GLEANINGS IN EXODUS

LESSON 13

THE FIRSTBORN SANCTIFIED

Memory Verse: 13:21 (N .W . 14:13)————Lesson: Ex. 13:1-22

—by E. L. Bynum

I. THE SANCTIFICATION OF THE FIRSTBORN. v. 1-16

A. The Separation Of The Firstborn Commanded. v. 1-2

1. All the firstborn males of man and beast were the Lord’s. v.1-2

2. The lessons from this.

a. Their redemption (salvation) out of the bondage of Egypt was the foundation of it all.

b. A redeemed people become the property of the Redeemer. I Cor. 6:19-20, 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.

c. There is an inseparable connection between redemption and holiness. In Romans 3 – 5, we read of our salvation corresponding to Ex. 12, and then in Rom. 6 and 12, we find the exhortation to holiness.

B. The Memorial Commanded “Remember The Day.” v. 3-10

1. What they were to remember.

a. They were to remember the day of redemption. v. 3

b. They were to remember that it was a deliverance from bondage. v. 3

c. They were to remember the strength of the Lord’s hand.v.3

2. How they were to remember it.

a. By the eating of unleavened bread. v. 3-7. Leaven is a symbol of evil. Since we are saved by the blood of the Lamb, we are to separate ourselves from evil. I Cor. 5: 6-8, Your glorying is not good. Know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump? Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us: Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. It also typifies the evil of false doctrine. Matt. 16:6, Then Jesus said unto them, Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees. Acts 23:8

b. By telling their sons of it. v. 8. We should also tell our children how God delivered us. Deut. 6:6-7, And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. Eph 6:4, And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.

c. By keeping the word of God in the mind and in letting it direct their labors. v. 9, 10. (It is doubtful that v. 9 and v. 16 authorize phylacteries.)

C. The Setting Apart Of The Firstborn Commanded. v. 11-16

1. The firstborn to be set apart for the Lord. v. 11-12

a. Here we learn the meaning of sanctification.

b. The firstborn was representative of the whole nation.

2. The unclean must be redeemed. v. 13

a. The firstborn of an ass must be redeemed by a lamb. The firstborn of Israel was redeemed by a lamb also in Ex. 12, therefore it shows that man is in the same classification with an ass, and in need of redemption. Lev. 12:6, And when the days of her purifying are fulfilled, for a son, or for a daughter, she shall bring a lamb of the first year for a burnt offering, and a young pigeon, or a turtledove, for a sin offering, unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, unto the priest. Num. 8:17, For all the firstborn of the children of Israel are mine, both man and beast: on the day that I smote every firstborn in the land of Egypt I sanctified them for myself.

b. The details as to how the firstborn of man is to be redeemed in the future, is not here revealed. However, it is revealed in Num. 3:40-51; 18:16

c. When Joseph and Mary came to the temple to redeem the Redeemer, they brought the sacrifice of the poor. Luke 2:21-24, And when eight days were accomplished for the circumcising of the child, his name was called JESUS, which was so named of the angel before he was conceived in the womb. And when the days of her purification according to the law of Moses were accomplished, they brought him to Jerusalem, to present him to the Lord; (As it is written in the law of the Lord, Every male that openeth the womb shall be called holy to the Lord;) And to offer a sacrifice according to that which is said in the law of the Lord, A pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons. Lev 12:8, And if she be not able to bring a lamb, then she shall bring two turtles, or two young pigeons; the one for the burnt offering, and the other for a sin offering: and the priest shall make an atonement for her, and she shall be clean. There are none too poor to be redeemed by our Redeemer (Christ).

3. If not redeemed, the ass must have its neck broken. v. 13. Man if unredeemed must also suffer judgment and death. In the Scriptures, the ass is used to represent a man in some instances. Gen. 49:14, Issachar is a strong ass couching down between two burdens. An ass would enter Jerusalem, but only under the hand of Jesus. This is the only hope of the sinner. Zech. 9:9, Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass.

4. The lesson to be taught. v. 14-16

II. THE JOURNEY OF THE FIRSTBORN. v. 17-22

A. The Direction Of Their Journey. v. 17-20

1. They were not led by the shortest route. v. 17. Psa. 37:23, The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD: and he delighteth in his way.

a. God’s leading may not seem right to man, but it is right. Psa. 23:3, He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.

b. God knew what was best for them. Prov. 3:5-6, Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.

c. “It took God one night to take Israel out of Egypt, forty years to take Egypt our of Israel.” George Morrison

2. God would train them in the long wilderness journey. v. 18. Deut. 8:2-4, And thou shalt remember all the way which the LORD thy God led thee these forty years in the wilderness, to humble thee, and to prove thee, to know what was in thine heart, whether thou wouldest keep his commandments, or no. And he humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna, which thou knewest not, neither did thy fathers know; that he might make thee know that man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the LORD doth man live. Thy raiment waxed not old upon thee, neither did thy foot swell, these forty years.

3. They went out harnessed. v. 18. “Harnessed” they were in battle array, arrayed for battle by fives, armed. Five the number of grace.

4. Joseph’s faith was vindicated. v. 19. Gen. 49:29-33; Gen. 50:24-25; Heb. 11:22, By faith Joseph, when he died, made mention of the departing of the children of Israel; and gave commandment concerning his bones.

5. They journeyed from Succoth to Etham. v. 20

B. The Protection For Their Journey. v. 21-22

1. The pillar was the visible sign of God’s presence.

2. The pillar symbolizes the Holy Spirit to guide and protect. Rom. 8:14, For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.

a. We do not have this same kind of guidance, but we do have the Word of God for light. Psa. 119:105, Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path. Eph. 1:17-18, That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him: The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints.

b. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of truth to teach us the Word of God. John 16:12-13, I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now. Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.

c. We also have the fire. Jer. 23:29, Is not my word like as a fire? saith the LORD; and like a hammer that breaketh the rock in pieces?

d. The unsaved do not have this light. Matt. 11:25; I Cor. 2:11-16, For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God. Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God. Which things also we speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual. But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man. For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.

3. The pillar was not given until they were delivered from Egypt by the blood of the lamb.

4. The pillar was God’s gift, but was unasked for. John 14:16

5. The pillar gave light. Isa. 11:2; John 16:13. It gave light to Israel, but it brought darkness to the Egyptians.

6. The pillar was given for a covering. Psa. 105:39, He spread a cloud for a covering; and fire to give light in the night. Eph. 4:30

7. God spake to them from the cloud. Psa. 99:7, He spake unto them in the cloudy pillar: they kept his testimonies, and the ordinance that he gave them. Num. 12:5-6, And the LORD came down in the pillar of the cloud, and stood [in] the door of the tabernacle, and called Aaron and Miriam: and they both came forth. And he said, Hear now my words….

8. The cloud was darkness to the Egyptians. Ex. 14:20; Matt. 11:25, At that time Jesus answered and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes. John 14:17, Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.

9. The cloud was never taken from them while they were in the wilderness. Neh. 9:19, Yet thou in thy manifold mercies forsookest them not in the wilderness: the pillar of the cloud departed not from them by day, to lead them in the way; neither the pillar of fire by night…. John 14:16, And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever.

