Plagues

Classic Service | Modern Service | Sermon Audio

Good morning Chapel family. We’re taking this summer to walk through the book of Exodus, which is all about God taking the people of Israel from where they were—which was slaves in Egypt—and bringing them to where he wanted them to be—which was their new homeland. So Exodus is all about that movement from here to there. And the reason that’s so relevant is that this is exactly what God does in our lives. So if you are feeling stuck or stagnant or hopeless about the future, Exodus can give you a fresh vision of this God who is working to bring you from here to there.

So let’s do a quick review: God spoke to Moses in the desert. And He said, “I want you to go up to Pharaoh—the king of Egypt—and demand that he set my people free.” So Moses tried it…and Pharaoh basically laughed at him, and then made the working conditions for the Israelites unbearable. So now, not only was Pharaoh mad at Moses; Moses’ own people resented him. And then God said, “Go back to Pharaoh and tell him to let my people go.” Moses said, “Haven’t we tried this already?” And God said, “Trust me.” So Moses went back to Pharaoh again; and once again, in the words of Scripture, his heart was hardened. So he refused to let the people go. And that’s where we left off last time, in the middle of chapter seven.

So today, we come to a part of Exodus that’s pretty well known, but maybe not that well understood. It’s the account of the Ten Plagues that were unleashed on Egypt (and actually, we’ll save the last one for next week; so we’ll look at the first nine plagues today). And we’re covering a huge section of Scripture, so there’s no way we can read it all. But let’s start by reading about the first plague, and then I’ll summarize the other ones.

Here we go—Exodus 7, verse 14: 14 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Pharaoh’s heart is unyielding; he refuses to let the people go. 15 Go to Pharaoh in the morning as he goes out to the river. Confront him on the bank of the Nile, and take in your hand the staff that was changed into a snake. 16 Then say to him, ‘The LORD, the God of the Hebrews, has sent me to say to you: Let my people go, so that they may worship me in the wilderness. But until now you have not listened. 17 This is what the LORD 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 into blood. 18 The fish in the Nile will die, and the river will stink; the Egyptians will not be able to drink its water.’”

Go to verse 20: 20 Moses and Aaron did just as the LORD had commanded. He raised his staff in the presence of Pharaoh and his officials and struck the water of the Nile, and all the water was changed into blood. 21 The fish in the Nile died, and the river smelled so bad that the Egyptians could not drink its water. Blood was everywhere in Egypt.

22 But the Egyptian magicians did the same things by their secret arts, and Pharaoh’s heart became hard; he would not listen to Moses and Aaron, just as the LORD had said. 23 Instead, he turned and went into his palace, and did not take even this to heart. 24 And all the Egyptians dug along the Nile to get drinking water, because they could not drink the water of the river.

So that’s the first plague—the plague of blood. That’s followed by plagues of frogs, gnats and flies; then a plague that kills a large number of Egyptian livestock; then a plague of boils on the Egyptian animals AND people—so now it starts to hit their own skin; number seven is a plague of hail that destroys a lot of the Egyptian crops; number eight is a plague of locusts that wipes out all the crops

and trees the hail hasn’t destroyed; and number nine is a plague of darkness—God describes it as “darkness that could be felt”—and it blankets the land of Egypt for three full days.

Now, before we get into the main points, three quick observations…

First, the Egyptian magicians are actually able to duplicate the first couple of plagues, but after that, they realize they’re in over their heads, and they give up.

Second thing: After almost every plague, Pharaoh pleads with Moses to take the plague away, and Moses cries out to God, and the plague is stopped.

Third thing: On several occasions, when Pharaoh is feeling the pain of the plague, he promises to let the people go…but then when the plague stops he changes his mind and hardens his heart again.

So after the ninth plague, here’s what happens—Exodus 10:27…27 But the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he was not willing to let them go. 28 Pharaoh said to Moses, “Get out of my sight! Make sure you do not appear before me again! The day you see my face you will die.” 29 “Just as you say,” Moses replied. “I will never appear before you again.”

You can feel the tension and the animosity between Pharaoh and Moses just building and building… and you get the sense that something big is about to happen.

So…the question is…what could this possibly have to do with us? Some people read the plagues, and they say, “I love this. A God who brings swift justice on his enemies. This is great!” Other people say, “I hate this. In fact, it’s dangerous to believe in a God who strikes down unbelievers. I don’t like this at all.” And I think both of those responses miss the point.

