The Finger of God

Exodus 8 NKJV

And the Lord spoke to Moses, “Go to Pharaoh and say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord: “Let My people go, that they may serve Me. But if you refuse to let them go, behold, I will smite all your territory with frogs. So the river shall bring forth frogs abundantly, which shall go up and come into your house, into your bedroom, on your bed, into the houses of your servants, on your people, into your ovens, and into your kneading bowls. And the frogs shall come up on you, on your people, and on all your servants.” ’ ” Then the Lord spoke to Moses, “Say to Aaron, ‘Stretch out your hand with your rod over the streams, over the rivers, and over the ponds, and cause frogs to come up on the land of Egypt.’ ” So Aaron stretched out his hand over the waters of Egypt, and the frogs came up and covered the land of Egypt. And the magicians did so with their enchantments, and brought up frogs on the land of Egypt. Then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron, and said, “Entreat the Lord that He may take away the frogs from me and from my people; and I will let the people go, that they may sacrifice to the Lord.” And Moses said to Pharaoh, “Accept the honor of saying when I shall intercede for you, for your servants, and for your people, to destroy the frogs from you and your houses, that they may remain in the river only.” So he said, “Tomorrow.” And he said, “Let it be according to your word, that you may know that there is no one like the Lord our God. And the frogs shall depart from you, from your houses, from your servants, and from your people. They shall remain in the river only.” Then Moses and Aaron went out from Pharaoh. And Moses cried out to the Lord concerning the frogs which He had brought against Pharaoh. So the Lord did according to the word of Moses. And the frogs died out of the houses, out of the courtyards, and out of the fields. They gathered them together in heaps, and the land stank. But when Pharaoh saw that there was relief, he hardened his heart and did not heed them, as the Lord had said. So the Lord said to Moses, “Say to Aaron, ‘Stretch out your rod, and strike the dust of the land, so that it may become lice throughout all the land of Egypt.’ ” And they did so. For Aaron stretched out his hand with his rod and struck the dust of the earth, and it became lice on man and beast. All the dust of the land became lice throughout all the land of Egypt. Now the magicians so worked with their enchantments to bring forth lice, but they could not. So there were lice on man and beast. Then the magicians said to Pharaoh, “This is the finger of God.” But Pharaoh’s heart grew hard, and he did not heed them, just as the Lord had said. And the Lord said to Moses, “Rise early in the morning and stand before Pharaoh as he comes out to the water. Then say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord: “Let My people go, that they may serve Me. Or else, if you will not let My people go, behold, I will send swarms of flies on you and your servants, on your people and into your houses. The houses of the Egyptians shall be full of swarms of flies, and also the ground on which they stand. And in that day I will set apart the land of Goshen, in which My people dwell, that no swarms of flies shall be there, in order that you may know that I am the Lord in the midst of the land. I will make a difference between My people and your people. Tomorrow this sign shall be.” ’ ” And the Lord did so. Thick swarms of flies came into the house of Pharaoh, into his servants’ houses, and into all the land of Egypt. The land was corrupted because of the swarms of flies. Then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron, and said, “Go, sacrifice to your God in the land.” And Moses said, “It is not right to do so, for we would be sacrificing the abomination of the Egyptians to the Lord our God. If we sacrifice the abomination of the Egyptians before their eyes, then will they not stone us? We will go three days’ journey into the wilderness and sacrifice to the Lord our God as He will command us.” So Pharaoh said, “I will let you go, that you may sacrifice to the Lord your God in the wilderness; only you shall not go very far away. Intercede for me.” Then Moses said, “Indeed I am going out from you, and I will entreat the Lord, that the swarms of flies may depart tomorrow from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people. But let Pharaoh not deal deceitfully anymore in not letting the people go to sacrifice to the Lord.” So Moses went out from Pharaoh and entreated the Lord. And the Lord did according to the word of Moses; He removed the swarms of flies from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people. Not one remained. But Pharaoh hardened his heart at this time also; neither would he let the people go.

Exodus 8

Exodus 8

-Pray

-Overview of Text

-Theological War

Heket- Egyptian Goddess of Fertility, Water, Renewal

Heket the Egyptian Goddess, had the head of a frog.

Egyptian Plague- Frogs coming from the Nile River

Pharaoh's magicians were able to bring more frogs in their attempt to imitate the power of God, but only Moses was able to make the frogs go away. This was another attack on a famous Egyptian Goddess, Heket.

Geb- Egyptian God of the Earth

The Egyptian God Geb, was over the dust of the earth.

