Moses message 6
As we come to our Scripture reading for today’s message, I wanted to open today by reviewing all the instances where Pharaoh hardened his heart or ultimately God hardened his heart to show where stubbornness leads. Pharaoh’s stubborn refusal to bend before God lead to his judicial hardening and the destruction of the land of Egypt, the destruction of his army, and the death of thousands.
Exodus 7: 20 So Moses and Aaron did thus, as Yahweh had commanded. And he raised up [r]the staff and struck the water that was in the Nile, in the sight of Pharaoh and in the sight of his servants, and all the water that was in the Nile was turned to blood.
22 Yet the [t]magicians of Egypt did [u]the same with their secret arts; and Pharaoh’s heart was [v]hardened with strength, and he did not listen to them, as Yahweh had spoken. 23 Then Pharaoh turned and went into his house, and he did not set his heart even on this.
Exodus 8: (God smote the) whole territory with frogs.
8 Then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron and said, “Entreat Yahweh that He may cause the frogs to depart from me and from my people; and I will let the people go, that they may sacrifice to Yahweh.” 15 Then Pharaoh saw that there was relief, and he [j]hardened his heart with firmness and did not listen to them, as Yahweh had spoken.
16 Then Yahweh said to Moses, “Say to Aaron, ‘Stretch out your staff and strike the dust of the earth, that it may become [k]gnats through all the land of Egypt.’”
19 And the [q]magicians said to Pharaoh, “This is the finger of God.” But Pharaoh’s heart was [r]hardened with strength, and he did not listen to them, as Yahweh had spoken.
20 And Yahweh said to Moses, “Rise early in the morning and stand before Pharaoh [s]as he comes out to the water, and you shall say to him, ‘Thus says Yahweh, “Let My people go, that they may serve Me. 21 For if you do not let My people go, behold, I will send swarms of flies on you and on your servants and on your people and into your houses; and the houses of the Egyptians will be full of swarms of flies, and also the ground on which they stand.
28 And Pharaoh said, “I will let you go, that you may sacrifice to Yahweh your God in the wilderness; only you shall not go very far away. Entreat for me.”
30 So Moses went out from Pharaoh and entreated Yahweh. 31 And Yahweh did according to the word of Moses and caused the swarms of flies to depart from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people; not one remained. 32 Then Pharaoh [y]hardened his heart with firmness this time also, and he did not let the people go.
Exodus 9: (Let my people go or...) 3 behold, the hand of Yahweh [b]will come with a very heavy pestilence on your livestock which are in the field, on the horses, on the donkeys, on the camels, on the herds, and on the flocks.
6 So Yahweh did this thing on the next day, and all the livestock of Egypt died; but of the livestock of the sons of Israel, not one died. 7 And Pharaoh sent, and behold, there was not even one of the livestock of Israel dead. But the heart of Pharaoh was [c]hardened with firmness, and he did not let the people go.
That’s where we left off last time.
(Boils and sores on man and beast) 12 And Yahweh [f]hardened Pharaoh’s heart with strength, and he did not listen to them, just as Yahweh had spoken to Moses.
(Heavy hail that destroyed crops, and life) 34 But Pharaoh saw that the rain and the hail and the [w]thunder had ceased. So he sinned again and [x]hardened his heart with firmness, he and his servants. 35 And Pharaoh’s heart was [y]hardened with strength, and he did not let the sons of Israel go, just as Yahweh had spoken by the hand of Moses.
(Locusts that consumed all plant life) Exodus 10: 18 And he went out from Pharaoh and entreated Yahweh. 19 So Yahweh changed the wind to a very strong west wind which took up the locusts and drove them into the [o]Red Sea; not one locust remained in all the territory of Egypt. 20 But Yahweh [p]hardened Pharaoh’s heart with strength, and he did not let the sons of Israel go.
