YouTube video sermon

Exodus 9:13 – 10:29

Well, where are we going this morning? (Exodus.) Listen, I know that some of you are tired of Exodus, but we’ve only been in this study for 3 months. That’s not even the full length of the first 3 plagues. The first 3 plagues likely started around July/August, and the reason we know that is because of a clue that we read about today. We’re going to see, in just a moment, that the flax and the barley were struck down, but the wheat and the rye weren’t, because they’re late bloomers.

So, from agricultural clues, we know that the hailstorm that we’re getting ready to read about happened in January/February, because that’s when the flax and barley come to bud. If you do a little bit of very rough math, and you figure that the first plague happened in the month of July, and you assume that each plague lasted more/less for a month’s time – then you have:

Plague of the Nile turning to blood (July) / frogs (August) / gnats (September) / flies (October) /dead livestock (November) / boils (December) / Today’s plague of hail (January) / locusts (February) / darkness (March) / Final plague – the death of the first-born (a.k.a. Passover) (April)

Now, that’s not a completely accurate accounting. Some plagues could’ve lasted longer than a month and others, like darkness, which we’ll read about in just a minute, lasted only a few days. But the point is to recognize that this sermon series could be much longer. Plus, you get next Sunday off because the choir is going to lead us in worship. Amen? Alright, I know it’s a lot of reading, so buckle up. Parker has already given me a hard time about it – you can thank him for doing your job after church. Here we go. Exodus 9:13ff:

13 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Rise up early in the morning and present yourself before Pharaoh and say to him, ‘Thus says the LORD, the God of the Hebrews, “Let My people go, that they may serve Me. 14 For this time I will send all My plagues on you yourself, and on your servants and your people, so that you may know that there is none like Me in all the earth. 15 For by now I could have put out My hand and struck you and your people with pestilence, and you would have been cut off from the earth. 16 But for this purpose I have raised you up, to show you My power, so that My name may be proclaimed in all the earth. 17 You are still exalting yourself against My people and will not let them go. 18 Behold, about this time tomorrow I will cause very heavy hail to fall, such as never has been in Egypt from the day it was founded until now. 19 Now therefore send, get your livestock and all that you have in the field into safe shelter, for every man and beast that is in the field and is not brought home will die when the hail falls on them.”’” 20 Then whoever feared the word of the LORD among the servants of Pharaoh hurried his slaves and his livestock into the houses, 21 but whoever did not pay attention to the word of the LORD left his slaves and his livestock in the field.

22 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand toward heaven, so that there may be hail in all the land of Egypt, on man and beast and every plant of the field, in the land of Egypt.” 23 Then Moses stretched out his staff toward heaven, and the LORD sent thunder and hail, and fire ran down to the earth. And the LORD rained hail upon the land of Egypt. 24 There was hail and fire flashing continually in the midst of the hail, very heavy hail, such as had never been in all the land of Egypt since it became a nation. 25 The hail struck down everything that was in the field in all the land of Egypt, both man and beast. And the hail struck down every plant of the field and broke every tree of the field. 26 Only in the land of Goshen, where the people of Israel were, was there no hail.

27 Then Pharaoh sent and called Moses and Aaron and said to them, “This time I have sinned; the LORD is in the right, and I and my people are in the wrong. 28 Plead with the LORD, for there has been enough of God’s thunder and hail. I will let you go, and you shall stay no longer.” 29 Moses said to him, “As soon as I have gone out of the city, I will stretch out my hands to the LORD. The thunder will cease, and there will be no more hail, so that you may know that the earth is the LORD’s. 30 But as for you and your servants, I know that you do not yet fear the LORD God.” 31 (The flax and the barley were struck down, for the barley was in the ear and the flax was in bud. 32 But the wheat and the emmer were not struck down, for they are late in coming up.) 33 So Moses went out of the city from Pharaoh and stretched out his hands to the LORD, and the thunder and the hail ceased, and the rain no longer poured upon the earth. 34 But when Pharaoh saw that the rain and the hail and the thunder had ceased, he sinned yet again and hardened his heart, he and his servants. 35 So the heart of Pharaoh was hardened, and he did not let the people of Israel go, just as the LORD had spoken through Moses.

1 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Go in to Pharaoh, for I have hardened his heart and the heart of his servants, that I may show these signs of Mine among them, 2 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 have done among them, that you may know that I am the LORD.”

