Thursday Night Bible Study

Exodus 6:14-Exodus 7

“Just Plaguing Around” • 10.7.10 • Calvary Christian Fellowship, Thursday Night Bible Study

Intro.

- We left off in verse 14, which is a bit of a prelude to the fireworks that are about to come.

- Moses is setting the stage for the battle between God and the Pharaoh that he found Himself in the middle of.

Text

• Exodus 6:14-19 : "These are the heads of their fathers’ houses: The sons of Reuben, the firstborn of Israel, were Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi. These are the families of Reuben. And the sons of Simeon were Jemuel, Jamin, Ohad, Jachin, Zohar, and Shaul the son of a Canaanite woman. These are the families of Simeon. These are the names of the sons of Levi according to their generations: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. And the years of the life of Levi were one hundred and thirty-seven. The sons of Gershon were Libni and Shimi according to their families. And the sons of Kohath were Amram, Izhar, Hembron, and Uzziel. And the years of the life of Kohath were one hundred and thirty-three. The sons of Merari were Mahli and Mushi. These are the families of Levi according to their generations." : Moses interrupts his story and introduces his family. This is not an extensive geneological list as it only includes the lines of Reuben, Simeon and Levi.

- These people grew up into captivity being the recipients of the promises of God. Moses stops on his own family which grows out of the family of Levi.

• Exodus 6:20-25 : "Now Amram took for himself Jochebed, his father’s sister, as wife; and she bore him Aaron and Moses. And the years of the life of Amram were one hundred and thirty-seven. The sons of Izhar were Korah, Nempheg, and Zichri. And the sons of Uzziel were Mishael, Elzaphan, and Zithri. Aaron took to himself Elisheba, daughter of Amminadab, sister of Nahshon, as wife; and she bore him Nadab, Abihu, Elemazar, and Ithamar. And the sons of Korah were Assir, Elkanah, and Abiasaph. These are the families of the Korahites. Elemazar, Aaron’s son, took for himself one of the daughters of Putiel as wife; and she bore him Phinehas. These are the heads of the fathers’ houses of the Levites according to their families." : Amram married his aunt Jochebed, who became the mother of Aaron and Moses. This type of marriage will later be prohibited in the law that was not yet written.

- These other names are unknown to us, but some of these names will become part of the story later on. Korah will be a man of infamy among the ranks of the Israelis.

- Korah is a man who will attempt to lead an ill-advised rebellion against Moses.

- You'll also note Aaron's sons Nadab and Abihu, whose lives will end suddenly at the altar. The word tells us that they offered "strange fire" before the Lord and were killed.

- Then, we see the name of Phinehas, who will be a wonderful priest well into the book of Joshua, serving the Lord faithfully and boldly.

- I obsess about why these things are where they are. I admit that I am not sure that I have THE answer from Moses' perspective, but I will say this: These were people that were known.

- All started well, within the line of what would become the Levitical, priestly line. All experienced wonderful deliverance. But not all who started well ended well!

- Korah was excited to leave and loved that Moses had come. Later, he was an insurrectionist!

- Nadab and Abihu had the privilege of being part of the first family of priests. They would later compromise that position with carnal activities.

- These names are here to remind the people of the second generation of the need to persevere in the faith, to keep walking toward the promises of God.

• Exodus 6:26-30 : "These are the same Aaron and Moses to whom the Lord said, 'Bring out the children of Israel from the land of Egypt according to their armies.' These are the ones who spoke to Pharaoh king of Egypt, to bring out the children of Israel from Egypt. These are the same Moses and Aaron. And it came to pass, on the day the Lord spoke to Moses in the land of Egypt, that the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 'I am the Lord. Speak to Pharaoh king of Egypt all that I say to you.' But Moses said before the Lord, 'Behold, I am of uncircumcised lips, and how shall Pharaoh heed me?'" : One has to understand that the original audience to this record would have been looking at a very old Moses and Aaron.

- The question would have been "You guys!?" The answer is, "Yes, us guys!"

- Moses, who had been their leader, who was the man among all the other men, is showing again, that he was once a different man!

- He suffered with insecurities and questioned God's command and call, perhaps just as much as they were at the very moment of listening to Moses' account.

- It's interesting to consider this. We think of ourselves in light of what we are right now. I wonder if Moses had looked back from time to time to realize what it was that God had done in him.

- "I once feared that God would not be unable to use me. Was I wrong?" That younger version doubted that God could affect the heart of the Pharaoh, especially through the vehicle of Moses!

- God can do amazing things through any person willing to follow Him.