(Darkness over the land) 27 But Yahweh [s]hardened Pharaoh’s heart with strength, and he was not willing to let them go. 28 Then Pharaoh said to him, “Get away from me! [t]Beware, do not see my face again, for in the day you see my face you shall die!”
Exodus 11: 10 Now Moses and Aaron did all these miraculous wonders before Pharaoh; yet Yahweh [e]hardened Pharaoh’s heart with strength, and he did not let the sons of Israel go out of his land.
There is one more plague: the death of the firstborn. The firstborn of every household died in one night. After this Pharaoh finally let them go. But even after that, when he saw that they were leaving the country, he hardened his heart and sent his chariots to pursue them, resulting in his army perishing in the Red Sea.
Why did all this happen?
Exodus 9: 13 And Yahweh said to Moses, “Rise up early in the morning and stand before Pharaoh, and you shall say to him, ‘Thus says Yahweh, the God of the Hebrews, “Let My people go, that they may serve Me. 14 For this time I will send all My plagues against your heart and amongst your servants and your people, so that you may know that there is no one like Me in all the earth. 15 For if by now I had sent forth My hand and struck you and your people with pestilence, you would then have been wiped out from the earth. 16 But, indeed, for this reason I have caused you to stand, in order to show you My power and in order to recount My name through all the earth.
Well, we are looking at the ten plagues that God struck Egypt with as those kinds of learning tools. And they weren’t just to teach Pharaoh, or the Egyptians, but God’s people the Israelites as well. And each plague was unique in the lesson that God was teaching. The Nile turning to blood was to get them to listen. The frogs were to demonstrate God’s power. The Mosquitos were to demonstrate that God is the Only God and Only Savior. The flies taught that God punishes the unrighteous and protects the righteous. And the livestock dying cattle showed God’s judgment on bullheadedness.
Today, we continue with our study of the ten plagues and the message that God was teaching with each. We go today to the sixth plague.
prayer
6. Boils (Exodus 9:8–12) God causes suffering to bring a person to humility or shame:
8 Then Yahweh said to Moses and Aaron, “Take for yourselves handfuls of soot from a kiln, and let Moses toss it toward the sky in the sight of Pharaoh. 9 And it will become fine dust over all the land of Egypt, and it will become boils breaking out with sores on man and beast through all the land of Egypt.” 10 So they took the soot from the kiln and stood before Pharaoh; and Moses tossed it toward the sky, and it became boils breaking out with sores on man and beast.
So. what is this plague?
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers
THE SIXTH PLAGUE.
(8-10) Here, again, there is little question of what the plague was. Doubts may be entertained as to its exact character, and its proper medical designation, but all agree, and cannot but agree, that it was a visitation of the bodies of men with a severe cutaneous disorder, accompanied by pustules or ulcers. It was not announced beforehand to the Egyptians, nor were they allowed the opportunity of escaping it. Like the third plague, it was altogether of the nature of a judgment; and the judgment was a severe one. Now, for the first time, was acute suffering inflicted on the persons of men; now, for the first time, was it shown how Jehovah could smite with a terrible disease; and if with a disease, why not with death? No doubt those stricken suffered unequally; but with some the affliction may have resembled the final affliction of Job, when he was smitten with “sore boils from the sole of his foot unto his crown” (Job 2:7).
And I said that God sent it to humble or bring shame. Notice what it says about the magicians with this plague.
11 And the [d]magicians could not stand before Moses because of the boils, for the boils were on the magicians [e]as well as on all the Egyptians.
Something of note. The order of the plagues. Blood affected the river, frogs affected the land, mosquitos and flies affected the air, murrain affected the cattle. God struck lower life first as a warning to man. God struck the cattle before He struck man. And He struck the cattle with death. He strikes man with pain, but not yet death. He is bringing them to humility. We may often imagine that God is gleefully dealing out death and destruction. But we can see by the order of these plagues that He desires to bring them to repentance.
Do I have any pleasure in the death of the wicked,” declares Lord Yahweh, “is it not that he should turn from his ways and live?
