GLEANINGS IN EXODUS

LESSON 8

THE SECOND, THIRD, AND FOURTH PLAGUES

Exodus 8:1-32

—by E. L. Bynum

We are condensing A. W. Pink’s suggested seven-fold purpose for the plagues upon Egypt. (1) They gave a public manifestation of the mighty power of God, Exodus 9:16, “And in very deed for this cause have I raised thee up, for to shew in thee my power; and that my name may be declared throughout all the earth.” Exodus 8:19, “Then the magicians said unto Pharaoh, This is the finger of God: and Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, and he hearkened not unto them; as the LORD had said.

(2) They were a Divine visitation of wrath, a punishment for Pharaoh and the Egyptians, Exodus 10:16, “Then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron in haste; and he said, I have sinned against the LORD your God, and against you.”

(3) They were a judgment from God upon the gods (demons) of Egypt, Numbers 33:4, “For the Egyptians buried all their firstborn, which the LORD had smitten among them: upon their gods also the LORD executed judgments.”

(4) They demonstrated that Jehovah was high above all gods, Exodus 18:11, “Now I know that the LORD is greater than all gods: for in the thing wherein they dealt proudly he was above them.”

(5) They furnished a complete testing of human responsibility. (This is the meaning of the number ten; compare the ten commandments).

(6) They were a warning to the other nations, that God would curse those who cursed the Israelites, Genesis 12:3, “And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.” Joshua 2:8-9, “And before they were laid down, she came up unto them upon the roof; 9 And she said unto the men, I know that the LORD hath given you the land, and that your terror is fallen upon us, and that all the inhabitants of the land faint because of you.”

1 Samuel 4:8, “Woe unto us! who shall deliver us out of the hand of these mighty Gods? these are the Gods that smote the Egyptians with all the plagues in the wilderness.”

(7) These plagues were designed as a series of testings for Israel, Deuteronomy 4:33-34, “Did ever people hear the voice of God speaking out of the midst of the fire, as thou hast heard, and live? 34 Or hath God assayed to go and take him a nation from the midst of another nation, by temptations, by signs, and by wonders, and by war, and by a mighty hand, and by a stretched out arm, and by great terrors, according to all that the LORD your God did for you in Egypt before your eyes?” Exodus 15:11, Who is like unto thee, O LORD, among the gods? who is like thee, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders?”

I. THE SECOND PLAGUE FROGS vv. 1-15

A. The Demand and the Plague of Frogs Announced, vv. 1-4.

1. God’s demand and the reason for it, v. 1; Exodus 3:12, “And he said, Certainly I will be with thee; and this shall be a token unto thee, that I have sent thee: When thou hast brought forth the people out of Egypt, ye shall serve God upon this mountain.”

2. The land was to be smitten with frogs, v. 2; Psalms 105:30, “Their land brought forth frogs in abundance, in the chambers of their kings.”

a. Frogs were SACRED to the Egyptians. One of their deities was “HEKA” or “HEGET,” was a frog-headed goddess. She was the goddess of resurrection, fertility, and childbirth.

b. They COULD NOT KILL these sacred FROGS, for this was not allowed under their religious system.

c. The frogs would come out of the Nile, which would be ANOTHER BLOW at their RELIGION, since they worshiped it.

d. Frogs are SYMBOLS of UNCLEANNESS and of EVIL, Revelation 16:13, “And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet.”

3. The frogs would DISRUPT and CORRUPT every aspect of life, Psalm 105:30, “Their land brought forth frogs in abundance, in the chambers of their kings.”

B. The Plague Executed, vv. 5-7.

1. The command given, v. 5.

2. The command obeyed, v. 6.

3. The magicians also bring up frogs, v. 7. What a joke on the devil’s crowd! They already had too many frogs. What was needed, was to get rid of the frogs.

C. Pharaoh’s Request and the Frogs Removed, vv. 8-15.

1. Pharaoh’s request and his promise, v. 8.

2. Moses agrees to his request, v. 9; Isaiah 10:15, “Shall the axe boast itself against him that heweth therewith? or shall the saw magnify itself against him that shaketh it? as if the rod should shake itself against them that lift it up, or as if the staff should lift up itself, as if it were no wood.”

3. The lesson for Pharaoh, vv. 10-11:

a. Pharaoh requested that the frogs be gone “Tomorrow,” v. 10; Proverbs 27:1, “Boast not thyself of to morrow; for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth.”

b. Pharaoh had DESPISED God’s GOODNESS to him, Romans 2:4-5, “Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance? But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God.”

c. He DID NOT REPENT unlike the King of Nineveh, Jonah 3:5-7, “So the people of Nineveh believed God, and proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them even to the least of them. For word came unto the king of Nineveh, and he arose from his throne, and he laid his robe from him, and covered him with sackcloth, and sat in ashes. And he caused it to be proclaimed and published through Nineveh by the decree of the king and his nobles, saying, Let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste any thing: let them not feed, nor drink water.”

4. Request made to God, v. 12.

Note: “And Moses cried unto the Lord.” Not for Pharaoh’s conversion; for he knew he was past cure; but for his deliverance from the present plague, that the power of God might be the more manifested, and the tyrant’s conscience the more convinced. —John Trapp’s Commentary.

The frogs DIE, v. 13.

Note: “The word for “villages” signifies “courts”, and may be so rendered here; and THE SENSE IS, that they not only died out of their dwelling houses, but out of their courtyards, and even out of their gardens, orchards, and fields, so that there were none near them to give any manner of trouble and offence. And their dying, and remaining DEAD upon the spot, were CLEAR PROOFS that they were REAL FROGS that were produced, and NOT IN APPEARANCE ONLY, as the frogs of the magicians might be.” —John Gill’s Expositor.

5. Heaps of STINKING frogs, v. 14.

Note: “The killing of the frogs was a mitigation [a LESSENING] of the punishment; but the LEAVING THEM TO ROT in the land was a CONTINUAL PROOF that such a plague had taken place, and that the DISPLEASURE of the Lord STILL CONTINUED.” —Adam Clarke’s Commentary.

6. Pharaoh REFUSES to keep his word, v. 15;

a. He DID NOT LEARN RIGHTEOUSNESS, Isaiah 26:10, “Let favour be shewed to the wicked, yet will he not learn righteousness: in the land of uprightness will he deal unjustly, and will not behold the majesty of the LORD.”

b. He had NO WISDOM, James 3:17, “But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy.”

c. He was a LIAR, James1:8, “A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.”

d. He was a STIFF-NECKED man, Proverbs 29:1, “He, that being often reproved hardeneth his neck, shall suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy.”

Note: Many people are NOT interested in repenting, but will PROMISE ANYTHING to try TO REMEDY the disaster. It may be the sickness of a baby or some other terrible thing, and they will promise the preacher and God anything. When the baby gets well, THEY FORGET ALL of their promises, and they continue to harden their hearts.” —E. L. Bynum.

e. He had NO INTEGRITY, Psalms 66:13-14, “I will go into thy house with burnt offerings: I will pay thee my vows, which my lips have uttered, and my mouth hath spoken, when I was in trouble.”

8. The meaning of the hardened heart, v. 15; Exodus 8:8: “Then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron, and said, Intreat the LORD, that he may take away the frogs from me, and from my people; and I will let the people go, that they may do sacrifice unto the LORD.”

a. When a person SEES THE HAND of God AT WORK and RESIST God’s WORD, THEN the heart is HARDENED. This happens to many people today, Psalms 95:8, “Harden not your heart, as in the provocation, and as in the day of temptation in the wilderness.”

b. Pharaoh continued to harden his heart UNTIL the very END, Exodus 14:5-9, 23, And it was told the king of Egypt that the people fled: and the heart of Pharaoh and of his servants was turned against the people, and they said, Why have we done this, that we have let Israel go from serving us? 6 And he made ready his chariot, and took his people with him: 7 And he took six hundred chosen chariots, and all the chariots of Egypt, and captains over every one of them. 8 And the LORD hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and he pursued after the children of Israel: and the children of Israel went out with an high hand. 9 But the Egyptians pursued after them, all the horses and chariots of Pharaoh, and his horsemen, and his army, and overtook them encamping by the sea, beside Pihahiroth, before Baalzephon. 23 And the Egyptians pursued, and went in after them to the midst of the sea, even all Pharaoh’s horses, his chariots, and his horsemen.”

