Exodus 7:8-11:10

this is Matthias Schlitter.

I've been practicing that all week.

It could have been embarrassing.

Matthias Schlitter.

And he is the 14 times world arm wrestling champion.

And he has a distinct disadvantage

because he has a genetic malformation

that means his right hand is 40% bigger than his left hand.

They call him Popeye

because I guess that's what Popeye looks like

if he only ate half a portion of spinach.

And you have to say,

if you were Matthias' opponent,

you'd think this is a little bit unfair.

He's almost like an X-Man with his huge right hand.

What we're going to see today in Exodus chapters 6 to 10

Exodus 6 · chapter mention

is a cosmic mismatch.

We're going to see God and Egypt

engaged in a battle for hearts and minds.

We're going to see incredible things.

It's like the rumble in the jungle,

the thriller in Manila,

Rocky 1 to 6,

all rolled into one.

What we have before us is an unbelievable drama.

As Yahweh,

the God of the Israelites,

does battle with Pharaoh,

one of the gods considered by the Egyptians.

It is a cosmic mismatch.

He would take the odds

on beating the German arm wrestler

any day of the week.

So if you've got a Bible,

please turn to Exodus chapter 7

Exodus 7 · chapter mention

and we'll read verses 2 to 5.

You should have also got a handout

as you came in,

which will be so useful to you.

Exodus chapter 7 verse 2.

Exodus 7:2

You are to say everything I command you

and your brother Aaron

is to tell Pharaoh

to let the Israelites go out of his country.

But I will harden Pharaoh's heart

and though I multiply my signs

and wonders in Egypt,

he will not listen to you.

Then I will lay my hand on Egypt

and with mighty acts of judgment,

I will bring up my divisions,

my people, the Israelites.

And the Egyptians will know

that I am the Lord

when I stretch out my hand against Egypt

and bring the Israelites out of it.

Here's the big theme of this morning.

God will be God

and everyone will know it.

God will be God

and everyone will know it.

And so in chapter 7,

just a little bit further down in verse 8,

we come to like the weigh-in

that you have before all good.

Boxing matches.

It's the sparring and the trash talk.

The Lord said to Moses and Aaron,

when Pharaoh says to you,

perform a miracle,

then say to Aaron,

take your staff

and throw it before Pharaoh

and it will become a snake.

So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh

and did just as the Lord commanded.

Aaron threw his staff down

in front of Pharaoh

and his officials

and it became a snake.

Pharaoh then summoned

the wise men and sorcerers

and the Egyptian magicians

also did the same things

by their secret acts.

Each one threw down his staff

and it became a snake.

But Aaron's staff swallowed up their staffs.

It's a bit of a sign

of things to come.

That Aaron's done

a miraculous sign

and the wise men and sorcerers

have copied it

and Aaron's snake

has swallowed

all the other snakes.

It's a bit of a sign

of things to come.

We can't actually read

the whole account this morning.

So please just turn to Exodus chapter 9

Exodus 9 · chapter mention

and we'll read about the plague of hail

just to give us

a bit of a flavor

of how this is happening.

Then the Lord said to Moses

get up early in the morning

confront Pharaoh

and say to him

this is what the Lord

the God of the Hebrews says

let my people go

so that they may worship me

or this time

I will send the full force

of my plagues against you

and against your officials

and your people

so that you may know

that there is no one like me

in all the earth.

For by now

I could have stretched

out my hand

and struck you

and your people

with a plague

that would have wiped you

off the earth

but I have raised you up

for this very purpose

that I might show you

my power

and that my name

might be proclaimed

in all the earth.

You still set yourself

against my people

and will not let them go.

Therefore

at this time tomorrow

I will send

the worst hail storm

that has ever fallen

on Egypt

from the day

it was founded till now.

Give an order now

to bring your livestock

and everything you have

in the field

to a place of shelter

because the hail

will fall on

every person

and animal

that has not been

brought in

and is still out

in the field

and they will die.

