The Judgment of Egypt: Part II

Living By Faith

Last time, we began to look at the judgment of Egypt. We said that God used ten plagues to judge the nation of Egypt. These plagues are but a shadow of the judgment to come in the book of Revelation, but they are bad enough.

Nine of the plagues were ineffectual but necessary, because they demonstrate that God is sovereign by showing His superiority over the Egyptians' false gods. The nine are divided into three series of three plagues each. Each series begins with the phrase “in the morning” (Exodus 7:15; 8:20; and 9:13). The first series affects both Israel and Egypt as God wanted His people to understand the horrible nature of idolatry. The first judgment is disgusting (water turned to blood); the second, laughable (frogs cover the land); and the third, painful (dust turned to a stinging beetle). That pretty well sums up idolatry. It is disgusting, laughable, and painful.

So why is it that we still struggle with idols? An idol is anything that comes between us and God. We have many things that we allow into our lives that are just as disgusting, laughable, and painful as the gods worshiped by the Egyptians. They do not profit us. Yet we allow them to rule over us.

The Second Series (Exodus 8:20):

And the LORD said unto Moses, Rise up early in the morning, and stand before Pharaoh; lo, he cometh forth to the water; and say unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Let my people go, that they may serve me.

The second series of plagues began early in the morning at the water’s edge.

Plague 4—Swarms of flies:

Scripture: Exodus 8:21

Else, if thou wilt not let my people go, behold, I will send swarms of flies upon thee, and upon thy servants, and upon thy people, and into thy houses: and the houses of the Egyptians shall be full of swarms of flies, and also the ground whereon they are.

Notice that the words “of flies” are italicized, indicating that they have been added for clarification. The Hebrew word used here refers to swarms of insects. The Septuagint, which is the Greek translation of the Hebrew Old Testament that was in common usage at the time of Christ, very specifically renders this as swarms of dogflies. This is a particularly mean sort of fly that loves to bite.

Most of us have no concept of the extent of this plague. We know what it is like to be bitten by a fly on occasion, but this plague is not one or two flies. It consisted of great swarms that filled the houses of the Egyptians and even entered into the palace of Pharaoh (Exodus 8:24).

Illustration: When I was a teenager, we lived in an isolated area of the country. The nearest neighbor boy was a farmer’s son about a mile away. I had little interest in farming, but would occasionally visit. One day we had some reason to go to the hog barn. It was a hot summer day as he threw open the door. The stench physically assaulted me and knocked me back a step or two, but the sight was worse. Flies covered everything! There were literally swarms of flies. I fled before I could tell if they bit.

Illustration: Perhaps 25 or so years ago, my wife and I took the Algoma Central Railway out of Souix St. Marie, Canada. Traveling 114 miles into the wilderness, we stopped at Agawa Canyon National Park. The ride was spectacular and the park beautiful. But the stop consisted of hundreds of tourists wearing jackets and trying to cover all exposed skin while they scurried about photographing the sites before rushing back to the train. Swarms of tiny biting black flies dogged our every step.

Now imagine that there was no escape. Whether you go indoors or out, the flies are there, constantly, irritating and tormenting both man and beast. This is what happened to the Egyptians, but not Israel.

Scripture: Exodus 8:22-23

And I will sever in that day the land of Goshen, in which my people dwell, that no swarms of flies shall be there; to the end thou mayest know that I am the LORD in the midst of the earth. 23 And I will put a division between my people and thy people: to morrow shall this sign be.

God made a distinction between His people and those of the world. God wants His people to live like there is a distinction. He wants us to live separated lives. There is coming a day when God will separate the sheep from the goats (Matthew 25:32-46). Those of us who know Christ will inherit the kingdom, but those who do not will face everlasting punishment. The plague began and the land was corrupted by reason of the swarms of flies (Exodus 8:24). Then Pharaoh offered the first of four compromises. The devil does not want us to live separated lives.

Scripture: Exodus 8:25

And Pharaoh called for Moses and for Aaron, and said, Go ye, sacrifice to your God in the land.

Observe the compromise. “Sacrifice to your God in the land.” In other words, be saved but do not separate. Be like the world so that you can reach the world. That is the devil’s lie, but it is very effective. Christians live and worship like the world thinking that this is the way to reach the lost. Unfortunately, the lost see this as just another therapy session or fun thing to do. They do not see the need to lay hold on Christ. (Matthew 26:26) They merely want to receive all of the good things He offers without any real commitment. In the end, they are brainwashed into believing they have salvation when they do not.

The first compromise was too obvious for Moses. So Pharaoh offered a second one.

Scripture: Exodus 8:28

And Pharaoh said, I will let you go, that ye may sacrifice to the LORD your God in the wilderness; only ye shall not go very far away: intreat for me.

This time it is “go, but not very far.” In other words, be a Christian, separate, but do not be fanatical about it.

If Satan cannot get us to live entirely like the world, this is the next best thing. Sadly, it is very effective with so-called Bible believers who separate by not doing this or that, but who fail to consecrate their whole mind, soul, and body to God. They can get radical about sports or hobbies, but not God.

Illustration: This past week God showed me a gemstone in His Word. It was a nugget of truth waiting to be discovered, and I got excited. I could not wait to share it with someone. I became vocal. I could not sit still. It was amazing! Do you find that a little too fanatical? It is certain that the devil does. “Go, but not far.”

Moses apparently accepted this half-way demonic offer by telling Pharaoh that he would ask God to remove the flies (Exodus 8:29). God did so (Exodus 8:31), but Pharaoh broke his word again (Exodus 8:32). Christians who fall for this lie thinking that they can be saved without being fanatical or radical fail to comprehend who their adversary is. The devil is the father of lies. If we think we can get by without total commitment, we are seriously deluded.

