WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:08.900 even more brutal. And then what we've seen last week and this week is through the ten plagues, 00:00:09.580 --> 00:00:15.160 God proceeds to show Himself to Pharaoh and to the Egyptians and to the Israelites and 00:00:15.160 --> 00:00:23.059 ultimately to the whole world as we read this text today. Now, last week, 00:00:23.539 --> 00:00:26.320 Pastor Nick's sermon focused on what the plagues are all about. 00:00:26.320 --> 00:00:34.420 And he said the plagues are ultimately about God magnifying His name in His judgments and in His 00:00:34.420 --> 00:00:40.280 salvation. But today we're focusing on the same narrative, chapters 7 through 10, but we're 00:00:40.280 --> 00:00:47.760 focusing in particular on the character of Pharaoh and Pharaoh's response to God over the course of 00:00:47.760 --> 00:00:52.960 the plagues. I want to begin by reading from the account of the first, the beginning of the plagues 00:00:52.960 --> 00:00:59.380 in chapter 7. So that's page 49. I'm going to read chapter 7 starting at verse 1. 00:00:59.380 --> 00:01:02.840 And the Lord said to Moses, 00:01:02.840 --> 00:01:07.140 See, I have made you like God to Pharaoh, and your brother Aaron shall be your prophet. 00:01:07.980 --> 00:01:12.799 You shall speak all that I command you, and your brother Aaron shall tell Pharaoh to let the people 00:01:12.799 --> 00:01:19.719 of Israel go out of his land. But I will harden Pharaoh's heart. And though I multiply my signs 00:01:19.719 --> 00:01:25.719 and wonders in the land of Egypt, Pharaoh will not listen to you. Then I will lay my hand on Egypt 00:01:25.719 --> 00:01:31.179 and bring my hosts, my people, the children of Israel, out of the land of Egypt by great acts 00:01:31.179 --> 00:01:37.319 of judgment. The Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord when I stretch out my hand against Egypt 00:01:37.319 --> 00:01:43.599 and bring out the people of Israel from among them. Moses and Aaron did so. They did just as the 00:01:43.599 --> 00:01:46.640 Lord commanded them. Now look down to verse 14. 00:01:46.640 --> 00:01:49.219 Then the Lord said to Moses, 00:01:50.099 --> 00:01:56.680 Pharaoh's heart is hardened. He refuses to let the people go. Go to Pharaoh in the morning as he's 00:01:56.680 --> 00:02:01.500 going out to the water. Stand on the bank of the Nile to meet him and take in your hand the staff that 00:02:01.500 --> 00:02:07.939 turned into a serpent. And you shall say to him, The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, sent me to you, 00:02:08.020 --> 00:02:15.280 saying, Let my people go, that they may serve me in the wilderness. But so far you have not obeyed. 00:02:15.280 --> 00:02:22.520 Thus says the Lord, By this you shall know that I am the Lord. Behold, with the staff that is in my 00:02:22.520 --> 00:02:28.479 hand I will strike the water that is in the Nile, and it shall turn into blood. The fish in the Nile 00:02:28.479 --> 00:02:33.920 shall die, and the Nile will stink, and the Egyptians will grow weary of drinking water from the Nile. 00:02:34.960 --> 00:02:39.639 And the Lord said to Moses, Say to Aaron, Take your staff and stretch out your hand over the waters of 00:02:39.639 --> 00:02:43.539 Egypt, over their rivers, their canals, and their ponds, and all their pools of water, that they may 00:02:43.539 --> 00:02:48.079 become blood, and there shall be blood throughout all the land of Egypt, even in vessels of wood and 00:02:48.079 --> 00:02:54.719 vessels of stone. Moses and Aaron did as the Lord commanded. In the sight of Pharaoh and in the sight 00:02:54.719 --> 00:02:59.419 of his servants, he lifted up the staff and struck the water in the Nile, and all the water in the 00:02:59.419 --> 00:03:04.959 Nile turned to blood. And the fish in the Nile died, and the Nile stank, so that the Egyptians could 00:03:04.959 --> 00:03:09.739 not drink water from the Nile. There was blood throughout all the land of Egypt. 00:03:09.740 --> 00:03:18.480 But the magicians of Egypt did the same by their secret arts. So Pharaoh's heart remained hardened, 00:03:18.800 --> 00:03:26.020 and he would not listen to them as the Lord had said. Pharaoh turned and went into his house, 00:03:26.340 --> 00:03:32.960 and he did not take even this to heart. And all the Egyptians dug along the Nile for water to drink, 00:03:32.960 --> 00:03:36.480 for they could not drink the water of the Nile. 00:03:39.580 --> 00:03:49.340 Out of the night that covers me, black as the pit from pole to pole, I thank whatever gods may be 00:03:49.340 --> 00:03:57.120 for my unconquerable soul. In the fell clutch of circumstance, I have not winced or cried aloud. 00:03:57.120 --> 00:04:06.039 Under the bludgeonings of chance, my head is bloody but unbowed. Beyond this place of wrath and tears 00:04:06.039 --> 00:04:14.219 looms but the horror of the shade. And yet the menace of the years finds and shall find me unafraid. 00:04:15.319 --> 00:04:20.480 It matters not how narrow the gate, how charged with punishments the scroll. 00:04:20.480 --> 00:04:28.379 I am the master of my fate. I am the captain of my soul. 00:04:30.640 --> 00:04:41.500 So wrote William Ernest Henley in 1875 in a poem entitled Invictus, which means unconquered or invincible. 00:04:42.620 --> 00:04:48.220 At the age of 12, Henley had contracted tuberculosis. He battled the effects of that throughout his life. 00:04:48.220 --> 00:04:53.960 One of his legs had to be amputated below the knee, and he endured multiple surgeries on his other foot 00:04:53.960 --> 00:04:58.800 in order to save his remaining leg. He wrote the poem while recovering in the hospital. 00:05:00.020 --> 00:05:06.180 Now, many people have actually found this poem very inspiring as an expression of confidence and 00:05:06.180 --> 00:05:12.080 resilience in the face of adversity. Winston Churchill quoted it in a speech. Nelson Mandela recited it 00:05:12.079 --> 00:05:18.219 when he was imprisoned. U.S. prisoners of war in North Vietnam passed it along to each other. 00:05:18.779 --> 00:05:22.240 School children recited it at the Democratic National Convention in 2016. 00:05:23.500 --> 00:05:27.180 But the poem is not just an expression of human resilience. 00:05:28.319 --> 00:05:33.099 It's also an expression of unyielding self-reliance. 00:05:33.100 --> 00:05:41.160 Not just defiance in the face of difficult circumstances, but defiance in the face of death 00:05:41.160 --> 00:05:50.320 and judgment and ultimately in the face of God. I am the master of my fate. I am the captain of my soul. 00:05:54.420 --> 00:06:01.340 Timothy McVeigh, the Oklahoma City bomber, was also inspired by this poem. He chose it as his 00:06:01.339 --> 00:06:07.739 final statement before his execution. And Invictus could well have been the motto of the character 00:06:07.739 --> 00:06:18.299 that we're looking at this morning, Pharaoh. Pharaoh boasted that he was invincible. Not just the master 00:06:18.299 --> 00:06:23.959 of his own fate, but the sovereign ruler over all of Egypt. He even claimed to be the incarnation of a 00:06:23.959 --> 00:06:36.199 God. The son of the sun god, Amun-Re. And yet what we'll see this morning is that in the face of the 00:06:36.199 --> 00:06:44.919 one true God, Pharaoh was not invincible. He was not the captain of his fate. He was not the master of his 00:06:44.919 --> 00:06:51.939 soul. He was a mere mortal who stood under the righteous judgment of the one true God. 00:06:51.939 --> 00:06:59.079 This morning, I want us to consider two lessons that we can learn from the character of Pharaoh. 00:07:00.360 --> 00:07:05.660 Now, over the centuries, people have approached the character of Pharaoh from a variety of angles. 00:07:07.300 --> 00:07:12.420 Perhaps someone could look at the negotiations between Pharaoh and Moses and write something 00:07:12.420 --> 00:07:18.639 about political diplomacy. I haven't found that yet. There's a lot about the philosophy of divine 00:07:18.639 --> 00:07:25.560 and human causation. Some people have debated, what about the plagues? To what extent were they 00:07:25.560 --> 00:07:33.240 natural events? To what extent were they direct supernatural occurrences? What about the magicians? 00:07:33.439 --> 00:07:38.180 Well, you know, were they just playing tricks, or were they accessing spiritual powers? 00:07:39.560 --> 00:07:41.879 But here's the question I've asked myself this week. 00:07:41.879 --> 00:07:51.060 If Moses was writing these chapters of Exodus, or retelling aloud the story of the plagues to the 00:07:51.060 --> 00:07:56.259 Israelites after they had left Egypt and as they were journeying through the wilderness, 00:07:57.740 --> 00:08:04.719 what would Moses have wanted the children of Israel to learn from the character of Pharaoh? 00:08:04.720 --> 00:08:13.900 I think there are two primary lessons for the Israelites back then and for us today. 00:08:15.100 --> 00:08:24.300 And the first one is this. God is sovereign even over a man like Pharaoh. 00:08:26.260 --> 00:08:33.720 God magnifies His name not only despite Pharaoh's hardened heart, but even through Pharaoh's hardened heart. 00:08:34.720 --> 00:08:42.860 Now, according to the ancient Egyptian religion, Pharaoh's heart was supposed to be pure. 00:08:43.960 --> 00:08:49.540 The ancient Egyptians believed, not very differently from any of us, that the essence of a person is 00:08:49.540 --> 00:08:55.620 found in their heart. And they also believed that after death, your heart would be weighed. 