Some Worse Things for Some Bad People

Moses  •  Sermon  •  Submitted
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Introduction

Dec. 7, 1941, hundreds of Japanese planes attacks Pearl Harbor
Killed 2,400 Americans, sunk 20 vessels and destroyed 300 planes
Doris Goodwin: “America's response to World War II was the most extraordinary mobilization of an idle economy in the history of the world.”
17 million new jobs, industrial productivity up 96%, corporate profits doubled
We think about ships across the Atlantic, D-Day, atomic bombs, VE and VJ days...
These may not have happened without the US entering the war
It was that famous Japanese attack that brought the US into it
The producers of the film Tora! Tora! Tora! claimed to find this quote in writings:
Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto: “I fear all we have done is to awaken a sleeping giant and fill him with a terrible resolve.”
I wonder how many Egyptians said similar things when they started to see God’s plagues
So far we’ve seen:
Blood
Frogs
Gnats
Flies
Livestock
YouVersion: Some Bad Things for Some Worse People
In Exodus 9:8 through 10:29

1. God is alive and worthy

2. Other god’s are dead and unworthy

Remember every third plague comes without warning
Begin with 6th plague, so no warning
Exodus 9:8–12 (ESV)
8 And the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “Take handfuls of soot from the kiln, and let Moses throw them in the air in the sight of Pharaoh. 9 It shall become fine dust over all the land of Egypt, and become boils breaking out in sores on man and beast throughout all the land of Egypt.” 10 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. 11 And the magicians could not stand before Moses because of the boils, for the boils came upon the magicians and upon all the Egyptians. 12 But the Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh, and he did not listen to them, as the Lord had spoken to Moses.
Sixth plague: Boils
Remember last week - God is going after Egyptians gods
Boils are against several gods
Sekhmet (seck-met) - goddess of several things - including healing and disease
Sunu - god of pestilence and epidemic disease
Isis - goddess of healing and medicine
Delivers boils or sihin (sheh-heen) - Likely from a root word - to burn
Moses throws soot in the air, they can’t get away and they grow painful sores
Illustration: Makes me think of nuclear fallout
When a nuke goes off on the surface, it throws dust into the air
This dust blows around, carrying radiation
If you are near a nuke, they say “get inside, stay inside, stay tuned
Hides you from that dust
It’s almost like Moses is throwing biological fallout into the sky
So bad, magicians can’t stand before Moses
Too much pain? Infirmary? Too embarrassed? Too afraid?
Then we see the Lord hardening Pharaoh’s heart
I mentioned before that it seems Pharaoh hardened it first...
But make no mistake, God is doing the hardening here!
Personally I think He’s justified
You may disagree… or not understand it or whatever...
Romans 9:17–18 (ESV)
17 For the Scripture says 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.” 18 So then he has mercy on whomever he wills, and he hardens whomever he wills.
We might say, “That’s not fair!”
We’re obsessed with fair...
Romans 9:22–23 (ESV)
22 What if God, desiring to show his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, 23 in order to make known the riches of his glory for vessels of mercy, which he has prepared beforehand for glory—
God’s wrath is justified - we deserve His wrath thanks to sin
If we want fair, that’s what we get
But what if God uses what’s fair to some who get what’s more than fair?

1. God is not fair, thankfully!

Trust me church, you don’t want fair...
Fair is God’s wrath...
More than fair (not unfair, more than fair) is Jesus...
Exodus 9:13–21 (ESV)
13 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. 14 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. 15 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. 16 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. 17 You are still exalting yourself against my people and will not let them go. 18 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. 19 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.” ’ ” 20 Then whoever feared the word of the Lord among the servants of Pharaoh hurried his slaves and his livestock into the houses, 21 but whoever did not pay attention to the word of the Lord left his slaves and his livestock in the field.
Important: Today, God affects people for the first time (boils then hail)
God is patient when we are at our worst, but He will keep pushing
What’s God doing?
Why? He wants to go after them directly
He wants to show there’s no one like Him
He wants to show His power
Let’s look at His kindness/patience first
He could have gone after people sooner, but didn’t
He could have cut them off from the earth, but hasn’t
And He’s sending hail, but giving them a chance to survive!
He warns them to get inside!
So the Egyptians have a chance to be okay, but there’s a catch!
You have to fear the word of the Lord