Plague 5—Livestock stricken:

Scripture: Exodus 9:1-6

1 Then the LORD said unto Moses, Go in unto Pharaoh, and tell him, Thus saith the LORD God of the Hebrews, Let my people go, that they may serve me. 2 For if thou refuse to let them go, and wilt hold them still, 3 Behold, the hand of the LORD is upon thy cattle which is in the field, upon the horses, upon the asses, upon the camels, upon the oxen, and upon the sheep: there shall be a very grievous murrain. 4 And the LORD shall sever between the cattle of Israel and the cattle of Egypt: and there shall nothing die of all that is the children's of Israel. 5 And the LORD appointed a set time, saying, To morrow the LORD shall do this thing in the land. 6 And the LORD did that thing on the morrow, and all the cattle of Egypt died: but of the cattle of the children of Israel died not one.

The fifth judgment consisted of an infectious and fatal disease that struck at additional creatures worshiped by the Egyptians. One deity was represented by a bull, and another by a cow or calf. God again demonstrated His power over these false gods by destroying them.

Unbelievably, Israel learned very little from this demonstration. Just one year later they made a golden calf and bowed down to it. Many Christians do the same. Over the years we have witnessed many start the race strong, only to be turned aside from evangelistic zeal to get-rich-quick zeal. Instead of telling people about Christ, they start selling soap, vitamins, etc. These enterprises always seem to start with the same seductive line: “This business is founded on Christian principles.” Since when is greed a Christian principle? We cannot serve God and money (Matthew 6:24).

Scripture: Matthew 6:19-20

19 Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: 20 But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal:

We need to serve God and God alone. Any other god will let us down. The Egyptian gods could not even preserve their own kind. Our gods are no better.

God is very specific about this judgment. It would only affect Egyptian cattle, and only those in the field (Exodus 9:3). Furthermore, He set an appointed time for the sentence to be carried out.

God wanted Pharaoh to know that He did the deed. Pharaoh even proved it by sending men to check on the cattle of Israel (Exodus 9:7), but he hardened his heart still more and refused to let Israel go.

Plague 6—Boils afflict man and beast:

Scripture: Exodus 9:8-12

8 And the LORD said unto Moses and unto Aaron, Take to you handfuls of ashes of the furnace, and let Moses sprinkle it toward the heaven in the sight of Pharaoh. 9 And it shall become small dust in all the land of Egypt, and shall be a boil breaking forth with blains upon man, and upon beast, throughout all the land of Egypt. 10 And they took ashes of the furnace, and stood before Pharaoh; and Moses sprinkled it up toward heaven; and it became a boil breaking forth with blains upon man, and upon beast. 11 And the magicians could not stand before Moses because of the boils; for the boil was upon the magicians, and upon all the Egyptians. 12 And the LORD hardened the heart of Pharaoh, and he hearkened not unto them; as the LORD had spoken unto Moses.

Imagine for a moment what this plague was like. To have a single boil is bad. What would it be like to be covered with boils that break out into open sores? Consider that the animals are covered, too.

Illustration: Many years ago, our daughter visited friends who had a German Shepherd dog that was normally very docile. This particular day was very hot and humid. The dog had recently been tormented by neighbor children and apparently snapped—quite literally. He narrowly missed her eye and left a large gash requiring stitches.

Now picture man and beast covered by boils and ulcerated sores. Tempers become short. Man’s best friend bites and snarls. Bulls charge, and docile cattle develop a mean streak. The deity becomes the instrument of God’s just judgment.

Verse 11 reads, “And the magicians could not stand before Moses because of the boils.” This is the last reference to these practitioners of evil who began so mighty in duplicating the first judgments. They were no longer able to even stand in the presence of God’s servant. So it will be in the new heaven and new earth (Revelation 21:7-8).

Conclusion:

The devil has many schemes. If he cannot keep us from salvation, he tries to diminish our effectiveness by using various compromises. Today we saw two:

1.) Sacrifice in the land—don’t lead a separated life

2.) Go, but not far—separate but don’t get too fanatical

Truthfully, God expects us to love Him with all our heart, soul, and mind. That is radical and fanatical, but that is what He expects.

Next time: The Judgment of Egypt—Part III

Brief Hiatus

Hello, and thank you for stopping by.

This is Pastor Tim's daughter, Carrie. I started posting these messages for my dad in order to "get them out there" for people to use. My goal has been to post at least two per week, or three if I am able. The current messages in the series go back to 2006, so there is a lot of catching up to do.

I and my dad will be out of town next week, and I am not sure if I will be able to post anything during that time. I just wanted to let you know that there is more to come as soon as I get them ready.

I pray you are having a blessed week.

In Christ,

--Carrie

The Judgment of Egypt: Part I

Living By Faith

In ancient times, masses of humanity would gather at great arenas, not unlike today, to witness the spectacle of men performing in athletic events. In the midst of this teeming throng, the ruler would announce, “Let the games begin!” In Exodus 6, God let Moses know that it was time to begin the contest.

On the surface, this appeared to be a conflict between Moses and Pharaoh. In reality, it was a spiritual battle between God and Satan (Ephesians 6:12). God would free His people from slavery, moving them to the abundant life in Christ. Satan would bring condemnation and everlasting judgment, taking as many with him to hell as possible.

As part of the contest, God poured out His just judgment on Egypt in the form of ten plagues which picture the coming judgment of this world system prophesied in Revelation. The chief difference being that the coming judgments will be far more intense, so that the past will be but a shadow of what is to come. That truth ought to make each of us reach out to others with the good news about Christ.

Nine of these plagues were ineffectual, but necessary. God wanted to make a point. He wanted to demonstrate His sovereign power over the false gods and goddesses of the Egyptians and, by extension, of the world. He is Lord of all.

We will begin our study with the nine ineffectual plagues, saving the tenth for last, because it is especially important. There are three details to note before we begin:

1.) The nine are divided into three series of three plagues each (Exodus 7:15; 8:20; and 9:13).

