082 - Camels and Cattle and Cows. Oh my!

You pick up your Bible and one is more here than meets the is there something here for me. I mean it's just words printed on paper right it may look like just print on the page but it's more than Inc. join us for the next half hour, as we explore God's word together as we learn how to explore it on our as we ask God to meet us there in its pages welcome to more than during the wintertime right now. Some look outside when I wake up in the morning till the snow outside, nine or 10 inches shovel the driveway and there was no snow, no snow at all. What is that what exactly is today Egypt. On more than Inc. will good morning is Jim delighted that you're with us were we to ask for in this section, Exodus, which is ask you pretty well known for anybody knows the plagues on Egypt or at least they know reference the story. Everybody knows about the play because very few people look at it closely enough to really discern what it's telling us about God and about hearts. Yeah yeah so so far. To recap, we been through during the water and the blood denial of the blood.

Lots of frogs and ovens and ratings all yeah and we had those bugs coming up out of the dirt and rang the lab search letters or lights or whatever.

That's all good and then we got the swarms of others. Whether this flies probably mosquitoes. Maybe we don't know.

And now are up to number five on the list so we will barely get halfway through the 10 plagues at the end of today. So if you join with your reading with this reading of the ESV version were in chapter 9 Exodus 1 we just dive in and see what's going to happen Yep Yep tower picking it up at the fifth plague may also to begin this way then the Lord said to Moses, this is one of chapter 9 go into Pharaoh and say to him, thus says the Lord God of the Hebrews, let my people go, that they may serve me for. If you refuse to let them go and still hold them, behold, the hand of the Lord will fall with a severe plague upon your livestock that are in the field the horses the donkeys the camels the herds and flocks, but the Lord will make a distinction between the livestock of Israel and the livestock of Egypt so that nothing of all that belongs to the people of Israel shall die in the Lord set a time, saying, tomorrow the Lord will do this thing in the land in the next day the Lord did this thing stop there. Mainly because this is the warning statement warning statement so I so this time we do get a warning yeah we been cut. Keep in tally and sometimes he does give her warning sometimes doesn't. This time he gives him a warning and tells him what's going to happen so we can actually qualify with his eyes and see.

That's exactly promised to do well and is kind of interesting that I as I was looking back over all the 10 plagues a couple days ago, it becomes clear that there is actually kind of a pattern here warning to the war. Know that God says now go to Pharaoh and then he'll give him a warning gives sterile warning and then depending on Pharaoh's response.

The next plague comes without warning, without one.

I've seen three times in a row. I reading so I think we got be paying attention to that when God gives a warning.

He's very specific. He says now if you don't do what I'm asking you to do telling you, then this will happen so and what it was or make sense and they got a grant exploit warning if you're that right. Well, hard-boiled, and one of the questions to keep in mind when you're reading any kind of a biblical narrative is what this is telling me about God. Right. Well I think one of the things you can take from this whole sequence of plagues is that God does warn of disaster and destruction.

Now I'm telling you if you continue in the way you're going. I will respond to certain way so that's actually helpful question is do we heed God's warning. Pharaoh did so I that's all I really want to say about warnings but working to see it, not with every plague, but with about every third one. Write what you know.

Reminds me of when my folks want me don't do this or don't write stuff like writing in your adolescent wisdom you save yourself while I think I know better than that. That's not a really good warning as to what I want and then it turned out poorly and will that God does that in our general lives to eat.

He tells what's good for us and what's bad for us and we end up as aging adolescent say no.

I think I know better) then you know after sundown we say to ourselves, you know, why did not pay attention yeah so it's not as though God springing the stuff on his cold. He he's telling us what's going to happen if we don't do this and you can you can use the education of experience which is usually pretty painful. Or you can just go with what God says so. The repeated thing here is God saying every time let my people got let my people go right, that they may serve me right in my people, not your people yeah and that phrase also included on this tooth is not a new phrase let my people is the emphasis on right along writing for writing, but even the second half of the statement I find fascinating that they may serve me. So doesn't it sound like just swapping being slaves from Moses to God and me is that a good swap. In that sense and that's what that's where modern understanding Shorty gets in the way because we see the ultimate freedom of manual not being under anybody right right sense but but from God's perspective will we live in relationship with God. We actually live to serve him now does that make us God's dishwashers. This is so you and I and you have to understand kind of kingdom thinking innocence here because what happens is you always serve somebody you're always in somebody's kingdom in that particular sentence so so yeah if we are in God's kingdom.