II. THE THIRD PLAGUE: LICE vv. 16-19

A. The Divine Command for the Plague, vv. 16-17.

1. The rod was used, v. 16, “Stretch out thy rod.” This plague came without warning. “It was God’s judgment on Pharaoh for hardening his heart and breaking his promise and he was not given the option of avoiding it by submission to God’s will.” —Eclectic Notes on Exodus.

2. The lice came from the dust, v. 17.

Note: “The entomologists [study of insects] Kirby and Spence place these minute but disgusting insects in the very FRONT RANK of those which INFLICT INJURY upon man.”

a. The Egyptians were NOTED FOR CLEANLINESS, so this along with the other plagues would be a HORROR to them.

b. They came from the DUST, which is UNDER A CURSE, Genesis 3:17,19, “And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; 19 In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.”

c. This was a judgment against “SET,” the Egyptian god of the DESERT.

B. The Failure of the Magicians, vv. 18-19.

1. They tried but failed, v. 18. From this point forward the Egyptians wisely (magicians) WITHDREW from the contest. See the N.T. comment on two of these men, 2 Timothy 3:8, “Now as Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses, so do these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, reprobate concerning the faith.”

2. They RECOGNIZE the SOURCE of the plagues. v. 19.

a. This is the finger of God, Luke 11:20, “But if I with the finger of God cast out devils, no doubt the kingdom of God is come upon you.”

b. The magicians had DECEIVED EVEN PHARAOH with their demonic powers, but NOT THIS TIME.

Note: “Of God;” of that supreme God, whom both the Egyptians and other heathen idolaters acknowledged as superior to all men, and idols, and devils. This they said, lest they should be thought inferior to Moses and Aaron in magical art. But hereby they own the sovereign God to be on Israel’s side; and yet, like the devils, they proceed to fight against him. —Matthew Poole’s Commentary on the Bible.

3. Pharaoh’s heart is HARDENED, v. 19; Hebrews 10:31, “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.”

III. THE FOURTH PLAGUE: FLIES vv. 20-32.

A. The Demand and the Plague of FLIES Announced, vv. 20-23.

1. The DEMAND upon Pharaoh, v. 20.

2. The PROMISED PLAGUE on the Egyptians, v. 21; Psalms 78:45, “He sent divers sorts of flies among them, which devoured them; and frogs, which destroyed them.”

Note: “swarms [of flies] upon thee,” The beetle, or scarab, was sacred and regarded as the emblem of the Sun god. It was sculptured on monuments, painted on tombs, engraved on gems, worn round the neck as an amulet and honoured in ten thousand images. —Eclectic Notes on Exodus.

Isaiah 7:18, “And it shall come to pass in that day, that the LORD shall hiss for the fly that is in the uttermost part of the rivers of Egypt, and for the bee that is in the land of Assyria.”

This miracle was TO DESTROY THE FAITH of the Egyptians in BEELZEBUB “LORD OF THE FLY,” a god that was worshiped by the Egyptians.

3. Goshen to be SPARED, v. 22; Psalms 91:7, “A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee.”

4. The DIVISION [Heb. “Redemption” or Ransom] between GOD’S people and the DEVIL’S people, v. 23; Matthew 25:32, “And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats:”

Note: This reveals God’s love for His people, and His protection of them. It also teaches the DOCTRINE OF SEPARATION proclaimed by God, and which is badly needed in our day. —ELB.

B. The Plague Executed, v. 24.

1. God is long-suffering, but there comes A TIME WHEN HIS PATIENCE WEARS OUT, Psalms 8:25-26, “With the merciful thou wilt shew thyself merciful; with an upright man thou wilt shew thyself upright; With the pure thou wilt shew thyself pure; and with the froward thou wilt shew thyself froward.” [Froward = willfully contrary]

2. Walk CONTRARY to God and HE will walk contrary to you, Leviticus 26:23-24, “And if ye will not be reformed by me by these things, but will walk contrary unto me; 24 Then will I also walk contrary unto you, and will punish you yet seven times for your sins.”

3. Think about all of the GERMS, and DISEASES carried by these flies.

C. Pharaoh’s Compromise Rejected, vv. 25-29.

1. The COMPROMISE OFFERED – sacrifice in the land, v. 25. The devil is always opposed to separation.

a. The Devil is a MIXER but God is a SEPARATOR, 1 Corinthians 6:15-20, “Know ye not that your bodies are the members of Christ? shall I then take the members of Christ, and make them the members of an harlot? God forbid. What? know ye not that he which is joined to an harlot is one body? for two, saith he, shall be one flesh. But he that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit. Flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body; but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body. What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.”

b. Be NOT UNEQUALLY YOKED together with UNBELIEVERS, 2 Corinthians 6:14-18, “Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? 15 And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? 16 And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 17 Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, 18 And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.”

c. Keep yourself UNSPOTTED from the world, James 1:27, “Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.”

d. Friendship of the world is ENMITY with God, James 4:4, “Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the FRIENDSHIP of the world is ENMITY with God? WHOSOEVER therefore will be a FRIEND of the world is the ENEMY of God.”

2. Moses REFUSED the COMPROMISE and MAKES A DEMAND, vv.26-27.

a. It was NOT the will of God, v. 26; Romans 12:2, “And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”

b. It would be an abomination to the Egyptians because of the animals used for the sacrifice, v. 26; Exodus 8:26, “And Moses said, It is not meet so to do; for we shall sacrifice the abomination of the Egyptians to the LORD our God: lo, shall we sacrifice the abomination of the Egyptians before their eyes, and will they not stone us?”

c. Moses determines to go as ordered by the Lord, v. 27.

3. The second compromise offered – Don’t go very far, v. 28. During the plagues Pharaoh offered four compromises to Moses and Aaron.

a. GO sacrifice to your God, Exodus 8:25, “And Pharaoh called for Moses and for Aaron, and said, Go ye, sacrifice to your God in the land.”

b. You shall NOT GO very FAR away, Exodus 8:28, And Pharaoh said, I will let you go, that ye may sacrifice to the LORD your God in the wilderness; only ye shall not go very far away: intreat for me.

c. Only the MEN shall go, Exodus 10:7-11, “And Pharaoh’s servants said unto him, How long shall this man be a snare unto us? let the men go, that they may serve the LORD their God: knowest thou not yet that Egypt is destroyed? 8 And Moses and Aaron were brought again unto Pharaoh: and he said unto them, Go, serve the LORD your God: but who are they that shall go? 9 And Moses said, We will go with our young and with our old, with our sons and with our daughters, with our flocks and with our herds will we go; for we must hold a feast unto the LORD. 10 And he said unto them, Let the LORD be so with you, as I will let you go, and your little ones: look to it; for evil is before you. 11 Not so: go now ye that are men, and serve the LORD; for that ye did desire. And they were driven out from Pharaoh’s presence.”

d. Let your FLOCKS and your HERDS STAY, Exodus 10:24-26, “And Pharaoh called unto Moses, and said, Go ye, serve the LORD; only let your flocks and your herds be stayed: let your little ones also go with you. 25 And Moses said, Thou must give us also sacrifices and burnt offerings, that we may sacrifice unto the LORD our God. 26 Our cattle also shall go with us; there shall not an hoof be left behind; for thereof must we take to serve the LORD our God; and we know not with what we must serve the LORD, until we come thither.”

4. Moses WARNS Pharaoh, “but let not Pharaoh deal deceitfully any more,” v. 29; Jeremiah 42:20-21, “For ye dissembled in your hearts, when ye sent me unto the LORD your God, saying, Pray for us unto the LORD our God; and according unto all that the LORD our God shall say, so declare unto us, and we will do it. 21 And now I have this day declared it to you; but ye have not obeyed the voice of the LORD your God, nor any thing for the which he hath sent me unto you.” ==“dissembled in your hearts,” = “to conceal the truth” in this case the concealed the truth from their own hearts.