Remember the first time Moses went to Pharaoh, and he said, “The Lord says to let my people go.” Do you remember what Pharaoh said? “Who is the Lord, that I should obey him?” And here’s what I would say: the plagues are God’s answer to that question.

If you think about it, we ask the same question all the time, don’t we?

Because in the process of moving us from here to there, God calls us to obey him. He doesn’t just pick us up and carry us places against our will; he calls us to follow. For example, he calls us to forgive people who wrong us. That’s not easy! So who is this Lord, that I should obey him? He calls us to pay special attention to the weak and socially outcast people around us. That’s countercultural! Who is the Lord, who makes this demand of me? He calls to use the gift of sex only within a marriage covenant. He may be calling you to a career change, or a ministry venture, or a financial decision. In some way, in order to move you from where you are to where you need to be, he’s probably calling you to a step of obedience right now. That’s usually how it works! And the obvious question is, “Who is this Lord, that I should obey him?”

And the plagues are God’s answer to that question. So that’s what we’re going to talk about today. I need to give some credit. Because of all the scholars I consulted in studying this passage, you won’t be surprised that the one that helped me the most was Tim Keller. So I want to give him credit for a lot of the structure and ideas in this message.

So here we go: three things that the plagues teach us about who God is.

First, they teach us that His Identity is Unique. When Pharaoh says, “Who is the Lord? Why should I obey him?” he’s not speaking as an atheist. He’s not saying, “Don’t tell me there’s a god! I know God doesn’t exist!” Pharaoh was speaking as a pluralist. He believed there were many gods! “You’ve got

your gods; we’ve got our gods; so why would you suggest that I start listening to the demands of your god? I don’t know this god you’re talking about, and I’m fine with that.”

In other words…Pharaoh would be very comfortable in Northern New Jersey in 2021. Right? If we are anything, we’re pluralistic and tolerant. And so, to suggest that one person’s idea of god is better than anyone else’s, or to suggest that someone needs to convert to your idea of god, is very offensive. Right?

And one of the big messages of the plagues is that Pharaoh was wrong. Did you notice, just before the first plague, God says to Pharaoh, by this you will know that I am the Lord. Not “you will know that I am one pretty impressive god among many;’ I am THE Lord. During the second plague, he says so that you may know that there is no one like the Lord our God.

The Egyptian people considered the Nile River to be a god. They considered the sun and the moon to be gods. And in the plagues, God shows his authority over the Nile River, and over the sun and over the moon.

You know what’s really interesting? After the third plague—which is the plague of gnats—Pharaoh’s magicians try to duplicate it…and they can’t. And they say to Pharaoh—this is chapter 8, verse 19—they say, “This is the finger of God.” So the magicians are beginning to realize that they’re dealing with something real and more powerful than any of the demonic powers they dabble in. The magicians are in awe. But Pharaoh’s heart was hard and he wouldn’t listen.

So the first message of the plagues is that the God who brings these judgments is like no other power in the universe. His identity is completely unique. He’s not just quantitatively better than the other gods; he’s qualitatively in a class all by himself. Remember at the burning bush, when Moses said, “What if people ask me, ‘Who sent you?’ What should I tell them?” Remember what God said, “Tell them, ‘I AM’ sent you.” God is simply the “I am.” Guys, that should take our breath away! He just is. He’s not dependent on anyone or anything else for his existence. All things come from him. He’s the uncreated Creator. He’s the one and only true God.

I realize that for some of you, this is a hard concept. Because it feels overly narrow and exclusive, and you think, “Who am I to judge anyone else’s concept of God?” And I respect that struggle! All I’m saying is that if you’re going to understand the God of the Bible, you can’t get around this. This is not peripheral; it’s central. It’s number one in the Ten Commandments: “No other gods besides me.” It’s the first line in the Lord’s Prayer: “hallowed be thy name”—in other words, Lord, may your name be hallowed—be set apart as utterly unique from all other names. So if you really want to understand the God of Moses—the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob—you’ve got to start here. There is no one in all the universe like him.

And therefore, if you are wrestling with some step of obedience—whether it’s relational or spiritual or financial or career-related—you sense the calling of God, remember who it is who’s calling you! This is not some well-meaning person advising you; this is God, calling you!

