"And In This Corner..."
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Transcript
Handout
A foundational battle, recalled throughout Scripture
A foundational battle, recalled throughout Scripture
11 Miraculous Signs, 10 Plagues
11 Miraculous Signs, 10 Plagues
Moses had confronted Pharaoh - life got worse for Israel
10 plagues - decimal system, a way to explain the completeness)
Moses had confronted Pharaoh - life got worse for Israel
God: “Here we go”
Along the way, take note:
Along the way, take note:
Who is doing the battling
God’s promises in action (demand, Ph. refuses, hardened, heart)
Who’s watching, learning
1) The Plagues (Signs and plagues)
1) The Plagues (Signs and plagues)
Preview - Staff, serpents - Pharaoh’s magicians repeat
“Secret arts” = illusion
1- Nile to blood - long duration
Not necessarily “blood” - could be color from poisonous pollution
“Secret arts” - sleight of hand, small water amount
2- Frogs - long
“Secret arts” - small scale, not sure how, but they were good
Pharaoh call the shot as to when to end it - Not commanding God, but God is showing Him His power
3- Gnats (lice, mosquitoes), short - biting two-winged insects (combination?)
No “secret arts” now
“This is the finger of God” - they know
4- Swarming insects (flies) - did not affect Goshen
“Tomorrow this sign will occur,” division between Israel and Egypt
5- Cattle death/disease - long
6- Boils/sores - short
7- Hail, storms - long
8- Locusts - long
9- Darkness- short (3 days)
Special notes:
Special notes:
Elements of the plagues:
God instructs Moses and Aaron
Encounter with Pharaoh
“Just as the LORD commanded”
Pharaoh relents, and then hardens heart
“Just as the LORD had said”
Not natural phenomena (not gradual, one after the other)
Viewed by Egyptians as miraculous (“how to study your Bible - what did this mean to those reading it then, who had see it firsthand?)
Instant - by gesture or words, throwing ashes into the air
“In the presence of Pharaoh” (Nile to blood)
Darkness - not merely “spiritual”
May have been able to light single-wick lamps, one candle power, possibly seeing another’s face if close enough
No moon, stars, sun; no traveling, moving about - 3 DAYS
Nile was a god to them - others items (animals, nature) affected
God turned the things believed to be the specialty of their gods against them
God shows His control, His power over the false gods of Egypt, power over the objects of their faith (Nile, cattle, grain, sun, moon, stars)
Designed to hammer home : God is in control of this process!!
2) Preparation for the 10th Plague
2) Preparation for the 10th Plague
Prepare a lamb -young, male, unblemished
God has built to this point
Concept that the death of a sacrifice is required to live
Foreshadowing of deliverance, salvation, trusting in that sacrifice
The darkness has Pharaoh weakened
He offers to let them go, without their cattle
Moses (actually, Yahweh) - Nope, we want a full exodus, we need the cattle, livestock and everything
All these events - used throughout Scripture as a remembrance, a foundation for God’s people - even into the NT where Jews are becoming Christians
3) Yahweh is fighting for them, His people
3) Yahweh is fighting for them, His people
(Ummm…you know, He’s fighting for us, His people, now)
All throughout, Yahweh is the one waging battle, He’s the fighter
He’s working, defeating the enemy, in plain sight
FOR ALL HIS PEOPLE TO SEE
These are HIS people - and He is going to fight for them
His people have forgotten Him, His name, Who He is - likely never taught
They’ve given up
But He never left
He knows their situation
Yes, He judges (they were supposed to be in Canaan)
And He also protects them, yes, even them
HE KNOWS WHAT’S BEST FOR THEM!
What about us?
What about us?
All through this life, all through this, always
We can feel like
Giving up
But God never leaves
He knows our situation
HE KNOWS WHAT’S BEST FOR US
So…live like citizens of Heaven
Like in Exodus
God is defeating our enemy, in plain sight - for us and others to see
CAREFUL:
Israel - with all this, later they wanted to return to Egypt
US - we can desire to return to an old life, rely on own strength, and end up afraid, in fear - why? We, too, need reminders - next week, we’ll discuss the Lord’s Supper, and what we remember (reminded of)
CLOSE - God Needs to Be Seen Through His People
CLOSE - God Needs to Be Seen Through His People
Best statement in this passage
The one among the servants of Pharaoh who feared the word of the Lord made his servants and his livestock flee into the houses;
Moses said, “You are right; I shall never see your face again!”
Then the magicians said to Pharaoh, “This is the finger of God.” But Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, and he did not listen to them, as the Lord had said.
BUT....the most telling, to the point:
Then the magicians said to Pharaoh, “This is the finger of God.” But Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, and he did not listen to them, as the Lord had said.
Makes me think of the centurion, at the crucifixion
When the centurion, who was standing right in front of Him, saw the way He breathed His last, he said, “Truly this man was the Son of God!”
POINT:
God needs to be seen through His people, through us
Miraculously
So that lost people see
And have NO OTHER EXPLANATION
GOD IS AT WORK HERE!
And just like the exodus, there will come a day when God’s patience will be completed with His justice
Jesus will meet His church, His people, in the air ()
Then Jesus, 7 years later, will come in person, set up His 1000-year kingdom, and then create a new Heaven and Earth
If you have never placed your trust in Jesus - what are you waiting for? A sign? A believer you know IS THE SIGN
If you are a believer, you must be THAT SIGN, SALT, LIGHT, the SIGN that GOD IS AT WORK HERE! YOU!!
God needs to be seen through His people, through us
Miraculously
So that lost people see
And have NO OTHER EXPLANATION
GOD IS AT WORK HERE!