Lesson #09

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Exodus

September 21, 2015

Lesson #01

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Lesson #02

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RETURN TO SYLLABUS

EXODUS 9
Lesson #09
SCRIPTURE’S BASIC THEMES CONCERNING GOD

• Memory Verse Exo 9:16

• In our study of the book of Exodus, we are in the middle of the ten plagues. These are God’s pressures on Moses and on the Pharaoh to let the Israelites go free into the wilderness.
  • To this point God had been speaking to Moses to use Aaron. However, with the plague of the flies, things change. God begins gradually to use only Moses. (Exo 8:20)
    • Exo 7:19 “And the LORD spake unto Moses, Say unto Aaron,…”
    • Exo 8:5 “And the LORD spake unto Moses, Say unto Aaron,…”
    • Exo 8:16 “And the LORD said unto Moses, Say unto Aaron,…”
    • Exo 8:20 “And the LORD said unto Moses, Rise up early in the morning, and stand before Pharaoh…”
      • Why the change?
        • God had been healing Moses’ personality and hesitation through a series of tests. Little by little Moses was becoming what God originally intended when he first called Moses to be a leader. We will see that God sometimes uses Aaron, but the burden is shifting primarily to Moses.
  • To this point Pharaoh has been hardening his heart continually. Beginning in Exo 9, we will see God begin to harden Pharaoh’s heart.
  • To this point we have learned that the plagues are intricately related to the gods that the Egyptian people worshipped. Therefore, behind the scenes is a battle between the God, Jehovah and the pagan gods of Egypt.
    • This battle continues in Exo 9.

 

• Read Exo 9:1-7

 

• Plague #5 The Plague on Domestic Animals

 

• A warning of the plague:
  • Similar to many of the previous plagues a conditional warning is given to Pharaoh that if he does not let the Israelites go, this plague will come upon the Egyptians.
    • Our merciful God always gives warning of coming judgment. Only the wise will hear.
• The animals mentioned in the Bible are cattle, horses, donkeys, camels, oxen, and sheep.(3)
  • The economic extent of this plague was tremendous:
    • Oxen were used heavily in agriculture.
    • Camels and horses were used for transportation.
    • Cattle were widely used for a variety of products. Even the Pharaoh had large herds of cattle (Gen 47:6,17).
• The plague is called “a murrain”. (3) What exactly is that?
  • It is an infectious disease that occurs among domesticated animals, especially cattle that frequently leads to death.
    • While the Biblical text is not specific enough to identify this illness, there is a high probability that it was anthrax.
• God’s judgment on the Egyptian gods through this plague

 

• Hathor

 

, the goddess of love, beauty, and joy. The image of this goddess had the head of a cow. This goddess is often seen as suckling the king to give him nourishment.
• The Apis Bull and the god Ptah:
  • Various varieties of cows and bulls were considered sacred and worthy of worship.
  • The god Ptah kept in his presence an Apis Bull. When that bull died, another bull was chosen to replace it. Therefore, there was always a sacred Apis Bull associated with the god Ptah.
    • There was a sacred standard of 28 characteristics that a bull must pass in order to be chosen as the Apis Bull and recognized as deity. Many sacred Apis Bulls have been found buried in the tombs of Egypt.
    • The son of a Pharaoh was the high priest of the Apis Bull.
  • There was the continual sacrifice of heifer cows that were sacrificed in worship of the Apis Bull.
  • When Aaron and the people of Israel made an image of a golden cow for worship, it was an image of the Apis Bull.
• Mnevis, a sacred bull associated with the god Ra.
• Notice that with this plague, the pressure is getting stronger on the common people of Egypt, for it now affects their means of making a living.
  • Why would God put pressure on the common people when it is Pharaoh that has the final authority?
    • The answer to this question lies in two coordinating spiritual principles found throughout the Bible and put together in Rom 13:1-7.
      • Read Rom 13:1-6
        • Principle #1

        : God places people in leadership in His timing. ( Rom 13:1)(We were introduced to this principle in Lesson #06.)

