Word: Exodus 7:1-7 Title: Ten plagues (1) 1994. 8. 28
For several weeks, we will study the ten plagues through the Sunday worship service. The ten plagues were the plagues God sent upon the land of Egypt to free the children of Israel from slavery.
Previously, we studied the “Way of the Cross,” the way of salvation. As we live a life of faith, we may sometimes face trials, tribulations, or calamities. Through the ten plagues, we can examine why such things may come and how we should respond before God. When trials or hardships come, we should understand their cause, turn back when necessary, and seek to live a blessed life under God’s protection.
Why, then, were the children of Israel enslaved in the foreign land of Egypt?
Israel was the name God gave to Jacob, the grandson of Abraham. Genesis 32:28 explains the name in connection with Jacob striving with God and prevailing.
Isaac had twin sons, Esau and Jacob. Esau sold his birthright to Jacob for a meal, and Jacob later received the blessing of the firstborn. Because Esau wanted to kill him, Jacob fled to the home of his mother Rebekah’s family.
Twenty years later, Jacob returned to the land of Canaan. On the way, he heard that Esau was coming to meet him with four hundred men, and Jacob became greatly afraid.
Jacob sent his family and possessions across the Jabbok River and remained alone. There he wrestled through the night and earnestly sought a blessing. It was at this time that he received the name Israel.
The twelve tribes of Israel came through Jacob’s twelve sons.
Jacob had twelve sons born through four women. Joseph, who was especially loved by his father, was sold into slavery because of the jealousy of his brothers and was taken to Egypt.
God had already given Joseph dreams. Joseph continued to walk before God, and God was with him. Eventually, Joseph rose to a position second only to Pharaoh in Egypt.
God enabled Joseph to understand that seven years of abundance would be followed by seven years of famine. Joseph also presented a plan for preparing for the famine, and Pharaoh trusted him and placed him in authority over Egypt.
When the famine came, it also affected Canaan, where Jacob lived. Jacob’s sons went to Egypt to obtain food. Joseph recognized them, and eventually Jacob and his entire family moved to Egypt.
The children of Israel became fruitful, multiplied greatly, and became exceedingly numerous, as recorded in Exodus 1:7.
As time passed, however, a new king arose who did not know Joseph. Many generations had passed, and the grace Egypt had received through Joseph had been forgotten.
Because the Israelites had become so numerous, Pharaoh became afraid of them. He made them slaves and forced them into hard labor. Yet the more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied.
Eventually, Pharaoh ordered that the newborn Hebrew boys be killed.
Moses was born during this time.
His parents saw that he was a fine child and hid him for three months. When they could no longer hide him, his mother placed him in a basket among the reeds along the river.
In God’s providence, Pharaoh’s daughter discovered Moses and raised him as her son.
Through the wisdom of Moses’ sister, Moses’ own mother became his nurse. In this way, although Moses grew up in Pharaoh’s household, he also received care from his own Hebrew mother and could learn about the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
When Moses grew up, he saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his own people. Moses struck the Egyptian and buried him in the sand.
Later, the matter became known, and Pharaoh sought to kill Moses. Moses therefore fled to the wilderness of Midian, where he spent forty years.
After that, God called Moses from the burning bush on Mount Horeb and appointed him to lead the children of Israel out of Egypt.
Moses was eighty years old at that time. He had fled Egypt at about the age of forty and had spent another forty years in Midian.
Moses later died at the age of one hundred and twenty. The Bible says that even at that age, his eyes had not grown dim and his strength had not failed.
Aaron, Moses’ brother, was three years older than Moses. Therefore, when Moses was eighty years old, Aaron was eighty-three.
Now let us consider why God sent the ten plagues upon Pharaoh, his servants, and the people of Egypt.
Pharaoh’s heart was extremely hardened. Even when God’s power was revealed, he continued to resist until the judgments reached the point of death.
Through the account of the ten plagues, we should examine ourselves. When something is wrong, we should recognize it and turn back before God rather than continuing to harden our hearts.
At that time, Pharaoh regarded himself as divine, and the people also regarded Pharaoh as a god. Therefore, when Moses spoke to Pharaoh about the God he did not know, it was not easy for Pharaoh to accept it.
People can also place their trust in themselves. Some trust their strength, knowledge, fame, authority, money, or wealth. When people regard these things as supreme, pride grows and their hearts become hardened.
There have also been people who claimed, “I am God,” “I am the Savior,” or “I am Jesus,” and others have been deceived by them.
But a human being cannot be the Creator God. We must not be deceived by someone simply because he claims to be God or the Savior. God alone is the Creator, and salvation comes from God.
When people trust in themselves, their own strength, knowledge, possessions, honor, or authority, it becomes difficult for them to open their hearts to God.
In Exodus, we repeatedly find the expression that God hardened Pharaoh’s heart.
If this expression is understood without considering the whole account, someone might think that God deliberately made Pharaoh evil. But God is just and loving.