2.) The first series affects both Israel and Egypt.

The division does not occur until the start of the second series (Exodus 8:22). These awful plagues were to teach Israel the horrible nature of idolatry. In spite of that, they soon made the golden calf.

3.) The judgments became more severe as they proceeded.

God is merciful and longsuffering (II Peter 3:9). He is not willing that any should perish. He gives numerous opportunities to repent. Unfortunately, many like Pharaoh resist and reject until they face the judgment. Today is the day of salvation (II Corinthians 6:2).

The First Series (Exodus 7:15):

Get thee unto Pharaoh in the morning; lo, he goeth out unto the water; and thou shalt stand by the river's brink against he come; and the rod which was turned to a serpent shalt thou take in thine hand.

Plague 1—Water turned to blood:

Scripture: Exodus 7:17-18

Thus saith the LORD, In this thou shalt know that I am the LORD: behold, I will smite with the rod that is in mine hand upon the waters which are in the river, and they shall be turned to blood. 18 And the fish that is in the river shall die, and the river shall stink; and the Egyptians shall lothe to drink of the water of the river.

God wanted to demonstrate His power but to understand this plague we must know something about Egyptian religion. Besides worshiping many gods, they actually deified the Nile River and worshiped it as a god.

Certainly, the river carried the sediment that made the valley fertile. Certainly, it provided the water that made the crops grow, but it was not the source of life. There are two lessons here:

1.) God is sovereign over the river.

By turning the water to blood, God demonstrated that He is the Lord of the river. He, also, proved the futility of this god by causing fish to die and the river to stink. How would you like to worship a god that stinks? Many people worship gods that are no better.

2.) Life is in the blood.

The real source of life is blood not water. The Egyptians were confused like many today. We have life because we have blood in our bodies (Genesis 9:4). We have eternal life because Christ shed His blood for us (Hebrews 9:22). Water never saved anyone!!!

Those who preach baptismal regeneration argue that water baptism is necessary to salvation and fondly quote I Peter 3:21 as proof.

Scripture: I Peter 3:21

The like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God,) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ:

Notice the phrase in the parentheses which refutes this error. The text specifically says that water baptism does not save. Rather it says, “The answer of a good conscience saves.” So how do we get that?

Scripture: Hebrews 9:14

How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?

The blood of Christ purges our conscience from dead works such as baptism or circumcision or any other effort of man to obtain his own salvation. We get a good conscience through the purifying blood of Jesus Christ. The blood saves, not water.

Plague 2—Frogs cover the land:

Scripture: Exodus 8:3-4

And the river shall bring forth frogs abundantly, which shall go up and come into thine house, and into thy bedchamber, and upon thy bed, and into the house of thy servants, and upon thy people, and into thine ovens, and into thy kneadingtroughs: 4 And the frogs shall come up both on thee, and upon thy people, and upon all thy servants.

The second plague reveals the humor of God. In Isaiah 44:10, God questions the sanity of those who worship idols. He asks, “Who hath formed a god, or melted and cast an image that is profitable for nothing?” He then tells of the carpenter who cuts a tree, uses part for a god and burns the rest. In Isaiah 40:19, He speaks of the goldsmith who casts silver chains to keep the idol from toppling over. These are gods that cannot even help themselves. How can they help us?

One of the gods worshiped by the Egyptians had the head of a frog. In effect, God said, “If you want frogs, I will give you frogs.” Suddenly, frogs covered the whole land. Imagine laying down on your bed and finding a frog on the pillow. Think of trying to knead a loaf of bread and a green, slimy frog hops into the batter. Ponder the strange odor of a live frog baking with your cake. The very thought is disgusting!

To make matters even more interesting, the sorcerers and magicians of Pharaoh were actually able to duplicate the first two plagues (Exodus 7:22 and 8:7). Think of this! You are sitting in your house with a frog perched on your shoulder, others on your lap, and still more at your feet. In runs a man shouting, “Eureka, I just found a way to get frogs to come up out of the river.”

There is a truth here that is very important. Satan is a powerful foe indeed. Through demonic power these sorcerers could duplicate the first two plagues and could make their staves turn to serpents (Exodus 7:11). The antichrist will one day be revealed with signs and lying wonders (II Thessalonians 2:9).

Young people sometimes hear of this power and are lured into the occult. They think that they can have this power. What they fail to realize is that the magicians could only add to the misery. They could not remove the plague. God is sovereign. Satan can only go as far as God allows.

There is one final thought. Moses cried unto God and the plague ended. The frogs died.

Scripture: Exodus 8:12-14

And Moses and Aaron went out from Pharaoh: and Moses cried unto the LORD because of the frogs which he had brought against Pharaoh. 13 And the LORD did according to the word of Moses; and the frogs died out of the houses, out of the villages, and out of the fields. 14 And they gathered them together upon heaps: and the land stank.

Notice the last three words: “the land stank.” The gods of men always leave a stench in the land. Only the God of the Bible can make a sweet odor.

Plague 3—Dust turned to lice:

Scripture: Exodus 8:16

And the LORD said unto Moses, Say unto Aaron, Stretch out thy rod, and smite the dust of the land, that it may become lice throughout all the land of Egypt.

The third plague closes the first series. The King James says that dust became lice. The Hebrew indicates that it was a stinging insect. The Egyptians worshiped a nasty stinging beetle that was painful to man. The nature of the judgments would point to this creature. In addition, the Egyptians worshiped another god—the earth itself. Hence this judgment was a two-fold assault on the false deities of Egypt.

On the one hand the earth god gave rise to the horrible insect god. On the other, that god tormented the people. God showed His superiority. He used their own gods to judge and show how repulsive idolatry is.