In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations
For I have no pleasure in the death of anyone who dies,” declares Lord Yahweh. “Therefore, turn back and live.”
In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations
Say to them, ‘As I live!’ declares Lord Yahweh, ‘I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that the wicked turn from his way and live. Turn back, turn back from your evil ways! Why then will you die, O house of Israel?’
The message
Ashes of the furnace - The act was evidently symbolic: the ashes were to be sprinkled toward heaven, challenging, so to speak, the Egyptian deities. There may possibly be a reference to an Egyptian custom of scattering to the winds ashes of victims offered to Typhon.
Imhotep – God of Healing and Wisdom
Furnaces in Egypt were either for the melting of metal, the preparing of lime, or the baking of bricks. It was probably from a furnace of this last kind that the ashes were now taken. Much of Goshen had been converted into a brick-field (Exodus 1:14; Exodus 5:7-13);
They had oppressed Israel in the furnaces, and now the ashes of the furnace are made as much a terror to them as ever their task masters had been to the Israelites. “The matter of this plague,” says Ainsworth, “is from the fire, which also being one of the elements they deified, is here made the instrument of evil to them, and reclaimed by Jehovah to his service, in punishment of its deluded votaries, who worshipped the creature more than the Creator.” A former miracle was from water, and the next from air, to show that God rules in all. It became a bile — A sore, angry swelling, or inflammation; breaking forth with blains — Or blisters, quickly raised; upon man and upon beast —
12 And Yahweh [f]hardened Pharaoh’s heart with strength, and he did not listen to them, just as Yahweh had spoken to Moses.
Deuteronomy 8:2–3 (ESV)
“And you shall remember the whole way that the Lord your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness, that he might humble you, testing you to know what was in your heart… And he humbled you and let you hunger and fed you with manna…”
Job 5:17–18 (ESV) “Behold, blessed is the one whom God reproves; therefore despise not the discipline of the Almighty. For he wounds, but he binds up; he shatters, but his hands heal.”
Psalm 119:67 (ESV) “Before I was afflicted I went astray, but now I keep your word.”
Proverbs 3:11–12 (ESV) “My son, do not despise the Lord’s discipline or be weary of his reproof, for the Lord reproves him whom he loves, as a father the son in whom he delights.”
Daniel 4:37 (ESV) — Nebuchadnezzar's confession “Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and extol and honor the King of heaven… and those who walk in pride he is able to humble.”
2 Corinthians 12:7–9 (ESV) “…a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited… Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses…”
Hebrews 12:10–11 (ESV) “He disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness. For the moment all discipline seems painful… but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness…”
James 4:6 (ESV) “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”
7. The plague of hail: Exodus 9:13 God sends suffering to bring His glory to all the earth
13 And Yahweh said to Moses, “Rise up early in the morning and stand before Pharaoh, and you shall say to him, ‘Thus says Yahweh, the God of the Hebrews, “Let My people go, that they may serve Me. 14 For this time I will send all My plagues against your heart and amongst your servants and your people, so that you may know that there is no one like Me in all the earth. 15 For if by now I had sent forth My hand and struck you and your people with pestilence, you would then have been wiped out from the earth. 16 But, indeed, for this reason I have caused you to stand, in order to show you My power and in order to recount My name through all the earth.
No one like me on the earth.
I could have wiped you off of the earth.
I raised you up so my name would be recounted through all the earth.
It is the first plague that attacks human life; and this it does upon a large scale: all those exposed to it perish (Exodus 9:19). (3) It is more destructive than any previous plague to property. It not only slays cattle, like the murrain. but destroys plants and trees (Exodus 9:25), and ruins half the harvest (Exodus 9:31). (4) It is accompanied with terrible demonstrations—“mighty thunderings,” huge hailstones, rain, and fire that “runs along upon the ground” (Exodus 9:23). (5) It is made to test the degree of faith to which the Egyptians have attained, by means of a revelation of the way whereby it may be escaped (Exodus 9:20).
