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March 5, 2022 1:00 pm
You pick up your Bible and wonder, is there 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 one table to show as they turned off the lights. All the lights went dark was still, you could almost see that kind of terrifying relationship with Pharaoh in Egypt today on more than March yeah it's incredible and Jim Dorothy and we are delighted you joined us as we are walking your way through Exodus and we are in the plagues right now, my goodness, that we look like in our way past the halfway mark to restrict coming to the end of the class so if you if you haven't been with us so far were actually went through seven plagues are starting each plague today and if you know everyone knows you only get 10 right plagues in the temple and kind of pushed him over the top. So there is a there's an increasing amount of loss and challenge to the God structure in Egypt and and challenge to Pharaoh's pride which is give up. And so it's it's really pushing then here and I and up to this point the Egyptians have lost an awful lot. I mean the despite the frogs in the nets and the swarms and stuff like that.
They got one point with the loss of your livestock delighted. I died. People got boils.
There was hail. They came in just totally took out all the crops in the trees and animals that were left outside of me that's X devastation and that devastation still exists even though the gun passes plagues. I mean, they still don't know because when the hail fell, there was still one craft that had not your right as yet that were below the ground and organist see in this explain how the locusts committed to care that what we also saw in during the plague of hail that there was a beginning of a turning point in the servants of Pharaoh. Yeah, you know, those who believed the word of the Lord.
By this time there are ones that brought their animals in and out of the danger from the hail yes you in a real sense, the servants of Pharaoh are kind of several steps ahead of him to hear from them again.
I know you are today we come in and eat plague and again another famous play before the 10th when this the plague of locusts, so I just went jump in the shoulder and says OSHA well and you know swarms of locusts are not unknown in world history is well documented that this is happened a number of times this one is beyond all expectation. Yeah let's just jump right in chapter chapter 10 okay so then the Lord said to Moses, I wait a minute, some context because back in the plague of the hail were told that Pharaoh had sinned and hardened his heart and then then Pharaoh's heart was hardened. That's an important sequence back in chapter 9. So here the beginning of chapter 10, got to say I've hardened his heart, so we have Pharaoh sitting in hardening his own heart.
Then his heart continuing to be hardened. God claiming credit, and from this point on, God takes all the credit hardening Pharaoh's heart, so will talk about that as yet. Okay. Then the Lord said to Moses, this is verse one going to Pharaoh, for I have hardened his heart and the heart of his servants, that I may show the signs of mine among them, and that you may tell in the hearing of your son and of your grandson how I have dealt harshly with the Egyptians and what signs I've done. Among them that you may know that I am the Lord. We sat there for this is like a big teaching.
This is huge introductory statement.
There's a there's a statement of God's purpose here right since I hardened Pharaoh's heart so that I can show these signs. Among them, so that you can tell your children about it and so that you will know that I'm children in your grand children.
Yeah, right. So if you remember back in the previous chapter in 916 God and said to Pharaoh not let you remain for this cause that I can show my glory and my name will be proclaimed among the nations. So really's purpose is not changed at all. Notice the same. He's showing he's telling so that they may know they may know.
That's why this process is deliberately drawn out just that right fingers and having them write about yeah and in fact it's it's a direct answer to Pharaoh back in chapter 5, for he says will okay so who is this Lord to write about right. You know what. Who is he that I should obey him, and let me let right people go.
I mean who is this guy that's her guts as well.
I'll let you know when he rear the eighth plague in terms of glorifying God is and and who he is, in contrast to the Egyptian just got right who are shown powerless writer. All this yeah yeah and you know I just out of curiosity, I wondered how long it says the sons will children and grandchildren. This would go on. I can look forward to see if I could find evidence of them still talking about it later on in the history of Israel and you do actually allow us to come and I found one. This is like 400 years later in in first single before Saul was king and the Philistines were fighting the Israelites and stuff like that.
There's a there's a timer that I think it's in chapter 4% over the listings were fighting the Israelites. It does not go well for the Israelites. I mean this is before David and Goliath, even does not go well, but in the midst of that. They say look out because these are the people who have this God that took up riding with the plagues that's right hosting site so 400 years later they're still talking about what happened here. And while the Philistines are talking about it Philistines are that that the Philistines lived in Gaza, which is along that trade route job coming up out of Egypt so you know as trade came out of Egypt stories would've traveled right there.
So what's going on in this history right here something that persists and is talked about generation after generation that's delivered. I got delivered okay so we have a gigantic teaching moments of the know that I'm the Lord we jump and first three are straight and we get a warning now before the grasshoppers so Moses and Aaron went in to Pharaoh and said to him, thus says the Lord God of the Hebrews. How long will you refuse to humble yourself before me let my people go, that they may serve me for.