—by E. L. Bynum

STUDY QUESTIONS

1. What is the meaning of sanctification?

2. Why were the firstborn the property of the Lord?

3. What is the connection between redemption and holiness?’

4. How were they to remember “the day?”

5. What is leaven a symbol of? Give proof.

6. Why did the firstborn of an ass need to be redeemed?

7. How was it to be redeemed?

8. If the firstborn of the ass was not redeemed, what must be done?

9. Why was Israel not led by the shortest route?

10. How was Joseph’s faith vindicated?

11 The pillar was a visible sign of_______________________.

12. The pillar was a type of___________________.

13. How long did the cloud stay with them?

14. Did Israel ask for the cloud?

15. Why was the pillar not given to them while they were in the land of Egypt?

LESSON 12

THE PASSOVER & THE DEATH OF THE FIRSTBORN

Ex. 12:21-51

—by E. L. Bynum

Memory Verse: 12:36

We must ever remember that while the Passover meant death for the firstborn in the land of Egypt, it also meant salvation to the firstborn in the land of Egypt, where the lamb had been slain and the blood applied. The Israelites were also sinners, and God had to intervene, if f they were to be saved. Rom. 5:20, Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound.

I. THE PASSOVER INSTITUTED vv. 21-30

A. Instructions For The Passover Given To Israel. v. 21-28

1. The lamb to be slain, v. 21.

a. There can be no salvation without a sacrifice, Hebrews 9:26; Hebrews 10:12, “For then must he often have suffered since the foundation of the world: but now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God”. Ephesians 5:2, “And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour.”

b. The lamb was the substitute for the firstborn. 1 Corinthians 5:7, “Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us.” Romans 5:6, “For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.” 1 Peter 3:18, “For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit.”

2. The blood of the lamb applied, v. 22.

a. Only through the shedding and application of the blood can there be salvation, Heb. 9:22, “And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission.”

1) The life 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.”

2) The blood of Christ is precious, 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.”

3) Salvation is through faith in the blood of Christ, Romans 3:25-26, “Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.”

b. The blood applied on the outside, v. 22.

NOTE: The blood on the outside is typical of the Godward side of the cross, that God might be satisfied. As they ate the lamb on the inside, they were satisfied. So are we, as we feed upon Christ.

c. They were to use a bunch of hyssop. Lev. 14:4,51-52; Num. 19:6; I Kings 4:33, And he spake of … the cedar tree … even unto the hyssop that springeth out of the wall….

d. They were not to go out of the house until the morning; their only protection was the blood.

3. The Lord would PASS OVER the blood, v. 23.

4. This ordinance to be kept by Israel, vv. 24-25.

5. They were to teach the lesson to their children, vv. 26-27. This is the very place where so many parents fail today. The message of Christ’s sacrifice to be taught in the home as well as the Church.

6. The obedience of the people, vv. 27-28.

7. The putting away of the leavened bread did not save them, but they did this because they were saved.

B. Infliction Of Death Upon The Firstborn. The 10th Plague, vv. 29-30.

1. Without a substitute the firstborn died. v. 29

2. NOW they take God seriously. It is so with the wicked now.

3. Christ the firstborn died for us. Matt. 1:25, And knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn son: and he called his name JESUS. Col. 1:14-15, In whom we have redemption through his blood, [even] the forgiveness of sins: Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature.

4. The great cry in Egypt. v. 30. This reminds us of what is going to happen in the Tribulation. Rev. 6:12-17, 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; And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind. And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places. And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains; And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?

II. THE DELIVERANCE OF ISRAEL vv. 31-51

A. The Dismissal Of Israel. v. 31-36

1. Pharaoh urges that they depart. v. 31

2. They were to take their children and their flocks. v. 31-32

3. They were urged to go by the Egyptian people. v. 33

4. Israel did not delay. v. 34

5. Israel received great wealth. v. 35-36

B. The Departure of Israel. v. 37-39

1. The first stage of their journey. v. 37

2. Their great numbers. v. 37. Counting women and children there must have been at least two million.

3. The mixed multitude. v. 38.

a. These were likely other slaves from other nations. The mixed multitude then and now are a source of trouble. Num. 11:4, And the mixt multitude that was among them fell a lusting: and the children of Israel also wept again, and said, Who shall give us flesh to eat?

b. While the Church should guard against this, it is likely that there will be tares among the wheat. Matt. 13:24-30, Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field: 25 But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way. 26 But when the blade was sprung up, and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also. 27 So the servants of the householder came and said unto him, Sir, didst not thou sow good seed in thy field? from whence then hath it tares?

28 He said unto them, An enemy hath done this. The servants said unto him, Wilt thou then that we go and gather them up? 29 But he said, Nay; lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them. 30 Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn. Luke 14:25-27,

4. They were thrust out. v. 39

C. The Fulfillment Of The 430 years. v. 40-42

1. The length of the sojourn. v. 40. While there are no contradictions or errors in the Bible, there are problems with no easy solution. In Exodus there are only 4 generation from Jacob to the exodus as promised in Gen. 15:16. Paul tells us that there were 430 years from the covenant with Abraham to the giving of the Law. Gal. 3:17. The Scripture does not say that they spent 430 years in Egypt, but that this was the length of their sojourn. In Heb. 11:9-10, we are told that Abraham sojourned in the land of promise. One possible solution is that the 430 years included their sojourning in Canaan and Egypt. From Abraham’s departure from Haran, until Jacob went down into Egypt was exactly 215 years. (For proof compare Gen. 12:4; 21:5; 25:26; and 47:9.) If this 215 years is included in the 430, then they spent 215 years in Egypt. This is a problem that we should approach with humility. We are confident that the Scriptures are right, and all we need to do is rightly divide them. Gen. 15:13; Acts 7:6

2. They were now the “hosts of the Lord.” v. 41. They had been bought and paid for, by the Lord. I Cor. 6:19-20, What? know ye not thatyour 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.

3. A night to be much observed. v. 42

D. Precepts For The Passover. v. 43-51

1. The stranger (v. 43), the hired servant (v. 45), and the uncircumcised (v. 48) were not to eat the Passover.

2. The bought servant (v. 44), and the sojourning stranger who would submit to circumcision (v.48), could eat it. No doubt some would disagree with God’s regulation on this, but it was the Lord’s word that counted. The same problem arises about the Lord’s Supper, but only those who have been saved and and Scripturally baptized and walking with the Lord in that local Church are invited to eat thereof.

3. The male alone was circumcised, but the female was represented by the male. So in the cross Christ represented His own and we are crucified with him, because He represented us. Gal. 2:20, I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.

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

STUDY QUESTIONS

1. Who did the passover lamb become a substitute for?

2. There can be no salvation without a

3. Why was it needful to put the blood on the outside, if the lamb had been slain anyway?

4. Where on the outside was the blood to be applied?

5. What did they use to apply the blood with?

6. When could they leave their houses?

7. Did the putting away of leaven save them? Why?

8. Did Pharaoh again ask for Israel to leave anything behind?

9. Israel journeyed from ____________ to ________________.

10. How many men left Egypt? How many people in all left?

11 . What was the length of their sojourn?

12. Why are they called the “hosts of the Lord ?”

13. Which three classes of people were not allowed to eat the Passover?

14. What was necessary before bought servants and sojourning strangers could eat the Passover?

LESSON 11

THE TENTH PLAGUE PROMISED

Exodus 11:1 – 12:20

—by E. L. Bynum

Memory Verse: Exodus 11:3, “And the LORD gave the people favour in the sight of the Egyptians. Moreover the man Moses was very great in the land of Egypt, in the sight of Pharaoh’s servants, and in the sight of the people.”

