THROUGH THE BIBLE - Exodus 9..

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com. That's cornerstonerbc.com. Exodus chapter nine from verse one. Then the Lord said to Moses, go into Pharaoh and say to him, thus says the Lord, the 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 very severe plague upon your livestock that are in the field. the horses, the donkeys, the camels, the herds, and the 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. And the Lord set a time saying, tomorrow the Lord will do this thing in the land. And the next day the Lord did this thing, all the livestock of the Egyptians died, but not one of the livestock of the people of Israel died.

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. And the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, take handful of soot from the kiln and let Moses throw them in the air in the sight of Pharaoh, shall become fine dust over all the land of Egypt and beast, my apologies, and become boils and breaking out in sores on man and beast throughout all the land of Egypt. So they took soot from the kiln and stood before Pharaoh, and Moses threw it in the air, and it became boils, breaking out in sores on man and beast. And the magicians could not stand before Moses because of the boils, for the boils came upon the magicians and upon all the Egyptians. But the Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh, and he did not listen to them as the Lord had spoken to Moses.

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. 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. 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. 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.

You are still exalting yourself against my people and will not let them go. 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. 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. Then whoever feared the word of the Lord among the servants of Pharaoh hurried his slaves and his livestock in the houses.

But whoever did not pay attention to the word of the Lord left his slaves and his livestock in the field. Verse 22, then the Lord said to Moses, stretch out your hand towards heaven so that there may be hail in all the land of Egypt on man and on beast and on every plant of the field in the land of Egypt. Then Moses stretched out his staff towards 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. There was hail and fire flashing continually in the midst of the hail, very heavy hail, such as had never been all the days or all the land of Egypt since it became a nation. 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.

Only in the land of Goshen, where the people of Israel were, was there no hail. 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. 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.

Moses said to him, as soon as I've 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. But as for you and your servants, I know that you do not yet fear the Lord. the Lord God. The flax and the barley were struck down, for the barley was in the ear and the flax was in bud.

But the wheat and the emmer were not struck down, for they are late in coming up. So Moses went out of the city from Pharaoh and stretched out his hand to the Lord, and the thunder and the hail ceased, and the rain no longer poured upon the earth. 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. 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. Amen.

This is the word of the Lord. Well, it's in our passage this evening. that will look at the next three plagues that comes across or comes to the people of Israel. No doubt at this time, my apologies, the people of Egypt, no doubt at this time that the people of Egypt have already experienced the first four of these plagues, which would have been absolutely terrifying to these people. They'd experienced the Nile turning into blood.

the frogs that came out of the Nile, the gnats, or as what we would call the lice that swarmed over the face of the earth. And they experienced the flies like a canopy, like an umbrella that masked the whole sky before them. No doubt in their hearts they would experience that fear of what they had already seen and what is yet to come. However, there is something consistent that we see about Pharaoh in the text that we've been through thus far in the book of Exodus. This ruler had a hardened heart, and he kept hardening his heart.

He had wickedness and evil in his heart, and he had only bad intentions, even though he had told Moses on occasion that if you go and pray and lift these plagues from among us, I will let the people go. He had no intention to let the people go. But time and time again, he promises, but he never delivers. He's thinking that he can stand toe-to-toe with the Almighty God of the universe, and that's a big mistake. Now understandably, when his magicians were able to actually do that which Moses and Aaron were doing, for example, when the Nile was changed from water to blood, the magicians, we're told, were able to do the same.

This made Pharaoh strengthen within himself. And the next miracle also, when the frogs came out of the Nile, the magicians were able to do that as well. And Pharaoh was thinking, the magicians under my power are able to meet toe to toe with this God of Israel. However, the next plague that comes along, the plague of gnats or lice, They weren't able to. At that point, the magician stood back and realised, we can't do this.

We're impotent before this great God, the God of Moses, the God of Aaron, this God of Israel. We have no power before him. And their counsel to Pharaoh was good counsel in the last chapter. And that was that the finger of God is at work. However, Pharaoh, he didn't hear him.

He wasn't interested because his response was, and we're told, he would not listen. But then you have this caption, as the Lord has said, as the Lord has said, God is in complete control. God said he would not listen, and Pharaoh did not listen. And that's important we remember that. The plagues kept coming.

that kept coming. And in this chapter that we have before us, we see the next three plagues. And if we look a little bit deeper, and we haven't got time this evening, we will know that every plague is a direct assault at one of the false deities of Egypt. They had gods for pretty much everything. The Nile god, the frog gods, which are the god of fertility.

They had gods for the gnats, the gods for everything, the skies. They had gods for everything. But what we see is that the power of the almighty Yahweh, the God of Israel, there is none like him. And their gods were crushed under the weight of the plague of the God of Israel every single time. But let's face it, the plagues that the Egyptians have experienced so far, as scary as they were, have merely been a matter of inconvenience.

