Now, let's turn together to Exodus chapter 7. So we've been thinking about this as a book where
God makes himself known to his people and to Egypt, and we're going to see more of that today,
asking ourselves the question, how do I respond to the God of all the earth?
So let's hear God's word from Exodus 7. Then the Lord said to Moses,
See, I have made you like God to Pharaoh, and your brother Aaron will be your prophet. You are to say
everything I command you, and your brother Aaron is to tell Pharaoh to let the Israelites go out of
his country. But I will harden Pharaoh's heart, and though I multiply my signs and wonders in Egypt,
he will not listen to you. Then I will lay my hand on Egypt, and with mighty acts of judgment I will
bring out my divisions, my people, the Israelites, and the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord,
when I stretch out my hand against Egypt and bring the Israelites out of it. Moses and Aaron did
just as the Lord commanded them. Moses was 80 years old, and Aaron 83, when they spoke to Pharaoh.
The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, When Pharaoh says to you, Perform a miracle, then say to Aaron,
Take your staff and throw it down before Pharaoh, and it will become a snake. So Moses and Aaron went
to Pharaoh and did just as the Lord commanded. Aaron threw his staff down in front of Pharaoh and
his officials, and it became a snake. 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. Then the Lord said to Moses, Pharaoh's heart is unyielding.
He refuses to let the people go. Go to Pharaoh in the morning as he goes out to the river. Confront
him on the bank of the Nile, and take in your hand the staff that was changed into a snake.
Then say to him, The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, has sent me to say to you, Let my people go,
so that they may worship me in the wilderness. But until now you have not listened. This is what the
Lord says, By this you will know that I am the Lord. With the staff that is in my hand, I will
strike the water of the Nile, and it will be changed into blood. The fish in the Nile will die, and the
river will stink. The Egyptians will not be able to drink its water. The Lord said to Moses, Tell Aaron,
Take your staff and stretch out your hand over the waters of Egypt, over the streams and canals,
over the ponds and all the reservoirs, and they will turn to blood. Blood will be everywhere in
Egypt, even in vessels of wood and stone. Moses and Aaron did just as the Lord had commanded.
He raised his staff in the presence of Pharaoh and his officials and struck the water of the Nile,
and all the water was changed into blood. The fish in the Nile died, and the river smelled so bad that
the Egyptians could not drink its water. Blood was everywhere in Egypt. But the Egyptian magicians did
the same things by their secret arts, and Pharaoh's heart became hard. He would not listen to Moses and
Aaron, just as the Lord had said. Instead, he turned and went into his palace and did not take even this
to heart. And all the Egyptians dug along the Nile to get drinking water, because they could not drink
the water of the river. Seven days passed after the Lord struck the Nile. Amen. This is God's word for us
this morning, this evening. Okay, let's pick it up. So, I guess most of us will maybe have spotted with
different degrees of interest that the date for the king's coronation is now in May the 6th. Perhaps
is already marked in some people's calendars. For others, maybe all we hope for it is that we might
get another public holiday. And do you know when it comes to this king's coronation? That's okay.
We can have different opinions about that. But our response to the king of kings, the king who we're
presented with in the book of Exodus, this matters in a life and death way. So, Exodus and its missionary
aim, God has been saying in so many ways, I am the Lord. And here is what I am like. He's been saying
that for the benefit of Israel. He's been saying it for the benefit of Egypt and for the nations.
And one way that we're seeing this theme emerge is through two characters and two questions that
have been asked. So, obviously, one of the main characters in the book of Exodus is Moses. Moses,
who was called by God to be the deliverer of his people. And Moses, in chapter 3, we see him asking
the question a number of times. He wants to know exactly who the Lord is. You can see that, for example,
in chapter 3, verse 13. He has faith, but he's seeking understanding. He wants to be able to communicate
who is God to the rest of the Israelites. But there's been another character asking another
question in a very different tone. So, chapter 5, verse 2, we have Pharaoh, 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.
Here's a question based on defiance. I refuse to acknowledge the authority of this king.
