The Compromises of Pharaoh, Part 2
Notes
Transcript
Every one of these ten plagues are truly just that—plagues. Within this record are many things which have happened before on a small and limited scale, but now they are happening in a way which is above and beyond the natural. Each of these is a supernatural act of God whereby He is displaying His power to the entire world, as well as revealing that the gods of Egypt are as nothing before Him, failing to protect the Egyptian worshippers against such scourges that occurred in nature.
The first cycle of three plagues were irritable and troublesome, but that was all. However, the second set of three plagues were more. They were painful, falling only on the Egyptians. After the first plague of the second cycle, Pharaoh was “touched” and he offered a first compromise, then a second compromise, but Moses and Aaron accepted neither. The plague was removed (Exodus 8:29-31) but Pharaoh hardened his heart this time also, and he would not let the people go” (Exodus 8:32). This brings us to the fifth plague.
A. The Plague of murrain, 9:1-7
2nd of 2nd set, 5th plague, came with a warning and a time that the plague would commence by the hand of the Lord. There was a distinction; it would be all the livestock who were outside in the fields of Egypt which would suffer, but not the livestock of Israel.
1. The Warning, 9:1-5
The Lord’s message to Pharaoh was “Let My people go.” Pharaoh’s refusal would bring on the fifth plague. This plague, Moses warned, would come upon the possessions of the Egyptians by affecting their livestock. Judgment is tempered with mercy here for this plague of murrain was limited to the animals in the field—any animal inside buildings were spared. Here the distinction was made that only the livestock of Egypt would be impacted; anything owned by the Israelites would not die. Moses told pharaoh that this plague would occur “Tomorrow,” again gracious in that Pharaoh and others would have the rest of the day to prepare.
2. The Onset, 9:6
The Lord so controls this plague that it strikes only when and where He said it would. The stock market of Egypt will be descending to a new low by this plague, and when the Lord finishes with Egypt this nation will be in complete bankruptcy.
The animal creation suffers here not because of its sin, but because of man’s sin. This is the reason for the suffering today in all creation.
3. The Response of Pharaoh, 9:7
Pharaoh sent his own men out to investigate the situation to see if there really was a distinction between Egypt’s livestock and Israel’s. They found that not one of Israel’s livestock was impacted by the plague. And after their report, Pharaoh’s heart remained stubborn and he did not let the people go.
4. The Egyptian gods affected:
The Apis Bull, sacred animal of the god Ptah, the firstborn bull, one that was always kept out in the open, and would have died in this plague.
Mnevis, the sacred bull of the god Ra, the god of the city of Heliopolis, also a firstborn bull which was also always kept out in the open, who would have died in this plague.
The goddess Hathor, who had the body of a woman and the head of a cow. She was the protectress of the cows and the goddess of love, beauty, and joy; she could not spare the cows in the fields.
The ram god Knom, who had the body of a man and the head of a ram, who could not save any ram out in the field.
B. The Plague of boils, 9:8-12
The last plague of this second set comes without warning to Pharaoh and Egypt by the hand of Moses. It too made a distinction between the Egyptians and the Israelites.
1. The Command and the Onset, 9:8-9
God commands Moses and Aaron to take handfuls of soot from a kiln (KJV “the furnace”) and Moses was to throw it toward the sky in the sight of Pharaoh. This little bit of soot would become a fine dust over the land of Egypt and while become boils, affecting both man and beast through all the land of Egypt.
Bullinger suggests that the furnace used was “one of the altars on which human sacrifices were offered to propitiate their god Typhon (the evil Principle). They were doubtless being offered to avert the plagues, and Moses, using the ashes in the same way produced another plague instead of averting it.”
Moses and Aaron went before Pharaoh himself -- a hostile audience -- to display their faith in the power of God—
2. The effects of the plague, 9:10-11
Moses did as he was commanded, throwing the ash into the sky and it became boils, breaking out with sores on man and beast (at least the ones left...)