If God had immediately killed Pharaoh’s firstborn and all the firstborn of Egypt at the beginning, Pharaoh might have released Israel at once out of terror. But God did not begin with the final plague.
God did not desire obedience produced only through terror and coercion. He gave opportunities for Pharaoh to see, recognize, and respond.
The plagues therefore began with lesser judgments and became progressively more severe. Through this process, what was already in Pharaoh’s heart was continually revealed.
God knew Pharaoh’s heart. As the circumstances unfolded, Pharaoh continued to reveal his stubbornness and evil. This is related to the biblical expression that God hardened Pharaoh’s heart.
We should not trust in ourselves. We should trust in God.
The same principle can also cause us to examine ourselves. Through trials and refinement, hidden things in the heart may be revealed so that we can recognize them and cast them away.
In the book of Job, things within Job’s heart were brought to the surface through his trials. Through this process, Job came to recognize himself more deeply and eventually humbled himself before God.
When trials and tribulations come, therefore, we should examine ourselves, discover what must be changed, and repent where repentance is needed.
Pharaoh repeatedly saw the works of God, but his heart remained hardened.
Even after the ten plagues and after allowing the Israelites to leave Egypt, he changed his mind and pursued them again.
This shows how deeply hardened his heart had become.
Pharaoh and his army pursued the Israelites to the Red Sea. In the end, the Egyptian forces entered the sea after Israel, and the waters returned over them.
While the Israelites lived in Egypt, they dwelt in the land of Goshen.
God brought plagues upon Egypt, yet He made a distinction concerning the land where Israel lived.
This was not because every Israelite was completely good and righteous. They were the people God had chosen through His covenant, and they knew the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
When they suffered, they cried out to God.
Likewise, those who believe in God should acknowledge Him, pray to Him, and seek to live according to His Word.
As faith grows, believers should put away sin and increasingly abide in the truth.
The original account speaks of ten plagues, though there were also other signs and judgments associated with the Exodus.
Before the plagues, Aaron’s staff became a serpent. Later, Pharaoh and his army were overwhelmed in the Red Sea.
If these events were also counted as judgments, someone might speak of more than ten. But the ten plagues normally refer to the ten specific judgments that came upon Egypt before the Israelites left.
The first plague was that the waters of Egypt were turned to blood. The water could no longer be drunk.
The second was the plague of frogs. Frogs came up and entered houses and filled the land.
The third was the plague of gnats or lice.
In earlier generations, lice were a familiar source of great discomfort. They could infest a person’s hair and clothing and continually bite and cause itching. People sometimes had great difficulty getting rid of them even by washing or boiling their clothes.
Such an infestation throughout the land would have been a severe affliction.
The fourth plague was the plague of flies.
A swarm of flies filling rooms, kitchens, food, and every part of a house would also be extremely difficult to endure.
The fifth plague struck the livestock.
The sixth plague was boils.
The seventh plague was hail. The hail destroyed the produce of the land and caused great material loss.
The eighth plague was locusts. The locusts consumed what remained after the earlier destruction.
As Pharaoh continued to harden his heart, the judgments became increasingly severe.
The ninth plague was darkness.
The tenth and final plague was the death of the firstborn.
Thus, the plagues increased in severity as Pharaoh continued to resist.
This gives us an important lesson. When we recognize something wrong, we should turn back quickly rather than continuing in it.
If Pharaoh had truly turned back during the earlier plagues, the later plagues would not have followed. But because he repeatedly hardened his heart, the judgments continued.
Likewise, when we face trials or hardships, we should examine ourselves before God.
Some people, when faced with difficulty, humble themselves, ask forgiveness, discover what is wrong, and try to change.
Others may say, “I attend church, pray, and give offerings. Why should this happen to me?” Such an attitude can prevent a person from examining himself.
When an accident or hardship occurs, one person may become angry and complain, while another may still give thanks for what was preserved and protected.
For example, even if someone is injured in an accident, he may still thank God that his life was spared.
Therefore, when hardship comes, we should not simply complain. We should examine ourselves, give thanks for what we have received, and turn from anything that is wrong.
The Israelites in the wilderness also repeatedly resisted God’s guidance through Moses and suffered consequences for their rebellion.
When Israel asked Samuel for a king, the Lord said to Samuel:
“They have not rejected you, but they have rejected me as their king.”
Jesus also said that whoever receives those He sends receives Him, and whoever receives Him receives the One who sent Him.
He also taught that whoever receives a prophet in the name of a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward, whoever receives a righteous person in the name of a righteous person will receive a righteous person’s reward, and whoever gives even a cup of cold water to one of His little ones will not lose his reward.
The point is that we should receive God’s Word with humility and not harden our hearts against what is true.
When we face calamity or hardship, we should examine whether there is anything in our lives that is not pleasing to God and turn back quickly when correction is needed.
As we continue studying the ten plagues, let us listen carefully and apply these lessons to ourselves so that we do not harden our hearts but live according to God’s Word.