Moses 6 THE NINE PLAGUE JUDMENTS OF GOD
Exodus 7:6-10:29
C. The Salvation
3. The Conquering of Pharaoh Ex. 7:6-12:30
1) The Preliminary Sign 7:6-13
2) The Plagues 7:14-10:29
It is a known and recorded fact of history that Egypt, the strongest nation on earth, freed millions of slaves. Bible phrases like “chief of butlers” (Gen. 40:2, KJV) are shown to be clearly Egyptian by archeologists. Israel was in Egypt and they got out. This does not happen without a fight. Greedy men do not release slaves easily. We fought a bloody civil war to release ours.
Israel left because God bared His mighty arm and declared war on Pharaoh and all the gods of Egypt. Plague after plague, nine in number, fell until Egypt was a barren wasteland. Pharaoh’s heart grew harder and harder and the first nine plagues left him angry and unmoved. But when God sent His death angel and all the firstborn sons in Egypt died in the tenth plague, Pharaoh gave in. He told Moses and Aaron to take their people and go and asked them to “bless” him before God. For the moment Pharaoh was conquered and Israel left. Later he went after them and died in the Red Sea (Ex. 14).
What the cross and Easter is to us, the Exodus was to the Hebrews. This was God’s act in history, on their behalf, that showed who He was, a God of love, and what He could do - set them free. Negro slaves in America, introduced to Christianity, naturally were drawn to this event. They sang spirituals like “Go down, Moses!” The God they looked to raised up their Moses - Abe Lincoln.
The Hebrew songs and sermons of worship and the teachings of parents to their children were consumed by this mighty act of God that gave birth to them as a people. The Exodus was taught by Hebrew parents. Deuteronomy 6 says, when your children ask the meaning of your laws tell them,
“We were slaves of Pharaoh in Egypt, but the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand. Before our eyes the Lord sent miraculous signs and wonders - great and terrible - upon Egypt and Pharaoh and his whole household. But he brought us out from there to bring us in and give us the land he promised on oath to our forefathers.” (Dt. 6:21-23).
The Exodus was sung by Hebrew poets.
Psalm 77:11-20 says, “I will remember the deed of the Lord. . . What god is so great as our God. . . With your mighty arm you redeemed your people. . . Your path led through the sea. . .though your footprints were not seen.”
The Exodus was preached by Hebrew prophets.
Amos said God says, “O people of Israel. . .I brought up out of Egypt” (Amos 3:1). Micah said God says, “My people. . .I brought you up out of Egypt and redeemed you from the land of slavery.” (Micah 6:3-4). The plagues upon Egypt are terrible and wonderful at the same time - terrible for the Egyptians. God called them “mighty acts of judgment” (Ex. 7:4). But they are wonderful for God’s people - they were set free. Is not this true of the cross? By it we are redeemed but by it the world is condemned. Is not this true of the return of Christ? It is our blessed hope but for the world it is a day of vengeance. Today we look at the first nine plagues.
I. THE STORY OF THE FIRST PLAGUES (7:6-10:29)
1. The Preliminary Sign (7:6-13)
Moses, aged 80, and Aaron, aged 83, went to Pharaoh and Aaron threw down his rod and it became a snake, probably a cobra. The Egyptian sorcerers did the same with their rods but Aaron’s serpent ate all theirs. Pharaoh’s heart became hard.
2. The Plagues (7:14-10:29)
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1) Blood (7:14-24).
Moses and Aaron left but one beautiful morning God sent them to meet Pharaoh at the Nile. After warning him, Aaron waved his rod and all the waters of Egypt, the Nile, streams, canals, ponds, reservoirs and in their buckets and jars turned to blood. The fish of the Nile died and their foul smell covered the land. Egyptian sorcerers turned some water to blood and Pharaoh wouldn’t budge.
2) Frogs.
Next, after another warning, God made frogs appear everywhere in the land - in the Nile, in houses, in beds, in ovens, etc. Pharaoh gave in a little and talked about letting Israel go to the desert and worship, but when the frogs left he changed his mind. (Very much like those who sit in church or, in times of trouble, think about accepting Christ, but change their minds when they are back carefree in the world.)
3) Gnats (8:16-19)
Next, without warning, all the dust of Egypt turned into gnats, no doubt billions upon billions, and they were on people and animals. For the first time the sorcerers could not duplicate the miracle. They said, “This is the finger of God” (8:19). But still Pharaoh wouldn’t listen. No more of Moses’ miracles were duplicated by them.
(Satan and evil have power but it is what God allows them to have and when He says stop, they stop. When they look back they see that even their rebellion and wicked acts were used by God to accomplish some of His good purposes. The supreme example of this is the murder of Jesus on the cross.)
4) Flies (8:20-32).
After another warning, the same kind of plague came next, but this time it was flies that came and covered everything. Two new things happened.
3. The Compassionate Sparing of Israel (8:22-23).
Up until now God’s people in Goshen have been tormented by the plagues just like the Egyptians. But here and in plagues five (livestock deaths); seven (hailstones); nine (darkness); and ten (death of the firstborn), Goshen and the Hebrews were spared.
We who are saved often suffer when God sends judgment upon our nation. Allied bombs killed many devout Germans.) But when the great Judgment of the Second Coming comes, we who are saved will be caught up to be with the Lord (1 Th. 4) and spared as Goshen was here.
4. The Compromising Suggestions of Pharaoh
(8:25, 28; 10:11; 10:24).
Here Pharaoh, frightened a little, makes the first two of four COMPROMISE suggestions.
(A ) Here he says they can take time off and worship in Egypt.