They were scary and they were epic, but how much of an effect did they have on their lives thus far? Not a great deal. I mean, we could say they weren't catastrophic as of yet. They weren't devastating to them as of yet. The Nile turning into blood could have been fairly catastrophic.

It could have been a disaster. But the people went along the river and dug wells and they were able to get the drinking water from the Nile. So that disaster was averted. But here, in the fifth and the sixth and the seventh plague that we have before us, things get really serious. God is intensifying these plagues upon Pharaoh and his people.

No longer an inconvenience, these plagues are a serious threat to their lives. First of all, their wealth is affected. Second of all, their health is affected. And third of all, their lives are at stake in the third of the three plagues. Verses 1 through 7 is the plague of the livestock.

All the livestock in the land of Egypt perishes. A disease it seems, like the original, connotes some sort of a disease or like an anthrax that goes through the land and consumes and kills the livestock of the Egyptians. We hear that the horses and the donkeys and the camels, the herds and the flocks were all perished. Practically, their prosperity was taken away. Now, we have to remember, beloved, that in the ancient Near East, if someone was going to boast about what they had, that would tell you how much or how many animals they had.

We have so-and-so sheep, so-and-so cattle. This is a reason for boasting. And they, the Egyptians, would have thought that their prosperity was coming because of the favor of the gods. But now all that they had perished, destroyed. All of it, gone.

But the first of the animals is pretty interesting, the horses. Because not only is their wealth attacked, but also Pharaoh's power. You see, in Egypt, they had a fleet of chariots. And who was driving those chariots? The horses.

Who were the chariots for? Well, for the Pharaoh and for his military also. Now he's military on their feet. They don't have chariots to ride in. The horses are taken away.

Pharaoh's power. is attacked also, and they're reduced to walking speed. Yet this is the interesting thing. The livestock of the Israelites was untouched. See, God chose to destroy the livestock of the Egyptians, but not that of the Israelites.

Because he's the one who chooses. He's the one who determines who has what. And Pharaoh will learn this lesson the hard way. Then in verses 8 through 12, we're told of the second plague, the plague that affects the health of the Egyptians, not only the Egyptians, but also their beasts. But in particular for the people, the boils were painful.

They broke out in sores on their bodies. And we're told the magicians weren't able to stand before Moses because of the boils on their body. It must have been excruciating pain that they couldn't stand before Moses. But that's because also this is the last time we hear of the magicians. We don't hear of them ever again, at least in the book of Exodus, because they know.

They know their power is impotent. They know that they've come to the end of their tether. That's it. They know they have no power, no power compared to the power of the Almighty God of the universe. But it's interesting how Moses is instructed by God to bring about this plague of boils.

You remember what he says? He says, go and get some soot from the kiln. That's like ashes from the oven. and throw it in the air and it will be fine. It will go across the land and land on the Egyptians.

The Egyptians will have boils that break out into painful sores. Now it's interesting that the ashes come from an oven and that oven is most likely used by the Israelites to bake bricks for Pharaoh to build his city. This is a symbol of the Israelites' suffering. This is a symbol of the Israelites' affliction, affliction that Pharaoh and his people have placed upon them. And this is the amazing thing, that those ashes which symbolize the affliction of the Israelites will become the source of the pain and the suffering of the Egyptians.

Pharaoh is being given a message. This is judgment that is falling upon him and his people. And it's clear as day. But does he see it? He probably doesn't see it very well at all.

Then of course, the third and final plague in this chapter is the plague that we find in verse 13 through 26. It's the plague of hailstorms that we call it. But if you read carefully, verse 23 tells us that they were fiery. hailstorms. Fire and hail rained down from heaven, and it said that anyone or anything, whether it's plant, beast, or human beings that it hit, it will destroy on an impact.

Now we don't have the details. It'd be interesting to know how big they are, but if Revelation chapter 16 is anything to go by, there are 100 pound hailstorms, the Bible tells us of, that will be flooded upon the earth. That's 45 kilos each. Imagine looking into the sky and seeing the heavens rain fiery hail storms on you. This is a terrifying, terrifying ordeal.

Now at this point I have to make an explanation because we're told that livestock as well as human life are affected. Now some have come up and said there's a contradiction because back in the fifth plague that we read of from verses 1 through 7, we're told that all the livestock, that's the horses, the camels, the donkeys and the herds, have perished. So what's happening here? How have they mysteriously Return. There is no contradiction here at all.

You have to remember one thing. Moses is the author of this book. Moses hasn't suffered with amnesia as though he's forgotten what he's already written 10 minutes ago. That's not the case at all. And we need to realise something else.

Time is passing. We read these in quick succession. The fact of the matter is that time, there's time lapse between one plague and the other. The Bible doesn't tell us exactly how much time, but it's safe to assume that Pharaoh at least, once his livestock were perished and his horses, would have wanted to replace them as quickly as possible, especially his horses. So he may have replaced those or maybe he purchased them from neighboring nations.