“THE eleventh chapter is, strictly speaking, a supplement to the tenth: the first verses speak, as if in parenthesis, of a revelation made before the ninth plague, but held over to be mentioned in connection with the last, which it now announces; and the conversation with Pharaoh is a continuation of the same in which they mutually resolved to see each other’s face no more.” —Expositor’s Bible Commentary.

The proud Pharaoh is about to learn that God is able to humble him, and cause him to let Israel go. God is able to fulfill His purpose. Proverbs 19:21, “There are many devices in a man’s heart; nevertheless the counsel of the LORD, that shall stand.” Isaiah 14:27, “For the LORD of hosts hath purposed, and who shall disannul it? and his hand is stretched out, and who shall turn it back?” Pharaoh will have to take back what he said, Exodus 5:2, “And Pharaoh said, Who is the LORD, that I should obey his voice to let Israel go? I know not the LORD, neither will I let Israel go.”

I. THE TENTH PLAGUE ANNOUNCED Exodus 11:1-10

A. God’s Message To Moses And The People, vv. 1-3.

1. One more plague to come, v. 1.

2. Instructed to borrow wealth from the Egyptians, v. 2.

NOTE: Remember that they had been slaves and deserved compensation. Also, it was God who commanded them to do this. Egypt had been blessed by the presence of the Egyptians. The Hebrew word for “borrow” means, to inquire, request, to demand, ask, beg or borrow. God PROMISED Abraham that they would LEAVE Egypt with GREAT SUBSTANCE, Genesis 15:14, “And also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge: and afterward shall they come out with great substance.”

3. Moses and the people ARE FAVORED by the Egyptians, v. 3; This FULFILLS Exodus 3:21, “And I will give this people favour in the sight of the Egyptians: and it shall come to pass, that, when ye go, ye shall not go empty:” AND Genesis 15:14, “And also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge: and afterward shall they come out with great substance.”

B. Pharaoh Learns About the TENTH PLAGUE, vv. 4-8.

NOTE: We take it that these verses are a continuation of Exodus 10:29, before Moses literally left the presence of Pharaoh, Exodus 11:8, “And all these thy servants shall come down unto me, and bow down themselves unto me, saying, Get thee out, and all the people that follow thee: and after that I will go out. And he went out from Pharaoh in a great anger.”

1. The TIME of God’s judgment would come, v. 4; Job 34:20, “In a moment shall they die, and the people shall be troubled at midnight, and pass away: and the mighty shall be taken away without hand.” This exact day is not announced.

2. The firstborn would die; God had warned Pharaoh earlier, v. 5; Exodus 4:23, “And I say unto thee, Let my son go, that he may serve me: and if thou refuse to let him go, behold, I will slay thy son, even thy firstborn.”

NOTE: “firstborn” “The Heb. word translated “firstborn” is applied only to males; and thus the announcement was that in every family the eldest son should be cut off. In Egypt, as in most other countries, the law of primogeniture prevailed-the eldest son was the hope, stay and support of the household. No greater affliction can be conceived, short of the general destruction of the people, than the sudden death in every family of him round whom the highest interests and fondest hopes clustered.” —-Eclectic Notes from Exodus.

a. The firstborn of THE EXALTED, including Pharaoh.

1) Firstborn SONS were CONSIDERED SACRED, and HEIRS to the family wealth and headship.

2) ISRAEL was God’s FIRSTBORN SON, Exodus 4:22, “And thou shalt say unto Pharaoh, Thus saith the LORD, Israel is my son, even my firstborn:” Jeremiah 31:9c, “…for I am a father to Israel, and Ephraim is my firstborn.”

3) Jesus Christ was God’s FIRSTBORN Son, and he HAD TO DIE that we MIGHT LIVE, 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.”

b. The firstborn of the HUMBLE and those IN BETWEEN.

c. The firstborn of the BEASTS.

3. The GREAT CRY of Egypt, v. 6.

a. God was RIGHTEOUS in doing this, Galatians 6:7, “Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.” Psalms 89:14, “Justice and judgment are the habitation of thy throne: mercy and truth shall go before thy face.” Genesis 18:25, “Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?”

b. It was a sentence AGAINST EVIL Ecclesiastes 8:11, “Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil.”

4. The difference between Israel and Egypt made known, v. 7; Romans 11:22, “Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God: on them which fell, severity; but toward thee, goodness, if thou continue in his goodness: otherwise thou also shalt be cut off.”

a. I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, Romans 9:15, 22, “For he saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. What if God, willing to shew his wrath, and to make his power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction.”

b. Pharaoh would know that GOD MAKES THE DIFFERENCE between believers and unbelievers, 1 Corinthians 4:7, “For who maketh thee to differ from another? and what hast thou that thou didst not receive? now if thou didst receive it, why dost thou glory, as if thou hadst not received it?”

NOTE: The firstborn like the firstfruits were representative of the rest. Even the dogs, whose nature is to bark, were controlled by God.

5. God did this for the spiritual well being of Israel, Leviticus 17:7, “And they shall no more offer their sacrifices unto devils, after whom they have gone a whoring….”

a. That they might fear Jehovah, Joshua 24:14, “Now therefore fear the LORD, and serve him in sincerity and in truth: and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the flood, and in Egypt; and serve ye the LORD.”

b. To cause them to cast away their idols, Ezekiel 20:6-8, “In the day that I lifted up mine hand unto them, to bring them forth of the land of Egypt into a land that I had espied for them, flowing with milk and honey, which is the glory of all lands: 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.”

NOTE: These verses indicate that Israel as well as the Egyptians were wicked, and indicates the need for a sacrifice, and thus the Passover lamb.

6. What Pharaoh’s servants would do according to Moses, v. 8; Exodus 12:31, “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.”

C. The Stubborn Hard Hearted King, vv. 9-10.

NOTE: The scripture has foretold the incredulity of those who should hear the gospel, that it might not be a surprise nor stumbling-block to us, #John 12:37-38, “But though he had done so many miracles before them, yet they believed not on him: 38 That the saying of Esaias the prophet might be fulfilled, which he spake, Lord, who hath believed our report? and to whom hath the arm of the Lord been revealed?” Romans 10:16, “But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Esaias saith, Lord, who hath believed our report?” Let us think never the worse of the gospel of Christ for the slights men generally put upon it, for we were told before what cold entertainment it would meet with. —Matthew Henry’s Commentary.

1. God’s wonders were yet to be multiplied, v. 9.

2. Pharaoh’s heart is hardened, v. 10; Exodus 7:3-4, “And I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and multiply my signs and my wonders in the land of Egypt. 4 But Pharaoh shall not hearken unto you, that I may lay my hand upon Egypt, and bring forth mine armies, and my people the children of Israel, out of the land of Egypt by great judgments.”

3. What God could do about this, Proverbs 19:21, “There are many devices in a man’s heart; nevertheless the counsel of the LORD, that shall stand.”

a. The Lord had purposed to do His will, Isaiah 14:27, “For the LORD of hosts hath purposed, and who shall disannul it? and his hand is stretched out, and who shall turn it back?”

b. God is able to abase those that walk in the pride of their hearts, Daniel 4:37, “Now I Nebuchadnezzar praise and extol and honour the King of heaven, all whose works are truth, and his ways judgment: and those that walk in pride he is able to abase”.

II. INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE PASSOVER AND THE FEAST OF UNLEAVENED BREAD Exodus 12:1-20

A. Instructions For The Passover, vv. 1-14.

NOTE: “Pesach” (Passover) means to pass through and to pass over. God would pass THROUGH the LAND of Egypt with death, but he would PASSOVER the HOUSES where the blood was sprinkled. “Deliverance for the believer is BASED ENTIRELY upon the SHEDDING OF THE BLOOD of a divinely appointed SUBSTITUTE and its APPLICATION to the heart once for all. If death has taken place for us it CANNOT COME TO US.” Keith L. Brooks

1. The new beginning of the year, vv. 1-2.

NOTE: The month Abib, the “green ear month.” After the captivity it was called Nisan. It corresponds to our April. Nehemiah 2:1, “And it came to pass in the month Nisan, in the twentieth year of Artaxerxes the king, that wine was before him: and I took up the wine, and gave it unto the king. Now I had not been beforetime sad in his presence.” Esther 3:7, “In the first month, that is, the month Nisan … to the twelfth month, that is, the month Adar.”

2. The lamb was CHOSEN the TENTH DAY, v. 3.

3. Provision was made for the SMALL household, v. 4.

NOTE: No mention is made of a lamb to small for an house, because the Lamb of God is sufficient for any house, indeed for the whole world.

b. John the Baptist IDENTIFIES the Lamb of God, John 1:29, “The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.”

c. Luke quotes ISAIAH, Acts 8:32-35, “The place of the scripture which he read was this, He was led as a sheep to the slaughter; and like a lamb dumb before his shearer, so opened he not his mouth: In his humiliation his judgment was taken away: and who shall declare his generation? for his life is taken from the earth. And the eunuch answered Philip, and said, I pray thee, of whom speaketh the prophet this? of himself, or of some other man? Then Philip opened his mouth, and began at the same scripture, and preached unto him Jesus”.

d. Isaiah DESCRIBES the LAMB, Isaiah 53:7-8, “He was OPPRESSED, and he was AFFLICTED, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought AS A LAMB to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he OPENETH NOT-his mouth. He was TAKEN FROM PRISON and from JUDGMENT: and who shall declare his generation? for he was CUT OFF out of the land of the living: for the TRANSGRESSION of my people was he STRICKEN.”

4. The lamb to be UNBLEMISHED, v. 5. See Leviticus 22:20-25; Hebrews 7:26-27, “For such an high priest became us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens; Who needeth not daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifice, first for his own sins, and then for the people’s: for this he did once, when he offered up himself.”

b. Jesus the Lamb of God met all these requirements, Matthew 3:17, “And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased”.

c. He was sinless, 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”.

d. In him is no sin, 1 John 3:5, “And ye know that he was manifested to take away our sins; and in him is no sin.”

5. The lamb kept up until the 14th day, v. 6. Satan tried to keep Jesus from dying at the time of the Passover; because Satan knew He was the Lamb of God, Mark 14:1-2, “After two days was the feast of the passover, and of unleavened bread: and the chief priests and the scribes sought how they might take him by craft, and put him to death. But they said, Not on the feast day, lest there be an uproar of the people.”

6. At that time, the WHOLE NATION were as priests, as are ALL Christians. The Levitical priesthood had not been established, Revelation 1:6, “And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.” 1 Peter 2:5, “Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ”.

7. The BLOOD of the sacrifice APPLIED, v. 7; 1 Corinthians 5:7-8, “Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us: 8 Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.” It was not the life of the Lamb, but the blood shed in death and applied, Romans 3:25, Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God.”

8. The flesh ROASTED and EATEN, with unleavened bread, vv. 8-9.

a. This is a TYPE of our FEEDING on Christ and OCCUPIED with His PERSON, John 6:54-56, “Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day. 55 For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. 56 He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him.”

NOTE: “SECURED BY THE BLOOD, the believer feeds on the Person of the Lamb of God, roast with fire, not raw. If Christ is not seen as the One subjected to the fires of God’s wrath against sin, one cannot feed upon Him. He cannot be an example if He is not first an atoning sacrifice.” —Keith L. Brooks

b. Leaven was a SYMBOL OF EVIL.

1) The Apostle Paul commands the Corinthians to PURGE THE EVIL from among them, 1 Corinthians 5:6-7, “Your glorying is not good. Know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump? Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us.”

2) Peter declares that we were NOT redeemed with CORRUPTIBLE THINGS, 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.”

9. The remainder to be burned with fire, v. 10.

NOTE: “The sacrifice in all its ceremonial was to be completed within a single night. The rising sun was thus to see no trace of the slain lamb. In like manner the atoning work of Christ is not a progressive but a completed thing. It is not in process of being accomplished; it has been accomplished definitely and eternally. As a fragrant and hallowed memory Calvary’s costly sacrifice abides with God and the redeemed forever; but the sacrifice itself is past and completed. For God’s suffering Lamb the dark night of judgment is no more, and He lives on high in the eternal sunshine of Divine favor and love.” — W. W. Fereday, Quoted by Arthur Pink.

10. “And thus shall ye eat it,” v. 11.

a. “With your loins girded,” Ephesians 6:14, “Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;”

NOTE: “The long robes of the East, as we are all aware, required the girdle in order that there might be no hindrance in the way of a march such as Israel now had before them. If they were allowed to flow loose, they would get entangled with the feet and overthrow the wearers; and the dust of the road would get upon them and defile them. The TRUTH it is which is to be our girdle, keeping us from the loose and negligent contact with ever-ready defilement in a world which the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life characterizes, and from the entanglement to our feet which lax habits prove.” —Arthur Pink, Gleanings in Exodus.

b. “Your shoes on your feet,” Ephesians 6:15, “And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;”

c. “Your staff in your hand,” Philippians 3:20, “For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ:”

NOTE: The staff is the sign of pilgrimage. As they journeyed to the Promised Land, Israel were to pass through a wilderness in which they would be strangers and pilgrims. So it is with Christians as they pass through this world. Their home is not here: “Our citizenship is in heaven”. Therefore does God say, “I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims,” 1 Peter 2:11, “Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul;” —Arthur Pink, Gleanings in Exodus.

d. “And ye shall eat it in haste,” Matthew 24:44, “Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh.”

NOTE: “They were to eat it in haste because they expected that any moment the Lord might come and pass over them; any moment they might be called to arise and go out of the land of bondage. They expected the imminent Coming of the Lord. That is to say, because the Coming of the Lord was imminent they expected it”. —Dr. Haldeman as quoted by Arthur Pink in Gleanings from Exodus.

11. God has warned that He would smite all the firstborn, v. 12; Exodus 4:23, “And I say unto thee, Let my son go, that he may serve me: and if thou refuse to let him go, behold, I will slay thy son, even thy firstborn.”

12. He would also judge the gods of Egypt, v. 12; 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.”

13. The protection of the blood, v. 13; Hebrews 9:22, “And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission.”

NOTE: This is a type of the blood of Christ. He made peace through the blood of His cross. Why did God pass over? The innocent substitute had died. God’s eye is not upon the house, but the blood. A poor house as good as a palace. His eye was not upon the people but upon the blood, 1 Corinthians 1:18, 23, “For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God. 23 But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks foolishness;”

14. The Passover was to be kept as a yearly memorial, v. 14; Luke 22:19, “And he took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them, saying, This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me.”

B. The Feast of Unleavened Bread, vv. 15-20.

NOTE: This has been considered as a distinct ordinance, and not essentially connected with the Passover. The Passover was to be observed on the fourteenth day of the first month; the feast of unleavened bread began on the fifteenth and lasted seven days, the first and last of which were holy convocations. —Adam Clarke’s Commentary by Gary Gallant.

