This week I went McConnell AFB for Aaron Lewis promotion to Major. Congrats to Aaron or should I say Chaplain Major Aaron Lewis!
When I went to the base I had to stop at the visitors center. They had to verify my identity.
I sent in my DL # a week ago.
When I went into the visitor’s center, the took my ID and scanned it.
They scanned my left index finger.
Then scanned my right index finger.
I guess these fingerprints were formed when I was 6 – 8 weeks old in my mother’s womb. They have changed a bit over the years but they are unique to me.
Next they took my picture and I waited and waited and then I got my pass. I was free to enter the base and go to Aaron’s promotion.
Why did they go through all this trouble? They were verifying my identity. They looked at my distinct characteristics to see if there is anyone in the world like Rodney Bartlett.
Am I who I say I am?
We have been going through the book of Exodus as a church and this question on the mind Israel and even on the mind of Pharaoh.
Last week our reading took us through the Plagues and through the Passover. There was a lot of material to cover, but today I primarily want us to focus on the fact that God is like no other and ONLY he has the power to rescue the Hebrew people.
The Hebrew people if you remember did not really know God. They had been enslaved for 400 years in Egypt a very religious nation.
Pharaoh commits horrible sins against the people by enslaving them and he also attempts to murder all the Hebrew baby boys.
Early in Exodus we read of Moses as a Hebrew baby who was saved from being murdered.
As we saw in previous weeks, the Lord sends Moses to go to Pharaoh to say,
“Let My People Go.”
To which Pharaoh replies.
Who is the Lord?
Through the plagues God is going to show his distinct nature, distinct power, he has a distinct people, and Only he can rescue them.
Let me give you a brief overview of the first 6 Plagues.
He turns the Nile to blood. The Nile is the symbol and source of life in Egypt. The polluted Nile cause fish to die. A Nile turned to blood conjuries a memory of the Hebrew children sacrificed in the Nile. Egypt took innocent life, now God pollutes their symbol of life.
He sends swarms of frogs – Egyptian magicians can make frogs appear but they can’t make them go away.
He sends gnats – biting insects which the magicians claim are the finger of God.
All three of these plagues are inconvenient, but then he turns up the pressure.
He sends flies everywhere. Imagine opening your mouth to take a bite of food and your food caked with flies.
He kills the livestock in the field
He causes boils fester on the Egyptians.
Pharaoh did not listen just as the Lord had said. Turn up the pressure some more.
Zoom in on Plague 7
Exodus 9:13-17 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Get up early in the morning and present yourself to Pharaoh. Tell him: This is what the Lord, the God of the Hebrews says: Let my people go so that they may worship me. For this time I am about to send all my plagues against you, your officials, and your people. Then you will know there is no one like me on the whole earth.
By now I could have stretched out my hand and struck you and your people with a plague, and you would have been obliterated from the earth.
However, I have let you live for this purpose: to show you my power and to make my name known on the whole earth. You are still acting arrogantly against my people by not letting them go.
18 Tomorrow at this time I will rain down the worst hail that has ever occurred in Egypt from the day it was founded until now. 19 Therefore give orders to bring your livestock and all that you have in the field into shelters. Every person and animal that is in the field and not brought inside will die when the hail falls on them.” 20 Those among Pharaoh’s officials who feared the word of the Lord made their servants and livestock flee to shelters, 21 but those who didn’t take to heart the Lord’s word left their servants and livestock in the field.
22 Moses stretched out his hand and the hail fell.
VERSE 26 The only place it didn’t hail was in the land of Goshen, where the Israelites were.
27 Pharaoh sent for Moses and Aaron. “I have sinned this time,” he said to them. “The Lord is the righteous one, and I and my people are the guilty ones. 28 Make an appeal to the Lord. There has been enough of God’s thunder and hail. I will let you go; you don’t need to stay any longer.”
29 Moses said [I will pray for the hail to stop], so that you may know the earth belongs to the Lord. 30 But as for you and your officials, I know that you still do not fear the Lord God.”
34 When Pharaoh saw that the rain, hail, and thunder had ceased, he sinned again and hardened his heart, he and his officials. 35 So Pharaoh’s heart was hard, and he did not let the Israelites go, as the Lord had said through Moses.
Distinct Nature
Exodus 9:14 “there is no one like me”
Exodus 3:14 “I AM WHO I AM
He is I AM – uncontrolled, independent, self-existing, eternal.
Some have speculated that the Lord brought these plagues to come against different individual gods of Egypt.
That may be true – Exodus 12:12 says that I will judge the gods of Egypt.
He was also showing that he is distinct from the gods of Egypt.
Egypt was a polytheistic nation meaning they had many gods.
It was a pantheistic nation meaning that creation and divine are one in the same.
The Lord is not looking to defeat Egypt and topple the great Pharaoh. He is being his distinct self and keeping his covenant promise to Abraham.
