Before we start reading our passage this morning, think about the worst storms you've ever been in. Try to remember the biggest rain storms, and the thunder, and the hail, and the blizzards.
When I do this, I tend to think about four stories, two of which I'll share. One day, when I was out delivering north of Streeter, I looked off to the west, and I could see that the apocalypse was coming. It was the darkest, biggest clouds I've ever seen. Normally, I'm a big believer in safe work methods. I walk; I don't run. I look before stepping. I use three points of contact. It's safer, and you get paid more to work carefully.
That day, when I knew I was about to die, I ran. I got my last stop done, and feeling pleased with myself, I showed off my immaturity. I called the driver to the west of me-- the Steele driver-- and I laughingly asked her if she was soaked. And she was like, "No? It's not raining here."
That was confusing, but I started driving home on 94. And out of nowhere, this storm from the south came up-- the apocalypse had added another front. My passenger side window apparently had a 2 inch gap, where it had opened up. And stinging rain shot horizontally through the gap, soaking me. It was super painful-- I screamed like a girl. And there was nothing I could do for like 10 miles. Just get soaked, and scream, and endure.
Another time, we were traveling back from the Cities, and ran into a torrential downpour. 40 mph winds. Horizontal, sheeting rain. And on a frontage road, a mile from the nearest house, we saw this little family on bikes. 2 parents; 2 kids. They were biking into the rain, leaning into it, struggling to make any progress. My wife, in particular, laughed uncontrollably. Out in the open, exposed, nothing you can do.
It's more amusing when it happens to someone else. You laugh more, and scream less.
Our story this morning is about the biggest, baddest storm that Yahweh ever sent. Sheets of rain. The worst hail you've ever seen.
And I think the secret to reading this story the way you should, is to put your storm stories into the text, and then imagine them ten times worse.
Verse 13-16:
(13) and Yahweh said to Moses,
"Rise early in the morning,
and stand before Pharaoh,
and say to him,
"Thus has said Yahweh, the God of the Hebrews: 'Release my people, that they may serve me,
(14) because at this time, I am sending all my plagues toward your heart/resolve and against your servants and against your people
so that you will know/acknowledge that there is no one like me in all the land/earth,
(15) because, now, I could've stretched out my hand,
and I could've struck you and your people with the plague,
and you could've been destroyed from the land/earth,
(16) but for this reason I have caused you to stand:
so that you would see my strength,
and in order that my name would be proclaimed in all the land/earth.
Up to this point in the story, we were maybe tempted to think that Yahweh had maxxed out what He was capable of. Maybe the frogs, and flies, and gnats, and blood, were the biggest, most painful wonders Yahweh was capable of.
Here, Yahweh tells Pharaoh that this is not the case. The only reason Pharaoh is still alive to resist, is because Yahweh hasn't really stretched out his hand. And Yahweh has been the reason Pharaoh is able to still stand-- that's why Pharaoh was able to hang on better than the magicians.
Now, though, the gloves start to really come off. Yahweh will send "all" his plagues. And his goal here, has three main parts. First, in verse 14, Yahweh wants Pharaoh to acknowledge that there is no one like Yahweh in all the land. Yahweh is incomparable. He can do, what no one else can. He will be, what He will be ("Yahweh"), and no one can stop him.
Second, Yahweh wants Pharaoh to see his strength.
And third, Yahweh wants his name proclaimed in all the land (Matthew 6:9).
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A note on the Hebrew of verse 15:
The qatal tenses is unexpected in verse 15-- I didn't realize they could work this way, as "could've"s. Gesenius notes:
4. To express actions and facts, whose accomplishment in the past is to be represented, not as actual, but only as possible (generally corresponding to the Latin imperfect or pluperfect subjunctive), e.g. Gn 31:42 except the God of my father … had been with me, surely now hadst thou sent me away empty (???????????????); Gn 43:10, Ex 9:15 (???????????? I had almost put forth, &c.); Nu 22:33, Ju 13:23, 14:18, 1 S 13:13 (???????); 2 K 13:19; so frequently after ???????? easily, almost, Gn 26:10, Is 1:9 (where ???????? is probably to be connected with the word after it), Ps 73:2, 94:17, 119:87, Pr 5:14. Cf. also Jb 3:13, 23:10 (???????????), Ru 1:12 (if I should think, &c.; cf. 2 K 7:4); in the apodosis of a conditional sentence, 1 S 25:34.—So also to express an unfulfilled desire, Nu 14:2 ??? ???????? would that we had died …! (??? with the imperfect would mean would that we might die! 1 S 14:30). Finally, also in a question indicating astonishment, Gn 21:7 ??? ?????? who would have said …? quis dixerit? Ps 73:11.
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Verse 17-25:
(17) You still [are] exalting yourself against my people, to not release them.