3 So Moses and Aaron went in to Pharaoh and said to him, “Thus says the LORD, the God of the Hebrews, ‘How long will you refuse to humble yourself before Me? Let My people go, that they may serve Me. 4 For if you refuse to let My people go, behold, tomorrow I will bring locusts into your country, 5 and they shall cover the face of the land, so that no one can see the land. And they shall eat what is left to you after the hail, and they shall eat every tree of yours that grows in the field, 6 and they shall fill your houses and the houses of all your servants and of all the Egyptians, as neither your fathers nor your grandfathers have seen, from the day they came on earth to this day.’” Then he turned and went out from Pharaoh.

7 Then Pharaoh’s servants said to him, “How long shall this man be a snare to us? Let the men go, that they may serve the LORD their God. Do you not yet understand that Egypt is ruined?” 8 So Moses and Aaron were brought back to Pharaoh. And he said to them, “Go, serve the LORD your God. But which ones are to go?” 9 Moses said, “We will go with our young and our old. We will go with our sons and daughters and with our flocks and herds, for we must hold a feast to the LORD.” 10 But he said to them, “The LORD be with you, if ever I let you and your little ones go! Look, you have some evil purpose in mind. 11 No! Go, the men among you, and serve the LORD, for that is what you are asking.” And they were driven out from Pharaoh’s presence.

12 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the land of Egypt for the locusts, so that they may come upon the land of Egypt and eat every plant in the land, all that the hail has left.” 13 So Moses stretched out his staff over the land of Egypt, and the LORD brought an east wind upon the land all that day and all that night. When it was morning, the east wind had brought the locusts. 14 The locusts came up over all the land of Egypt and settled on the whole country of Egypt, such a dense swarm of locusts as had never been before, nor ever will be again. 15 They covered the face of the whole land, so that the land was darkened, and they ate all the plants in the land and all the fruit of the trees that the hail had left. Not a green thing remained, neither tree nor plant of the field, through all the land of Egypt. 16 Then Pharaoh hastily called Moses and Aaron and said, “I have sinned against the LORD your God, and against you. 17 Now therefore, forgive my sin, please, only this once, and plead with the LORD your God only to remove this death from me.” 18 So he went out from Pharaoh and pleaded with the LORD. 19 And the LORD turned the wind into a very strong west wind, which lifted the locusts and drove them into the Red Sea. Not a single locust was left in all the country of Egypt. 20 But the LORD hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he did not let the people of Israel go.

21 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand toward heaven, that there may be darkness over the land of Egypt, a darkness to be felt.” 22 So Moses stretched out his hand toward heaven, and there was pitch darkness in all the land of Egypt three days. 23 They did not see one another, nor did anyone rise from his place for three days, but all the people of Israel had light where they lived. 24 Then Pharaoh called Moses and said, “Go, serve the LORD; your little ones also may go with you; only let your flocks and your herds remain behind.” 25 But Moses said, “You must also let us have sacrifices and burnt offerings, that we may sacrifice to the LORD our God. 26 Our livestock also must go with us; not a hoof shall be left behind, for we must take of them to serve the LORD our God, and we do not know with what we must serve the LORD until we arrive there.” 27 But the LORD hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he would not let them go. 28 Then Pharaoh said to him, “Get away from me; take care never to see my face again, for on the day you see my face you shall die.” 29 Moses said, “As you say! I will not see your face again.”

“Our gracious Father, some of us are already tired, just from listening attentively to Your Word. So, help us to remain engaged with You this morning. Help me, Lord, to speak a message from You, rather than my own ideas and feelings. May the Holy Spirit do the work of convicting us of sin, righteousness and judgment – that we may be more faithful and obedient followers of Your Son, Jesus, in whose name we pray. Amen.”

Rather than recount the plagues this morning, I want to just highlight a few things from each one:

Plague Seven – Hail

There’s a little bit of Pharaoh in all of us. Now, I know that might not sit well with you – but it’s true. Even for those of us “in Christ,” there’s still that kernel of rebellion and pride and stubbornness. And God’s words to Pharaoh in verses 14-17 ought to wake us up. It didn’t wake up Pharaoh, but I pray that we hear them as God intended.

The previous 6 plagues, as troublesome as they were, were essentially preliminary. In fact, God’s tone is beginning to sound like the book of Job, isn’t it? Here’s my paraphrase of verses 14-17, “Pharaoh, listen up. I’m getting ready to unleash the full fury of My power against you. Up until now, I’ve been restraining Myself. I’ve actually been holding back. I’ve actually been merciful, to some degree. See Pharaoh, thus far, at any point along the way, I could’ve wiped you off the map and the rest of the Egyptians with you. But I haven’t, because I want to use you to demonstrate My extensive power and My mighty Name to the entire world.”