Can you imagine the awful predicament of the Egyptians? Here they were covered (Exodus 8:17) with abominable stinging bugs. Yet they dare not step on one, because it is sacred. In effect, God says, “If you want this god, you can have it.” But, do you really want that idol in your life? Do you really understand what it is doing to you?

Remarkably, the sorcerers actually tried to duplicate this judgment (Exodus 8:18). How foolish (Psalm 14:1)! Thankfully, God in His mercy did not allow them to succeed. Many brilliant men have made themselves fools by rejecting the God of the Bible and, in their foolishness, have done incredibly ignorant deeds. Because God did not allow them to succeed, the magicians wisely confessed that this was the doing of God (Exodus 8:19).

Conclusion:

This completes the first series of three plagues. They began as inconvenient and even humorous, but rapidly turned painful. This is just the beginning.

We need to understand that anything which comes between us and God is an idol. What idols do we have in our lives? Are we prepared to give them up and serve Christ? Or must God use our idols to judge us?

I Corinthians 10:22 asks two very thought provoking questions concerning idols:

1.) Do we provoke the Lord to jealousy?

2.) Are we stronger than He?

We need to think long and hard about these questions before we pursue our idols. God has a much better plan for our lives than any idol.

Next: The Judgment of Egypt—Part II

When Nothing Goes Right

Living By Faith

Moses was called, commissioned, and sent forth by God to free Israel from bondage in Egypt. In spite of that, God met him by the way in the inn and sought to kill him (Exodus 4:24-26). That is not a very good start. Worse yet, the problems continue to mount in chapters 4-6.

Did you ever have one of those days when nothing seems to go right? We may map out our plans and fill our schedule with good intentions for God. Nevertheless, everything goes haywire. Doesn’t God know that our plans are being thwarted? Yes, He does! (Proverbs 16:9)

We have been so influenced by the “health, wealth, and prosperity” gospel that we have come to expect all will be pleasant if we live for Jesus. We expect everything to go well—meaning that it will meet our expectations. That sounds nice, but God does not operate that way. We are not the sovereign. He is. We have a difficult time comprehending God’s plan (Isaiah 55:7-8)

If we do not get a handle on this, we will be very frustrated in life. We see this clearly in Moses. He got off to a bad start and things go downhill from there. He next goes from negative thinking (“I can’t do this.") to positive ("I really can do this.") That will set him up for a big let-down, because he will be positive for the wrong reasons. So let’s trace the journey and see what happened.

Scripture: Exodus 4:29-31

And Moses and Aaron went and gathered together all the elders of the children of Israel: 30 And Aaron spake all the words which the LORD had spoken unto Moses, and did the signs in the sight of the people. 31 And the people believed: and when they heard that the LORD had visited the children of Israel, and that he had looked upon their affliction, then they bowed their heads and worshipped.

Moses arrived in Egypt with Aaron and immediately met with the elders of Israel. He took the rod of authority and performed the three signs given to him at the burning bush (Exodus 4:3,6,9). Verse 31 concludes with, “And the people believed….” So far, so good. That brings us to the first of two problems.

Two Problems:

I.) Pharoah Rejected the Message:

Moses started to feel pretty confident. At first, he did not think he could do the job. But then the signs worked and the people believed. It was so easy that Moses became over-confident.

Scripture: Exodus 5:1-2

And afterward Moses and Aaron went in, and told Pharaoh, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Let my people go, that they may hold a feast unto me in the wilderness. 2 And Pharaoh said, Who is the LORD, that I should obey his voice to let Israel go? I know not the LORD, neither will I let Israel go.

Moses bravely stated God’s demand to Pharoah. He responded, “Who is God? I do not know Him. Moses was completely taken aback. He did not expect this response, because he did not listen carefully to God.

Scripture: Exodus 3:19-20

And I am sure that the king of Egypt will not let you go, no, not by a mighty hand. 20 And I will stretch out my hand, and smite Egypt with all my wonders which I will do in the midst thereof: and after that he will let you go.

Moses was told, but did not pay attention. Too often we do the same. Christ said, “ If ye were of the world, the world would love its own; but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you (John 15:19). We are told that the world will hate us, but we want the world to love us. So we compromise our stand on faith and adopt worldly ways and means to please men. In the process, we water down the message of Christianity to a weak and powerless 'churchianity'. We act just like Moses.

Scripture: Exodus 5:3

And they said, The God of the Hebrews hath met with us: let us go, we pray thee, three days' journey into the desert, and sacrifice unto the LORD our God; lest he fall upon us with pestilence, or with the sword.

Observe the personal pronoun “us”. It is only two letters, but has ten miles of importance. The text says, “Lest he fall upon us,” not, “you.” This was not the message. God was not going to fall upon Israel. In fact, He was going to stretch out His hand and smite Egypt with all His wonders (Exodus 3:20).

Moses did not get what he expected. So he watered down the message and gave this weak-kneed explanation to this powerful potentate who could care less whether God fell upon his slaves.

We who know Christ as Savior carry the treasure of the gospel in our earthly bodies. If we water down the message by adopting the lifestyle, method and means of the world, we will go away defeated in our efforts to win the lost. They will see only themselves and we will lose the power of the message.

Moses watered down the message, lost the power of God, and went away defeated. Pharaoh was not impressed and merely said, “Get back to work, slaves (vs.4).” He then introduced the second problem.

II.) The Burden Was Increased:

Scripture: Exodus 5:6-8

And Pharaoh commanded the same day the taskmasters of the people, and their officers, saying, 7 Ye shall no more give the people straw to make brick, as heretofore: let them go and gather straw for themselves. 8 And the tale of the bricks, which they did make heretofore, ye shall lay upon them; ye shall not diminish ought thereof: for they be idle; therefore they cry, saying, Let us go and sacrifice to our God.