(18) LOOK! I [am] causing to rain tomorrow at this time, very heavy hail,
which there hasn't been like it in Egypt from the day Egypt was founded, up to now,
(19) and so then, send out to gather the cattle and all that is yours in the field.
Every human and domestic animal that is found in the field and isn't gathered to your house, it will fall upon them-- hail--,
and they will die.
(20) The ones fearing/revering the word of Yahweh from the servants of Pharaoh, caused to flee his servants and his cattle to the houses,
(21) while [the one] who didn't set his heart/resolve to the word of Yahweh abandoned/forsook his servants and his cattle in the field,
(22) and Yahweh said to Moses,
"Stretch out your hand upon the heavens,
that there shall be hail against all the land of Egypt-- upon the human and upon the livestock and upon all the green things of the field-- against the land of Egypt,"
(23) and Moses stretched out his staff upon the heavens,
while Yahweh sent thunder and hail,
and fire/lightning walked toward the land,
and Yahweh rained hail upon the land of Egypt,
(24) and there was hail and fire/lightning flashing in the midst of the hail-- very heavy, such as there wasn't like it in all the land of Egypt since it became a people/nation,
(25) and the hail struck against all the land of Egypt-- all that was in the field, from human up to livestock,
while all the green things of the field the hail struck,
while all the trees of the field it shattered.
Verses 22-23 should teach us a lot about what it looks like to have a relationship with God.
At this point, God and Moses are by themselves. It's the next day, and God tells Moses to stretch out his hand to the heavens. This is almost the posture for prayer, for most of the time, in most of the Bible (1 Kings 8:22, 38, 54; Isaiah 1:15).
But what Moses is doing here, isn't simply praying. He doesn't lift two hands toward the heavens. He lifts one, and that hand, has his staff in it.
So I think what Moses is doing here, is commanding the clouds to give up their rain, and lightning, and thunder, and hail. I think Moses is bringing these things out, just as he brought out all the other plagues.
Then, after Moses does this, Yahweh brings the hail.
Why does God do it this way? Why doesn't He just bring the hail?
We tend to think that God is in heaven alone, and that He makes his decisions alone. Yahweh is God Most High. Yahweh does what He wants.
But let's turn to 1 Kings 22:19-23. Here, we get a picture of the divine/heavenly council. This is what it actually looks like in heaven, when God makes decisions (NRSV):
19 Then Micaiah[b] said, “Therefore hear the word of the LORD: I saw the LORD sitting on his throne, with all the host (angels, and sons of God) of heaven standing beside him to the right and to the left of him. 20 And the LORD said, ‘Who will entice Ahab, so that he may go up and fall at Ramoth-gilead?’ Then one said one thing, and another said another, 21 until a spirit came forward and stood before the LORD, saying, ‘I will entice him.’ 22 ‘How?’ the LORD asked him. He replied, ‘I will go out and be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets.’ Then the LORD[c] said, ‘You are to entice him, and you shall succeed; go out and do it.’ 23 So you see, the LORD has put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these your prophets; the LORD has decreed disaster for you.”
What we see here, is that God makes decisions collaboratively, with others. He invites his heavenly family into the decision-making process. They get a voice. They get a role. God prefers to work with them, and through them.
God also has an earthly family. We are God's sons and daughters. And God has the same type of relationship with us. God values our input. God takes our advice into consideration. God gives us a role, in carrying out his plans.
So when God tell Moses, "Stretch out your hand," that's what we are seeing. God values Moses, and his input. He considers Moses a true, and full, partner in what's happening.
And what's true for Moses, is also true for you. God's preference, is to work through you. God loves you, and values you, and considers you his partner in ministry. And whatever God did through Moses, He would be willing to do through you (John 14:12).
Verse 26-28:
(26) Only in the land of Goshen where the sons of Israel were , there wasn't hail,
(27) and Pharaoh sent out,
and he called to Moses and to Aaron,
and he said to them,
"I have sinned this time.
Yahweh [is] the Righteous One,
while I and my people [are] the wicked.
(28) Plead to Yahweh.
and great are the voices/thunders of God, and hail,
and I will release you,
and you will no longer have to stand,"
Pharaoh here, for a second time, pops like a tick. The hail and thunder were far too much for him. And so he asks Moses, for a third time, to plead to Yahweh on his behalf. And he promises, for a third time, to release the people (Exodus 8:8, 28).
Verse 29-33:
(29) and Moses said to him,
"As soon as I go out from the city, I will spread my hands to Yahweh.
The thunders will cease,
while the hail shall no longer be,
in order that you may know that, belonging to Yahweh, the land/earth is,
(30) while you and your servants, I know that not yet do you fear/revere before Yahweh God."
(31) Now, the flax and the barley were struck
because the barley [was in] the ear,
while the flax [was in] the bud.