The seventh plague was peculiarly astonishing and alarming to the Egyptians, because hail and thunder, even rain, were rare phenomena in their country; and a thunderstorm accompanied by such features as characterised this one was absolutely unknown. The hailstones must have been of an enormous size and weight to kill men and cattle. The “fire infolding itself amid the hail” must indicate a very unusual form of the electric fluid. It is not surprising that the visitation brought down the pride of Pharaoh more than any preceding one, and made him for the time consent unconditionally to the people’s departure
The injury caused by the plague was very great. The flax and barley crops, which were the most advanced suffered complete destruction. Men and beasts were wounded by the hail-stones, which might have been - as hail-stones sometimes are - jagged pieces of ice; and some were even killed, either by the hail (see Joshua 10:11), or by the lightning which accompanied it. Even trees were damaged by the force of the storm, which destroyed the foliage and broke the branches.
17 Still you [g]exalt yourself against My people [h]by not letting them go. 18 Behold, about this time tomorrow, I will rain down very heavy hail, such as has not been seen in Egypt from the day it was founded [i]until now. 19 So now, send, bring your livestock and whatever you have in the field to safety. Every man and beast that is found in the field and is not brought home, the hail will come down on them, and they will die.”’” 20 The one among the servants of Pharaoh who [j]feared the word of Yahweh made his servants and his livestock flee into the houses; 21 but he who did not [k]consider in his heart the word of Yahweh [l]left his servants and his livestock in the field.
The reason why God had not destroyed Pharaoh at once was twofold: (1) that Pharaoh himself might experience (הראת to cause to see, i.e., to experience) the might of Jehovah, by which he was compelled more than once to give glory to Jehovah (Exodus 9:27; Exodus 10:16-17; Exodus 12:31); and (2) that the name of Jehovah might be declared throughout all the earth. As both the rebellion of the natural man against the word and will of God, and the hostility of the world-power to the Lord and His people, were concentrated in Pharaoh, so there were manifested in the judgments suspended over him the patience and grace of the living God, quite as much as His holiness, justice, and omnipotence, as a warning to impenitent sinners, and a support to the faith of the godly, in a manner that should by typical for all times and circumstances of the kingdom of God in conflict with the ungodly world. The report of this glorious manifestation of Jehovah spread at once among all the surrounding nations (cf. Exodus 15:14.), and travelled not only to the Arabians, but to the Greeks and Romans also, and eventually with the Gospel of Christ to all the nations of the earth (vid., Tholuck on Romans 9:17).
Such as hath not been in Egypt since the foundation thereof.—Rain, and even hail, are not unknown at the present day in Lower Egypt, though they are, comparatively speaking, rare phenomena. Thunderstorms are especially uncommon, and when they occur are for the most part mild and harmless. A thunderstorm which killed a man in Thevenot’s time (Voyages, vol. i., p. 344) was regarded as most extraordinary, and “spread universal consternation.” There is hail from time to time between November and March; but it very seldom does any considerable damage.
23 So Moses stretched out his staff toward the sky, and Yahweh gave forth [m]thunder and hail, and fire went down to the earth. And Yahweh rained down hail on the land of Egypt. 24 So there was hail, and fire [n]flashing continually in the midst of the hail, very heavy, such as had not been in all the land of Egypt since it became a nation. 25 And the hail struck all that was in the field through all the land of Egypt, from man to beast; the hail also struck every plant of the field and shattered every tree of the field. 26 Only in the land of Goshen, where the sons of Israel were, there was no hail.