D. The FLIES Removed, vv. 30-32.

1. The Lord ANSWERS Moses’ prayer, vv. 30-31.

2. Pharaoh HARDENS his heart, v. 32.

—Outline by E. L. Bynum; Revision by Art Davison

STUDY QUESTIONS

1. What was the seven-fold purpose of the plagues?

2. Name the first four plagues upon Egypt in their proper order.

3. What was the relationship of the frogs to the religion of Egypt?

4. Why could not the Egyptians try to kill the frogs?

5. What are frogs a symbol of in the Scriptures?

6. What was Pharaoh to learn from this plague?

7. What finally happened to the frogs?

8. What did Pharaoh promise to do, if the frogs were taken away?

9. Where did the lice come from?

10. In the Scripture the dust in under a . Gen. 3:17,19

11. Why did the Egyptians fail in reproducing lice?

12. Did the plague of flies come upon the land of Goshen? Why?

13. What was the first compromise offered by Pharaoh?

14. Why did Moses refuse to compromise?

15. What was the second compromise offered by Pharaoh?

LESSON 7

THE FIRST PLAGUE UPON EGYPT

Exodus 7:1-25

—by E. L. Bynum

Memory Verse: v. 5, “And the Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD, when I stretch forth mine hand upon Egypt, and bring out the children of Israel from among them.”

Moses must have been somewhat discouraged by the failure of his first audience with Pharaoh (5:1-5). Then when his own people reject his leadership (5:20-21; 6:9), he was in great need of encouragement from the Lord. In our lesson today, we find that God revealed to him the coming struggle and the miracles, and from this point on Moses forged ahead without wavering. The conflict is between God and the Egyptians and this spelled doom for the Egyptians. All who fight against God will lose.

I. THE MIRACLE OF THE ROD vv. 1-13

A. Moses Given Assurance and Instruction, vv. 1-9.

1. The EXALTED PLACE of Moses, v. 1 (God put him there).

Please note that Moses is to be as “A god” to Aaron and to Pharaoh, and NOT “the God.” Moses was the VICEREGENT [a person who acts in the place of a ruler, governor, or sovereign] of God, and Pharaoh was the emissary of Satan.

2. He was TO GIVE God’s WORD TO AARON, v. 2; 2 Timothy 4:2-3, “Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears.”

a. Hold fast in FAITH and LOVE, 2 Timothy 1:13, “Hold fast the form of sound words, which thou hast heard of me, in faith and love which is in Christ Jesus.”

b. The FALSE prophet is one who CAUSES STRIFE, 1 Timothy 6:3-4, “If any man teach otherwise, and consent not to wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine which is according to godliness; He is proud, knowing nothing, but doting about questions and strifes of words, whereof cometh envy, strife, railings, evil surmisings.”

c. What is the WORK of a TRUE prophet? Exodus 4:15-16, “And thou shalt speak unto him, and put words in his mouth: and I will be with thy mouth, and with his mouth, and will teach you what ye shall do. 16 And he shall be thy spokesman unto the people: and he shall be, even he shall be to thee instead of a mouth, and thou shalt be to him instead of God.” A prophet speaks for another.

3. God will HARDEN Pharaoh’s heart, v. 3.

a. This DOES NOT make God the AUTHOR of sin, Exodus 4:21, “And the LORD said unto Moses, When thou goest to return into Egypt, see that thou do all those wonders before Pharaoh, which I have put in thine hand: but I will harden his heart, that he shall not let the people go.”

b. The same sun that melts the wax, hardens the clay; God hardens some for DESTRUCTION, Deuteronomy 2:30, “But Sihon king of Heshbon would not let us pass by him: for the LORD thy God hardened his spirit, and made his heart obstinate, that he might deliver him into thy hand, as appeareth this day.”

1) God CHOOSES what to do ACCORDING TO His PURPOSE, Romans 9:18, “Therefore hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will he hardeneth.”

2) God HARDENS hearts AT TIMES, Joshua 11:19-20, “There was not a city that made peace with the children of Israel, save the Hivites the inhabitants of Gibeon: all other they took in battle. 20 For it was of the LORD to harden their hearts, that they should come against Israel in battle, that he might destroy them utterly, and that they might have no favour, but that he might destroy them, as the LORD commanded Moses.”

c. WE are WARNED against the HARDENING OUR HEARTS against His voice, Hebrews 3:7-15, “Wherefore (as the Holy Ghost saith, To day if ye will hear his voice, 8 Harden not your hearts, as in the provocation, in the day of temptation in the wilderness: 9 When your fathers tempted me, proved me, and saw my works forty years. 10 Wherefore I was grieved with that generation, and said, They do alway err in their heart; and they have not known my ways. 11 So I sware in my wrath, They shall not enter into my rest.) 12 Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God. 13 But exhort one another daily, while it is called To day; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. 14 For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence stedfast unto the end; 15 While it is said, To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts, as in the provocation.” Hebrews 4:7, “Again, he limiteth a certain day, saying in David, To day, after so long a time; as it is said, To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts.”

4. The REASONS for hardening his heart and prolonging the contest, vv. 4-5.

a. It gave God an OPPORTUNITY TO WORK, v. 4; Psalms 105:37, “He brought them forth also with silver and gold: and there was not one feeble person among their tribes.”

b. It gave Egypt a CHANCE TO KNOW He was Jehovah, v. 5.

1) The plagues were used as judgments on the gods of Egypt PROVING THEM to be POWERLESS and FUTILE, Exodus 12:12, “For I will pass through the land of Egypt this night, and will smite all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment: I am the LORD.”

01. Jehovah is GREATER than all gods, Exodus18:11, “Now I know that the LORD is greater than all gods: for in the thing wherein they dealt proudly he was above them.”

02. The Lord EXECUTED JUDGMENT upon their gods, Numbers 33:4, “For the Egyptians buried all their firstborn, which the LORD had smitten among them: upon their gods also the LORD executed judgments.” All the false gods of Egypt could do nothing to stop the plague.

2) It is TRAGIC that some Israelites WORSHIPPED the DEFEATED GODS of Egypt, Ezekiel 20:7-8, “Then said I unto them, Cast ye away every man the abominations of his eyes, and defile not yourselves with the idols of Egypt: I am the LORD your God. But they rebelled against me, and would not hearken unto me: they did not every man cast away the abominations of their eyes, neither did they forsake the idols of Egypt: then I said, I will pour out my fury upon them, to accomplish my anger against them in the midst of the land of Egypt.

3) One EXAMPLE of this was the building and WORSHPPING of the GOLDEN CALF, Exodus 32.

c. It gave FULL OPPORTUNITY for the complete TESTING of human responsibility.

d. It was for the TRYING OF THE FAITH of the saints.

e. It gave opportunity for the MANIFESTATION of all the PERFECTIONS AND ATTRIBUTES of Deity.

Note: This is apparently why God suffers the continuance of evil in His domain. Some people object to God hardening Pharaoh’s heart. They fear that God hardened his heart so he could not be saved. We need to realize that the subject is not salvation. The man was a rascal and a reprobate.

5. The OBEDIENCE of Moses and Aaron, v. 6; Psalms 119:4, “Thou hast commanded us to keep thy precepts diligently.”

6. Their AGES, v. 7. This shows that God could use the aged men.

7. Moses and Aaron INSTRUCTED TO USE the miracle of the ROD, vv. 8-9. Satan produces COUNTERFEITS, and there are many INSTANCES OF IT IN THE BIBLE:

a. False BRETHREN, 2 Corinthians 11:26, “In journeyings often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils by mine own countrymen, in perils by the heathen, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren.”

b. False GOSPEL, Galatians 1:8, “But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed.”

c. False MINISTERS, 2 Corinthians 11:13, “For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ.”

d. A False CHRISTS, 2 Thessalonians 2:3-4, “Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.”