Israel was already serving at hard labor, but Pharoah increased the burden. They would no longer be supplied with straw for making bricks. They would have to forage for their own and their quotas would not be diminished. When they could not meet them, the officers of Israel were beaten.

Scripture: Exodus 5:14

And the officers of the children of Israel, which Pharaoh's taskmasters had set over them, were beaten, and demanded, Wherefore have ye not fulfilled your task in making brick both yesterday and to day, as heretofore?

They complained to Pharoah but his response was, “Ye are idle. That’s why you talk of sacrifice.” This put Israel in a very difficult situation, all because Moses tried to deliver them. How would you respond to this?

Scripture: Exodus 5:20-21

And they met Moses and Aaron, who stood in the way, as they came forth from Pharaoh: 21 And they said unto them, The LORD look upon you, and judge; because ye have made our savour to be abhorred in the eyes of Pharaoh, and in the eyes of his servants, to put a sword in their hand to slay us.

Moses went from hero to ogre! The life of faith is not easy. It may even become more difficult for a time. But living by faith is the true path to real freedom.

Now put yourself in Moses' shoes. Nothing seems to be going right. You have your own plan. You have not paid attention to God’s plan. What do you think is going to happen?

Scripture: Exodus 5:22-23

And Moses returned unto the LORD, and said, LORD, wherefore hast thou so evil entreated this people? why is it that thou hast sent me? 23 For since I came to Pharaoh to speak in thy name, he hath done evil to this people; neither hast thou delivered thy people at all.

Moses was very discouraged and frustrated. Many Christians are like him. They have their own plans and do not want to listen to God’s. As a consequence, nothing goes their way, and they get irritated at God. They want to blame Him, when the real problem is with them.

God has given us His Word. It is everything we need for both life (secular) and godliness (spiritual) (II Peter 1:3). If we heed the Book, we will find that God’s way is best. If we do not, we will be very frustrated. God has a perfect plan for our lives. He had a perfect plan for Israel, too.

God’s Two-Fold Plan:

I.) Pharaoh to Drive Israel Out:

Scripture: Exodus 6:1

Then the LORD said unto Moses, Now shalt thou see what I will do to Pharaoh: for with a strong hand shall he let them go, and with a strong hand shall he drive them out of his land.

This seems totally impossible! Pharaoh is probably the most powerful ruler on earth at this time. He has denied knowledge of God and has absolutely no desire to give up his slaves. Yet God said that he would drive them out. “With God all things are possible.”

Illustration: Many years ago the Lord called my wife and I into missions. At first, we vainly sought support in the acceptable fashion. After a year of failure, we came back to the verse God gave us at the outset (I Thessalonians 5:24). From that point on, we decided to merely trust God and do the work He gave us to do without seeking any funds or support. From our decision in December to April of the following year, we prepared a faith approach to missions which we shared with our home church. We would not tell anyone of our need or seek anything for ourselves. We would only minister and serve. People thought we were crazy. Two months later we were commissioned and on the field. God provided wondrously and we were by far the best supported missionaries. We had God’s support.

Our philosophy was summarized by J. Hudson Taylor who said that his life and work rested on three positive facts: First, there is a living God. Second, He has spoken in the Bible. Third, He means what He says and will do all He has promised.

Moses did not have success, because he did not live like God is for real.

II.) Israel to Learn about Jehovah God:

Scripture: Exodus 6:2-7

And God spake unto Moses, and said unto him, I am the LORD: 3 And I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, by the name of God Almighty, but by my name JEHOVAH was I not known to them. 4 And I have also established my covenant with them, to give them the land of Canaan, the land of their pilgrimage, wherein they were strangers. 5 And I have also heard the groaning of the children of Israel, whom the Egyptians keep in bondage; and I have remembered my covenant. 6 Wherefore say unto the children of Israel, I am the LORD, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will rid you out of their bondage, and I will redeem you with a stretched out arm, and with great judgments: 7 And I will take you to me for a people, and I will be to you a God: and ye shall know that I am the LORD your God, which bringeth you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians.

In these seven verses the phrase “I am the Lord” is used three times. In connection with the ten plagues that follow, it appears 5 more times. Each time the word Lord is in all capital letters indicating this is a translation of the Hebrew Jehovah [YHWH]. The name is an acronym made up of the first letters of the conjugation of the Hebrew verb “I am”. The meaning is “The Eternal, or Self-existent One”.

Verse three says, “By my name Jehovah was I not known.” The idea here is not a new name but a new understanding of that name summed by two concepts:

1.) The Self-Existent One

The Egyptians worshiped idols - bowing down to the creature rather than the Creator (Romans 1:20-23). God would show the futility of this false worship by demonstrating that He is the only self-existent one.

2.) The Savior

In the Bible, Jehovah is the name associated with salvation. The name Jesus means Jehovah saves. God would demonstrate that He is the only one capable of saving us. He would do so through the plagues and the lamb.

Conclusion:

God shared all of this with Moses and Israel, but Exodus 6:9 says, “they hearkened not.” Their spirits were in so much anguish that they did not hear the message. Evangelism is frequently like this. We share the gospel, but the bondage of this world is so cruel that people do not hear. We need to ask God to give the lost ears to hear, hearts to believe, and feet to obey the good news about Jesus Christ. Christ died for our sins to set the slaves free. We who are free need to help free others.

That is what evangelism is all about. It is about freed slaves sharing the message to other slaves that Jesus Christ died to set us free from the power of sin and the hold that it has on us. We can have eternal life and forgiveness if we just repent of our sin and turn to Him. He will set us free.

Next: The Judgment of Egypt

God Sought To Kill Moses: Part II

Living By Faith

And it came to pass by the way in the inn, that the LORD met him, and sought to kill him. Then Zipporah took a sharp stone, and cut off the foreskin of her son, and cast it at his feet, and said, Surely a bloody husband art thou to me. So he let him go: then she said, A bloody husband thou art, because of the circumcision.