27 Then Pharaoh sent and called for Moses and Aaron and said to them, “I have sinned this time; Yahweh is the righteous one, and I and my people are the wicked ones. 28 Entreat Yahweh, for God’s [o]thunder and hail are too much; and I will let you go, and you shall stay no longer.” 29 And Moses said to him, “As soon as I go out of the city, I will spread out my [p]hands to Yahweh; the [q]thunder will cease, and there will be hail no longer, that you may know that the earth is Yahweh’s. 30 But as for you and your servants, I know that you do not yet [r]fear [s]Yahweh God.” 31 (Now 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 spelt were not struck down, for they are late-ripening.) 33 And Moses went out of the city from Pharaoh and spread out his [t]hands to Yahweh; and the [u]thunder and the hail ceased, and rain [v]no longer poured on the earth. 34 But Pharaoh saw that the rain and the hail and the [w]thunder had ceased. So, he sinned again and [x]hardened his heart with firmness, he and his servants. 35 And Pharaoh’s heart was [y]hardened with strength, and he did not let the sons of Israel go, just as Yahweh had spoken by the hand of Moses.
3 Then Moses and Aaron came to Pharaoh and said to him, “Thus says Yahweh, the God of the Hebrews, ‘How long will you refuse to humble yourself before Me?
Isaiah 45:6–7 (ESV)
"...that people may know, from the rising of the sun and from the west, that there is none besides me; I am the Lord, and there is no other.
I form light and create darkness; I make well-being and create calamity; I am the Lord, who does all these things."
Ezekiel 38:23 (ESV)
"So I will show my greatness and my holiness and make myself known in the eyes of many nations. Then they will know that I am the Lord."
Habakkuk 2:14 (ESV) "For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea."
John 9:1–3 (ESV) "As he passed by, he saw a man blind from birth. And his disciples asked him, 'Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?'
Jesus answered, 'It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him.'"
8. Locusts: Exodus 10: Suffering to destroy all hope but God, message to future generations
Then Yahweh said to Moses, “Come to Pharaoh, for I have [a]hardened his heart and the heart of his servants with firmness, that I may [b]set these signs of Mine [c]among them, 2 and that you may recount in the [d]hearing of your son and of your grandson, how I dealt severely with the Egyptians, and how I [e]put My signs among them, that you may know that I am Yahweh.” 3 Then Moses and Aaron came to Pharaoh and said to him, “Thus says Yahweh, 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 territory. 5 And they shall cover the [f]surface of the land, so that no one will be able to see the land. They will also eat the rest of what has escaped—what remains for you from the hail—and they will eat every tree which sprouts for you out of the field. 6 Then your houses and the houses of all your servants and the houses of all the Egyptians shall be filled, something which neither your fathers nor your grandfathers have seen, from the day that they [g]came upon the earth until this day.’” And he turned and went out from Pharaoh. 7 And Pharaoh’s servants said to him, “How long will this man be a snare to us? Let the men go, that they may serve Yahweh their God. Do you not yet know that Egypt is destroyed?”
Locusts are an occasional, though not a frequent, scourge in Egypt. They are not bred there, and necessarily arrive from some foreign country. When they descend, their ravages are as severe as elsewhere. “In the present day,” says Mr. Stuart Poole, “locusts suddenly appear in the cultivated land, coming from the desert in a column of great length. They fly across the country, darkening the air with their compact ranks, which are undisturbed by the constant attacks of kites, crows, and vultures, and making a strange whizzing sound, like that of fire, or many distant wheels. Where they alight they devour every green thing, even stripping the trees of their leaves. Rewards are offered for their destruction; but no labour can seriously reduce their numbers”
After the loss of their cattle by murrain and hail, and the ruin of the flax and barley crops by the latter agency, nothing was wanting to complete the desolation of the country and the impoverishment of its inhabitants but the ruin of the wheat and doora crops, which the locusts speedily effected.
There will be nothing to eat.
God's "great army," as they are elsewhere called (Joel 2:25),
"A fire devoureth before them; and behind them a flame burneth: the land is as the garden of Eden before them, and behind them a desolate wilderness" (Joel 2:3). They destroy every atom of foliage - crops, vegetables, shrubs, trees - even the bark of the fruit-trees suffers - the stems are injured, the smaller branches completely peeled and "made white" (Joel 1:7).
