Word of Salvation – Vol. 31 No. 04 – Jan 1986
The Lord’s Warning, Judgment And Deliverance In The Plagues
Sermon by Rev. D. K. Baird on Exodus 9:13-19
Reading: Exodus 9:13-35
Singing: P.H. 88. BoW H.205. S.39. 210. 482. 489.
What is God like?
That is a question many have asked – many of us too, at times. When certain things happen in the world, or in people’s lives, we conclude that God is either generous or hard, merciful, or strict, or whatever, depending on how those events affect us.
In the plagues of the exodus we find an event organised by the Lord. From those plagues we can learn some more about what the Lord is like. We want to then go to the Scriptures, both to see what happened in those plagues, and to get the right interpretation as to what it all means.
As an example of the plagues we want to look particularly at the plague of hail, the account of which we find in Exodus 9.
We also want to look at some statements in the book of Romans which will throw light on what the Lord was doing.
In this we will see three things regarding the character of God:-
1. The goodness of the Lord in warning.
2. The severity of the Lord in judgement.
3. The mercy of the Lord in deliverance.
1. THE GOODNESS OF THE LORD IN WARNING
In one way the plagues need never have occurred.
Before they began the Lord sent the simple command to Pharaoh:- “Let my people go that they may serve me.”
His stubborn answer created the problem:
“Who is the Lord that I should obey him and let Israel go? I do not know the Lord and I will not let Israel go.” (Ex.5:2)
That’s where the trouble started.
Next came a demonstration of power when Moses and Aaron performed the miracle of the staff turning into a snake.
But to that too there was a negative response:-
“Pharaoh then summoned the wise men and sorcerers, and the Egyptian magicians also did the same things by their secret arts: each one threw down his staff and it became a snake. But Aaron’s staff swallowed up their staffs. Yet Pharaoh’s heart became hard and he would not listen to them, just as the Lord had said.” (Ex.7:11-13).
He would not let Israel go, and so the plagues began.
And what terrible judgements they were, those plagues of blood, frogs, gnats, flies, stock diseases, boils, hail, locusts and darkness, followed finally by the death of the first-born.
Let’s be clear that these judgements were quite just and fair.
Think of the terrible slavery inflicted on the Israelites.
Think not only of the slave labour, but especially of the murder of the children: a terrible thing deserving judgement.
Even so, the Lord still showed Pharaoh his goodness and mercy in warning. him repeatedly of what was involved in defying him. The plagues started gradually and built up.
The early ones were more an inconvenience, but the later ones such as the hail and the locusts, inflicted heavy damage.
The Lord further showed his mercy in that in that after each plague another warning was given, another call to repent. In particular with this plague of hail: a day’s warning was given to allow time to take precautions and the suggestion was made to move livestock and servants indoors: –
“Therefore, at this time tomorrow I will send the worst hailstorm that has ever fallen on Egypt, from the day it was founded till now. Give an order now to bring your livestock and everything you have in the field to a place of shelter, because the hail will fall on every man and animal that has not been brought in and is still out in the field, and they will die.
Those officials of Pharaoh who feared the word of the Lord hurried to bring their slaves and livestock inside. But those who ignored the word of the Lord left their slaves and livestock in the field.” (Ex.9:18-21)
Our situation today is similar in many ways.
Plenty of people conclude the Lord is either weak or doesn’t even exist, because they do things they know are wrong but life just goes on and the Lord doesn’t appear to notice.
Or, perhaps, like Pharaoh, they sit up and take notice for a few days when something does go wrong, but after it is over they go back to their old ways again.
They think that because the Lord does not act against them there and then, he must be weak or perhaps he doesn’t care.
They misinterpret the lack of judgement or the mildness of it.
They don’t realise that the Lord is not displaying weakness but rather mercy in warning them time and time again.
Paul describes this situation in Romans 2:4-5
“Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, tolerance and patience, not realising that God’s kindness leads you towards repentance? But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God’s wrath, when his righteous judgement will be revealed.”
It is most important that we realise that any apparent lack of intervention by the Lord is because of his mercy – it is not due to weakness.
We must not despair of what happens in the world but patiently await the return of Christ.
Let’s also think of our own actions.
Time and again we take liberties in what we allow ourselves to do, and we notice that nothing adverse seems to happen: the Lord does not disciple us through sending some misfortune.
If the Lord declines to discipline us, let’s not think he doesn’t care. Rather we should realise it is a further expression of his longsuffering towards us; through which he seeks to woo us back to himself.
2. THE SEVERITY OF THE LORD IN JUDGEMENT
As time went on God did afflict Pharaoh with the plagues: one after the other, and each time more severe.
Do not forget that Pharaoh is not just an individual.
As someone has said of him in his position of power and rule:
“…Both the rebellion of the natural man against word and will of God, and the hostility of the power of the world to the Lord and His people, were concentrated in Pharaoh, the ruler.”
We read that Pharaoh’s response to the first five plagues was that “he hardened his heart.”
Actually six times we read either that “his heart became hard” or “he hardened his heart.”
In response to the later plagues he still did that, but we also start more and more to read this:- “But the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart” (Exod.9:12)
This is a further terrible stage where the Lord as a judgement on his earlier sins, afflicted Pharaoh with hardening of his heart.
Pharaoh then became more unable and unwilling to yield to the Lord. He became blinded in his thinking.
Even though his advisors counselled that persistence would me an economic ruin for Egypt, yet he refused to see reason.