What we do is we serve his will and not our own image. The will issue. It's really very different here in the service your servant in a household watches someone's dishes. They do because the mass of the houses, yet it is the will that prevails what in God's kingdom, we just basically say we want God's will to prevail and that makes us serving. It made me think to have got. I looked back at what John the Baptist's father had said remember just before John about what when John all torn yes and it should it just rang a bell for me.

I went back and looked at in Luke one and so when Zacharias gets his tongue back.

He through the spirit he prophesies us in some remarkable things about what's happening in the bigger picture with John the Baptist and the birth of Jesus know I can stop and listen to what he says there because he says that what's happening in Zacharias's real-time experience with the birth of John the Baptist and Jesus is a fulfillment of a promise that God made to Abraham, and here's what that promises. It's in Luke one and the units are picking up her number 73, but he says he's following through with this oath that he swore to our father Abraham to grant us that we, being delivered from the hand of our enemies, that would be Pharaoh here might serve him without fear might serve God. So, really, than the normal picture of life with God is a living serving him, but basically saying we want your will to be everything in the place that we live in, you're in charge.

And so that's what's that's what signal here isn't trading slavery with Pharaoh for slavery with God is saying no, we want to live in a place where God's in charge were his rule, his will, rules, and that's really the core idea of the service were greater well and that that serving him comes after being delivered by him is at the same point ice was set thinking about earlier in Exodus. In chapter 61 God and said, through Moses, saying, therefore, this is chapter 6, six to the sons of Israel.

I am the Lord. I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptian I will deliver you from their bondage. I will redeem you see we read this a few weeks ago, verse seven.

Then I will take you from my people and I will be your God and you shall know that I'm the Lord your God who brought you out from under the burdens of the objection I here's the important part about serving and I will bring you to the land which I swore to give to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and I will give it to you for a possession. I am the Lord your God, we we serve the one who delivered us.

We serve out of gratitude and love when he reminds you those passages in the New Testament verses would be taken from one kingdom and place right other tribes that really only are two kingdom really are. You want to serve a Pharaoh just wants to make your dishwasher and the brick maker or you want to serve a God who provides for you and you is different so that this just kingdom. Talk okay to something else. In this warning, that's really intriguing today and that is in verse three says now behold, the hand of the Lord will fall with a very severe plague upon your livestock okay so morning is about the plague and livestock, but that phrase that the Lord sent me thinking God had sent to them in Exodus back in three. It said to Mayor, up to two at Moses. Now I know Pharaoh is only going to let you out under compulsion right right. He said again in chapter 6, he's only going to let you out under a strong hand.

It's gotta be, but here's the first time God has said in the plagues. Now the strong hand of the Lord will fall very severely so it's almost like the first four plagues were warning plagues yeah yeah I here's the handler very clearly in a night. It struck me to his will, were not just talking about the killing of food need no meat on the hoof well now were talking about animals that work for you plow animal killing animals rotation animal-rights. I think and you know the equipment in our civilization right now is everything we use as a modern convenience. Suddenly got to take away as well as the food and also it it turns out that what you get from city to city on camels. You know how you pull up while the entire thing.

Everything you rely upon to make your civilization work that kind of force multipliers for you is going to be gone. So this is a this is a very radical very exhaustive turning off of the core of their economy.

In a lot of ways so not not just religion some cows you know something else is interesting to that the first plagues were over the natural world right right the water. The frogs that flies gnats swarms. Whatever those are, but now suddenly God is turning his hand against the living creatures right, the livestock, and in the next play were associates against the human bodies. Yeah. So it seems "plagues are escalating and getting closer and closer like that you're not listening to me listening to me you're not listening to me that even though last time the swarms he said ruined the late-night right is a horrible place to live while it's getting pretty close to home here with all of your animals.

This is a big deal.

