“God's Plan for Deliverance” (Exodus 6:10-7:13) | 3/5/23
Exodus 6:10-7:13 | 3/5/23 | Will DuVal
Last week marked the 1-year anniversary of Russia’s invasion into Ukraine. And just 2 weeks PRIOR to that invasion, Vladimir Putin had announced that there were “no plans to invade Ukraine”. Ironically, a year later, and many Russian defeats later, the world is starting to BELIEVE Putin: he may have had every INTENTION of invading Ukraine, without any strategic PLAN for doing so. Putin may have PROMISED to restore Russia to its former power and glory, but as he’s now finding out the hard way, a promise isn’t the same thing as a PLAN.
Well, last Sunday in our journey through the Exodus story, we examined God’s PROMISE of deliverance: what He will do for His people (Ex 6:2-9). But this morning, we turn our attention to God’s PLAN of deliverance: HOW He is going to accomplish it.
And as we’ll see, He’s gonna do it in 6 steps. These are the “6 P’s of God’s Plan to Preserve His People”.
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SCRIPTURE: I invite you to stand… Exodus 6:10-7:13:
“So the Lord said to Moses, 11 “Go in, tell Pharaoh king of Egypt to let the people of Israel go out of his land.” 12 But Moses said to the Lord, “Behold, the people of Israel have not listened to me. How then shall Pharaoh listen to me, for I am of uncircumcised lips?” 13 But the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron and gave them a charge about the people of Israel and about Pharaoh king of Egypt: to bring the people of Israel out of the land of Egypt.
14 These are the heads of their fathers' houses: the sons of Reuben, the firstborn of Israel: Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi; these are the clans of Reuben. 15 The sons of Simeon: Jemuel, Jamin, Ohad, Jachin, Zohar, and Shaul, the son of a Canaanite woman; these are the clans of Simeon. 16 These are the names of the sons of Levi according to their generations: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari, the years of the life of Levi being 137 years. 17 The sons of Gershon: Libni and Shimei, by their clans. 18 The sons of Kohath: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel, the years of the life of Kohath being 133 years. 19 The sons of Merari: Mahli and Mushi. These are the clans of the Levites according to their generations. 20 Amram took as his wife Jochebed his father's sister, and she bore him Aaron and Moses, the years of the life of Amram being 137 years. 21 The sons of Izhar: Korah, Nepheg, and Zichri. 22 The sons of Uzziel: Mishael, Elzaphan, and Sithri. 23 Aaron took as his wife Elisheba, the daughter of Amminadab and the sister of Nahshon, and she bore him Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. 24 The sons of Korah: Assir, Elkanah, and Abiasaph; these are the clans of the Korahites. 25 Eleazar, Aaron's son, took as his wife one of the daughters of Putiel, and she bore him Phinehas. These are the heads of the fathers' houses of the Levites by their clans.
26 These are the Aaron and Moses to whom the Lord said: “Bring out the people of Israel from the land of Egypt by their hosts.” 27 It was they who spoke to Pharaoh king of Egypt about bringing out the people of Israel from Egypt, this Moses and this Aaron.
28 On the day when the Lord spoke to Moses in the land of Egypt, 29 the Lord said to Moses, “I am the Lord; tell Pharaoh king of Egypt all that I say to you.” 30 But Moses said to the Lord, “Behold, I am of uncircumcised lips. How will Pharaoh listen to me?”
7:1 And the Lord said to Moses, “See, I have made you like God to Pharaoh, and your brother Aaron shall be your prophet. 2 You shall speak all that I command you, and your brother Aaron shall tell Pharaoh to let the people of Israel go out of his land. 3 But I will harden Pharaoh's heart, and though I multiply my signs and wonders in the land of Egypt, 4 Pharaoh will not listen to you. Then I will lay my hand on Egypt and bring my hosts, my people the children of Israel, out of the land of Egypt by great acts of judgment. 5 The Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord, when I stretch out my hand against Egypt and bring out the people of Israel from among them.” 6 Moses and Aaron did so; they did just as the Lord commanded them. 7 Now Moses was eighty years old, and Aaron eighty-three years old, when they spoke to Pharaoh.