The magicians of Egypt could not even stand before Moses --they were powerless to protect themselves, not to mention anyone else. The power of Satan is no match for the power of the Lord.
3. The Response of Pharaoh, 9:12
The Lord strengthened Pharaoh’s heart to do what he desired--to not listen to them, according to the prediction God made to Moses.
In this second series of plagues, the first in the series showed the corruption of sinful man, the second, of all that he has, and the last of all that he does. Man, his possessions, and his religious activity are all utterly depraved.
4. The Egyptian gods affected
The goddess Sekhmet. She had the body of a woman and the head of a lioness with power over epidemics, both to cause them and to stop them, but she could do neither.
Seraphis, the god of healing, who could bring no healing to the Egyptians.
Imhotep, the god of medicine, who could produce nothing to alleviate the suffering.
C. The Plague of hail, 9:13-35
At this beginning of the last series of plagues, Moses is once again commanded to rise early and stand before Pharaoh.
1. The Warning, 9:13-19
The message from God through Moses and Aaron: “Either let My people go, or you will receive the seventh plague.” God spelled out two purposes for the seventh plague: 1) to show the uniqueness of the God of Israel and that none of the gods of Egypt could possibly compete with this God, and 2) to demonstrate the power of God.
Another reason given in verse 17 was that Pharaoh had exalted himself against the Hebrews, the children of God, by refusing to let them go.
The plague that was going to come the next morning would be a plague of hail mixed with fire, yet we see again that judgment was once again tempered with mercy in that the Egyptians were warned to take their cattle and their slaves into their houses. Otherwise they would lose valuable property.
2. The response of the people, 9:20-21.
The Egyptians responded in two ways. After six plagues, many of the Egyptians had learned to fear the Lord, the God of Israel and took heed to Moses’ advice. But there were also many who had learned nothing and did not heed Moses.
3. The Onset of the Plague, 9:22-26.
The plague itself came following the warning, The Lord commanded Moses to stretch out his rod once again. From verses 23-24, what followed was thunder, hail, and fire. The flashes of fire that accompanied the hail were something that was supernatural, since verse 24 says this was “very severe, such as had not happened in all the land of Egypt since it became a nation.” This is a significant statement considering Egypt being among the oldest nations of the world.
Verse 25 says that it killed every man in the field, every beast in the field, it smote every herb of the field and broke every tree in the field. But verse 26 says that the land of Goshen, where the children of Israel were, was spared.
4. The encounter with Pharaoh, 9:27-35
Pharaoh made a confession and then made a plea. Verses 31-32 say the barley and the flax were destroyed. These crops come in during the months of January and February. The wheat and the spelt ripen in March and April. I point this out to say that eight weeks transpired between the seventh and tenth plagues. The next three plagues came during the next eight weeks.
The plague of hail stopped as Moses promised. And once again, when he saw that the plague was stopped, the heart of Pharaoh was hardened, and he did not let the children of Israel go.
5. The Egyptian gods affected
Shu, the sky god who was the sun of Ra, the sun god. He could not stop the hail from falling from the sky.
Nut, the sky goddess, could also do nothing to stop the hail.
Seth, the god of agriculture, could not save the flax and barley crops that had started to grow
Isis, the goddess of agriculture, was just as powerless to save these crops from the Lord’s judgment.
D. The plague of locusts, 10:1-20
This was the second plague of the third set, the eight plague
1. The warning, 10:1-11
Why did God not only allow, but also hardened the hearts of Pharaoh and his servants? Verses 1-2 tells us that God did so to show his signs to Israel in the midst of the Egyptians, so that Israel could tell their succeeding generations exactly what God had done in Egypt and know for certainty that their God is the covenant-keeping God
Pharaoh received another message, vs 3-6. There was a question, command, a warning of the coming plague and the timing spelt out in verses 4-6. This plague was a plague of locusts which would destroy everything left in the field. They would not just stay in the fields though; they would even make themselves at home in their houses. This was such a massive intensification of the locust population that neither their fathers nor their fathers’ fathers had ever seen. Note also that the land of Goshen was not said to be spared. It may be that God’s desire was to inflict all the land, so there was nothing left but barrenness when Israel went out of Egypt.