NOTE: “unleavened bread;” Leaven represents iniquity in its tendency to extend itself by assimilating what was exposed to its action. This ordinance then means the disallowance and putting away of all evil that belongs to man in his fallen state. —Eclectic Notes on Exodus.

1. Unleavened bread used for seven days, v. 15; Deuteronomy 16:3, “Thou shalt eat no leavened bread with it; seven days shalt thou eat unleavened bread therewith, even the bread of affliction; for thou camest forth out of the land of Egypt in haste: that thou mayest remember the day when thou camest forth out of the land of Egypt all the days of thy life.”

2. Great care was taken to make sure there was no leaven in the house, v. 15; 1 Corinthians 5:7, “Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us:”

3. The first and seventh days were holy and no work could be done, v. 16.

a. “There shall be an holy convocation”—literally, calling of the people, which was done by sound of trumpets, Numbers 10:2, “Make thee two trumpets of silver; of a whole piece shalt thou make them: that thou mayest use them for the calling of the assembly, and for the journeying of the camps.”

b. “A sacred assembly”—for these days were to be regarded as Sabbaths—excepting only that meat might be cooked on them, Exodus 16:23, “And he said unto them, This is that which the LORD hath said, To morrow is the rest of the holy sabbath unto the LORD: bake that which ye will bake to day, and seethe that ye will seethe; and that which remaineth over lay up for you to be kept until the morning.”

4. This was to be a yearly observance, v. 17.

5. The time of unleavened bread, vv. 18-20.

6. The penalty for disobedience, v. 19.

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

LESSON 10

THE EIGHTH AND NINTH PLAGUES

Exodus 10:1-29

—by E. L. Bynum

“The Lord would not command His servant again to enter the dangerous presence of the sullen prince, without a reason which would sustain his faith.” —Expositor’s Bible Commentary.

The word translated “hardened” can be translated, “for I have made his heart heavy.” The Lord is saying to Moses, “His foolhardiness is My doing and cannot go beyond My will: you are safe.”

I. THE EIGHTH PLAGUE: LOCUSTS vv. 1-20

A. Moses and Aaron before Pharaoh, vv. 1-7.

1. Pharaoh’s HEART CONDITION, v. 1;

Note: “As he that brings in a light blinds an owl; or as he that pours on water kindles the lime whereupon it is poured: so the Lord by publishing his commands, and by doing his miracles, hardened the heart of Pharaoh.” —John Trapp’s Commentary.

2. Moses is instructed so that OTHERS MAY HEAR of these things, vv. 1-2; 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.”

3. God’s PURPOSE FOR PHARAOH is revealed, v. 2; Psalms 44:1, “We have heard with our ears, O God, our fathers have told us, what work thou didst in their days, in the times of old.”

4. God’s purpose for MOSES’ OFFSPRING, v. 2.

a. To worship the Lord, Exodus12:26-27, “And it shall come to pass, when your children shall say unto you, What mean ye by this service? 27 That ye shall say, It is the sacrifice of the LORD’S passover, who passed over the houses of the children of Israel in Egypt, when he smote the Egyptians, and delivered our houses. And the people bowed the head and worshipped.”

b. To teach his children regarding how Jehovah redeem Israel out of bondage, Exodus 13:8, 14-15, “And thou shalt shew thy son in that day, saying, This is done because of that which the LORD did unto me when I came forth out of Egypt. 14 And it shall be when thy son asketh thee in time to come, saying, What is this? that thou shalt say unto him, By strength of hand the LORD brought us out from Egypt, from the house of bondage: 15 And it came to pass, when Pharaoh would hardly let us go, that the LORD slew all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both the firstborn of man, and the firstborn of beast: therefore I sacrifice to the LORD all that openeth the matrix, being males; but all the firstborn of my children I redeem.”

5. Pharaoh is informed of God’s UNCHANGING PURPOSE, v. 3; Exodus 9:17, “As yet exaltest thou thyself against my people, that thou wilt not let them go?’

6. Pharaoh’s need for HUMILITY, v. 3; Isaiah 2:11, “The lofty looks of man shall be humbled, and the haughtiness of men shall be bowed down, and the LORD alone shall be exalted in that day.”

7. The THREAT of the plague of LOCUSTS, vv. 4-6.

Note: Locusts are an occasional, though not a frequent scourge in Egypt. They are not bred there, and necessarily arrive from some foreign country. When they descend, their ravages are as severe as elsewhere. Locusts suddenly appear in the cultivated land coming from the desert in a column of great length. They fly across the country, darkening the air with their compact ranks, which are undisturbed by the constant attacks of kites, crows, and vultures, and making a strange whizzing sound, like that of fire, or many distant wheels. Where they alight they devour every green thing, even stripping the trees of their leaves. They always enter Egypt either from the south or from the east and necessarily come with a wind, since they cannot possible fly any considerable distance without one. Eclectic Note from Exodus.

a. This plague would be devastating, Joel 2:3, “A fire devoureth before them; and behind them a flame burneth: the land is as the garden of Eden before them, and behind them a desolate wilderness; yea, and nothing shall escape them.”

b. God will use the locust during the Tribulation Period, Revelation 9:3, “And there came out of the smoke locusts upon the earth: and unto them was given power, as the scorpions of the earth have power.”

8. According to v. 5, they would completely cover the ground and destroy what had not been destroyed by the hail.

9. The departure of Moses, v. 6.

10. The plea of Pharaoh’s servants, v. 7. The threat of the locusts to eat what remained from the hail brought Pharaoh’s servants to their senses.

B. The Third Compromise Offered by Pharaoh, vv. 8-11.

1. Moses and Aaron brought back to Pharaoh, v. 8.

2. Pharaoh’s SELFISH QUESTION, v. 8. He had been told who was going, but he was still hoping for a compromise.

3. Moses UNCOMPROMISING answer, v. 9.

4. Pharaoh’s compromise – “Go ye that are men, and serve the Lord,” vv. 10-11.

Note: He wanted to keep the women, children and possessions so that the men would have to return. That is still what the devil wants to do to families today.

5. Lessons from this proposal for compromise.

a. The devil would have Christian parents to leave their children and families behind in Christian service.

b. The devil would tell us not to force religion on our children.

c. God’s message is plain, Proverbs 22:6, “Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.”

1. Don’t provoke your children, Ephesians 6:4, “And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.”

2. He will command his children to keep the way of the Lord, Genesis 18:19, “For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the LORD, to do justice and judgment; that the LORD may bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken of him.”

3. He is to teach God’s word diligently to his children, Deuteronomy 6:6-7, “And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.

4. Thus taught they will keep the way of the Lord, Genesis 18:19, “For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the LORD, to do justice and judgment; that the LORD may bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken of him.”

6. Pharaoh REFUSES Moses’ CONDITIONS and drives them out, v. 11.

C. The Plague Executed, vv. 12-15.

1. God’s command is to be obeyed always, v. 12.

2. Locusts (grasshoppers) blown in by the east wind, v. 13.

3. This was of course, an abnormal amount of locusts. v. 14.

a. The prophets likened the locusts to an INVADING ARMY, Joel 1-2; Amos 7:1-2, “Thus hath the Lord GOD shewed unto me; and, behold, he formed grasshoppers in the beginning of the shooting up of the latter growth; and, lo, it was the latter growth after the king’s mowings. 2 And it came to pass, that when they had made an end of eating the grass of the land, then I said, O Lord GOD, forgive, I beseech thee: by whom shall Jacob arise? for he is small.”

b. They were WITHOUT NUMBER, Judges 6:5, “For they came up with their cattle and their tents, and they came as grasshoppers for multitude; for both they and their camels were without number: and they entered into the land to destroy it.” Isaiah 33:4, “And your spoil shall be gathered like the gathering of the caterpiller: as the running to and fro of locusts shall he run upon them.”