(32) Now, the wheat and the spelt were not struck,
because late-ripening, they are,
(33) And Moses went out from with Pharaoh-- the city--
and he spread out his hands to Yahweh,
and the thunders ceased, with the hail,
and the rain wasn't poured out toward the land/earth,
One of the things we see in these verses, is incredible spiritual growth in Moses. But to see this, we have to compare it with the plague of the frogs. Exodus 8:8-12 (NRSV):
8 Then Pharaoh called Moses and Aaron, and said, “Pray to the LORD to take away the frogs from me and my people, and I will let the people go to sacrifice to the LORD.” 9 Moses said to Pharaoh, “Kindly tell me when I am to pray for you and for your officials and for your people, that the frogs may be removed from you and your houses and be left only in the Nile.” 10 And he said, “Tomorrow.” Moses said, “As you say! So that you may know that there is no one like the LORD our God, 11 the frogs shall leave you and your houses and your officials and your people; they shall be left only in the Nile.” 12 Then Moses and Aaron went out from Pharaoh; and Moses cried out to the LORD concerning the frogs that he had brought upon Pharaoh.[d]
When Moses told Pharaoh the frogs would leave, he did so in faith-- not having a word from God about this. And then, when Moses was by himself, he "cried out" to God, asking God to do this. This is a big, loud, prayer. It's a prayer with some desperation to it. It's the same word used to describe the Israelites crying out from their forced labor. And God answered Moses' cry, and killed the frogs. This is a prayer of faith. Not of perfect faith, but some faith. Enough faith.
Here, in the plague of hail, Moses has something deeper, and better, than faith. Moses doesn't "cry out" to God. Instead, he spreads his hands to God, in the posture of prayer. So he still prays, but it's not a desperate prayer. It's a confident prayer.
Rumor has it, that when people first start trying to pray with faith, it's a scary thing. You try to set aside years of unanswered prayer-- of faithless prayer-- and try to claim God's promises. So you do the big thing, laying hands on people in Jesus' name, and then go off by yourself, and you cry out to God to be faithful in keeping his word. When you first start, you have just a tiny amount of faith.
What you don't have, probably, is a clear sense of who God is, and who He wants to be for you. You don't fully realize what it looks like to partner with God. That's why you "cry out" to God. You know He's there. You know you need him. You hope He hears you.
But if you're like Moses, and you live a supernatural lifestyle for long enough, eventually your relationship with God grows. You gain confidence in Him. You know him, in a far deeper way. You've drawn near to him, and He's drawn near to you. You understand who He will be ("Yahweh") for you. And as you prove your obedience, and faithfulness, and courage, He gives you more grace, and more responsibility (Luke 19:11-27?), and does more through you. It's like you and God are in a dance, and there's a rhythm to it, where the two of you come closer and closer together, until you are more truly one.
Eventually, you reach the point where it's not so much about faith, and desperately clinging to what the Bible says is true. Instead, it's about a deepened relationship with God, and understanding God's will, and how God wants to do his will on earth, through you. You "cry out" less. You "spread your hands," more.
Rumor has it, anyway.
Verse 34-35:
(34) and Pharaoh saw that the rain had ceased, with the hail and the thunders,
and he again sinned,
and he made heavy his heart-- he and his servants,
(35) and the heart of Pharaoh was strengthened,
and he didn't release the sons of Israel,
just as Yahweh had said by the hand of Moses.
In many ways, our story ends where it began. Pharaoh has a strong, heavy heart. He resists. He doesn't release the people.
What's different? Maybe three things:
First, the land of Egypt is being completely destroyed. There's less and less things for Yahweh to attack (it's sort of like Isaiah 1, where Yahweh says they are beaten from head to toe).
Second, we see a divide within Egypt itself. Some Egyptians fear/revere Yahweh. They are doing the main verb that God expects from people. If you look at this from Pharaoh's perspective, you'd say that Egypt is being quietly torn apart, from the inside out. The solidarity between Pharaoh and the people is dissolving.
But if we look at it from God's perspective, maybe what we are seeing is that the Egyptians as a whole, are not hopeless. Maybe God's judgment won't be the last word for everyone.
Third, we get a clear picture of what Yahweh is truly capable of. And this is where I want to focus today.
Lots of Christians-- and this maybe includes you, to some degree-- have a scientific, modern way of looking at the world. And one of the evidences of this, is how they talk about what they see when they go outside. Are you seeing "the weather"? Or are you seeing the result of God's hand?
When it rains, is it because the atmospheric conditions are suitable for it? Is it because you have some combination of different cold and warm fronts that moved into place? Or is it because God sent the rain?