• Exodus 7:1-7 : "So the Lord said to Moses: 'See, I have made you as God to Pharaoh, and Aaron your brother shall be your prophet. You shall speak all that I command you. And Aaron your brother shall tell Pharaoh to send the children of Israel out of his land. And I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and multiply My signs and My wonders in the land of Egypt. But Pharaoh will not heed you, so that I may lay My hand on Egypt and bring My armies and My people, the children of Israel, out of the land of Egypt by great judgments. And the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord, when I stretch out My hand on Egypt and bring out the children of Israel from among them.' Then Moses and Aaron did so; just as the Lord commanded them, so they did. And Moses was eighty years old and Aaron eighty-three years old when they spoke to Pharaoh." : Moses and Aaron's job was to accurately represent the Lord. He would be as God to Pharaoh.

- He would speak in such an accurate way that to Pharaoh, he would be standing in God's place. Moses would not be God, but God's representative, His ambassador.

- "You shall speak all that I command you!" This is a good word for us. In this day of cultural sensitivity and political correctness, we are often tempted to say MOST of what God tells us.

- We may not have a Pharaoh before us, but whoever our audience is, the need is to hear all that God has to say to them about their salvation and life!

- In the case of the Pharaoh, His heart would be hardened, first by his own choice, and then by the strengthening hand of God. Even after all that is shown to him.

- This is an interesting concept that is shown here. The word "hardened" can also be translated "twisted," as one twists a rope. When I was listening to the explanation, I got this picture in my mind.

- A sponge is dropped into liquid and absorbs it into itself. When that sponge is twisted, when it is rung out, it reveals the fluid that it had absorbed.

- God is saying here, "I am going to ring out Pharaoh's heart to expose what He thinks about me." What comes out will be a heart that is anti-God.

- God tells them to speak what He says, no matter the response, even though Pharaoh will refuse to listen. God is always in charge of the results. We are always called to obey!

- Ultimately, Pharaoh's hard heart will force a confrontation that will spill out of the Palace and out to the people, which will lead to another of God's objectives.

- Notice again what God says in verse 5: "The Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord!" The people of Egypt would also become acquainted with the Lord.

- As much as Pharaoh was ignorant of God, the people of Egypt were even moreso. Egyptian polytheism is legendary. They were as much in the dark as Pharaoh was!

- God, through the wonders He was about to perform, was going to make a very convincing case for His superiority! They would know that He is God above all other gods.

- Please understand something: God could have simply, stealthily, destroyed the Egyptians.

- He could have raptured the Hebrews secretly and transported them effortlessly to Canaan. Instead, He is about to go to great lengths that are essentially unnecessary for deliverance.

- He does this because He is concerned with the people of Egypt. He wants them to know Him.

- It's His mercy that allows everything to crash down in their lives. It's His mercy that allows them to see the emptiness of all that they hold sacred, just so that they will turn to Him.

- It might seem a cruelty to you and I, but in the sight of God, a soul surely saved versus a false sense of security, is worth the risk of our opinion!

- Moses and Aaron set out to do this, both being men in their 80's.

• Exodus 7:8-10 : "Then the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, 'When Pharaoh speaks to you, saying, ‘Show a miracle for yourselves,’ then you shall say to Aaron, ‘Take your rod and cast it before Pharaoh, and let it become a serpent.’ So Moses and Aaron went in to Pharaoh, and they did so, just as the Lord commanded. And Aaron cast down his rod before Pharaoh and before his servants, and it became a serpent." : God anticipated that the Pharaoh would ask them to show an authenticating sign of authority to see the kind of power that their God possessed.

- Both Moses and Aaron had shepherd rods. Aaron threw the rod down, as Moses had and it became a serpent, just as the rod of Moses had.

- The word translated "serpent" here might actually be better understood as a crocodile!

• Exodus 7:11-13 : "But Pharaoh also called the wise men and the sorcerers; so the magicians of Egypt, they also did in like manner with their enchantments. For every man threw down his rod, and they became serpents. But Aaron’s rod swallowed up their rods. And Pharaoh’s heart grew hard, and he did not heed them, as the Lord had said." : Pharaoh was not overly impressed, as he had men that could also do the same thing. These men were skilled in astrology and the occult.

- They had secret arts, which were occultic and demonic in nature. The surprise must have been that their methods were just as effective.

- The enemy is not without his own bag of tricks. Most of his tricks are illusions and all of them are imitations of the genuine, as in this case.

- What happened in reality is a great illustration of what happens spiritually. Aaron's serpent made quick work of the other serpents. Greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world!

- When Pharaoh saw this, it didn't sway his heart to believe in the Lord. His heart great hard. It was strengthened in obstinance.

- It was not that he couldn't believe what he saw. It's that he wouldn't. He would not surrender to this God of theirs. They were slaves, he was sophisticated.

- He was acting in the way that the Lord said that he would. Pharaoh is a stubborn man.

- What he does not realize is that the opportunity to turn himself over is soon to expire.