4. Their number and their devastating work. v. 15; Psalm 105:34-35, “He spake, and the locusts came, and caterpillers, and that without number, 35 And did eat up all the herbs in their land, and devoured the fruit of their ground.”

Note: “There are many recorded plagues of locusts, but none like this one. Grasshoppers were so great in our own land in the 30s, until the crops were stripped of every leaf and the shucks eaten off the ears of corn. Highways became so slick with crushed grasshoppers that traffic was dangerous. The railroad tracks became so slick that the driving wheels of, the train would simply spin on the rails.” —E. L. Bynum.

5. This plague was a BLOW AGAINST their god “SERAPIS,” who was SUPPOSED TO PROTECT them from locusts.

D. The Result of the Plague, vv. 16-20.

1. Pharaoh confesses his sin, v. 16.

Note: “I have sinned against the Lord.” “A fair confession, but forced and extorted. Thus the toad, if beaten on the belly, will vomit up his venom, and the malefactor on the rack will utter all. But as water heated, if taken off the fire will soon return to its natural coldness, yea, become colder after heating than before.” John Trapp’s Commentary.

2. He asks for forgiveness, v. 17.

Note: Again he did not repent. This is like some today who want forgiveness, but do not want to repent or really change.

3. Moses entreats the Lord, v. 18.

4. The removal of the locusts, v. 19.

Note: They were cast into the Red Sea, where the Egyptian army would soon be destroyed.

5. Pharaoh’s condition, v. 20.

6. These events foreshadow what is going to happen in the Tribulation, Revelation 9:3-11, “And there came out of the smoke locusts upon the earth: and unto them was given power, as the scorpions of the earth have power. 4 And it was commanded them that they should not hurt the grass of the earth, neither any green thing, neither any tree; but only those men which have not the seal of God in their foreheads. 5 And to them it was given that they should not kill them, but that they should be tormented five months: and their torment was as the torment of a scorpion, when he striketh a man. 6 And in those days shall men seek death, and shall not find it; and shall desire to die, and death shall flee from them. 7 And the shapes of the locusts were like unto horses prepared unto battle; and on their heads were as it were crowns like gold, and their faces were as the faces of men. 8 And they had hair as the hair of women, and their teeth were as the teeth of lions. 9 And they had breastplates, as it were breastplates of iron; and the sound of their wings was as the sound of chariots of many horses running to battle. 10 And they had tails like unto scorpions, and there were stings in their tails: and their power was to hurt men five months. 11 And they had a king over them, which is the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon, but in the Greek tongue hath his name Apollyon.”

II. THE NINTH PLAGUE: DARKNESS vv. 21-29

A. The Darkness Sent, vv. 21-23.

1. The children of darkness have DARKNESS, vv. 21-22.

a. The Egyptians worshiped the SUN GOD “Ra,” but their god FAILED.

b. When God WITHDRAWS THE LIGHT, only the darkness is left.

1) Egypt was ABANDONED by God, Proverbs 4:19, “The way of the wicked is as darkness: they know not at what they stumble.”

2) Egypt was WITHOUT HOPE, Ephesians 2:12, “That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world.”

c. Three days of darkness remind us of 3 hours of darkness at the cross. Matthew 27:45-46, “Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land unto the ninth hour. And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?”

1) He suffered for our sins on the cross, 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.”

2) God could not look upon His Son because of our sins, Habakkuk 1:13a, “Thou art of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst not look on iniquity:”

d. The UNREPENTANT SINNER shall be cast into outer darkness, Matthew 8:12, “But the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” Jude 13, “Raging waves of the sea, foaming out their own shame; wandering stars, to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness for ever.”

2. The children of light have light, v. 23; John 3:19-21, “And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. 20 For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. 21 But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.”

a. If we say that we have fellowship with Him and walk in darkness, 1 John 1:5-7, “This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. 6 If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth: 7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.”

Note: Egypt had a darkness they could light up. Israel had a light which could not be put out.

b. We were in darkness, Ephesians 5:8, “For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light.”

c. The light has shined in our hearts, 2 Corinthians 4:6, “For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.”

B. The Fourth Compromise Offered, vv. 24-27.

1. The proposal: leave your flocks and herds, v. 24.

Note: He first sought to keep them IN, then to keep them NEAR the land, and then to keep PART of themselves in the land.

a. Now he wants them to go without any ability to serve the Lord. The devil wants our possessions.

b. This is an attempt to get them to try to make the best of two worlds, 2 Timothy 4:10, “For Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present world, and is departed unto Thessalonica; Crescens to Galatia, Titus unto Dalmatia.” Matthew 6:21, “For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”

c. This would involve disobedience in stewardship. Malachi 3:8, “Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings.”

2. Moses’ reply, vv. 25-26.

a. Pharaoh must furnish the sacrifices, v. 25.

b. Not one hoof to be left behind, v. 26.

c. They did not know what they would need until they arrived, v. 26; Hebrews 11:8, “By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went.”

3. Pharaoh’s continued hardness, v. 27. The longer a person resists the truth of God, the harder their heart will get.

C. Pharaoh Delivered to Judgment, vv. 28-29.

1. Pharaoh’s harsh final statement, v. 28.

Note: The calm firmness of Moses provoked the tyrant. Frantic with disappointment and rage, with offended and desperate malice, he ordered him from his presence and forbade him ever to return.—Jamison, Fausset, Brown Commentary.

2. Moses’ ready acceptance, v. 29.

3. It is true that Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron by night, and ordered them to leave Egypt, and to take all their substance with them, Exodus 12:31, “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.”

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

STUDY QUESTIONS

1. What was the eighth plague brought upon Egypt?

2, What was the purpose of Moses telling his sons and his son’s sons about the signs and plagues?

3, What was the third compromise offered to Moses concerning Israel going into the wilderness to worship the lord? (Look up the first two.)

4. How did God bring this eighth plague upon the land?

5. How did God. rid the land of this plague?

6. What was the ninth plague upon Egypt?

7. What is so significant about this darkness?

8. How long did the darkness last?

9. How does this compare with the darkness surrounding the cross?

10. What was the fourth compromise offered to Moses concerning Israel going into the wilderness to worship the Lord?

11. How did Pharaoh threaten Moses?

LESSON 9

THE FIFTH, SIXTH, AND SEVENTH PLAGUES

Exodus 9:1-35

—by E. L. Bynum

Memory Verse: v. 27, And Pharaoh sent, and called for Moses and Aaron, and said unto them, I have sinned this time: the LORD is righteous, and I and my people are wicked.

Introduction:

The former plagues were against persons, but the following are AGAINST PROPERTY AND PERSONS.

“OUR Lord when on earth came NOT TO DESTROY men’s lives. And yet it was necessary, for our highest instruction, that we should NOT think of Him as revealing a Divinity wholly DEVOID of sternness. TWICE, therefore, a gleam of the FIRES OF JUSTICE fell on the eyes which followed Him—through the DESTRUCTION once of a BARREN TREE, and once of a HERD OF SWINE, which property no Jew should have possessed. So now, when HALF the gloomy round of the plagues was being completed, it was NECESSARY TO PROVE that LIFE ITSELF was staked on this desperate hazard; and this was done first by the very same expedient—the destruction of life which was NOT human.” —Expositor’s Bible Commentary.