B. The Rod Becomes A SERPENT, vv. 10-13.

1. The miracle VIEWED by Pharaoh, v. 10.

2. The sorcerers DUPLICATE the miracle, vv. 11-12. These occult religionists who had the power of Satan, did indeed work a miracle.

a. The ANTI-CHRIST will have POWER TO WORK MIRACLES, Matthew 24:24, “For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.”

b. Satan LENDS his power to FALSE CHRISTS, 2 Thessalonians 2:9, “Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders.”

c. During the Tribulation period Satan WILL SHOW HIS POWER, Revelatian 13:12-15, “And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him, and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed. 13 And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men, 14 And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live. 15 And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed.”

3. Their serpents SWALLOWED by Aaron’s rod, v. 12. This shows the superiority of the true God over the false gods of Egypt, and points to the final triumph over evil. Some of these evil magicians are named, 2 Timothy 3:8, “Now as Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses, so do these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, reprobate concerning the faith.”

a. Men of corrupt minds that RESIST the TRUTH, Romans 13:2, “Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation.”

b. These are REPROBATE [morally depraved; unprincipled] concerning the faith, Jeremiah 6:30, “Reprobate silver shall men call them, because the LORD hath rejected them.”

4. Pharaoh’s heart HARDENED TO ACCOMPLISH God’s PURPOSE as the Lord had said, v. 13; Note: vv.3-4.

II. The First Plague — WATER TURNED TO BLOOD vv. 14-25

A. Moses Instructed by the Lord, vv. 14-19.

1. Pharaoh’s heart hardened, v. 14; Proverbs 21:11, “When the scorner is punished, the simple is made wise: and when the wise is instructed, he receiveth knowledge.”

2. Moses was to meet Pharaoh at the river, v. 15.

Note: Whether Pharaoh was going to bath or to offer a sacrifice to the river god, it matters little, for God knew he would be there.

3. Moses was TO DEMAND that Israel be let go, v. 16.

4. The plague would CAUSE Pharaoh TO UNDERSTAND that the GOD of the Hebrews was JEHOVAH, v. 17; Psalms 9:16, “The LORD is known by the judgment which he executeth: the wicked is snared in the work of his own hands.”

Note: The Nile was in the strictest sense regarded as divine, and was worshipped under a variety of names. As the bountiful Osiris, and under many other divine names, the Nile was the beneficent god of Egypt-the representative of all that was good.

“Osiris also called Usiri, one of the most important gods of ancient Egyptian religion. Osiris was a local god of Busiris, in Lower Egypt, and may have been a personification of Underworld fertility, or possibly he was a deified hero. By about 2400 BCE, however, Osiris clearly played a double role: he was both a god of fertility and the embodiment of the dead and resurrected king within the Egyptian concept of divine kingship. The king after his death became Osiris, god of the Underworld, and the dead king’s son, the living king, was identified with Horus, a god of the sky. The goddess Isis was the mother of the king and was thus the mother of Horus and consort of Osiris. The god Seth was considered the murderer of Osiris and adversary of Horus.” —World Religions, Encyclopedia Britannica.

5. Their WATER for drink and fish for food was TO BE CUT OFF, v. 18.

6. All the PONDS, STREEMS, and RIVERS were to be AFFECTED, v. 19.

B. The First Plague of JUDGMENT, vv. 20-25.

1. The water turned to BLOOD IN THE SIGHT of Pharaoh, vv. 20-21.

Note: We believe exactly what the Bible says about this. It was not red from soil or from some plant growth, but literally turned to blood. The Nile river was a god of the Egyptians. Hapi was the god of the Nile, and Isis was the goddess of the Nile.

2. The ENCHANTMENTS of the magicians, v. 22.

3. The MEANING of this miracle.

a. Water is an EMBLEM of the WORD, John 15:3, “Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you.” Ephesians 5:26, “That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word.”

b. Blood POURED OUT speaks of DEATH, and death is the WAGES of sin, Revelation 6:12, “And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood.”

c. The water turned to blood REVEALS that the Word of God is EITHER a savour of LIFE unto life, or DEATH unto death, 2 Corinthians 2:15-16, “For we are unto God a sweet savour of Christ, in them that are saved, and in them that perish: To the one we are the savour of death unto death; and to the other the savour of life unto life. And who is sufficient for these things?”

4. Pharaoh UNCHANGED, v. 23.

5. The Egyptians DESPERATE SEARCH for water, v. 24.

6. The LENGTH of the plague was SEVEN DAYS, v. 25.

Note: The duration of the first plague was the longer because Pharaoh made no submission at all in consequence of it. Obtaining sufficient water for his own ablutions from the wells and drinking a more generous liquid, he thought little of its continuance. —Eclectic Note from Exodus

Note: “The plagues of Egypt are founded on the natural features which Egypt presents, so that they are unprecedented and extraordinary, not so much in themselves, as on account of their power and extent, and their rapid succession when Moses simply gives the command. As they are, consequently, both natural and supernatural, they afford both to faith and to unbelief the freedom to choose (in Pharaoh, unbelief prevailed); they are, besides, adapted to convince the Egyptians that Jehovah is not merely the national God of the Israelites, but a God above all gods, who holds in his hand all the powers of nature likewise, which Egypt was accustomed to deify.” —J. H. Kurtz, quoted in the Annotated Bible.

—Outline by E. L. Bynum; Revison by Art Davison

STUDY QUESTIONS

1. What is the meaning of Moses being a god to Aaron and to Pharaoh?

2. Explain the purpose of God in hardening the heart of Pharaoh.

3. Give the age of Moses and the age of Aaron.

4. How did the sorcerers duplicate the miracle of the rod turning into a serpent? Where did they get their power?

5. Which waters of Egypt turned to blood?

6. Where did the magicians get clear water to turn into blood?

7. Where did the Israelites get water during this plague?

8. What is water a symbol of in the Scriptures?

9. What is poured out blood a symbol of in the Scriptures?

10. How long did the plague last?

LESSON 6

GOD’S ANSWER TO MOSES

Exodus 6:1-30

—by E. L. Bynum

Memory Verse: Exodus 6:7, “And I will take you to me for a people, and I will be to you a God: and ye shall know that I am the LORD your God, which bringeth you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians.”

Introduction:

In the last lesson, we learned that Israel’s harsh words to Moses, caused him to pray unto the Lord. While he went to the right place, yet his words were wrong. Even so, God answered him in love and mercy, Psalm 103:8, 14, “The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy. For he knoweth our frame; he remembereth that we [are] dust.”

God had promised that Israel would be delivered (Exodus 3:19-20), and God always keeps His promises, Isaiah 46:9-10, “Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me, Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure.” Proverbs 21:30, “There is no wisdom nor understanding nor counsel against the LORD.” Isaiah 55:11, “So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it. God speaks to us by the written word of God.”

Since His promises were not yet written, God spoke to Moses in an audible voice. Exodus 33:11, “And the LORD spake unto Moses face to face, as a man speaketh unto his friend. And he turned again into the camp: but his servant Joshua, the son of Nun, a young man, departed not out of the tabernacle.” Deuteronomy 34:10, “And there arose not a prophet since in Israel like unto Moses, whom the LORD knew face to face,”

I. GOD’S ANSWER TO A DISAPPOINTED MOSES vv. 1-13

A. God Will Keep His Covenant, vv. 1-4.

1. Pharaoh will not only let them go, but he will drive them out, v. 1; Exodus 12:31-33, “And he called for Moses and Aaron by night, and said, Rise up, and get you forth from among my people, both ye and the children of Israel; and go, serve the LORD, as ye have said. 32 Also take your flocks and your herds, as ye have said, and be gone; and bless me also. 33 And the Egyptians were urgent upon the people, that they might send them out of the land in haste; for they said, We be all dead men.”

2. God reveals His COVENANT NAME, vv. 2-3.

a. He reveals Himself as JEHOVAH, v. 2. Remember when “LORD” is spelled with caps, it is Jehovah.

b. He had made Himself known to Abraham as God Almighty (EI-Shaddai). v. 3.

c. “By my name JEHOVAH was I not known to them.” v. 3. This is admittedly a hard passage of Scripture, but it does yield to careful study. God was known by Jehovah (LORD), to Abraham. See Genesis 13:4, “Unto the place of the altar, which he had made there at the first: and there Abram called on the name of the LORD.” See also Genesis15:7; 26:25; 32:9-10.