00:08:57.399 --> 00:09:03.920 The god Anubis would weigh the dead person's heart on a scale, balancing it against the feather 00:09:03.919 --> 00:09:10.620 of righteousness. So, one scholar writes, anyone whose heart was weighed down with misdeeds would be 00:09:10.620 --> 00:09:16.159 annihilated, while anyone whose heart was filled with integrity, truth, and good acts would be escorted 00:09:16.159 --> 00:09:25.599 to heavenly bliss. And according to the Egyptian religion, the Pharaoh was the incarnation of the sun god, 00:09:25.600 --> 00:09:34.840 the manifestation of the sun god. And he supposedly had a pure heart, light as a feather. 00:09:36.840 --> 00:09:41.519 But one thing we see in this narrative is that the one true God judged otherwise. 00:09:43.460 --> 00:09:48.960 Chapter 7, verse 14, the Lord said to Moses, Pharaoh's heart is hardened. 00:09:48.960 --> 00:09:56.460 Now, from chapter 4 all the way to chapter 14, there are a total of 20 statements, roughly depending 00:09:56.460 --> 00:10:02.300 on how you count them, about Pharaoh's heart being hardened. Sometimes it says Pharaoh's hardened 00:10:02.300 --> 00:10:07.200 his own heart. Sometimes it says Pharaoh's heart was hardened. Sometimes it says the Lord hardened 00:10:07.200 --> 00:10:15.480 Pharaoh's heart. There are two different Hebrew words that are translated the same way in our English 00:10:15.480 --> 00:10:22.240 Bibles as hardened in reference to Pharaoh's heart. Now, the word in chapter 7, verse 14, 00:10:23.060 --> 00:10:28.899 appears eight times over the course of these chapters, and it's a word that is commonly translated 00:10:28.899 --> 00:10:39.980 heavy or dense. So, in chapter 5, verse 9, the same word refers to heavy work, burdensome labor. 00:10:39.980 --> 00:10:49.200 In chapter 9, it refers to heavy hail. Chapters 8 and 10, it refers to dense swarms of flies and locusts. 00:10:50.720 --> 00:10:56.740 So, this word in chapter 14, Pharaoh's heart is hardened, you could literally translate it, 00:10:56.779 --> 00:11:05.279 Pharaoh's heart is heavy. And what that means in the Egyptian context is Pharaoh's heart is heavy with 00:11:05.279 --> 00:11:15.360 evil. It's not pure and light as a feather. It's weighed down with evil. The one true God has weighed 00:11:15.360 --> 00:11:27.980 Pharaoh's heart and found it wanting. But Pharaoh claimed not only to possess divine purity of heart, 00:11:27.980 --> 00:11:36.639 he also claimed to possess divine sovereignty. In other words, he claimed to be in charge, 00:11:37.820 --> 00:11:45.080 invincible. In Pharaoh's mind, he could do whatever he wanted with the people who lived within his 00:11:45.080 --> 00:11:49.700 borders. He could do whatever he wanted with the Israelites. He could enslave them. He could tell them 00:11:49.700 --> 00:11:53.120 to make more bricks without straw. He could beat them. He could do whatever. 00:11:53.120 --> 00:11:59.179 He ruled over Egypt with absolute authority. There were no checks and balances. 00:12:01.659 --> 00:12:06.799 One scholar writes, the Egyptians believed that Pharaoh's heart was the all-controlling factor in 00:12:06.799 --> 00:12:13.820 history and society. But once again, what we see in this narrative is that the one true God judged 00:12:13.820 --> 00:12:21.480 otherwise. Pharaoh was not pure, and Pharaoh was not ultimately in control. 00:12:23.120 --> 00:12:27.639 From God's vantage point, which is the only vantage point that ultimately matters, 00:12:28.480 --> 00:12:35.379 Pharaoh was not invincible. And what we see through this whole story is that God is in complete control 00:12:35.379 --> 00:12:41.919 even over Pharaoh's own heart. Look back at chapter 4, verse 21. 00:12:41.919 --> 00:12:48.299 I skipped over this verse when I preached on this chapter. Some of you might have noticed that. 00:12:50.079 --> 00:12:51.679 But I wasn't trying to avoid it. 00:12:53.879 --> 00:12:56.699 Chapter 4, verse 21, the Lord says to Moses, 00:12:56.819 --> 00:13:00.819 When you go back to Egypt, do before Pharaoh all the miracles I've put in your power, but 00:13:00.819 --> 00:13:03.939 I will harden his heart 00:13:03.939 --> 00:13:06.839 so that he will not let the people go. 00:13:06.840 --> 00:13:13.480 Even before the plagues began, God declared in advance that he would harden Pharaoh's heart. 00:13:14.500 --> 00:13:20.700 And that one by one through the ten plagues, God would demonstrate the emptiness and powerlessness 00:13:20.700 --> 00:13:25.800 of all the gods of Egypt. That's what Pastor Nick talked about in his sermon last week. 00:13:26.480 --> 00:13:34.019 That each of the plagues targeted one or more of the false gods that the Egyptians worshipped. 00:13:34.019 --> 00:13:41.059 They worshipped the Nile River. That was one of the major gods. The Nile was seen as the giver and taker of life. 00:13:41.819 --> 00:13:44.639 When the Nile water turns to blood, God's showing, 00:13:45.919 --> 00:13:47.319 the Nile is not worthy of your worship. 00:13:49.000 --> 00:13:51.439 And one by one, God is 00:13:51.439 --> 00:13:54.460 knocking down the idols of Egypt 00:13:54.460 --> 00:13:56.480 and saying, 00:13:56.679 --> 00:13:59.519 I am the only true God worthy of your worship. 00:13:59.519 --> 00:14:04.840 So God declared that he would harden Pharaoh's heart, 00:14:04.899 --> 00:14:07.319 that he would demonstrate the emptiness and powerlessness 00:14:07.319 --> 00:14:09.980 of the gods of Egypt, and ultimately he would set his people free. 00:14:10.720 --> 00:14:11.639 And many times, 00:14:11.919 --> 00:14:13.919 such as chapter 7, verse 13, 00:14:14.579 --> 00:14:15.659 it says something like, 00:14:15.740 --> 00:14:18.419 Pharaoh's heart was hardened, and he would not listen to them 00:14:18.419 --> 00:14:19.860 as the Lord had said. 00:14:19.939 --> 00:14:21.879 God's word was being fulfilled. 00:14:22.000 --> 00:14:23.980 His plan was being carried 00:14:23.980 --> 00:14:24.679 forward. 00:14:24.679 --> 00:14:27.679 Now, the verb translated hardened 00:14:27.679 --> 00:14:28.979 in 421 00:14:28.979 --> 00:14:30.779 is the other main verb 00:14:30.779 --> 00:14:32.079 that appears throughout these 00:14:32.079 --> 00:14:33.379 ten chapters or so 00:14:33.379 --> 00:14:34.739 in reference to Pharaoh's heart. 00:14:35.239 --> 00:14:37.179 It appears a total of twelve times, 00:14:37.239 --> 00:14:38.659 and it's a word that commonly means 00:14:38.659 --> 00:14:40.319 to make strong. 00:14:44.459 --> 00:14:45.519 So it's, now, 00:14:45.620 --> 00:14:47.620 it's not as if Pharaoh's heart 00:14:47.620 --> 00:14:49.899 was previously soft 00:14:49.899 --> 00:14:52.500 and God added something 00:14:52.500 --> 00:14:53.779 to harden it 00:14:53.779 --> 00:14:55.340 from the outside. 00:14:57.840 --> 00:14:58.360 Okay? 00:14:58.399 --> 00:14:59.459 It's not as if Pharaoh's heart 00:14:59.459 --> 00:15:01.000 was previously pure 00:15:01.000 --> 00:15:02.360 and God 00:15:02.360 --> 00:15:04.139 put a few drops of poison 00:15:04.139 --> 00:15:05.159 in Pharaoh's heart 00:15:05.159 --> 00:15:06.399 to make him act 00:15:06.399 --> 00:15:07.240 in an evil way. 00:15:07.480 --> 00:15:07.819 No. 00:15:09.019 --> 00:15:10.740 The Bible is always very clear. 00:15:10.919 --> 00:15:12.799 Sin does not originate 00:15:12.799 --> 00:15:13.960 with God. 00:15:15.399 --> 00:15:16.639 Sin originates 00:15:16.639 --> 00:15:17.819 with us. 00:15:17.820 --> 00:15:20.760 And in Pharaoh's case, 00:15:21.200 --> 00:15:22.480 you can go all the way back 00:15:22.480 --> 00:15:24.080 to chapter 3, verse 19, 00:15:24.340 --> 00:15:26.040 where God says to Moses, 00:15:26.200 --> 00:15:27.640 I know that the king of Egypt 00:15:27.640 --> 00:15:29.820 will not let you go. 00:15:31.120 --> 00:15:31.680 No. 00:15:32.140 --> 00:15:33.820 Not by a mighty hand. 00:15:35.040 --> 00:15:35.840 In other words, 00:15:35.980 --> 00:15:36.820 no human power, 00:15:38.900 --> 00:15:40.220 no human force 00:15:40.220 --> 00:15:41.700 will be able to persuade 00:15:41.700 --> 00:15:42.820 or force 00:15:43.600 --> 00:15:44.720 the king of Egypt 00:15:44.720 --> 00:15:46.100 to let the Israelites go. 00:15:46.100 --> 00:15:47.840 Pharaoh was dead set 00:15:47.840 --> 00:15:48.620 against 00:15:48.620 --> 00:15:50.340 the liberation 00:15:50.340 --> 00:15:51.060 of God's people 00:15:51.060 --> 00:15:52.700 from the very beginning. 00:15:58.899 --> 00:15:59.500 So, 00:15:59.800 --> 00:16:00.840 Mike Wilkerson 00:16:00.840 --> 00:16:01.680 puts it this way. 00:16:02.639 --> 00:16:03.200 What we see 00:16:03.200 --> 00:16:04.340 in the plague narrative 00:16:04.340 --> 00:16:05.759 is that God 00:16:05.759 --> 00:16:06.399 is ultimately 00:16:06.399 --> 00:16:07.820 sovereign over Egypt, 00:16:07.940 --> 00:16:09.100 even over the heart 00:16:09.100 --> 00:16:09.800 of its king. 00:16:09.799 --> 00:16:11.859 And 00:16:11.859 --> 00:16:14.359 God did not violate 00:16:14.359 --> 00:16:15.319 Pharaoh's will 00:16:15.319 --> 00:16:16.399 in bringing about 00:16:16.399 --> 00:16:17.079 the occasions 00:16:17.079 --> 00:16:18.399 for his sinful heart 00:16:18.399 --> 00:16:19.859 to be further exposed 00:16:19.859 --> 00:16:21.979 and increasingly hardened. 00:16:23.319 --> 00:16:24.259 In other words, 00:16:24.359 --> 00:16:25.359 God strengthened 00:16:25.359 --> 00:16:26.779 Pharaoh's heart, 00:16:27.000 --> 00:16:28.219 which was already heavy 00:16:28.219 --> 00:16:28.859 and weighed down 00:16:28.859 --> 00:16:29.399 with evil. 00:16:30.879 --> 00:16:32.379 And the result was 00:16:32.379 --> 00:16:32.799 Pharaoh persisted 00:16:33.620 --> 00:16:35.639 in his stubborn rebellion 00:16:35.639 --> 00:16:37.240 against the Lord. 00:16:37.240 --> 00:16:40.840 That's what it means 00:16:40.840 --> 00:16:42.060 when it says, 00:16:42.180 --> 00:16:43.019 the Lord hardened 00:16:43.019 --> 00:16:43.820 Pharaoh's heart. 