CSSA 1-1-17 - GOD SENDS PLAGUES ON EGYPT

17. GOD SENDS PLAGUES ON EGYPT

"The Egyptians shall know that I am Yahweh, when I stretch forth Mine hand upon Egypt."

Aim

To show how God used His great power to save His chosen people, thus showing that He is the only true and living God.

Moses had been absent from the court of Pharaoh for forty years, and at the age of 80 years, he returned to demand that Pharaoh let the Israelites go free. With Aaron, his brother, they had gathered together the elders of Israel and shown them by word and sign, that they truly were from God. The people believed, and they were very excited to think that soon they would be free.

Egypt was a great and powerful nation, but their gods were nothing at all - gods of wood and stone, utterly without power! There is only one true God and He was going to make them know His power and feel His great and terrible anger.

So Yahweh, the God of the Hebrews, Who had seen how cruelly the Egyptians had treated His people, would bring them out of Egypt, "with great judgments" (Exodus 6:6).

Exodus 5 to 10; Acts 7:36; Psalm 78:43-52

MOSES AND AARON BEFORE PHARAOH: Exod. 5 & 6

The time had now come for Moses and Aaron to speak God's Word to Pharaoh: "Thus saith Yahweh, let my people go, that they may hold a feast unto me in the wilderness". Pharaoh was surprised at this bold request. "Who is Yahweh," he said, "that I should obey his voice to let Israel go? I know not Yahweh, neither will I let Israel go" (Exodus 5:1-2).

It was right, he did not yet know the God of Israel, but before long, he most certainly would, and all Egypt too. Moses and Aaron were angrily dismissed and the Egyptians put heavier burdens on the Israelites. Now they had to make the same number of bricks each day as they had before but instead of having the straw provided for them they had to go out and gather it themselves. It seemed now to the Israelites that since Moses had interfered, things were much worse than before and they blamed him. But God spoke to Moses to encourage him (Exodus 6:1-9) and Moses and Aaron went again to Pharaoh (Exodus 7:10-13). The rod was thrown down before him and his wise men and his magicians and it became a serpent. The magicians, who were skilled in trickery, appeared to do the same, each man's rod becoming a serpent, but Aaron's rod swallowed up all the other rods. In spite of this, Pharaoh's heart was hardened, as God knew it would be. The time had arrived for Yahweh to show His greater power to the Egyptians and Moses was commanded to appear again before Pharaoh the following morning.

THE PLAGUES: Exodus 7 to 10

There were in fact ten great and dreadful plagues that God brought upon Egypt. We will mention nine of them here. The tenth and most terrible disaster happened on the night God brought Israel out of Egypt. We will read of that in the next lesson.

1. Water into blood (Exodus 7:14-25). Moses again said to Pharaoh: "Yahweh, God of the Hebrews, hath sent me unto thee saying, Let my people go, that they may serve me in the
   wilderness, and behold hitherto thou wouldest not hear." Moses then turned the water of the River Nile into blood so that the fish died and there was a terrible smell. Even the ponds and every pool of water became blood. The magicians copied what Moses did, causing some of the wells to look like red blood; so once again Pharaoh refused to listen to Moses.

2. Frogs (Exodus 8:1-15). Moses and Aaron came again with the same request, "Let my people go". When Pharaoh ignored God's words, Aaron stretched forth his rod over the
   streams and rivers and caused frogs to come upon the land of Egypt. They swarmed into their homes and were everywhere, in their beds, in their ovens and their kneading troughs. The
   magicians again copied what had been done - but they could not make the frogs go away. So Pharaoh sent for Moses and told him to ask Yahweh to send the frogs away and "I will let the people go" (v. 8). When the frogs died the following day, Pharaoh changed his mind again and "hardened his heart" (v. 15).

3. Swarms of Lice (Exodus 8:16-19). This terrible plague came upon Egypt after Moses had instructed Aaron to lift his rod and smite "the dust of the earth". When he did so, it became lice. The magicians could not copy this miracle, and the lice crawled over every man and beast. The magicians cried out, "This is the finger of God" (v. 19). They could not pretend any longer. Their tricks were no match for God's power, but Pharaoh "hearkened not unto them (i.e. Moses and Aaron) as Yahweh had said" (v. 19).

So God had now sent three terrible plagues upon all Egypt, upon Egyptians and Israelites alike. Never before had Israel seen the power of God in such a way and they too had to learn of His greatness and believe.

After these three plagues, however, the time had come for all to see that God put a difference between Israel and Egypt. So Moses said that on the next day God would send flies to plague all Egypt except the land of Goshen, where the children of Israel dwelt.

4) Flies (Exodus 8:20-32). A great swarm of flies filled the land of Egypt. Flies were in their houses and crawled upon the people and swarmed all over the ground. How the people hated them! Pharaoh seemed at last to repent. He called for Moses and said, "Go ye, sacrifice to your God in the land". Moses reminded him that God had said they must leave Egypt. So Pharaoh said, "I will let you go ... only ye shall not go very far away" (v. 28). So Moses asked God to remove the flies and it was done. Immediately Pharaoh hardened his heart and would not let the people go.