Verse 7 is the response of Pharaoh’s servants. They ask Pharaoh to let the men of Israel go. Their question brings the authority, wisdom, and deity of Pharaoh into question. The only ones not being heard are the Egyptian gods! This leads us to. . .
o THE THIRD Compromise (domestic): “The men only can go serve your God.” When Pharaoh asked who was going, Moses said the entire nation and their possessions. Pharaoh’s response was to show contempt for God in verses 10-11. Hebrew word for evil is ra (which is also the name of the key Egyptian god, Ra. Essentially, Pharaoh said, “Now listen, I have been patient with you up until now. But from now on, I am going to invoke my god, Ra, who is stronger than your God Yahweh, so do not press me any further. This is my final compromise offer!” Pharaoh would only allow the grown men to go.
There is no more dangerous compromise than a divided household with regard to the things of God. Satan will let us adults do anything we want in service to the Lord just as long as we give our children to him. He will gladly write us off if we just hand over the next generation.
Have you heard people say something like this: “I am not going to influence my children in spiritual things”? “They are too young to understand such things.” “When they grow up and have more understanding, they can then decide for themselves.” “If you press spiritual things upon them you may drive them away.” What you would not do to a garden (plant it, then let it struggle for itself) you would do for your children.
God says: Proverbs 22:6; Eph. 6:4. Our standard today in grace is always greater than that of Israel under law, and Israel was commanded in Deut. 6:6, 7.
Train up a child in the way he should go, Even when he is old he will not depart from it.
Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.
“These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart.
“You shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up.
A man named Eli fell at this point (1 Samuel 1-2). So tragic were his actions that the judgment of God fell upon his family, and God took away his line from the priesthood of Egypt.
Pharaoh was so sure that he had won this time, and regained the confidence of his servants once again, that he showed his contempt for Moses and Aaron by driving them from his presence without even waiting for an answer from Moses. Ra was invoked, now things will work out. But it was not to be.
2. Onset of the Plague, 10:12-15
The plague hit, just as Pharaoh had been warned. Moses stretched out his staff and the locusts came, brought by an east wind that had blown all day and all night. There were so many locusts that the entire land was darkened from the swarms of locusts which effectively blocked out the sun. Any vegetation that had started to grow after the previous plague was eaten up by the swarms of locusts.
3. The Response of Pharaoh, 10:16-20
Pharaoh responded to this plague quickly with another plea, that he had sinned against “Yahweh your God and you.” He pleaded, “Forgive my sin only this once, and ask God to remove the plague.” But no one is saved because he believes he is a sinner, nor even because he confesses his sins. Anyone who is saved is saved because He believes the word of the Lord—whatever that word is.
Moses prayed, and all the locusts were removed by means of a strong west wind that drove the locusts into the Red Sea, where the locusts were drowned. There was a total removal of the locusts in answer to prayer, yet once again, Pharaoh response to this was that he would not let the people go.
4. The Egyptian gods affected
Ra, the key Egyptian god, the sun god, who was powerless to prevent the locust invasion.
Serapis, who was supposed to protect the land from locusts but could not do so.
Seth, the god of agriculture, could not save what was left of the crops
Isis, the goddess of agriculture, was just as powerless to save these crops from the locusts.
E. The Plague of Darkness, 10:21-26.
The 3rd plague of the 3rd set; the ninth plague, which came without warning, discriminating between Egypt and Israel and it came by the hand of Moses.
1. The command and onset of the plague, 10:21-23.
The Lord commanded to stretch out his hand so that darkness which may be felt would come over the whole land of Egypt, a darkness so deep that you could not see one another and so each person remained in his place. But in the land of Goshen, where the children of Israel lived, they had light inside of the homes, though all around was palpable darkness. This darkness over Egypt lasted for three days.