00:16:45.740 --> 00:16:47.259 It's a strong statement. 00:16:49.659 --> 00:16:51.200 It's a scary statement. 00:16:51.600 --> 00:16:52.120 It's framed 00:16:52.120 --> 00:16:53.200 in the active voice. 00:16:54.740 --> 00:16:55.600 It's a manifestation 00:16:55.600 --> 00:16:56.799 of God's judgment 00:16:56.799 --> 00:16:57.980 on Pharaoh. 00:16:57.980 --> 00:16:58.159 Pharaoh. 00:17:02.399 --> 00:17:03.320 Someone else wrote 00:17:03.320 --> 00:17:03.879 one of the ways 00:17:03.879 --> 00:17:05.099 that God punishes sin 00:17:05.099 --> 00:17:07.459 is to allow the sin 00:17:07.459 --> 00:17:08.079 to continue 00:17:08.079 --> 00:17:08.779 and to take 00:17:08.779 --> 00:17:10.199 its destructive course. 00:17:13.839 --> 00:17:14.599 You know, 00:17:14.659 --> 00:17:15.219 every day, 00:17:15.819 --> 00:17:17.459 God shows 00:17:17.459 --> 00:17:18.619 extraordinary mercy 00:17:18.619 --> 00:17:20.219 to this world 00:17:20.219 --> 00:17:22.699 by restraining 00:17:22.699 --> 00:17:24.240 all kinds of people 00:17:24.240 --> 00:17:24.819 from doing 00:17:24.819 --> 00:17:26.099 all kinds of evil 00:17:26.099 --> 00:17:27.079 that in their hearts 00:17:27.079 --> 00:17:29.319 they want to carry out. 00:17:29.319 --> 00:17:34.059 I mean, 00:17:34.139 --> 00:17:34.279 even, 00:17:34.859 --> 00:17:35.559 how many times 00:17:35.559 --> 00:17:36.119 have you wanted 00:17:36.119 --> 00:17:37.240 to do something 00:17:37.240 --> 00:17:39.759 and you got distracted 00:17:39.759 --> 00:17:41.659 or you couldn't 00:17:41.659 --> 00:17:42.379 find the person 00:17:42.379 --> 00:17:43.139 so you didn't say 00:17:43.139 --> 00:17:43.599 what you wanted 00:17:43.599 --> 00:17:44.240 to say to them? 00:17:46.599 --> 00:17:47.919 All kinds of things. 00:17:51.179 --> 00:17:51.879 Every day, 00:17:51.980 --> 00:17:52.980 God in His providence 00:17:52.980 --> 00:17:54.159 prevents the world 00:17:54.159 --> 00:17:55.159 from devolving 00:17:55.159 --> 00:17:56.419 into utter chaos. 00:17:56.420 --> 00:17:59.320 And God does 00:17:59.320 --> 00:17:59.900 most of this 00:17:59.900 --> 00:18:00.380 without even 00:18:00.380 --> 00:18:01.600 anyone asking Him to. 00:18:04.519 --> 00:18:05.320 And most of the time 00:18:05.320 --> 00:18:05.840 without us even 00:18:05.840 --> 00:18:06.700 recognizing it. 00:18:08.320 --> 00:18:08.960 It's called 00:18:08.960 --> 00:18:09.860 common grace. 00:18:11.259 --> 00:18:12.200 Every single one 00:18:12.200 --> 00:18:12.580 of us here 00:18:12.580 --> 00:18:13.620 has experienced it 00:18:13.620 --> 00:18:14.320 and benefited 00:18:14.320 --> 00:18:15.000 from it. 00:18:16.759 --> 00:18:17.500 And yet, 00:18:18.160 --> 00:18:20.759 in God's divine justice, 00:18:22.000 --> 00:18:22.860 God does not 00:18:22.860 --> 00:18:24.259 always restrain 00:18:24.259 --> 00:18:26.359 every evil inclination 00:18:26.359 --> 00:18:27.720 of every human heart. 00:18:32.359 --> 00:18:33.539 Isn't it often true 00:18:33.539 --> 00:18:34.299 that the more 00:18:34.299 --> 00:18:35.119 God mercifully 00:18:35.119 --> 00:18:36.019 restrains 00:18:36.019 --> 00:18:37.420 our evil inclinations 00:18:37.420 --> 00:18:40.079 and protects us 00:18:40.079 --> 00:18:41.460 from the consequences 00:18:41.460 --> 00:18:42.220 of our sin, 00:18:42.420 --> 00:18:43.319 the more we try 00:18:43.319 --> 00:18:43.879 to deny 00:18:43.879 --> 00:18:44.660 that we actually 00:18:44.660 --> 00:18:46.299 have evil inclinations? 00:18:48.700 --> 00:18:49.839 And that might be 00:18:49.839 --> 00:18:50.720 the worst deception 00:18:50.720 --> 00:18:51.339 of all. 00:18:54.259 --> 00:18:57.019 And so, 00:18:57.119 --> 00:18:57.619 sometimes, 00:18:57.740 --> 00:18:58.319 God chooses 00:18:58.319 --> 00:18:59.339 to give us over 00:18:59.339 --> 00:19:01.140 to our evil 00:19:01.140 --> 00:19:02.079 inclinations, 00:19:02.539 --> 00:19:03.799 to harden 00:19:03.799 --> 00:19:04.500 our hearts 00:19:04.500 --> 00:19:05.259 in the direction 00:19:05.259 --> 00:19:06.019 we're already 00:19:06.019 --> 00:19:06.460 headed, 00:19:06.819 --> 00:19:08.160 to put on display 00:19:08.160 --> 00:19:09.160 the exceeding 00:19:09.160 --> 00:19:09.660 sinfulness 00:19:09.660 --> 00:19:11.160 of our sin. 00:19:12.000 --> 00:19:12.980 And it's not 00:19:12.980 --> 00:19:13.720 a pretty picture. 00:19:17.440 --> 00:19:18.460 God does not 00:19:18.460 --> 00:19:19.240 restrain Pharaoh 00:19:19.240 --> 00:19:20.379 from continuing 00:19:20.379 --> 00:19:21.200 in his evil ways. 00:19:21.299 --> 00:19:21.839 God does not 00:19:21.839 --> 00:19:22.700 immediately wipe 00:19:22.700 --> 00:19:23.279 Pharaoh out. 00:19:23.279 --> 00:19:24.819 God deliberately 00:19:24.819 --> 00:19:25.740 keeps him alive 00:19:25.740 --> 00:19:26.700 and sustains him, 00:19:26.779 --> 00:19:27.799 even gives him 00:19:27.799 --> 00:19:28.559 strength 00:19:28.559 --> 00:19:30.920 in Pharaoh's 00:19:30.920 --> 00:19:31.960 ongoing willful 00:19:31.960 --> 00:19:32.379 rebellion 00:19:32.379 --> 00:19:33.139 against the Lord. 00:19:36.420 --> 00:19:37.879 But the irony is, 00:19:38.460 --> 00:19:40.460 the harder Pharaoh 00:19:40.460 --> 00:19:41.579 tries to resist 00:19:41.579 --> 00:19:42.579 God's purpose, 00:19:43.099 --> 00:19:44.759 the more he ends 00:19:44.759 --> 00:19:45.480 up serving it. 00:19:48.180 --> 00:19:49.019 That's what God 00:19:49.019 --> 00:19:50.039 says in chapter 9, 00:19:50.039 --> 00:19:53.480 verse 15 and 16, 00:19:53.599 --> 00:19:54.420 which is a key 00:19:54.420 --> 00:19:58.579 part of the plague 00:19:58.579 --> 00:19:59.259 narrative that 00:19:59.259 --> 00:20:00.139 helps us understand 00:20:00.139 --> 00:20:01.039 what's going on. 00:20:02.759 --> 00:20:03.539 Moses says this 00:20:03.539 --> 00:20:04.079 to Pharaoh 00:20:04.079 --> 00:20:05.299 on behalf of, 00:20:05.440 --> 00:20:06.079 or God's, 00:20:06.599 --> 00:20:07.279 Moses is speaking 00:20:07.279 --> 00:20:07.980 on behalf of the 00:20:07.980 --> 00:20:08.240 Lord, 00:20:08.339 --> 00:20:08.519 saying, 00:20:08.599 --> 00:20:09.119 thus says the 00:20:09.119 --> 00:20:09.399 Lord, 00:20:09.680 --> 00:20:10.240 he's saying this 00:20:10.240 --> 00:20:10.619 to Pharaoh, 00:20:10.700 --> 00:20:11.319 verse 15, 00:20:11.399 --> 00:20:12.399 for by now I 00:20:12.399 --> 00:20:12.859 could have put 00:20:12.859 --> 00:20:13.619 out my hand 00:20:13.619 --> 00:20:14.759 and struck you 00:20:14.759 --> 00:20:15.220 and your people 00:20:15.220 --> 00:20:15.899 with pestilence 00:20:15.899 --> 00:20:16.220 and you would 00:20:16.220 --> 00:20:16.680 have been cut 00:20:16.680 --> 00:20:17.159 off from the 00:20:17.159 --> 00:20:17.480 earth. 00:20:17.480 --> 00:20:19.559 But I have 00:20:19.559 --> 00:20:20.099 raised you up 00:20:20.099 --> 00:20:20.660 for this very 00:20:20.660 --> 00:20:21.160 purpose, 00:20:21.460 --> 00:20:22.319 that I might 00:20:22.319 --> 00:20:22.880 show you my 00:20:22.880 --> 00:20:23.259 power, 00:20:24.160 --> 00:20:25.099 so that my name 00:20:25.099 --> 00:20:25.860 may be proclaimed 00:20:25.860 --> 00:20:26.599 in all the earth. 00:20:30.079 --> 00:20:30.519 See, 00:20:30.660 --> 00:20:31.460 Pharaoh and his 00:20:31.460 --> 00:20:32.079 hardened heart 00:20:32.079 --> 00:20:33.059 was not merely 00:20:33.059 --> 00:20:33.960 an obstacle 00:20:33.960 --> 00:20:35.819 to God's plan 00:20:35.819 --> 00:20:36.860 to magnify 00:20:36.860 --> 00:20:37.559 his name. 00:20:38.519 --> 00:20:39.500 He became 00:20:39.500 --> 00:20:40.599 one of the means 00:20:40.599 --> 00:20:41.660 through which 00:20:41.660 --> 00:20:42.860 God magnified 00:20:42.860 --> 00:20:43.319 his name. 00:20:45.319 --> 00:20:46.019 Because with 00:20:46.019 --> 00:20:46.860 every successive 00:20:46.860 --> 00:20:47.460 plague, 00:20:47.480 --> 00:20:48.640 God was 00:20:48.640 --> 00:20:50.519 publicly toppling 00:20:50.519 --> 00:20:52.059 one more 00:20:52.059 --> 00:20:53.500 Egyptian idol 00:20:53.500 --> 00:20:54.720 and revealing 00:20:54.720 --> 00:20:55.720 himself more 00:20:55.720 --> 00:20:56.299 and more 00:20:56.299 --> 00:20:57.240 completely as 00:20:57.240 --> 00:20:58.400 the only true 00:20:58.400 --> 00:20:59.720 and living God 00:20:59.720 --> 00:21:00.900 worthy of our 00:21:00.900 --> 00:21:01.500 worship. 00:21:02.880 --> 00:21:03.579 And he was 00:21:03.579 --> 00:21:04.380 revealing this 00:21:04.380 --> 00:21:05.799 to the Israelites, 00:21:06.200 --> 00:21:07.079 to the Egyptians, 00:21:07.380 --> 00:21:08.259 and ultimately 00:21:08.259 --> 00:21:09.519 to future generations, 00:21:09.660 --> 00:21:10.460 including us. 00:21:12.860 --> 00:21:14.079 God is going 00:21:14.079 --> 00:21:14.799 to show his 00:21:14.799 --> 00:21:15.500 glory to the 00:21:15.500 --> 00:21:15.920 world, 00:21:15.920 --> 00:21:18.100 and he is 00:21:18.100 --> 00:21:18.960 going to carry 00:21:18.960 --> 00:21:19.840 out his plan 00:21:19.840 --> 00:21:20.480 of salvation 00:21:20.480 --> 00:21:21.300 for his people 00:21:21.300 --> 00:21:21.940 whether you 00:21:21.940 --> 00:21:22.759 want him to 00:21:22.759 --> 00:21:23.420 or not. 00:21:25.779 --> 00:21:26.680 Even if you 00:21:26.680 --> 00:21:28.000 are dead set 00:21:28.000 --> 00:21:29.600 on exalting 00:21:29.600 --> 00:21:30.720 yourself above 00:21:30.720 --> 00:21:31.420 Pharaoh, 00:21:31.800 --> 00:21:32.759 above God, 00:21:32.860 --> 00:21:33.539 like Pharaoh, 00:21:33.700 --> 00:21:34.420 you will not 00:21:34.420 --> 00:21:35.340 ultimately be able 00:21:35.340 --> 00:21:36.720 to stop God's 00:21:36.720 --> 00:21:38.180 plan no matter 00:21:38.180 --> 00:21:39.460 how hard 00:21:39.460 --> 00:21:40.860 you try. 00:21:40.859 --> 00:21:42.299 God is 00:21:42.299 --> 00:21:42.919 sovereign. 