8 Then the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, 9 “When Pharaoh says to you, ‘Prove yourselves by working a miracle,’ then you shall say to Aaron, ‘Take your staff and cast it down before Pharaoh, that it may become a serpent.’” 10 So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and did just as the Lord commanded. Aaron cast down his staff before Pharaoh and his servants, and it became a serpent. 11 Then Pharaoh summoned the wise men and the sorcerers, and they, the magicians of Egypt, also did the same by their secret arts. 12 For each man cast down his staff, and they became serpents. But Aaron's staff swallowed up their staffs. 13 Still Pharaoh's heart was hardened, and he would not listen to them, as the Lord had said.”
This is the word of God… Let’s pray…
Step #1 of God’s Plan - EVERY good plan starts with A Purpose (6:10-13). A GOAL; what’s the OBJECTIVE of this mission, to which God has called Moses?
V13: “Yahweh spoke to Moses and Aaron and gave them a charge [a purpose, a COMMAND] about the people of Israel and about Pharaoh king of Egypt: to bring the people of Israel out of the land of Egypt.”
This is nothing NEW; it’s the same purpose - “charge” - that God gave Moses back in ch3 when he initially COMMISSIONED him, at the burning bush. And again in ch4, when Moses was making excuses and dragging his feet. And again last week in ch6, after Pharaoh doubled their oppression and Moses’ faith began to fail him.
So too here. We ended last Sunday in v9 with Moses OBEYING God and relaying God’s wonderful promises of deliverance to His PEOPLE - Israel - “but they did not listen to Moses, because of their broken spirit and their harsh slavery.”
So what is God’s response… to being distrusted by His OWN people?
V10: “Fine; Moses: Go tell PHARAOH I’m about to deliver my people.”
Now remember: Moses already TRIED confronting Pharaoh, at the beginning of ch5, and it didn’t go so great. Pharaoh laughed in his face and doubled Israel’s workload. Moreover, God’s own PEOPLE have stopped listening, believing God’s promises; so Moses (somewhat understandably) objects in v12: “the people of Israel have not listened to me. How then shall Pharaoh listen to me?!” And he reminds God once again: “for I am of uncircumcised lips”; “God- I don’t TALK good.”
I love Philip Ryken’s observation here (193): “For a man who kept complaining that he couldn’t speak, Moses sure had a lot to SAY! We’ve heard him raise this same objection before. He raised it back at the burning bush, when God first called him, in ch4: “Lord, I am not eloquent… I am slow of speech and of tongue.” (v10). And Moses will mention his alleged speech deficiency AGAIN at the END of ch6: “Behold, I am of uncircumcised lips. How will Pharaoh listen to me?”.
It would be easy for us to criticize Moses for his faithlessness, his disobedience; but let’s turn the mirror around on OURSELVES this morning. Aren’t WE often guilty of doing the very same offense: responding to God’s very clear CALLINGs with nothing but lame excuses?
God says, “Don’t forsake the assembly of believers” - “Go to church” - we say, “But it was a really long week. I needed to sleep in.”
God says, “Use your gifts to serve the church”; we say, “I served for 20 years; it’s someone else’s turn now.”
God says, “Give generously to the poor.” We say, “Eh, the government does enough for them already” or “I’ll give when I’ve built up a little bigger rainy day fund first.”
God says, “Go and make disciples!” We say, “But she’s HEARD the gospel; she grew up in church; she KNOWS the truth already. What good is it gonna do to for ME to bring Jesus up… other than just make things AWKWARD?”
Perhaps, like Moses, our disobedience stems from an even deeper misunderstanding of God’s PURPOSE behind his commands.
*You gave up on church because you “weren’t getting anything OUT of it”, but you forgot that church isn’t FOR you; it’s for GOD! God designed church for HIM to get something out of it; namely, our WORSHIP!