Last lesson, we began looking at Exodus 4:24-26. We said that we would divide the study into two parts. In part one, we said that we would make three observations from the text. We completed the first one, noting that the Lord sought to kill Moses (vs.24). The context (vs. 22-23) revealed the hypocrisy of Moses. He was going to Egypt with a message for Pharaoh that Israel was God’s son and God would slay Pharaoh’s first born if he did not let them go. Yet, Moses had not completed the requirement of the Abrahamic covenant that he circumcise his own son (Exodus 17:9-14). Therefore, his son was excluded from Israel. He failed to practice personal separation. So, God was ready to slay him.

If God would kill Moses for shirking his responsibility to be consistent in his testimony, what do you think He will do to us? God expects us to live holy, righteous, and godly lives before this world.

Part One—Three Observations Continued:

II.) His wife had to do his job for him (vs. 25)

The second observation is that the wife of Moses had to do his job for him. The text says that Zipporah took a sharp stone and cut off the foreskin of her son. As spiritual head of the home, this task belonged rightfully to Moses. But he shirked the responsibility.

God was ready to kill Moses, because he failed his duty to his family. Men need to understand that God holds us accountable for the spiritual leadership in our home. We set the standard and determine whether our home will serve God or not (Joshua 24:15). If we fail in that duty, God will judge us severely.

Unfortunately, this is all too common today. We suffer from a shortage of godly men. Too often men leave this to women. Thank God for godly women! If it were not for godly women the church would have died out long ago, but we still need godly men.

Illustration: Many years ago, our daughter, Amie, made a little paper doll for her mother. On it, she wrote an inscription that said, “World’s greatest mom.” Later, she made another doll for me labeled, “World’s greatest dad.” What impressed me the most, was the Bible she put in the hand of the doll. I was not a pastor or missionary. I was a deacon and Sunday School teacher with no plans for full-time service, but my child saw me with a Bible in my hand.

Now suppose that your child were to make a doll for you. What would most impress them about you? What imprint are you stamping in the mind of others? Are you seen as a hypocrite who puts on one face at church and another at home? How are you viewed by those around you?

Observe that as soon as Zipporah did the deed, God spared his life (vs. 26) Ladies, your husband may not be the spiritual leader that he should be, but that does not excuse you. Sometimes you must take up the sword of God’s Word to do what your husband should have done. If you do this in the right spirit, it can reach that stubborn man in your life. It can save his life and perhaps even his soul (I Peter 3:1-6).

III.) Zipporah resented doing the job (vs. 26).

The third observation we make is that Zipporah did the deed, but resented doing it. Her spirit was not right. She was very angry and demonstrated that by casting the foreskin as his feet (vs. 25) and by twice calling him a bloody husband. She was not at all happy and was not doing all to the glory of God (I Corinthians 10:31)

Ladies, did you ever resent having to do something for your husband that he should have done. If so, you can identify with Zipporah. Perhaps, you responded as she did. Perhaps, you were angry and upset. Perhaps you did the job, and say, “See, I did it.” Simply doing the job is not sufficient. Zipporah did the job, but allowed two sin problems to develop in her life with disastrous consequences.

1.) Resentment

Zipporah resented having to do this job. Instead of “doing all to the glory of God, she angrily did it. That attitude unconfessed can lead to an even bigger problem called bitterness (Hebrews 12:15). Ultimately, it will destroy relationships Keep in mind that Zipporah began the journey to Egypt, but after this, we do not read about her again until Exodus 18.

Scripture: Exodus 18:2-6

Then Jethro, Moses' father in law, took Zipporah, Moses' wife, after he had sent her back, And her two sons; of which the name of the one was Gershom; for he said, I have been an alien in a strange land: And the name of the other was Eliezer; for the God of my father, said he, was mine help, and delivered me from the sword of Pharaoh: And Jethro, Moses' father in law, came with his sons and his wife unto Moses into the wilderness, where he encamped at the mount of God: And he said unto Moses, I thy father in law Jethro am come unto thee, and thy wife, and her two sons with her.

Do you see what happened? Her resentment led to separation.

2.) Self-assertiveness

Resentment is the underlying problem, but self-assertiveness is the manifestation. This is merely another sin problem that is highly advocated by modern psychology—even sometimes so-called Christian psychology. They tell us that we need more self-love and high self-esteem. They say that we need to be self-assertive. The problem in all of this is self. The Bible says that we need to die to self (Galatians 2:20).

Zipporah asserted herself. She cast the foreskin at his feet and gave him a piece of her mind. What did it get her? It got her a broken home.

Illustration: As a child, I was encouraged to assert myself. I was about a head taller than my best friend, but my parents thought he was walking all over me. He was actually about a year older and I was content to let him take the lead. My parents, who were not saved at the time, were not. So, they insisted I assert myself. One day, I did. In the ensuing exchange, my friend end up with a bloody nose, and I, a bloody mouth.

What did asserting myself accomplish? Before, we were both happy. Afterwards, we were both crying. Friends, the most miserable people that I have known were the most assertive.

Scripture: Proverbs 15:1

A soft answer turneth away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger.

Notice that grievous words stir up anger. That is exactly what happened to Zipporah. She stirred up Moses anger, and he sent her home. No matter how macho we think we are, there is always someone who is bigger, meaner, tougher, nastier, etc. than we are.

Illustration: The psychologists and psychiatrists tell us to assert ourselves. Years ago, my neighbor was a psychiatrist at the time self-assertiveness became the popular fad with psychiatrists. We were trying to complete our first house and subbed some of the work to a contractor who turned out to be not very good. My neighbor use the same contractor as well. Sadly, I got caught in the middle of a dispute between them. One night, the shrink called and began to assert himself. That is not a good thing to do with an ex-marine. I very quickly put him in his place and then spent 45 minutes counseling him on how to deal with people in a proper biblical fashion.

