Half-Hearted Repentance Series

Half-Hearted Repentance

Exodus 9:13-35

- We’re continuing our study through the book of Exodus.

- As we make our way through this book, we’re asking the question, “What can I learn from this passage about honoring God?”

- Last time, we looked at the plague of boils.

- We compared it with the pollution of sin and we saw that sin is dirty, sin quickly spreads, and sin hides from God.

- This week, we’re going to look at the seventh plague, the plague of hail, and we’re going to discuss half-hearted repentance.

- One of the things I learned long ago is that sometimes, saying sorry is not enough.

- For example, my wife Sherri does a lot around the house for my family.

- She’s like Superwoman, always working, always keeping the house spotless…

- Well sometimes, she’ll ask for my help.

- I’m definitely not as good at housekeeping as her, but every now and then I do try.

- One day, she asked me to help her out by cleaning the laundry room.

- Well I didn’t want to, so I went and did something else.

- Later, I felt bad, so I told her I was sorry.

- She accepted my apology, but I could tell she was still hurt.

- At that point, I could have just gone back to what I was doing, but the laundry room still hadn’t been cleaned out.

- I still didn’t want to do it, but I realized that my apology was with words, but that wasn’t enough.

- In order to show her I was truly sorry, I had to actually go and clean the laundry room.

- And it couldn’t just be done my way…I needed to do it the way she wanted.

- That was a true apology because I actually did what she wanted me to do.

- I could have said sorry all day but saying sorry would not have gotten the laundry room clean.

- It’s the same way with repentance…

- You can say you’re sorry to God all you want with your words, but until you actually make a change through your actions, they’re just empty words.

- That’s what we see happen with Pharaoh here in Exodus 9.

- The plague of hail is very devastating, and it causes Pharaoh to half-heartedly repent…

- But that wasn’t enough!

- So let’s look at his half-hearted repentance this morning, and see what we can learn from it as Christians.

I. There is a warning- Vs 13-19

- During the Revolutionary War, a loyalist spy appeared at the headquarters of Hessian commander Colonel Johann Rall, carrying an urgent message.

- General George Washington and his Continental army had secretly crossed the Delaware River that morning and were advancing on Trenton, New Jersey where the Hessians were encamped.

- The spy was denied an audience with the commander and instead wrote his message on a piece of paper.

- A porter took the note to the Hessian colonel, but because Rall was involved in a poker game he stuffed the unread note into his pocket.

- When the guards at the Hessian camp began firing their muskets in a futile attempt to stop Washington's army, Rall was still playing cards.

- Without time to organize, the Hessian army was captured.

- The battle occurred the day after Christmas, 1776, giving the colonists their first major victory of the war.

- Obviously, since the Colonel had not taken the time to hear or heed the warning, the consequences for him and his troops were devastating.

- Here in Exodus, before He sends the seventh plague, we see God once again sending Pharaoh and his subjects a warning, but as we’ll see, Pharaoh didn’t heed the warning, so there were devastating consequences.

- Now obviously, the six plagues that God has sent so far have been pretty bad, and Pharaoh and his subjects have felt the brunt of them.

- However, with this warning, in vs 14, God says, “I will send all My plagues to your very heart…”, and then in vs 15, “I will stretch out my hand, to smite you and your people, and you will be cut off from the earth…”

- So basically, God was saying “You ain’t seen nothin’ yet! You think the first six plagues were bad? I’m about to send four more, and you’re going to feel the full force of them!”

- At this point, Pharaoh should have learned his lesson and taken God seriously…

- So far, every plague God said He’d send has been sent…

- However, he had hardened his own heart because he was a stubborn rebel against God, and he refused to give up.

- I think this shows us that he had a problem with pride.