*You quit serving because you didn’t feel like your gifts were being fully utilized. But you forgot the purpose of serving isn’t for YOU to feel fulfilled; it’s for God’s MISSION to get fulfilled.
*We quit EVANGELIZING because we never seemed to win any SOULS, any converts to the Lord. But we forgot that OUR purpose in witnessing isn’t to change anyone’s HEART - only GOD can do that! - No, OUR job is simply to share the truth, to make Christ known, and then let GOD sort out the rest.
Brothers and sisters: God has GIVEN us His plan for delivering folks out of slavery TODAY - their slavery to SIN: it is by faith in JESUS; Romans 10: ““Everyone who believes in HIM …will be SAVED.” (11,13). But God has ALSO told us OUR role to play… our purpose… our CHARGE: “But how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard?[c] And how are they to hear without someone preaching?”
So… PREACH! Mark 16: ““Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation.” (v15) Why stop with the HUMANS? Preach to the ROCKS, cuz according to Jesus, if WE won’t believe and worship Him, THEY WILL! (Lk 19:40) That is how zealous our God is for His glory. And make no mistake: He WILL get the glory, one way or another. Either by SAVING sinners, or by JUDGING them. By displaying his great MERCY, or by displaying his great JUSTICE and HOLINESS - either way, God WILL get the glory! Because, friends, that is the PURPOSE of all of creation: we’re here… it’s ALL here… ultimately, for God’s glory. “For from him and through him and TO him are all things. To him be the glory forever! Amen!” (Rom 11:36)
We’re just getting warmed up!
Step #2, in God’s Plan of Deliverance: a Pedigree (6:14-27). In vv14-27, Moses interrupts the flow of the narrative storyline, to give us his PEDIGREE, his GENEALOGY.
Now, we’ve covered in the past the IMPORTANCE of genealogies - all the reasons God devoted so much valuable REAL ESTATE in the Bible to boring lists of names:
-They prove that God CARES about people, on the individual, personal level.
-They prove that God had a plan ALL ALONG; that WAY before Moses and Aaron ever showed up on the scene, God had already determined to save his people, and was already putting the pieces in order to make it happen. Genealogies show us that when it comes to history, God is not building the plane as He flies it; God is INTENTIONAL, and He is SOVEREIGN, in all that He ordains.
-Third, genealogies prove that God cares about the PAST; we suffer from historical amnesia. We’re so self-centered, we sometimes forget that the world didn’t start when we were BORN. But not God; Micah 5:2 says his plan to save us through CHRIST - by sending His son, JESUS - Micah says, “his coming forth is from of old, from ancient days.”
-Fourth, genealogies help establish historical reliability. Christopher Wright explains (191): “We are given the lifespan ages of 3 characters [here]: Levi (137 years), Kohath (133), and Amram (137)... [This] tie(s) this genealogy to the promise made to Abraham in Genesis 15. God warned Abraham that his descendants would be enslaved in a foreign country for 400 years but would be liberated in the 4th generation. Counting Levi as the first generation, Moses and Aaron belong to the fourth, and the combined ages of their 3 ancestors comes [out] to 407 years.” Which you figure: Levi and Kohath and Amram didn’t father their sons at BIRTH, so we need to subtract 70ish years, but then we know MOSES didn’t liberate Israel until he was 80 years old, so once you factor it ALL in, God’s math is PERFECT.
-There’s more; I’m pulling most of this from my “Toughest Text” series sermon on 1 Chronicles 1-11, by the way; what’s the point of genealogies? They prove God cares about PEOPLE, about his PLAN, about the PAST, about plausibility, about the particularities (he’s a “detail-oriented” God), he cares about the PROSAIC - the mundane, the boring… about EVERY part of our lives.
But perhaps the biggest question with Moses and Aaron’s genealogy here, is: why’d he wait all the way until ch6 to GIVE it to us? Usually we expect to find a person’s genealogy UP FRONT, when we’re first INTRODUCED to them, in Moses’ case, way back in ch2. Why’d he wait until the end of ch6 here, to share his family tree with us? It seems like a bit of a non-sequitur here, given its placement, doesn’t it?