Those officials of Pharaoh

who feared the word

of the Lord

hurried to bring the slaves

and their livestock

inside

but those who ignored

the word of the Lord

left their slaves

and livestock

in the field.

Then the Lord

said to Moses

stretch out your hand

towards the sky

so that hail

will fall all over Egypt

on people and animals

and on everything

growing in the fields

of Egypt.

When Moses

stretched out his staff

towards the sky

the Lord sent

thunder and hail

and lightning flashed

down to the ground.

So the Lord

rained hail down

on the land of Egypt.

Hail fell

and lightning flashed

back and forth.

It was the worst storm

in all the land of Egypt

since it had become

a nation.

Throughout Egypt

hail struck everything

in the fields

both people and animals

it beat down

everything growing

in the fields

and stripped every tree.

The only place

it did not hail

was the land of Goshen

where the Israelites were.

Then Pharaoh

summoned Moses

and Aaron

this time I have sinned

he said to them

the Lord is in the right

and I and my people

are in the wrong.

Pray to the Lord

for we have had

enough thunder and hail

I will let you go

you don't have to stay

any longer.

Moses replied

when I have gone out

of the city

I will spread out

my hands in prayer

to the Lord

the thunder will stop

and there will be

no more hail

so you may know

that the earth

is the Lord's.

But I know

that you and your officials

still do not fear the Lord.

The flax and the barley

were destroyed

since the barley

was in the ear

and the flax was in bloom.

The wheat and the spelt

however were not destroyed

because they ripened later.

When Moses left Pharaoh

and went out of the city

he spread out his hands

towards the Lord.

The thunder and hail

stopped and the rain

no longer poured down

on the land.

When Pharaoh saw

that the rain and hail

and thunder had stopped

he sinned again.

He and his officials

hardened their hearts

so Pharaoh's heart

was hard

and he would not

let the Israelites go

just as the Lord

had said

through Moses.

I guess it is

such a famous story

isn't it?

These nine plagues.

We start

quite small scale

with the staff

that turns into a snake.

We then move to blood

and the river Nile

becoming blood

and if you read it

it becomes really unpleasant

because they don't have

any water to drink

but also all the fish die.

I don't know if you ever

walked past a fishmonger

on a Friday night

but the smell of all the fish

that they've thrown away

that they haven't been able

to sell

horrendous.

Just imagine that's running

down the middle

of your city

with dead

Nemo

all over the place.

Then we get frogs

and this too

is utterly disgusting.

It says in the narrative

that frogs

will be absolutely

everywhere.

They'll be in your house

they'll be in your bedroom

they'll be on your bed

they'll be on your kneading troughs

where you make the bread

and they'll be in your ovens

while you cook the bread.

I've got a really nice baker

on Easter Road

called the Manor House.

Frog flavour is not

on the menu.

Not a great thing.

France perhaps.

Easter Road

definitely not.

And it gets to the point

where they pile

all the frogs up

into massive piles

and if rotting fish

is disgusting

rotting frogs

I dread to think.

And for these first

two plagues

the wise men

and sorcerers

in Egypt

copy

Moses.

Now they call themselves

wise men

but it doesn't seem

very wise.

The problem we have

is too much blood

in the rivers

and lots of dead fish.

Pharaoh

we've given you

some more blood

so there'll be

more dead fish.

Problem is

we've got frogs

everywhere

do you know what

we've made some new ones.

Really wise men.

Just really unpleasant.

And then we get

the gnats

or

you could translate it

horsefly

but I like to think

of it like midges

because it reminds me

of the Isle of Skye

where I once

had the most

excruciating

camping holiday

you could ever

imagine.

Two of the three nights

I slept in the car

because I could bear it

no longer

just everywhere

swarms of the things

and then flies.

You know how

when a midgey

bites you

there's a bit of blood?

That's how you know

you've been bitten

by a midgey?

And then just imagine

that the flies come

and they're all like

on all your bites

and that horrible thing

that goes

just like getting in there

just disgusting.

Really unpleasant.

And then round five

the cows get it

and the livestock

which in an agrarian society

like Egypt

this is a real problem.