I. THE FIFTH PLAGUE MURRAIN UPON THE LIVESTOCK vv. 1-7

A. The Bold Demand and the Plague of Murrain Announced, vv. 1-5.

1. The demand and the purpose, v. 1, “Thus saith the LORD God of the Hebrews,”

Note: “Warning given of another plague, namely, the murrain of beasts. When Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, after he had seemed to relent under the former plague, then Moses is sent to tell him there is another coming, to try what that would do towards reviving the impressions of the former plagues. Thus is the wrath of God revealed from heaven, both in his word and in his works, against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men.” Matthew Henry’s Commentary.

a. The DEMAND, “…let my people go ….”

b. The PURPOSE, “…that they may SERVE ME.”

Note: The IMPORTANCE of THIS PHRASE cannot be over emphasized. While we do not deny that God’s love, mercy, and grace was extended to Israel, yet even this is for His glory.

1) God SAVES SINNERS that they MIGHT SERVE HIM, Exodus 8:1, 20, “And the LORD spake unto Moses, Go unto Pharaoh, and say unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Let my people go, that they may serve me. 20 And the LORD said unto Moses, Rise up early in the morning, and stand before Pharaoh; lo, he cometh forth to the water; and say unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Let my people go, that they may SERVE ME.” See also: Exodus 9:1, 13; Exodus 10:3.

2) The MAIN PURPOSE of the SALVATION of the sinner is FOR GOD’S GLORY, 1 Corinthians 10:31, “Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, DO ALL TO the GLORY of God.”

01. In the NAME of the Lord Jesus, Colossians 3:17, “And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, DO ALL in the NAME of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father BY HIM.”

02. That Jesus Christ might RECEIVE the GLORY, 1 Peter 4:11, “If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God; if any man minister, let him do it as of the ability which God giveth: that God in all things may be GLORIFIED through Jesus Christ, to whom be praise and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.”

03. For HE IS THE PRINCE of the KINGS of the earth, Revelation 1:5-6, “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; And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be GLORY and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.”

04. For HE IS WORTHY, Revelation 4:11, “Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive GLORY and HONOUR and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.”

2. The REFUSAL would RESULT in the plague, vv. 2-3.

a. Refusal TO HEED God’s WARNING could bring even GREATER CONSEQUENCES, Leviticus 26:21, “And if ye walk contrary unto me, and will not hearken unto me; I will bring SEVEN TIMES MORE plagues upon you according to your sins.”

b. God will WOUND the HEADS of His ENEMIES, Psalms 68:21, “But God shall wound the head of his enemies, and the hairy scalp of such an one as goeth on still in his trespasses.”

3. The MEANING of this plague. “Murrain” == ANY OF VARIOUS DISEASES OF CATTLE AS ANTHRAX, HOOF-AND-MOUTH DISEASE, AND TEXAS FEVER.

a. Animals have always SUFFERED because of MAN’S SIN, Romans 8:22, “For we know that the WHOLE creation GROANETH and TRAVAILETH IN PAIN together until now.”

b. This was ANOTHER BLOW AGAINST IDOLATRY; cattle were SACRED in Egypt, for they worshiped the bull, APIS, and the calf, MNEVIS.

c. It SHOWED the POWER and RESOURCES of God.

d. It SHOWED God’s JUDGMENT upon man’s WORKS; the beasts were harnessed and labored for man, Proverbs 21:4, “An high look, and a proud heart, and the plowing of the wicked, is sin.”

4. SEPARATION meant LIFE for the cattle of the ISRAELITES, v. 4.

5. The Lord SET THE TIME, v. 5. He operates on schedule.

B. The Plague EXECUTED and the RESULT, vv. 6-7.

1. The cattle die, v. 6. The “all” of v. 6 must be understood in the light of “IN THE FIELD” of v. 3. See vv. 19, 21; and Exodus 10:25, “And Moses said, Thou must give us also sacrifices and burnt offerings, that we may sacrifice unto the LORD our God.”

2. Pharaoh’s heart hardened. v. 7; Proverbs 28:14, “Happy is the man that feareth alway: but he that hardeneth his heart SHALL FALL into mischief.”

a. The FEAR of the Lord, Proverbs 9:10, “The fear of the LORD is the BEGINNING OF WISDOM: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding.”

b. Knowledge of God gives UNDERSTANDING, Ephesians 4:18, “Having the understanding DARKENED, being ALIENATED from the life of God through the IGNORANCE that is in them, because of the BLINDNESS of their heart.”

II. THE SIXTH PLAGUE: BOILS ON MAN AND BEAST vv. 8-12

A. The Plague of Boils, vv. 8-10.

1. The ASHES of the furnace sprinkled, v. 8. Egypt in its fiery persecution of Israel is called a furnace, Deuteronomy 4:20, “But the LORD hath taken you, and brought you forth out of the iron furnace, even out of Egypt, to be unto him a people of inheritance, as ye are this day.” See also 1 Kings 8:51.

a. Chosen in the furnace of affliction, Isaiah 48:10, “Behold, I have refined thee, but not with silver; I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction.”

b. Brought out of the IRON furnace, Jeremiah 11:4, “Which I commanded your fathers in the day [that] I brought them forth out of the land of Egypt, from the iron furnace, saying, Obey my voice, and do them, according to all which I command you: so shall ye be my people, and I will be your God.”

Note: This furnace may have been the altar in Egypt upon which human sacrifice was made, to the god Typhon.

2. BOILS and RUNNING SORES on man and beast, v. 9. This plague shows the TRUE SPIRITUAL CONDITION of man, Isaiah 1:6, “From the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness in it; but wounds, and bruises, and putrifying sores: they have not been closed, neither bound up, neither mollified with ointment.”

3. The plague implemented, v. 10. God promised that if they DISOBEYED HIM in the land of CANAAN, that the SAME KIND of plague would FALL UPON THEM, Deuteronomy 28:27, “The LORD will smite thee with the botch of Egypt, and with the emerods, and with the scab, and with the itch, whereof thou canst not be healed.” Deuteronomy 28:35, “The LORD shall smite thee in the knees, and in the legs, with a sore botch that cannot be healed, from the sole of thy foot unto the top of thy head.”

B. The Result of the Plague, vv. 11-12.

1. False religionists UNABLE TO STAND, v. 11.

a. This is PROPHETIC OF THE LAST DAYS and God’s judgment upon false religion, Revelation 16:2, “And the first went, and poured out his vial upon the earth; and there fell a noisome and grievous sore upon the men which had the mark of the beast, and upon them which worshipped his image.”

b. This would make it IMPOSSIBLE for the Egyptians TO BATH and STAY CLEAN. Remember that they were DEVOTED to keeping themselves CLEAN.

2. The heart of Pharaoh hardened, v. 12; Proverbs 29:1, “He, that being often reproved hardeneth his neck, shall suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy.”

