Will Yahweh Be A Big God, For You? (Exodus 9:1-12) Series

Let me start this morning, by asking two questions. These aren't rhetorical. Feel free to answer:

Up to this point in Exodus, what plagues have we seen?

(1) The Nile, and every body of water, turn to blood.

(2) Frogs, everywhere.

(3) Flies.

(4) Gnats.

And when we focus on Yahweh, what have we seen?

Yahweh has been stubborn, and relentless, in demanding one thing-- that Pharaoh release HIS people, that they may serve (follow KJV here, not NIV) Him. He keeps saying this over and over. He keeps demanding the same thing. And He keeps working toward that end. We see God fighting for his people.

And Pharaoh, in response, has been stubborn, almost perfectly, in resisting. Armed with only a strong, and heavy, resolve, he's managed to hold out, and hold on to Israel. But it's costing him, dearly.

And so here we find ourselves, Exodus 9, verse 1. It's time for the next battle:

(1) And Yahweh said to Moses,

"Go to Pharaoh,

and tell him,

"Thus has said Yahweh the God of the Hebrews: Release my people, that they may serve me,

(2) because if refusing, you [are], to release, and still strengthening against them, LOOK! The hand of Yahweh is against your livestock that [are] in the fields, against the horses, against the donkeys, against the camels, against the herds, and against the sheep--- a very heavy pestilence/plague,"

Let's pause here. If you're reading in an English translation, verse 2 is going to sound different. [Put one in a handout: NIV: 2 If you refuse to let them go and continue to hold them back,]. They all say, "if you still hold on to them." But this verb, "holding," is the same verb we keep seeing for Pharaoh "strengthening" his resolve. The idea here isn't that Pharaoh is "holding" them. He's "strengthening." Yahweh is talking about Pharaoh's resolve, and stubbornness.

And the same preposition "b" that we've seen used to mean "against," also shows up here. Just like the frogs, and flies, and gnats, came "against" Egypt, so Pharaoh strengthens "against" Moses, and Yahweh.

Yahweh here warns Pharaoh about how this will play out for him, unless he turns from this. If Pharaoh keeps "strengthening" "against" his people, Yahweh will send disease "against" every domestic animal in your nation.

And I think this marks a huge escalation. Sickness and disease are a fundamentally different type of judgment than what Pharaoh's seen so far. If God sent millions of frogs, or flies, or gnats against you, it'd be overwhelming, right? But there are things you can do, to mitigate the effects. You can spear a frog to make yourself feel a little better. You can kill them, and seal a room off. With flies or gnats, you can swat them. You can make netting, to try to keep them out of your house. It's like tent camping-- eventually you've killed most of the mosquitoes that want to eat you, and you can fall asleep. Even if you know it's hopeless, overall, there are small things you can do to make life a little better.

But if God strikes your animals with some type of disease, what do you do? Today, depending on the disease, you'd probably use some type of medicine. Ivermectin, maybe. But if you don't know what the disease is, or how to fight it, all you can do, is watch your animals die.

One year at Christmas time on my wife's side of the family, they had a big extended family Christmas at her uncle's house. And her uncle farms, and ranches. Right before we were there, he lost maybe a dozen cows to some kind of disease-- maybe more, I can't remember. They weren't my cows.

And everyone there felt terrible for him. And he felt terrible. Right in the middle of this joyous time of year for most people (NOT ME!), when you're surrounded by 80 family members at your house, because you're hosting, all you want to do is grieve the loss of your cows. Not mostly because of the money they represent, and the hours, and the sweat, and investment you've made, but because you have this sense of responsibility for them, and in some way they are part of who you are. Everyone who looked at him, saw the loss on his face. It was really sad.

From a human, fleshly perspective, there is a helplessness to disease. The fact that it's internal, and mysterious, and not easily fought, can make anyone break.

Verse 4-5:

(4) and Yahweh will make a distinction between the livestock of Israel and the livestock of Egypt,

and they will not die from any of the sons of Israel a thing,

(5) and Yahweh set a time, saying,

"Tomorrow Yahweh will do this matter in/against the land,"