The Plagues - 250304

SPEAKER 1 Hello, I'm Cassie Sollano. Welcome to Let God Speak. The confrontation between Moses and Pharaoh to free the Israelites from slavery was dramatic and deadly, evident from the ten plagues inflicted on Egypt. But there was much more to it. God wanted to free Pharaoh and the Egyptians from their yoke of slavery to idolatry. This showdown with life and death consequences was symbolic of the great controversy between Christ and and Satan. Stay with us as we discuss this fascinating topic. On our panel today, we have Lazio Crescentini and Cynthia Mafunga. Welcome. Let's pray. Dear Lord, thank youk for this opportunity to study youy word today. Please bless the study that we do and help us see youe in a new light and understand what yout have to say to us right now today. Help our hearts to be open and those of the listening and watching. In Jesus' name, amen. SPEAKER 2 Amen. SPEAKER 1 Today we are going to look at nine of the ten plagues. The tenth plague will be discussed on our next program. The first nine affected all three habitats created by God in Genesis 1. Plagues one to two affect the waters, plagues three to six affect the earth, and plagues seven to nine affect the heavens. The first three are mild, quick and did not cause death. The next four to six were more harmful, destroying livestock and afflicting humans with sores. Then seven to nine involved the death of people and animals and destruction of crops. The plagues were to persuade Pharaoh to let the Israelites go and also to accept God and turn from his gods. What was the first confrontation with Pharaoh and how did this involve Egyptian gods, Cynthia? SPEAKER 3 So this is found in Exodus chapter 7 verse 10 to 12. And it said, so Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh, and they did so just as the Lord commanded. And Aaron cast down his rod before Pharaoh and before his servants, and it became a serpent. But Pharaoh also called the wise men and the sorcerers, so the magicians of Egypt They also did in like manner with their enchantments, for every man threw down his rod, and they became serpents, but Aaron's rod swallowed up their rods. So here there's a showdown between the magicians of Egypt and Moses and Aaron. And the Egyptians worshipped a cobra as a goddess, and Pharaoh also had a serpent on his crown. So it was their god, and here is the God of heaven kind of showing that he is greater than their God. So there was so much more happening there than just the magicians and Moses having a showdown. It was between God and the gods of Egypt. SPEAKER 1 Yes, thank you. Now, what was the spiritual significance in Moses' serpents eating Pharaoh's serpents? Lazio? SPEAKER 2 Yes, so this was a display of God's supremacy over the Egyptian magic and sorcery. so the emblem of Pharaoh's power was conquered by then, like Cynthia I mentioned. Aaron and Moses, they held that emblem of victory in their hands. And this initial confirmation showed that the power, God's power and Lordship over Egypt itself. So Moses, as God's representative, had this greater authority and power Dan, the god Pharaoh himself. SPEAKER 1 Yes, wow. This amazing showdown was witnessed by the whole Egyptian royal court. What message should it have sent to Egyptian leadership, Cynthia? SPEAKER 3 So to the Egyptian mind, the message was very clear. Because they held the serpent as a sign of sovereignty, this meant that it was not sovereign, that there was a god greater than the serpent god. So for them they would have got it so quickly. Yeah. SPEAKER 1 Yeah. Now does this have a message for us today, Lazio? SPEAKER 2 Yes, absolutely. Unwittingly we ourselves, we can be slaves to our own gods and not realise that we are into slavery and we can have cultural gods or we can even have family, talents, education, media, fashion, sport, all kinds of things that can become our gods and we Two can then accept that God has that sovereignty over us as well and that these gods are then not as supreme as God and He can help us in our lives to get away from those gods. And then God will also give us the power. So He's not left us alone. He actually gives us the power to do that, to overcome these gods. And that reminds me of Philippians, Philippians 4:13 that says, I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. That's so amazing that God actually gives us the power to do this. SPEAKER 1 Yes, it really is. And it's very comforting to think that God will be with us in this journey. Now, nine times in Exodus, the hardening of Pharaoh's heart is ascribed to God. Another nine times Pharaoh is said to