And for us, sometimes we forget just how big our God really is. We go around living our lives, making our plans, ignorant of the hurt and suffering in our communities and the world. If we’re not careful, we might just end up thinking we’re the king of our own domain; and eventually God will get our attention. It may be a worldwide natural disaster. It may be a personal health scare or a bad diagnosis. It may be the death of a loved one, or the loss of a job, or the dissolution of a marriage – none of which are, necessarily, the direct result of God’s hand, but are nonetheless allowed by Him. And that’s what God is doing here.

He’s trying to get Pharaoh to wake up to the reality that there’s only one true God and Pharaoh ain’t it. Do we know that God is really and truly the One that’s in control? Or, like Pharaoh (in verse 17), are we exalting ourselves. Listen, Pharaoh had long ago “set himself against God’s people and would not let them go,” and he was still doing it. And as odd as it might sound, there are some people that made a decision a long time ago that God and His Church weren’t going to have a place in their lives. Oh, they’re not going to be ugly or mean or antagonistic about it. They might even come to Church from time to time, but their hearts have been hardened.

If that’s you, then please hear the Word of God this morning. And for the rest of us, would we continually pray for a “broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart” (Psalm 51:17) in the presence of our mighty God.

As always, I wish I had more time, but let me just say that this hailstorm was unlike anything any of us have ever witnessed. We get wide-eyed when people show pictures of hailstones the size of golf balls, and such. But folks, these hailstones killed man and beast and broke every tree. And let me just make another connection, here, to the book of Revelation. In the seventh bowl judgment (in Revelation 16), we read this, “And great hailstones, about one hundred pounds each, fell from heaven on people; and they cursed God for the plague of the hail, because the plague was so severe.”

Loved ones, this is going to happen again. “Oh, pastor, come on, I can’t believe that’s literal. Surely you don’t think everything in the book of Revelation is a literal description of things that are going to happen?” Well, no, not everything, but certainly some things – and since hailstones were used by God against Pharaoh, I’m inclined to think that Revelation 16 is another literal judgment of God. So may this be another warning for us to wake up, stop exalting ourselves, and share the Good News of Jesus Christ while there’s still time.

Two more things and we’ll move on. Notice that this plague was able to get the attention of some of the Egyptians. Look at verse 20, “Then whoever feared the word of the LORD among the servants of Pharaoh hurried his slaves and his livestock into the houses.” When the Israelites end up leaving Egypt some of these Egyptians go with them – not many, but a few. In fact, those Egyptians would cause problems later, but some believed. And we know that eventually some Egyptians came to believe in our mighty God, because in Acts 2, when the Holy Spirit is poured out on the Church, Egyptians are among the peoples from every nation under heaven that were present.

The final thing I want you to see is Pharaoh’s false repentance (vss. 27-28), “This time I have sinned; the LORD is in the right, and I and my people are in the wrong. Plead with the LORD, for there has been enough of God’s thunder and hail. I will let you go, and you shall stay no longer.” Again, we’re not immune from this kind of response either. It’s been suggested that Billy Graham once said there were more “unsaved” people in the pews on Sunday morning, than genuine followers of Jesus.

It looks good. It sounds good. But the Apostle Paul would include this description in his list of people to avoid. He said they “[have] the appearance of godliness, but [deny] its power” (2 Timothy 3:5). Or how about this description from Titus 1:16, “They profess to know God, but they deny Him by their works. They are detestable, disobedient, unfit for any good work.” Biblical repentance is admitting your sin to the One you’ve sinned against, and ultimately that’s God. There might be other people that you sinned against too, but every sin is ultimately against God. That’s why David said, “Against You, You only, have I sinned and done what is evil in Your sight…” (Psalm 51:4).

Pharaoh didn’t do that. He confessed to Moses. He didn’t confess to the One he sinned against. Listen, you can come to me, as your pastor, but it’s my job to usher you into the presence Christ Jesus. He’s the One that died for your sin. And biblical repentance also includes the hearts singular desire to flee sin and its grip on our lives. Pharaoh definitely didn’t do this. So, beware of practicing false repentance.

Plague Eight – Locusts

When we get to Exodus 10:1-2, we discover that all of these events weren’t just for Egypt but also for Israel. They were to tell their sons about their God. Exodus is the story of Israel. It’s THE story that shaped them as a people, and it was to be retold. Not only is Exodus the story of Israel, but if you’re a Christian, then it’s your story too. Like God delivered the Israelites, Jesus delivered us all from our sin, if we’ll only confess our sin and repent and follow after Him. And just like the Israelites were supposed to tell their story; we’re called to tell our story. We’re called to share the Good News of Jesus with our family and friends and anyone that will listen.

