Sermon Tone Analysis

The Finger of God

Exodus 8

Exodus 8

-Pray

-Overview of Text

-Theological War

Heket- Egyptian Goddess of Fertility, Water, Renewal

Heket the Egyptian Goddess, had the head of a frog.

Egyptian Plague- Frogs coming from the Nile River

Pharaoh's magicians were able to bring more frogs in their attempt to imitate the power of God, but only Moses was able to make the frogs go away.

This was another attack on a famous Egyptian Goddess, Heket.

Geb- Egyptian God of the Earth

The Egyptian God Geb, was over the dust of the earth.

Egyptian Plague- Lice from the dust of the earth

Finally, the magicians of Pharaoh are humiliated, being unable to compete with this power that was so much greater than themselves and the powers that they had from their Egyptian gods and goddesses, and they profess, "this is the finger of God."

This was the last plague that required Aaron's involvement, as the next set of three plagues are issued by the word of Moses himself.

Khepri- Egyptian God of creation, movement of the Sun, rebirth

Khepri, the Egyptian god had the head of a fly.

Egyptian Plague- Swarms of Flies

This wonder also moves the Egyptian plagues to a different level, adding destruction as well as discomfort to the consequence of their decisions.

The Finger of God

-Ipuwar Papyrus

Jannes and Jambres

-Jannes and Jambres

-Jasher

-Rabbinic Legends

-Left with Moses and Israel

The Finger of God

Exodus 8:18

God is Persistent in His Want for our Praise

Exodus 8:

God is Persistent in His Want for our Praise

Sing to God, sing in praise of his name, extol him who rides on the clouds; rejoice before him—his name is the LORD.—Psalm

68:41

Consummation of joy

C. S. Lewis saw that praising God is the consummation of joy in God.

Therefore, when God is pursuing—even demanding—our praise, he is pursuing the consummation of our joy.

This may feel at first counter-intuitive—that when we are small and feel insignificant, while God is great and central, at those very moments we reach our highest joy.

But it’s not counter to our deepest sense of where joy comes from.

Joy is not in thinking highly of ourselves.

Joy reaches its height in moments of self-forgetfulness in the presence of beauty and greatness.—John

Piper

God is Persistent in His Want for our Praise

-the Why.

God wants to give us His best.

He create us to give Himself to us...

If praise is properly deserved, then … it is properly obligatory.

In other words, it is not only proper for God to receive praise, we owe it to Him.

It’s no wonder then when you reflect on this that the Psalmist writes in , “Praise Him for His mighty deeds, praise Him according to His excellent greatness.”

Is God a megalomaniac ... the transcendent Egotist?

Of course not.

In the truest sense, this is an arrogant and irresponsible question.

How can God be other than he is in his perfection?

But in another sense, the question is helpful, for it directs our thinking to the essence of God’s glory and resets our theological framework.

God shows his love for us in the display of his glory and in his jealous concern for his own name and reputation.

Our greatest joy is found in beholding his glory and in glorifying the triune God for all eternity.

Fallen creatures, blinded by sin, cannot see that to rob God of his glory is to rob ourselves of true joy.

The Finger of God

God is Perfect in His Watch of our Prayer

Exodus 8:13

God is Perfect in His Watch of our Prayer

Watch rather than hearing...

Body Language

/25

Psalm

Hebrew

God is Perfect in His Watch of our Prayer

The Finger of God

God is Patient in His Waiting through our Proclivities

Exodus

God is Patient in His Waiting through our Proclivities

Pleasure to Plagues

We are sinful God is Patient...

God is patient.

I am not.

I am learning patience.

God is patience.

I am developing patience.

God is displaying His.

-Adam and Eve

-Patriarchs

-Israel

-The EC

-Church

-Us...

In the exercise of His common grace, God displays patience and forbearance with the world.

But patience and forbearance ought to lead men and women to repentance.

Thomas stories...

Nevertheless, God is patient.

He doesn’t have to learn it.

He is it.

He is not developing it.

He continually displays it.

I am grateful that I can count on the fact that the God of all grace and glory is patient.

The Finger of God

Gosh, does Pharaoh have his Wits during this Process?

The Finger of God

Lets Learn and Turn Sooner than Later...