have hardened his own heart. What is the significance knowing about the hardening of Pharaoh's heart in Thea? SPEAKER 3 That's such a good question. So, God loves all humanity. And in the plagues happening to Egypt, God was basically trying to communicate to them that He was the one true God, right? And that He had power over everything, over all creation. He could have just destroyed them and taken His people out, but instead He uses plagues to communicate to them. But this hardened Pharaoh's heart. But it doesn't mean that God actively went and brought evil into Pharaoh's heart, but he strengthened Pharaoh's choice to refuse to allow God into his heart. So God strengthened Pharaoh's choice by the plagues and all the things that were happening around them. SPEAKER 1 Right, thank you for that. Now, just to clarify it, who then was it that hardened Pharaoh's heart? God or Pharaoh himself, Lazar? SPEAKER 2 That's a good question. A lot of people ask that question. But if you look at it, in the first five plagues, it says Pharaoh hardened his own heart. And each of those plagues was to help Pharaoh see that God's sovereignty was there and gave him the opportunity to repent and then to free him from those dark and errors of his own mind. But Pharaoh stubbornly, over time over time resisted that and by the sixth plague Pharaoh has set his mind permanently against God. Thus the last five plagues only added fuel to the proverbial fire that's in his heart against God. So God does gave Moses, not Moses, gave Pharaoh, now he's the power to free, to get free from that, from his own will. But Pharaoh had his own choices and he hardened his own heart. And that takes me to Romans. Romans chapter 1 verse 21 says, Because although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man, and birds and four-footed animals and creeping things. SPEAKER 1 Yes, what lesson can we draw from this personally, Cynthia? SPEAKER 3 Like Ratzinger said, we have the freedom of choice. God is a gentleman. He doesn't force us into anything. He allows us the choice to either choose Him or to choose death. And each time we choose the wrong path, unfortunately, our hearts are hardened against God's voice. and we stop hearing him. And in Hebrews chapter 4 verse 7, Paul reminds us that today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your heart. Choose God today. SPEAKER 1 Yes, it's not merely a historical event, is it? It's something that will affect us. Now let's come to the first three plagues. What were they, Lazio? SPEAKER 2 Yeah, so the first plague, we had Aaron there lifting his rod up, and that was that rod that ate up the other serpents. and he held it over the Nile, over the outer bodies of water, and they turned into blood. That's Exodus 7 verse 21. And it says, the fish that were in the river died, the river stank, and Egyptians could not drink the water of the river. So there was blood throughout all the land of Egypt. And the second plague was was the frogs. And that's in chapter 8 verse 6 of Exodus. So Aaron stretched out his hand over the waters of Egypt, and the frogs came up and covered the land of Egypt. And the third one was the lice. And that's verse 17, 8 verse 17. It says, and they did so. For Aaron stretched out his hand with his rod and struck the dust of the earth, and it became like lice On man and beast, all the dust of the land became lice throughout all the land of Egypt. SPEAKER 1 These were actually connected to Egyptian gods. So which Egyptian gods did these plagues overcome, Cynthia? SPEAKER 3 So the first was aimed at Hapi, the god of the Nile. He was meant to be the god that sustains life, you know, through the water. And he was the source of life for Egypt. and then the blood symbolized death of the Nile god. So there was nothing living in the Nile. We're told that the fish died and everything in the water died. And then the second was Heket, the frog goddess, and the Egyptians loathed frogs. So God producing them and then removing them on request showed His power that He is the all-powerful God. And finally, the lice god. And here in Hebrew, the word for lice is kinim, and it could mean gnats, mosquitoes, ticks, or lice. We don't know which one exactly it was, but it was directed against the god Geb of the earth, who could not stop God from bringing forth the gnats, which spread throughout the land. So, yeah, all the gods were put down by God, who was much greater than them. SPEAKER 1 Yes, it was a very clear depiction of that God was stronger than these gods. Now the third plague was slightly different. What was different about it, Lazio? SPEAKER 