The Seventh Plague

TRANSCRIPT

Our text for tonight's message is taken from Exodus 9 verse 13 to 35. And we will be considering the seventh plague. The first six plagues have produced enough hardship for Pharaoh to recognise God's power, but this seventh plague was different, because Pharaoh was about to see that God had the power to wipe out Egypt from the face of the Earth.

We have learned that each plague was a demonstration of God's power, but if you notice, the plagues were increasing in their intensity. The first plague began in the water, which turned into blood, and then moved on to the land which brought forth the frogs, the lice, the flies, and the death of all the animals. Now, God was about to send hail from the sky. So from the water to the land, and then to the sky, this was the first plague in the third cycle. Remember, there were three cycles, and each cycle would begin with Moses going to Pharaoh early in the morning, followed by Moses going to Pharaoh's residence, and then God would strike Pharaoh without any prior warning or confrontation. So in this first plague in the cycle, we see Moses going to Pharaoh early in the morning.

Let us begin with verse 13. “And the LORD said unto Moses, Rise up early in the morning, and stand before Pharaoh, and say unto him, Thus saith the LORD God of the Hebrews, Let my people go, that they may serve me. For I will at this time send all my plagues upon thine heart, and upon thy servants,” In other words, I will send the full force of my plagues or the hardest blow when Pharaoh hardened his heart. He was fighting against God, he was setting himself against God, he was exalting himself to the place of God. That was the reason why God sent this plague against his heart. And the second part of verse 14 says, "And upon thy servants and upon thy people, that thou mayest know that there is none like me in all the earth."

I. The purpose of this plague

Our first point for the message is the purpose of this plague. What was God's purpose in sending the plagues upon Egypt? We know that it was because they had oppressed his people, the children of Israel, and God wants to deliver them out of bondage, ultimately to bring them into the Promised Land. But here, God reveals His reason for saving the children of Israel: it is for His glory, "that thou mayest know that there is none like me in all the Earth."

Verse 15, "For now I will stretch out my hand, that I may smite thee and thy people with pestilence; and thou shalt be cut off from the earth. And in very deed for this cause have I raised thee up, for to shew in thee my power; and that my name may be declared throughout all the earth." In other words, God was the one who put Pharaoh on his throne and allowed him to remain there, and He did that for the specific purpose of demonstrating His power.

What can we learn from here? Sometimes we may have achieved certain successes, we may have received flying colours in our examinations, or we may be promoted to a high position, and we think that it is all because of our own doings. God forbids! You and I must always bear in mind that God is the one who has raised us up, He is the one who has strengthened us and given us the opportunities to achieve those results, and it is for His sovereign purpose, it is for His glory. That is why we must always give credit to God for all our successes. Never be proud like Pharaoh.

Have you ever wondered why God needed to perform 10 plagues? Why not just one plague? If there had been only one plague, it can be easily forgotten, but ten plagues, it is impossible to forget. As one theologian said, ten plagues mean ten times more likely to be remembered. Before the plagues started, Pharaoh had told Moses that he did not even know who God was, "Who is the Lord that I must listen to Him?" Now he knew, and soon he would know more about God than he could ever imagine.

However, God did not only want Pharaoh to know who He was; he wanted the whole world to know His name. And true enough, God's name will spread throughout the surrounding nations. Let me give you some examples. When the Gibeonites met with Joshua, this was what they said in Joshua 9:19, "And they said unto him, From a very far country thy servants are come because of the name of the LORD thy God: for we have heard the fame of him, and all that he did in Egypt”. So they had heard while they were living in a far country, all the things that God did in Egypt.

Many years later, when the Ark of the Covenant entered into the Philistines' camp, the Philistines were so afraid. 1 Samuel 4:7, "And the Philistines were afraid, for they said, God is come into the camp. And they said, Woe unto us! for there hath not been such a thing heretofore. Woe unto us! who shall deliver us out of the hand of these mighty Gods? these are the Gods that smote the Egyptians with all the plagues in the wilderness.”

Even in the New Testament, when the Apostle Paul explained that salvation in Christ did not depend on man's effort or desire but on God's mercy, he said, "For the scripture saith unto Pharaoh, Even for this same purpose have I raised thee up, that I might shew my power in thee, and that my name might be declared throughout all the earth.” (Romans 9:17)

Dear friends, isn't it true that even today, the unbelievers who do not know God, they have heard of His name? They have heard of what He did in Egypt. They have heard of the wonderful stories of the plagues, the opening of the Red Sea, and so forth. Nothing happens by chance or coincidence, including our lives. They happen for a sovereign purpose, and it is for the glory of God.