This past summer, we got almost no rain in Jamestown and the surrounding areas. It was the driest it's been since we moved here. A charismatic friend told me that the only time it rained, the entire summer, was when he prayed for rain. Some days, all he got were a few drops on his face-- it's like God let him know that He was listening, but He wasn't going to send much today. One day, though, on a day when the weather man said there was a zero percent chance of rain, my friend found himself filled with faith, and the Holy Spirit.
He spread his hands toward the heavens, and he commanded clouds to come in Jesus' name, and they came. He commanded more to come, in Jesus' name, and they came. Then, he commanded the clouds in Jesus' name to give up their rain. And that was the day we got like 5 inches of rain. That day saved every farmer's harvest-- they didn't have great years, but they had something.
James 5:17-18:
17 Elijah was a human being, even as we are. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years. 18 Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its crops.
My friend decided, if God would send rain for Elijah, then God would send rain for him. And God did.
Let me encourage you this morning: change the way you view the world. Days with incredible sunsets, are days when God is showing off. Days with torrential downpours, are days when God is revealing just a tiny part of his power and glory.
And if you really want to understand God, and know him better, you have to go outside. Watch the sunset, and praise God. On a day when there is a terrible storm, find a three season porch, and just sit under it, worshipping God. Do this, and it will be a day you never forget.
God is a big God. And when you see God's power in a storm, understand that this same power is what He uses, to fight for you. Revel in your God of lightning, and thunder, and lashing rain. Praise him, for being too much for Pharaoh. And consider that what God did for my friend, and Moses, and Elijah, He would do for you.
Translation:
(13) and Yahweh said to Moses,
"Rise early in the morning,
and stand before Pharaoh,
and say to him,
"Thus has said Yahweh, the God of the Hebrews: 'Release my people, that they may serve me,
(14) because at this time, I am sending all my plagues toward your heart/resolve and against your servants and against your people
so that you will know/acknowledge that there is no one like me in all the land/earth,
(15) because, now, I could've stretched out my hand,
and I could've struck you and your people with the plague,
and you could've been destroyed from the land/earth,
(16) but for this reason I have caused you to stand:
so that you would see my strength,
and in order that my name would be proclaimed in all the land/earth.
(17) You still [are] exalting yourself against my people, to not release them.
(18) LOOK! I [am] causing to rain tomorrow at this time, very heavy hail,
which there hasn't been like it in Egypt from the day Egypt was founded, up to now,
(19) and so then, send out to gather the cattle and all that is yours in the field.
Every human and domestic animal that is found in the field and isn't gathered to your house, it will fall upon them-- hail--,
and they will die.
(20) The ones fearing/revering the word of Yahweh from the servants of Pharaoh, caused to flee his servants and his cattle to the houses,
(21) while [the one] who didn't set his heart/resolve to the word of Yahweh abandoned/forsook his servants and his cattle in the field,
(22) and Yahweh said to Moses,
"Stretch out your hand upon the heavens,
that there shall be hail against all the land of Egypt-- upon the human and upon the livestock and upon all the green things of the field-- against the land of Egypt,"
(23) and Moses stretched out his staff upon the heavens,
while Yahweh sent thunder and hail,
and fire/lightning walked toward the land,
and Yahweh rained hail upon the land of Egypt,
(24) and there was hail and fire/lightning flashing in the midst of the hail-- very heavy, such as there wasn't like it in all the land of Egypt since it became a people/nation,
(25) and the hail struck against all the land of Egypt-- all that was in the field, from human up to livestock,
while all the green things of the field the hail struck,
while all the trees of the field it shattered.
(26) Only in the land of Goshen where the sons of Israel were , there wasn't hail,
(27) and Pharaoh sent out,
and he called to Moses and to Aaron,
and he said to them,
"I have sinned this time.
Yahweh [is] the Righteous One,
while I and my people [are] the wicked.
(28) Plead to Yahweh,
and great are the voices/thunders of God, and hail,
and I will release you,
and you will no longer have to stand,"
(29) and Moses said to him,
"As soon as I go out from the city, I will spread my hands to Yahweh.
The thunders will cease,
while the hail shall no longer be,
in order that you may know that, belonging to Yahweh, the land is,
(30) while you and your servants, I know that not yet do you fear/revere before Yahweh God."
(31) Now, the flax and the barley were struck
because the barley [was in] the ear,
while the flax [was in] the bud.
(32) Now, the wheat and the spelt were not struck,
because late-ripening, they are,
(33) And Moses went out from with Pharaoh-- the city--
and he spread out his hands to Yahweh,
and the thunders ceased, with the hail,
and the rain wasn't poured out toward the land/earth,
(34) and Pharaoh saw that the rain had ceased, with the hail and the thunders,
and he again did to sin,
and he made heavy his heart-- he and his servants,
(35) and the heart of Pharaoh was strengthened,
and he didn't release the sons of Israel,
just as Yahweh had said by the hand of Moses.