Note: Although Abraham was acquainted with the title of Jehovah (LORD), he “had no experimental acquaintance with all that it stood for. God has entered into a `covenant’ with them, but, as Hebrews 11:13 tells us, ‘These all died in faith, not having received the promises.'” —A.W. Pink. Now God is going to give them the deliverance that His name (Jehovah) implies. Jehovah is the covenant name of God and it was so sacred, the Jews would not speak it. They substituted “Adonai” which means “Master.”

3. Jehovah will now keep that covenant formerly made with them, v. 4. The saints today are related to God by covenant.

B. The Covenant Keeping Jehovah Will Have Mercy, vv. 5-8.

1. God had heard their groaning and He had remembered His covenant, Deuteronomy 7:7-8, “The LORD did not set his love upon you, nor choose you, because ye were more in number than any people; for ye were the fewest of all people: But because the LORD loved you, and because he would keep the oath which he had sworn unto your fathers, hath the LORD brought you out with a mighty hand, and redeemed you out of the house of bondmen, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt.” Isaiah 55:3, “Incline your ear, and come unto me: hear, and your soul shall live; and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David.” Acts 13:34, “And as concerning that he raised him up from the dead, now no more to return to corruption, he said on this wise, I will give you the sure mercies of David.” Hebrews 13:20, “Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant.”

2. Notice the 7 “I WILL’s” of vv. 6-8: “Wherefore say unto the children of Israel, I am the LORD, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will rid you out of their bondage, and I will redeem you with a stretched out arm, and with great judgments: 7 And I will take you to me for a people, and I will be to you a God: and ye shall know that I am the LORD your God, which bringeth you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians. 8 And I will bring you in unto the land, concerning the which I did swear to give it to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob; and I will give it you for an heritage: I am the LORD.”

a. “I WILL bring you out from under the burdens,” v. 6.

b. “I WILL rid you out of their bondage,” v. 6.

c. “I WILL redeem you.” v. 6. This means to purchase and set free.

1) This purchase made by the blood of the lamb, 1 Peter 1:18-19, “Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.”

2) They were bought out of slavery “with a price”, 1 Corinthians 6:20, “For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.”

3) Bought by God’s mighty power, Ephesians 1:19, “And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power.”

d. “I WILL take you to me for a people,” v. 7.

Note: They were to be His peculiar treasure and the objects of His care. This is the basis for all that God did for the Jews.

e. “I WILL be to you a God,” v. 7. Only God could do for them what He did at the Red Sea, 2 Corinthians 6:16, “And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.”

f. “I WILL bring you in unto the land,” v. 8. He not only brought them out, but He brought them in. Thus will He do for all His blood bought Saints

g. “I WILL give it you for a heritage,” v. 8. In the millennium they will fully possess it.

1) We NOW have the EARNEST OF OUR INHERITANCE, soon we shall have it all, Ephesians 1:14, “According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love.”

2) Note it is a GIFT, 2 Corinthians 9:15, “Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift.”

3) Notice that the 7 “I WILL’S” ARE PREFACED and FOLLOWED by, “I am the LORD” (Jehovah).

4) See the NEW COVENANT, where we see 7 PROMISES from the Lord, Jeremiah 31:33-34, “But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people. And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the LORD: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the LORD: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.”

3. God’s covenant has an inheritance connected with it, Hebrews 7:22, “By so much was Jesus made a surety of a better testament.” 1 Peter 1:4, “To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you.”

C. Moses Speaks to the People of the Covenant, v. 9.

1. He speaks to them what God said the second time, but they were TOO DISCOURAGED to be helped, Exodus 5:21, “And they said unto them, The LORD look upon you, and judge; because ye have made our savour to be abhorred in the eyes of Pharaoh, and in the eyes of his servants, to put a sword in their hand to slay us.”

2. Moses and the people had GIVEN UP under the heavy labor, but God had not.

Note: Shortness of spirit or breath. The words signify that their labor was so continual, and their bondage so cruel and oppressive, that they had scarcely time to breathe. —Adam Clarke’s Commentary. They were “Reduced to utter hopelessness, with their misery darkening all their souls, they are deaf to the gracious voice that proclaimed liberty and blessing.” —Eclectic Note for Exodus.

D. The Covenant Maker Sends Moses to Pharaoh again, vv. 10-13

1. God renewed Moses’ orders to him TO GO AGAIN to Pharaoh to let the people go, vv. 10-11; 1 Kings 18:43, “And said to his servant, Go up now, look toward the sea. And he went up, and looked, and said, There is nothing. And he said, Go again seven times.”

2. Moses’ LIPS had NOT succeeded with Israel, v. 12; Jeremiah 6:10, “To whom shall I speak, and give warning, that they may hear? behold, their ear is uncircumcised, and they cannot hearken: behold, the word of the LORD is unto them a reproach; they have no delight in it.”

3. He was all the MORE AFRAID that they would NOT SUCCEED WITH Pharaoh, v. 12; Exodus 6:30, “And Moses said before the LORD, Behold, I am of uncircumcised lips, and how shall Pharaoh hearken unto me?”

Note: Uncircumcised lips—A metaphorical expression among the Hebrews, who, taught to look on the circumcision of any part as denoting perfection, signified its deficiency or unsuitableness by uncircumcision. The words here express how painfully Moses felt his want of utterance or persuasive oratory.—Jameson, Fausset, Brown Commentary.

4. NEVERTHELESS, God is UNMOVED by the DEAFNESS of His people, the FAILURE of His servant, or the OPEN ANTAGONISM of Pharaoh, He commands his servants TO GO AGAIN, v. 13.

II. THE FAMILIES OF ISRAEL AND THE RENEWED COMMISSION. vv. 14-30

A. The Genealogy of Three Tribes, vv. 14-27.

Note: Some think that these three are taken notice of, to show that they were NOT REJECTED of God, though they seem to be rather cursed than blessed by Jacob; and that though they were guilty of very great crimes, as Reuben of incest, and Simeon and Levi of murder, yet they TRULY REPENTED, and OBTAINED MERCY of God, and were HONOURED in their OFFSPRING, of whom an account is here given; but the two first seem to be taken notice of for the sake of the third, and that order might be observed, and that it might plainly appear that the deliverers of Israel were Israelites. —John Gill’s Expositor.

1. The sons of Reuben, v. 14.

2. The sons of Simeon, v. 15.

3. The sons of Levi, vv. 16-25.

4. Moses and Aaron identified, vv. 26-27.

Note: Notice that only the first 3 sons of Jacob are named, and that the third one is made the most of. Three is the number of resurrection.

B. The Commission Renewed, vv. 28-30.

1. Moses commanded to speak to Pharaoh, vv. 28-29.

a. What God begins, Ephesians 2:10, “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.”

b. He always finishes, Philippians 1:6, “Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ.”

2. Moses once again tries to excuse himself, v. 30; 1 Corinthians 9:16-17, “For though I preach the gospel, I have nothing to glory of: for necessity is laid upon me; yea, woe is unto me, if I preach not the gospel! 17 For if I do this thing willingly, I have a reward: but if against my will, a dispensation of the gospel is committed unto me.”

Note: In chapters 3 and 4, he [Moses] makes 5 excuses to the Lord. In chapter 6, he makes two more, making 7 in all. Seven speaks of completion, and thus we have the complete exhibition of the weakness and unbelief of Moses.

—by E. L. Bynum; Revision by Art Davison

STUDY QUESTIONS

1. God promises that Pharaoh will not only let them go, but that he will

2. What is the meaning of EI-Shaddai?

3. What is God’s covenant name with Israel?

4. How is this name often translated and spelled in the Bible? Be specific in this.

5. What is meant by “By my name JEHOVAH was I not known to them?”

6. Name the seven I WILLS of God in this chapter.

7. What excuse did Moses use in this chapter, for not going to Pharaoh’

8. The genealogy of three of Jacob’s sons are given in this chapter. Name those three sons, in the right order.

9. Of which tribe were Moses and Aaron?

10. Name the parents of Moses and Aaron.

11. The grandfather of Moses was? This is more important than you migh think.

12. How many excuses did Moses make in all?

13. What is the significance of ;the number of those excuses?

LESSON 5

MOSES AND AARON BEFORE PHARAOH

Exodus 5:1-23

—by E. L. Bynum

Memory Verse: v. 1, “And afterward Moses and Aaron went in, and told Pharaoh, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Let my people go, that they may hold a feast unto me in the wilderness.”