He may have even purchased something from the Israelites who were completely unaffected. There's no contradiction here. The reason why Moses doesn't give us all the details is because he knows there's no need to. But this is what we need to remember. Human life was affected.

because it is human beings that did not honor God, that didn't heed God's instruction, who remained in the field with a slave or free. These hailstorms came down upon them and destroyed them then and there. And this is God saying, this is Yahweh saying that life is in my hands. I am the God of life and death. I'm the one who gives life and I'm the one who takes away life.

It is my right to do so. Now there are a few things I want to end with. A few things I want to note before we finish this evening and we hand over to our brother. Verse 14 through 16, if you put your eyes into that text. And it gives us the purpose statement for all the plagues that God is affecting upon the nation.

Because God declares to Pharaoh, hear these words, For this time, I will send all my plagues on yourself and your servants and your people so that you may know there is none like me in all the earth. For by now I could have put out my hand and struck your people with pestilence and you would have been cut off from the earth. But for this purpose, hear these words, for this purpose, I have raised you up to show you my power, that by my name that my name may be proclaimed in all the earth. Beloved, this ruler, Pharaoh, this king of Egypt exists in this time of history is because he was raised by Yahweh, by God himself for this very purpose, that he would be made known that he is the only true God in the universe upon the earth and there is none other. These plagues have come so that all would know that He is the God of all.

He is the God of the skies. He is the God of the rivers. He is the God of the earth. He is the God over life and death. He is the God over all.

He is sovereign over all. Sovereign even over people's hearts. And this helps us understand verse 12, which I haven't yet addressed. Because there we read, but the Lord, but the Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh. See, most of us don't have a problem with the five or so occurrences that have come previously in the book of Exodus that speak of Pharaoh hardening his heart.

We don't have a problem with that. But when it comes to this very sentence, the Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh, if we're honest, many of us may feel a little uncomfortable with those words. Some have gone to ask the question, does God have the right to harden Pharaoh's heart? I'm glad I don't have to answer that question because the apostle Paul has already. You see, in Romans chapter nine, verses 14 through 17, let me read you the words of the inspired apostle.

He says, as it is written, Jacob I loved, speaking of God, Jacob I loved, the Esau I hated. What shall we say then? Is there injustice on God's part? By no means. For he says to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.

16. So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God who has mercy. And then verse 17. For the scripture says of or to Pharaoh, For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I might show my power in you, and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth. So then he has mercy on whom whoever he wills, and hear these words, and he hardens whomever he wills.

Paul will go on to say, who are you, oh man, to even think for a moment that you have the right to tell the potter what he is to do with the same clump of clay? He can use some for noble use and some for innoble use. He is the sovereign God of the universe and there's nothing in this created world, in the planets, in all the universe that doesn't belong to Him, that doesn't sit under His direct reign. He is God and there is no other. And so God is in no way, and we have to realize this, He's in no way pressing Pharaoh to do something that Pharaoh doesn't already want to do.

It's not as though Pharaoh wanted to seek after God and his heart was turning towards him and God said, no, I'm going to harden you. That's not what's happening. He's giving him over to his already hardened heart, his depraved heart. His evil and wicked heart. This is a Romans 1 in play.

He's giving him over to a depraved mind to do the very things that he desires to do. And that's why on previous occasions, we've heard so many times that Pharaoh hardened his heart. Pharaoh hardens. And we've seen so many examples of him saying, I will let the people go, get these plagues away. And then when the plagues are gone, he goes back to his own sinful self.

Moses picks this up. Because Moses says, sorry, Pharaoh says in verse 27, it seems like he's repented. He says, I have sinned against God, me and my people. And you think maybe some repentance is happening. Maybe the evil wicked heart is turning towards God.

But then in verse 30, we know Moses says, but as for you and your servants, Moses says, I'll go and I'll pray and I'll get these gone. But as for you and your servants, we know already that you do not fear God. God knows the heart, beloved, and God cannot be mocked. And I want to end with this. Although God has the right to heart and hearts, he also has mercy on whom he has mercy.

And this is a glorious truth. This was so evident in the very last play. You remember, it wasn't just Goshen, the place where the Israelites dwelt in the land of Egypt, that was spared the howl storms, but it was also for those who feared the Lord and acted upon that fear. The Israelites who feared the Lord and removed their cattle, removed their slaves, and removed all people from the fields, they were spared. God has mercy on whom he has mercy.

None of these people, beloved, whether they're the Israelites or the Egyptians, whether it's you or I, deserve that mercy. None of us have the right to the mercy of God. He owes mercy to no one. We have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God and sinners deserve judgment from a just God. None of us deserve His mercy.

But as New Testament Christians, isn't His mercy also glorious? Because that mercy is found in none other than Jesus Christ, who bore your sin if you're in Christ, and bore my sin if we by faith have apprehended His work and the person of the only Saviour of the land. And I want to end with this verse, Ephesians chapter 2, verses 4 through 5. Just think about the glorious mercy of God. their poor rights, but God, being rich in mercy because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ.

These are such beautiful words. By grace, you have been saved. Amen.