Okay. So, chapter 7 is going to help us to answer these two vital questions. Who is God? And that's
going to take up most of our time. But then, really importantly, how do I respond? And we're going to
see how Moses and Pharaoh are so very, very different. And it invites us to reflect on our
own response to God. So, let's begin asking the question, who is the Lord as we find him revealed in
chapter 7 of the book of Exodus. And there are at least four truths that we can identify. Let's begin
by thinking about God's mighty hand. That's the language of verses 4 and 5, especially verse 4,
I will lay my hand on Egypt. End of verse 5, when I stretch out my hand against Egypt and bring the
Israelites out of it. So, this strong hand, mighty hand of God used in two ways. One, against Pharaoh.
And if you look at the verses, there's the language that's inviting us to think here is God as commander.
He's leading Israel as army divisions out of Egypt in victory. Of course, it's God alone who has
powerfully saved. Israel simply has to stand and watch. But this mighty acts of judgment that God
brings on Egypt are intended to be proof to Pharaoh and to Egypt that the Lord, he is God. The one that
Pharaoh is fighting against is the one true God. But the same hand that's against Pharaoh and Egypt
is the same hand that is working for Israel, working to shelter Israel, working to save and to guide.
Like a father taking a child by the hand to guide his child out of danger. And this act of deliverance
by God's mighty hand, too, stands as proof of who God is, both to Egypt and to Israel. So, the mighty hand of
God is really significant for knowing our God. So, do we see the mighty hand of God? Where do we see the
mighty hand of God? Perhaps we can begin by thinking about what we sometimes call common grace. Do we
recognize every good thing that we enjoy comes from the hand of God? Do we recognize every experience of
God's mercy? It's very easy for us to walk through life not thinking about where all these good things, where God's
mercy comes from. There's an evangelist in the States called Randy Newman, and he writes about an apologetic of joy,
by which he means one way into fruitful conversations with our non-Christian friends and family members might be
to show how we have learned to show how we have learned to see God in the good things, in the simple everyday
things of life, to show that God is part of everyday life. Do we see God's mighty hand in his common grace?
Do we see God's mighty hand in his acts of providence? Do we have that understanding that all the events of
history, all the circumstances in the story of our lives are in God's hands? With the hymn writer, can we be glad
that our times are in God's hands? Because when we know that God is powerful and God is good,
that God is in control and he is for his people, then there's something profoundly comforting,
an invitation to trust. And then do we see God's mighty hand in his acts of salvation?
Think about the Lord Jesus as he's presented in John's Gospel. John speaks about the signs of Jesus,
those miracles as signposts to the identity of Jesus that we might know that Jesus is the Son of God and
the Savior of the world. When we look at the cross, do we see that mighty act of God?
As he pours out judgment on his Son instead of it falling on his own people. As he gives salvation
by grace, as he makes a way for our sins to be forgiven. And then do we recognize in that great sign,
the resurrection, that promise that sin and death has been defeated, that victory has been secured,
that eternity is guaranteed for the people of God. So as we learn to see the mighty acts of God in our
lives, there is a call constantly to believe and to worship and to have thankfulness.
So that's one way we're invited to know our God. Secondly, we can see in this chapter much that speaks of
God's total supremacy. God is in absolute charge. So one of the big themes in Exodus is this conflict
theme, at least for the first 15 chapters. And the plagues, which begin here in chapter 7,
come as a demonstration that I am a Lord and there is no other, there is no God besides me.
Pharaoh was fighting against that. Pharaoh presumed the false gods of Egypt were equal to the God of
Israel. And so chapter 7 and God's acts here show otherwise. Firstly, we see in verse 3 that God is
supreme over people. We see it there when it says, but I will harden Pharaoh's heart. Pharaoh, the most
powerful man of his day, but the Lord is in control. And we're going to think about the hardening of
Pharaoh's heart in a moment. But just to recognize that the Lord rules over the most powerful king
on the planet. And that's still the case. And also God announces that he will bring his people out. He is
supreme over his own people. The Lord rules over kings. The Lord rules over nations.