Introduction:

Later on we shall find that Israel was redeemed by the blood of the Passover lamb. This was a TYPE of our SALVATION by the BLOOD OF CHRIST.

They were baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the Red Sea (1 Corinthians 10:2, “And were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea;”) a TYPE of our BAPTISM after salvation. “The immersion was complete for all of them in the sea around them and the cloud over them. Moses was their leader then as Christ is now and so Paul uses [the Greek word] “eis” concerning the relation of the Israelites to Moses as he does of our baptism in relation to Christ. A. T. Robertson’s Word Pictures. Galatians 3:27, “For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.”

Therefore, BEFORE the Passover lamb was slain, and BEFORE they were delivered from Egypt, they are a TYPE of the SINNER today, BEFORE his salvation.

Many of the experiences here in Egypt PARALLEL the experiences of sinners BEFORE their salvation. We need to remember that Egypt is a type of the world, and that Pharaoh is a type of Satan.

I. PHARAOH REPUDIATES MOSES’ REQUEST. vv. 1-9

A. The Unbelieving King Defies God, vv. 1-5.

1. God’s will for His people stated, v. 1.

a. “Let my people go” was God’s demand of Pharaoh, v. 1;

b. This took courage and faith on the part of Moses and Aaron, Matthew 10:28, “And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.”

c. God made DEMANDS of Pharaoh seven times. They are stated in 5:1; 7:16; 8:1; 8:20; 9:1; 9:13; and 10:3.

2. Pharaoh’s ignorance and disobedience, v. 2; 2 Thessalonians 1:7-8, “And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

a. He did not know or obey the LORD (Jehovah), Exodus 3:19, “And I am sure that the king of Egypt will not let you go, no, not by a mighty hand.”

Note: If Pharaoh could have heard the following words, and believed them, his decision would have been entirely different. “All the kings of the earth, before God, are as grasshoppers; they are nothing, and less than nothing: both their love and their hatred is to be despised. The wrath of the great King of kings, is as much more terrible than theirs, as his majesty is greater.” From Jonathan Edwards sermon, Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God.

b. He was determined NOT to let Israel go.

Note: Pharaoh said, “I will not let them go,” and this put him in direct opposition to the will of God. In effect, he declared war on the LORD. If he had let them go, he would have been acknowledging a deity greater than himself.

c. He is a TYPE OF SATAN, who NEVER GIVES UP any of his people without a struggle.

d. God now COMMANDS SINNERS TO…

1) Repent, Acts 17:30, “And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent.”

2) Believe, Acts 16:31, “And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.”

3. God’s will for Israel spoken, v. 3.

a. They were to go into the wilderness and sacrifice to God.

1) A sacrifice is the ONLY BASIS on which God meets with sinners:

i. The life of the flesh is in the blood, Leviticus 17:11, “For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul.

ii. Almost all things are by the law purged with blood, Hebrews 9:22, “And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission.”

2) It is STILL the ONLY WAY to God:

i. Redemption is through the blood of Christ, Colossians 1:14, 20, “In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins: 20 And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven.”

ii. Jesus washed us from our sins in his own blood, Revelation 1:5, “And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood.”

b. If they did not obey, judgment would follow upon them, v. 3; 2 Chronicles 30:8, “Now be ye not stiffnecked, as your fathers were, but yield yourselves unto the LORD, and enter into his sanctuary, which he hath sanctified for ever: and serve the LORD your God, that the fierceness of his wrath may turn away from you.”

c. We should carefully note that God had a PURPOSE in ONLY requesting a THREE-DAY journey and a sacrifice.

Note: We know that God intended to take them out of Egypt for good and and bring them to the place for building the Tabernacle. God knew Pharaoh would not even allow this reasonable three day journey. God will do battle with Egypt upon the terms and conditions that He sets.

4. Pharaoh’s insulting remarks, vv. 4-5;

a. Pharaoh viewed the Israelites as a commodity (slaves), v. 4.

b. He saw the value their services, v. 5.

B. The Unjust King Determines to Punish God’s People, vv. 6-9.

1. He commands that Israel gather their own straw, vv. 6-7.

a. Their taskmaster were Egyptians, Exodus 1:11, “Therefore they did set over them taskmasters to afflict them with their burdens. And they built for Pharaoh treasure cities, Pithom and Raamses.”

b. Their officers were Hebrews, v. 14, “And the officers of the children of Israel, which Pharaoh’s taskmasters had set over them, were beaten, and demanded, Wherefore have ye not fulfilled your task in making brick both yesterday and to day, as heretofore?”

2. The number of brick required is not to be diminished, v. 8.

3. He calls God’s words, “VAIN WORDS,” v. 9; Malachi 3:14, “Ye have said, It is vain to serve God: and what profit is it that we have kept his ordinance, and that we have walked mournfully before the LORD of hosts?”

Note: God deals with sinners in mercy, but this is still the way sinful man responds to God’s word.

II. PHARAOH RETALIATES AGAINST THE HEBREWS. vv. 10-14

A. The Cruel Demands Made, vv. 10-12.

1. Straw no longer to be furnished, v. 10.

2. They were to find and gather straw, v. 11.

3. They scattered to the fields to gather stubble, v. 12.

B. The Cruel Beatings Given, vv. 13-14.

1. They were beaten for failing the impossible.

2. This is Satan’s way. When God is dealing with a sinner, the devil steps in to hinder God’s work, Luke 9:42, “And as he was yet a coming, the devil threw him down, and tare him. And Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, and healed the child, and delivered him again to his father.”

III. THE RENUNCIATION OF MOSES’ LEADERSHIP BY THE HEBREWS vv. 15-23

A. The Hebrews Seek Relief From Pharaoh, vv. 15-18.

1. The Israelite leaders appeal to Pharaoh, v. 15.

Note: Instead of crying unto the Lord, they cry unto Pharaoh. Instead of calling themselves the servants of God, they claim to be Pharaoh’s servants. This is ever the way of the flesh.

2. They blame Pharaoh’s servants, instead of him, v. 16.

3. They found no help or comfort in Pharaoh, vv. 17-18.

a. Turning to Satan and the world never brings true relief.

b. The sinner will not be helped by turning to sinful man for help. Luke 15:15-16, “And he [the prodigal son] went and joined himself to a citizen of that country; and he sent him into his fields to feed swine. And he would fain have filled his belly with the husks that the swine did eat: and no man gave unto him.”

c. Only the Lord can help, Isaiah 55:6, “Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near.”

B. The Hebrews Seek to Renounce Moses, vv. 19-21.

1. The officers see their PREDICAMENT, v. 19.

2. They THREATEN Moses and Aaron with God’s judgment, vv.20-21.

3. They are blamed FOR ALL of their problems, v. 21.

4. This is OFTEN the RESULT OF FAITHFULLY PREACHING the word.

Note: The very ones you seek to deliver, being FRUSTRATED by the CONVICTION of God and the OPPOSITION of Satan, may well TURN UPON THE DELIVERER. Every God called preacher experiences this.

C. Moses SEEKS the FACE of God, vv. 22-23.

1. Moses EXPECTED opposition from Pharaoh, BUT NOT from the people.

2. He DID RIGHT in turning to God, but his words were irreverent. How merciful God is, to tolerate such words.

Consider these helpful words from Arthur W. Pink. “We may add that what has been before us supplies a STRIKING PICTURE of that which awaits Israel in a coming day. The grievous afflictions which came upon the Hebrews in Egypt just before the Lord emancipated them from their hard and cruel bondage, did but foreshadow the awful experiences through which their descendants shall pass during the `time of Jacob’s trouble,’ just prior to the coming of the Deliverer to Zion. Pharaoh’s conduct as described in our chapter, his defiance of Jehovah, his rejection of the testimony of God’s two witnesses, his cruel treatment of the children of Israel, accurately typifies the course which will be followed by the Man of Sin. Thus may we discern once more how that these pages of Old Testament history are also PROPHETIC in their forecasting of coming events. May it please the Lord to open our eyes so that we may perceive both the application to ourselves and those who are to follow us.”