Well, okay, all of your animals all the animals that live in the field in the field yet. That's an important distinction cultivated, yeah, yeah, we'll see what happens so okay.

We stopped after the Lord did this thing in verse six, so pick it up all the livestock of the Egyptians died, but not the livestock of the people of Israel and Pharaoh sent and behold, not one of the livestock of Israel was dead, but the heart of Pharaoh was hardened and he did not let the people go.

So here is distinction that God began with the previous plague setting apart his select people making a distinction that death is not to fall in their animal guy was wondered whether not if Pharaoh was tempted to think with just a natural disaster wouldn't drag this way. You also have plagues that swarmed but now when something like this happens just so undeniable it so undeniable and I think it's interesting it says that Pharaoh sent that means you say oh yeah will display no luck right so he knew enough at least to check it out and rather than say no your lying while alumni can listen to, so goes and checks.

Not sure if it's true, it's true. So there's a little bit of what you want to call it heart movement a little bit with Pharaoh on a witch. Well, this is turning out Pharaoh responding differently.

He doesn't just turn away and doesn't listen. He starts checking it out. He starts engaging in a more conversational to see this developing in the next few plagues exactly so. So Pharaoh sent and behold, not one of the livestock of Israel was dead just like God had said, just like you said, just like you said so what happens, but still was as persuasive for Pharaoh. No, no. It's interesting because it says here.

His heart was hardened was Artie continued to be in his calloused, stiff and heart didn't really say seem to move him at all well. So then we move on to plague number six in the and you like you're safe or not. It really does get close to home.

No reason to touch your body yeah this is this is the first time we have a direct affliction right on their bodies, not just the things around them. There animal-rights randoms. The frog selling is this God is not just God of nature he's God over human condition and I'm near to you crank what I can do let me pick it up. Okay were in verse 80. The Lord said to Moses and Aaron take handfuls of suet from the kiln and let Moses throw them in the air in the sight of Pharaoh, and it shall become fine dust over all the land of Egypt, and become boils breaking out in sores on man and beast. Throughout, though the land of Egypt, and so they took suet from the killed stood stood before Pharaoh and Moses through the area became boils breaking out in sores on man and beast and the magicians couldn't stand before Moses because of the boils for the boils came upon the magicians and upon all the Egyptians but the Lord are in the heart of Pharaoh, and he did not listen to them as the Lord spoke to Moses since the Lord hardened Pharaoh's heart, Lord, heart hasn't response to Pharaoh being hardened and hardening his own heart guy when I went back to let me keep score yeah will have artists to well I just counted off by previous up to this point I see Pharaoh hardening his own heart. Six times per that's it's on the scorecards and at this point I'm God hardening. His heart three times and so you know this is this is like a partnership in a way and again I go see before there's a there's a sense in which when God places the challenge in front of Pharaoh. He is giving him opportunity right hardened his own heart.

So could you see the gods complicit in this hardening because he's given an opportunity to walk through that door. That's exactly well and where to see that very clearly stated in the next chapter exactly I mean that the hardening probably would not advance of God wasn't challenging and here he is generating so right. Well, that sets me thinking that Proverbs. I don't have the verse right from the improper sense the heart of the king is like water in the hand of the Lord. He directs it. However, he will know kings are, whether they acknowledge God or not they are subject to God's sovereignty, but every every king thinks he's immune well he's a tolerant society that tension on how our individual personal will and God's sovereignty work together attention. He cannot fully tease apart.

It's simply the way got the condition that got a said this is not how it is you are responsible morally for your own condition and I will direct you as I will like that tension. We think we are much more autonomous than that, but it's just not true. That's why when you see a title like King of Kings County brings [the Kings are not quite as autonomous and powerful as they talk themselves into thinking that that they are and how people treat them.

There is a king of kings is in charge of all the kings, and so his will ultimately rules no something else I noticed in here. I I've never looked this up before, but this whole thing about taking the suet from the kiln there. I never made the connection. What that was all about and it could be as simple as what I found out because kind like and I'm a word nerd, so I looked up this word boil and then this word boil comes from an unused root that means to burn so like you know when you have skin that's inflamed used so were talking about something and inflames the skin is hot.