(B) When Moses says the sight would be detestable to Egyptians, Pharaoh says go into the desert, but not far away. Moses agrees, but when the flies left Pharaoh changed his mind.
(C) In plague eight (locusts) Pharaoh says the men can go but not the women, children and animals.
(D) In plague nine (darkness) he says go but leave the animals behind.
Satan loves to get Christians to compromise, to keep on serving God, but to do it half heartedly and half way. The problem is, this kind of service makes Jesus want to throw up. (Rev. 3)
5. The Next Plagues
1) The Plague on Animals (9:1-7).
Then, after a warning, Egypt’s animals - horses, cattle, camels, donkeys, sheep, goats (9:3) all got sick and died, but “not one animal belonging to the Israelites died” (9:6). Amazed, Pharaoh sent men to Goshen to see if it was true. He saw it was but still wouldn’t budge.
2) Boils (9:8-12).
Moses and Aaron, with no warning, threw soot from a furnace into the air and it became fine dust that produced boils on all the people and what animals were left alive. This time the sorcerers, because of their boils, couldn’t even come into Moses’ presence. In their own eyes they were unclean. Pharaoh still wouldn’t budge. Israel may have experienced their boils. No distinction is mentioned.
3) Hail (9:13-35).
Here God sends what he calls a gigantic judgment. He gives much space to it and says Egypt will see there is no God like Him; that He could easily wipe them out and that all the earth will know His power. God warned them to take what animals they had inside and to stay inside themselves or die from a hailstorm. The hail came and all those not in shelters, men and animals, died. This time Pharaoh was moved and said to Moses, “I have sinned!” (9:27) and asked them to pray for him.
In the heart of most wicked men and women is the knowledge of right and wrong and the knowledge of a God who holds us accountable. There is also the knowledge that every church steeple points to a God who will forgive us for what we have done wrong. Pharaoh, like every man, will have no excuse. We all have seen the light but only a few live up to that light (Romans 1:18-32
4) Locusts (10:1-20).
Moses warned Pharaoh next that locusts would come and cover the ground so that it couldn’t be seen and eat everything the hailstones hadn’t destroyed. It did and Pharaoh’s officials told him “Egypt is ruined” (10:7) and begged him to let Israel go into the desert and worship like they asked.
He made compromise three, only the men could go. Moses refused, the locusts came and God’s word says, “They devoured all that was left after the hail - everything. . . Nothing green remained on tree or plant in all the land of Egypt” (10:15). Again Pharaoh confessed his sins and forgot his confession when the locusts were removed by the Lord.
5) Darkness (10:21-29)
Without warning God sent a three day darkness so black that people could not leave their homes. Israel, however, had light in Goshen. With compromise number four, Pharaoh said they could go worship if they would leave their animals in Egypt. Moses, with a new bravery, says, “. . .not a hoof is to be left behind” (10:26).
Pharaoh now seals his doom. He tells Moses to get out of his sight and says, “Make sure you do not appear before me again. The day you see my face you will die.” (10:28). Moses agreed and left.
(When we slam the door in God’s face, most of the time, His grace will open it, but the time can come when He won’t. He says in Genesis 6:3) before He sends the flood, “my spirit will not always strive with man” (KJV).)
II. THE SERMON FROM THE NINE PLAGUES
1. They Are Personal Acts of God.
The liberals call this mythology and misguided conservatives call them natural disasters. Whether they worked through natural laws (hail, flies, etc.) Or beyond them “water to blood”, God did it. The Egyptian sorcerers were right - this is the finger of God (8:19).
2. They Were Powerful Acts of God
When we know God is with us because He has touched us with personal acts, we are ready to face anything. Egypt and the world were impressed. The sorcerers and the people and even Pharaoh give in. Down in Midian Moses’ father-in-law heard of it and said Moses’ God was greater than all gods (Ex. 18:10). Forty years later, up in Canaan, Rahab hid the Hebrew spies, became a child of God and an ancestress of Jesus. Why? She said, “We have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea for you when you came up out of Egypt” (Josh. 2:10).
When God is truly active and evident in the life of a Christian or a church, even the world, at times, will tremble and take notice, and sometimes, like Rahab in Jericho, will be led to the Lord.
3. They Were Punishing Acts of God (6:6; 7:4; 12:12; Rev. 16).
Egypt, bathing in luxury while subjecting the Hebrews to unbelievable cruelties, needed to know this is not a world where “anything goes.” Every dead Hebrew baby not only went to heaven but every name of every one who had a hand in any of their deaths was recorded. They got their punishments in time, in the plagues. God called them “mighty acts of judgment” (6:6) against Egypt and her “gods” (12:12). What God does on this side of the grave, He does on the other side. He also punishes in eternity. Every baby they killed cried out at the judgment.
When John pictured the terrible judgments that would come on the earth when Jesus returns (Rev. 16:15; Mt. 24:43) he used these plagues as symbols he spoke of sores (16:2), water turned to blood (16:4), darkness (16:10) and a river dried up (16:12). The judgments of God in time and the predictions of God in Scripture are a warning to you, my brother and my sister. Heed it! Accept the Lord. Do it now! When Jesus splits the sky it will be too late.
God has given Satan miracle working powers. Today, healers and miracle workers call what they do - signs of the Return of Christ. In Scripture, however, it is the miracles of Satan that announce the Return. Paul’s man of sin comes “with the work of Satan displayed in all kinds of counterfeit miracles, signs and wonders” (2 Th. 2:9). So does the beast of Revelation 16:14. Millions are being led to counterfeit churches that stress healing and prosperity and not to the cross where we are healed of the sins of greed and self interest. Go to a church, my brothers and my sisters, where the greatest miracle preached is the new birth.