If all your cows

and sheep

die.

And then it starts

to hit people

festering boils.

I'm not a big fan

of the boil

at the best of times

but a festering boil

that's like the worst kind.

And then the hail

that we read about

like killer hail.

We're not talking about

when I did the Holyrood run

round Edinburgh

at the beginning of January

and there was like

little hail

that was like being shot

with a BB gun.

This was like being hit

with a rock

just coming down

and coming down

and wiping out everything.

And then there were

the locusts

just taking out

everything that hadn't

already been destroyed

by the hail.

And then darkness.

Absolute terror

for three days.

And what does

the narrative say?

Darkness

that could be felt.

Like that eerie,

horrible,

thick,

tangible

darkness.

darkness.

And then round 10

comes which Kenny

is going to tell us

about next week.

And I guess

what are we to make

about this?

Is this just

ammunition

for the militant

atheist to say

yes truly

God is vindictive?

And he does go

on these tirades

and afflict

terrible pain

on people.

Is it a slur campaign

to stop people

going on holiday

to Egypt?

Well I have to say

no.

That the big point

of this whole

passage

is that God

will be God

and everyone

will know it.

God

will be God

and everyone

will know it.

And I want to show

you six really

quick things

to show you

where I get this

from.

Here's the first.

God is proving

he is the Lord.

God is proving

he is the Lord.

So helpful

to have the text

in front of you.

Chapter 7

verse 17

this is what God

says.

By this

you will know

that I am

the Lord.

With the staff

that is in my hand

I will strike

the water of the Nile

and it will be

changed to blood.

Chapter 8

verse 10

Moses replied

it will be

as you say

so that you

may know

there is no one

like the Lord

our God.

Chapter 9

verse 14

Or this time

I will send

the full force

of my plagues

against you

and against your

officials

and your people

so you may know

that there is

no one like me

in all the earth.

God is saying

I'm the Lord.