II. The salvation of the Egyptians

Our second point is the salvation of the Egyptians. Moses went on to issue the warning, verse 18, “As yet exaltest thou thyself against my people, that thou wilt not let them go?" – which means you are still behaving arrogantly by not letting my people go, you are still so proud. Verse 18, “Behold, to morrow about this time I will cause it to rain a very grievous hail, such as hath not been in Egypt since the foundation thereof even until now.”

Whenever God speaks, there are only two ways to respond. One is to believe and obey what He says, the other is to reject and refuse to obey and then wait and see what happens. What God promised will surely come to pass. Verse 19, “Send therefore now, and gather thy cattle, and all that thou hast in the field; for upon every man and beast which shall be found in the field, and shall not be brought home, the hail shall come down upon them, and they shall die.”

For the first time, God would take away the lives of those Egyptians who disobeyed. And for the first time, He gave the Egyptians a chance to protect themselves. A killer hailstorm was on its way, but there was still time to take refuge. What does that teach us? God is long-suffering toward us, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. (2 Peter 3:9) And that includes the lives of the Egyptians, and that includes our unbelieving loved ones and friends. God is not willing that any should perish.

The Pharaoh had every reason to follow God's advice because he had already seen what God could do, but he still refused to obey. The Pharaoh's refusal to obey puts the Egyptians in a very difficult position. They could either follow the Pharaoh's orders and trust in the gods of Egypt, or they would have to disobey him and follow God's warning. They did not need ten plagues to convince them; six plagues were more than enough.

So there were two responses regarding this warning. Verse 20 and 21, “He that feared the word of the LORD among the servants of Pharaoh made his servants and his cattle flee into the houses: And he that regarded not the word of the LORD left his servants and his cattle in the field.” Here we can see some of the Egyptians feared the word of the Lord; in other words, some Egyptians were beginning to believe. Later on, we will read that by the time the Israelites left Egypt, the Bible says in chapter 12, verse 38, “And a mixed multitude went up also with them; and flocks, and herds, even very much cattle.” Who were this mixed multitude that followed the Israelites? Obviously, some of them were the slaves of other ethnic groups, some were the Egyptians who put their faith in the God of Israel.

Dear friends, do you realise that God has always given the people in this world a chance to protect themselves? During Noah's time, God used Noah to preach to the people about the coming judgment, the coming global flood, to enter the ark and be saved, enter the ark for their own protection. None listened except the family of Noah, and they all perished. Today, God uses preachers to share the gospel of salvation to come to Jesus for their own protection, otherwise they will face the judgment and be sent to the eternal lake of fire. Some will believe and be saved, while others will reject and be lost.

Do you know that there is a coming hailstorm that will be worse than this seventh plague, worse than any calamity the world has ever seen, and it will happen during the Great Tribulation? If you have your Bibles, please turn with me to Revelation 16:18. Allow me to read for you Revelation 16:18, “And there were voices, and thunders, and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake, such as was not since men were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake, and so great. And the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell: and great Babylon came in remembrance before God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath. And every island fled away, and the mountains were not found. And there fell upon men a great hail out of heaven, every stone about the weight of a talent: and men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail; for the plague thereof was exceeding great.”

There was thunder, lightning, earthquake, and hailstorms, and each hailstone was about a hundred pounds, that is the weight of a talent. Can you imagine a hundred-pound hailstone falling on you? Even the roof of your house cannot withstand that kind of weight. Who then can be saved? If you have believed in the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation, you will be taken out of this earth before the tribulation comes, either by way of death or by the rapture. God promised that if you come to Jesus, He will keep you out of His wrath, He will keep you out of the tribulation. If you have not come to Jesus for salvation, come to Him before it is too late.

III. The false confession of the Pharoah

So some of the Egyptians believed the word of the Lord, and others disbelieved His word. But what about the Pharaoh? This brings us to our third and final point: the false confession of the Pharaoh. So after Moses had given the Pharaoh prior warning, verse 22, “And the LORD said unto Moses, Stretch forth thine hand toward heaven, that there may be hail in all the land of Egypt, upon man, and upon beast, and upon every herb of the field, throughout the land of Egypt.” Moses did as he was commanded, and verse 24 to 25 tells us this was the worst hailstone or hailstorm the Egyptians had ever seen.

The existence of the Egyptians had been for thousands of years. Surely, they had experienced many hailstorms, but this was the worst. In fact, even the whole world has never experienced this kind of hailstorm. Why? Because the hail was mingled with fire - the literal meaning is "great balls of fire," and then mixed with mighty thunder. So, it was extremely devastating, destroying both men and animals, including the vegetation. By the time God was finished, the whole land was totally ruined.