Well, I think its placement actually gives us a clue about Moses’ PRIMARY purpose in providing his pedigree precisely at this point in the plotline. Notice: it’s sandwiched right in between almost identical accounts, in vv10-13, and then again in vv28-30, of Moses QUESTIONING God’s calling. V12: “Pharaoh won’t listen to me; God, are you SURE you’re sending the right GUY here?”. And then v30, AGAIN: “God: He’s not gonna LISTEN to me! You’ve got the wrong GUY!”
And remember: Moses wrote the book of Exodus, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. So I believe his genealogy here is Moses’ attempt to get us to EMPATHIZE with him… to explain WHY he so profoundly DOUBTED God’s calling… why he thought SURELY God had called the wrong guy!
A lot of commentators say the purpose of this family tree is to show Moses & Aaron’s FITNESS for the job; I couldn’t disagree MORE! I think it’s just the OPPOSITE: to show how UNFIT they were!
Why else would Moses START the genealogy with REUBEN, in v14? And SIMEON, in v15? Those are his great-grand-UNCLES; why bother including them?
Do you remember what Reuben is most REMEMBERED for, from our study of Genesis? Reuben is famous for sleeping with his STEP-mom. He should have gotten Jacob’s birthright, as the firstborn son; but when your son sleeps with your wife, you make other arrangements.
Remember what SIMEON was known for? He and Levi, together, killed a bunch of Canaanites and got the whole family kicked out of town. Then later, he MARRIED a Canaanite! Jacob’s dying prayer regarding Simeon and Levi was this: “Let my soul come not into their council;
O my glory, be not joined to their company…
Cursed be their anger… I will scatter them in Israel.” (Gen 49:6-7) In other words: “God, I know I’m about to die, but I don’t ever wanna see these 2 boys again!”
Think about it: Moses introduces himself and brother Aaron here in v20 of the genealogy; why’d he continue on and mention his COUSIN, Korah, in v21? Korah is irrelevant to Moses’ direct bloodline. But he’s NOT irrelevant to Moses’ later life; this is the SAME Korah who will lead the rebellion AGAINST Moses later in Numbers ch16. By including him here, Moses is reminding us AGAIN: “My own PEOPLE rejected me; can you understand why I would have doubted that Pharaoh would ever listen to me?”
It’s the same reason he included Aaron’s sons “Nadab and Abihu” here in v23; later in Leviticus 10, they will ignore God’s instructions for proper worship, and get INCINERATED for it.
Moses is saying: Can you blame me for doubting that God was truly calling ME? MY pedigree is full of infamous sinners for generations before me… AND AFTER me!
But notice where Moses STOPS his list, in v25: with PHINEHAS. Anyone know what PHINEHAS is famous for? Years later, in Numbers ch25, the Israelites will fall SO deep into blatant sin - by intermarrying with the Midianites and falling away after their false gods - that God sends a PLAGUE on them. And while Phinehas, the priest, is WEEPING over Israel’s sin at the entrance to the tent of meeting, a guy named Zimri walks right past him, INTO the tabernacle, and starts having sex with a Midianite woman right there on the altar IN GOD’S HOUSE!
So Phinehas grabs a spear and he SKEWERS them.
Which prompts GOD to respond: “‘Behold, I give [Phinehas] my covenant of peace, and it shall be to him and to his descendants after him the covenant of a perpetual priesthood, because he was jealous for his God and made atonement for the people of Israel.’” I will cease my plagues against them, because of Phinehas’s intercession.
We gotta move on, but let me try and sum this point up - the LEVITES, Moses’ line - were Israel’s PRIESTS. But going all the way back as far as AARON - the very FIRST priest, whose first act AS priest (we will discover in Exodus ch32) is to build the people a golden calf they can worship INSTEAD of Yahweh - from the START, the priesthood, just like Moses’ bloodline, was POLLUTED. Corrupted. Broken.
But Moses leaves us with a note of HOPE here, with this RIGHTEOUS priest, ZEALOUS for God’s holiness, who “makes ATONEMENT for the people of Israel”, and thereby receives God’s “covenant of PEACE”.