If you refuse to let my people go, behold, tomorrow I'll bring locusts into your country and they shall cover the face of the land so that no one can see the land and they shall eat what's left to you after the hail, and they should eat every tree of yours that grows in the field and they shall fill your houses in the houses of all your servants and all the Egyptians as neither your father's nor your grandfathers have seen from the day they came on earth.
To this day. Then he turned and went out from Pharaoh Hall served notice so we are warning warning and and basically the time of this last time to thank your lucky stars back that they did lose all of their crop. We hadn't come out yet generally terminated, but now it's Germanys as well.
I think that having its greens can be well and you can imagine as many of you have witnessed after hailstorm that the leaves are still sort of on the trees, but their shredded American is here come the locus there's a problem. Your leaves are all shot up with high lamella locus is coming and take her whatever's left But is very clear here about the state of Pharaoh's heart that he that is so hardened that he refuses to humble himself home for this God has so clearly demonstrated his power is important for us to understand what humbling means really just means to consider yourself what you are right, normal, sensitive, and elevate rights and get low before God. Right okay so you are so here Pharaoh is overestimating he is and what he is back to level it's not what so he refuses to do that. He refused to do that and troopers on the set that so Moses delivers a warning and then he turns and goes out. He doesn't give Pharaoh a chance.
Still no response at all to Pharaoh's servants in verse seven said to him, how long shall this man be a snare to us men go that they may serve the Lord their God not yet understand that Egypt is so Moses and Aaron were brought back to Pharaoh.
So Pharaoh listens to his servants. He calls back into Dr. okay to them. Go serve the Lord your God, but which will go and Moses said go with our young and our old will go with our sons and daughters and with our flocks and herds, for we must hold a feast of the Lord, but he said to them, but Pharaoh said the Lord be with you if ever I let you and your little ones go look you have some evil purpose in mind. No go. The man among you, and serve the Lord, for that's what you're asking and they were driven out from Pharaoh's presence. So Moses and Aaron are called back in after this right persuade Pharaoh to do something he tries to cut a deal. Again, this is not the first time right this deal is you know go out there, but but you know that with your little ones. So here's the second sign that I see here a second indicator here of a tactfully hardened heart rate in the first one is a refusal to humble before God, but the second one is is a hardened heart derives out the messenger Lord you literally chases him out to lunch. IMSI will refuse to listen to you. Yet he drives about verse six to get the walkout.
Driveway drives his anger because he thinks he's making fun.
Finally, a good last deal God and Moses and doesn't have anything of infecting Moses. Moses tells him that Pharaoh doesn't have any leverage got left right up the charger so that lack of power to make a deal approved sport that just enrages him.
He drives about his presence. You know you can do with these people you coming to do these people you want to do 12 or so, then the Lord said to Moses K stretch out your hand over the land of Egypt for the locus so that they may come upon the land of Egypt and eat every plant in the land. All that the Hill has left so Moses stretched out his staff over the land of Egypt and the war brought an east wind upon the land. All that day and all that night and when it was morning, the Eastwood had brought locus overnight, and the locus came up over all the land of Egypt settled on the whole country of Egypt such a dense swarm of locusts, as had never been before, nor even will be again and they covered the face of so that the land was darkened and they ate all the plans the land all the fruit of the trees that the hail and left not a green thing remain wow wow. 24. Our devastation and neither tree or plant of the field through all the land of Egypt. That's it places covered well then, here's what happened some mold so Pharaoh hastily called Moses and Aaron and said, I've sinned against the Lord your God, and against you. Now therefore forgive my sin and plead with the Lord your God only to remove this death for me. So he went out from Pharaoh plead with the Lord and the Lord turn the wind into a very strong West wind which little below in the other direction. On the other direction right toward toward the Red Sea, actually, and drove them into the Red Sea, not a single locust was left in all the country of Egypt, but the Lord hardened Pharaoh's heart and he did not let the people of Israel go. So it's exactly as he was warned these locus came in eight everything that was green that was left in the land. Now this is the last playing that we get a real a real clear warning. I mean we get some warning about the next one to but it's almost unbelievable. You are the lack the final warning.
The 10th one time. You know, Moses had warned him and then it happened, but Pharaoh the Lord hardened Pharaoh's heart again so you know, we've seen that hardened heart has refused to humble has refused to listen has refused to turn to repent and and drives out God's messengers and God. The clock is ticking right God will judge.
There is a point of no return with a hardened heart where God says okay. Time is up. I will judge you.
You can feel it, coming to a close in and all this and it's interesting to look at when we look at Pharaoh's quote unquote repentance it's it's not real or is not repentance.