So if you read on, verses 31 to 32 tell us that all the flax and barley were smitten. The flax was the plant that was used to make linen. At this point, it was harvest time for the flax and barley, but all the harvest was destroyed. Somehow, the wheat and rye (which means wild grain) survived. And the reason was because they were not grown yet. But this is very significant because this would explain why there was still vegetation left for the locusts to devour in the next plague. So, the eighth plague would be the locusts, and the locusts would devour the vegetation.

Once again, God set a distinction between the Israelites and the Egyptians. The land of Goshen, where the Israelites dwelt, was spared. Have you ever driven along the road and on one side, it was raining cats and dogs, but on the other side, it was sunny sky? Isn't it amazing? That is the picture we have here. On one side, the land of Egypt - the entire land had hailstones mingled with fire, plus mighty thunder pouring on it, but the land of Goshen was safe and peaceful. The reason was simple: God had placed a hedge of protection on the perimeters of the land of Goshen. So, the Israelites were not experiencing what the Egyptians were experiencing.

As believers, we have also experienced God's hands of protection, right? On so many occasions God has so wonderfully, marvellously protected us. Verse 27, “And Pharaoh sent, and called for Moses and Aaron, and said unto them, I have sinned this time: the LORD is righteous, and I and my people are wicked. Intreat the LORD (for it is enough) that there be no more mighty thunderings and hail; and I will let you go, and ye shall stay no longer.”

Previously, the Pharaoh had asked Moses to pray for him. But for the first time, he acknowledged that he had sinned. Perhaps this was the first time in his entire life that he said, "I have sinned." On top of that, he also acknowledged that the Lord was righteous and both he and the Egyptians were wicked. On the surface, it appears as if the Pharaoh had confessed his sins. But if you look closely, it was a false confession. Why do we say that?

Firstly, the Pharaoh did not confess his sins to God. That was the reason why he was unable to pray for himself. He needed someone else to pray for him. This is very similar to many people today. They would call for the minister to pray for them when they are desperate, when they are in trouble, when they are afflicted because they do not have a personal relationship with the living God. That is why they cannot pray on their own. So, like the Pharaoh, they can only ask someone else to entreat for them.

Secondly, the Pharaoh did not confess all his sins. He simply said, "I have sinned this time." What about the other six times when he hardened his heart? What about the times when he kept the Israelites in bondage, forcing them to make bricks without straws? What about the time when he drowned all the baby boys in the river? Now he was willing to admit just one mistake, but he was unwilling to admit all the other mistakes he had done. Dear friends, isn't it true that many of us are just like the Pharaoh? We would admit we have committed a particular sin, but what about all the other sins? A person cannot turn to Jesus by simply confessing one or two sins. Unless he confesses all his sins, that he is totally depraved, it would not be a true repentance.

Thirdly, the Pharaoh did not turn away from his sins. Yes, he was feeling sorry - he was feeling sorry because he was plagued with the hail, but he was not truly sorry for his sins. That was the reason why he pleaded with Moses to pray for him: "It is enough, I have enough of the hailstorm and thunders. Please ask the Lord to stop. I will let His people go." In other words, he was feeling sorry for the consequences, not for his sins. You see, there's a great difference in feeling sorry for the consequences rather than for the sins, because once the consequences are removed, that sorrow would come to an end.

One classic example is Judas Iscariot. When he realised that he had betrayed the Lord, he was remorseful, but he was sorrowful only for the consequences. He threw away the 30 pieces of silver, he turned to the tree, and hanged himself. On the other hand, you have Peter who also sinned against the Lord by denying Him three times. He was remorseful, but he was sorrowful for the sin of denial, for denying his Lord and Savior. When the Lord appeared to him and said to him three times, "Feed my sheep," Peter went on to feed the sheep even at the expense of his own life. What is the difference? One turned to the tree, the other turned to the cross.

If we are truly sorry for our sins, we will turn to God, we will turn to the cross, and then repent of our sins like Peter. Do not be like Judas Iscariot, and do not behave like the Pharaoh - only paying lip services, a false confession, not a true confession. How do we know whether our remorsefulness is genuine or not? How do we know whether our repentance is true or not? The best way is to see what happens after we confess our sins - what happens after that. True repentance will lead to a complete change of heart that will produce a total change of life - that is what we call transformation. A person who has truly repented will live a transformed life, will not remain in sin.