We're also invited to remember that God is supreme over creation. All of the plagues are a reminder
that God is the creator. God is at work. Verses 19 and 20. You can turn there and you can see that
quite clearly. So here we have the river Nile, the mighty river Nile, the source of life for Egypt.
Irrigation was there. Trade happened there. Wealth was tied up with the river Nile. But also remember
that it was Pharaoh who issued the decree that little baby boys should be drowned in the river Nile.
The place of life in Pharaoh's eyes was to become a place of death. And what does God do?
God issues judgment, turns the place of life into the place of death. And it becomes really clear
that it's God's own hand that's working this act of judgment, this plague.
Verse 20. It's as Aaron raises his staff and strikes the Nile. Instantly it's changed into blood.
Now some people perhaps try and reason it away and say, well perhaps further upstream there was some
sort of red clay or soil that kind of came into the water system and made its way down.
And so Moses, just in case we're thinking that, includes in verse, end of verse 19,
blood will be everywhere, even in vessels of wood and stone. This is not a naturally occurring
incident. This is the Lord who created, it's the Lord who is commanding.
And we also are invited to remember, and again this has very much to do with the plagues,
that the Lord is supreme over the false gods, over the false gods of Egypt. Verse 10 to 12.
And we're back with the snakes and the significance of the snakes. So remember,
Pharaoh had the cobra crown. His rule was very much associated with his claim to be godlike.
Well here there is this action that happens in the palace. And what do we see? We see a battle
between two powers. Incidentally, the word for snake, so when Moses performed this miracle the
first time for the people of God, it was like the regular word for a snake. But this word for a
snake is more similar to the word for a dragon. So we're not invited to think of just a small snake,
maybe like a grass snake or a corn snake. We're invited to think of one of those huge snakes,
like anaconda, boa constrictor, some kind of king cobra going on here. Because this is warfare
between Pharaoh and between God. And in this contest, what happens? Aaron's staff becomes a snake,
so do Pharaoh's magician's staffs, but of course Aaron's staff swallowed theirs up. There is no contest
because God has no rivals. God is supreme. Abraham Kuyper, the Dutch theologian, once said,
there is no square inch of all creation over which God does not say mine. We see it here in Exodus 7.
But we also need to recognize that that includes our hearts and includes your life and includes my life.
And it is so important for us to recognize the supremacy of God, the uniqueness of our God,
the one who says, I am the Lord. So important for us to recognize the uniqueness of Jesus who said,
I am, I am God, I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
We need to come to that point of recognizing no other God can save us.
And amazingly, no other God came to save us other than the God who is revealed in the Bible.
What else can we say about the Lord from Exodus chapter 7? We recognize one of his great goals
in the Exodus is to restore relationship. So look with me at verse 16. This is what they are to say
to Pharaoh. The Lord, the God of the Hebrews has sent me to say to you, let my people go so that they
may worship me in the wilderness. Okay, so we're in the book of Exodus at the moment. The book before
this is the book of Genesis, both books written by Moses. The book of Genesis, and especially the
first 11 chapters, one of the things that we see over and over again is what we could call the spreading
disease of sin. I actually ended up thinking about maybe you saw at the beginning of COVID.
Do you remember those warning videos that were all over the internet, those sort of experiments where
somebody would have, I can't remember what kind of chemical it was, and then they'd be put in a room
and they'd be touching the light switch and going to pick up a sandwich. They'd be opening the door and
then you put the UV light on and you would see the fingerprints everywhere. And it was supposed to
remind us germs from hands spread. The infection moves everywhere. That's the point of the book of
Genesis. First 11 chapters. We see sin spread from Adam and Eve to their children, then to the whole
human race. Except in God's mercy, he calls Moses. He doesn't call Moses, he calls Noah and he calls
Abraham. Well, we come to Exodus and we need to remember it's still within that context.
This is the reality of life during the Exodus. We are seeing in the chapters before us sinful
rebellion taking place, most notably from Pharaoh and from Egypt. We see also that sin separates,
and we discover that the sadness, the tragedy that the covenant people of God don't seem to know their
God. We meet Pharaoh who has no desire and no will to worship God because of sin.