And who points us ahead to another, even GREATER priest who was to come. An even GREATER Moses, the MESSIAH! That’s another reason I think Moses gives us his lineage here: he knew how massively SIGNIFICANT - how absolutely CENTRAL! - this Exodus story would become in Israel’s history, and Moses didn’t want anyone to be tempted to think that HE was their Messiah, the Promised One, the Snake Crusher, the Lion of Judah; because Moses wasn’t a Judahite, he was a LEVITE. Moses is saying: “I’m not your SAVIOR!” NO, he says: the hope of Israel, our TRUE hope, is still yet to come.” Another 1,500 years down the road.
Step #3- in God’s plan of Deliverance: A Proxy (6:28-7:2) - God GIVES Moses a purpose, He reminds Moses of his pedigree (“Moses: it’s not because of your impeccable credentials that I’m using you; I’m gonna work in SPITE of you!”); and now, thirdly, God MAKES Moses His PROXY.
A “proxy” is someone “authorized to act as the substitute for another.” (dictionary.com) An agent with the full authority to act on another’s BEHALF.
Ch6 ENDS with Moses asking God: “How will Pharaoh listen to me?” And ch7 OPENS with God answering Moses: “He WON’T! You’re right, Moses: Pharaoh WON’T listen to you. But I’m gonna make him listen to ME.”
I’ve told you for the past two weeks now that God has been humbling Moses, in chs5 and 6, bringing him lower and lower, bringing Moses to the END of himself, so he’d be FORCED to turn to God, and rely on GOD’S strength in his own weakness.
But we discover here in ch7 now, that God’s plan was even more amazing than that: He didn’t just want Moses to LEAN on God; God’s plan was for Moses to be FILLED with God! God’s purpose in emptying Moses of himself was so that He could then FILL Moses with GOD-self!
Because ultimately, Pharaoh doesn’t need to listen and obey MOSES; he needs to hear and heed GOD’s voice.
The Egyptians don’t need to know who MOSES is; remember, that’s been Moses’ flawed question for 4 chapters now - “God: who am I, that I should lead Israel… who am I, that I should speak to Pharaoh…” - but the point’s not who MOSES is; No- the Egyptians need to know who YAHWEH is! V5: Then “The Egyptians shall know that I am YAHWEH.”
And God’s saying: “Moses, they’re gonna know me… Pharaoh’s gonna hear me… THROUGH you!” You’re my PROXY.
The word “like” does not appear in v1 of the Hebrew. The verse literally reads: “See, I have made you God to Pharaoh”! Christopher Wright explains (192): “Moses will address the word of God to Pharaoh with all the authority of God, as if Yahweh himself were present.”
Church, do we realize that when WE address the word of God to unbelievers today, we do so with the authority of GOD, as if Yahweh himself were present? Because He IS! Because Yahweh at some point in your past - I PRAY! - like He did Moses: He brought you to the END of yourself, so that He could not only force you to LEAN on Him, to trust Jesus to be your Savior, but so He could ALSO then FILL you with Himself; His very own Holy SPIRIT now lives WITHIN you!
Church: Like Moses, we are now God’s PROXIES - His “agents”, His representatives, authorized to act, to minister to others, on God’s own behalf.
Do we realize, as William Thoms famously put it, that: “You may be the only Bible that some people will ever read?” Your LIFE may be the only SERMON they ever hear. 2 Corinthians 3 says that we are “letter[s] from Christ… written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts… to be known and read by all” (vv2-3)... by ALL!
Brothers and sisters: perhaps YOU hear God’s calling to “Go into all the world and preach the gospel”, to “go make disciples of ALL nations”, and you think, “But God: who am I?”
I can’t preach; I don’t TALK good.
I can’t make disciples; I don’t know the Bible front and back.
God: who am I?
And God wants to remind you this morning that you’re asking the wrong QUESTION; it’s not about who YOU are; it’s about who GOD is… the God who happens to now live INSIDE you!
