar to the moment we saw in Moses’ life last week…
4 God called to him from within the [burning] bush, “Moses! Moses!” And Moses said, “Here I am.”
Jesus told us to pray for people - just like you - to be sent into the harvest field…
36 When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. 37 Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. 38 Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.”
We have been praying for you - and for other men and women like you - for a long time. More workers to go into the harvest field!
Life as a MINISTER will not always be easy… It will not always be fun… But if you stay the course...endure the difficulties…it WILL be fulfilling.
You will often see people on their worst day. They won’t always call to share their joys and celebrations but your phone WILL ring when their heart is broken and their voice is shaky.
You will hear more complaints than thanks.
You will make sacrifices that others think are crazy.
You will struggle with not letting “church” become “work.”
You will engage situations that make you want to run and hide.
You - and your family - will have unfair expectations placed upon you because you are a “minister.”
You will look at other career options and be tempted to consider an “exit strategy.”
But then…
You will remember that look in someone’s eye when they “get it” for the first time.
You will remember that feeling of unmatched joy when you baptize someone.
You will remember that no matter what else happens, you still get to give people the ONLY THING that actually matters.
And so, TYLER… I ask you:
Have you prayerfully considered the responsibility of living and preaching the Gospel, and have you weighed the work involved and the sacrifices you may be called to make?
Tyler: “I have”
Do you believe that Jesus is the Christ, the son of the Living God, and do you commit your life to preaching that Gospel?
Tyler: “I do”
Are you motivated, not out of a desire for position or power, but by the love of God and the desire to love, serve, and lead your neighbor to Jesus?
Tyler: “I am”
Will you commit to making disciples, building up the church, and preparing God’s people for ministry?
Tyler: “I will”
Elders: Pray for Tyler
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
What were the plagues really about?
Growing up, how did you typically think about the plagues—judgment, punishment, or something else?
How does seeing the plagues as God confronting false gods change your understanding of them?
What does this teach us about how seriously God takes idolatry?
What false gods compete for your trust today?
What are some modern “false gods” people tend to trust (money, success, comfort, reputation, control)?
Which of these do you find yourself most tempted to rely on instead of God?
How can you tell when something good has quietly become an idol?
How does the cross reveal God’s ultimate victory?
Why do you think God used a cross—something that looked like defeat—to accomplish His greatest victory?
How does Jesus’ death and resurrection prove that sin and false gods do not win
What difference does it make in your daily life to believe that the cross already secured victory?
How does God still go to war against false gods in our lives?
Have you ever experienced a time when something you depended on failed, forcing you to trust God instead?
How might God use difficulty or disruption to expose idols in our lives today?
What is one area where God may be calling you to release control and trust Him fully?
What does it mean to live like the cross was the final victory?
If the cross really is the final victory, what fears should lose their power over us
What habits or choices would change if you truly believed that Jesus has already won the battle?
What is one specific step you can take this week to live with greater trust in Christ’s victory?