You know it's is that kind of thing so symbolically. It's like when he takes a soda like he's taking hot embers out of the store, checking it up in the air and check it over so the source of all this heat. The flame is inflammation. He's basically tossing on the land in one of the get they get inflamed slow that's interesting is that adds color to him standing in front of Pharaoh and his family really in his face is not hot coals is just this is the cycle leftover stuff so I think for Pharaoh who to say what kind of writing shows this man you know intentionally and it's very fine. You can't escape it Everything This Camilla Hopley's and Now It's Going to Be All so I Think That's Explanation. I Would Put a Thousand Bucks behind That but That's That's the Connection That This This 15 Word from the World Boil Yeah It's an Old Word That Means to Burn so Well That's Interesting Again with a Narrative.

We Don't Want to Spiritualize Every Detail Right Always Looking for the Main Point of the Story, but It Is Very Interesting to Think about Word Connections and the Natural Connections, Perhaps Even There Was Something in the Hash That Was Acidic from a Very Natural Point of View, You Fling Get Ash on You and Depending on What's Been Burned.

The Residual Chemical May Still Be in the Show Yeah but You We Don't Lose the Point That to the Egyptians the Same As You Write Something Powerful Right like We Talked about with Their Gods before the Freitag and Stuff like That, Even with the Cattle.

There Was a Cattle God Just Quite Promptly What Was There a Fire God.

Not That I Could Find No, However There There Was a God of Medicine Basically Which Is Him so He Would Be the One Who Would Fix This, but in Terms of Fire and I Couldn't I Couldn't Really Find a Connection on This One, but on the Previous One with the Animals. Yeah Others As God Hath a Pretty Pretty Famous Goddess but but Still I Mean the Whole Idea Is That Here, Here, Is in Front of Pharaoh Part of the Drama Saying What's Going to Happen with Having His Skin Inflammations As I Think This Thing That Comes Out Of the Oven Which Is a Source of Heat and Now It's on You so It's It's Very Dramatic Is Really Is Unavoidable. The Magicians Couldn't.

It Doesn't Say They Could and Replicated Says They Couldn't Say What You Know They Couldn't Do It. There Were so Articulately Disabling for the Magicians and in Many Other Places the Bible We Talk about Boils, They Always Amplify the Effect of the Boils of Pain by Saying That They Were All of Your Body Was Just like on Your Forearm. It Was like the Soles of Your Feet to the Top of Okay so I Have Had Systemic Hives All over My Body from the Sole of My Feet to the Crown of My Head and That Is Either and That's You Know Not Anywhere near a Boil. It's Just Itching Is Just Itching but but That Idea All of Your Skin Being Inflamed Is Pretty Complete and It's Miserable. It's Miserable. There's Just Really No Relief from It. In Fact, That's the Thing There Only Really Probably Would've Been Medicines and They Probably Would've Got That from Her Got Him a Tap but down.

Ironically, the People Who Are Closest to a Remedy.

Are These Magicians. They Can't Even Think of Is Yeah so It's It's Pretty Bad It's Pretty Good Now We Are Talking about Warnings This This Won't the Boils Doesn't Know Warning That Comes Affaires It Says Now the Heart of Pharaoh Was Hardened and Then Bangalore Says Now Go and Throw This Set before Pharaoh after They Lose All That Livestock I Mean Is Just Threatening so It Says Here That the Boils Show up on Beasts Can't Be so Clearly It Wasn't Every Animal in Egypt Died but It Was Those Domestic Beasts That They Kept in the Field for Certain Rights to Certain Food for Service for Whatever and Where You See Again a Little down the Road That There Still Were Animals in Egypt and Well Because the Israelites and It Wouldn't Take Very Long after Yours Had Died. He Went Looking to Buy One from Somebody Had Some Can I Buy When You Sheep Yeah Exactly Exactly and It's in Its Not a Small Thing Here Not Only to Mention That They Lost All the Work Animals, the Domestic Ration It Right, Which Is How They're Actually Going to Provide for Themselves, but but with the Boils They Lost Even the Willingness to Go outside and Do Anything They Were so Miserable.