Here’s the second thing the plagues teach us about God: His Judgments are Natural. Hmmm. What do I mean by that?

Well, if you were God, and you wanted Moses to shock Pharaoh with the power of God, don’t you think you could’ve done a better job? You could have stood before Pharaoh, and pointed to his guards, and turned them all into monkeys. And then you’d look at Pharaoh, and say, “You’re next, buddy.” That would be pretty convincing! Or you could start flying around Pharaoh’s palace, shooting fireballs from your fingers. That would be impressive!

But God doesn’t do it that way. In fact, if you think about it, the plagues are very natural things. All of these things had happened before. Maybe not to this degree, but they had all happened. And then also, there’s almost a logical, natural progression of the plagues. The Nile becomes polluted, which drives the frogs out of the river. And as a result of all the frogs, gnats and flies come. So it’s this ecological disaster—and because of that, epidemics come, which destroy livestock and people’s skin.

So the question is: why did God choose to do it that way? Well, over the years, scholars have noted that this is an undoing of the biblical creation account. Because in Genesis 1-2, the earth starts out formless and chaotic and dark. And God takes light…and he takes plants and animals and men and women and weather, and he weaves them together into this harmonious system—the Bible calls that shalom. But now in the plagues, the system is coming undone! Weather is destroying animals; insects are destroying plants. It’s like nature is going crazy and devouring itself. Until you get all the way back to the beginning, when darkness is once again covering the face of the deep. Isn’t that interesting?

So here’s the point (and I’m going to quote Tim Keller here)—here’s what God is saying in the plagues: “My power—my authority—is not arbitrary. It’s not an exercise of naked power. Everything I tell you to do is natural. And every time you disobey me, the consequences are natural. When you disobey me, you unleash the forces of chaos, disorder and disintegration into your life and the lives of people around you.” Wow.

Think about it this way: imagine you’re in the doctor’s office, and your doctor says: “I’m concerned about your heart, so listen: no more McDonald’s drive-through for lunch, and you have to cut down on the fat and salt.” And you say to your doctor, “Excuse me?! Are you on a power trip? Are you trying to control my life!” You wouldn’t say that, right? Why not? Well, because the doctor’s commands are telling you how to live a life that honors how you’ve been made, so you’ll be able to thrive as a person. If you say, “Who is this doctor, that I should obey him?” you’ll probably have a heart attack. And God’s commands are like that, but a thousand times more so. Because the doctor just studied the way humans work in medical school; God created the way humans work. And God’s commands go beyond physical realities to the unseen world. The spiritual world.

For example… God says, “Honor me with your finances. Give generously to the needy and to my work.” If we refuse to do that, God doesn’t say, “I’m going to burn your house down! That’ll teach you!” But you’ll start to experience disintegration as a person. If you hold tightly to your wealth, you’ll become more focused on yourself. You’ll become less sensitive to others. You’ll become less content with what you have, and you’ll become more insecure and anxious about your future.

God says, “Forgive people who sin against you.” If we refuse to do that, God doesn’t say, “I’m going to make your car crash today!” But you’ll start to experience the natural consequences—which is disintegration as a person. You’ll experience bitterness. Your relationships will break down and become more guarded. You’ll even experience physical disintegration from the stress and the bitterness. Are you following me?

So the consequences of disobedience are very natural. When we respond like Pharaoh, and we move away from God’s will, we’re actually unleashing the forces of chaos and disintegration into our lives. We are—truly—destroying ourselves.

Now: even if you accept all that, there’s still a piece missing. Because you might say, “Okay—I’ll obey this God so my life doesn’t fall apart!” And so you take this posture of cowering and cringing before this God who can make your life miserable. But that wouldn’t be an accurate view of who God is—so you have to hear this last thing the plagues teach us. Here it is:

His Passion is to Save. If you asked most people, “What was the purpose of the plagues for the people of Israel?” they would say, “Well, it was to set them free.” Right? It was to free them from slavery! So most people recognize that the even though the plagues were a form of judgment, they resulted in freedom for the Israelites. A good result.