The plagues of Egypt show the sinfulness of sin. They warn the children of men not to strive with their Maker. Pharaoh had pretended to humble himself; but no account was made of it, for he was not sincere therein. The plague of locusts is threatened.
Set (Seth) – God of Chaos and Storms
Apep (Apophis) – Serpent of Chaos
Psalm 105: 25 He turned their heart to hate His people,
To deal craftily with His slaves.
26 He sent Moses His servant,
And Aaron, whom He had chosen.
27 They set forth the words of His signs among them,
And miracles in the land of Ham.
28 He sent darkness and made it dark;
And they did not rebel against His words.
29 He turned their waters into blood
And caused their fish to die.
30 Their land swarmed with frogs
Even in the chambers of their kings.
31 He spoke, and there came a swarm of flies
And gnats in all their territory.
32 He [f]gave them hail for rain,
And flaming fire in their land.
33 He also struck down their vines and their fig trees,
And He shattered the trees of their territory.
34 He spoke, and locusts came,
And creeping locusts, without number,
35 And [g]they ate up all vegetation in their land,
And [h]they ate up the fruit of their ground.
36 He also struck down all the firstborn in their land,
The first of all their vigor.
Let the men go.—Though the heart of Pharaoh remained hard, the plagues had a certain effect on the minds of the Egyptians. First, the magicians were impressed, and said, “This is the finger of God” (Exodus 8:19). Then a certain number of the people “feared the word of the Lord, and made their servants and their cattle flee into the houses” (Exodus 9:20). Now the very officers of the Court, those who were in the closest contact with the king, believed that the words of Moses would come true, and counselled the king to yield, and “let the men go.” It has been supposed that they meant “the men only” (Knobel, Cook); but this is pure conjecture. The word used, which is not that of Exodus 10:11, would cover women and children. The officers of the Court—rich landowners mostly—would dread impending ruin if the wheat and doora crops were destroyed, and would intend to counsel entire submission.
Slowly word is spreading-Israelites, magicians, certain of the people, but word is to go to the world and to succeeding generations
8 So Moses and Aaron were brought back to Pharaoh, and he said to them, “Go, serve Yahweh your God! [h]Who are the ones that are going?” 9 And Moses said, “We shall go with our young and our old; with our sons and our daughters, with our flocks and our herds we shall go, for it is a feast of Yahweh for us.” 10 Then he said to them, “Thus may Yahweh be with you, [i]if ever I let you and your little ones go! See, for evil is [j]on your faces. 11 Not so! Go now, the men among you, and serve Yahweh, for [k]that is what you are seeking.” So they were driven out from Pharaoh’s presence.
14 And the locusts came up over all the land of Egypt and rested on all the territory of Egypt; they were very heavy. There had never been so many [m]locusts, nor would there be so many [n]again. 15 For they covered the surface of the whole land, so that the land was darkened; and they ate every plant of the land and all the fruit of the trees that the hail had left. Thus nothing green was left on tree or plant of the field through all the land of Egypt.
Deuteronomy 8:3, 5–6 (ESV)
“And he humbled you and let you hunger and fed you with manna… that he might make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord...
Know then in your heart that, as a man disciplines his son, the Lord your God disciplines you.”
Lamentations 3:16–24 (ESV)
“He has made my teeth grind on gravel… my soul is bereft of peace…
so I say, ‘My endurance has perished; so has my hope from the Lord.’
…But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases...”
Psalm 73:25–26 (ESV)
“Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you.
My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.”
Psalm 102:18 (ESV)
“Let this be recorded for a generation to come, so that a people yet to be created may praise the Lord.”
Joel 1:2–3 (ESV)
“Hear this, you elders; give ear, all inhabitants of the land!
Has such a thing happened in your days…?
Tell your children of it, and let your children tell their children, and their children to another generation.”
2 Corinthians 1:8–9 (ESV)
“For we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself.
Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead.”