III. THE SEVENTH PLAGUE: GRIEVOUS HAIL vv. 13-35

A. The Demand and the Warning, vv. 13-21.

1. The demand to let Israel go, v. 13. (God’s purpose never changes).

2. God’s glorious purpose, vv. 14-16,

a. Pharaoh would learn that there is NONE LIKE Jehovah, v. 14, “that thou mayest know that there is none like me in all the earth.”

b. Pharaoh was to be cut off, v. 15; Exodus 14:25-28, “And took off their chariot wheels, that they drave them heavily: so that the Egyptians said, Let us flee from the face of Israel; for the LORD fighteth for them against the Egyptians. 26 And the LORD said unto Moses, Stretch out thine hand over the sea, that the waters may come again upon the Egyptians, upon their chariots, and upon their horsemen. 27 And Moses stretched forth his hand over the sea, and the sea returned to his strength when the morning appeared; and the Egyptians fled against it; and the LORD overthrew the Egyptians in the midst of the sea. 28 And the waters returned, and covered the chariots, and the horsemen, and all the host of Pharaoh that came into the sea after them; there remained not so much as one of them.

c. Pharaoh was raised up TO SHOW God’s sovereign power, v. 16. Romans 9:17, “For the scripture saith unto Pharaoh, Even for this same purpose have I raised thee up, that I might shew my power in thee, and that my name might be declared throughout all the earth.”

1) Other CRUEL RULERS have had to learn the same lesson, Daniel 4:30-33, “The king spake, and said, Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for the house of the kingdom by the might of my power, and for the honour of my majesty? 31 While the word was in the king’s mouth, there fell a voice from heaven, saying, O king Nebuchadnezzar, to thee it is spoken; The kingdom is departed from thee. 32 And they shall drive thee from men, and thy dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field: they shall make thee to eat grass as oxen, and seven times shall pass over thee, until thou know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will. 33 The same hour was the thing fulfilled upon Nebuchadnezzar: and he was driven from men, and did eat grass as oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven, till his hairs were grown like eagles’ feathers, and his nails like birds’ claws.”

2) Herod learned this lesson, Acts 12:21-23, “And upon a set day Herod, arrayed in royal apparel, sat upon his throne, and made an oration unto them. 22 And the people gave a shout, saying, It is the voice of a god, and not of a man. 23 And immediately the angel of the Lord smote him, because he gave not God the glory: and he was eaten of worms, and gave up the ghost.”

d. God’s name to be declared throughout all the earth, v. 16; 1 Chronicles 16:24, “Declare his glory among the heathen; his marvellous works among all nations.”

3. The promise of hail, “tomorrow about this time,”vv. 17- 18; 2 Kings 7:1, 18, “Then Elisha said, Hear ye the word of the LORD; Thus saith the LORD, To morrow about this time shall a measure of fine flour be sold for a shekel, and two measures of barley for a shekel, in the gate of Samaria. 18 And it came to pass as the man of God had spoken to the king, saying, Two measures of barley for a shekel, and a measure of fine flour for a shekel, shall be to morrow about this time in the gate of Samaria:”

4. Pharaoh warned to protect man and beast. v. 19.

a. This is God’s mercy at work, Psalms 103:8, “The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy.”

b. Here mercy rejoices against judgment, James 2:13, “For he shall have judgment without mercy, that hath shewed no mercy; and mercy rejoiceth against judgment.”

5. Those who feared the Lord, v. 20; Acts 28:24, “And some believed the things which were spoken, and some believed not.”

6. Those who feared not the Lord, v. 21; Proverbs 22:3, “A prudent man foreseeth the evil, and hideth himself: but the simple pass on, and are punished.”

B. The Execution of the Plague, vv. 22-26.

1. The command of God, v. 22, “Stretch forth thine hand toward heaven,”

2. The obedience of Moses, v. 23; Psalms 78:48, “He gave up their cattle also to the hail, and their flocks to hot thunderbolts.”

3. The terrible destruction, vv. 24-25.

a. This foreshadows the coming tribulation destruction, Revelation 8:5, 7, “And the angel took the censer, and filled it with fire of the altar, and cast it into the earth: and there were voices, and thunderings, and lightnings, and an earthquake. 7 The first angel sounded, and there followed hail and fire mingled with blood, and they were cast upon the earth: and the third part of trees was burnt up, and all green grass was burnt up.” See also Revelation 11:19; Revelation 16:18, 21.

b. Thunder symbolized the voice of God, John 12:28-29, “Father, glorify thy name. Then came there a voice from heaven, saying, I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again. 29 The people therefore, that stood by, and heard it, said that it thundered: others said, An angel spake to him.” See also Psalm 29.

C. The Result: A Shaken Pharaoh, vv. 27-35.

1. Pharaoh’s true confession, v. 27.

a. Like BALLAM, Pharaoh CONFESSED BUT did NOT repent, Numbers 22:34, “And Balaam said unto the angel of the LORD, I have sinned; for I knew not that thou stoodest in the way against me: now therefore, if it displease thee, I will get me back again.”

b. Like Balaam, SAUL ONLY CONFESSED, 1 Samuel 15:24,30, “And Saul said unto Samuel, I have sinned: for I have transgressed the commandment of the LORD, and thy words: because I feared the people, and obeyed their voice. 30 Then he said, I have sinned: yet honour me now, I pray thee, before the elders of my people, and before Israel, and turn again with me, that I may worship the LORD thy God.”

c. Like Saul, JUDAS only confessed also, Matthew 27:3-4, “Then Judas, which had betrayed him, when he saw that he was condemned, repented himself, and brought again the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders. Saying, I have sinned in that I have betrayed the innocent blood. And they said, What is that to us? see thou to that.”

Note: This points out the DANGER OF EASY BELIEVISM based on fear or love, WITHOUT REPENTANCE.

d. The PRODIGAL SON made a TRUE confession and PROVED his repentance by a CHANGE OF CONDUCT, Luke 15:18, 20, “I will arise and GO TO MY FATHER, and will SAY unto him, Father, I have SINNED AGAINST HEAVEN, and BEFORE THEE, And he arose, and came to his father. But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him.”

e. David also PROVED his confession was SINCERE by his REPENTANCE, 2 Samuel 12:13, “And David said unto Nathan, I have SINNED against the LORD. And Nathan said unto David, The LORD also hath put away thy sin; thou shalt not die.” Psalms 51:4, “AGAINST THEE, THEE ONLY, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight: that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest.”

2. Pharaoh’s request, v. 28, “Intreat the LORD (for it is enough) that there be no more mighty thunderings.” [Heb. voices of God.]

3. Moses’ consent and the reason given. v. 29, “that thou mayest know how that the earth is the LORD’S.” Psalms 24:1, “The earth is the LORD’S, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein.” 1 Corinthians 10:26, “For the earth is the Lord’s, and the fulness thereof.”

4. Moses spiritual insight, v. 30; 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.”

5. The extent of the damage, vv. 31-32. Month: March or April.

6. The plague ends, v. 33.

7. The unrepentant Pharaoh, vv. 34-35; Ecclesiastes 8:11, “Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil.”

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

STUDY QUESTIONS

1. State the fifth, sixth, and seventh plagues in their proper order

2. What was the chief purpose behind God’s demand, “let my people go?”

3. What is God’s main purpose in saving sinners?

4. How did the Egyptians highly esteem cattle?

5. What effect has man’s sin had upon the animal world?

6. Did each and every one of the Egyptian’s cattle die in the plague?

7. How does the plague of boils illustrate the true condition of man?

8. Name the four things of God’s purpose in the seventh plague

9. Why did God warn Pharaoh to protect man and beast from the seventh plague?

10. Did any of the Egyptians heed the warning given? If so who?