Peter was a rough, tough, old fisherman who was noted for asserting himself. Whether it be whacking off someone’s ear with a sword (John 18:10) or blurting out something foolish on the Mount of Transfiguration (Matthew 17:4-5), he constantly asserted himself until God humbled him. Eventually, he was used by God to write I and II Peter.

In his first epistle, Peter revealed that he learned the lesson well. The letter deals with four real life situations where it would be easy to assert ourselves:

1.) Citizen under a persecuting government (I Peter 2:13-17)

2.) Slave under a persecuting master (I Peter 2:18-25)

3.) Wife under a persecuting husband (I Peter 3:1-7)

4.) Church member under a persecuting pastor (I Peter 5:1-7)

—In each predicament, Peter counsels the same. We are to cast our care upon Christ (I Peter 5:7). Instead of self-assertiveness, we need Christ-assertiveness.

Scripture: I Peter 3:7

Likewise, ye husbands, dwell with them according to knowledge, giving honour unto the wife, as unto the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life; that your prayers be not hindered.

Wives, the proper way to handle a husband who shirks his responsibility is to understand that his prayers are hindered by his failure to render proper honor to you. At that point, if you keep sin out of your life, you can take your problem to God. He will deal with it. My wife knows this to be true. She has taken me to the Lord on occasion and somehow, I have come around to her way of thinking.

Conclusion:

Moses by shirking his responsibility failed his wife and family. His poor leadership opened the door to sin and shut the door on relationship. By the same token he brought judgment from God upon himself. God holds men accountable for the home. Zipporah by doing his job saved his life and helped her family, but her resentment and self-assertiveness, effectively, undid any good that she accomplished. Instead of letting God deal with her husband (I Peter 3:7), she let him have a piece of her mind. In the end, she was just as guilty as he, and the family suffered terribly.

God Sought To Kill Moses: Part I

Living By Faith

Before we can even begin the journey of faith, we must learn some basic lessons from the life of Moses. Thus far we have seen that God wants us to understand that we are totally dependent upon Him. If we do not learn this lesson we will be unsuccessful in the life of faith. To fully comprehend this truth, we must rid ourselves of self image concerns and develop a healthy God image. We must know that we are mere crummy earthen vessels, but God has called us and chosen to use us. That makes us somebody, who, with His help, can do anything (Philippians 4:13).

That brings us to one of the strangest incidents in the Bible. We will divide the lesson into two parts:

Part One—Three Observations:

I.) The Lord sought to kill Moses (Exodus 4:24)

And it came to pass by the way in the inn, that the LORD met him, and sought to kill him.

The first observation we make is that God sought to kill Moses. This is certainly a strange turn of events. Why would God want to kill Moses?

The context reveals two items of importance:

1.) God’s son (vs.22-23)

God told Moses to tell Pharaoh that Israel was His son and that He would slay the first born son of Pharaoh, if he did not let Israel go. Immediately, we jump from that to God sought to kill Moses.

2.) Moses’ son (vs.25)

God seeking to kill Moses had something to do with Moses’ son not being circumcised.

It sounds like we need to know something about circumcision. The first thing we need to know is that circumcision was a requirement of the Abrahamic covenant. All male Jewish children had to be circumcised.

Scripture: Genesis 17:9-14

And God said unto Abraham, Thou shalt keep my covenant therefore, thou, and thy seed after thee in their generations. 10 This is my covenant, which ye shall keep, between me and you and thy seed after thee; Every man child among you shall be circumcised. 11 And ye shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin; and it shall be a token of the covenant betwixt me and you. 12 And he that is eight days old shall be circumcised among you, every man child in your generations, he that is born in the house, or bought with money of any stranger, which is not of thy seed. 13 He that is born in thy house, and he that is bought with thy money, must needs be circumcised: and my covenant shall be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant. 14 And the uncircumcised man child whose flesh of his foreskin is not circumcised, that soul shall be cut off from his people; he hath broken my covenant.

Notice that the soul not circumcised was cut off from his people. Thus circumcision was very important in the Abrahamic covenant. The son of Moses was not part of the Jewish nation, because he was not circumcised. Moses was going to Egypt to tell Pharaoh that Israel was God’s son, but his own son was not considered part of Israel, because he failed to circumcise him. To understand more, we must turn to the New Testament, where we find that it represents two things—neither of which has anything to do with infant baptism.

1.) Circumcision is a Work of Man

Because the Bible does not say anything about infant baptism, many groups reach to circumcision for an analogy. The book of Galatians deals with circumcision as a work of man. A good introduction to the book is found in Acts.

Scripture: Acts 15:1

And certain men which came down from Judaea taught the brethren, and said, Except ye be circumcised after the manner of Moses, ye cannot be saved.

The men who taught the brethren were known as Judaizers. They are the false teachers most often mentioned in Scripture. They came to the Galatian people and told them that trusting Christ was good, but to keep or maintain their salvation they must also follow Jewish customs and traditions, including circumcision.

This is very similar to the argument that infant baptism is necessary to salvation. It is very easy to see why they would appeal to circumcision as a type. But what does Scripture say? Paul argued in Galatians that this is nothing more than an attempt to mix works with grace for salvation. That is sort of like trying to mix oil and water. The two do not mix.

Scripture: Galatians 6:15

For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision, but a new creature.

This verse tells us, as a work of man, circumcision has no saving merit. By the same token baptism cannot save either. Works do not save us today and did not save the Jewish people either. Salvation is now, always has been, and always will be by grace through faith.

Scripture: Romans 4:16

Therefore it is of faith, that it might be by grace; to the end the promise might be sure to all the seed; not to that only which is of the law, but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham; who is the father of us all,

Notice that salvation is by grace through faith so that the “promise might be sure.” If salvation depends upon our works, it is fickle and unsure, but because it depends upon God’s grace, it is sure and steadfast. God does not change, but we do.