There is a deeper spiritual significance to this. The Scripture says, “God is light and in Him there is no darkness at all” (1 John 1:5).
This is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you, that God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all.
Darkness shows the absence of God. This judgment reveals that Egypt was now abandoned by God. Nothing remains but the scream of death, and it will follow shortly.
2. The Egyptian gods affected.
Ra, the sun god who sometimes had the body of a man and the head of a ram and at other times had the body of a man and the head of a goose, could not break through the darkness.
Khepre, also a sun god, with a body of a man and the head of a beetle, could do nothing against the darkness.
Harakhte, the sun god with the body of a man and the head of an eagle could not affect the darkness.
Aton, the sun disk god, was affected.
Horus, the winged sun disk god.
Atum, the god of the setting sun could not break through.
Thoth, the moon god, could not break through.
Nut, the sky goddess, was affected.
Shu, the sky god, was affected.
3. The Encounter with Pharaoh, 10:24-26.
Pharaoh now comes with a fourth compromise, which Moses refuses.
o THE FOURTH Compromise (commercial). C. H. Mackintosh gives an interesting observation: “With what perseverance did Satan dispute every inch of Israel’s way out of the land of Egypt! He first sought to keep them in the land, then to keep them near the land, next to keep part of themselves in the land, and finally, when he could not succeed in any of these three, he sought to send them forth without any ability to serve the Lord. If he could not keep the servants, he would seek to keep their ability to serve, which would answer much the same end. If he could not induce them to sacrifice in the land, he would send them out of the land without sacrifices!”
In verse 24, Pharaoh said “Only you go, but the flocks and the herds must remain behind.” Satan will gladly say this to us, because he knows that where your treasure is, there will your heart be also (Matthew 6:21).
for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
If what we possess remains in Egypt and a part of Egypt, then so will our affections be toward Egypt.
But we are to set our affections on things above, not on things on the earth (Colossians 3:2).
Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth.
Our life is to be the Lord, and all that we have is also to belong to Him. We are only stewards, and we really possess nothing. These flocks and herds of Israel constituted their earthly possessions. The issue is, does God have title to all that we have? As far as Israel was concerned, God had all and not a hoof was to be left behind. But for Christians today? A majority manifest that what they have belongs to themselves, not the Lord.
Satan says, “Religion and business do not mix. It is all right to go to church on Sunday but remember that you leave in a business world through the week, and you must not mix your daily life with your Sunday life.” Do not fall for this compromise. No person can possibly serve the Lord if his possessions are still in the hands of the world. If a man leaves his cows in Egypt, it will not be long until he himself will be back in the stall with them.
It was in this very point that a man and a woman by the name of Ananias and Sapphira fell. They are a warning to all—be careful. Let the Lord have all your possessions.
Had Israel accepted any of these compromises, she would have failed God’s program of complete and total deliverance. You cannot compromise and come out on the winning side.
The first compromise (8:25-27) was a positional compromise. “Stay in Egypt and sacrifice to your God.” Demas failed in this.
The second compromise (8:28-32) was a spiritual compromise. “Don’t go very far away. Stay where you may have fellowship with Egypt.” Lot failed in this.
The third compromise (10:8-11) was a domestic compromise. You that are men may go but leave the children with me.” Eli failed in this.
The fourth compromise (10:24-26) was a commercial compromise. “All of you may go but leave your flocks and herds in Egypt.” Ananias and Sapphira failed in this.
Satan will try everything fair and foul to seek to keep us from living for the Lord. He has a kingdom and he is the head of that kingdom. He will fight either as a roaring lion or as an angel of light to keep us from doing the will of God and from living a life pleasing to the Lord Jesus Christ.
Have you felt the battle? The more you seek to live godly in Christ Jesus the more Satan will oppose. Take heed, be careful and reject his compromises. No one compromises with Satan and wins.
If you do not believe me, just ask Demas, Lot, Eli, or Ananias and Sapphira.