Notice that Pharaoh’s servants finally begin to relent. “Just let them go, already. How much longer are we going to let this Moses guy be a snare for us? After all, it’s dangerous out there. There’s lions and tigers and bears, oh my!” We saw this last week. It’s compromise. It’s negotiation. It’s going halfway. The world says, “Listen, it’s okay if you get in to this, but don’t impose it on your children. Don’t drag your family and your friends, and especially your children into this. Let them make their own decisions.” But Moses won’t have it.

Let me make one final comment before we move to the last plague. Many scholars will say that the events we read about were natural events that occurred. They say, “Well, there were other instances where the Nile River turned to blood and frogs came on the land and etc., etc.” And it’s important to know that these were natural phenomena heightened by supernatural factors. All of these are supernatural judgments. God is using the natural elements that they know about, but He added supernatural factors.

For instance, God says, “Tomorrow it’s going to get dark (well, yeah), but the darkness will be here but not there. The hail is going to rain down here, but not there. Your cattle are going to be affected, but not the Israelites’ cattle.” So, these are natural events with God’s supernatural factors added to them. The same is true with these locusts. They were brought in by an east wind. We have a marriage of two important principles, one is the miraculous and the other is the providential.

A miracle is where God intervenes and sometimes contravenes natural law. That’s a miracle. Providence is different. Providence is God superintending natural events and weaving together natural events for His purpose. In Exodus, we have both of them operating simultaneously, the miraculous and the providential. Enough said, let’s move to the last plague.

Plague Nine – Darkness

Nothing says judgment like darkness. Notice verse 21, this darkness was to be “felt.” How do you feel darkness? Well, I think there are at least two ways. The first is to go to an evil place, an evil venue, somewhere you know that bad things are taking place. Maybe you’ve been in a couple of those places, and it just “feels” dark. That’s the first way we can “feel” darkness, but that’s not what’s meant here. For one thing, saying that we “feel darkness” in that sense is more a way of try to describe something – it’s not a literal feeling.

That leads me to the second way that we feel darkness, and that’s literally groping around in the darkness. Again, we have to really pause here and use our imaginations and remember that prior to the invention of the light bulb, when the sun went down the town closed up. There wasn’t any traveling at night. You could only carry a lit torch so far before it went out. So, this darkness was a supernatural darkening of the sun and moon so that there was literally no light whatsoever for 3 whole days.

Can you imagine what would happen if we literally experienced pitch black darkness for 3 entire days? People would lose their minds. Fear would spread like wildfire. Depression and anxiety would consume many people. That’s how darkness is felt.

Furthermore, it wasn’t uncommon to associate darkness with death, and rightly so. But there’s another association with darkness and that’s judgment. In the Jewish Talmud, it was believed that one of God’s signs of judging a people or a nation was darkness. Now, follow me here: how long was this darkness in Egypt? (3 days). What happened when Jesus was on the cross for three hours? (Darkness covered the earth). Let me make one final connection and we’ll be done. In Revelation 16, during the fifth bowl when that final day of wrath has been poured out upon the earth, one of the bowls, the fifth bowl is darkness poured out on the kingdom of the anti-Christ and it’s a severe darkness. The whole kingdom becomes full of darkness.

There’s only one way to defeat the darkness of sin, and that’s to look to the One who “dwells in unapproachable light?” (1 Timothy 6:16). Do you know the Savior? Do you set your gaze upon Jesus every day and find your identity, salvation, and hope in Him? Only He is God. He’s the One that crushed our greatest enemy. The Apostle Paul said, “Death has been swallowed up in victory. Death, where is your victory? Death, where is your sting?” (1 Corinthians 15:54-55).

“Father in heaven, we pray that as believers if we have hardened our hearts against You in any way by familiarity, by not putting things into practice, I pray Lord that You would break our hardened hearts and make them like moldable clay again. God, do whatever it takes so that we can hear Your voice and respond to You. Lord, I also pray for those who may not know You personally today. They’ve never truly received Your Son, Jesus, as their one and only Savior. They’ve been religious. They’ve gone to churches. Their friends or parents or children have told them about Jesus. If they’re here today but they’ve never personally received Christ, the I pray they would. I pray for some that have strayed from You – walking away from You – would they reaffirm their commitment to Jesus. It’s in His name that we pray. Amen”