You’re right: your unbelieving coworkers… your unsaved family members… they DON’T need to hear from you, they DON’T need to HEED you, obey you, follow you… But they ABSOLUTELY need to hear from GOD! Heed, obey, follow HIM!
And He has told us his plan for delivering them: “YOU will be my witnesses”!
Church: Don’t ROB someone this week of the chance to hear from GOD, the chance to personally KNOW Jesus for themselves; may we make Him KNOWN this week, in all of our words, thoughts, and deeds, as we are filled with His Spirit, and called as His ambassadors.
Step #4 is: A Petrifying (7:3-4a,13). A HARDENING into stone. Specifically, of Pharaoh’s HEART.
God says, “Moses, I have made YOU God to Pharaoh. And your brother Aaron shall be your PROPHET.” v2: “I’ll talk to YOU; you talk to AARON; and Aaron will talk to PHARAOH.” Why?
Because Pharaoh needs to be put in his PLACE. He may fancy himself the most important, powerful man on the planet; Pharaoh may think to himself: “Moses, Aaron: you must not realize who you’re TALKING to here! Who you are making DEMANDS of!”
But God’s reply is: “No, Pharaoh: YOU don’t realize who YOU are talking to!” Actually, who you’re NOT talking to; because not only am I - Yahweh - so high above you and so PERTURBED by your insubordination that I am refusing to talk to you, but I’m not even gonna let MOSES - my proxy, “God in your eyes” - HE’s not gonna speak to you either; you’re gonna have to deal with AARON from here on out. God’s putting Pharaoh in his place: you think you’re so important, Pharaoh? You can’t even get a meeting with me. You can’t get a meeting with my ASSISTANT; how about my ASSISTANT’s assistant.
So God tells Moses, Moses tells Aaron, Aaron tells Pharaoh: “Let my people GO”. But v3: “I will harden Pharaoh's heart, and though I multiply my signs and wonders in the land of Egypt, Pharaoh will not listen to you.”
This is perhaps the hardest part of the whole Exodus story for many people to swallow, but it’s one of the most important truths as well: that God himself hardens Pharaoh’s heart.
Some try and SOFTEN the theological impact of that: they say, “Well, as we’ll see over the next 2 weeks after this, studying the 10 plagues, Pharaoh hardens his OWN heart for the first 5 plagues; so God is really just confirming Pharaoh’s choice, in the final 5 plagues.” They’ll point out that there are two different Hebrew VERBS used for “harden” - kabed, which means “to make heavy” and chazaq, which means “to strengthen”. So Pharaoh hardens his OWN heart, and God just reifies his decision.
But the problem is the two verbs are used interchangeably. Both are used, at times, of Pharaoh’s hardening, and both are used, at different times, of God’s hardening.
Also, following the gnats and the livestock next week, the text will clearly say - as it says here in v13 for today - “Pharaoh’s heart WAS hardened”, in the passive voice, presumably, by GOD.
And even when Pharaoh hardens his OWN heart, the text will make it clear that he only DOES so in accordance with GOD’S command (e.g., 7:22; 8:15, 19).
Because the fact of the matter is, before Moses even confronted Pharaoh, even ASKED him to let the Israelites go, all the way back in ch4, God had already told Moses: ““When you go back to Egypt, see that you do before Pharaoh all the miracles that I have put in your power. But I will harden his heart, so that he will not let the people go” (4:21).
All in all, the book of Exodus attributes the hardening of Pharaoh’s heart to GOD some 21x total.
It’s so HARD for us because we’re not just talking about PHARAOH here, are we? I don’t want to believe that the reason my BROTHER-in-law (not Teddy - my side of the family…) he grew up in church and he’s heard the gospel a thousand times, yet he couldn’t care LESS about Jesus, he has absolutely no spiritual appetite for the things of God - and frankly, I don’t WANT to believe that the reason WHY is because God Himself has hardened Nick’s heart!