2 Yes, so that's Exodus 18:18-19. It says, Now the magicians so worked with their enchantments to bring forth lice, but they could not. So there were lice on man and beast. Then the magicians said to Pharaoh, 'This is the finger of God.' But Pharaoh's heart grew hard, and he did not heed to them. just as the Lord said. So the magicians tried to duplicate that, but they couldn't do it. They could not do it. They declared themselves, I have just read, this is the finger of God. And they proclaimed it to Pharaoh, you know, his own magicians. So he had the opportunity to bring that, you know, to see that they don't have the power. This is something else in play, you know, there's a God that's bigger than them. Right. SPEAKER 1 Now what message can we draw from this part of the story, Cynthia? SPEAKER 3 To answer this question, I'd just like to read from 2 Peter 3:9, and it says, the Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering towards us, not willing that any should perish, but all should come to repentance. See, all of Egypt and Pharaoh had a front row seat to God's sovereignty. They saw the power that He had, and God in His mercy was beckoning them. He was saying, Come to Me. Come to me, and yet they rejected. And in their rejection, their hearts were hardened. And again, like we said in Hebrews 4, Do not harden your heart to God. Answer His call. And this is the message to all of us. Do not be like Pharaoh who hardened his heart against God, but allow God through His Word to soften your heart. SPEAKER 1 Yes, and He has promised He will do that. Let us move now onto the fourth plague. So in Exodus 8:21-22, it reads, Or else, if you will not let my people go, behold, I will send swarms of flies on you and your servants, on your people and into your houses. The houses of the Egyptians shall be full of swarms of flies, and also the ground on which they stand. And in that day I will set apart the land of Goshen, in which my people dwell, that no swarms of flies shall be there in order that you may know that I am the Lord in the midst of the land. What was the key point with this plague, Lazio? SPEAKER 2 This is a really important point. The key point here is that the Egyptians suffered, they were affected, but just across, not far from there was Goshen, and they had no flies at all. So this is God telling Pharaoh in verse 22, he says, I am the Lord in the midst of the land, and I protect my people. By contrast, the god Yachit, represented by this scarab beetle that removes the dung, and it's the source of these flies, was powerless. So their gods had no power. And it was just interesting to see that contrast between Gosan and Egypt. SPEAKER 1 Yes, it is. Now, Pharaoh's heart was not yet fully set. With Egypt under siege with flies, he starts to compromise. What did he do, Cynthia? SPEAKER 3 Exodus 8:25 tells us that, Then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron and said, 'Go, sacrifice to your God in the land.' and then in verse 26, Moses refuses because some of the Hebrew sacrificial animals were considered sacred in Egypt, so the Egyptians would have killed them for sacrificing those animals. And then in verse 28, Pharaoh agrees to let them sacrifice in the wilderness, and in verse 31, God removes the flies, and then in verse 32, the flies are gone, and Pharaoh changes his mind again and says no. SPEAKER 1 Yes, wow, what a character Pharaoh was. Now, God then sends the fifth plague, in Exodus 9:5-6 read, Then the Lord appointed a set time, saying, 'Tomorrow the Lord will do this thing in the land. So the Lord did this thing on the next day, and all the livestock of Egypt died. But of the livestock of the children of Israel, not one died. Now, what message did this send to Pharaoh, Lazio? SPEAKER 2 More gods defeated. So we have here, Ha-Pa-Ra, the Egyptian goddess of love and protection, was depicted with the head of a cow, and we've got the bull god Apis that could not protect the Egyptians' livestock. And God protected the Hebrews. He protected their livestock. And again, His power got shown. Again, Pharaoh had an opportunity to see how great God is. And they had no power. Well, their gods had no power. SPEAKER 1 Yes, and you would think this would have convinced him. But instead at this point, Pharaoh had fully set his heart against God, so the plagues became more deadly. What message was in the sixth plague, Cynthia? SPEAKER 3 So we find this in Exodus chapter 9 verse 10 to 11, and it says, and it will become fine dust in the land of Egypt, and it will cause boils that break out in sores on man and beast throughout all the