You don't forgive me. Only this one summing this make a deal and is not that section more kind of averting the consequences of your sin. It's not it's it's a very shallow version of repentance is not really a and embracing the fact that you're wrong and he said Noel says he yeah horse he's sorry for what has happened right and he wants to fix the circumstances so he'll say whatever is hired to be set in order to relieve the circumstance and he knows that in the past plagues.
He's done this very same thing he's done some level I repentance and then Moses turned around and pleased to got a gun versus this is the second time now Pharaoh has introduced the idea of having send you right back in chapter 9 he said okay I'm sand the Lord is the righteous one, pray to God for me and know this time he says, okay, I've sinned against the Lord your God is the Lord my God, to write personal owning of sin here since I've offended your God yet, so forgive me. You want there's actually two miracles are the first one is the fact that God brings in this many locus overnight from with east wind and the second was that he turned around and swoops the ball away.
By the time he sweeps them all away again.
There's nothing that he never left eye means wish wish, nothing to eat right to send them to grow nothing, growing nothing. The weeds all gone. You know the embers all gone, which is a kind of wheat you know if there's any fruit still stuck on the trees. It's all gone. I mean it's it's gone.
So what you do for food. You know all your volume plant food that you grow is gone and that area of Egypt is is awarded by the now you grow a lot of crops. There's nothing to eat there.
We've lost all the livestock I mean it's it's devastation. The country is devastated in terms of food, perspective, and so Pharaoh's government, Strawser sand and onyx indolence reverses well even though God reverses taking out the locus still remain the consequent writer still very there's there's a lot that there's a lot of theology and that there are consequences that last even after we many kind reversals and in this particular case the plague the effects of the plague were reversed, but the plague itself was so that's interesting because now were completely set up for the ninth plague yell is darkness, which is fascinating that this is the last one of this kind before the final plan to talk about next week but you know the darkness through the Scripture always indicates the heart condition of one who refuses one who is separated from God. So it's no mistake that at this point in the process. The plague darkness is a terrifying thing because we have so much artificial light in the modern day will righteous out this right and this is also a direct affront against the big God the son God in the broad daylight and dark who can blot out the sun god right God the creator. This jump and so that how can anyone you would react.
Then the Lord said to Moses, no warning, with no warning. Lord said to Moses, retch out your hand toward heaven, that there may be darkness over the land of Egypt darkness, to be families so you know that really underscores the fact that this is outward expression of their condition of being separated from God is right for sitting in dices say that like Scripture… Verse 22 so Moses stretched out his hand toward heaven, and there was pitched in all the land of Egypt three days they did not see one another, nor did anyone rise from his place for three days but all the people of Israel had light with the then Pharaoh called Moses and said go serve the Lord your little ones also may go with you and let your flocks and herds remain behind is 25 and Moses said you must also let us have second vices and burnt offerings sacrifice to the Lord.
Our livestock also must go with us shall be left behind. For we must take them to serve the Lord our God and we do not know what we with what we must serve the Lord until we arrived there, but the Lord hardened Pharaoh's heart and he would not let go. Then Pharaoh said to him, get away from me. Take care, never to see my face again from the day you see my face you shall die. And Moses said, as you say I will not see your face again. Okay well this darkness thing really. It's his literal meaning. She had eyes darkness, are they still in the dark when this conversation is taking place things seem so I think so and you know a big question is always come to my mind when I read this is what about artificial lighting or about oil lamps does not work for the Egyptians because it says here that they could use each other's face right so so did it fail to provide likely trite that's a good question. I speak to that and it doesn't it doesn't say, but it's pitch darkness for three days they did not see one another, nor did anyone rise was place for three days because I would think well you know case of the sons out. I have electric candles will just going to overdo it but I'm glad they can go outside right, this is heavy enough to feel yeah yeah then that would imply there's things may be a spiritual element that they they would. They were just freaked out. Yeah I darkness to be felt right now there's a phrase to correct pond room for a while darkness to be felt and it's and it's actually just is just terrifying. If you think back, not in the two distant past history.
You know people one when solar eclipses would happen even in Western societies right would totally freak out because the sun is a constant, always count on and then when it's not there. You feel like the entire universe is falling apart well and I remember with the last complete solar eclipse just a few years ago. Everyone that I heard from who had actually been in the shadow and witnessed it was profoundly affected emotionally. They didn't expect to be yet even our daughter right so you know, this idea of darkness when there should be daylight because the sun is in the sky is a terrifying thing. Well, I think in our psyche to we understand that the sun is such a constant that when it's not there you you are so you sort of troubled an area we wonder whether God is faithful to his creation anymore.