Thus the Lord sent hardening and blindness as a judgement on sin.
The Lord, through Moses actually told Pharaoh what he was doing:-
“For by now I could have stretched out my hand and struck you and your people with a plague that would have wiped you off the earth. But I have raised you up for this very purpose, that I might show you my power and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.” (Ex.9:15-16).
Why did not the Lord wipe out Egypt in one stroke? Partly because he was mercifully warning them time and again. We saw this before. But also the Lord kept Pharaoh to demonstrate something: –
“But I have raised you up for this purpose, that I might show you my power and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.” (Ex.9:16)
Pharaoh certainly saw more of the Lord’s power, but what a terrible way to see it!
Also the Lord’s purpose was that his name be more widely known. And indeed all the nations heard what happened in Egypt. All the nations around Canaan heard in advance what sort of God was the Lord.
Is the Lord put out when we humans sin?
Are his plans in disarray because so many think they can live without Saviour?
Are his purposes frustrated by the strength of secularism, or by unjust dictators or when people take Christ’s name in vain?
If the Lord is dishonoured, is he therefore defeated?
He is no more defeated today than he was by the stubbornness of Pharaoh. In fact he still displays his power by confirming people in their sin, judging them, and outmanoeuvring them in his purposes.
In Romans 1 we read that God, day by day, shows his anger against the godlessness and wickedness of men.
To start with, people do not acknowledge God as creator.
But as this sinfulness goes on, God gives people over to be confirmed in their sin.
Under God’s wrath one horrible thing leads to another.
For example:
“Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts.”
And:
“Furthermore, since they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, he gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done.” (Rom.1:26,28).
So too, under God’s wrath,
“Men committed indecent acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their perversion.” (Rom.1:27)
So, in the world God’s power is revealed through judgement.
This does not mean that anyone caught in the judgement of God against sin is beyond hope. Quite to the contrary, the Lord invites any to see what He thinks of sin and to turn to him for mercy.
Indeed the Lord will turn and have mercy on anyone who comes to him in Christ.
The statement Moses brought to Pharaoh from the Lord is quoted by Apostle Paul in Romans 9:
“It does not therefore, depend on man’s desire or effort, but on God’s mercy. For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, ‘I raised you up for this very purpose, that I might display my power in you and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.’ Therefore God has mercy on whom he wants to have mercy, and he hardens who he wants to harden.” (vs.16-18)
This is important for us to remember, for our encouragement.
We often think: if someone becomes a Christian, if someone repents and is forgiven, then God’s power is made known.
Then we lift our heads high because we see evidence that the Lord is here.
But if people go their own way in disobedience we tend to hide our faces in embarrassment as if the Lord is too weak to do anything.
We shouldn’t! He makes his power known: both in mercy and in judgement.
3. THE MERCY OF THE LORD IN DELIVERANCE
In thinking of the plagues and their affect on Pharaoh we may not forget the obvious: – The plagues were given to induce Pharaoh to let Israel go. This event was a great act of salvation for Israel.
As the plagues progressed, the Lord made it clear he was making a clear difference between Egypt and Israel.
So it is specifically mentioned that the plagues on the livestock and the plagues of hail and darkness, did not occur in Goshen, where the Israelites lived.
Do we ever wonder: how committed is the Lord to our salvation? To what lengths would he go to bring us to himself?
Would he stop in their tracks whole nations that persecute the church?
The event of the plagues should answer that question.
He did not baulk at inflicting all these plagues on Egypt so as to redeem his people.
Through Isaiah the Lord reminds us,
“For I am the Lord your God the Holy One of Israel, your Saviour; I give Egypt for your ransom… Since you are precious and honoured in my sight and because I love you, I will give men in exchange for you and people in exchange for your life.” (Isa.43:3-4)
Above all he delivered up to death his only Son, that we would be delivered from sin and death.
Seeing he did not spare him, but gave him up for us all, he certainly will not let anything stop him from giving us his full salvation.
But how can the Lord maintain such a commitment to us when we are still sinners?
How can we be sure his mercy will not turn into judgement?
Because the mercy and severity of God meet together on the cross.
Jesus Christ takes the judgement so that mercy may continue to be shown to us who have entrusted ourselves to him.
Because we have received mercy let us not conclude that we are good; nor that the Lord does not care about sin.
The cross tells us that we are not one bit more deserving than Pharaoh.
Our sin is such that even the Son of God had to die to release us from its guilt.
So as we bask in the mercy and forgiveness of the Lord, let us recall again and again the judgement taken by the Lord Jesus. In him, and in what he did, we see the complete character of God displayed.
CONCLUSION
What is God like?
This is a big question requiring a big answer.
But today from one event, the plagues of Egypt, we find three aspects of his character revealed:-
1. The goodness of the Lord in warning.
The Lord is longsuffering and patient.
However we should not interpret that to mean weakness.
Rather we must see it as a further call to turn back from sin.
2. The severity of the Lord in judgement.
Let’s not think that the Lord has removed himself from this scene.
Rather, he makes his power known in the world every day not only in showing mercy, but also in showing judgement.
3. The mercy of the Lord in deliverance
He gave up Egypt rather than let it stop his purpose to deliver his people.
In Christ we have the assurance that he will remain faithful to his commitment to redeem his people.
“He who did not spare his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how will he not along with him, graciously give us all things.’ (Rom.8:32)
AMEN