land of Egypt. Then they took ashes from the furnace and stood before Pharaoh, and Moses scattered them toward heaven, and they caused boils that break out into sores on man and beast. So Isis, the goddess of magic, medicine, and wisdom, and Sekhmet, the goddess of war and epidemics, and Imhotep, the god of medicine and healing, they're all defeated in this plague where people are suffering from the sores, and they're unable to protect their own worshipers. They were powerless. and even the magicians were helpless against the sores that were inflicted on them. And verse 12 says, the Lord hardened Pharaoh's heart, and the message was now personal. SPEAKER 1 Yes, it was. Now, before the next three plagues are sent, what does God say to Pharaoh? Lazio, what was it? SPEAKER 2 Exodus 9:16, and it reads, But indeed for this purpose I have raised you, that I may show my power in you, and that my name may be declared in all the earth. Everyone is now tested. Will they or will they not believe God's Word? And not just believe, but also act accordingly. to that. So God announces that His purpose in letting Pharaoh over here live is for the whole earth to know who He is. And God is love, and He wants to save not only the Israelites, but the Egyptians as well. He wants to save everyone from their slavery and their gods. so once again, that opportunity was given again, tested, and God wants to save all of us. So he's just such a loving God. SPEAKER 1 Yes, absolutely. Yes, and people will think, oh, well, he's sending these plagues of destruction, but really his love was always there. And that's something so important to remember. Now, what were the next three plagues and the gods that were defeated, Cynthia? SPEAKER 3 So the next three plagues were hailstones, and on the Egyptians only. And this defeated the god Nut, which was the goddess of the sky and the heavens, and Osiris, the god of the crops and fertility, and those who hid their property in Seth's shelter were protected. And then the eighth plague was locusts all over Egypt. They were eating everything. And this defeats the god Seth and Isis, who were considered agricultural deities. and Serapis, the fertility and healing and afterlife god, could not stop God's judgment. And then the ninth was darkness over Egypt. But the Hebrews had light in their houses. And this defeated Shu, the god of the atmosphere, and Ra, the principal Egyptian sun god. So all these gods were defeated in the plagues. SPEAKER 1 Yes, but our God is loving and powerful. Isn't that great to think about? Now, there's plenty that we can react to there now. It sounds like something terrible happening. But what was the reactions at the time of the Egyptians during these last three plagues, Lazio? SPEAKER 2 So the Egyptians, they started to respond from the seventh plague, which was the hail. They started to respond. And that was in Exodus 9, Exodus 9:20. He who feared the word of the Lord among the servants of Pharaoh, made his servants and his livestock flee to the houses. So after the ninth plague, Egypt was in ruins. It was destroyed. For all these plagues coming through, it just dismantled all of Egypt. And Exodus 10:7 says, Then Pharaoh's servants said to him, How long shall this man be a snare to us? Let the men go, that they may serve the Lord in their God. Do you not yet know that Egypt is destroyed? So they were, they urged, they went to the Pharaoh and says, let Ashrael just let him go. So, but Pharaoh's heart was so hardened, he resisted, and it was set like concrete. He did not want to let go, but they realized, and they realized Egypt is in a mess. SPEAKER 1 Yes, and we can find the importance of not hardening our hearts, that it will have us become completely illogical, that the people are coming to Pharaoh and begging him, Just let them go. It's so obvious. So that's really the danger of protecting our hearts. Now, is there a message for us today in Pharaoh's character, Cynthia. SPEAKER 3 So Pharaoh thought himself to be God, and so he hardened his heart against the God of the universe, the sovereign God. He had so much pride. And in Proverbs 16:19, we're told, Better to be of humble spirit and with lowly heart than to divide than spoil with pride. And then the verse 18 tells us, prize goes before destruction and a haughty spirit before a fall. And we know what happened to Pharaoh after this. You know, they followed the Israelites and then they perished in the Red Sea. So we learn that we shouldn't harden our hearts against God, against the Holy Spirit speaking to us. In 1 Thessalonians, we are told not to quench the Spirit. I'll