5. Murrain on Animals (Exodus 9:1-7). This was a disease which could be readily passed from one animal to another, Animals had difficulty in breathing and usually died. The cattle belonging to Israel in the land of Goshen did not suffer this terrible disease € such was God's care for His chosen people and their possessions. Pharaoh sent messengers to Goshen to find out and there was not one of the cattle of the Israelites dead. "And the heart of Pharaoh was hardened and he did not let the people go" (v. 7).

5. Boils on Man and Beast (Exodus 9:8-12). Moses next instructed Aaron to take of the ashes of the furnace and sprinkle them towards heaven in the sight of Pharaoh. The
   ashes became dust, and as it fell, it caused boils to break out on every man and beast. Even the magicians could not stand before Moses because of the plague of boils. Still Pharaoh's
   heart was hardened and "he hearkened not unto them" (v. 12)

5. A Storm of Hail (Exodus 9:18-35). Moses was commanded to stand before Pharaoh and tell him that on the next day a great hailstorm would come and destroy every man and beast found in the open field. Some of the Egyptians had learned by this time to fear Israel's God and they commanded their servants to stay inside. When Moses stretched for the rod, God sent thunder and hail and lightning and it destroyed man, animals, crops and trees. But there was no hail in Goshen. Pharaoh called Moses and said, "I have sinned ... intreat Yahweh (for it is enough)... and I will let you go" (vv. 27-28). But as soon as Pharaoh saw that the hail ceased, "the heart of Pharaoh was hardened" (v. 35) and he would not let the people go.

5. Locusts (Exodus 10:1-20). Once again Moses came before Pharaoh and told him that Yahweh would send yet another plague if he remained stubborn and deceitful. Pharaoh told Moses and Aaron that the men could go and worship their God in the wilderness, but the children must remain. Moses was definite; all must go, both young and old, and if not, the land would be covered with locusts which would eat what was left of the green crops and trees. Pharaoh was angry and drove them out. Then Moses stretched forth his rod and an east wind brought the locusts, which ate all that the hail had left standing. Pharaoh hastily sent for Moses, "I have sinned against Yahweh your God", he said, "forgive therefore, I pray thee, my sin ... and in treat Yahweh your God that He may take away from me this death only" (vv. 16-17). God removed the locusts with a strong west wind and all the locusts were swept in to the Red Sea. Yet again, Pharaoh's heart was hardened and he would not let the people go.

5. Complete Darkness (Exodus 10:21-29). God told Moses to stretch our his hand toward heaven so that darkness would come over the land of Egypt, darkness so thick that the people of Egypt could not see one another, "even a darkness which may be felt" (v. 21). In the land of Goshen, however, the Israelites had light. "Go ye", said Pharaoh, "serve Yahweh; only let your flocks and your herd be stayed" (v. 24). Moses said, "Our cattle also shall go with us; there shall not a hoof be left behind" (v. 26). Pharaoh was angry and drove Moses out from before him, saying he would see his face no more; to which Moses replied, "Thou hast spoken well, I will see thy face again no more" (v. 29).

So God brought these great and dreadful plagues upon Egypt to show His power over the gods of Egypt - "and that My Name may be declared throughout all the earth" (Exodus 9:16). There was still worse to come, for Pharaoh had by no means repented. What happened later, made all the surrounding nations fear Yahweh and tremble (see Joshua 2:9-11).

LESSON FOR US

In this story we learn two important lessons €

1. the need to humble ourselves before God, and

2. the need to be separate from the world.

In Proverbs 6:17 we are told that God hates "a proud look and a lying tongue". This was Pharaoh. Israel had to humble themselves and trust in God to deliver them. So must we believe in the true God, and obey His commandments. If we do that, He has promised to save us even out of death. First, we must separate ourselves from the way of life of those around us and live a life of faith and obedience - for God is going to punish this wicked world just as He punished the Egyptians long ago. So we wait for the Lord Jesus Christ to return to judge the nations and to save us by His great power.

ADDITIONAL NOTES

God's own character, as He has revealed it to us in the Scriptures, shows Him to be just and merciful. He is a merciful God to those who have separated themselves unto Him, but terrible to those who hate Him (see Exodus 34:6-7). God's great judgments came upon Egypt, but His mercy was shown to the Hebrews. Some Egyptians however, saw and believed. For them God provided a way of escape, for example, during the hail, and some even joined themselves to Israel and came out of Egypt. It is the same today. "He that believeth and is baptised shall be saved" (Mark 16:16). The great deliverer is the Lord Jesus Christ. Only by baptism into his name can we be saved. God has warned the world of the judgments He is going to bring upon the nations. He will only show mercy to those who hear and believe His Word.

QUESTIONS

Short Answers

1. Why did Moses and Aaron go to see Pharaoh?

2. How was Aaron's rod shown to be more powerful than the rods of the magicians?

3. Why did God send the plagues upon Egypt?

4. Why did the Hebrews also feel the first three plagues?

5. During the plague of hail, how did some of the Egyptians show their belief in God's Word?

6. What sort of man was Pharaoh?

Detailed Answers

1. Moses and Aaron asked Pharaoh to let the people of Israel go into the wilderness to serve their God.

1. 1. Why did God want to take His people out of Egypt?

   2. What happened in the court when Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and Aaron cast down his rod?

2. Tell what you know of the plagues that God sent upon the land of Egypt. (Leave out the story of the last dreadful plague)

3. What lessons do we learn from the plagues in Egypt?