The Plagues [Part 1]

Pastor author and Bible teacher Alan Wright. God is totally committed to bring the people who been terrorizing abuse out of the abusive relationship and into freedom and that in the process. He wanted the people who didn't know him to acknowledge that he is the one true God Alan Wright welcome to another message of good news will help you see your life in a whole new light excited for you to hear the teaching today.

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We are in a series on Moses and we come today to the stories of the play were going to be reading in Exodus chapter 7 the plagues the 10 plagues and this occupies a considerable portion of the story that leads up to the Passover. We will take time obviously to read all these chapters, but I want to begin reading and chapter 7 at verse four, where God is speaking to Moses and says that Exodus 7 verse four. Pharaoh will not listen to you, then I will lay my hand on Egypt and bring my host my people, the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt by great acts of judgment. The Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord when I stretch out my hand against Egypt and bring out the people of Israel from among them Moses and Aaron did so. They did just as the Lord commanded that and then I'm gonna read some of the instants of the first plague because I want you to catch sort of the this the rhythm of the cycle of these plagues and how how it unfolds.

And here's the first plague verse 14 the Lord said to Moses, Pharaoh's heart is hard. He refuses to let the people got go to Pharaoh in the morning as he is going out to the water stand on the bank of the Nile to meet him and take in your hand the staff that turned into a serpent and you shall say to him, the Lord, the God of the Hebrew sent me to you saying let my people go, that they may serve me in the wilderness, but so far you have not obeyed, thus says the Lord, by this you shall know that I am the Lord will hold with the staff that is in my hand I will strike the water that is in the Nile, and it shall turn into blood. The fish in the Nile shall die in the Nile will stink Egyptians will grow weary of drinking water from the Nile.

And so it is the first plague. All of it unfolds just as described. Just following along in your Bible just want you to lease Lancet where each of the rest of these places mentioned in chapter 8, the second plague is a plague of frogs frogs everywhere frogs in the house frogs in the palace frogs in the bedroom frogs in the bed. The third plate is Nat's one obviously southern commentator suggested there actually no sealants. You know the little bugs you can easily him, but you can feel them might be most likely they were mosquitoes that come the fourth plague of verse 20 of chapter 8 is about flies and these are biting flies and that swarming everywhere. The fifth plague of chapter 9 the Egyptian livestock die six plague boils on the skin of the Egyptians and the seventh plague of verse 13 of chapter 9 is hail comes the midst of great storm that hail was just throwing everything and then the eighth plague in chapter 10 is the locusts that come in and consume the whatever is remaining of crops always ruin and then the ninth plague is mentioned in verse 21 and following of chapter 10, and that is when there is darkness that can be felt darkness that can be felt and then the final plague is plague of the death of the firstborn of the Egyptians.

So 10 of these plagues and all this is one of those subjects that you don't hear many sermons on the plagues. I think I have preached on them one time before I heard many sermons on the plagues and as a couple reasons for that number one wants to come to church and hear about frogs is that jumping in your bed all in your kitchen and then when they finally die there stacks of mall heaped up and riding so everything stinks so bad that tracks all these flies that come buzzing around flies a caring so much disease and everything in them livestock dying out in the field and wreaking and and boils on the skip I just study in this week I'm scratching and you go in and just wants to come and you know, think about all of that but I think even bigger reason why we tend to skip over the story of the plague in our modern era is that this is the very kind of story that non-Christians don't want to hear and make them think that Christianity's bad thing and that the very kind of stories that as Christians in the modern era, we are kind of stumbling around Sam will that's not really the God who want to portray to you and so we tend to avoid a story like this the judgment against Egypt. What I want to show you today is not only the good news of the gospel that is revealed in these plagues want to show you also hope that you'll be able to see this. Whether you been a Christian for a long time, or whether you're just on the edge of looking in and you wonder how could it be that that God could be both both executing judgment against evil and be this God of grace that you hear about how can that be you want to try to explain that and help you to to see how we need a God who is both powerful and merciful, who is both just and gracious. That's who God really really is. Okay, let's just talk about this place a moment and and in general a couple of observations about them there referred to as plagues, but I think may be more properly should be called miraculous signs. In other words, if you're an Egyptian.

It was a plague that if you were one of God's people. It was a miracle and so is a big difference. And so really these are signs and if you'll notice why the Lord tells what is the Lord tells Moses about why he's doing this. Verse four says Pharaoh will not listen to you, I'll lay my hand on Egypt and bring my host my people out of the land of Egypt, through great acts of judgment. So the first and most important reason God says that I'm doing these plagues is I am going to bring my people out of their bondage, and is a very reassuring thing to know that your God the Creator of the ends of the earth is utterly committed to you. Being free from the bonds of evil the bondage and slavery to sin, the bondage of slavery to powers of darkness has always intended for his people to be free from such bondage. God does not want you in any form of bondage.