I'm in charge

I'm sovereign

there's no one

like me

I'm utterly unique

completely distinct

no one like me

I'm in absolute

control of absolutely

everything

and what I say

happens and no one

can stand against me

I am the

grand fromage

and before me

Pharaoh is just

a poor

sniveling

ruler

God is proving

he's unequaled

unparalleled

undisputed

uniquely supreme

he's the sovereign

soul

all knowing

and all powerful

ruler of all

the earth

that's what he's

communicating to

Egypt

and his people

also these aren't

arbitrary acts

he's not just

gone to his

conjuring case

and pulled out

some interesting

tricks

every single

one of these

plagues

is an attack

on an Egyptian

God

so

Canaan

and Happy

and Osiris

are gods

associated with

the Nile

Uetik

is God

of the flies

and Yahweh

seems to

control the

flies

not

Uetik

Nut

is the

God of the sky

Isis and Seth

are God of

agriculture

and Shu

is God

of the weather

particularly

Heo

and yet it

seems that

Yahweh

has got that

completely

at his

beck and

court

and that

these gods

are nothing

but the

invention

of men

and then

there's

Re

and Ammon

Re

and Aten

and Atom

and Horus

all gods

of the sun

and yet

are completely

powerless

when God

turns the

lights out

can do

absolutely

nothing

this is

what God

is saying

about himself

I am God

and you

will need

to know

it

God

will be

God

and everyone

will know

it

it's the

second thing

we see

that God

is producing

worshippers

it's probably

the most famous

line in the

book of Exodus

where Moses

repeatedly stands

before Pharaoh

and says

hopefully he said

it with a bit

more enthusiasm

than that

because otherwise

Pharaoh would

never let them

go

he says

let my people

go and that's

where we think

it stops

but every single

time he says

it he follows

it up with

another phrase

let my people

go so that

they may

worship

me

let my people

go so that

they may

worship

me

just look

with me

at chapter

10

verses 1

and 2

then the

Lord said

to Moses

go to

Pharaoh

for I

have

hardened

his heart

and the

hearts

of his

officials

so that

I may

perform

these

signs

of mine

among

them

that

you

may

tell

your

children

and

grandchildren

how I

dealt

harshly

with the

Egyptians

and how

I performed

my signs

among

them

and that

you may

know

that I

am

the

Lord

see

God

is

revealing

himself

to

two

sets

of

people

he's

revealing

himself

to the

Egyptians

saying

that all

your gods

are completely

useless

compared

to me

but he's

also

giving his

people

reasons

to

worship

him

they've

been in

Egypt

400

years

they've

never

seen

God

act

like

this

and now

they know

that their

God

controls

hail

and frogs

can turn

off the

sun

whenever

he wants

and they

go do

you know

what

he's

real

and he's

worth

worshipping

I can't

wait to

get home

and tell

my

children

about

this

and when

they have

children

the

grandchildren

and we'll

have family

devotion times

just worshipping

God

because he's

awesome

and unparalleled

in all the

earth

do you see

what God is

saying

he's saying

God will

be God

and everyone

will know

it

everyone

will know

it

Israelites

and Egyptians

alike

there's

also

something

really

brilliant

going

on

that

we

see

God

is

providing

grace

God

is

providing

grace

a plague

four

with the

flies

something

new

happens

the

Nile

blood

frogs

everywhere

midges

annoying

and then

a plague

four

something

really

different

happens

look at

chapter 8

verse 22

but that

day

I will

deal

differently

with the

land of

Goshen

where my

people

live

no

swarms

of flies

will be

there

so that

you will

know

that I

the

Lord

am in

this

land

look at

chapter 9

verse 4

love the

sound of

rustling

pages

but the

Lord will

make a

distinction

between the

livestock of

Israel and

that of

Egypt

so that

no animal

belonging to

the Israelites

will die

chapter 9

verse 26

once you see

these things

they're everywhere

the only place

it did not

hail

was the land

of Goshen

where the

Israelites

were

chapter 10

verse 23

no one

could see

anyone else

or move

about for

three days

yet

all the

Israelites

had light

in the

places

where they

lived

do you see

how God

is gracious

to his

people

see how he

makes a

distinction

that because

they're his

people

they don't

suffer these

mighty acts

of judgment

that are

coming on

the land

they're safe

he's looking

out for

them

they don't

deserve it

we've already

seen that

they're a

moany bunch

of disbelieving

quasi-Egyptians

but yet God

is so gracious

to them

he makes a

distinction

that his

people are

safe

and everyone

else suffers

he pours out

grace on

undeserving

people

saving them

from judgment

purely because

they're his

people

credible truth

isn't it

judgment

comes and

God's people

are safe

in Exodus

they're safe

by being found

in ethnic

Israel

today you

are safe

when judgment

comes