You don’t want to believe that the reason your mother, your father, your son or daughter, your spouse is still living without Jesus - or perhaps DIED without knowing Jesus; cuz then the decision is FINAL! There’s no coming back; “we all die once and then comes the judgment”, Hebrews 9:27 says - and we don’t want to believe that the REASON that some of our unsaved loved ones are burning in Hell right now, and will be for the rest of eternity, is because God HIMSELF hardened their hearts!
But here’s what God’s own word tells us, in Romans 9: “when Rebekah had conceived children by… our forefather Isaac, though they were not yet born and had done nothing either good or bad—in order that God's purpose of election might continue, not because of works but because of him who calls— she was told, “The older will serve the younger.” As [God said], “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.””
Translation: Israel was God’s chosen people, not because of anything THEY had done or WOULD one day grow up to do, but solely because of God’s gracious and sovereign CHOICE.
Paul continues: “What shall we say then? Is there injustice on God's part? By no means! 15 For he says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.” 16 So then it depends not on human will or exertion,[b] but on God, who has mercy. 17 For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, “For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I might show my power in you, and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.” 18 So then he has mercy on whomever he wills, and he hardens whomever he wills.”
Translation: It is not UNJUST for God to harden anyone’s heart and send them to Hell; it’s UNJUST that God would SOFTEN anyone’s heart and let them into HEAVEN! THAT is the only “injustice” - we all rightfully deserve Hell; what’s “UNFAIR” is God’s mercy and compassion!
Don’t assume that people ought to go to Heaven, and then ask, “How could God possibly send folks to HELL?”; assume we all oughta go to HELL, and then MARVEL at God’s mercy and grace: “God, how could you possibly let anyone, especially a sinner as bad as ME, into HEAVEN?!”
And if God chooses to allow others, like Pharaoh, to reject Him, and God hardens their hearts, so that he “might show [His] POWER” OVER them, so that God might display his STRENGTH - his miracle-working, PLAGUE-producing STRENGTH - so that God might display his JUSTICE - his righteous WRATH toward sin, and His just punishing OF sin - then frankly, friends: according to God’s word, that is God’s prerogative. That’s what makes Him GOD, and you and me… NOT God. He is Sovereign.
“Has the potter no right over the clay, to make out of the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for dishonorable use? [You and me questioning God’s choice of SOME people for Heaven and OTHERS for Hell is like a lump of clay complaining to the Potter, “I wanted to be a beautiful VASE for flowers; not a POT to be POOPED in!” That’s Paul’s metaphor here. And his point is: the clay doesn’t get to DECIDE what it’s used for; that’s the POTTER’S prerogative!]
“What if God, desiring to show his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience [the real question is: why does God let people like Pharaoh live for 40, 60, 80 years, giving them CHANCE after chance to REPENT and be saved - God’s PATIENCE is the real “injustice” here! But what if God endures] vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, in order to make known the riches of his glory for vessels of mercy, which he has prepared beforehand for glory”.
Translation: Friends, God is SOVEREIGN. Totally Sovereign. Yes, even over, ESPECIALLY over, salvation. And praise GOD that He is, because left on your OWN, if the decision was YOURS to make, you would NEVER choose God; you are FAR too sinful to ever choose God. But praise God: He’s chosen YOU!
At least, I HOPE, and I PRAY that He has.
Step #5 in God’s Plan: is A Promise. Specifically, God’s promise of deliverance for His people - v4: “ I will… bring my people, the children of Israel, out of the land of Egypt” - but a promise of DESTRUCTION for God’s enemies - I’m gonna DO it, God says, by “lay[ing] my hand on Egypt… [with] great acts of judgment. 5 [Then] the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord, when I stretch out my hand against Egypt.”
And since I’m running out of time, and we’re gonna see God make good on THAT promise - His promise of PLAGUES! - for the next two weeks after this, let’s continue on to
Step #6 in God’s Plan- A Portent (i.e., “Preview”) (7:6-12).
A portent is “an indication or omen of something about to happen, especially something momentous… and THREATENING” (dictionary.com).
Vv6-12 here are a portent, just a PREVIEW, of what is coming for Egypt, because of Pharaoh’s hard-heartedness.
