Three Plagues and the Stubbornness of Pharaoh's Heart- Ex. 8 (Part 2)

Three Plagues and the Stubbornness of Pharaoh's Heart- Ex. 8 (Part 2)

Last week we began our time together with a brief comment on how to read the Scriptures in a way that provides the most benefit of any passage. That is, as Paul instructed the young pastor, Timothy, in 2 Timothy 3:16 “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness.”

We then rephrased what Paul said in the form of four questions that we can ask any passage that we are reading. They are:

I. What does this passage teach?

II. What do I need to repent of?

III. How can I correct it?

IV. What steps can I take to be like Christ (i.e., righteous)?

We asked and answered the first two. We learned much about God and ourselves. We also learned many things from which we could repent.

This morning, I would like to ask the final two questions, “How can I correct it?” and “What steps can I take to be like Christ?”

If you are a serious Christian, that is, if you take the Word of God seriously, the salvation granted to you by the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, then you will ask these two questions and seek, through the power of the Holy Spirit, to change.

Let’s say you go to the doctor and undergo tests. The tests come back and the doctor goes over them. Your health is not good. There are many issues that you have. Your initial response to the doctor is, “What can I do about it?” Or, to put it in the form of our third question, “How can I correct it?”

I know what is wrong (diet, exercise, etc.), but what can I do to fix it? Or, to put it on another level, “I see the kitchen sink is leaking, how can I repair it?”

The fourth question is also extremely practical. What can I do to prevent this from happening in the future? Or, “What steps can I take to be like Christ?”

Taking our plumbing analogy, what can I do to ensure a leak does not occur in the future? How can I prepare for this not to happen again?

Do you see how practical the Word of God is? Do you see how relevant the Word of God is? What is glorious is that Paul gives us the perimeter of how much Scripture is profitable. All. That is every passage of Scripture is profitable.

We joke around about the genealogies being the exception, but honestly even they are profitable. The book of Leviticus, filled with commands on sacrifices, is profitable.

So, let’s fix our spiritual health and spiritual plumbing, not only now but for the future.

READ EXODUS 8

III. How can I correct it?

We are looking at Exodus chapter 8, and our present goal is to answer the question, How can I correct it?

We easily note that Pharaoh is rebellious. He hates God, claims not to know Him, and in spite of God’s power, will not bow the knee.

How can we correct this outright rebellion? We get a glimpse in Ex. 3:19, where God tells Moses the only way Pharaoh will let Israel go is if Pharaoh is compelled by a mighty hand.

Peter gives us a more evident approach: humble yourselves (1 Pet. 5:6). That is, get a proper (i.e., biblical) view of yourself and of God.

When you realize who God is and who you are, you will either bow down with humility or raise up with arrogant pride. This involves the renewing of your mind (cf. Eph. 4:23).

But pride was not the only sin that we learned that we needed to repent of. We also learned of the sin of presumption. Pharaoh says in 8:10, “Tomorrow.”

Both Christians and people who are not followers of Jesus can be guilty of this sin. This is another leak. What can we do to correct it?

Pharaoh should have asked for immediate deliverance (which we all wonder why, after dealing with the frogs everywhere, he would want to wait).

But honestly, this is no different than when we sin and fail to immediately go to the Lord in confession. We say an unkind word, or sin in an action, and rather than repent and confess that sin we presume on God’s grace. It is a situation described eloquently by Solomon in Ecclesiastes 8:11 “Because the sentence against an evil deed is not executed speedily, the heart of the children of man is fully set to do evil.”

How can you correct this sin of presumption? Immediately confess your sins! Realize that God’s grace is that, grace, not an expectation. 1 John 1:9, 2:1.

Finally, what about the sin of a middle-ground life? That is, a half-hearted worship of God? This, I believe, is where the majority of us find ourselves. On Sunday mornings are are bold like Moses, demanding that we be released to worship God in the wilderness!

But Mondays through Saturday, we are tempted to live in that middle ground between Egypt and the promised land. Pharaoh says, “only you must not go very far away.”

You can serve God, but not too much. You can be a Christian, just as long as it doesn’t come out in your politics, or your life.

This is a sin against almighty God. He demands exclusive worship. You cannot serve God and anything else. We read Jesus’s words in Matthew 10:34-39 last week. How can you correct this?

Jesus gives the precise direction in Rev. 3:17-18 “For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked. I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire, so that you may be rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself and the shame of your nakedness may not be seen, and salve to anoint your eyes, so that you may see.”

The correction is to worship God alone. Stop pursuing worldly pleasures, thoughts, accolades, etc., and follow Jesus alone.

We come to our last question. We are assuming that we have addressed the leak or health problem. The sink is no longer leaking, but how do we keep it from leaking? This is our last question.

IV. What steps can I take?

We have, in a way, answered this question already, but for our holiness we will branch this out further. This is the instruction (or, training/teaching) in righteousness. The idea here is of an education. It is like working side-by-side with the plumber.

A. Know what sins you struggle with…and do everything in God’s power to avoid them and confess them immediately when you commit them

1 John 1:9. James tells us we all have peculiar sins to us (James 1:14-15). Learn what yours are. Paul instructs the church at Rome in Romans 13:14 “But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.”

Make no provision for the flesh. Stay away from those things that tempt you! Jesus puts it in even more graphic language in Matthew 5:29-30 “If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body go into hell.”

Proverbs 4:14-19 offers us excellent advice.

Inherent in these thoughts is abiding in Jesus (John 15:1-5).

Keep away from those triggers that tempt you to sin. Pharaoh should have, but he did not. We know what happens to him. We will also learn what happens when Israel does not either.

But this naturally brings us to the second step.

B. Absorb the Word of God and transform your mind

A plant absorbs the sunlight, the nutrients from the soil and water, and is thus enabled to grow and produce fruit.

Likewise, child of God, absorb the Word of God and the Spirit of God will transform you. We see this in Exodus chapter 8 with the repeated phrase “as the LORD had said.” It is written twice in this chapter, multiple times in this book, and is built upon the promise God made to Abraham in Gen. 15:13-14.

Imagine how differently Israel’s life would have been had they absorbed the Word of God. Imagine how much more life they would have had, had they not only knew God’s Word, but believed it.

They had the Word of God orally, that is, they transmitted it through one another. We have the Word of God written and preserved. We can study it. We can buy multiple copies of it. We can write in it, highlight, draw in it. We can absorb it. That is the key to transformation as a believer. How do you avoid sin? How can you prevent future leaks?

By absorbing the Word of God and learning to think like a follower of God.