COC 11 - Exodus 6_10-7_13 sermon

Exodus 6:10-7:13

We move now into our study of the plagues that God brings upon Egypt as He compels Pharaoh to let the children of Israel go. One of the most remarkable times of God’s working in all of Scripture. But first let’s follow the text as it leads us there.

Summarize textual details (6:10-7:2)

READ 6:10-13 Moses says: “The children of Israel are furious at me – how can you expect me to be successful with Pharaoh? I am uncircumcised of lips.” Maybe by that he means unskilled, as the NASB takes it, unable to speak well. Or maybe he means unclean, not spiritually sufficient for this responsibility. Either way, God is still not impressed with Moses’ excuses, and reemphasizes that Moses and Aaron have a charge to fulfill, in regard to the sons of Israel and Pharaoh.

The text then moves into a genealogy. It’s a genealogy about the family of Jacob’s son Levi. The Levites were important because they were set apart by the Lord for the service of the tabernacle. So this genealogy of the Levites mentions several people who will be important later and shows who’s who, how they’re related, and it preserves the particular history of Moses and Aaron. Frankly this will be more significant once we’ve made it further into the Pentateuch and studied these people.

After the genealogy the story reminds us again of Moses’ excuses, and then continues on READ 6:28-7:2. “Like God” might mean that Moses would seem like God to Pharaoh, because of his God-given authority and power. But more likely it just means that Moses would speak through Aaron to Pharaoh, just like God spoke through prophets to his people.

The Plagues: Name and Number (7:3)

READ 7:3. This introduces for us what we usually refer to as the ten plagues. The Bible uses the word plague to describe them later in chapter 9. But the English word plague suggests a physical illness, and of course these things were much more than that. In verse 3 they are called “signs and wonders.” A sign is something that points to the reality. It directs your attention to something else. Pharaoh could not see Yahweh, but Yahweh sent these signs to direct Pharaoh’s attention to the majesty and power and authority of Yahweh. This also calls them “wonders,” something that causes awe. These plagues were signs, to point to Yahweh and to cause awe and wonder.

Now how many were there? We’ve traditionally said ten. That’s fine. They pretty obviously divide into three sets of three plagues, plus the last plague, that kind of stands by itself. And actually there’s a first sign here in 7:10-13, where the staff is turned into a snake and eats the others. So you might think of it as 11 signs as the chart in your notes show. But we’ll probably stick with calling them the ten plagues.

Let’s move on to the nature of these signs and wonders. READ 7:4.

The Plagues: Nature (7:4)

First you have the unsettling phrase “lay my hand on Egypt.” God will lay his hand of judgment upon the Egyptians. That word “judgments” at the end of the verse is very important. That word means that these things are punishment on Pharaoh and the Egyptians. They have been brutally oppressing God’s people for centuries, and God has been slow to anger. But as Nahum 1:3 says Yahweh is slow to anger and great in power and Yahweh will by no means leave the guilty unpunished. God does not randomly pick some people against whom He will unleash His power. Egypt deserves this judgment. Pharaoh is not just oppressing Israel – by doing so He is opposing God’s entire plan of redemption, and he must be judged for this. It’s interesting that after the 8th plague (10:16), Pharaoh hurriedly called Moses and Aaron and he said ‘I have sinned against the Lord your God and against you. Unfortunately he immediately demonstrated that this was not a genuine repentance. But it is interesting that he recognized that the real issue here was his sin. These plagues were judgment on sin.

The Plagues: Purpose (7:5)

READ 7:5. God says repeatedly that these things will occur so that the Egyptians will know the great I AM. And he says repeatedly that He does these things so that Israel will know the great I AM. And then we have record of Jethro, a Midianite learning of this. Rahab, a Canaanite learning of this. Even later the Philistines speak of this. And 3500 years later Gentiles like us still speak of this! So the ultimate purpose of these plagues was to magnify the glory of the great I AM – for the Israelites, for the Egyptians, and for the nations. God does all that He does to display His unique excellence.

The Plagues: Instruments (7:6-9)

Chapter 8 takes the time to tell us that Moses is 80 and Aaron 83 when these things begin to unfold. We know that Moses was 40 when he fled Egypt, and 120 when he dies. So the final third of his life would be his time of prime ministry. This should be a great encouragement to those of you who are nearing or in what will probably be the final third of your life. Moses, Aaron, Daniel, Noah, and Abraham are just a few examples of instruments God used mightily in the final third of their lives.

The key to usefulness is not the energy of youth – it is what God describes for us here in verse 1: Moses and Aaron did it, as the Lord commanded them, thus they did. A submitted vessel will be a useful vessel for the Lord, whether eight or eighty.

The Plagues: Opposition (7:10-13)

This brings us to the opposition. READ 7:10-13 When Pharaoh sees this first sign which is supposed to point him to Yahweh, he has an answer ready – he calls in his wise men and sorcerers, the magicians of Egypt who do secret arts. The modern word we would use is witch: people who practice black magic.