You one matter is so fundamental things just falling apart.
And here they are in the dark for three whole days and apparently artificial lighting doesn't work. However, there is a light in the land of Egypt and it's in Goshen right shortcuts. People are now.
There's that saying she must've been really strange so so there's light over there. They're not having problems over there how this looked actually because if you witnessed the solar eclipse.
You can actually stand for the shadow the edge of the shadow passes over you and you can be one minute in the dark and the next minute in the light. So you know that's not an unknown phenomenon we had. We do have something we've experienced that we can relate to this, but for it to go on for three days for three days which course in the Scripture pictures and number is a lot of stuff that typology attached to that. Yeah, but don't make the mistake of judging this ninth plague from a modern perspective. No lack of right we just think is a truly she get a flashlight you turn it on right but herein, the, the utter foundation of the universe has suddenly been shaken and so since we been talking only through these nine plagues we've been talking about what God has done has challenged the God rupture of Egypt and now work were challenging something so fundamentally that you make some wonder, is there God so powerful that he actually turn off the very things that we've taken for granted. Is that possible, and he saying yeah he can reverse day and night. He can reverse day and night, and there's a there's a concept called the common grace of God were God gives to mankind good things right rain for your crops and son for your crops and stuff like all humanity right in humanity than you know the basic problem with humanity is the, the, enjoy these blessings from God, but they don't thank him or honor him coming from him. So your case. I think that the that the Egyptians are thinking if this God is that powerful and were not honoring them and were in big trouble if he if he is responsible for that were in big trouble. So I don't think we we want to omit or overlook the repetition of this word face that shows up in the end.
Yes that's right because Pharaoh says twice your never to see my face again. You'll never see my face again. I Moses says your right I will not see North Dale again while in the Scriptures the face of God is associated with light then that incredible blessing and number six right that the priest is to say in the Lord make his face shine on you when you're face-to-face with God.
There is light right right and Paul writes this beautiful passage in second Corinthians 4 about the light of the glory of God in the face of Christ. I just want to read this to you is this came to mind when I was thinking about seeing the face of God, bringing spiritual light. Paul says in their case in this is verse four second printing store, the God of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving, that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God and then just a sentence. Later he says in verse six for God, who said light shall shine out of darkness, is the one who shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ, so that we have at the face of Christ associated with the light of the glory of God writing for the Egyptians to see the face of the sun was there dared God Ra's blessing yet. I was their vision for lesson well, that's just a picture of God, who said light shall shine out of darkness, and so the deeply deeply troubled the fact that what they always thought would always be there. That's always been a blessing. It's always been a benefit to them. This God of the Israelites can even take that away. So this is probably up until the next playing. This is probably the most troubling when the bill come against that will we have the hardest time as modern people understanding. Well it is in the next playing is going to take place in the darkness in the dark so is possible that the daylight never came back. It's possible it's totally possible but you almost here a little bit of a of agreement. Moses voice in the end, when services don't see me again ranks all kill you and Moses, as you say not to see your face and you won't see my face again, which itself is kind of a foreboding. It is like you know you try to negotiate a couple times or is no negotiation. And so there's no coming back to me and trying to change as we are on a course toward this destruction in you and you will not have any way know in order to influence God through me. The idea with face-to-face conversation is there's nothing between right and looking you in the eyeball and were communicating with hearing one another. While this set me thinking of of the verse in Genesis 63 where it says God's spirit will not continue to wrestle forever with a human heart that spent on refusal that's totally right. God will judge. He says I know I will give you opportunity after opportunity effort after opportunity. But there will come a time when your hardness is complete, then I'm not going to give you more opportunities and judgment, makes me think of that term the day of the Lord to write right that there there is there is a hard date on the calendar in heaven right when all this will come to an end, and judgment will happen.
There's no avoiding it. There's no negotiation like first trying to do with Moses here. I'm hit, it is just going to come to an end and got a set that day because he knows what's effective in his kingdom. In terms of who will come and will not, it's clear as well you as we close out that this this ninth plague servants of Pharaoh are further down this path and Pharaoh's and Pharaoh is still stuck in his pride will not let them go and will not honor the fact that the Lord of the universe is that God is protecting these people okay but if you friends are sitting in the darkness. There is a solution for you. Turn your face toward Jesus Christ is the glory of the image of God and you go from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom. What we are out of time again and I will jump into Chapter 11 next time you come last plague and talk about how God memorize a lot. His for all eternity. In fact, it's a very important thing so I'm Jim Dorothy and come back with us next time. Look at the past mainstream church is solely responsible to contact us with your questions or comments. Okay, okay