How can we confirm that the Pharaoh's confession was false? Let us look at verse 29, “And Moses said unto him, As soon as I am gone out of the city, I will spread abroad my hands unto the LORD; and the thunder shall cease, neither shall there be any more hail; that thou mayest know how that the earth is the LORD's.” In other words, ‘The moment I go out of this city, I will spread out my hand and pray to the Lord; this plague will come to an end. The reason why I am doing this is not because you have repented, but for the purpose that you may know that God is the Creator - this entire Earth belongs to Him.’

And then look at verse 30, "But as for thee and thy servants, I know that ye will not yet fear the LORD God.” There is no true repentance without the fear of God. There must always be this fear of the Lord in our hearts. Why? Because fundamentally, sin is a transgression of God's law, and when we know that we have sinned against the almighty God, there will be this fear in our hearts. If we may put it this way, the Pharaoh was afraid of the plague, but he did not fear the Lord. Even Moses, a mere man, could see right through the Pharaoh - how much more the almighty God. Surely, God knows that the Pharaoh did not fear Him, for God has said so on many occasions that the Pharaoh would harden his heart.

He may fear the plagues, but he did not have the fear of God - just like some people would fear the consequences, they would fear being exposed for their sins, their hypocrisies, they would fear that they would be chastised, they would have to face certain trials, certain difficulties, but they do not fear the Lord. True repentance must have the fear of the Lord, and we can tell just like Moses was able to tell that the Pharaoh was not genuine - it was a false confession. Sometimes you look at a person, we are able to tell that that person is not genuine in making a confession. We may not be able to see the heart. How then are we able to tell?

Through the person's actions, through what the person says. If the person does not confess his sins to God, if the person does not confess all his sins, if the person does not turn away from his sins, we know that it was not a true confession. And for the Pharaoh, it was true. When he saw that the rain, the hail, and the thunder had stopped, what did he do? He continued to sin, and he hardened his heart together with all his servants, and refused to let God's people go. Remember, he said to Moses, "Pray that all this will stop, and I will let the people go." But once the consequences were removed, his heart turned and hardened.

Dear friends, let us learn from this bad example that we will not fall into the same sins. If we have sinned against the Lord, we must confess our sins to God Himself. We do not need to go to anyone to ask the person to represent us, to entreat for us. We cry out to God on our own and ask the Lord to forgive us, and we know that we cannot hide our sins from Him. We confess not just one sin, but all our sins. He knows everything we have done, and then we must turn away from our sins. Do not be like the Pharaoh - making a false confession and then continuing to sin and hardening his heart. May the Lord have mercy on us. Let us pray.

Father in heaven, we thank Thee for this time that we can consider this portion of Scriptures. Indeed, Thy word is true; there are so many lessons we can learn. We have seen that Thou hast a sovereign purpose in all things, even in this plague. Thou hast revealed Thy purpose - it is for Thy glory. Nothing happens by chance or coincidence. It is by Thy sovereign hand and for Thy sovereign purpose. It is for Thy glory.

And we also learn that Thou art so gracious, even to give this chance for the Egyptians to protect themselves, to take refuge. For we know that God is long-suffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. Just as Thou art willing to save those Egyptians who turn from their sins and obeyed Thy word, Thou art also willing to save our unbelieving loved ones and friends. Oh Lord, as we share the gospel, we know that we have a loving God who is ever willing to save.

And we also learned that we ought to make true confessions, not false confessions like the Pharaoh. When we confess our sins, we confess our sins before Thee. We go to Thee and ask of Thee to forgive us. We confess not just one or two sins; we confess all our sins, knowing that we cannot hide from Thee. And we also turn away from our sins. We do not want to make lip services only, but we want to put into application whatever we say - heart application, that from our hearts, we will produce this total change of life, that we will live a transformed life, by Thy grace and mercy, by the wonder-working of Thy Spirit. We pray all this in Jesus' name. Amen.

SERMON OUTLINE

• I. The purpose of this plague
• II. The salvation of the Egyptians
• III. The false confession of the Pharoah

EXODUS SERIES

The Believer’s Relationship with God & His Word

The Believer’s Relationship with God & His Word

1 Thessalonians 5:19-22

A Prayer for the Fellow Believers

A Prayer for the Fellow Believers

1 Thessalonians 5:23-24

The Things Every Church Needs

The Things Every Church Needs

1 Thessalonians 5:25-28

True Saving Faith

True Saving Faith

2 Thessalonians 1:1-4

Man’s Final Destination

Man’s Final Destination

2 Thessalonians 1:5-10

The Things We Should Pray

The Things We Should Pray

2 Thessalonians 1:11-12

Understanding the End Times

Understanding the End Times

2 Thessalonians 2:1-5

Be Ready for the End Times

Be Ready for the End Times

2 Thessalonians 2:6-12

We Can Do Nothing Against the Truth, But For the Truth

We Can Do Nothing Against the Truth, But For the Truth

2 Thessalonians 2:13-17

Reconciliation with God

Reconciliation with God

Ephesians 2:11-18

Resurrection Sunday Service: O Death Where is Thy Sting?