fully and

finally

not if

you're an

ethnic

Israelite

but if

by faith

you've

trusted

the Lord

Jesus

that is

a sure

and certain

promise

you can

take to

the bank

every day

of the week

and when

judgment

comes

fully and

finally

the only

safe place

is the

Lord Jesus

I was really

disappointed at

Christmas

because Rupert

Murdoch

brought all

the rights

to the

film

Elf

which is

my absolute

favorite film

and I love

that bit

when Santa

comes to

the department

store

and what

does Buddy

the Elf

say

Santa

I know

him

that's what's

held out to

us in the

Lord Jesus

that when

judgment

comes

we're not on

the receiving

end because

we know

God

God

and we've

trusted

his son

that's

open to

anyone

who will

come

God

will be

God

and everyone

will

know it

point number

four

God is

proclaiming

sovereign

power

and mercy

to go

back to

chapter 9

verse 15

for by

now I

could have

stretched out

my hand

and struck

you and

your people

with a

plague that

would have

wiped you

off the

earth

do you see

how God

is merciful

that he's

judging

them

but he's

not wiping

them off

the earth

his judgment

is supposed

to be

corrective

not merely

punitive

he is trying

to address

their view

of who God

is that he

really is

the Lord

and therefore

these judgments

come and

they're terrible

but they're not

as bad as

they could have

been

because he

says at

the click

of my

fingers

I could

have sent

hail

and Egypt

would have

been confined

to the

almanac

of history

he relents

from destroying

Egypt

he gives

them space

for grace

it's like

the parable

of the wheat

and tares

where God

allows both

the wheat

that is his

and the tares

that aren't

his to grow

up together

without bringing

final judgment

so there might

be real hope

do you know

what we look

out on our

world

and things

are pretty

bleak

but they're

not as bad

as they

could have

been

they're not

as horrendous

if God

didn't have

his restraining

hand over

the world

keeping it

in check

he does this

in four ways

I think he

gives us a

conscience

Romans 2

so people

aren't as bad

as they could

otherwise be

he's given

us the Holy

Spirit who

convicts the

world of sin

and righteousness

and judgment

kind of

amplifying

that work

of the

conscience

the witness

of the

church

he says

is like

salt and

light

in the

world

and civil

authority

that we

learnt about

last Sunday

night in

Romans 13

God is

restraining

the world

from being

as bad

as it

could be

in order

to allow

space for

grace

so that

when final

judgment

comes

people will

trust his

son

and find

grace

and safety

you see

this is what

it's all

about

God will

be God

everyone

will know

it

the key

is will

we know

it now

will we

trust it

now

will we

turn to

him

now

number

five

we're nearly

done

you've

listened

well

God

is

probing

Pharaoh's

hearts

you can

almost say

that this

whole

passage

is almost

like a

battle

for one

heart

Pharaoh's

heart

there's

lots of

different

ways that

Pharaoh's

heart

is hardened

it says

that Pharaoh

hardened

his heart

it says

that Pharaoh's

heart was

hardened

and it

says God

hardened

Pharaoh's

heart

three different

ways going

on and in

fact it says

each of them

four times

Puritans

had this

great phrase

the sun

that melts

the wax

also

hardens

the clay

the more

times we

hear that

God is

God and

everyone

will know

it but

we don't

respond in

repentance

and faith

and get

with the

program

we become

resistant

and in

Pharaoh's

life that

resistance is

built up to

such a point

there's real

urgency

because your

heart does

become calcified

and impenetrable

God will

be God

and absolutely

everyone

will know

last point

and then

we're done

God is

provoked

by false

repentance

God is

provoked

by false

repentance

Pharaoh is a

classic case

of what it

means to

repent

wrongly

to be

sorrow

filled

but not

turn to

God

let me

give you

these

chapter 8

verse 15

but when

Pharaoh saw

that there

was relief

he hardened

his heart

and would

not listen

to Moses

and Aaron

just as

the Lord

had said

do you

see what

it was

relief

not repentance

he wanted

an easier

life but

not God

himself

so he

doesn't turn

to God

he just

wants to

turn away

from his

suffering

relief

not

repentance

is

false

repentance

just want

things slightly

easier than

they already

are

look at

chapter 8

verse 25

then Pharaoh

summoned

Moses

and Aaron

and said

go sacrifice

to your

God here

in the

land

verse 28

Pharaoh said

I will

not let

you go

to offer

sacrifices

to the

Lord

your God

in the

wilderness

but you

may not

go very

far

now pray

for me

or chapter

10

verse 8

then Moses

and Aaron

said

then Moses

and Aaron

will walk

back to

Pharaoh

go worship

the Lord

your God

he said

but tell

me who

will be

going

Moses

answered

we will

be going

with our

young

and our

old

with our

sons