2. The Word of the Lord brings life

Exodus 9:22–26 (ESV)
22 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand toward heaven, so that there may be hail in all the land of Egypt, on man and beast and every plant of the field, in the land of Egypt.” 23 Then Moses stretched out his staff toward 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. 24 There was hail and fire flashing continually in the midst of the hail, very heavy hail, such as had never been in all the land of Egypt since it became a nation. 25 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. 26 Only in the land of Goshen, where the people of Israel were, was there no hail.
Seventh plague: Hail
Against several gods
Nut - goddess of the sky
Osiris - god of crops
Set - god of storms (also god of deserts from last week)
This is one of the scariest plagues
Illustration: Lionel hitting the ball at my head
That could have killed me!
Hail forms when water is forced up by thunderstorm updrafts
Rises to colder air and freezes
Other moisture sticks to it and freezes, making it grow
Eventually, the updraft weakens or it gets too heavy and falls
Most hail falls at 25mph
4+ inch hail falls at closer to 100mph!
Like an MLB pitcher throwing an icy fastball at your head!
But God’s not done!
Hail AND fire!
Exodus 9:27–35 (ESV)
27 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. 28 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.” 29 Moses said to him, “As soon as I have 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. 30 But as for you and your servants, I know that you do not yet fear the Lord God.” 31 (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 emmer were not struck down, for they are late in coming up.) 33 So Moses went out of the city from Pharaoh and stretched out his hands to the Lord, and the thunder and the hail ceased, and the rain no longer poured upon the earth. 34 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. 35 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.
What do 20% of all criminal exonerations have in common?
They include a false confession!
We used to think no one would ever confess to a murder they didn’t commit
But they do because they are pressed, coerced, lied to, led and stressed
Do you think Pharaoh is feeling pressure to cave?
There are ball of ice and fire slamming into his house!
People are screaming and dying
The sounds must have been overwhelming
He’d say anything to stop the hail!
Including that he was wrong and he’d let God’s people go...
Moses knows that - he says, “I know you do not yet fear the Lord.”
So when Moses leaves and the hail stops...
Pharaoh goes back to his original plan
Exodus 10:1–6 (ESV)
1 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go in to Pharaoh, for I have hardened his heart and the heart of his servants, that I may show these signs of mine among them, 2 and that you may tell in the hearing of your son and of your grandson how I have dealt harshly with the Egyptians and what signs I have done among them, that you may know that I am the Lord.”
3 So Moses and Aaron went in to Pharaoh and said to him, “Thus says the Lord, 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 country, 5 and they shall cover the face of the land, so that no one can see the land. And they shall eat what is left to you after the hail, and they shall eat every tree of yours that grows in the field, 6 and they shall fill your houses and the houses of all your servants and of all the Egyptians, as neither your fathers nor your grandfathers have seen, from the day they came on earth to this day.’ ” Then he turned and went out from Pharaoh.
I love that God gives us a special clue for His purpose here:
He wants Moses to tell this story later - to whom?
His kids and his grandkids!
What does that tell us?