When Aaron casts down Moses’ staff (it’s called Aaron’s staff because he is using it) and it becomes a serpent, Pharaoh’s witches are able to accomplish the same feat – except that Moses’ staff, eats the snakes that they produce. Some people suggest that Pharaoh’s witches did not actually turn staffs into snakes, but it’s more likely that through demonic power they actually performed something supernatural. Let’s look briefly at two New Testament texts, TURN TO II Thessalonians 2, READ 2:9-10. The man of lawlessness will have power and signs and false wonders because of his relationship with Satan. So clearly Satan has a certain amount of power to accomplish the supernatural, especially to deceive those who do not love the truth. So it is definitely possible that Pharaoh’s magicians, through the power of Satan actually did turn staffs into snakes.

TURN TO II Timothy 3, read II Timothy 3:1-9. It is not certain, but definitely possible, that Jannes and Jambres are the names of the witches that Moses and Aaron faced in Pharaoh’s court. Note that this text says that in the last days there will be (are) men like them, who have a form of godliness – i.e., they are religious, v.5, and they encourage people to be always learning, v.7, but through these things they oppose the truth and lead people astray. Egypt was definitely a religious place. And men like Jannes and Jambres were able to deceive the Egyptians through shows of religious power, supernatural signs. But as verse 9 says, in the end their folly was obvious to all. Partway through the plagues they will come to Pharaoh and say “This is the finger of God.” These plagues aren’t counterfeit like our signs – they are real.

You can turn back to Exodus 7 now. This scene in Pharaoh’s court acts like a little picture, a little summary of the entire story of the plagues. It is a showdown, between God and His purposes, and those who resist the truth and oppose God, empowered by the god of this world, Satan. When Aarons serpent eats the others, it is a little glimpse of what is to come in this spiritual battle.

Let’s talk a little bit more specifically about the opposition to God. One interesting way this is seen is in the repeated emphasis on God’s hand. Remember we mentioned that earlier in verses 4 and 5 of chapter 7? And there are several other references to God’s hand or to God’s outstretched arm. Egyptian archaeology has demonstrated that the Pharaohs were called “Lord of the strong arm.” The people honored Pharaoh for his strong arm; but God made it very clear whose arm was stronger. So this is a showdown with Pharaoh.

It is often stated that these plagues were targeted toward specific Egyptian gods. That’s a little bit speculative, because the Bible doesn’t mention any specific Egyptian gods. But it does say, Exodus 12:12 Against all the gods of Egypt I will execute my judgment. Now wait a second – you can’t punish a god. You can’t judge a god. They don’t exist. So what does this mean? Gods do exist in the minds of the people through the deception of their leaders. They really believe the god exists; they really believe the god works – so the judgment here is really God’s judgment upon the people’s conception that these gods exist and have authority.

You see a god is always an idol, that replaces the true God. We don’t need Yahweh, because we have all of these gods that can do all of these things for us. Who needs Yahweh? So don’t think of it so much in terms of a battle with the gods, but in terms of the Egyptian people who rely on those gods, and reject Yahweh because they think their gods are sufficient.

This battle as foreshadow: a picture prophecy of two more great battles

There is another very important time in human history when we see a large cluster of what the Bible calls “signs.” That is during the ministry of Jesus. There are seven major signs described in John’s gospel, as well as his statement that Jesus did many other signs which are not recorded for us. Just as Yahweh, the great I AM, was pointing the Egyptians and Israelites to Himself through signs, so Jesus called Himself the I AM, and did miraculous signs that pointed to His true nature as the I AM. But note that Jesus signs were not plagues – they were signs of mercy and healing that showed that God’s ultimate purpose is to bless the nations through Jesus Christ. The signs that Egypt experienced were signs of judgment because they were opposing that blessing of God. They were resisting God’s plan to bring blessing to all the nations through Israel. So they had to be judged. But God’s purpose is not judgment, but blessing, as we see in Christ. The signs that the great I AM unleashed in Egypt were a picture prophecy of the signs that would be unleashed during the ministry of the great I AM in the flesh, Jesus Christ.

There is also a very clear connection between the plagues of Exodus and the plagues that God pours out upon the earth in the great tribulation described in Revelation. God won a decisive battle in Egypt over Pharaoh – but that was pocket change compared to the great victory God will win over the kings of the whole earth at the end of the tribulation. Then, once again, plagues will be poured out, untold human suffering will result, yet man will continue to oppose God. But God will decisively triumph over those false “gods” who seek to oppose His purposes. So in those two major ways, the plagues of Exodus are a picture prophecy.  

This battle applied: the gods today

How do you apply all of this? Let me suggest a train of thought here.

First, Pharaoh imagines a world without God, where he does not have to worry about God’s authority or God’s control, but can do whatever He wants. In Egypt that is expressed through miracle-working witches, and an elaborate system of idolatry. If we have these things, who needs Yahweh? This is what all men do – we don’t like being told what to do, so we all choose to reject God’s way and try to make life work on our own.