Resurrection Sunday Service: O Death Where is Thy Sting?

1 Corinthians 15:51-58

Seminar: The Role of the Sunday School Teacher (Part 2 of 2)

Seminar: The Role of the Sunday School Teacher (Part 2 of 2)

James 3:1-13

Seminar: The Role of the Sunday School Teacher (Part 1 of 2)

Seminar: The Role of the Sunday School Teacher (Part 1 of 2)

Matthew 18:1-6

The Unceasing Three

The Unceasing Three

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

Facing the Days Ahead with God's Comfort and Strength

Facing the Days Ahead with God's Comfort and Strength

2 Thessalonians 2:16-17

A Walk to Remember

A Walk to Remember

Ephesians 4:17-32

Go and Tell

Go and Tell

Matthew 28:18-20

Pray for Us

Pray for Us

2 Thessalonians 3:1-2

The Lord is Faithful

The Lord is Faithful

2 Thessalonians 3:3

God Leads Us Along

God Leads Us Along

2 Thessalonians 3:4-5

Living in the End Times

Living in the End Times

1 Peter 4:7-11

The Blessings of Salvation

The Blessings of Salvation

1 Peter 1:3-9

Allegiance to Truth or Friendship

Allegiance to Truth or Friendship

2 Thessalonians 3:6

Restoring the Sinning Brother

Restoring the Sinning Brother

Galatians 5:26-6:5

No Work, No Eat

No Work, No Eat

2 Thessalonians 3:7-10

Do Not Give Up

Do Not Give Up

2 Thessalonians 3:11-15

Am I Ready For Christ's Second Coming?

Am I Ready For Christ's Second Coming?

Matthew 25:1-13

Having Peace Always in Every Circumstance

Having Peace Always in Every Circumstance

2 Thessalonians 3:16-18

Wonderful Words of Life

Wonderful Words of Life

Psalm 1:1-3

Dealing with Depression

Dealing with Depression

Psalm 42

Counted Worthy To Serve God

Counted Worthy To Serve God

1 Timothy 1:12-14

A Praying Church

A Praying Church

1 Timothy 2:1-4

How to Run the Race Faithfully

How to Run the Race Faithfully

Hebrews 12:1-2

Am I a Committed Christian?

Am I a Committed Christian?

John 21:18-23

God Is Our Refuge

God Is Our Refuge

Psalm 46

O Come, Let Us Worship the Lord

O Come, Let Us Worship the Lord

Psalm 59:1-11

The Joy of Receiving Forgiveness

The Joy of Receiving Forgiveness

2 Samuel 11:1-27

The Joy of Salvation

The Joy of Salvation

Psalm 51:10-12

A Call to Spiritual Revival

A Call to Spiritual Revival

2 Chronicles 7:14

30th Anniversary Seminar - Message #2: The Church and Fellowship

30th Anniversary Seminar - Message #2: The Church and Fellowship

Acts 2:42

30th Anniversary Seminar - Message #1: The Church and The World

30th Anniversary Seminar - Message #1: The Church and The World

Acts 2:42

30th Anniversary Seminar - Message #3: The Church and the Sacraments

30th Anniversary Seminar - Message #3: The Church and the Sacraments

1 Thessalonians 5:17

30th Anniversary Seminar - Message #4: The Church and the Prayers

30th Anniversary Seminar - Message #4: The Church and the Prayers

1 Thessalonians 5:17

30th Anniversary Seminar - Message #3: The Church and the Sacraments

30th Anniversary Seminar - Message #3: The Church and the Sacraments

Acts 2:41-47

30th Anniversary Seminar - Message #4: The Church and the Prayers

30th Anniversary Seminar - Message #4: The Church and the Prayers

Acts 2:42

30th Anniversary Thanksgiving Services - Message: Thirty Significant Years

30th Anniversary Thanksgiving Services - Message: Thirty Significant Years

Matthew 3:15

The Believer's Attitude Towards Money

The Believer's Attitude Towards Money

1 Timothy 6:6-10

Things That Accompany Salvation

Things That Accompany Salvation

Hebrews 6:9-12

Lessons on Stewardship

Lessons on Stewardship

Luke 16:1-13

Is There Not A Cause?

Is There Not A Cause?

1 Samuel 17:1-29

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