Genesis 12:1a-3 The Lord said to Abram: I will make you into a great nation, I will bless you, I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, I will curse anyone who treats you with contempt, and all the peoples on the earth will be blessed through you.
The I AM will keep his promise.
In sports terms people debate who is the GOAT, the Greatest Of All Time.
This might sound strange to our ears but the I AM, the God of the Hebrews is NOT the Greatest of All Time.
Greatest means that there is someone to compare to him.
He stands alone. He is like no other. He is the Only of ALL TIME
Actually, he is not even that, because he is not contained by time. He is eternal. He is simply the ONLY.
Distinct in Power – Sovereign Power Over the Natural World
I am about to send all my plagues against you. 9:14
Tomorrow at this time I will rain down the worst hail 9:15
I have let you (Pharaoh) live 9:16
“When I have left the city, I will spread out my hands to the Lord… the hail will cease 9:29
Some have argued that these plagues were naturally occurring events that were heightened or happened at just the right time.
Hail is normal event in Kansas. But no one has the sovereign power to say, I will send hail that will destroy livestock and people. It will be like no hailstorm KS has ever seen and it will happen tomorrow.
The Lord, not the gods of Egypt have sovereign control of the natural world.
God has Sovereign Power but Humans still have power to Act.
Two Examples
- Moses’ Obedience
Did you notice as you read the Plagues that Moses’ growing obedience led to growing confidence?
When Moses meets God in the Burning Bush, what is the first act of obedience?
Take off your shoes. Easy
Pick up that stick. Got it.
Put your hand in the cloak.
Go talk to Israel. More challenging
Go talk to Pharaoh. More difficult, but Moses obeys.
He grows in confidence as he obeys step by step.
God sovereignly uses Moses acts of obedience to accomplish his purposes.
As Trace reminded us last week, the path to experiencing God is the path of obedience.
- Moses’ Prays
He prays for many of the plagues to cease and they stop.
Interestingly he prays because Pharaoh asks him to pray. Pharaoh – the god of Egypt acknowledges that he has no power but he will not yield. Pharaoh’s heart is hard.
What do we do with “Pharaoh’s hard heart?”
Scripture says, Pharaoh hardened his heart, Pharaoh’s heart was hard and his heart remained hard but the scripture also says that God hardened Pharaoh’s heart.
Here is what we know God is sovereign and humans are responsible.
Can the Lord soften a hard heart? – he did it in the Apostle Paul’s life.
Can the Lord harden a heart and use that heart to turn others towards him? Yes
Deut 29:29 The hidden things belong to the Lord our God, but the revealed things belong to us and our children forever, so that we may follow all the words of this law.
What has been revealed? God is Sovereign and Humans are responsible.
What has been hidden? How does that work.
God showed his power of restraint
“By now I could have stretched out my hand and struck you… and you would have been obliterated from the earth”
God is long-suffering. He is patient. He allows evil for a time, but he always punishes evil.
Part of God’s reason for bringing the plagues is to punish Egypt for their wickedness.
In our time God is showing kindness through his restraint so that people might repent.
Romans 2:4-5 Or do you despise the riches of his kindness, restraint, and patience, not recognizing that God’s kindness is intended to lead you to repentance? 5 Because of your hardened and unrepentant heart you are storing up wrath for yourself in the day of wrath, when God’s righteous judgment is revealed.
The Lord does not delay his promise, as some understand delay, but is patient with you, not wanting any to perish but all to come to repentance. 2 Peter 3:9
God’s restraint is meant to lead to repentance, but Pharaoh did not repent. He made half-hearted attempts at confession.
Distinct People
“Let my people go so they may worship me.” 9:13
“The only place it didn’t hail was in the land of Goshen, where the Israelites were.” 9:26
There are those who belong to the Lord and those who do not.
The distinction divides – Your people — My people
You belong to the Lord or you do not.
God has a distinct people but a global plan
Remember God’s promise to Abraham. God promises to make his people a blessing to all people.
He even tells Pharaoh – through you Pharaoh – I am making my name known in all the earth.
As you read the story of the plagues you see God’s global plan start to unfold.
But the distinction is meant to be an attraction.
These people – the people of Israel have something that Egyptians want. They have a God who loves and protects. They have a God of power. They know a God of compassion and patience.
Egyptians have a controlling, stubborn tyrant ruling over them.
Distinction leads to attraction.
9:20 Pharaoh’s officials began to fear the word of the Lord
12:38 a mixed crowd went with the People of Israel.
The name of the Lord is spreading through the earth.
As a church we are distinct. Does our distinction just divide us from the world or is it attractive?
God’s desire is that his name would be known throughout all the earth.
He wants to make his name know through his people. Sometimes that happens in big ways like through the plagues and sometimes through simple conversations.