00:21:43.099 --> 00:21:44.279 He rules 00:21:44.279 --> 00:21:46.639 even over 00:21:46.639 --> 00:21:47.219 someone as 00:21:47.219 --> 00:21:47.879 stubborn and 00:21:47.879 --> 00:21:49.339 unyielding as 00:21:49.339 --> 00:21:49.879 Pharaoh. 00:21:52.519 --> 00:21:53.399 Now, 00:21:53.479 --> 00:21:53.939 if you are 00:21:53.939 --> 00:21:54.839 stubbornly 00:21:54.839 --> 00:21:55.879 resisting God, 00:21:56.740 --> 00:21:57.719 this is a 00:21:57.719 --> 00:21:58.519 terrifying warning. 00:21:59.519 --> 00:22:01.079 You may end up 00:22:01.079 --> 00:22:02.279 a slave to your 00:22:02.279 --> 00:22:03.139 own worst 00:22:03.139 --> 00:22:03.699 tendencies, 00:22:04.199 --> 00:22:05.439 but you will 00:22:05.439 --> 00:22:06.159 not succeed 00:22:06.159 --> 00:22:07.459 in resisting 00:22:07.459 --> 00:22:08.579 God's ultimate 00:22:08.579 --> 00:22:09.139 plans. 00:22:09.140 --> 00:22:12.720 But if you 00:22:12.720 --> 00:22:13.120 are being 00:22:13.120 --> 00:22:13.680 severely 00:22:13.680 --> 00:22:14.560 mistreated 00:22:14.560 --> 00:22:16.140 or persecuted 00:22:16.140 --> 00:22:18.259 like the 00:22:18.259 --> 00:22:18.620 people of 00:22:18.620 --> 00:22:19.100 Israel were 00:22:19.100 --> 00:22:19.620 in Egypt 00:22:19.620 --> 00:22:21.580 for the 00:22:21.580 --> 00:22:21.960 sake of 00:22:21.960 --> 00:22:22.380 obedience 00:22:22.380 --> 00:22:23.060 to God, 00:22:23.780 --> 00:22:24.900 this truth 00:22:24.900 --> 00:22:25.560 can actually 00:22:25.560 --> 00:22:27.160 bring great 00:22:27.160 --> 00:22:28.120 comfort and 00:22:28.120 --> 00:22:28.920 confidence. 00:22:32.140 --> 00:22:32.860 Imagine 00:22:32.860 --> 00:22:34.420 being a 00:22:34.420 --> 00:22:34.980 Christian right 00:22:34.980 --> 00:22:36.040 now in 00:22:36.040 --> 00:22:36.640 North Korea. 00:22:36.640 --> 00:22:39.460 America or 00:22:39.460 --> 00:22:40.060 in an area 00:22:40.060 --> 00:22:40.800 controlled by 00:22:40.800 --> 00:22:41.300 ISIS. 00:22:43.720 --> 00:22:44.180 Do you 00:22:44.180 --> 00:22:44.620 see how 00:22:44.620 --> 00:22:45.200 this truth 00:22:45.200 --> 00:22:45.740 that God 00:22:45.740 --> 00:22:46.380 is sovereign 00:22:46.380 --> 00:22:47.200 even over 00:22:47.200 --> 00:22:47.940 a man like 00:22:47.940 --> 00:22:49.080 Pharaoh could 00:22:49.080 --> 00:22:49.960 actually be a 00:22:49.960 --> 00:22:50.440 source of 00:22:50.440 --> 00:22:51.780 great comfort? 00:22:55.060 --> 00:22:55.620 Sometimes 00:22:55.620 --> 00:22:56.300 God's people 00:22:56.300 --> 00:22:56.860 come face 00:22:56.860 --> 00:22:57.420 to face 00:22:57.420 --> 00:22:59.720 with tyrants 00:22:59.720 --> 00:23:00.600 like Pharaoh 00:23:00.600 --> 00:23:02.720 who are 00:23:02.720 --> 00:23:03.520 obstinate and 00:23:03.520 --> 00:23:04.440 unyielding in 00:23:04.440 --> 00:23:04.980 their opposition 00:23:04.980 --> 00:23:05.740 to the Lord 00:23:05.740 --> 00:23:07.140 and their 00:23:07.140 --> 00:23:07.640 hostile 00:23:07.640 --> 00:23:08.339 persecution 00:23:08.339 --> 00:23:08.880 of God's 00:23:08.880 --> 00:23:09.200 people. 00:23:10.519 --> 00:23:10.860 And God 00:23:10.860 --> 00:23:11.299 wants His 00:23:11.299 --> 00:23:11.720 people to 00:23:11.720 --> 00:23:12.140 know that 00:23:12.140 --> 00:23:12.799 He is not 00:23:12.799 --> 00:23:14.900 surprised and 00:23:14.900 --> 00:23:15.460 that despite 00:23:15.460 --> 00:23:16.420 their boasting, 00:23:16.980 --> 00:23:17.660 the Pharaohs of 00:23:17.660 --> 00:23:18.200 this world are 00:23:18.200 --> 00:23:19.339 not stronger 00:23:19.339 --> 00:23:20.460 than the Lord 00:23:20.460 --> 00:23:21.420 Jesus Christ 00:23:21.420 --> 00:23:22.360 who will 00:23:22.360 --> 00:23:23.380 ultimately triumph 00:23:23.380 --> 00:23:24.200 over them. 00:23:25.559 --> 00:23:26.420 There are two 00:23:26.420 --> 00:23:28.200 Psalms that 00:23:28.200 --> 00:23:29.640 specifically speak 00:23:29.640 --> 00:23:30.079 about the 00:23:30.079 --> 00:23:30.720 ten plagues. 00:23:30.720 --> 00:23:32.819 One of them 00:23:32.819 --> 00:23:33.480 is Psalm 105 00:23:33.480 --> 00:23:34.940 and it's a 00:23:34.940 --> 00:23:35.380 psalm of 00:23:35.380 --> 00:23:36.880 confident praise. 00:23:38.740 --> 00:23:39.460 It begins 00:23:39.460 --> 00:23:39.860 this way, 00:23:39.920 --> 00:23:40.220 O give 00:23:40.220 --> 00:23:40.799 thanks to 00:23:40.799 --> 00:23:41.279 the Lord, 00:23:42.180 --> 00:23:43.339 call upon 00:23:43.339 --> 00:23:43.880 His name, 00:23:43.980 --> 00:23:44.620 make known 00:23:44.620 --> 00:23:45.579 His deeds 00:23:45.579 --> 00:23:46.100 among the 00:23:46.100 --> 00:23:46.600 peoples, 00:23:47.400 --> 00:23:47.880 sing to 00:23:47.880 --> 00:23:48.019 Him, 00:23:48.079 --> 00:23:48.700 sing praises 00:23:48.700 --> 00:23:49.019 to Him, 00:23:49.079 --> 00:23:49.759 tell of all 00:23:49.759 --> 00:23:50.380 His wondrous 00:23:50.380 --> 00:23:50.920 works, 00:23:51.480 --> 00:23:52.220 glory in 00:23:52.220 --> 00:23:52.660 His holy 00:23:52.660 --> 00:23:53.079 name. 00:23:53.799 --> 00:23:54.140 Let the 00:23:54.140 --> 00:23:54.519 hearts of 00:23:54.519 --> 00:23:54.900 those who 00:23:54.900 --> 00:23:55.319 seek the 00:23:55.319 --> 00:23:56.160 Lord rejoice, 00:23:57.059 --> 00:23:57.519 seek the 00:23:57.519 --> 00:23:57.920 Lord in 00:23:57.920 --> 00:23:58.400 His strength, 00:23:58.519 --> 00:23:58.860 seek His 00:23:58.860 --> 00:23:59.360 presence 00:23:59.360 --> 00:24:00.019 continually. 00:24:00.720 --> 00:24:02.240 Remember the 00:24:02.240 --> 00:24:02.900 wondrous works 00:24:02.900 --> 00:24:03.180 that He 00:24:03.180 --> 00:24:03.680 has done, 00:24:04.140 --> 00:24:05.200 His miracles 00:24:05.200 --> 00:24:05.600 and the 00:24:05.600 --> 00:24:05.920 judgments 00:24:05.920 --> 00:24:06.640 He uttered, 00:24:07.140 --> 00:24:07.620 O offspring 00:24:07.620 --> 00:24:08.120 of Abraham 00:24:08.120 --> 00:24:08.700 His servant, 00:24:08.839 --> 00:24:09.259 children of 00:24:09.259 --> 00:24:09.740 Jacob His 00:24:09.740 --> 00:24:10.440 chosen ones. 00:24:11.480 --> 00:24:11.819 And the 00:24:11.819 --> 00:24:12.200 Psalm goes 00:24:12.200 --> 00:24:12.620 on to 00:24:12.620 --> 00:24:13.000 narrate 00:24:13.000 --> 00:24:14.000 many of 00:24:14.000 --> 00:24:14.279 God's 00:24:14.279 --> 00:24:14.579 works, 00:24:14.700 --> 00:24:15.259 but including 00:24:15.259 --> 00:24:15.819 the ten 00:24:15.819 --> 00:24:16.279 plagues 00:24:16.279 --> 00:24:17.980 in detail. 00:24:19.860 --> 00:24:20.539 That's the 00:24:20.539 --> 00:24:21.180 first lesson 00:24:21.180 --> 00:24:22.420 for God's 00:24:22.420 --> 00:24:22.720 people. 00:24:24.000 --> 00:24:24.420 God is 00:24:24.420 --> 00:24:25.240 sovereign even 00:24:25.240 --> 00:24:25.799 over a 00:24:25.799 --> 00:24:26.339 man like 00:24:26.339 --> 00:24:26.640 Pharaoh. 00:24:26.779 --> 00:24:27.100 God 00:24:27.100 --> 00:24:28.140 magnified His 00:24:28.140 --> 00:24:28.819 name even 00:24:28.819 --> 00:24:29.200 through 00:24:29.200 --> 00:24:29.799 Pharaoh's 00:24:29.799 --> 00:24:30.380 stubbornness. 00:24:30.720 --> 00:24:31.600 So remember 00:24:31.600 --> 00:24:32.779 God's 00:24:32.779 --> 00:24:34.039 wondrous 00:24:34.039 --> 00:24:35.279 works and 00:24:35.279 --> 00:24:35.940 His great 00:24:35.940 --> 00:24:37.720 power and 00:24:37.720 --> 00:24:38.480 praise Him 00:24:38.480 --> 00:24:39.720 with confidence. 00:24:41.539 --> 00:24:42.539 Now the 00:24:42.539 --> 00:24:43.279 second lesson 00:24:43.279 --> 00:24:43.980 for God's 00:24:43.980 --> 00:24:45.400 people is 00:24:45.400 --> 00:24:45.839 this. 00:24:47.519 --> 00:24:48.380 Don't 00:24:48.380 --> 00:24:49.039 harden your 00:24:49.039 --> 00:24:50.539 heart like 00:24:50.539 --> 00:24:51.779 Pharaoh did. 00:24:55.039 --> 00:24:55.880 Again, 00:24:56.000 --> 00:24:56.500 imagine the 00:24:56.500 --> 00:24:56.880 people of 00:24:56.880 --> 00:24:57.519 Israel after 00:24:57.519 --> 00:24:58.039 they've left 00:24:58.039 --> 00:24:59.720 Egypt and 00:24:59.720 --> 00:25:00.360 Moses is 00:25:00.360 --> 00:25:00.880 writing the 00:25:00.880 --> 00:25:01.160 book of 00:25:01.160 --> 00:25:01.740 Exodus or 00:25:01.740 --> 00:25:02.480 retelling 00:25:02.480 --> 00:25:03.600 aloud these 00:25:03.600 --> 00:25:04.279 stories to 00:25:04.279 --> 00:25:04.799 the people. 00:25:05.400 --> 00:25:05.720 And what 00:25:05.720 --> 00:25:06.180 does he want 00:25:06.180 --> 00:25:06.460 them to 00:25:06.460 --> 00:25:06.819 learn from 00:25:06.819 --> 00:25:07.240 the character 00:25:07.240 --> 00:25:07.799 of Pharaoh? 00:25:09.339 --> 00:25:09.980 And from 00:25:09.980 --> 00:25:10.480 the statements 00:25:10.480 --> 00:25:11.000 over and 00:25:11.000 --> 00:25:11.559 over that 00:25:11.559 --> 00:25:12.259 Pharaoh 00:25:12.259 --> 00:25:12.860 hardened his 00:25:12.860 --> 00:25:13.440 heart or 00:25:13.440 --> 00:25:14.440 the heart of 00:25:14.440 --> 00:25:14.880 Pharaoh was 00:25:14.880 --> 00:25:15.420 hard or 00:25:15.420 --> 00:25:15.920 the Lord 00:25:15.920 --> 00:25:16.279 hardened 00:25:16.279 --> 00:25:16.720 Pharaoh's 00:25:16.720 --> 00:25:17.059 heart. 00:25:19.480 --> 00:25:19.960 Well, 00:25:20.000 --> 00:25:20.299 they needed 00:25:20.299 --> 00:25:20.759 to remember 00:25:20.759 --> 00:25:21.200 that God 00:25:21.200 --> 00:25:21.759 was sovereign 00:25:21.759 --> 00:25:22.299 even over 00:25:22.299 --> 00:25:22.799 someone like 00:25:22.799 --> 00:25:23.059 Pharaoh. 00:25:23.160 --> 00:25:23.380 That would 00:25:23.380 --> 00:25:23.640 give them 00:25:23.640 --> 00:25:24.319 confidence in 00:25:24.319 --> 00:25:24.759 the face of 00:25:24.759 --> 00:25:25.440 adversity and 00:25:25.440 --> 00:25:25.920 opposition. 