The Exodus – Part 15
The Plague of Livestock and Boils
Pastor Bruce A. Shields
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SERMON TIMELINE
· The Book of Genesis
· The Book of Exodus
· Introduction
· Israelite’s Oppression
· The Birth of Moses
· Moses Flees to Midian
· Moses and the Burning Bush
· Signs for Moses
· Moses Returns to Egypt
· Moses Speaks to Pharaoh
· God Promises Deliverance
· God Speaks of the Israelites
· The First Miracle
§ The Plague of Blood
§ The Plague of Frogs
§ The Plague of Gnats & Flies
§ The Plague of Livestock and Boils
INTRODUCTION
We took a break last week for Passover. We are working our way to this in our series right now as well.
Over the last few weeks, we have discussed Moses being called by God after tending his father-in-law’s sheep for 40 years. After retrieving his brother Aaron to help, they spoke to the Pharaoh in Egypt and told him what God has said.
“Let my people go into the wilderness and offer sacrifices to me.”
We read how Pharaoh at first questioned why he should listen to the Lord, and by the end of the last plague, we looked at, the plague of frogs, he called Moses and Aaron, asking them to pray to the Lord for it to end.
Pharaoh acknowledges the Lord; however, this does not make God Pharaoh’s God. The Lord is Lord of all creation, but God is only God to those who serve Him.
The problem with acknowledging the Lord, but still refusing to serve God is that Pharaoh was still in disobedience even though he acknowledged the Lord.
James 2:19 “You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe—and tremble!”
This seems to contradict John 6:47 “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes has eternal life.”
This verse is a perfect example of the difference between the usage of the word believe.
You believe there is one God. Or you believe IN (put trust and faith in) the One God.
Because demons know there is one God, and fear Him, however, they do not put their faith in trust in Him.
Pharaoh, for a moment, believed the Lord was in control and begged for relief. However, Pharaoh did not surrender to the Lord, and therefore, once relief was granted, he returned to hardening his heart, denying God’s command to release the Hebrews, and Pharaoh’s state of defiance and disregard for the Lord and His command continued.
Today we will see the first of the 10 plagues, the plague of Gnats and the Plague of Flies.
SCRIPTURE READING
Exodus 9:1-12
“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.
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. 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.”
TODAY’S MESSAGE
I. THE LORD – THE GOD OF THE HEBREWS
a. Who is the Lord
i. This English word represents 1 Aramaic, 3 Greek and 9 Hebrew Words
ii. It represents both the Divine person as well as a finite angel
iii. It was used by the Hebrews to avoid using the Lord’s Holy Name
iv. The Divine person, the Lord, is the one who is the Son, the one who would one day be called Jesus, the one who suffered the cross for our substitutionary sacrifice so that we may once again be in a covenant with God the Father.
v. This Divine Lord is also the creator (John 1:3; Colossians 1:16 + 100 other verses)
vi. This, by default, makes the Divine Lord Jesus Lord of ALL.
vii. He IS Lord of Lord’s and King of King’s because everything was crated by Him alone.
viii. He IS your Lord, whether you acknowledge Him or not.
b. Who is God
i. God the Father who is Spirit (John 4:24)
ii. “Those who worship Him” (shows we have free-will) because not everyone will worship God.
iii. God the Father is the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob through covenant relationship. Meaning, if it weren’t for the covenant agreement, God would NOT be their God.
iv. We may ONLY have a relationship with God the Father through a covenant agreement that HE offers, and no other way.
v. God is NOT the God of everyone.
vi. God IS the God of those who are in a covenant agreement with Him
c. Why the difference matters
i. God the Father has made clear through His Word that there is a Judgment Day coming, and those who have refused to be in a covenant agreement with God the Father, those who have not made God their God, will be separated from those who have for the rest of eternity.
ii. To make God the Father your God, just as Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, you MUST accept a covenant that God the Father Himself offers. There is no other way.
iii. God the Father has offered His covenant, purchased in blood through Jesus Christ the Lord. You must accept this covenant to make God the Father your God, receive the covering of Jesus the Lord, robed in His Holy Spirit and marked for Judgment Day by the Mark of God to avoid being set apart from those who belong to Him.
II. THE HAND OF THE LORD
a. Warnings
i. God warns all long before Judgment, why?