3. God’s past actions are also for people in the future

This is always God’s plan for us
Psalm 78:2–4 (ESV)
2 I will open my mouth in a parable;
I will utter dark sayings from of old,
3 things that we have heard and known,
that our fathers have told us.
4 We will not hide them from their children,
but tell to the coming generation
the glorious deeds of the Lord, and his might,
and the wonders that he has done.
This idea of telling the story to Moses and his kids and grandkids...
Is still happening - even right now in this room!
So we have a responsibility to share our with our kids and grandkids too!
So Moses is sent in to tell Pharaoh that locusts are up next!
Then Moses leaves, and look at everyone else’s reaction to this:
Exodus 10:7–11 (ESV)
7 Then Pharaoh’s servants said to him, “How long shall this man be a snare to us? Let the men go, that they may serve the Lord their God. Do you not yet understand that Egypt is ruined?” 8 So Moses and Aaron were brought back to Pharaoh. And he said to them, “Go, serve the Lord your God. But which ones are to go?” 9 Moses said, “We will go with our young and our old. We will go with our sons and daughters and with our flocks and herds, for we must hold a feast to the Lord.” 10 But he said to them, “The Lord be with you, if ever I let you and your little ones go! Look, you have some evil purpose in mind. 11 No! Go, the men among you, and serve the Lord, for that is what you are asking.” And they were driven out from Pharaoh’s presence.
Come on Pharaoh… how long are you going to do this
Look around! Egypt is ruined! And God is saying it’s going to get worse!
Quit being so stubborn and send them away!
What are they going to do, build more brick buildings? For what?
So God can hit us with hail? Light us on fire? Make us watch Adam Sandler movies on repeat?
Dude, let them go already!
And Pharaoh finally gives in - and reveals a sad truth about mankind
We are so much more likely to give in when people say things than when God does...
We fear people’s criticism over God’s judgment
That’s why culture ends up dictating what the church does more than Scripture
Culture wants to consistently tell us to do things against what Scripture teaches
We say, “That was a different culture.”
Culture does not nullify Scripture!
That’s essentially saying, “If most humans agree against God, we go with the humans.”
What did God do in Noah’s day when culture went against God?
How about against Sodom and Gomorrah when their culture was against God?
The Canaanites? The Ninevites? The Midianites?
Believe me, mankind and any culture we create is not more powerful than God
Speaking of power, God wants the Israelites to worship Him because of the power He’s showing
Pharaoh’s like “Fine, who’s going?”
God says, “The men! They’re the only ones that matter!”
“God wants young families, the old people don’t matter!”
“The rich! They tithe more!”
Actually, the answer is, “All of us.”

4. Everyone is welcome to worship God

Today it’s the same
God doesn’t choose people based on what we do
romans
Social status, financial status, gender, age, race or nationality
When it comes to being children of God, there’s nothing about us that restricts us!
It all comes down to Christ who gives us reason and permission to approach the Father
And so we worship, all together!
Exodus 10:12–15 (ESV)
12 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the land of Egypt for the locusts, so that they may come upon the land of Egypt and eat every plant in the land, all that the hail has left.” 13 So Moses stretched out his staff over the land of Egypt, and the Lord brought an east wind upon the land all that day and all that night. When it was morning, the east wind had brought the locusts. 14 The locusts came up over all the land of Egypt and settled on the whole country of Egypt, such a dense swarm of locusts as had never been before, nor ever will be again. 15 They covered the face of the whole land, so that the land was darkened, and they ate all the plants in the land and all the fruit of the trees that the hail had left. Not a green thing remained, neither tree nor plant of the field, through all the land of Egypt.
Eighth plague: Locusts
Again against Osiris - god of crops
Nut - Again, sky goddess
Also, Shu - goddess of wind
God sent these locusts, and it looked like November around here
You know, when all that tall corn turns into dark earth...
God has slowly been taking the livelihood of Egypt
Think of their food supply:
Blood killed their fish
Flies ruined their land
Livestock was decimated by disease
Hail ruined their crops and whatever livestock was left
Locusts ate whatever crops were left
All thats left is whatever livestock they tucked away in barns before the hail
Exodus 10:16–20 (ESV)
16 Then Pharaoh hastily called Moses and Aaron and said, “I have sinned against the Lord your God, and against you. 17 Now therefore, forgive my sin, please, only this once, and plead with the Lord your God only to remove this death from me.” 18 So he went out from Pharaoh and pleaded with the Lord. 19 And the Lord turned the wind into a very strong west wind, which lifted the locusts and drove them into the Red Sea. Not a single locust was left in all the country of Egypt. 20 But the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he did not let the people of Israel go.
For a second time, Pharaoh confesses his sins
Confession is good, but confession alone does not equal repentance - why?