00:25:25.920 --> 00:25:26.279 That would 00:25:26.279 --> 00:25:26.539 give them 00:25:26.539 --> 00:25:27.099 resilience. 00:25:28.000 --> 00:25:28.460 But they 00:25:28.460 --> 00:25:29.000 also needed 00:25:29.000 --> 00:25:29.519 to know 00:25:29.519 --> 00:25:31.000 that even 00:25:31.000 --> 00:25:31.559 as God's 00:25:31.559 --> 00:25:32.019 redeemed 00:25:32.019 --> 00:25:32.579 people, 00:25:33.480 --> 00:25:34.000 that they 00:25:34.000 --> 00:25:34.519 too were 00:25:34.519 --> 00:25:36.139 prone to 00:25:36.139 --> 00:25:36.639 harden their 00:25:36.639 --> 00:25:37.579 hearts, to 00:25:37.579 --> 00:25:38.740 become stubborn. 00:25:40.519 --> 00:25:41.359 They needed 00:25:41.359 --> 00:25:41.859 not only 00:25:41.859 --> 00:25:42.519 confidence in 00:25:42.519 --> 00:25:42.960 the face of 00:25:42.960 --> 00:25:43.680 external 00:25:43.680 --> 00:25:44.920 adversity and 00:25:44.920 --> 00:25:45.599 opposition, but 00:25:45.599 --> 00:25:46.500 also humility 00:25:46.500 --> 00:25:48.480 in the face 00:25:48.480 --> 00:25:49.399 of their own 00:25:49.399 --> 00:25:50.180 internal 00:25:50.180 --> 00:25:51.639 spiritual and 00:25:51.639 --> 00:25:52.680 moral weakness. 00:25:52.680 --> 00:25:58.180 as I said 00:25:58.180 --> 00:25:58.700 earlier, there 00:25:58.700 --> 00:25:59.360 are only two 00:25:59.360 --> 00:26:00.539 psalms that 00:26:00.539 --> 00:26:01.320 speak specifically 00:26:01.320 --> 00:26:01.740 about the 00:26:01.740 --> 00:26:02.120 plagues. 00:26:03.779 --> 00:26:04.400 Psalm 105, 00:26:04.740 --> 00:26:05.060 a psalm of 00:26:05.060 --> 00:26:05.779 praise to 00:26:05.779 --> 00:26:06.180 God for 00:26:06.180 --> 00:26:06.720 His sovereignty, 00:26:07.299 --> 00:26:08.700 and the 00:26:08.700 --> 00:26:09.299 other psalm is 00:26:09.299 --> 00:26:10.060 Psalm 78, 00:26:10.860 --> 00:26:11.759 which is a 00:26:11.759 --> 00:26:12.420 rebuke to the 00:26:12.420 --> 00:26:12.820 people of 00:26:12.820 --> 00:26:13.840 Israel for 00:26:13.840 --> 00:26:14.759 their stubbornness. 00:26:16.440 --> 00:26:17.100 If you look 00:26:17.100 --> 00:26:18.140 at Psalm 78, 00:26:18.240 --> 00:26:18.660 it's a long 00:26:18.660 --> 00:26:20.799 psalm, but if 00:26:20.799 --> 00:26:21.060 you go to 00:26:21.060 --> 00:26:21.860 verse 37, 00:26:22.680 --> 00:26:24.700 Psalm 78, 00:26:24.759 --> 00:26:25.340 verse 37, 00:26:25.440 --> 00:26:26.320 describes the 00:26:26.320 --> 00:26:26.920 Israelites in 00:26:26.920 --> 00:26:27.299 the wilderness, 00:26:28.340 --> 00:26:29.120 and it says, 00:26:29.519 --> 00:26:30.100 their heart 00:26:30.100 --> 00:26:31.539 was not 00:26:31.539 --> 00:26:32.340 steadfast 00:26:32.340 --> 00:26:34.060 toward God. 00:26:34.779 --> 00:26:35.380 They were 00:26:35.380 --> 00:26:36.180 not faithful 00:26:36.180 --> 00:26:36.640 to His 00:26:36.640 --> 00:26:36.940 covenant. 00:26:38.740 --> 00:26:39.080 If you go 00:26:39.080 --> 00:26:39.340 down to 00:26:39.340 --> 00:26:39.880 verse 41, 00:26:40.000 --> 00:26:40.539 it continues, 00:26:40.640 --> 00:26:41.539 how often 00:26:41.539 --> 00:26:43.019 they rebelled 00:26:43.019 --> 00:26:43.779 against Him in 00:26:43.779 --> 00:26:44.220 the wilderness 00:26:44.220 --> 00:26:45.100 and grieved 00:26:45.100 --> 00:26:45.519 Him in the 00:26:45.519 --> 00:26:45.799 desert. 00:26:47.019 --> 00:26:47.660 They tested 00:26:47.660 --> 00:26:48.519 God again 00:26:48.519 --> 00:26:49.019 and again 00:26:49.019 --> 00:26:49.759 and provoked 00:26:49.759 --> 00:26:50.160 the Holy 00:26:50.160 --> 00:26:50.480 One of 00:26:50.480 --> 00:26:50.759 Israel. 00:26:51.240 --> 00:26:51.539 They did 00:26:51.539 --> 00:26:52.279 not remember 00:26:52.279 --> 00:26:52.519 His 00:26:52.519 --> 00:26:54.460 power or 00:26:54.460 --> 00:26:54.900 the day 00:26:54.900 --> 00:26:55.240 when He 00:26:55.240 --> 00:26:55.660 redeemed 00:26:55.660 --> 00:26:55.980 them from 00:26:55.980 --> 00:26:56.359 the foe, 00:26:56.420 --> 00:26:56.660 when He 00:26:56.660 --> 00:26:57.180 performed 00:26:57.180 --> 00:26:57.940 His signs 00:26:57.940 --> 00:26:58.359 in Egypt 00:26:58.359 --> 00:26:58.799 and His 00:26:58.799 --> 00:26:59.480 marvels 00:26:59.480 --> 00:26:59.980 in the 00:26:59.980 --> 00:27:00.379 fields 00:27:00.379 --> 00:27:01.259 of zone. 00:27:01.700 --> 00:27:02.059 And then 00:27:02.059 --> 00:27:02.440 the psalm 00:27:02.440 --> 00:27:02.799 goes on 00:27:02.799 --> 00:27:03.160 to speak 00:27:03.160 --> 00:27:03.519 about the 00:27:03.519 --> 00:27:04.099 ten plagues 00:27:04.099 --> 00:27:05.220 one by 00:27:05.220 --> 00:27:05.779 one. 00:27:06.740 --> 00:27:07.299 Here's the 00:27:07.299 --> 00:27:07.759 point of 00:27:07.759 --> 00:27:08.559 Psalm 78. 00:27:10.240 --> 00:27:10.960 The Israelites 00:27:10.960 --> 00:27:12.339 forgot God's 00:27:12.339 --> 00:27:13.359 judgments on 00:27:13.359 --> 00:27:14.440 Pharaoh and 00:27:14.440 --> 00:27:15.059 the gods of 00:27:15.059 --> 00:27:15.400 Egypt, 00:27:15.740 --> 00:27:16.279 and as a 00:27:16.279 --> 00:27:16.639 result, 00:27:16.779 --> 00:27:17.579 their hearts 00:27:17.579 --> 00:27:18.940 were not 00:27:18.940 --> 00:27:20.099 steadfastly 00:27:20.099 --> 00:27:20.659 oriented 00:27:20.659 --> 00:27:21.179 toward 00:27:21.179 --> 00:27:22.579 faithfulness 00:27:22.579 --> 00:27:23.000 to God. 00:27:24.059 --> 00:27:24.459 They 00:27:24.459 --> 00:27:25.240 too began 00:27:25.240 --> 00:27:25.939 worshiping 00:27:25.939 --> 00:27:26.439 idols. 00:27:27.719 --> 00:27:28.319 Psalm 78 00:27:28.319 --> 00:27:29.159 basically says, 00:27:29.519 --> 00:27:29.740 remember the 00:27:29.740 --> 00:27:30.299 plagues 00:27:30.299 --> 00:27:32.519 so that you 00:27:32.519 --> 00:27:33.079 don't harden 00:27:33.079 --> 00:27:33.559 your heart 00:27:33.559 --> 00:27:34.159 like Pharaoh 00:27:34.159 --> 00:27:34.480 hardened 00:27:34.480 --> 00:27:34.839 his. 00:27:36.719 --> 00:27:37.579 It's the same 00:27:37.579 --> 00:27:38.199 warning we heard 00:27:38.199 --> 00:27:38.559 from the book 00:27:38.559 --> 00:27:38.939 of Hebrews 00:27:38.939 --> 00:27:39.339 in the New 00:27:39.339 --> 00:27:39.699 Testament. 00:27:40.319 --> 00:27:40.740 Today, 00:27:41.779 --> 00:27:42.419 if you hear 00:27:42.419 --> 00:27:43.099 God's voice, 00:27:43.240 --> 00:27:44.099 do not harden 00:27:44.099 --> 00:27:44.779 your hearts. 00:27:45.579 --> 00:27:46.259 Exhort one 00:27:46.259 --> 00:27:47.059 another every 00:27:47.059 --> 00:27:47.599 day, 00:27:48.559 --> 00:27:49.519 as long as 00:27:49.519 --> 00:27:50.079 it is called 00:27:50.079 --> 00:27:50.539 today, 00:27:51.160 --> 00:27:51.779 so that none 00:27:51.779 --> 00:27:52.420 of you may be 00:27:52.420 --> 00:27:54.460 hardened by 00:27:54.460 --> 00:27:55.180 the deceitfulness 00:27:55.180 --> 00:27:55.720 of sin. 00:27:59.960 --> 00:28:00.500 You see, 00:28:00.539 --> 00:28:01.039 the Bible says 00:28:01.039 --> 00:28:01.619 that every one 00:28:01.619 --> 00:28:02.400 of us is 00:28:02.400 --> 00:28:03.859 vulnerable 00:28:03.859 --> 00:28:06.400 to the 00:28:06.400 --> 00:28:06.900 hardening 00:28:06.900 --> 00:28:07.460 effects of 00:28:07.460 --> 00:28:07.700 sin. 00:28:09.440 --> 00:28:10.579 Even God's 00:28:10.579 --> 00:28:10.980 redeemed 00:28:10.980 --> 00:28:11.420 people who 00:28:11.420 --> 00:28:11.619 have been 00:28:11.619 --> 00:28:12.099 given a new 00:28:12.099 --> 00:28:12.440 heart, 00:28:13.599 --> 00:28:13.839 right? 00:28:13.879 --> 00:28:14.119 If we've 00:28:14.119 --> 00:28:14.460 come to 00:28:14.460 --> 00:28:14.799 faith in 00:28:14.799 --> 00:28:15.000 Jesus, 00:28:15.099 --> 00:28:15.460 He's given 00:28:15.460 --> 00:28:15.839 us a new 00:28:15.839 --> 00:28:16.140 heart, 00:28:16.259 --> 00:28:16.839 taken out 00:28:16.839 --> 00:28:17.099 our heart 00:28:17.099 --> 00:28:17.440 of stone, 00:28:17.519 --> 00:28:17.819 given us 00:28:17.819 --> 00:28:18.039 a heart 00:28:18.039 --> 00:28:18.440 of flesh, 00:28:18.559 --> 00:28:19.460 but we 00:28:19.460 --> 00:28:20.000 are still 00:28:20.000 --> 00:28:22.059 in danger 00:28:22.059 --> 00:28:24.160 of becoming 00:28:24.160 --> 00:28:24.859 stubborn and 00:28:24.859 --> 00:28:25.559 resistant against 00:28:25.559 --> 00:28:25.900 the Lord, 00:28:26.000 --> 00:28:26.379 and God 00:28:26.379 --> 00:28:27.000 gives us 00:28:27.000 --> 00:28:28.240 warnings and 00:28:28.240 --> 00:28:29.039 exhortations 00:28:29.039 --> 00:28:29.779 to protect 00:28:29.779 --> 00:28:31.420 us so that 00:28:31.420 --> 00:28:31.879 we don't 00:28:31.879 --> 00:28:32.440 end up 00:28:32.440 --> 00:28:34.299 where Pharaoh 00:28:34.299 --> 00:28:34.900 ended up. 00:28:38.599 --> 00:28:39.279 But we 00:28:39.279 --> 00:28:39.680 need to have 00:28:39.680 --> 00:28:40.180 the humility 00:28:40.180 --> 00:28:40.819 to recognize 00:28:40.819 --> 00:28:42.740 that Pharaoh's 00:28:42.740 --> 00:28:43.299 condition is 00:28:43.299 --> 00:28:44.000 not just a 00:28:44.000 --> 00:28:44.660 problem for 00:28:44.660 --> 00:28:45.839 a few 00:28:45.839 --> 00:28:47.339 tyrants 00:28:47.339 --> 00:28:49.579 who rule 00:28:49.579 --> 00:28:49.980 over 00:28:49.980 --> 00:28:50.980 nations of 00:28:50.980 --> 00:28:51.459 the world. 