The Jewish people were saved by grace through faith. Scripture records that Abraham believed God and it was counted to him for righteousness (Genesis 15:6; Romans 4:13; and Galatians 3:6). When did this occur? Answer: Genesis 12: 3 - Abraham believed the promise and demonstrated his belief by departing (vs.4).

Paul correctly argued in Romans 4:9-12 that Abraham’s faith was counted as righteousness (Genesis 15:6) before circumcision was instituted (Genesis 17) as a sign of the covenant. As a work of man, circumcision has no saving merit, but, as an outward sign of a covenant relationship that already exists, it teaches a second truth.

2.) Personal Separation

Scripture: Romans 2:28-29

For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh: But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God.

To the Jew, circumcision was an outward sign they were God’s chosen people. It made them distinctly different from other nations of the world.

To the Christian, though, it is not the outward circumcision of the flesh that counts, but the inward circumcision of the heart. Judaizers, who try to follow the law, seek to lead separated lives so that they can earn or keep their salvation, but we are not of those. We recognize that salvation is by grace through faith alone and that we have liberty in Christ, but not a license to sin.

Scripture: Galatians 5:13-15

For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another. For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. But if ye bite and devour one another, take heed that ye be not consumed one of another.

We are not to use grace as an occasion for sin. Rather we are to use our liberty to “by love serve one another.” We voluntarily separate to God out of love for Him and because He does a work in our heart. The only real difference between law and grace is that law unsuccessfully attempts to perform outwardly what grace successfully performs inwardly.

God changes the man of grace from the inside out.

God wanted Moses to know that He is holy and that He expects us to be holy as well (I Peter 1:16). God sought to kill Moses because he failed to practice personal separation. Many Christians sleep in Jesus because they wrongly use liberty as an occasion for the flesh and fail to practice personal separation. Sin always carries a high price (Romans 6:23)

II.) His wife had to do his job (Exodus 4:25).

Then Zipporah took a sharp stone, and cut off the foreskin of her son, and cast it at his feet, and said, Surely a bloody husband art thou to me.

The second observation is that the wife of Moses did his job for him. Zipporah took a sharp stone and cut off the foreskin of her son. The job belonged to Moses, but he shirked his responsibility. God was ready to kill him for this, but Zipporah saved his life by doing it for him (vs.26).

Thank God for godly women to rescue godly men who shirk their responsibility. If it were not for godly women the church would have ceased long ago. We suffer from a shortage of godly men who will stand up for Christ and be counted. Too many try to get by with minimal attention to God. That has led to the sorry state we find ourselves in today. God wants men to take responsibility for their families. He wants men to provide spiritual leadership in the home.

III.) Zipporah resented doing the job (Exodus 4:26).

So he let him go: then she said, A bloody husband thou art, because of the circumcision.

The third observation we make is that Zipporah did the deed, but resented doing it. She cast the foreskin at his feet (vs.25) and twice calls him a bloody husband (vs.25, 26). She was not at all happy.

Ladies, did you ever resent doing something for your husband? It was his job, but you had to do it. If so, you can identify with Zipporah.

It is easy to say, “I’m not going to do that.” But keep in mind that her act saved the life of her husband.

Simply doing the job, though, is not sufficient. Zipporah did the job, but allowed two sin problems to develop in her life:

1.) Resentment

Zipporah resented having to do this job. Instead of “doing all to the glory of God (I Corinthians 10:31), she angrily did it. That attitude unconfessed can lead to an even bigger problem called bitterness (Hebrews 12:15). Ultimately, it will destroy relationships (Zipporah began the journey to Egypt, but went home after this. Her father had to reconcile them. See Exodus 18.)

2.) Self assertiveness

The resentment led to another sin problem that is highly advocated by modern psychology. It is called, “self assertiveness.” (Did you notice that word “self”? They tell us we need high self esteem and we need to be self assertive.) Zipporah asserted herself, and what did it get her? It got her a broken home and separation from her husband. The most miserable and unhappy people I have ever known have been self assertive (Proverbs 15:1). What does the Bible say?

Scripture: I Peter 3:3-4

Whose adorning let it not be that outward adorning of plaiting the hair, and of wearing of gold, or of putting on of apparel; But let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price.

In the sight of God, a meek and quiet spirit is of great price. That was written by Peter, who had to learn not to be self assertive. What counsel did he give? (I Peter 5:7) Instead of asserting ourselves, we are to let Christ deal with the matter. Can you imagine what would have happened if Christ had asserted Himself on the cross? He set the example for us (I Peter 2:21-25).

Conclusion:

Moses by shirking his responsibility failed his wife and family. His poor leadership opened the door to sin and shut the door on relationship. By the same token he brought judgment from God upon himself. God holds men accountable for the home. Zipporah by doing his job saved his life and helped her family, but her resentment and self-assertiveness effectively undid any good that she accomplished. Instead of letting God deal with her husband (I Peter 3:7), she let him have a piece of her mind. In the end, she was just as guilty as he, and the family suffered terribly.

Next Lesson: Part 2

The Resurrection

Living By Faith

This is Resurrection Morning, popularly referred to as Easter Sunday. An article this past week in the Columbus Dispatch caused me to think and meditate on the resurrection of the dead. The title is Most don’t expect to rise from their graves. It goes on to say that only 36% of those surveyed answered “yes” to the question: “Do you believe that, after you die, your physical body will be resurrected someday?” 54% answered, “No.” !0% were unable to make up their minds.

This shocking revelation answers another question: “Why is this generation so non-committal?” There is little doubt that we are in the Laodicean age where the Bible says that church people are lukewarm and Christ stands outside trying to get into the hearts of men. What is our problem? It lies right here. We do not seriously believe in