        • Because God is sovereign and retains ultimate control, He is the one who raises up leaders and puts down leaders. (1Kin 14:14 Isa 8:7-10,12)
        • Principle #2

        : Man bears some accountability for the government over him. (Rom 13:4b)

      • The answer to the question of God’s pressure on the common people:
        • Because the common people bear some accountability before God for the type of government they have over them, God will put the kind of leaders over them that they deserve. Therefore, generally speaking, in a sense leaders govern by the common consent of the people and by what God thinks the people deserve. (Pro 29:2)
        • When leaders lose the common consent of the people, there is rebellion and war.

 

• “…and all the cattle of Egypt died…”

 

(6)
• If all the cattle died in verse 6, then how could there have been any left alive to gather together in their houses in verse 19?
  • This is a question frequently asked concerning this chapter in Exodus.
  • The problem occurs with the use of the word, “all”.
    • Sometimes this word is used in the Hebrew test to refer explicitly to the total number, and sometimes the word is used in the popular sense as to refer to a large amount but not exclusively to the total number. It is the popular sense of the word that is meant here in Exo 9.
  • In other words, all the animals that were in the fields died of this plague, but those animals that were in barns and stables survived.
• How can a loving God discriminate between people when Rom 2:11 says, “For there is no respect of persons with God.”?
  • God specifically says He will make a difference between the Israelites and the Egyptians. Both of these groups of people, for the most part, were non-believers.
    • A study of the book of Numbers indicates the high level of unbelief among the Israelites, and because of that, they wandered in the wilderness for 40 years.
      • However, God’s plan was to use the Jews as a model for the rest of the world. God chose them to be a model not because of their great character.
      • God chose them so He would get the glory through them.
      • Because of God’s sovereign choice, He makes a difference between them and the Egyptians. In this way, God would get the glory. (1Cor 1:27)
  • The verse in Rom 2:11 means that God will accept all who come to repentance and turn to Him in faith. It does not matter if the person in black or white, tall or short, rich or poor, educated or uneducated, etc.

 

• Read Exo 9:8-12

 

• Plague #6 The Plague of Boils

 

• Now the pressure from God comes closer to man, for this plague is upon man and animals.
• God’s judgment on the gods of Egypt and their religious priests:

 

• “And the magicians could not stand before Moses because of the boils…”

 

(11)
• The priests were to be meticulously clean. Therefore all religious services in worship of all the gods of Egypt ceased.

 

• Sekhmet

 

, the goddess with a lions head, was supposed to have the power of creating epidemics and causing them to stop.
• There was a special priesthood dedicated to Sekhmet. This priesthood was called Sunu.

 

• Isis

 

was the goddess of healing. She was the mythical sister and wife of the god

Osiris

and the mother of the god

Horus

.

 

• Serapis

 

was a deity in charge of healing.

 

• Imhotep

 

was the god of medicine.
• This plague was initiated unexpectedly by using ashes from a furnace.
  • The furnace may have been one used by the Israelites to make the bricks for construction.
• With this plague, there is a major criticism of God that comes from secular people.
  • How do you explain this plague in light of Jam 1:17 that says, “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.” And in light of 1Joh 4:16 that says, “And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him.”?
    • People talk about a loving God without fully understanding the full nature of God. Yes, God is love as the above scripture tells us. And in His love he gives gifts and blessings to man. Jam 1:17 tells us that of the gifts that are good and perfect, they all come from God. However, God also sends judgment and punishment. God’s nature is perfectly balanced in justice between love and judgment. These plagues are God’s judgment, while God’s protection of the Israelites is God’s merciful love.
• It is interesting that these plagues specifically remind us of the judgments in the book of Revelation and most specifically this plague of boils is similar to the boils that will dome upon the people in the tribulation period that take the mark of the beast (the antichrist). (Rev 16:1-6)

 

• Read Exo 9:13-17

 

• “…I will at this time send all my plagues upon thine heart, and upon thy servants, and upon thy people…”

 

(14)
• God tells Pharaoh through Moses that He will not stop the series of plagues for two reasons:
  • Until Pharaoh gives God what He wants.
  • Until Pharaoh recognizes that there is no God like Jehovah. (14)
• There is a prophecy given that the plagues will end in the death of this Pharaoh.