00:28:52.899 --> 00:28:53.639 The problem 00:28:53.639 --> 00:28:53.919 of a 00:28:53.919 --> 00:28:54.119 hardened 00:28:54.119 --> 00:28:54.579 heart 00:28:54.579 --> 00:28:56.159 is something 00:28:56.159 --> 00:28:56.859 that we 00:28:56.859 --> 00:28:57.119 need to 00:28:57.119 --> 00:28:57.959 take very 00:28:57.959 --> 00:28:58.459 seriously 00:28:58.459 --> 00:28:59.779 for each 00:28:59.779 --> 00:29:00.079 one of 00:29:00.079 --> 00:29:00.359 us. 00:29:01.519 --> 00:29:01.980 Now, 00:29:02.019 --> 00:29:02.319 the book of 00:29:02.319 --> 00:29:02.839 Exodus does 00:29:02.839 --> 00:29:03.559 not hold out 00:29:03.559 --> 00:29:04.220 much hope for 00:29:04.220 --> 00:29:04.599 Pharaoh, 00:29:05.399 --> 00:29:07.339 but the Bible 00:29:07.339 --> 00:29:08.000 says there is 00:29:08.000 --> 00:29:08.679 hope for you 00:29:08.679 --> 00:29:10.259 if you will 00:29:10.259 --> 00:29:11.000 listen to God's 00:29:11.000 --> 00:29:12.220 voice today 00:29:12.220 --> 00:29:14.220 and not 00:29:14.220 --> 00:29:14.900 harden your 00:29:14.900 --> 00:29:15.180 heart. 00:29:16.460 --> 00:29:16.980 So, 00:29:17.019 --> 00:29:17.319 what I want 00:29:17.319 --> 00:29:17.779 to do is 00:29:17.779 --> 00:29:18.380 to do what 00:29:18.380 --> 00:29:19.259 Hebrews 3, 00:29:19.460 --> 00:29:20.440 13 tells us 00:29:20.440 --> 00:29:20.779 to do, 00:29:20.839 --> 00:29:21.460 to exhort 00:29:21.460 --> 00:29:22.120 one another 00:29:22.120 --> 00:29:22.860 so that we 00:29:22.860 --> 00:29:23.360 are not 00:29:23.360 --> 00:29:24.299 hardened by 00:29:24.299 --> 00:29:24.940 the deceitfulness 00:29:24.940 --> 00:29:25.500 of sin. 00:29:27.960 --> 00:29:28.720 And what I 00:29:28.720 --> 00:29:29.240 want to do 00:29:29.240 --> 00:29:30.380 is show you 00:29:30.380 --> 00:29:31.759 five specific 00:29:31.759 --> 00:29:33.860 ways that 00:29:33.860 --> 00:29:34.279 Pharaoh's 00:29:34.279 --> 00:29:35.000 hardened heart 00:29:35.000 --> 00:29:35.660 manifested 00:29:35.660 --> 00:29:37.960 itself in 00:29:37.960 --> 00:29:38.440 order to 00:29:38.440 --> 00:29:39.220 warn us 00:29:39.220 --> 00:29:40.279 and guard 00:29:40.279 --> 00:29:40.799 us against 00:29:40.799 --> 00:29:41.460 falling into 00:29:41.460 --> 00:29:41.980 the same 00:29:41.980 --> 00:29:42.519 patterns. 00:29:47.299 --> 00:29:47.860 So, 00:29:47.960 --> 00:29:48.519 let me give 00:29:48.519 --> 00:29:48.759 you these 00:29:48.759 --> 00:29:49.360 five specific 00:29:49.360 --> 00:29:49.980 ways that 00:29:49.980 --> 00:29:51.640 through the 00:29:51.640 --> 00:29:52.180 narrative of 00:29:52.180 --> 00:29:52.779 Exodus 7 00:29:52.779 --> 00:29:53.140 through 10 00:29:53.140 --> 00:29:53.700 we see 00:29:53.700 --> 00:29:54.400 Pharaoh's 00:29:54.400 --> 00:29:54.960 hardened 00:29:54.960 --> 00:29:55.460 heart 00:29:55.460 --> 00:29:56.440 manifesting 00:29:56.440 --> 00:29:56.880 itself. 00:29:57.279 --> 00:29:57.660 First, 00:29:58.900 --> 00:29:59.600 Pharaoh ignored 00:29:59.600 --> 00:30:00.240 God in his 00:30:00.240 --> 00:30:01.160 prosperity and 00:30:01.160 --> 00:30:01.799 he raged 00:30:01.799 --> 00:30:02.420 against God 00:30:02.420 --> 00:30:02.740 in his 00:30:02.740 --> 00:30:03.160 adversity. 00:30:05.059 --> 00:30:05.839 For much 00:30:05.839 --> 00:30:06.319 of his life 00:30:06.319 --> 00:30:06.720 God had 00:30:06.720 --> 00:30:07.220 prospered 00:30:07.220 --> 00:30:07.480 Pharaoh. 00:30:07.620 --> 00:30:08.000 He was on 00:30:08.000 --> 00:30:08.420 top of the 00:30:08.420 --> 00:30:08.660 world. 00:30:08.779 --> 00:30:09.140 He was the 00:30:09.140 --> 00:30:10.060 ruler of 00:30:10.060 --> 00:30:10.400 one of the 00:30:10.400 --> 00:30:10.940 most powerful 00:30:10.940 --> 00:30:11.580 nations of 00:30:11.580 --> 00:30:11.920 the ancient 00:30:11.920 --> 00:30:12.259 world. 00:30:12.380 --> 00:30:12.560 He could 00:30:12.560 --> 00:30:12.960 appreciate 00:30:12.960 --> 00:30:13.340 great 00:30:13.340 --> 00:30:13.920 architecture. 00:30:14.100 --> 00:30:14.280 He could 00:30:14.280 --> 00:30:14.980 enjoy delicious 00:30:14.980 --> 00:30:15.340 food. 00:30:15.440 --> 00:30:15.640 He could 00:30:15.640 --> 00:30:16.020 accomplish 00:30:16.020 --> 00:30:16.340 great 00:30:16.340 --> 00:30:17.000 exploits. 00:30:17.560 --> 00:30:18.140 And he 00:30:18.140 --> 00:30:19.240 denied the 00:30:19.240 --> 00:30:20.259 reality of 00:30:20.259 --> 00:30:20.600 God. 00:30:23.860 --> 00:30:24.440 He says, 00:30:24.520 --> 00:30:24.920 who is the 00:30:24.920 --> 00:30:26.960 Lord that I 00:30:26.960 --> 00:30:27.360 should obey 00:30:27.360 --> 00:30:27.940 his voice? 00:30:28.640 --> 00:30:29.420 I don't know 00:30:29.420 --> 00:30:30.840 the Lord and 00:30:30.840 --> 00:30:31.300 I won't let 00:30:31.300 --> 00:30:31.920 his people go. 00:30:32.160 --> 00:30:32.460 Pharaoh had 00:30:32.460 --> 00:30:33.280 no interest 00:30:33.280 --> 00:30:33.800 in seeking 00:30:33.800 --> 00:30:34.200 God. 00:30:34.280 --> 00:30:34.460 He had 00:30:34.460 --> 00:30:34.980 everything he 00:30:34.980 --> 00:30:35.440 could want 00:30:35.440 --> 00:30:36.060 and that was 00:30:36.060 --> 00:30:36.400 all that 00:30:36.400 --> 00:30:36.800 mattered to 00:30:36.800 --> 00:30:37.040 him. 00:30:37.039 --> 00:30:37.159 Pharaoh. 00:30:37.960 --> 00:30:39.720 And then 00:30:39.720 --> 00:30:41.619 God afflicted 00:30:41.619 --> 00:30:43.000 Pharaoh with 00:30:43.000 --> 00:30:44.359 one painful 00:30:44.359 --> 00:30:46.139 plague after 00:30:46.139 --> 00:30:46.859 another. 00:30:49.440 --> 00:30:49.779 And so 00:30:49.779 --> 00:30:50.359 Pharaoh couldn't 00:30:50.359 --> 00:30:51.359 simply ignore 00:30:51.359 --> 00:30:52.740 and deny the 00:30:52.740 --> 00:30:53.619 reality of God 00:30:53.619 --> 00:30:55.379 anymore, but as 00:30:55.379 --> 00:30:56.240 time went on, he 00:30:56.240 --> 00:30:57.379 becomes increasingly 00:30:57.379 --> 00:30:59.359 hostile toward God's 00:30:59.359 --> 00:30:59.799 messengers. 00:31:00.159 --> 00:31:00.879 The last two 00:31:00.879 --> 00:31:02.299 plagues, the 00:31:02.299 --> 00:31:02.879 eighth and ninth 00:31:02.879 --> 00:31:05.539 plague, he drives 00:31:05.539 --> 00:31:06.259 Moses and Aaron 00:31:06.259 --> 00:31:06.920 out of his 00:31:06.920 --> 00:31:07.220 presence. 00:31:07.379 --> 00:31:08.159 Chapter 10, verse 00:31:08.159 --> 00:31:08.980 11, it says 00:31:08.980 --> 00:31:09.639 Moses and Aaron 00:31:09.639 --> 00:31:10.359 were driven out 00:31:10.359 --> 00:31:10.740 of Pharaoh's 00:31:10.740 --> 00:31:11.019 presence. 00:31:11.480 --> 00:31:12.200 Chapter 10, verse 00:31:12.200 --> 00:31:12.819 28, Pharaoh 00:31:12.819 --> 00:31:13.339 says to Moses, 00:31:13.500 --> 00:31:14.099 get away from 00:31:14.099 --> 00:31:14.359 me. 00:31:15.740 --> 00:31:16.399 Take care to 00:31:16.399 --> 00:31:17.099 never see my 00:31:17.099 --> 00:31:17.599 face again. 00:31:17.659 --> 00:31:18.180 On the day you 00:31:18.180 --> 00:31:18.920 see my face, you 00:31:18.920 --> 00:31:19.539 shall die. 00:31:23.240 --> 00:31:24.200 Pharaoh rages 00:31:24.200 --> 00:31:26.519 against God and 00:31:26.519 --> 00:31:27.639 God's messengers in 00:31:27.639 --> 00:31:28.180 the midst of his 00:31:28.180 --> 00:31:28.639 adversity. 00:31:30.680 --> 00:31:31.420 And in the book 00:31:31.420 --> 00:31:32.019 of Revelation, 00:31:33.079 --> 00:31:34.000 chapter 16, 00:31:34.000 --> 00:31:35.539 God's future 00:31:35.539 --> 00:31:36.299 judgment on the 00:31:36.299 --> 00:31:37.700 world is depicted 00:31:37.700 --> 00:31:38.539 as a series of 00:31:38.539 --> 00:31:39.880 plagues reminiscent 00:31:39.880 --> 00:31:40.579 of the ones in 00:31:40.579 --> 00:31:40.900 Egypt. 00:31:41.900 --> 00:31:42.619 Waters turn to 00:31:42.619 --> 00:31:43.440 blood, skies are 00:31:43.440 --> 00:31:44.700 darkened, locusts 00:31:44.700 --> 00:31:45.640 destroying locusts, 00:31:45.700 --> 00:31:46.299 painful sores, 00:31:46.420 --> 00:31:46.799 thunder and 00:31:46.799 --> 00:31:47.259 lightning and 00:31:47.259 --> 00:31:47.779 hail, but the 00:31:47.779 --> 00:31:48.779 consistent response 00:31:48.779 --> 00:31:49.859 of the people in 00:31:49.859 --> 00:31:50.259 the book of 00:31:50.259 --> 00:31:51.359 Revelation is 00:31:51.359 --> 00:31:52.420 indifference and 00:31:52.420 --> 00:31:53.460 hostility toward 00:31:53.460 --> 00:31:53.819 God. 00:31:55.440 --> 00:31:55.980 It says, 00:31:56.119 --> 00:31:56.700 they cursed the 00:31:56.700 --> 00:31:57.319 name of God who 00:31:57.319 --> 00:31:58.019 had power over 00:31:58.019 --> 00:31:58.640 these plagues. 00:31:58.740 --> 00:31:59.240 They did not 00:31:59.240 --> 00:31:59.839 repent and give 00:31:59.839 --> 00:32:00.319 him glory. 00:32:01.240 --> 00:32:02.039 People nod their 00:32:02.039 --> 00:32:02.700 tongues in anguish 00:32:02.700 --> 00:32:03.480 and curse the God 00:32:03.480 --> 00:32:03.960 of heaven for 00:32:03.960 --> 00:32:04.420 their pain. 00:32:04.920 --> 00:32:05.500 They did not 00:32:05.500 --> 00:32:06.059 repent of their 00:32:06.059 --> 00:32:06.299 deeds. 00:32:06.380 --> 00:32:07.140 They cursed God 00:32:07.140 --> 00:32:07.740 for the plague of 00:32:07.740 --> 00:32:08.039 the hail. 00:32:10.720 --> 00:32:11.440 So here's a 00:32:11.440 --> 00:32:11.620 warning. 00:32:12.720 --> 00:32:13.279 How are you 00:32:13.279 --> 00:32:14.000 responding to God 00:32:14.000 --> 00:32:14.779 in your prosperity? 00:32:16.259 --> 00:32:17.059 If God's given 00:32:17.059 --> 00:32:18.000 you success and 00:32:18.000 --> 00:32:18.940 power and wealth 00:32:18.940 --> 00:32:19.460 and comfort, 00:32:20.640 --> 00:32:22.299 have you relegated 00:32:22.299 --> 00:32:22.880 God to the 00:32:22.880 --> 00:32:23.600 sidelines of your 00:32:23.600 --> 00:32:23.960 life? 00:32:26.460 --> 00:32:27.160 Have you taken 00:32:27.160 --> 00:32:27.700 the credit for 00:32:27.700 --> 00:32:28.400 yourself when 00:32:28.400 --> 00:32:29.160 really it's 00:32:29.160 --> 00:32:30.340 ultimately all a 00:32:30.340 --> 00:32:30.620 gift? 00:32:30.619 --> 00:32:34.039 or if God has 00:32:34.039 --> 00:32:34.699 afflicted you, 00:32:35.500 --> 00:32:37.219 are you leaning 00:32:37.219 --> 00:32:38.019 into Him in 00:32:38.019 --> 00:32:38.419 prayer? 