just read that for us. It's 1 Thessalonians 5:19. It says, Do not quench the Spirit. the Spirit. So when we consistently reject God, we hurt the Spirit. We blaspheme against the Holy Spirit, and our hearts are hardened against hearing God's voice. You know, God could have destroyed all of Egypt. He could have just destroyed Pharaoh without going through the plagues, but instead He ministered to them through the plagues. So the plagues were an act of mercy towards His people. SPEAKER 1 People. SPEAKER 3 They weren't an act of violence. They weren't an act of spite or evilness, but they were an act of mercy towards Pharaoh. And when you see it like that, and then you see Pharaoh's character, you think, wow, God was doing so much. And the verse we read before that, God is not willing that anyone should be lost, but that all should come to repentance. So he was ministering to Pharaoh, to the Egyptians, and even to the Hebrews, but he was still their God and he cared for them. SPEAKER 2 Yeah. If I can add to that as well is, I'll look at these gods which I mentioned as well early on, like we've got in our lives and are we rejecting just like Pharaoh and hardening our hearts with these own gods which we have in our lives, don't give that opportunity. Like Cynthia mentioned, like time and time, like God came to Pharaoh and gave him opportunity to repent, to move away, to show that those gods are nothing, to serve the one and only true God. And He just hardened his heart. And I want to say, every time we harden our heart, it's getting harder and harder. Like by the ninth plague, it was set in concrete. It was said, He could not change. And are we doing the same today? Hebrews. Hebrews chapter 3 and verse 15 says, Today if you will hear His voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion. So what does it say? We need to do it tomorrow? No, today we need to do it now. And I want to say just like Pharaoh, he hardened his heart and was so much harder next time. Like his own people came to him and says, what's going on? We need to let him go. But no, he hardened his heart. And are we doing that today? When we hear a message, when we hear the Holy Spirit speak to us, are we hardening our hearts and not giving in to the Holy Spirit? And to me that's a struggle, you know, like as soon as we harden it, tomorrow's gonna be harder. Are we setting ourselves in concrete just like Pharaoh did? And to me it's like you mentioned, it's such a blessing to see how God comes over and over to reach and try to save all of us, you know, from these things. And I praise that we serve such a powerful God as we can see the contrast between how Egypt went through and how Goshen went through. Like we can have the same. Like the world can go through all this turmoil. Just like Egypt, just like the Israelites, they in Goshen, they can be in God's hands. and so will we. We can be protected by God as He leads us through these things. And I believe the time is coming close when Jesus is going to come back and we talk, there's going to be plagues once again, you know? God will protect us just like He protected them through these plagues. He will protect us once again in these last days as we go through these plagues. So let's hold on to God. to that faith and hope when Jesus is gonna come back. And I hope we all be there, you know, as we face these things and we are not alone. Like, let us be like Moses standing there and serving God wherever we might, wherever we might, he leads us, right? SPEAKER 1 Yes, it's an amazing day we have to look forward to, isn't it? SPEAKER 2 Yeah. SPEAKER 1 Thank you so much for your contribution today. The plagues inflicted on Egypt describe the evidence piling up before Pharaoh that God was sovereign and was going to deliver his people out of Egypt. But Pharaoh defied the evidence and ruin resulted. Now each one of us is also in a confrontation between good and evil. In this ongoing controversy between Christ and Satan, good and evil. But God promises those who follow him a victorious outcome to this war. Listen to God's calling today and follow him. We are glad you joined us today on Let God Speak. Remember all past programs plus teachers notes are available on our website: 3ABNaustralia.org.au Email us on [email protected] Tell your friends about the program and join us again next time. God bless. SPEAKER B You have been listening to let God speak, a production of 3ABN Australia television. To catch up on past programmes, please visit 3abnaustralia.org.au. Call us in Australia on 02 4973 3456. Or email [email protected]. we'd love to hear from you.