1. He would not be a righteous and fair judge otherwise
2. How just is one who condemns without first warning and instruction?
ii. Job 34:12 “Surely, God will not act wickedly, And the Almighty will not pervert justice.”
iii. Colossians 3:25 “For he who does wrong will receive the consequences of the wrong which he has done, and that without partiality.”
iv. We are warned through God’s Word, through the Lord’s teachings, through the prophets and the apostles, Judgment Day is coming, repent!
b. The Finger of God
i. When the magicians could not mimic the plague of gnats (or biting lice) they told Pharaoh, “this is the finger of God”
ii. That in itself should terrify someone. Not even the entire Hand of God, but just the touch of His finger caused so much destruction.
c. The distinction of God’s People
i. Again, just as we have seen before, God separates those who belong to Him, those who have God as their God.
ii. They will not suffer the plagues as those who do not belong to Him do
iii. Please do not read into this too far and think bad things only happen to bad people. That is NOT what the Lord is saying here.
1. Jesus makes clear in Luke 13 that bad things happen to people in this world because it is fallen, and unless we repent we too will eventually suffer and die.
2. Matthew 5 Jesus tells us that God sends the sunshine and the rain on all, evil and good. Some things happen in this world because it is fallen and sinful, some things happen in this world because of our choices and decisions, or how we choose to behave, some things happen because of nature, and some things happen because God wills it.
a. In THIS case, God was causing the plague and made a distinction between the Egyptians who did not make Him their God, and the Hebrews who did.
iv. I hate it when people think just because something bad happens to someone, they must have did something wrong. Guess what, we all do something wrong every single day. God would be smiting us continually and none would survive if He were judging in that manner.
III. THE SIXTH PLAGUE
a. Boils
i. They receive the painful boils
b. They are so terrible even the magicians are away suffering
i. Telling fact that even the magicians couldn’t do anything about this. Which again supports what I said from the beginning, they were illusionists, not actually using magic, but making it appear as much.
c. The Lord hardens Pharaoh’s heart
i. Why? Because Pharaoh has already been judged, and there is no turning back
ii. His punishment is being held back from God to reveal His power and might to the world
iii. He hardened his heart because after judgment, there is no repenting.
CONCLUSION
Pharaoh was chosen for this.
The scripture tells us that the Lord brought him to this position because of who Pharaoh was. Though true, God hardened Pharaoh’s heart so that God’s full plan could be revealed, we see many instances where Pharaoh hardened his own heart and decided for himself not to obey the Lord’s command.
God hardens Pharaoh’s heart after He judged him. Once the judgment was made by the Lord, there is no going back. The results/punishment of this judgment against Pharaoh took some time to fully reveal the power of God to Egypt and the world.
It is for this reason we see God hardening Pharaoh’s heart repeatedly, because these plagues would change anyone’s mind. However, Pharaoh was already judged, and there is no going back once the Lord makes a judgment.
On Judgment Day when each of us stand before the Lord, it is just that, Judgment Day. Not plead your case day, explain your why day, beg for forgiveness day, but judgment day.
Jesus Himself says about that day in Matthew 7:22-23, “Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, didn’t we prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’
Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me evildoers!’”
You see, the name of Jesus holds power and authority. The Word of God accomplished what it was sent out to do, regardless of the one using it. Not everyone who uses the Lord’s name, or prophecies, or drives out demons or performs miracles, though they be in Jesus’ name, are going to heaven. Jesus says so.
Matthew 23 is a warning, not to nu-believers, but to those who believe but do not follow Christ Jesus.
When the Lord makes His judgment, that is final.
So, we could be like Pharaoh, who, through a chain of events and experiences knows the Lord is real and believes in Him and His power. (We know this from scriptures because he asks on many occasions for Moses to pray to the Lord to heal him of the plague), and although he knows the Lord is real, and believes the Lord has power, he never truly submits and surrenders to the Lord. Pharaoh never makes the God of the Hebrews his God.
Or, we could be like the Hebrews, with all their flaws, imperfections, doubts, erroneous ways, straying from the path, but trusting in the God of the Hebrews, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Trusting in the Lord to bring salvation, in this case through Moses, in our case, through the cross.
Let us live in a way, that when we stand before the Lord on Judgment Day, He will say to us “Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’” (Matthew 25:23)
NEXT WEEK
The Lord commands Moses and Aaron to call the 7th plague, hail.
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