00:32:40.019 --> 00:32:40.899 Jesus Christ is a 00:32:40.899 --> 00:32:41.739 merciful and 00:32:41.739 --> 00:32:42.699 compassionate and 00:32:42.699 --> 00:32:43.539 strong Savior. 00:32:46.159 --> 00:32:47.279 Or are you cursing 00:32:47.279 --> 00:32:48.039 God in your heart 00:32:48.039 --> 00:32:49.979 and becoming 00:32:49.979 --> 00:32:51.079 increasingly bitter 00:32:51.079 --> 00:32:53.019 and hostile toward 00:32:53.019 --> 00:32:54.219 God and toward His 00:32:54.219 --> 00:32:55.939 Word in your 00:32:55.940 --> 00:32:56.340 adversity? 00:32:58.580 --> 00:32:59.100 Second, 00:33:00.740 --> 00:33:01.759 Pharaoh began by 00:33:01.759 --> 00:33:02.740 resisting God and 00:33:02.740 --> 00:33:03.320 His messengers. 00:33:03.480 --> 00:33:04.140 He ended by 00:33:04.140 --> 00:33:05.120 ruining his own 00:33:05.120 --> 00:33:05.460 people. 00:33:07.620 --> 00:33:08.320 From the very 00:33:08.320 --> 00:33:09.039 beginning, Pharaoh 00:33:09.039 --> 00:33:10.420 rejected the Lord 00:33:10.420 --> 00:33:11.259 and the Lord's 00:33:11.259 --> 00:33:11.660 messengers. 00:33:12.019 --> 00:33:12.740 He could care less 00:33:12.740 --> 00:33:13.539 about the Israelites, 00:33:13.900 --> 00:33:16.340 but over time, we 00:33:16.340 --> 00:33:16.960 see that Pharaoh's 00:33:16.960 --> 00:33:17.680 heart was not just 00:33:17.680 --> 00:33:18.360 hardened toward the 00:33:18.360 --> 00:33:19.240 Lord and the Lord's 00:33:19.240 --> 00:33:19.960 messengers and the 00:33:19.960 --> 00:33:20.740 Lord's people, but he 00:33:20.740 --> 00:33:21.820 was hardened and 00:33:21.820 --> 00:33:23.000 indifferent to his 00:33:23.000 --> 00:33:24.039 own people's 00:33:24.039 --> 00:33:25.279 suffering and even 00:33:25.279 --> 00:33:26.619 his own family's 00:33:26.619 --> 00:33:27.180 well-being. 00:33:29.759 --> 00:33:30.559 The end of chapter 00:33:30.559 --> 00:33:31.380 7 that we read at 00:33:31.380 --> 00:33:34.779 the beginning, the 00:33:34.779 --> 00:33:35.420 water in the Nile 00:33:35.420 --> 00:33:36.140 turns to blood. 00:33:37.960 --> 00:33:38.559 Pharaoh gets his 00:33:38.559 --> 00:33:39.359 magicians to do the 00:33:39.359 --> 00:33:42.079 same thing, however 00:33:42.079 --> 00:33:44.400 they do it, and his 00:33:44.400 --> 00:33:45.180 heart remains hardened. 00:33:46.660 --> 00:33:47.460 And it just says, 00:33:47.539 --> 00:33:48.200 Pharaoh turned and 00:33:48.200 --> 00:33:49.019 went into his house, 00:33:49.539 --> 00:33:50.460 and he didn't take it 00:33:50.460 --> 00:33:50.779 to heart. 00:33:53.140 --> 00:33:53.620 Pharaoh says, 00:33:53.700 --> 00:33:54.039 well, I have 00:33:54.039 --> 00:33:54.460 servants. 00:33:55.019 --> 00:33:55.680 They can go dig a 00:33:55.680 --> 00:33:57.539 hole and get me 00:33:57.539 --> 00:33:58.720 water and bring it 00:33:58.720 --> 00:33:59.019 to me. 00:33:59.620 --> 00:34:00.180 This won't really 00:34:00.180 --> 00:34:00.680 bother me. 00:34:02.900 --> 00:34:03.299 Pharaoh didn't 00:34:03.299 --> 00:34:04.559 really care that all 00:34:04.559 --> 00:34:05.340 the Egyptians had to 00:34:05.340 --> 00:34:07.640 dig for clean water. 00:34:09.780 --> 00:34:10.820 But then one by one, 00:34:10.880 --> 00:34:11.740 the plagues gradually 00:34:11.740 --> 00:34:12.900 hit Pharaoh closer and 00:34:12.900 --> 00:34:13.579 closer to home. 00:34:15.019 --> 00:34:16.720 First, the magicians in 00:34:16.720 --> 00:34:17.500 his court seemed to 00:34:17.500 --> 00:34:18.380 take Pharaoh's side. 00:34:19.519 --> 00:34:20.360 They can duplicate the 00:34:20.360 --> 00:34:20.760 plagues. 00:34:21.620 --> 00:34:22.140 Of course, they can 00:34:22.140 --> 00:34:22.840 never reverse them. 00:34:23.700 --> 00:34:24.980 But by round three, 00:34:26.160 --> 00:34:27.019 pretty early in the 00:34:27.019 --> 00:34:29.300 game, the magicians say, 00:34:29.680 --> 00:34:30.740 this is the finger of 00:34:30.740 --> 00:34:31.059 God. 00:34:33.539 --> 00:34:34.579 And it says, Pharaoh 00:34:34.579 --> 00:34:36.260 hardened his heart and 00:34:36.260 --> 00:34:37.300 would not listen to them. 00:34:38.579 --> 00:34:39.539 He didn't just reject 00:34:39.539 --> 00:34:40.079 Moses and Aaron. 00:34:40.140 --> 00:34:41.079 He even rejected his own 00:34:41.079 --> 00:34:41.680 magicians. 00:34:43.960 --> 00:34:45.360 When they said, this is 00:34:45.360 --> 00:34:46.160 the one true God. 00:34:46.159 --> 00:34:50.119 And finally, in chapter 10, 00:34:50.159 --> 00:34:50.960 verse 7, some of his 00:34:50.960 --> 00:34:52.039 officials take initiative 00:34:52.039 --> 00:34:53.219 to plead with Pharaoh. 00:34:53.480 --> 00:34:54.659 They say, don't you yet 00:34:54.659 --> 00:34:55.539 understand? 00:34:55.839 --> 00:34:57.259 Egypt is ruined. 00:35:00.679 --> 00:35:02.219 And finally, Moses threatens 00:35:02.219 --> 00:35:03.440 the tenth and final plague 00:35:03.440 --> 00:35:04.259 in chapter 11. 00:35:04.440 --> 00:35:05.899 Every firstborn in the land 00:35:05.899 --> 00:35:06.879 of Egypt shall die. 00:35:06.880 --> 00:35:11.000 Now, in those days, Pharaoh's 00:35:11.000 --> 00:35:12.599 firstborn represented his 00:35:12.599 --> 00:35:14.800 legacy, the future of his 00:35:14.800 --> 00:35:18.680 dynasty, his most treasured 00:35:18.680 --> 00:35:19.059 child. 00:35:22.059 --> 00:35:23.460 Pharaoh's resistance to the 00:35:23.460 --> 00:35:26.240 Lord resulted in the ruin, 00:35:26.920 --> 00:35:28.200 not only of his own country, 00:35:28.280 --> 00:35:29.300 but even his own family. 00:35:29.300 --> 00:35:33.120 And again, this is a sober 00:35:33.120 --> 00:35:33.519 warning. 00:35:33.620 --> 00:35:37.060 If you're refusing to take 00:35:37.060 --> 00:35:42.200 to heart God's Word, it's not 00:35:42.200 --> 00:35:43.340 just an issue between you and 00:35:43.340 --> 00:35:43.660 God. 00:35:44.280 --> 00:35:46.380 You may end up causing the 00:35:46.380 --> 00:35:48.780 ruin of those nearest and 00:35:48.780 --> 00:35:51.480 dearest to you without even 00:35:51.480 --> 00:35:52.220 realizing it. 00:35:55.140 --> 00:35:56.840 Your own family, even. 00:35:56.840 --> 00:36:05.500 Third, Pharaoh is sorry about 00:36:05.500 --> 00:36:06.880 the consequences, but he's not 00:36:06.880 --> 00:36:07.760 sorry for his sin. 00:36:10.760 --> 00:36:12.000 Several times along the way, 00:36:12.079 --> 00:36:13.539 Pharaoh pleads for relief as 00:36:13.539 --> 00:36:14.780 things get worse and worse. 00:36:15.980 --> 00:36:17.640 Starts with the second plague, 00:36:18.260 --> 00:36:19.240 chapter 8, verse 8. 00:36:20.240 --> 00:36:21.079 Pharaoh doesn't like all the 00:36:21.079 --> 00:36:22.280 frogs jumping up on him. 00:36:24.640 --> 00:36:26.519 He says, plead with the Lord to 00:36:26.519 --> 00:36:27.840 take away the frogs from me and 00:36:27.840 --> 00:36:32.039 my people, and I will let the 00:36:32.039 --> 00:36:33.259 people go to sacrifice to the 00:36:33.259 --> 00:36:33.480 Lord. 00:36:35.280 --> 00:36:38.400 Later on, plead with the Lord for 00:36:38.400 --> 00:36:39.539 there's been enough of God's 00:36:39.539 --> 00:36:40.300 thunder and hail. 00:36:42.579 --> 00:36:44.219 Chapter 10, verse 17, when the 00:36:44.219 --> 00:36:45.460 locusts come, plead with the 00:36:45.460 --> 00:36:46.759 Lord your God to remove this 00:36:46.759 --> 00:36:47.519 death from me. 00:36:48.900 --> 00:36:50.340 Pharaoh pleads for relief. 00:36:50.340 --> 00:36:51.880 He doesn't like the consequences 00:36:51.880 --> 00:36:52.640 of his sin. 00:36:56.400 --> 00:36:57.860 Now, by the seventh and eighth 00:36:57.860 --> 00:37:02.680 plague, he even says, I have 00:37:02.680 --> 00:37:03.220 sinned. 00:37:06.099 --> 00:37:08.720 Chapter 9, verse 27, after the 00:37:08.720 --> 00:37:09.360 plague of hail. 00:37:10.059 --> 00:37:11.539 Pharaoh sent and called Moses and 00:37:11.539 --> 00:37:13.240 Aaron and said to them, this time I 00:37:13.240 --> 00:37:13.880 have sinned. 00:37:14.920 --> 00:37:16.640 The Lord is in the right, and I and 00:37:16.640 --> 00:37:17.680 my people are in the wrong. 00:37:17.820 --> 00:37:18.539 Plead with the Lord. 00:37:18.619 --> 00:37:19.840 There's been enough of God's thunder 00:37:19.840 --> 00:37:20.220 and hail. 00:37:20.280 --> 00:37:20.880 I'll let you go. 00:37:20.960 --> 00:37:21.880 You shall stay no longer. 00:37:23.140 --> 00:37:25.640 And then 10, 16, after the plague 00:37:25.640 --> 00:37:27.579 of locusts, Pharaoh hastily called 00:37:27.579 --> 00:37:28.820 Moses and Aaron and said, I have 00:37:28.820 --> 00:37:29.900 sinned against the Lord your God 00:37:29.900 --> 00:37:30.640 and against you. 00:37:32.039 --> 00:37:33.220 Interestingly, that's the very same 00:37:33.220 --> 00:37:34.579 language the prodigal son uses when 00:37:34.579 --> 00:37:35.260 he's coming home. 00:37:38.039 --> 00:37:39.860 May call into question the sincerity 00:37:39.860 --> 00:37:42.360 of his repentance, but that's 00:37:42.360 --> 00:37:42.880 another topic. 00:37:43.200 --> 00:37:45.240 Now, therefore, forgive my sin, 00:37:45.360 --> 00:37:46.519 please, only this once. 00:37:46.519 --> 00:37:50.300 But I want you to notice two things 00:37:50.300 --> 00:37:51.539 about Pharaoh's supposed 00:37:51.539 --> 00:37:52.239 confessions. 00:37:54.500 --> 00:37:57.280 Number one, Pharaoh says, this time 00:37:57.280 --> 00:37:59.000 I have sinned. 00:38:00.440 --> 00:38:02.559 The next time he says, forgive my sin, 00:38:02.679 --> 00:38:04.460 please, only this once. 00:38:06.980 --> 00:38:10.300 Even a very, very stubborn person 00:38:10.300 --> 00:38:13.659 can be argued into a corner and 00:38:13.659 --> 00:38:15.500 forced to admit that they were wrong 00:38:15.500 --> 00:38:17.460 just this once. 00:38:22.259 --> 00:38:23.799 That doesn't actually mean you're 00:38:23.799 --> 00:38:24.379 repentant. 