And we're invited to go further still and to recognize it as a picture of every human heart,
to understand the spreading disease of sin in our separation from God, in our stubbornness,
in our self-worship as we turn in rather than turn up. And then we hear God's grace in verse
16. God's grace in bringing freedom. And why does he bring freedom? We've said it before. He's
bringing freedom not so they could enjoy a political liberation. They're enjoying freedom to become his
people. They're going to experience freedom so they can know their God, so that they can worship the one
true God, so they can be restored to life as it was meant to be. We were made to worship. We
were made to know and to enjoy God. It's the power of the redemption theme that we find in the gospel.
We've been thinking about it so much on our Sunday mornings. The Lord Jesus, by taking on human flesh,
by meeting the law's demands and perfectly obeying where we disobey, and then taking the penalty as a
lawbreaker in our place, by his living as the true and better Adam, always obedient, always seeking the
Father's will, by his dying as a substitute, giving his life as a sacrifice, what has he done? He has
secured spiritual freedom for his people that we might know and enjoy him. Sometimes it's good for us to stop
and to reflect. I found myself doing that this week. That we can worship in freedom is a massive privilege.
We think about the persecuted church around the world.
So many tens of millions of believers living in fear that the next time they go to a place to worship could be the last time.
So we should never take our freedom to worship for granted. That we have heard the truth of the gospel
is an incredible act of God's mercy. There are billions of people described as unreached today
who have never heard the good news of the Lord Jesus, who live in nations or tribes or communities
where the message of Jesus has not got until this point. And so we are invited to treasure it
and to do what we can to see it spread. That in Christ Jesus we are invited to freedom.
That's amazing grace.
Let's not fight that. Let's not ignore that. Let's not be complacent about that, but rather
that we would come gladly to acknowledge Jesus as the only Redeemer. The only Redeemer we need.
Another thing that we see about the Lord here in these verses is that he is a God of judgment and mercy.
And here we're back in verses 17 to 19. Again, if we pan back a little, we know that God is a holy God.
The Bible is really clear on that. And he says, be holy because I am holy.
And so we know that God hates sin.
And so we know that God hates the oppression that's going on in Egypt.
He hates the murder of the innocents that Pharaoh has sought to bring about.
He hates the injustice and the willful rejection of his name and his glory.
And so as we come to begin looking at the plagues, we can see them as a pattern.
You know, the Bible talks about the wages of sin being death.
And these first nine plagues stand for us as a picture of the misery of life in a fallen world
and life under the judgment of God leading up to plague 10, the plague of death.
And so the book of Exodus reminds us that God is the judge of all the earth and God will do what is right.
But God also shows mercy.
God extends the invitation to mercy even to Pharaoh and to Egypt.
So there's a pattern with the plagues.
Sometimes we can overlook it.
Do the plagues just happen?
So this first plague where the Nile turns to blood.
Are the people just down there one day and they're collecting the water to drink
and they're going down there to bathe and then all of a sudden without any warning,
the nice clear water has turned blood red?
No.
They are given a fair warning.
They are told.
So Moses through Aaron delivers the message of God.
This is what will happen.
They have an opportunity to listen.
Pharaoh has the chance to do the right thing
and to let God's people go.
God is not unjust.
Rather like a parent or a teacher
issuing a warning to a child,
there is built within that the chance to change,
the chance to escape those consequences.
So there is mercy.
And we'll see later on in the plagues
that some of the people do listen
and they find mercy where others don't listen.
They experience judgment.
But there's absolutely mercy for Israel, isn't there?
There is mercy for Israel
in that they are spared,
they are saved,
they are taken out to enjoy
covenant relationship with their God.
There is judgment and there is mercy
from the hand of God.
The Bible tells us
of God's eternal plan of salvation.
Such a mystery to that.
We're told that the Father and the Son and the Spirit
established the plan of salvation
before the world was ever made.
Sometimes it's called the covenant of redemption.
And in that covenant of redemption,
God by His grace freely chooses
to save some guilty sinners
by sending His Son, the Lord Jesus,
and by sending the Spirit
so that some will respond in faith.