Every culture has its own ways of doing that. We can live without God, because we have entertainment, money, free sexuality; psychologists; technology; recreation. God? Who needs God? We’re fine. Those are different idols than the Egyptians had, but the same point: we found our own way without God, and it works just fine.

In response to the idolatry in Egypt, God did two things:

First, he demonstrated the emptiness, the insufficiency of their gods. So many of these plagues will target specific areas of nature where they thought their gods were in control.  Yahweh will send turn their ‘gods’ against them.

They want a world without God in control, and in a sense that what God gives them. I believe the plagues are completely supernatural works of God – yet He uses the normal stuff of nature. It’s as if God says “You want a world without God in control? You really think nature can be your god? OK, here you go. I’ll let nature run free, without my merciful restraint, and you’ll see what happens.” And nature is unleashed upon them and it is devastating. You see this is exactly what God says in Romans 1 – to bring great pain and sorrow into our lives, all God has to do is let us go the way we want to go. We want a world without God. God let the Egyptians experience a little taste of life without God – a little taste of nature unleashed. They said “We’re fine without God” – and God said “OK, let’s see.”  He demonstrated the insufficiency of their gods.

Now ultimately God’s desire is to bless. Notice that the plagues over and over again are removed by God in His mercy. Notice that Jesus comes with signs of mercy and healing and blessing. God desires to bless, but He will plague people if it will show them the folly of their own way, the emptiness of their idols.

That’s the first thing God does in response to the idolatry of Egypt. He lets them have their own way to expose the emptiness of their gods; he lets nature go since they think nature is god; and he exposes the emptiness of what they have been depending on.

The second thing God does is He shows the supremacy and sufficiency of Himself. He does this through His relationship with Israel. He protects them. He blesses them. He provides for them. He leads them. He is more than enough for them. First, He exposes the emptiness of other gods; second, He demonstrates Himself to be the great I AM who is always more than enough for His people.

Now we’re ready for the final applications. God still does this today. He lets people go their own way; they want a world without God and in a limited sense He grants that to them. When he does, it leads to misery and it exposes the emptiness of life without God. The way of a transgressor is hard. But sometimes God uses the hardship to show people that the things they have been depending on are empty. Maybe some of the world’s diseases are part of this; maybe some natural disasters are; maybe our current financial crisis is part of this. I don’t know – frankly it’s up to God to overthrow idols however He wishes.    

As God does that, there must also be a demonstration of the great supremacy and sufficiency of God. Remember that in the Exodus, God demonstrated through his special relationship with His people; and today, God does it through His people. God’s people are supposed to live in a way that illustrates the supremacy of God and God’s ways. We are supposed to live in a way that shows that God is more than enough.  

Let me connect this with two painfully current situations.

First, when people listen to you talk about this current economic situation, what do they hear: anger, frustration, worry? In the midst of a financial crisis like this, God’s people must live in a way that makes it very clear that God is more than enough. Though the fig tree should not blossom and there be no fruit on the vines, though the yield of the olive should fail and the fields produce no food, though the flock should be cut off from the fold and there be no cattle in the stalls, yet I will exult in the Lord, I will rejoice in the God of my salvation. (Hab. 3:17-18)

Second, we are about to vote on proposition 8, an attempt to legally protect marriage as God’s has defined it instead of redefining it according to man’s new ideas. Homosexuality is one way that people try to make life work their own way. It’s an idol, and God can choose to demonstrate the inadequacy of that however He wishes. But there must also be a corresponding demonstration of the superiority of God and His ways. Where will that come from? It should come through Christian marriages. I do not want to hurt or grieve those of you who have been through a divorce, but I do want to address those of you who are married. It is our privilege to live out the sufficiency of God and the wisdom of His way. What is greater? Man’s way or God’s way? When you go vote on proposition 8, you are letting your voice be heard on that issue; but you must realize that your marriage casts a much louder vote. What does your marriage say about God?

It is our privilege to live in a way that demonstrates that He is great; that His ways are perfect; and that there is no greater life than the one lived in submission to, and in relationship with the great I AM. He is more than enough for His people. Can others see that in you? You can Pray: God, by your grace, help me to live in a way that shows your superiority over all the gods of this world. May my life be a sign that points people to the great I AM. By your grace, may others see that:

Your lovingkindess is better than life

Your wisdom is like hidden treasure

You are more precious than any wealth

Nothing anyone can desire compares with you

Help me to live in such a way that others see that a day in your courts is better than a thousand elsewhere. May they see my good works and glorify my Father. May they ask me for an explanation of the hope that is in me. May they notice in me a peace that is beyond what they can understand. May they see that it is better to be a doorkeeper in the house of God than to dwell in the tents of wickedness. As God demonstrates the inadequacy of the idols, may God’s people demonstrate that the great I AM is more than enough.