00:38:26.559 --> 00:38:29.480 If you say, it only happened once. 00:38:29.619 --> 00:38:30.579 It wasn't a pattern. 00:38:30.739 --> 00:38:32.000 It's not a character flaw. 00:38:32.099 --> 00:38:33.539 It was just a mistake. 00:38:37.119 --> 00:38:40.239 But the Bible says that sin is never 00:38:40.239 --> 00:38:43.099 just a one-time mistake. 00:38:44.899 --> 00:38:46.519 Jesus said, out of the abundance of 00:38:46.519 --> 00:38:48.639 the heart, the mouth speaks. 00:38:50.579 --> 00:38:52.479 James says, sinful actions begin 00:38:52.479 --> 00:38:53.399 with our desires. 00:38:53.559 --> 00:38:56.139 Desire gives birth to sin, and sin, 00:38:56.239 --> 00:38:58.039 when it is fully grown, brings forth 00:38:58.039 --> 00:38:58.539 death. 00:38:59.619 --> 00:39:01.219 All the unpleasant consequences. 00:39:03.299 --> 00:39:04.799 Sin is rooted in our hearts, 00:39:05.579 --> 00:39:08.079 in our misplaced desires. 00:39:08.079 --> 00:39:10.400 And the only way to really change 00:39:10.400 --> 00:39:13.259 is to acknowledge and expose 00:39:13.259 --> 00:39:15.900 those idols of our heart. 00:39:17.679 --> 00:39:19.019 Pharaoh never does that. 00:39:21.039 --> 00:39:24.860 He only reluctantly admits just this 00:39:24.860 --> 00:39:26.539 once that he has sinned. 00:39:30.360 --> 00:39:32.059 Moses responds to Pharaoh's first 00:39:32.059 --> 00:39:34.199 confession of sin in verse 30 of 00:39:34.199 --> 00:39:35.980 chapter 9 by saying, I know that you 00:39:35.980 --> 00:39:38.599 do not yet fear the Lord God. 00:39:39.219 --> 00:39:40.480 In other words, your confession 00:39:40.480 --> 00:39:42.920 is motivated not by a genuine 00:39:42.920 --> 00:39:44.980 reverence for God, but simply by a 00:39:44.980 --> 00:39:46.699 desire to get relief from unpleasant 00:39:46.699 --> 00:39:47.440 consequences. 00:39:48.500 --> 00:39:49.780 And of course, we see that when the 00:39:49.780 --> 00:39:50.960 plagues are removed, when the 00:39:50.960 --> 00:39:52.500 unpleasant consequences go away, 00:39:52.619 --> 00:39:55.000 Pharaoh immediately returns to his 00:39:55.000 --> 00:39:55.579 old ways. 00:39:57.059 --> 00:39:58.740 When Pharaoh saw that the rain and 00:39:58.740 --> 00:40:00.139 the hail and the thunder had ceased, 00:40:00.219 --> 00:40:03.300 he sinned yet again and hardened 00:40:03.300 --> 00:40:03.760 his heart. 00:40:07.840 --> 00:40:10.160 Are you sorry for your sin? 00:40:11.460 --> 00:40:15.180 Or are you just sorry for all the 00:40:15.180 --> 00:40:17.220 pain it causes you? 00:40:22.620 --> 00:40:24.140 Have you come to realize that your 00:40:24.140 --> 00:40:26.180 sin is even worse than all the 00:40:26.180 --> 00:40:27.960 unpleasant consequences that follow 00:40:27.960 --> 00:40:28.400 from it? 00:40:30.600 --> 00:40:31.880 That's what the Bible says. 00:40:31.880 --> 00:40:37.340 Fourth, Pharaoh is willing to 00:40:37.340 --> 00:40:39.140 negotiate, but not to surrender. 00:40:41.220 --> 00:40:42.640 Over time, Pharaoh makes some 00:40:42.640 --> 00:40:43.240 concessions. 00:40:43.400 --> 00:40:45.019 Chapter 8, verse 25, he says, go 00:40:45.019 --> 00:40:46.559 sacrifice to the Lord within the 00:40:46.559 --> 00:40:47.000 land. 00:40:47.880 --> 00:40:49.619 Then 8, 28, I'll let you sacrifice 00:40:49.619 --> 00:40:50.780 to the Lord your God in the 00:40:50.780 --> 00:40:53.220 wilderness, only not very far away. 00:40:53.820 --> 00:40:55.440 Chapter 10, verse 11, let the men 00:40:55.440 --> 00:40:55.740 go. 00:40:55.920 --> 00:40:57.300 The women and children have to stay. 00:40:57.640 --> 00:40:59.380 Chapter 10, verse 24, all the people 00:40:59.380 --> 00:41:00.980 can go, but your livestock have to 00:41:00.980 --> 00:41:01.980 stay. 00:41:01.980 --> 00:41:03.059 Pharaoh is willing to negotiate with 00:41:03.059 --> 00:41:06.320 the Lord as if they were peers, but 00:41:06.320 --> 00:41:08.480 he's not willing to surrender and 00:41:08.480 --> 00:41:11.000 acknowledge that God is not his peer, 00:41:11.240 --> 00:41:13.079 that God is God and Pharaoh is not. 00:41:13.900 --> 00:41:15.960 And God does not meet Pharaoh halfway. 00:41:17.980 --> 00:41:19.940 God is not a negotiator. 00:41:20.820 --> 00:41:23.559 He will not compromise his standards. 00:41:23.559 --> 00:41:26.320 He is not your peer. 00:41:27.779 --> 00:41:31.219 He alone is the immortal, invisible, only, 00:41:31.219 --> 00:41:32.679 wise God. 00:41:33.619 --> 00:41:37.500 But even more than that, he is the only 00:41:37.500 --> 00:41:43.579 God who shed his blood for you, who gave 00:41:43.579 --> 00:41:46.259 himself completely and without reservation, 00:41:46.260 --> 00:41:54.260 and laid his life down as a full and perfect and 00:41:54.260 --> 00:41:58.280 sufficient sacrifice for us so that we might 00:41:58.280 --> 00:42:03.720 be his completely without any reservations. 00:42:03.719 --> 00:42:07.379 Charles Spurgeon said, 00:42:07.379 --> 00:42:09.519 God's demand is not that his people should have some 00:42:09.519 --> 00:42:13.139 little liberty, some little relief in the middle of 00:42:13.139 --> 00:42:13.599 their sin. 00:42:13.699 --> 00:42:17.719 No, that they should go right out of Egypt and go through 00:42:17.719 --> 00:42:19.399 the wilderness to the promised land. 00:42:19.500 --> 00:42:22.639 Christ did not come into the world merely to make our sin 00:42:22.639 --> 00:42:26.119 more tolerable, but to deliver us from it. 00:42:26.399 --> 00:42:30.799 He did not come to make hell a little less hot, or sin a 00:42:30.800 --> 00:42:33.820 little less damnable, or our lust a little less mighty, 00:42:34.019 --> 00:42:38.620 but to put all these things far away from us, to deliver us 00:42:38.620 --> 00:42:43.260 from death and hell and from the power of sin, to work, 00:42:43.519 --> 00:42:46.860 to give us joy and peace in believing in him. 00:42:52.300 --> 00:42:56.300 Finally, five, Pharaoh asked for prayer, but he never prays. 00:42:56.300 --> 00:43:01.300 Pharaoh always wants someone else to deal with God on his 00:43:01.300 --> 00:43:01.720 behalf. 00:43:01.820 --> 00:43:03.900 He's always asking Moses, plead with the Lord. 00:43:05.000 --> 00:43:05.900 Pray for me. 00:43:08.260 --> 00:43:10.460 It's not wrong to ask somebody else to pray for you. 00:43:12.820 --> 00:43:15.320 In the New Testament, James says, if you're sick, call the 00:43:15.320 --> 00:43:17.620 elders of the church to come and pray for you. 00:43:18.539 --> 00:43:21.500 It goes on and says, confess your sins to one another and pray 00:43:21.500 --> 00:43:23.740 for one another so that you may be healed. 00:43:23.739 --> 00:43:26.799 This is a good thing when we're weak physically, emotionally, 00:43:26.919 --> 00:43:27.539 or spiritually. 00:43:27.899 --> 00:43:32.859 Sometimes we can hold on to and be held by the faith and prayer 00:43:32.859 --> 00:43:35.639 of our brothers and sisters in Christ, and that's a means of 00:43:35.639 --> 00:43:36.659 grace that God uses. 00:43:38.839 --> 00:43:42.739 But if you're only asking other people to pray for you, and 00:43:42.739 --> 00:43:46.519 you're not dealing with God yourself, it's a sign that you're not 00:43:46.519 --> 00:43:47.879 right with God. 00:43:47.880 --> 00:43:55.300 Many times people have come to me, and in the course of a 00:43:55.300 --> 00:43:57.920 conversation have acknowledged that they have sinned in one way or 00:43:57.920 --> 00:43:58.220 another. 00:44:00.480 --> 00:44:05.619 And one of the questions I always try to ask is, have you confessed that 00:44:05.619 --> 00:44:06.220 sin to God? 00:44:08.940 --> 00:44:10.079 Sometimes the answer is no. 00:44:10.079 --> 00:44:15.559 And so I say, why don't you begin by confessing that sin to God? 00:44:16.579 --> 00:44:21.380 I'm here to listen, and then I'll pray for you, that you would know God's 00:44:21.380 --> 00:44:28.659 peace and forgiveness and His strength and find the accountability you need and 00:44:28.659 --> 00:44:29.900 know His hope for the future. 00:44:31.099 --> 00:44:36.139 You see, the way to get right with God is not to ask somebody else to pray to God 00:44:36.139 --> 00:44:39.779 on your behalf or deal with God on your behalf, but to turn to Jesus. 00:44:40.259 --> 00:44:45.639 The Bible says Jesus is the one mediator between God and humanity. 00:44:48.259 --> 00:44:49.259 Admit that you're a sinner. 00:44:50.639 --> 00:44:52.480 Believe and receive the Savior. 00:44:57.440 --> 00:44:58.319 So we pray now. 00:44:59.639 --> 00:45:00.219 Let's pray. 00:45:06.139 --> 00:45:17.239 Father, we thank you that we can come to you in prayer in the name of your Son, 00:45:17.319 --> 00:45:17.960 Jesus Christ. 00:45:20.079 --> 00:45:29.879 We thank you that there is a sacrifice sufficient, complete to cover our sin. 00:45:29.880 --> 00:45:35.200 Lord, we thank you for the gift of your Holy Spirit who renews our hearts. 00:45:37.400 --> 00:45:39.720 Your Holy Spirit who gives us a new heart 00:45:39.720 --> 00:45:49.860 and draws us to Christ, but who continually dwells within us 00:45:49.860 --> 00:45:55.200 and softens our heart and turns us to you. 00:45:55.199 --> 00:46:02.119 We pray that we would hear your voice and not harden your hearts, 00:46:02.659 --> 00:46:05.279 not harden our hearts before you today. 00:46:08.319 --> 00:46:09.339 We praise you. 00:46:10.679 --> 00:46:11.980 We bow before you. 00:46:12.659 --> 00:46:16.579 You are the King of glory. 00:46:17.980 --> 00:46:22.379 You are the only true and living God. 00:46:22.380 --> 00:46:25.800 You are King forever. 00:46:30.140 --> 00:46:31.760 We pray these things in Jesus' name. 00:46:32.220 --> 00:46:32.440 Amen.