And then in the fullness of God's timing,
the Son of God came into the world
and He was made subject to the law.
And He paid the ransom price for sin
and for sinners on the cross.
And He rose again in victory
and vindication.
So that,
by faith in Christ Jesus,
there will be no judgment on us
for our sin.
There is therefore no condemnation
for those who are in Christ.
Instead,
trusting in Jesus,
we experience God's mercy,
the mercy of being reconciled to God,
the mercy of being adopted
into the family of God,
the mercy of being established
in this covenant relationship with God.
And so,
Jesus speaks in the Gospel
and He says,
come to Me.
Trust in Me
as Lord
and as Savior.
So this is the Lord.
This is the Lord
of the mighty hand.
This is the Lord
who is supreme over all.
The Lord who restores relationship.
The Lord of judgment and mercy.
This is the Lord.
Now, the question is,
how do you and I respond
to the Lord?
To think about chapters 5 to 7
together for a moment,
we can think about them
as a crossroads moment.
We know what we mean
when we talk about
a moment of crossroads,
you know,
for driving.
There's two roads
and we have to make a decision
and the decision that we make
will set the direction
for the rest of the journey.
Well, for Moses and Pharaoh,
rather,
they find themselves
at a crossroads.
There is a point of decision
for them
as to how they will respond
to God.
And we will see
two very different responses.
Today,
for us,
whenever we hear God's Word,
whenever we hear the Gospel,
we find ourselves again
at a crossroads.
Am I going to obey
or to disobey
what I hear today?
Am I going to trust
or am I going to doubt
God's promise today?
Am I going to receive
or am I going to reject
Jesus the Savior today?
There are crossroads moments
every time
we read and we hear
God's Word.
So let's consider
what happens with Pharaoh
and with Moses
so that we might learn
from them.
First of all,
let's think about
stubborn,
hard-hearted Pharaoh.
And we're invited
to think of him that way
because it's a recurring theme
in chapter 7.
Verse 3,
I will harden
Pharaoh's heart.
Verse 13,
Pharaoh's heart
became hard.
Verse 22,
Pharaoh's heart
became hard.
Verse 23,
he did not even
take this
to heart.
I read a study
this week
looking at
the power
of choices
and the way
that choices
made repeatedly
at a certain point
create fixed habits
and can even
create addictions.
So the study
was all focused
on our phones.
apparently the average
phone user
is making
2,000 touches
to their phone
every day.
And so this study
was saying
it's little wonder
then
that we find
our eyes
and our minds
being drawn
towards our phone.
They take
our attention
and they can set
our behavior.
Choices
can create
fixed habits.
That study
was saying,
well,
what do we see
in Pharaoh?
We see
a fixed
choice
from him
to say
no to God
at every point.
In verse 3,
he is stubborn
and hard-hearted
towards
God's
words.
And we're told
that again
in verse 14.
Having seen
God's greater
glory
with the snakes
at the palace,
he is hard-hearted
towards God's
power and God's
rule.
And even
as the first
plague appears
with its threat
of judgment,
Pharaoh hardens
his heart
to that
also.
Pharaoh
wants to
enter into
war with God.
Even as it
becomes clear
to everyone
around him
this is a battle
he cannot win.
the story
of Pharaoh's
hard heart
is told
from two
different
points of
view.
And I think
it's helpful
for us to
recognize that.
So let's just
think about that
just very briefly.
The Bible
absolutely
presents
Pharaoh
as someone
who is
making
his own
moral
choices.
He is
freely,
deliberately
choosing
to say
no to
God,
to turn
his back
on God,
and he
has been
acting
deliberately
to try
and destroy
and make
life
miserable
for the
people of
God.
But we
also
are invited
to see
it from
the Lord's
point of
view.
And what
we discover
there,
verse 3,
the Lord
hardened
Pharaoh's
heart,
we are
invited
to
recognize
the Lord
is the
moral
ruler
over
Pharaoh,
over
everybody.
And so
the Lord
has a
right to
pass
judgment
on
Pharaoh.
