Exodus 7-9 - Getting A Glimpse of the Sovereign Power of God
Thomas S. Myers
GETTING A GLIMPSE OF THE SOVEREIGN POWER OF GOD
Exodus chapters 7-9
A man bought a candy bar at the local mall. He sat down on the bench next to a man and began to read the news paper. As he looked to the right, the man picked up the candy bar, unwrapped it, and actually took a bite form it. Then he laid back on the bench. He could not believe the nerve of this guy. He man picked up the candy bar but this time he took 2 bites. Again he could not believe this guy. So he thought, "I'll show him who's boss." And then said, "So, you like candy bars? Well look at this!" And he popped the entire candy bar into his mouth, and quickly left. When he got to his car, he reached into his pocket for his car keys and there he found his candy bar.
Sometimes we wonder why God takes us through trials. As we begin to look at the 9 plagues that God dropped upon Egypt, I sure that Pharaoh must have wondered why this plague, or why that plague? There are at least 2 reasons why God used his sovereign power to judge Egypt.
1st -- To reveal to Pharaoh the one and only _________ god. Look at:
Exodus 9:13-14
13 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, 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. (NIV)
Pharaoh is about to learn that there is nothing in comparison to God. With each plague, a god of Egypt will be thoroughly judged. Have you discovered the superiority of God? Many of you can testify that you were in a financial crisis, a marital crisis, an employment crisis and God sovereignty over ruled. He moved right in and reversed the problem.
2nd -- that god might demonstrate His _______________ power.
Look at Exodus 9:15-16.
God has such awesome power that he can just speak, and everything can be totally changed. Let's look at the plagues and see the sovereign power of God.
1ST THE PLAGUE OF BLOOD. Look at Exodus 7:14-21.
Do you know why God turned the River Nile into blood? There are 2 reasons. The Nile was judged because the River Nile was worshipped as a God. Turning the River Nile into blood was God's way of destroying a stronghold of Satan.
Exodus 7:23
23 Instead, he turned and went into his palace, and did not take even this to heart. (NIV)
There is a 2nd reason the River Nile was judged. To Egypt the Nile was essential just to survive. God was demonstrating His awesome power over the very life of Egypt. The prime source of water and food came from the River Nile. The Egyptians could not drink well water because it was often salt water. That is still true today. The prime source of water in Egypt was for washing, bathing, cooking and drinking. And it all came from the Nile. Also, the fundamental staple in Egypt was fish. Their source of water and their source of food was immediately gone. Can you imagine trying to prepare a meal if our Aquifer was turned to blood? You'd turn on the drinking fountain and blood would come out. You think, no problem, I have a jug of water in the refrigerator. Folks, even it was turned to blood. Look at verse 19:
"Blood will be everywhere in Egypt, even in the wooden buckets and stone jars."
You put a couple of quarters into a pop machine, punch the button, pick up the can, pop the opener, take a drink, and even it is blood. There was no water and there was no fish in Egypt. Did all this have an effect on Pharaoh? Not at all. Pharaoh wasn't moved at all.
2ND THE PLAGUE OF FROGS. Look at Exodus 8:1-6.
This was not a bull frog. It was a toad, not the kind of frog that you find on the menu of a gourmet restaurant and eat. It was the kind of frog that was small enough that could get into any nook or corner. It could get into anything. Look at verse 3 and see where these little frogs could go.
Exodus 8:3
3 The Nile will teem with frogs. They will come up into your palace and your bedroom and onto your bed, into the houses of your officials and on your people, and into your ovens and kneading troughs. (NIV)
Can you imagine going to bed, and pulling the covers up. And there are frogs hopping under the covers. Or you begin to place something in your oven and you find frogs. Or you open up the plastic sack to get a loaf of bread, and there are frogs even in it. I suppose you could even find frogs in your pockets. This is a plague. Every oven in Egypt had frogs in it.
God brought this plague not just to cause misery, but to show his awesome power and to judge another Egyptian god. The Egyptians worshipped the frog as a god. You would think that this would have softened Pharaoh's heart, but it didn't.
3RD THE PLAGUE OF GNATS.
3 Points of Interest
1st, I want you to notice that with this plague and all the others that follow, there is no incidcation that they are removed. From now on the plagues will be added, but the new plagues will stay.
2nd, none of the plagues will affect the Israelites. Look at: Exodus 8:22-23
3rd, it is also interesting that every third plague was not announced to Pharaoh. Look at
Exodus
I take it that the gnats were very small, like sand. They could become even more of a pest than the frogs. Not only would the gnats get into your bed, and food, they could penetrate your nostrils , ears and mouth. They would literally fill the air.
A couple lived in the panhandle in Texas. One evening, a sand storm blew in. It lasted only through the night. The wife of the family went to her closet to see how much sand had gotten on her clothes. After shaking out all of her clothes, and sweeping out the floor, she got 2 buckets full of sand. That was in one overnight sandstorm. Can you imagine shaking out and sweeping the gnat's day after day?