• Exodus 7:14-18 : "So the Lord said to Moses: 'Pharaoh’s heart is hard; he refuses to let the people go. Go to Pharaoh in the morning, when he goes out to the water, and you shall stand by the river’s bank to meet him; and the rod which was turned to a serpent you shall take in your hand. And you shall say to him, ‘The Lord God of the Hebrews has sent me to you, saying, 'Let My people go, that they may serve Me in the wilderness'; but indeed, until now you would not hear! Thus says the Lord: 'By this you shall know that I am the Lord. Behold, I will strike the waters which are in the river with the rod that is in my hand, and they shall be turned to blood. And the fish that are in the river shall die, the river shall stink, and the Egyptians will loathe to drink the water of the river.'" : We have now come to the first plaque that would effect the nation of Egypt. Prior to this, only the Pharaoh was affected. His nation would now suffer for his stand.

- Pharaoh was in the habit of going down to the Nile river, most likely to bathe. The Nile was a symbol of religious devotion in Egypt. Perhaps he was doing his devotions!

- Aaron was to put his rod over the Nile and at that moment, the water changed to blood.

- People with naturalistic interpretations point out that there was a phenomena that happened each year that allow silt to rise and color the water red.

- That does not account for the fact that fish were going to die and that the river was going to smell. This was real blood and it would be everywhere.

• Exodus 7:19-21 : "Then the Lord spoke to Moses, 'Say to Aaron, ‘Take your rod and stretch out your hand over the waters of Egypt, over their streams, over their rivers, over their ponds, and over all their pools of water, that they may become blood. And there shall be blood throughout all the land of Egypt, both in buckets of wood and pitchers of stone.’ And Moses and Aaron did so, just as the Lord commanded. So he lifted up the rod and struck the waters that were in the river, in the sight of Pharaoh and in the sight of his servants. And all the waters that were in the river were turned to blood. The fish that were in the river died, the river stank, and the Egyptians could not drink the water of the river. So there was blood throughout all the land of Egypt." : When the naturalist hopes to sell you on the silting phenomena, he runs into a real problem here. That does not cause fish to die!

- The Plasma Scene was comprehensive, extending to all sources of fresh water. The Nile and the fish in it were objects of the Egyptian’s worship.

- There were actually hymns that were written to the Nile river that have been found on ancient papyrus...there's an extra fee to get them on vinyl!

- The Nile was considered to be a deity but there were several gods who were associated with it and one who was supposedly given charge to protect it! Always question gods that need protection!

- The god Khnum was believed to guard the actual river, while the god Hapi was believed to be the Nile's spirit. It was believed Osiris' bloodstream was the Nile.

- In this first challenge, God took out no less that 5 gods! He was revealing His utter dominance over these objects of worship.

• Exodus 7:22-25 : "Then the magicians of Egypt did so with their enchantments; and Pharaoh’s heart grew hard, and he did not heed them, as the Lord had said. And Pharaoh turned and went into his house. Neither was his heart moved by this. So all the Egyptians dug all around the river for water to drink, because they could not drink the water of the river. And seven days passed after the Lord had struck the river." : Verse 22 is one of my favorite verses. The magicians who had duplicated the initial miracle, also duplicated this one!

- "See, we can make water turn to blood too!" "Oh, that's just fine. Just what we needed: MORE BLOOD!"

- Pharaoh continued to allow his heart to grow hard. He continued to be stubborn. He would not relent. He continued right on course.

- It's fascinating to me that a heart can progressively grow to be hard. This is happening to Pharaoh as he ignores God's warnings and refuses to surrender on any point.

- We can also be hardened in the same way and for the same reasons. Ours will not end in perdition, as was the case with Pharaoh, but it could end in a loss of reward and a loss of joy.

- When Pharaoh went back to his home, he remained unmoved. This verse is interesting. The word for moved can also be translated "set." It literally reads "neither did he set his heart to this also."

- The idea is that this stimuli was meant to carry a certain place in Pharaoh's heart. It was meant to be the centerpiece, with everything set or arranged around it.

- God has revealed Himself in such a way so as to depose any other loyalty. Everything must be set around and viewed through this knowledge of God.

- Pharaoh did not allow this to take place. He continued to view God through the lens of his own power and the power of his gods.

- Meanwhile, the Egyptians got to work looking feverishly for drinking water. Pharaoh's stubborn resistance caused his people to suffer greatly. This went on for 7 days.

Conclusion

- As we close, in these next chapters, we'll be reminded over and over again about the need to remain responsive to the Lord and not stubborn as the Pharaoh.

- It's interesting that we end with Pharaoh, a man who grew increasingly obstinate. He began that way and he continued that way.

- On the other hand, there are the guys at the beginning, who began well, but did not hold course. They were followers, who eventually lost their way.

- Let us be warned: Our hearts must remain both responsive to the Lord and thoroughly focused on the end.