And there’s a lot of interesting stuff going on in these verses…
The word for “serpent” used here in ch7 - tannin - is different from the word used back in ch4 - nahash - when God first demonstrated this staff-to-serpent miracle to Moses back in Midian. A nahash is a little snake; a tannin is a GIANT reptile. Some suggest it was a crocodile, Egypt’s unofficial mascot; others suggest it was a big SNAKE, since Pharaoh wore a golden cobra on his crown. Ryken notes (207): “When Aaron ‘threw his staff down in front of Pharaoh [and HIS snake swallowed THEIR snakes]... it was a direct assault on Pharaoh’s sovereignty… To draw a modern comparison, it would be like taking a bald eagle into the Oval Office and wringing its neck.” But one way or another, this reptile was BIGGER than the one Moses expected the staff to become; it’s like God was saying: “Moses: you failed to perform the miracles I ordered you to for Pharaoh back in ch5 the FIRST time you confronted him, cuz you doubted that I would come through for you; so I’m gonna show you just how BIG I will come through on my promises!”
Scholars also debate whether this was just sleight of hand MAGIC TRICKS from Pharaoh’s sorcerers (who, by the way, were named Jannes and Jambres, 2 Timothy 3:8 tells us), or whether they had bona fide, miracle-working power, albeit SATANIC power, but v11 sure seems to suggest it was legit: they did it “by their secret arts”, sorcery.
We know - Eph 6:12; Mt 24:24; 2 Ths 2:9 - that there is REAL power in the occult, in the Satanic. Satan can turn staffs into snakes too - he turned HIMSELF into a snake in the Garden of Eden. But he’s still no match for GOD; v12: God WINS! God is mercifully giving Pharaoh a portent, a sign here, that things are NOT gonna go WELL for him, if he hardens his heart and OPPOSES Yahweh! God will “swallow him up”. And as a matter of fact, this same verb will be used later in ch15, to describe what God will do to Pharaoh’s army when they try to chase Israel across the Red Sea; God will “swallow” them up (15:12).
But friends, if you haven’t heard ANYTHING else I’ve said this morning, please hear this now…
CONCLUSION: What is the POINT, of this entire story? To prove that God had a plan to rescue His people from slavery in EGYPT? Sure.
But it’s the very same paradigm God would use LATER to rescue his people - US - from slavery to SIN as well! God’s plan to deliver ISRAEL here is a PREFIGURING, a foreshadowing, of His plan to save US, through His son JESUS!
Jesus told us his purpose: “[I] came to seek and save the lost.” (Lk 19:10)
The NT opens (Matt ch1) with Jesus’ pedigree, showing us He WAS the “lion of Judah”, Israel’s long-awaited “Son of David”, her Messiah.
But he was even MORE than that; Jesus was God’s most authoritative earthly PROXY, because He was God in the FLESH! Jesus is the ‘image of the invisible God’ (Col 1:15), ‘the exact representation of his being (Heb 1:3).
And yet, like Moses, he was rejected by his own people; even crucified. And yet, as with Pharaoh, Israel’s “hardening” was all part of God’s plan, to incorporate the GENTILES… US - every NON-Jew who would come to Jesus by faith for salvation - we are included because of Israel’s temporary petrification.
Because FIFTH-ly, Jesus promises to deliver ALL those who belong to Him. But he ALSO promises to destroy all who reject Him.
So SIXTH-ly: heed God’s warnings and trust in Jesus TODAY! The portents are everywhere! I got to officiate our brother Warren’s funeral last week. Every funeral you will ever attend is a PORTENT to you: “an omen of something something momentous and THREATENING about to happen”, to YOU: YOU are gonna die! Sooner or later, it’s gonna be YOU in that coffin… and THEN what? Do you know where you’re going next, with absolute confidence?
You CAN. If you know the one who “swallowed” up the greatest enemy of all: DEATH itself (1 Cor 15:54), and who now offers YOU eternal life. Will you repent of your sins and trust in Jesus, God’s plan of deliverance for YOU, today?