Again, God is not just plaguing the Egyptians. He is judging another god of the Egyptians. The gnats came from the dust, and interestingly enough the Egyptians worship dust. Even the Egyptian priest must have had a very difficult time. They were known for their cleanliness. But with the gnats polluting their bodies, they would be unclean to perform any sacrifices. And even their sacrifices would be unclean since the sacrifices also would be covered with gnats. Still, Pharaoh refuses to let the Israelites go.
Have you noticed that the plagues are increasing the affliction of the Egyptians. It is becoming more difficult to live with the plagues.
4TH THE PLAGUE OF INSECTS.
Exodus 8:24
24 And the LORD did this. Dense swarms of flies poured into Pharaoh's palace and into the houses of his officials, and throughout Egypt the land was ruined by the flies. (NIV)
Notice the word "SWARMS" verse 24. The Hebrew word means mixture. Meaning this, there were several varieties of insects. There would be a wide variety of spiders, and a wide variety of ants, or a wide variety of almost any kind of insect. Insects would be crawling and flying all over the place. If you have a fear of insects, there would be no escape, unless you were a child of God. Still Pharaoh will not let the Israelites go.
5TH THE PLAGUE OF DISEASED ANIMALS.
Look at Exodus 9:3-6.
Did you notice from verse 3, which animals would be killed?
"your horses and donkeys and camels and on your cattle and sheep and goats."
Think of the stench from all the bloated carcasses. And yet, the Israelite's animals did not get sick. And again, God was also judging another god of Egypt. The Egyptians also worshipped the bull. Would Pharaoh let the Israelites go? No way.
6TH THE PLAGUE OF BOILS.
Again this was an unannounced plague.
Exodus 9:10-11
10 So they took soot from a furnace and stood before Pharaoh. Moses tossed it into the air, and festering boils broke out on men and animals. 11 The magicians could not stand before Moses because of the boils that were on them and on all the Egyptians. (NIV)
The Hebrew word for "BOILS" means to burn, inflamed spot, inflammation or eruption. The Egyptians suffered intense burning boils. When you have a boil, you do not want anything to touch it. The pain is too intense. Can you imagine having a boil on your side, or on your legs, or on your back or chest. You could not lie down, you could not walk, or bend over without pain. Again, Pharaoh would not let the Israelites go.
Again, God was judging another god of the Egyptians. The Egyptians worshipped a god called Sekhmet, who was over disease.
7TH THE PLAGUE OF HAIL. Look at Exodus 9:22-26.
This was not just a normal hailstorm. Look at verse 25:
"it beat down everything growing in the fields and stripped every tree."
Set, the name of the Egyptian storm god is judged. This time Pharaoh said that he had sinned,
but again he hardened his heart and would not let the Israelites go.
8TH THE PLAGUE OF LOCUST. Look at Exodus 10:3-6, 14-15.
I don't think we can imagine the scene. The locusts are so thick you could not see the ground. They eat everything that was growing. Absolutely nothing remained. And yet in the land of Goshen, where the Israelites lived, there was an abundance of crops. Again God judged another god of the Egyptians, Osiris, the god of crops.
The World Book Encyclopedia says that Swarms of locust have traveled from Canada to Texas. Others have traveled as far as 1,200 miles in formation and are so thick in flight, that the sun is blocked out.
With all the damage that the locust created, would Pharaoh release the Israelites? Not a chance.
9TH THE PLAGUE OF DARKNESS.
This is the last plague. Look at Exodus 10:21-23.
It was so dark, that the Egyptians could not ever leave their house. And once again, God judges another god of the Egyptians, Re, the sun god. What is interesting, is that Moses will not see the face of Pharaoh until Pharaoh's first born son dies.
TRUTHS TO PONDER
1ST -- IT IS ALWAYS UNWISE TO LEAVE GOD OUT OF YOUR PLANS.
Napoleon believed that he was destined to rule the world. In 1812, he invaded Russia. F.W. Krummacher, a historian wrote of Napoleon's bold march to Russia with 600,000 troops. Krummacher writes, "I saw the grand army of Napoleon pass by as it marched to Russia. The army marched with imposing pomp, with overbearing haughtiness, as if the whole world were subject to it. A few months afterwards, only 100,000 troops returned. They were reduced to a tattered fragment. I saw Napoleon himself, leaning back in silence in the corner of his carriage. He was totally discouraged." Three years later Napoleon was thoroughly defeated at Waterloo. He was arrested and sentenced to live his last days on the island of St. Helena. There he dictated his memoirs and he said, "There was a Hand moving in Europe which I did not see." That is something that the Pharaoh learned. The Bible says:
Proverbs 21:1
1 The king's heart is in the hand of the LORD; he directs it like a watercourse wherever he pleases. (NIV)
I don't know what your plans are, but if you do not include God, you will also learn like Pharaoh, Napoleon, that there was a sovereign Hand moving which you did not see.
2ND -- AS BELIEVERS WE ARE PROTECTED BY THE SOVEREIGN POWER OF GOD.
The Bible says:
Psalm 91:7
7 A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you. (NIV)
As a believer, no plague or disaster can come your way unless God allows it. Just as the plagues could not reach the Israelites, so the plagues or death can not even lay its hand on the believer, until you have accomplished all that God would have you do.