If you asked people, “Okay. What was the purpose of the plagues for the Egyptians?” What would they say? They’d probably say, “Pain! To make them squirm, and suffer, and submit, so they would let the Hebrews go free!” Right? But let’s look a little closer. Every time God was about to unleash a plague, you know what he did? He warned them. He didn’t have to do that! In fact, before the seventh plague—the plague of hail—God says, “This is about to happen—so get your animals and your slaves out of the field! Get them to shelter!” And it says some of the Egyptians believed and got their animals and slaves to safety. So even in God’s judgment, you can see his heart to provide a way out—to be saved from the judgment.

And one more thing: there’s a place in chapter nine where God says to Pharaoh, “Look—by now, I could have destroyed you and your whole country. But I’ve raised you up so that my name will be proclaimed in all the earth.” In other words, this thing that’s happening will become part of a story that millions of people will hear, and they’ll have the opportunity to open their life to me and experience my salvation.

So the point is...are the plagues judgments? Yes. But even in judgment, there’s a redemptive purpose. God uses the judgments to save people—to save the Israelites…to save some of the Egyptians…and through these epic events, to bring salvation to countless people. In fact, I am hoping and praying that God will use this message. Because some of you have friends who are experiencing the natural fallout from their rebellion against God. Their life is disintegrating. Or some of you are experiencing that fallout. And I’m praying that through this message, there will be people who start to view those judgments—the suffering they’re experiencing—as God’s mercy to wake them up and turn them to God. Wouldn’t that be an awesome outcome?

And all of this gets back to the original question: How is God different from every other god? What is the thing that sets him apart? Is this whole thing just a power play, where God says, “I’m bigger and stronger, and I will crush every other concept of god?” No. And here’s why…

The final plague that we looked at today was like the ultimate reversal of creation, right? Darkness. The light was gone.

But centuries later, the same thing would happen again. It says in Matthew 27 that when Jesus hung on the cross, darkness came over the land. The earth shook and rocks split. In a sense, all the plagues of God fell on Jesus. There was darkness and chaos; blood and water flowed from his side. Jesus was disintegrating before people’s eyes. All the flourishing and wholeness and peace that Jesus had when he walked through life was ripped away from him, and he was disintegrating…because he was cut off from his Father.

And here’s where this becomes good news: Jesus experienced all of that so we don’t have to. Does that make sense? See, the plagues remind us that God is a holy God, who judges sin. But Jesus took our sin on his shoulders, and he took the plagues of God’s judgment in our place, so we don’t have to.

And guys, this is what makes our God unique. This is what makes him different from any other concept of god: He’s not a judge who gives out the rules, and then watches you fail, and crushes you. He’s the judge who came down to bear your judgment for you. So here’s the good news: when you look at the cross, and you say, “Yes—I believe and I receive what you’ve done for me,” you become

accepted by God. And as you continue to walk in that same faith, listen: instead of plagues, the shalom of God starts to work in your life. Now: I’m not saying that if you trust and follow Jesus, everything will go perfect in your life—not at all. You might have sickness and trouble, and even tragic things could happen on the outside. But on the inside—in the core of who you are—something beautiful will be happening. Outwardly, you might be wasting away, but inwardly, you’ll be getting renewed day by day. Instead of dis-integrating as a person, you’ll become more integrated—you’ll develop integrity and wholeness. Because of Jesus, we get blessing instead of plagues. Amen?

So…who is this Lord, that I should obey him?

His identity is unique—he’s the one true God.

His judgments are natural—so when you push against him you experience disintegration.

And his passion is to save—which he ultimately did by coming and dying in our place.

This is the Lord who called Pharaoh to obey, and who calls us today. Who wouldn’t want to obey a God like that?

So here’s my closing question: What would it mean to you, right now, to obey this Lord? Is there a step of faith that God is calling you to take? Where God is saying, “I want to bring you from here to there, but in order to get there, here’s your next step?”

Maybe you’re like Pharaoh, and your heart has always been hard. But through your life experience, and through the preaching of the Word of God today, your heart is being softened. And you’re ready to put your faith in Christ for the first time. Don’t waste the opportunity!

Or maybe you’re a believer, but you’ve been resisting God. You’re like the prodigal son—you ran away from your Father, and you’re trying to make life work without him. But you can see your life disintegrating. Maybe not frogs and gnats and flies, but things are falling apart, and you know it. And God is calling you back to himself.

Whatever that step is, don’t do it out of fear or duty or obligation. Do it because you’re in awe of who he is, and because your heart has been captivated by his love.