You are no longer a slave. The second reason is he says in verse five, the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord that talent right will have more teaching moment from today's important series like something is holding you back if you lack an important scene that could change everything. Is there someone you can stack well. What's missing blessing on vision spoken over you can learn how to embrace the will practice a blessing to Pastor Ehrenreich's new book, which became an enzyme number one best seller after its recent until now the hardcover book has only been available through retail sales this month right ministries once send you the I think for your donation. Make your gift today discovered the power to bless the gospel is shared when you get talent right ministries. This broadcast is only possible because of listener financial support. When you get today. We will send you a special offer. We are happy to send this to you as I banks from Alan Wright Ministries, seven 877-544-4861 come to our website. Pastor our and got work in today's teaching now continues here once again is really two things are going on here one he say I want you to know I'm going to bring my people to freedom and the second thing is Egyptians are going to know that I a.m. the true God. In other words, he is not bringing the plagues against Egypt out of vengeance in the sense of he just hates each upper God hates people or God wants to do evil things and people.

Best not to send you get all what you get here instead is it God is utterly committed to bring the people who were being terrorized and abused out of that abusive relationship and into freedom and that in the process. He wanted the people who didn't know him to acknowledge that he is the one true God.

In other words, he's going to destroy the idolatry of Egypt. While at the same time he's going to set his people free. That's far different than saying that this is a God of hate, or that is in some kind of religion of hate. You got to remember this is a God who had been so patient that he had waited hundreds of years while his own people were in slavery.

This is a tyrant Pharaoh who is who is abusing slaves hasn't wrongly enslaved them in the first place is continuing, and so God is slow to anger as he describes himself later in Exodus to Moses is abounding in love, but is also he says he's the God who will in no way excuse sin. And so what he's doing is he's showing his glory. This is a process. These plagues, it lasts close to a year.

It starts probably around June as best we could surmise because that's the season in which the Nile River Thames.

This swell over its banks and more about that later, and it ends the 14th month, 14th day of the month that corresponds to our April, so roughly the middle of April is probably goes on these plagues all 10 of them going through process from June 2 through April. There is there is a lot of time for the people to repent for Pharaoh to repent and it just continues to progress like this. The plagues can be clumped into three kinds of groups of three that are then followed by the final plague, the death of the firstborn. The first three. The Nile turning to blood frogs in the next. These are clumped together because all three of these plagues affect not only the Egyptians but they also affect the Israelites. One of the things that God is is doing here in the early part of this is that he is letting not only Egypt, but his own people, be reminded that he's God there had been a lot of mixing of Hebrews spiritual practices and their been Egyptian idolatry to decrypt and so it starts with the reminder. Not only Egypt, but to the people of God, but in the second.

Three.

The lump together the flies and the livestock in the boils these all are plagues that only come upon the Egyptians so you can come look at it is is is is three and then that everyone Egyptian and Israelite are saying then three against the Egyptians and then the last three seem to clumped together because it's about hail.

It's about locusts. It's about darkness and all three of these have to do with the elemental forces of nature. The reason that the the Locust, and such number is that the Lord sends and the Bible says in East win when normally they have a southern win and they'd seen locusts before but it was like saying everything for the Mideast. Every locusts coming from the east and and is so it's it's about the wind blowing the Locust and then it's about. It's about the that don't hail in the darkness in God is showing that he's not just Lord of Israel God over Egypt, but he is a God over all creation. So it's kind of like 33 and three and then the final plague which stands alone the death of the first they seem to progress in the first since there's sort of a natural progression of these as many have pointed out, the river turns to blood means that frogs can't stay in the river so they all come out of the river and when the frogs die there, the thing that eats the little bugs and mosquitoes and so the mosquitoes are rampant and then the dead frogs piled up everywhere attract the flies which carry disease and therefore livestock Diane immune system begin breaking down and people with skin diseases that all start all of it is also seemingly building and its intensity headed toward the great climax of the final play.

What's God doing one of things he's doing is God is slowly line upon line, plague upon plague.

He is building up to show that I can do greater things and you've imagined before, PC is the one who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above and beyond. He is a God who, in a very real way, celebrates and exhibits his power in an increasing manner. So is like is like Egypt experience is one plague and their hearts are still hardened in the Lord says okay if you fed vintage.

I will go to the next level. The next level is discounted, ramps up. And so for for those of us that are reading the story. It sort of builds in its initial drama because it's like greater things in it. It builds a sense of of God's glory. I was watching the videos on my postal line and ask I don't borrow because of the student at Bryan College small Christian college and that it had not have time like a timeout in the basketball game had the opportunity to go out in the court, and if you could make a layup a free throw a three pointer and a half-court shot, all within 30 seconds.

He went $10,000 in tuition and so this guy is a very normal looking kid. I think you got a broken finger.

On one hand, and I he goes out to see if he could do this well, he's not look like much a basketball player.

He almost missed of the layout.