Egyptian Plague- Lice from the dust of the earth

Finally, the magicians of Pharaoh are humiliated, being unable to compete with this power that was so much greater than themselves and the powers that they had from their Egyptian gods and goddesses, and they profess, "this is the finger of God." This was the last plague that required Aaron's involvement, as the next set of three plagues are issued by the word of Moses himself.

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

Khepri, the Egyptian god had the head of a fly.

Egyptian Plague- Swarms of Flies

This wonder also moves the Egyptian plagues to a different level, adding destruction as well as discomfort to the consequence of their decisions.

The Finger of God

-Ipuwar Papyrus

Jannes and Jambres

-Jannes and Jambres

-Jasher

-Rabbinic Legends

-Left with Moses and Israel

Exodus 8:18 NKJV

Now the magicians so worked with their enchantments to bring forth lice, but they could not. So there were lice on man and beast.

The Finger of God

Exodus 8:18

God is Persistent in His Want for our Praise

Exodus 8:1 NKJV

And the Lord spoke to Moses, “Go to Pharaoh and say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord: “Let My people go, that they may serve Me.

Exodus 8:20 NKJV

And the Lord said to Moses, “Rise early in the morning and stand before Pharaoh as he comes out to the water. Then say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord: “Let My people go, that they may serve Me.

Exodus 8:

God is Persistent in His Want for our Praise

Sing to God, sing in praise of his name, extol him who rides on the clouds; rejoice before him—his name is the LORD.—Psalm 68:41

Consummation of joy

C. S. Lewis saw that praising God is the consummation of joy in God. Therefore, when God is pursuing—even demanding—our praise, he is pursuing the consummation of our joy. This may feel at first counter-intuitive—that when we are small and feel insignificant, while God is great and central, at those very moments we reach our highest joy. But it’s not counter to our deepest sense of where joy comes from.

Joy is not in thinking highly of ourselves. Joy reaches its height in moments of self-forgetfulness in the presence of beauty and greatness.—John Piper

God is Persistent in His Want for our Praise

-the Why. God wants to give us His best. He create us to give Himself to us...

If praise is properly deserved, then … it is properly obligatory. In other words, it is not only proper for God to receive praise, we owe it to Him.

It’s no wonder then when you reflect on this that the Psalmist writes in , “Praise Him for His mighty deeds, praise Him according to His excellent greatness.”

Is God a megalomaniac ... the transcendent Egotist? Of course not. In the truest sense, this is an arrogant and irresponsible question. How can God be other than he is in his perfection? But in another sense, the question is helpful, for it directs our thinking to the essence of God’s glory and resets our theological framework. God shows his love for us in the display of his glory and in his jealous concern for his own name and reputation. Our greatest joy is found in beholding his glory and in glorifying the triune God for all eternity.

Fallen creatures, blinded by sin, cannot see that to rob God of his glory is to rob ourselves of true joy.

The Finger of God

God is Perfect in His Watch of our Prayer

Exodus 8:13 NKJV

So the Lord did according to the word of Moses. And the frogs died out of the houses, out of the courtyards, and out of the fields.

Exodus 8:13

God is Perfect in His Watch of our Prayer

Watch rather than hearing...

Body Language

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1 John 5:14 NKJV

Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.

Psalm 66:17–20 NKJV

I cried to Him with my mouth, And He was extolled with my tongue. If I regard iniquity in my heart, The Lord will not hear. But certainly God has heard me; He has attended to the voice of my prayer. Blessed be God, Who has not turned away my prayer, Nor His mercy from me!

Psalm

Hebrews 4:16 NKJV

Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

Hebrew

John 14:14 NKJV

If you ask anything in My name, I will do it.

Matthew 7:7 NKJV

“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.

God is Perfect in His Watch of our Prayer

The Finger of God

God is Patient in His Waiting through our Proclivities

Exodus 8:10 NKJV

So he said, “Tomorrow.” And he said, “Let it be according to your word, that you may know that there is no one like the Lord our God.

Exodus

God is Patient in His Waiting through our Proclivities

Pleasure to Plagues

We are sinful God is Patient...

God is patient. I am not. I am learning patience. God is patience. I am developing patience. God is displaying His.

-Adam and Eve

-Patriarchs

-Israel

-The EC

-Church

-Us...

In the exercise of His common grace, God displays patience and forbearance with the world. But patience and forbearance ought to lead men and women to repentance.

Thomas stories...

Nevertheless, God is patient. He doesn’t have to learn it. He is it. He is not developing it. He continually displays it. I am grateful that I can count on the fact that the God of all grace and glory is patient.

The Finger of God

Gosh, does Pharaoh have his Wits during this Process?

Exodus 8:32 NKJV

But Pharaoh hardened his heart at this time also; neither would he let the people go.

The Finger of God

Lets Learn and Turn Sooner than Later...