The Lord
in his
wisdom
decides
when Pharaoh
reaches the
point of
no return,
when his
rejection of
God has
become a
fixed habit,
and so
what the
Lord does
is to
give him
up to
his
desire.
And what
will become
clear for
us as
the chapters
go on
is that
one reason
behind that
is so
that God's
glory will
be seen
all the
more
clearly.
God
could have
acted
instantly
to
transform
Pharaoh's
heart,
could have
acted
with such
force
that
Pharaoh
would
instantly
have let
the people
go,
but by
God's
design,
he was
giving a
repeated
lesson
to Israel
and to
Egypt,
I am
the Lord
and there
is no
other.
And so
there is a
hardening
towards that
end.
God
asked
Moses
to
write
three
times
about
Pharaoh's
hard
heart.
Surely
as a
warning,
perhaps to
himself,
absolutely to
the people
of Israel,
remember
Pharaoh,
remember what
happens if
you harden
your heart
to God.
Also,
it's included
for us,
isn't it?
Don't
harden our
hearts to
the biblical
warnings that
we find
throughout
Scripture.
The warning
that sin
is real
and judgment
is real,
that eternal
punishment in
hell is
real,
that we
cannot presume
on the
mercy of
God,
and we
shouldn't
harden our
hearts to
our God
and our
Saviour.
The Puritans
used to
say that
the same
sun that
melts the
ice,
also
hardens the
clay.
Every time
we hear
the Word
of God,
some
people's
hearts are
made soft,
and some
people's
hearts are
hardened.
We're being
invited to
see from
the example
of Pharaoh,
don't resist
God's Son,
don't resist
the light
and the
life that
he brings.
Rather,
that we
would be
like obedient
Moses.
He's like
the flip
side,
he's the
picture of
the soft
heart.
So since
chapter 3,
if you've
been with
us,
we've seen
the Lord
has been
calling
Moses,
he's been
revealing more
of himself
to Moses,
he's been
making promises
and issuing
commands,
and Moses
up until this
point,
we've seen
him feel
of self-doubt,
we've seen
him aware
of his own
failures,
we've seen
some of his
fears come
out,
but Moses
has reached
a crossroads
as well.
Very simple
verse,
7 verse
6,
Moses and
Aaron
did just
as the
Lord
commanded
them.
And Moses
from this
point,
this is what
we'll see.
We're going
to see him
walk with
God in
faith and
obedience.
We're going
to see a
newfound
confidence in
the Lord.
We're going
to see that
he's confident
that he has
God's word.
Now,
his identity
isn't all
about himself.
Oh,
I failed in
the past,
oh,
I feel so
terrible,
I'm a
nobody.
Now his
identity is
rooted in
God.
He knows
he's sent
by God,
he knows
he's come
to speak
God's
words,
he's going
to do
what God
says and
God's
going to
be with
him.
So he
becomes
this model
of faith
and
obedience
and he
becomes a
model of
faith and
obedience
for us
as well.
That we
are invited
also to
trust the
promises that
we find
in the
Bible,
to trust
the promise
of a
Lord who
saves,
of a
Lord who
watches over
his people,
a Lord who
promises to
be with
us,
who promises
to supply
all we
need,
who will
continue what
he started
in his work
of salvation,
who will
help us in
times of
trial and
temptation.
So as we
find ourselves
today,
under the
word of
God,
a cross
road in
our lives,
what path
will we
choose?
Let's
choose the
path that
Moses chose.
Choose the
path of
faith and
obedience.
Let's
choose to
follow the
Lord.
Let's pray
together.
Lord, we
thank you
that you
are a
God who
reveals
yourself to
us in
your word
in so
many
different
ways,
to
encourage
us towards
faith and
obedience.
Lord, we
recognise so
much of
ourselves,
love and
you
get
on to
what
do
on to
icio
things.
Hold on,
walk one along.
Eastern
Highway
forward, we
smash one of ce
hard, have
worked ahead of
someone who
will
come to
his
heart down,
emon treasury
and
faith and
шь across
believe oh,
you
know,
his
life is
amazing,
that he
ok?