and our

daughters

and with

our flocks

and herds

because we

are to

celebrate a

festival to

the Lord

Pharaoh said

the Lord

will be

with you

if I let

you go

along with

your women

and children

clearly you

are bent

on evil

no

let only

the men

go and

worship

the Lord

he's

bargaining

not

obeying

he's

becoming

convinced

that God

really is

God

but rather

than get

with the

program

and turn

to him

he says

let it be

on my

terms

let it be

only if

it's how I

want it to

be just a

few men

and a few

women

and repentance

is a call

for unconditional

surrender

and then

chapter 9

verse 27

then Pharaoh

summoned Moses

and Aaron

this time

I have

sinned

he said

to them

the Lord

is right

and I

and my

people

are in

the wrong

pray to

the Lord

for we

have had

enough

thunder

and hail

I will

let you

go

you don't

have to

stay

any longer

verse 34

when Pharaoh

saw that the

rain and hail

and thunder

had stopped

he sinned

again

he and his

officials

hardened

their hearts

last way

to falsely

repent

to confess

but to

continue

to confess

but to

continue

he says

surely I

have

sinned

so he's

turning away

from sin

but when it

gets better

it's not a

180 turning

to God

he simply

just does a

360 and

turns back

to sin

false

false repentance

relief

not repentance

bargaining

not obeying

confessing

but continuing

I wonder if

that's true

in your life

stuff going

on that you've

not turned

from

to God

you keep

it as a

little pet

you feed it

from time

to time

I wonder if

that's what

God's saying

to us this

morning

confess

turn

trust

classic

case is

the prodigal

son

he's in

the field

what does it

say he

got up

from the

slop of

his life

and he

turns around

and he

goes home

that's what

repentance

is

turning from

sin to

God

and anything

that's not

true repentance

provokes

God

here's what

we learnt

God

will be

God

and everyone

will know

it

God

will be

God

and everyone

will know

what does

this look

like

in life

well if

you're a

Christian

here today

this morning

perhaps it

is that

your worship

for God

has become

dry and

dusty

maybe it's

a case

like

the Egyptian

the Israelites

had to

to remember

what God

had done

for them

to remember

how he had

blessed them

and blessed

them and

shown his

mighty power

in Egypt

that he gave

them reasons

to worship

perhaps this

week to

not have

dry and

dusty and

cerebral

worship of

God

perhaps that's

it every

morning just

rehearse

and remember

everything that

God has done

for you

there's a

passage on the

back of the

outline that

will be so

helpful from a

guy called

Jerry Bridges

perhaps it

is that God

is a passenger

in your life

you like having

him around but

he's not really

driving it

perhaps today is

the day to

hand over the

keys to your

life

perhaps there's

stuff in your

life that's

habitual set

just keep

feeding it

you've tried

but you've

failed

perhaps today

you turn from

it once and

for all and

ask for help

from people

around

but perhaps

you're not a

Christian

so great

you're here

you have a

little window

into everything

that we're

about

God has and

is revealing

himself to

us he's done

it in this

passage

doing it

all the time

he's showing

you that he

really is God

and it's vital

that you know

it

he's done

this most

profoundly and

poignantly in

his son

the Lord

Jesus

the one who

is the image

of the invisible

God

want to know

what God

is like

look at the

Lord Jesus

no

there's space

for grace in

the present

space for

grace

you're living

and breathing

today and that

is an extension

of God's

grace

grace to

you

but one day

judgment will

come that

will make

these plagues

in Egypt

look like

absolute

child's play

when God

rolls up

history

brings everything

to a close

and judges

the world

in righteousness

and justice

there's only

one safe place

to be found

and that is

having trusted

Jesus with

all of your

life and your

eventual death

judgment will

fall

and the one

thing that

will matter

on that day

is do you

know him

do you

know him

says in the

Psalms

today if you

harden your

heart

today if you

hear his

voice

don't harden

your hearts

pray that would

be true

for each of

us

why don't we

just have a

minute silence

let's just

think about

what God is

calling us to

do this

morning as he

declares into

our lives

I am God

you must

know it

there's that

story isn't

there of six

blind men

touching an

elephant and

they all have

different impressions

about what the

elephant is like

one person

touches the

trunk and

says it's

like a

snake

one person

touches the

tail and

says it's

like a

rope

one person

touches the

stomach and

says it's

like a

wall

it's a

really interesting

story but

there's three

massive problems

with it

as the

narrator of

the story

you're claiming

to be the

only one that

can see fully

which is

slightly arrogant

I think

the Hindu

proverb is