—Outline by E. L. Bynum; Revision by Art Davison

STUDY QUESTIONS

1. Israel, before their sprinkling of the Passover blood, was a type of who?

2. What did Pharaoh say in response to Moses’ declaration of what God wanted done?

3. What did Moses request of Pharaoh at the first?

4. Why did he not tell Pharaoh what God’s complete plan was?

5. What does Pharaoh say that Israel will now have to do, in addition to their regular job?

6. What does he call God’s words?

7. What did Israel use for straw?

8. When the Hebrew workmen failed to do the impossible, what was done to their leaders?

9. To whom did the Israelite leaders go, to get relief from their burden

10. Who did the Israelite leaders end up denouncing?

11. To whom did Moses turn, in the midst of his distress?

12. What was wrong with the words that Moses spoke?

LESSON 4

OVERCOMING MOSES’ OBJECTIONS
—Outline by E. L. Bynum; Revison by Art Davison

Exodus 4:1-31

Memory Verse: Exodus 4:12, “Now therefore go, and I will be with thy mouth, and teach thee what thou shalt say.”

This chapter is a continuation of the discourse that passed between God and Moses; and here Moses makes other objections to his mission. We will hear his arguments and see how God’s patience is tried as well as how the Lord convinces Moses.

I. MOSES’ OBJECTION AND GOD’S ANSWER vv. 1-17

A. UNBELIEF is Overcome by SIGNS, vv. 1-9.

1. Moses PREDICTS the UNBELIEF of Israel, v. 1.

a. In reality Moses speaks from the standpoint of his OWN UNBELIEF and that the people might not believe his own bare word as he had experienced, Exodus 2:14, “And he said, Who made thee a prince and a judge over us? intendest thou to kill me, as thou killedst the Egyptian? And Moses feared, and said, Surely this thing is known.”

b. The Jews require A SIGN, 1 Corinthians 1:22, “For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom.”

2. The ROD SIGN revealed, vv. 2-4.

3. The PURPOSE of the sign that they may BELIEVE, v. 5; Mark 16:20, “And they went forth, and preached every where, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following. Amen.”

4. The MEANING of the sign, vv. 2-5.

a. It shows that God CAN USE ANYTHING He pleases, even a common shepherd’s rod.

b. The ROD was a SYMBOL of GOD’S GRACE as a SUPPORT, Psalm 23:4, “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.” Lean upon it for support is fine, but cast it down and it becomes a serpent, which is a type of Satan.

c. The rod is a SYMBOL OF GOVERNMENTAL AUTHORITY and REIGN.

1) Thus it showed God’s APPROVAL of MOSES and ULTIMATELY of Christ, Psalm 2:9, “Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.”

2) It shows the POWER to RULE, Revelation 2:27, “And he shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers: even as I received of my Father.”

d. It shows that ONLY DEVINE POWER can control Satan, 2 Timothy 2:26, “And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will.”

Sign: Egypt (a type of the world) cannot defeat God. The serpent was worshipped in Egypt and was an emblem of the goddess Ranno.

5. The LEPROUS HAND SIGN, and its MEANING, vv. 6-8.

a. The HAND represents the POWER OF MAN, and is shown to be HELPLESS WITHOUT THE POWER OF GOD.

b. The HAND speaks of ENERGY and WORKS. The LEPROUS HAND is INCAPABLE of working for God UNTIL it is CLEANSED.

c. Moses is here REPRESENTATIVE of the WHOLE HEBREW NATION. They are all DEFILED and IN NEED of CLEANSING.

d. Moses prefigures Christ…

1) Who was WITHOUT SIN, Hebrews 4:15, “For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.”

2) Who DID NO SIN, 1 Peter 2:22, “Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth. He bare our sins and became sin for us.”

3) Who KNEW NO SIN, 2 Corinthians 5:21, “For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.”

e. The HAND that holds the ROD of God’s POWER…

1) Must be CLEANSED, Isaiah 52:11, Depart ye, depart ye, go ye out from thence, touch no unclean thing; go ye out of the midst of her; be ye clean, that bear the vessels of the LORD.

2) And must be CONTROLLED by a NEW HEART, Hebrews 10:22, “Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.”

6. The sign and meaning of the water turning to blood. v. 9.

a. It reveals the CONSEQUENCES of REJECTING the first two signs.

b. Blood here speaks of JUDGMENT UPON SIN.

c. Since the Egyptians WORSHIPED the NILE RIVER; it was a SYMBOL OF JUDGMENT upon their GODS and worship.

B. Unbelief Overcome By the Giving a Spokesman, vv. 10-17.

1. Moses pleads LACK OF ELOQUENCE as an excuse, v. 10.

a. This does NOT agree with Acts 7:22, “And Moses was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and was MIGHTY IN WORDS and in deeds.”

b. While it is GOOD to be humble and to KNOW ones limitations, it BECOMES A SIN, if we use that excuse in RESISTING God’s call.

1) Paul seemed to feel LIMITED in speaking ABILITY, 2 Corinthians 10:10, “For his letters, say they, are weighty and powerful; but his bodily presence is weak, and HIS SPEECH CONTEMPTIBLE.”

2) He showed his HUMILITY, 1 Corinthians 2:1-4, “And I, brethren, when I came to you, came not with excellency of speech or of wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of God. 2 For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified. 3 And I was with you in weakness, and in fear, and in much trembling. 4 And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man’s wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power:”

2. God KNEW Moses’ NEED, BEFORE He called him, v. 11; 2 Corinthians 12:9, “And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.”

3. God offers to MEET HIS NEED, v. 12; Matthew 10:19, “But when they deliver you up, take no thought how or what ye shall speak: for it shall be given you in that same hour what ye shall speak.”

4. Our SUFFICIENCY is of God, 2 Corinthians 3:5-6, “Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but our sufficiency [is] of God; Who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life.”

5. Moses’ DANGEROUS ATTITUDE, v. 13.

a. Evidently Moses had MISSED God’s STATEMTNT OF POWER.

b. Moses said, “I am not” (v. 10), but God had already said, “I AM.”

c. Moses was looking at SELF when he should have been LOOKING at God, Philippians 2:21, “For all seek their own, not the things which are Jesus Christ’s.”

d. Moses called Him “LORD,” but he was NOT READY TO OBEY His orders, Luke 6:46, “And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?” God is EITHER Lord of all, OR He is NOT LORD AT ALL.

6. The ANGER of the Lord, v. 14. God does exercise anger WITHOUT violating His righteousness.

a. We are commanded to be angry and sin not, Ephesians 4:26, “Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath.”

b. The Lord showed His anger at the HARDNESS of the hearts of the Jews, Mark 3:5, “And when he had looked round about on them with anger, being grieved for the hardness of their hearts, he saith unto the man, Stretch forth thine hand. And he stretched it out: and his hand was restored whole as the other.”

7. Aaron given to Moses as a spokesman, vv. 14-16.

a. Of course Aaron became a hindrance to Moses in a number of ways.

1) Aaron made the Golden Calf for the Hebrews at Mount Sinai, Exodus 32:1-6.

2) Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses, Numbers 12:1, “And Miriam and Aaron spake against Moses because of the Ethiopian woman whom he had married: for he had married an Ethiopian woman.”

b. When we INSIST on asking for things we should not have, God sometimes gives them to us, and they turn out NOT to be a blessing:

1) God gave Israel quails for meat, Numbers 11:33, “And while the flesh was yet between their teeth, ere it was chewed, the wrath of the LORD was kindled against the people, and the LORD smote the people with a very great plague.”