 

• “…thou shalt be cut off from the earth.”

 

(15)
• God’s amazing declaration:

 

• “…for this cause have I raised thee up, for to show in thee my power…”

 

(16)
• This is an amazing statement that shows us God’s sovereignty and power to raise up leaders, specifically this Pharaoh, and to put them down according to His plan and purpose. The stronger the enemy displays his power, the more God will demonstrate His greater power.
• Sometimes God even uses non-believers for His purposes.
  • We see in this God’s universal sovereignty balanced against man’s ultimate accountability before God for his own personal decisions.

 

• Read Exo 9:18-35

 

• Plague #7 Hail and Fire

 

• This plague was directed against man, animals, and plants.
• Egypt has less than an inch of rain a year. Therefore, hail is rare. This fact makes it a miracle, as well as the description of fire running along the ground destroying crops.
  • The crops destroyed were flax and barley which tells us this event occurred in late January or early February.
• The warning:
  • The warning is not just given to Pharaoh, but to the common people. The common people have experienced some of God’s judgment through the previous plagues. Now they must make a personal decision and choose to be for Jehovah or against Him.
    • The choice is the same today. Man must choose by personal decision either to be for God or against God.
      • In the presence of God is protection against the wrath of God.
        • This concept is a prefigure of the last plague where those in the house are protected from the wrath of God.
  • With the warning is given the purpose for this plague:
    • This plague would reveal that our God, Jehovah is a unique God. (14)
    • This plague would reveal the power of Jehovah so the rest of the world would hear about the name of Jehovah. (16)
      • Even though the Egyptians did not record the events of the plagues in their history, Jos 9:9 tells us that word of God’s power in Egypt spread to distant areas.
• God’s judgment on the gods of Egypt:
  • The goddess Set was the goddess of the sky with an over-sized hand.

 

• Isis

 

was one of the major goddesses of Egypt. She is depicted as an image with the head of a cow.

Isis

is the goddess of the air.
• How do we account for the fact that the plagues continued even though Pharaoh confessed his sin and recognized God in verse 27?
  • Pharaoh said, “,,,I have sinned this time: the LORD is righteous, and I and my people are wicked.” (27)
    • Pharaoh has the right words, but obviously he did not have the right heart attitude.

 

• “…he sinned yet more, and hardened his heart, he and his servants…”

 

(34)
• God knows the heart, for man’s words are often deceitful.
  • Read Rom 10:10
    • When the heart is right, the right words will follow.
• This plague, also, reminds us of plagues in the tribulation period that we see in the book of Revelation.
  • Read Rev 16:21

 

• Application:
• Some basic themes through the Bible about God come to the surface in this chapter. Those themes are:
  • God’s sovereignty

  and God’s election contrasted with Man’s accountability because of free will

  • God’s merciful love

  contrasted with God’s just judgment.

• A balance of all of these concepts is essential in understanding God. These concepts are perfectly balanced between the Old Testament and the New Testament.

HOMEWORK
EXODUS 10
This is a self-study. Please do not send homework answers to the teacher forcorrection.

• Application of Exo 9
  • ?Which areas of the basic character of God do you have the most problems balancing:
    • God’s sovereignty and God’s election?

 

• Man’s accountability and Man’s free will?

 

• Preparation of Exo 10
• Read Exo 10:1-11
  • What compromise do you see to God’s plan in the words of Pharaoh’s servants in verse 7

 

• What would be the results of this compromise if Moses agreed to it?

 

• Read Exo 10:12-20
• Of what significance do you think there is to the East wind? (13)

 

• Read Exo 10:21-29
• Of what significance is the darkness and the three days in verse 22?

 

• Memory verse: Proverbs 29:23