The thing rolls around the rim a couple times it just about fall that goes. This remains a layup and then he goes running to the free-throw line. Not a very graceful look and stroke on and they just cannot beat it up there. It bounces up a couple times river rock falls through, and then he grabbed the ball he runs back to the three-point line. By this time, thereby start to go crazy, you know, because maybe who knows ball goes up again.

It didn't swish it is bounces around a couple times and then finally falls through, and then he grabs ball runs back to half-court. You can look at this little guy going. I don't even think he can get the ball there from half-court and he does he leaves the thing up and literally as the buzzer goes off nights off the backboard and in for the win and all the people to come running out of the stay at you but forget the rest of the basketball game they lifted him up on her shoulders and all of it. Just so fun to watch like this building like that is an end. The plagues were like was reminds me of reminds me of the Tower of terror, MGM Studios theme park in Orlando, Florida.

Anybody ever been on the Tower of terror.

All you know then what you do is you get into this ride that is actually fixed in the makeup of the old Hollywood hotel and everything looks old and dusty. You come into this yearly waiting area and the guys it rots swirling the Sterling of Sterling. The twilight zone guy says welcome to the twilight zone and everything is like you know you do do do do do do do and then you walk into this dusty like basement pass all these these old boilers and everything you get into an elevator and strap in and the elevator goes up in your your you getting the suspense is building you can arrive through the dark in there these ghastly apparitions around you and you come up and there's a brick wall about 2 feet in front of you and your like just sitting there and all of a sudden the brick wall just opens up and you realize I'm about 567 stories up in the air or something here and right when you realize that the bottom job that you and you just go falling to freefalling the elevator and it stops in your stomachs up in your mouth and it is I who that's over know it's not over, then they yank you back up about the same speed as you went down and this time you go right back up. Look outside that same window again and it goes down even further and faster the stop the man it was some ride, and I know where I thought I would just be back up in the ditch so that it just grows in itself is a sense in which I think what God is doing here is he's letting there be a growing awareness of his glory. These these plagues are addressing the idols of Egypt.

In fact, scholars have pointed out for almost every one of these plagues. How in some direct way the Egyptians would have known how this was in direct conflict with one of their own gods. So, for example, they worship the Nile River.

They had a God think Hoppe is what is with this God's name was they sometimes would call the river by the gods name and they would worship because this was their source of of life and and all and all, and probably what happened was when it said that Pharaoh went down to the water.

If you notice that, but since the affair was going down to the waters. Go to. Why was he going down to the water, he would not have gone down to bathe like ordinary people.

That is probably because this is in the season in which the Nile River would swell its banks and would come up into the floodplain area around it leaving it's very rich sediment make in the soil very rich. And so it is that they would have an actual ritual of worship at the banks of the Nile around about this time in June and so probably Pharaoh was going down at a public ceremony of worship for the God of the Nile. It was there that Moses confronted him and his teaching on the plane flexing your life grayscale vision for the rights of free grace and encouragement for every blessing. It's free pastor got away blessing we all need vision spoken over you can learn how to embrace the practice of blessing to Pastor Alan writes new blood blasts, which quickly became an Amazon number one best seller after its recent until now the hardcover book has only been available through retail sales this month right ministries once to send you the I thank you for your demos make your gift today discovered the power to blasts. The gospel is shared when you get to Alan Wright Ministries. This broadcast is only possible because of listener financial support.

When you get today. We will send you a special offer. We are happy to send this to you as I banks from Alan Wright Ministries, seven 877-544-4860 877-544-4861 come to our website pastor and got work well in this teaching is obviously about one of the most memorable parts of Scripture we have all these plagues coming to Pharaoh and in the limo and the life of Moses I got to Yemen and even give my kids nightmares. We read this devotional. How can we apply this to our lives and what lesson are we learning will at first is more apologize, I cannot do anything about the yucky nature of the discussion of gnats and flies and boils, and blood didn't end the frog is right so it would give everything about that but it it is eight is a a is working to learn more about next time that the plagues like a reversal of creation. I mean, God ordered everything.

What would happen if God allowed us to have our own way while things are become unraveled is almost like it's almost like a a a reversal of the ordering of creation where God hovered over the face of the deep, and he brought order. God doesn't create chaos. He creates order so I think part of this is almost like if God were to remove his common grace. This is what you would get. I think other thing is understand that the these we call the plagues, but they really should just become miraculous signs God was showing that he is powerful and he is doing a redemptive work for his people, and so all things that were made through him and if he let things unraveled. That's what you see in the plagues, but ultimately what he did was when he went to the cross.

He let all order in all creation unraveled is the ultimate chaos and punishment was visited upon the righteous one so that then we would experience his grace.

So even in these stories of the plagues we see often the distance, the picture of Jesus upon whom the ultimate plague fell so that we would not experience it, and the plague of our own sand and all the punishment due us. Jesus, today's good news message listener supported production Alan Wright Ministries