2) God gave Israel a king, Hosea 13:11, “I gave thee a king in mine anger, and took [him] away in my wrath.”

c. Moses turned out to be ELOQUENT, when in Deuteronomy, he DELIVERED GREAT MESSAGES to the people under the power of God.

d. We NEED NOT TELL God we are weak, He already knows it:

1) Gideon, Judges 6:15, “And he said unto him, Oh my Lord, wherewith shall I save Israel? behold, my family is poor in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father’s house.”

2) Saul, 1 Samuel 9:21, “And Saul answered and said, Am not I a Benjamite, of the smallest of the tribes of Israel? and my family the least of all the families of the tribe of Benjamin? wherefore then speakest thou so to me?”

3) Jeremiah, Jeremiah 1:6, “Then said I, Ah, Lord GOD! behold, I cannot speak: for I am a child.”

8. Moses commanded to take the rod [his shepherd’s staff], v. 17; 1 Corinthians 1:27, “But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty;”

a. The things ESTEEMED FOOLISH in the eyes of men, 1 Corinthians 1:29, “That no flesh should glory in his presence.”

b. The things that CONFOUND or SHAME men, i.e., to HUMBLE them by showing them how little God regarded their wisdom.

II. MOSES’ PREPARATION AND RETURN TO EGYPT vv. 18-31

A. Moses’ Obedience to God’s Command, vv. 18-23.

1. Moses asks and receives permission from his father-in-law to return to Egypt, v. 18; 1 Timothy 6:1, “Let as many servants as are under the yoke count their own masters worthy of all honour, that the name of God and his doctrine be not blasphemed.”

Note: “As Jethro had been kind and beneficent to him, he did not choose to leave him without his knowledge and consent, and especially to take away his wife and children without it.” —John Gill’s Expositor.

2. God reassures Moses and commands him to go, v. 19.

a. Moses had returned to Midian.

Note: This place is still called by the Arabs the Land of Midian, or of Jethro. Abulfeda, speaking of Midian, says, “Madyan is a city, in ruins, on the shore of the Red Sea, on the opposite side to Tabuc, from which it is distant about six days’ journey. At Midian may be seen the famous well at which Moses watered the flocks of Shoâib, ( Jethro.) This city was the capital of the tribe of Midian in the days of the Israelites.” —Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge.

b. Now God gives Moses his COMMISSION at large to go to Egypt, Exodus 2:23, “And it came to pass in process of time, that the king of Egypt died: and the children of Israel sighed by reason of the bondage, and they cried, and their cry came up unto God by reason of the bondage.”

c. Those that sought Moses’ life were dead,

3. The journey begun, v. 20.

a. Moses moves immediately with his family as God commanded.

b. The rod that once belonged to Moses, is now the “ROD OF GOD.

1) The rod with which he would do signs, Exodus 4:17, “And thou shalt take this rod in thine hand, wherewith thou shalt do signs.”

2) The rod with which God would part the Red Sea, Exodus 14:21-22, “And Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and the LORD caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind all that night, and made the sea dry land, and the waters were divided. 22 And the children of Israel went into the midst of the sea upon the dry ground: and the waters were a wall unto them on their right hand, and on their left.”

3) The rod with which God would draw water from the Rock, Exodus 17:6, “Behold, I will stand before thee there upon the rock in Horeb; and thou shalt smite the rock, and there shall come water out of it, that the people may drink. And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel.” Compare v. 2. How we need to give to God what we have!

3. Moses commanded TO DO THE WONDERS before Pharaoh, v. 21; 2 Corinthians 2:14-16, “Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest the savour of his knowledge by us in every place. For we are unto God a sweet savour of Christ, in them that are saved, and in them that perish: To the one we are the savour of death unto death; and to the other the savour of life unto life. And who is sufficient for these things?”

Note: God’s hardening of Pharaoh’s heart in no way makes God responsible for Pharaoh’s sin. Remember that the same sun that melts the wax, also hardens the clay.

4. Israel, the firstborn son, v. 22.

John Gill says that Israel was “as dear to him as a man’s firstborn is, or as his only son: adoption is one of the privileges peculiar to Israel after the flesh, even national adoption, with all the external privileges appertaining to it, Romans 9:4-5, “Who are Israelites; to whom pertaineth the ADOPTION, and the GLORY, and the COVENANTS, and the GIVING OF THE LAW, and the SERVICE OF GOD, and the PROMISES; 5 Whose are the fathers, and of whom as concerning the flesh Christ came, who is over all, God blessed for ever. Amen.”

a. What a blessing! 1 John 3:1, “Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not.”

b. I am a father to Israel, Jeremiah 31:9, “They shall come with weeping, and with supplications will I lead them: I will cause them to walk by the rivers of waters in a straight way, wherein they shall not stumble: for I am a father to Israel, and Ephraim is my firstborn.”

c. I called Israel my son out of Egypt, Hosea 11:1, “When Israel was a child, then I loved him, and called my son out of Egypt.”

7. The firstborn of the world under condemnation, v. 23.

a. Let my son go that he may serve me, John 12:26, “If any man serve me, let him follow me; and where I am, there shall also my servant be: if any man serve me, him will my Father honour.”

b. Refusal would be the death of the firstborn of Egypt, Psalms 105:36, “He smote also all the firstborn in their land, the chief of all their strength.”

B. The Lord’s Meeting With Moses, vv. 24-26.

1. Moses in DANGER of judgment, v. 24.

a. Moses had NOT BEEN OBEDIENT to the covenant of CIRCUMCISION, Genesis 17:9-14. V. 11, “And ye shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin; and it shall be a token of the covenant betwixt me and you.”

b. He had to set his own house in order, before taking charge of the house of Israel.

2. The covenant KEPT, vv. 25-26. The servant of the Lord must take care of his own family before he can take of others, 1 Timothy 3:4-5, “One that ruleth well his own house, having his children in subjection with all gravity; (For if a man know not how to rule his own house, how shall he take care of the church of God?)”

3. It appears that Zipporah may have GONE BACK to her father for the time being, Exodus 18:1-6.

C. The Meeting of Moses and Aaron, v. 27-28.

1. Aaron commanded to meet Moses, v. 27.

a. God often sends his servants in PAIRS, Ecclesiastes 4:9-10, “Two are better than one; because they have a good reward for their labour. For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow: but woe to him that is alone when he falleth; for he hath not another to help him up.”

b. He sent the Apostles TWO BY TWO, Mark 6:7, “And he called unto him the twelve, and began to send them forth by two and two; and gave them power over unclean spirits.”

c. Barnabas and Saul (Paul), Acts 13:2, “As they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them.

2. Moses TELLS “all the words of God.” v. 28; Exodus 4:15-16, “And thou shalt speak unto him, and put words in his mouth: and I will be with thy mouth, and with his mouth, and will teach you what ye shall do. 16 And he shall be thy spokesman unto the people: and he shall be, even he shall be to thee instead of a mouth, and thou shalt be to him instead of God.”

D. Their Meeting With The Elders, vv. 29-31.

1. The elders gathered. v. 29; Exodus 3:16, “Go, and gather the elders of Israel together, and say unto them, The LORD God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, appeared unto me, saying, I have surely visited you, and seen that which is done to you in Egypt:”

2. ]Aaron speaks and does the signs as Moses had told him, v. 30.

3. The people believe and worship. v. 31; Psalms 106:12, “Then believed they his words; they sang his praise.”

This is a testimony of the power and faithfulness of God.

STUDY QUESTIONS

1. Why did Moses say that Israel would not hearken unto him? v. 1

2. What did Moses have in his hand?

3. What happened when he cast it on the ground?

4. What was the purpose of this sign?

5. What was the typical meaning?

6. What was the second sign or miracle?

7. What is the typical meaning of this sign?

8. What was the meaning of the water turning to blood?

10. What was Moses’ second objection to leading Israel?

11. Who did God give to Moses as a spokesman?

12. How did he later on prove to be an hindrance?

13. Who did Moses ask permission for going back to Egypt?

14. What did Moses take in his hand for the journey?

15. Why did God seek to kill Moses? Explain.

16. What did the people of Israel do when they heard what Aaron said and did?