5. Repentance is a heart issue

Anyone can offer lip service to God
What matters is if you need it
Bart Simpson: “I figure I’ll go for the life of sin, followed by the presto-change-o deathbed repentance.”
The problem is Bart is already showing his heart
I’ll wait until the last minute and I’ll “repent” - that is, when I “can’t” prove a changed heart
It won’t trick God though...
Here, Pharaoh has a chance to show his repentance, and he keeps the Hebrews
There is no real repentance there
And so...
Exodus 10:21–29 (ESV)
21 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand toward heaven, that there may be darkness over the land of Egypt, a darkness to be felt.” 22 So Moses stretched out his hand toward heaven, and there was pitch darkness in all the land of Egypt three days. 23 They did not see one another, nor did anyone rise from his place for three days, but all the people of Israel had light where they lived. 24 Then Pharaoh called Moses and said, “Go, serve the Lord; your little ones also may go with you; only let your flocks and your herds remain behind.” 25 But Moses said, “You must also let us have sacrifices and burnt offerings, that we may sacrifice to the Lord our God. 26 Our livestock also must go with us; not a hoof shall be left behind, for we must take of them to serve the Lord our God, and we do not know with what we must serve the Lord until we arrive there.” 27 But the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he would not let them go. 28 Then Pharaoh said to him, “Get away from me; take care never to see my face again, for on the day you see my face you shall die.” 29 Moses said, “As you say! I will not see your face again.”
Ninth plague: Darkness
Against Ra - the god of the sun
Again, no warning
You guys have heard of Seasonal Affective Disorder (or SAD)
Turns out when people from Texas, Arizona and California move north they tend to struggle
About 3% of the population struggles with it
I wonder if I do
Both the last two years have been hard about February
Then the sun shines a couple of days and I’m good!
Alaska - wild that there was no darkness
Black our shades and no sense of time
But Winter sounds scary!
Darkness can be poisonous
This plague seems different than the sun not coming out
This is a darkness you could feel
Perhaps an absence of God’s presence
1 John 1:5 (ESV)
5 This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.
Imagine being in pitch black for 3 days
Adam Bloom - total darkness for 48 hours
At first, talking, singing, making jokes
Then he started worrying about his family
After a few hours, he fell asleep
Woke up with no sense of time - was unnerving
Eating meals didn’t reset his clock
18 hours in, he became extremely paranoid
Afraid he’d be trapped forever
30 hours in, he was desperate for stimulation
Pacing around endlessly
40 hours in, he began to hallucinate
He saw a shiny pile of oysters clear as day
He felt the room starting to move under him
Then he felt nothing but numbness
When he was released, there was significant impairment in processing info
However, he couldn’t help but love the color of the grass
He noticed the beauty of every flower
Even tap water became a wonder to him
Imagine all of Egypt experiencing this
While the Hebrews enjoyed the wonders of light
At the end, of course, Pharaoh did not give in
Let’s look at the gods we have seen
Hapi, Khnum, Osiris, Heqet, Set, Uatchit, Hathor, Sekhmet, Sunu, Isis, Nut, Shu, Ra...
But there’s one more… Who? Pharaoh!

6. Humans make lousy gods

Don’t we all think we’re gods?
If Scripture doesn’t line up with our idea of morality it must be wrong
If God doesn’t reveal Himself on our terms He must be wrong
If our will isn’t done we assume God doesn’t have the power
Doesn’t Good want me to be happy?
Doesn’t God want to give me blessings?
Doesn’t God want to remove everything I don’t like?
Let’s remember why God did this:
He wants to answer Pharaoh’s question, “Who is the Lord?”
To show His power through Moses
To show who He is to future generations
To defeat false gods/demons
To show His favor towards Israel
To warn future nations - 1 Samuel 4:8
Remember, there’s one more plague to go, and that’s the big one!

1. God is alive and worthy

2. Other god’s are dead and unworthy

Let us not make the mistake of missing the power of God!
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