This week I was talking with Tiffany and she was all excited. She said… I was talking about Exodus with our neighbors and shared the whole gospel with them. I told them about rescue and God’s punishment.
On Battin street through Tiffany, God is using Pharaoh’s story to spread his name throughout all the earth.
The story that Tiffany told our neighbors was not just of punishment and plagues but of rescue, because God says to Pharaoh, you have been stubborn, but I will rescue my people.
God is distinct in nature, in power. He has a distinct people. ONLY he can rescue his people. Pharaoh refuses to release them. Moses cannot convince Pharaoh. Pharaoh’s own people try to convince him
Plague 8 7 Pharaoh’s officials asked him, “How long must this man be a snare to us? Let the men go, so that they may worship the Lord their God. Don’t you realize yet that Egypt is devastated?” Ex 10:7
Only God can Finally and Fully Rescue His People
Exodus 11:1 The Lord said to Moses, “I will bring one more plague on Pharaoh and on Egypt. After that he will let you go from here.
Verse 4 About midnight I will go throughout Egypt, and every firstborn male in the land of Egypt will die, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sits on his throne to the firstborn of the servant girl who is at the grindstones, as well as every firstborn of the livestock. Then there will be a great cry of anguish through all the land of Egypt such as never was before or ever will be again.
But against all the Israelites, whether people or animals, not even a dog will snarl, so that you may know that the Lord makes a distinction between Egypt and Israel.
Pharaoh’s firstborn son dies, this death breaks Pharaoh’s stubborn will and he agrees to let the slaves go free.
God’s will is accomplished, just as he said it would be. The slaves are set free.
On the night of the firstborn plague Israel will be kept safe, but there is a new sign that signifies their distinction – It is the blood of the lamb.
Exodus 12:21-23 Then Moses summoned all the elders of Israel and said to them, “Go, select an animal from the flock according to your families and slaughter the Passover animal. Tak a cluster of hyssop, dip it in the blood that is in the basin, and brush the lintel and the two doorposts with some of the blood in the basin. None of you may go out the door of his house until morning. When the Lord passes through to strike Egypt and sees the blood on the lintel and the two doorposts, he will pass over the door and not let the destroyer enter your houses to strike you.
The house is a place of safety – No one is to leave their home. In previous plagues, Goshen was the safe place, now safety is found in a home.
What is the distinct mark of home? The blood of the lamb.
Death has no claim on any home marked by the blood of the lamb.
Passover ceremony is celebrated annually by the Hebrew people. It reminds them of the time when God broke their bonds of slavery, through the death of the firstborn and protected them from death under the blood of the lamb.
Year after year… century after century Jewish people celebrated Passover. Looking back to rescue and looking forward to a promised hope.
Over 2000 years ago, there was a firstborn son named Jesus born of a virgin in Bethlehem.
He lived a sinless life.
He displayed power over the natural world.
One day as Jesus was walking, John the Baptist saw Jesus and exclaimed!
“Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” (Jn 1:29)
During the Jewish new year, the month of Passover, he sat in a room with his closest friends who have been celebrating Passover year after year and he said.
“I have fervently desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer.
19 And he took bread, gave thanks, broke it, gave it to them, and said, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”
20 In the same way he also took the cup after supper and said, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.
Jesus is the Passover lamb.
Passover is a reminder of rescue from Egypt.
Jesus came and died to rescue the world from the plague of sin.
Only Jesus can rescue the world from the plague of sin.
The wages of sin is death BUT the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Romans 6:23
The lamb whose blood was painted on the lintel and doorpost of the homes in Egypt foreshadows the blood that ran down a cross in Jerusalem where Jesus spilled his blood to pay the just penalty for our sin.
As a church we do not celebrate Passover, because the Passover is fulfilled in Christ. Jesus remade Passover and now we call it the Lord’s Supper. The Lord’s supper is an act of remembrance where we celebrate what Christ has done for us.
Application:
Is your life marked by the blood of the lamb?
My life is marked by my family name.
… my education.
My like is marked by my good works…my religious activity.
Only Jesus – the Lamb of God can save.
You can receive the free gift of eternal life if you turn from sin and turn to Christ.
Pharaoh, confessed his sin but he did not turn from it. He was sorry for the trouble that his sin caused but he did not turn away from his stubborn pride.
Turn from sin. Turn from trusting in self and turn to Christ.
If you want to turn to Christ there is a simple prayer on the screen that you can pray. Jesus will receive you.
In a moment we will celebrate the Lord’s Supper.
If you have turned to Christ, his blood covers you. As you take the Lord’s Supper today, my hope for you is that you would have assurance and gratitude.
He has rescued you. He is changing you. He is with you. He loves you.
Romans 5:8 But God proves his own love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
He is not done with you. He had purpose for Pharaoh’s life, he has purpose for you.
Romans 14:8
8 If we live, we live for the Lord; and if we die, we die for the Lord. Therefore, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord.