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11-3-14. Exodus 9:1-12. The Lord Tries To Break Through Hardened Hearts –my devotional

11-3-14. Exodus 9:1-12. The Lord Tries To Break Through Hardened Hearts –my devotional

boils

Exodus 9:1-12                                                                                  Kevin E. Jesmer

Key verse 9:5-6                                                                                11-3-14

 

5 The Lord set a time and said, “Tomorrow the Lord will do this in the land.” 6 And the next day the Lord did it: All the livestock of the Egyptians died, but not one animal belonging to the Israelites died.”  (NIV)

Part 1:  Plague 5:The Plague on the Livestock (1-7)

Verses 1-8, “Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go to Pharaoh and say to him, ‘This is what the Lord, the God of the Hebrews, says: “Let my people go, so that they may worship me.” 2 If you refuse to let them go and continue to hold them back, 3 the hand of the Lord will bring a terrible plague on your livestock in the field—on your horses, donkeys and camels and on your cattle, sheep and goats. 4 But the Lord will make a distinction between the livestock of Israel and that of Egypt, so that no animal belonging to the Israelites will die.’” 5 The Lord set a time and said, “Tomorrow the Lord will do this in the land.” 6 And the next day the Lord did it: All the livestock of the Egyptians died, but not one animal belonging to the Israelites died. 7 Pharaoh investigated and found that not even one of the animals of the Israelites had died. Yet his heart was unyielding and he would not let the people go.”

 

This chapter shows the plagues deepening in their intensity. In their finality, the mighty Egypt, the world power of its day, will be seriously affected and pushed to repentance.

 

The first thing we discover in this Exodus 9 is the wonderful grace of God. God calls a slave people his own people. Look at Exodus 9:1, “Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go to Pharaoh and say to him, ‘This is what the Lord, the God of the Hebrews, says: “Let my people go, so that they may worship me.” (NIV) The Lord God is not ashamed to call himself the God of the ancient Hebrews. These people were slaves for 400 years. They were not some well educated, wealthy and self sufficient people. They had some serious sin problems. But God calls them “my people”. This is the grace of God. Our God is the God who calls sinners to himself. He calls the weak and the helpless and makes them his very own. 1 Corinthians 1:25-27 reads, “For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength. 26 Brothers and sisters, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. 27 But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.”  Jesus came to choose the foolish. He chose the ordinary. Jesus is a spiritual doctor who came to heal the sick and bring the spiritual orphans back to their Father in heaven. He came to save the lost. God is so graceful to call sinners to himself, forgive them and call them his own children. Wow! That grace is overwhelming love!

 

In this world not many people accept you and love you like this. Most of us are left all alone. People may not even want to visit us. They say that by 2050, 40% of people in the Western culture will be living alone. There will continue to be unbearable loneliness and spiritual agony. But Jesus does not leave us alone. He is not like that. He comes to us humbly and gracefully and calls us his as his own people. We are his family members. He is by our side 24/7 by the Holy Spirit, not to judge us (for he did not come to judge us), he came to love and shepherd us. In light of this grace, all we can do is say…thank you Jesus. Merci Beacoup!

 

We can also pray to be more like Jesus and reflect his glory. How easy it is to ignore and even despise those who have fallen through the cracks. We don’t want to be associated with the weak and those in need. We like to be surrounded by the rich, the capable, the influential and the strong. These people make no demands on us, and they bring us some glory and they are easy to be around, even enjoyable. That is ok. We all need friends with whom we feel comfortable. But there are times when God calls us out of our comfort zone to embrace the modern day equivalent of the ancient Hebrew slaves in Egypt. It may be one or two people. It may be a community that we would never embrace in a million years if it was left up to us. But God may want to reveal his glory through us by our calling such people are own people. After all, they are “our” people for they too are sons and daughters of our Father in heaven.

 

There are times when God calls us to attempt a certain mission again and again and again. Look at verse 1, ““Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go to Pharaoh and say to him, ‘This is what the Lord, the God of the Hebrews, says: “Let my people go, so that they may worship me.” (NIV) This is the fifth time God sent Moses back to Pharaoh with the demand “Let my people go”. Five times, sending him with the same message and getting the same response, the hardening of the Pharaoh’s heart. By this time Moses may have been tired and discouraged. But amazingly, he continues to obey.

 

Jesus taught us a similar thing in with the parable of the persistent widow in Luke 18:1-8, “Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up. 2 He said: “In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared what people thought. 3 And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the plea, ‘Grant me justice against my adversary.’ 4 “For some time he refused. But finally he said to himself, ‘Even though I don’t fear God or care what people think, 5 yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won’t eventually come and attack me!’” 6 And the Lord said, “Listen to what the unjust judge says. 7 And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? 8 I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?” (NIV)

 

In the parable, the widow was granted justice because of her persistence. Look at verse 7, “And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off?”  She was granted justice and freedom from her adversaries. God will also bring about justice to those who pray persistently.

 

God also associates persistence with faith. Look at Luke 18:8, “I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?”  In the end times, will Jesus find anyone who persistently and intensely prays to God for the things he wants us to be persistent about? For Moses it was to see his people set free from their bondage to Pharaoh. To us, it is something else.

 

God himself is an example of persistence. He tries to reach out to a people who are hell-bent on sinning against him. People resist his gestures of love again and again. But God does not stop trying. He persistently tries to love us. He persistently tries to save us from our sin and bring us into his eternal kingdom. His persistent love is manifest in Jesus Christ. John 3:16 reads, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”  In this sense, persistence in the mission God has called us to do is a reflection of the character of God himself.

 

If you take an assessment of your life, there must be a mission that God is sending you on again and again. Some of these missions are very difficult and God does not want you to give up trying to fulfill that mission, especially when you know that it is the right thing to do and is the will of God. In these cases, God wants us to be persistent. And through that persistence, we discover that our persistence is richly rewarded. Moses discovered persistence is rewarded.

 

The question arises, “What does God want me to be persistent about?” Christians are guilty of praying for some things that are not the will of God. Do they keep on praying for things, year after year, that is not the will of God? I hope not. This is where discernment comes in. We need insight to know what the will of God is in the first place.

 

The first time that I experienced this whole concept of persistent prayer and persistent attempts to see the will of God done was in UBF ministry. There would be people from other countries wanting to come to Summer Bible Conference. They needed visas. But they would be refused a visa. But, based on the parable of the persistent widow, they would try again and again with lots to crying out prayer. And do you know what? Most people got their visas. Frank Drown has been praying for the Native people in NW Ontario for over 30 years. He and Marie have not stopped praying and asking people to join in the mission. God is blessing that prayer. Our two missionary families are praying to go to remote communities in Canada. They pray persistently. This is pleasing to the Lord. I need to learn that kind of prayer.

 

We must also beware of thinking that our persistent prayers are actually making the work of God happen. This is not true. Our sincerity and our persistence can actually be our human effort to force God to do something. It can actually be a works based faith. We can praise our own efforts and pat ourselves on the back for praying so persistently. This is a sin because it takes away the glory from God and places it on us. The Israelites weren’t delivered because Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh again and again. It is because of the grace of God. It is all God. Our persistence is simply an expression of our faith and a mean though which God wishes to reveal his glory.

 

God wants me to pray for some things persistently. I must pray for my kids and my family members to remain in Jesus. I must pray that a Native founded and Native led and Native propagated Church be established in a certain remote Canadian First Nation Community. I must pray that KBC may continue to grow and bear fruit to the glory of God. I must pray for marriages to be blessed across our land. I must pray that the kingdom of God may spread across the face of the earth. May the glory of Jesus shine forth.

 

Moses warned that the fifth act of judgment would strike the livestock of Egypt. In doing this God was striking another symbolic blow. The Egyptian’s popular gods were the bull, ram and cow, however the word “cattle” could stands for all kinds of domesticated animals. The plague also demonstrate the absolute rulership of God, for he completely controls every creature, both human and beast. This was not just a random plague, but a plague that would deliver a symbolic impact on the culture of Egypt.

 

God made a distinction between the unholy and the holy, between those who are his own and those who or this world. Look at Exodus 9: 5-6, which read, “The Lord set a time and said, “Tomorrow the Lord will do this in the land.” 6 And the next day the Lord did it: All the livestock of the Egyptians died, but not one animal belonging to the Israelites died.”  In this plague, all of the Egyptian livestock dies, but the cattle of the Hebrews were as secure as though there had been no plague at all. None of Israelites’ cattle were even sick. It was obvious on whom God’s favor rested and yet Pharaoh still refused to let the people go.

 

God still makes a distinction between the holy and the unholy. When Jesus comes again the wheat will be gathered, while the chaff gets burned away. This world and its entire works will be destroyed as completely as the beasts of Egypt. Everything in this world is perishing, spoiling and fading away, but the things of Christ and the children of God are being renewed day by day. They are bearing abundant fruit in this world and unto the next. On the Day of Judgment, they will pass through the judgment because of their relationship with Jesus Christ and dwell with the Lord forever in the Kingdom of God.

 

God also makes a distinction between the works of God born out love, devotion and faith in Christ and religious works born out of human effort and “No faith” for the glory of man. Paul talks about the distinction in 1 Corinthians 13:10-15, “10 By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as a wise builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should build with care. 11 For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. 12 If anyone builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, 13 their work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each person’s work. 14 If what has been built survives, the builder will receive a reward. 15 If it is burned up, the builder will suffer loss but yet will be saved—even though only as one escaping through the flames.”  The person who tries to build up the church with human efforts will see his works disappear with no legacy or influence …no fruit…but they themselves will be saved to enter into eternal life for God is full of grace.

 

Why did God make the distinction? A clue is found in Exodus 9:5, “The Lord set a time and said, “Tomorrow the Lord will do this in the land.”  And in verse 7, “Pharaoh investigated and found that not even one of the animals of the Israelites had died. Yet his heart was unyielding and he would not let the people go.” (NIV) God wanted the Pharaoh to repent of his sins, so that he and his nation may be saved. That is why God set a time. He was warning him of the upcoming judgment so that he could consider his ways, repent of his sins and be saved. But despite of God’s patient attempts to help him, Pharaoh did not respond well. He hardened his heart all the more, sealing his own condemnation. God tried his best to help Pharaoh.

 

The right way to turn became obvious right before the Pharaoh’s and all Egyptian’s eyes. God helps people to turn to him by making a distinction between God’s people and the people of the world. Why does God bless your lives and our nation so much? It is to help others to see the difference that faith in Jesus makes so they can know where to turn for answers, grace and salvation. It is part of God’s faithful efforts to help people to turn to Christ.

Part 2:   Plague Six: The Plague of Skin Boils (8-12)

Verses 9-12, “Then the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “Take handfuls of soot from a furnace and have Moses toss it into the air in the presence of Pharaoh. 9 It will become fine dust over the whole land of Egypt, and festering boils will break out on people and animals throughout the land.” 10 So they took soot from a furnace and stood before Pharaoh. Moses tossed it into the air, and festering boils broke out on people and animals. 11 The magicians could not stand before Moses because of the boils that were on them and on all the Egyptians. 12 But the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart and he would not listen to Moses and Aaron, just as the Lord had said to Moses.” (NIV)

 

This plague of boils is the sixth act of judgment that fell upon all Egyptians. This plague too, was not random, but deeply symbolic. It was meant to show people enslaved by idols, the true way. Look at verse 8, “Then the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “Take handfuls of soot from a furnace and have Moses toss it into the air in the presence of Pharaoh.” The furnace mentioned here was probably the furnace where human victims were sacrificed to the Egyptian god Typhon. These sacrifices were offered to Typhon in order to avert the plagues that God was sending upon the Egyptians. Here are some descriptions of the god, Typhon.

 

“As noted by Herodotus, Typhon was traditionally identified with the Egyptian Set, who was also known to the Greeks as Typhon. As early as pre-dynastic Egypt, Set’s mascot or emblem was the Set animal; the Greeks and later classicists referred to this unidentified aardvark-like creature as the Typhonic beast.”  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Typhon

 

Set is a god of the desert, storms, disorder, violence and foreigners in ancient Egyptian religion. In Ancient Greek, the god’s name is given as Sēth (Σήθ). Set is not, however, a god to be ignored or avoided; he has a positive role where he is employed by Ra on his solar boat to repel the serpent of Chaos Apep. Set had a vital role as a reconciled combatant. He was lord of the red (desert) land where he was the balance to Horus’ role as lord of the black (soil) land.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Set_(mythology)

 

The sacrifices of human victims were offered to avert the plagues, but these same ashes, which Moses was ordered by the Lord to scatter, brought fresh plagues upon the people. The magicians were also helpless to do anything about these plagues. Look at verse 11, “The magicians could not stand before Moses because of the boils that were on them and on all the Egyptians.“ This plague proclaimed the helplessness of these Egyptian demonic gods to save the Egyptians. It also shows that the God of the Hebrews was infinitely more powerful than any of the idols of Egypt.

 

We have so many idols. We sacrifice to these idols in hopes to avert suffering like emptiness, meaninglessness, loneliness and suffering. But sacrifices to these lesser gods can do nothing to save us from power of sin. They can do nothing to help us to pass through the Judgment and bring us into eternal life. Only Jesus can set our hearts free and give us life to the full. (John 10:10) Only Jesus can bring us the forgiveness of sins and eternal life. Jesus makes it very clear to all people that he is the Way and the Truth and the Life. (John 14:6)

 

Pharaoh hardened his own heart. God gave pharaoh many opportunities to heed Moses’ warning, but Pharaoh remained hardened. Look at verse 12, “But the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart and he would not listen to Moses and Aaron, just as the Lord had said to Moses.” Finally God seemed to say, “All right, Pharaoh. You have repeatedly rejected my attempts to help you. Then have it your way.” Pharaohs’ heart become permanently hardened. The Lord did not tamper with the will of a person in this event. Pharaoh was not forced by the Lord, to harden his heart. All of this was because of his own volition. Pharaoh freely chose a life of resisting God.

 

We need to take heed of Pharaoh’s example. There is a danger that after a, lifetime of resisting God, you may find it impossible to turn to him. If you continually ignore God’s voice, eventually you may not be able to hear the voice of God at all, apart from a miracle from God himself. Never wait until the last moment before turning to God. Do it now while you still have the chance. Today is the day of salvation.

 

Prayer: “Lord, thank you for trying again and again to save us. Thank you for trying to break through our hardened hearts. Soften my heart so that I can respond to your call to repentance and faith.”

 

One Word: The Lord God of the Bible is the “All powerful” God that must be heard and heeded.

 




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