Well, Not Willingness the Ability Ability. I'm in the Magicians Couldn't Even Stand out so This Is This Is Utterly Debilitating to the Country and Long Term Two. Even If the Boils Are Gone, They Still Have the Animals. God's People Did Not Fall Victim's Right God Is Making a Distinction between His People and Setting Them Apart from the Judgment That Is Falling on All of Egypt and That Actually Is a Picture That Is Borne out through All of the Scripture, God Sets His People Apart. Those Who Believe and Trust Him. Does Jesus Said Do Not Come into Judgment That Have Passed Out Of Judgment into Life. That's John 524 so You Know That Is a Picture Being Laid down Here in This Exodus Story That Jesus Himself Well Complete. Yeah Yeah It God's Intention Forces to Live in His Kingdom with Him As King. You Know You Will Be Our God Will Be Your People. That's Always Been the Catchphrase. The Couple throughout the Entire Old Testament If You If You Be My People. I'll Be Your God. That's like a Contract in a Kingship in a Country and God Proves Right Here That Even Though There in Their in This Exile Here in Egypt They Are Still His Protected Country. There Is People. There Is People He Is There God in All These Plagues, Only Songs of Just Not Touching Him and Is Becoming Quite Apparent. It Should Be to to Pharaoh That These Are Not Pharaoh's People. They Clearly Are under the Protection of Seagrass Right Who Is Not Just Unseen. He's Declaring through Moses and Aaron Exactly What He's Doing and Exactly What His Intentions Are. So Pharaoh You Need to Let My People Go, so They Can Serve Me in My Kingdom and My Place.

So If You Haven't Been Paying Attention throughout the Plague so Far. Start Very Carefully at This Point As We Go Forward in the Next Few Would Pay Attention to This Particular Narrative Telling Us about God Because with Every Successive Plague Now Working in New Information and New Statements about God. New Intensity New Sense of Purpose, Especially When We Move into Next Week's Passage, God Is Good, a State of Purpose That Just Stops Us in Our Tracks in the Passage Yeah It It Intensifies and Gets More Personal and More Close Right. I Mean It's It's Bad but Here in in Chapter 9 We Look at These Two Particular Plagues, You Can Pretty Much Say That the Country One on Lockdown.

We Just Okay. We Know That.

I Mean Their Cars Didn't Run Their Plows Didn't Work. No There There.

Food Animals like like Cows and Stuff and They Got Sick of Milk and He Got Sick Too Sick to Be Able to Do Anything with a Hole Just to Parallels the Gears Just Came to a Stop and God's One That Said I Did This, You Need to Let My People Go, so That's Were Real Well Golly Were Running at a Time so You Know What I See Here Is Saying That God Very Clearly Speaks God Who Warns Us, and Then He Acts Many Acts Is What He Says He's Going. He Makes a Distinction for His People. He Covers Us from the Judgment, but This Is a God Who Does What He Says He Will Do Right Right and He Protects His People.

He Goes out Ahead of Them in the He Engages Those Who Enslave Them.

I Think I Think Nothing Enrages God More Than Than to See His Loved Ones Undergo That Kind of Injustice, and so He's Engaging on Their Behalf. In a Way That They Will Be Let Go.

Now You Know Again and He'll Say This and When Come the Next God Could Have Snapped His Fingers and Had This All Happened Right but Sure Enough, This Whole Drama Is Unfolding in Sort of in Slow Motion through These Plagues, in Order to Give Us Understanding about God Is and Get Pharaoh Understand about Who God Is, That There Is a Point in Time That Even the Most Proud and Powerful like Pharaoh Will Have To Eventually Admit God Is and to Give the Whole Earth. Notice Who Got Throws Going Some Point, Every Knee Will Bow and Every Tongue Will Dress Bill Billick Really Got to One Chart. It's Only Now That You Know with the Resources We Have Yourself Thinking More in Charge of His What We Were out Last Time You so for a Big Wave Really Come Back with the Seventh Plague and It Does Get Very Very A Lot More Bad Blood Drawing Is Jim Continued to Stay in Chapter 9 Next Week and the Seventh Plague Come with Us Again on More Than the Production of Mainstream Church Is Solely Responsible to Contact Us with Your Questions or Comments You