The plagues and the hardness of heart by Pharaoh continue. Lord replace the heart of stone give us a heart that is sensitive to your Spirit and grace!
Exodus 9: The Fifth Plague: Egyptian Livestock Die
1 Then the LORD said to Moses, "Go in to Pharaoh and say to him, 'Thus says the LORD, the God of the Hebrews, "Let my people go, that they may serve me.
2 For if you refuse to let them go and still hold them,
3 behold, the hand of the LORD will fall with a very severe plague upon your livestock that are in the field, the horses, the donkeys, the camels, the herds, and the flocks.
4 But the LORD will make a distinction between the livestock of Israel and the livestock of Egypt, so that nothing of all that belongs to the people of Israel shall die."'"
5 And the LORD set a time, saying, "Tomorrow the LORD will do this thing in the land."
6 And the next day the LORD did this thing. All the livestock of the Egyptians died, but not one of the livestock of the people of Israel died.
7 And Pharaoh sent, and behold, not one of the livestock of Israel was dead. But the heart of Pharaoh was hardened, and he did not let the people go.
The Sixth Plague: Boils
8 And the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, "Take handfuls of soot from the kiln, and let Moses throw them in the air in the sight of Pharaoh.
9 It shall become fine dust over all the land of Egypt, and become boils breaking out in sores on man and beast throughout all the land of Egypt."
10 So they took soot from the kiln and stood before Pharaoh. And Moses threw it in the air, and it became boils breaking out in sores on man and beast.
11 And the magicians could not stand before Moses because of the boils, for the boils came upon the magicians and upon all the Egyptians.
12 But the LORD hardened the heart of Pharaoh, and he did not listen to them, as the LORD had spoken to Moses.
The Seventh Plague: Hail
13 Then the LORD said to Moses, "Rise up early in the morning and present yourself before Pharaoh and say to him, 'Thus says the LORD, the God of the Hebrews, "Let my people go, that they may serve me.
14 For this time I will send all my plagues on you yourself, and on your servants and your people, so that you may know that there is none like me in all the earth.
15 For by now I could have put out my hand and struck you and your people with pestilence, and you would have been cut off from the earth.
16 But for this purpose I have raised you up, to show you my power, so that my name may be proclaimed in all the earth.
17 You are still exalting yourself against my people and will not let them go.
18 Behold, about this time tomorrow I will cause very heavy hail to fall, such as never has been in Egypt from the day it was founded until now.
19 Now therefore send, get your livestock and all that you have in the field into safe shelter, for every man and beast that is in the field and is not brought home will die when the hail falls on them."'"
20 Then whoever feared the word of the LORD among the servants of Pharaoh hurried his slaves and his livestock into the houses,
21 but whoever did not pay attention to the word of the LORD left his slaves and his livestock in the field.
22 Then the LORD said to Moses, "Stretch out your hand toward heaven, so that there may be hail in all the land of Egypt, on man and beast and every plant of the field, in the land of Egypt."
23 Then Moses stretched out his staff toward heaven, and the LORD sent thunder and hail, and fire ran down to the earth. And the LORD rained hail upon the land of Egypt.
24 There was hail and fire flashing continually in the midst of the hail, very heavy hail, such as had never been in all the land of Egypt since it became a nation.
25 The hail struck down everything that was in the field in all the land of Egypt, both man and beast. And the hail struck down every plant of the field and broke every tree of the field.
26 Only in the land of Goshen, where the people of Israel were, was there no hail.
27 Then Pharaoh sent and called Moses and Aaron and said to them, "This time I have sinned; the LORD is in the right, and I and my people are in the wrong.
28 Plead with the LORD, for there has been enough of God's thunder and hail. I will let you go, and you shall stay no longer."
29 Moses said to him, "As soon as I have gone out of the city, I will stretch out my hands to the LORD. The thunder will cease, and there will be no more hail, so that you may know that the earth is the LORD's.
30 But as for you and your servants, I know that you do not yet fear the LORD God."
31 (The flax and the barley were struck down, for the barley was in the ear and the flax was in bud.
32 But the wheat and the emmer were not struck down, for they are late in coming up.)
33 So Moses went out of the city from Pharaoh and stretched out his hands to the LORD, and the thunder and the hail ceased, and the rain no longer poured upon the earth.
34 But when Pharaoh saw that the rain and the hail and the thunder had ceased, he sinned yet again and hardened his heart, he and his servants.
35 So the heart of Pharaoh was hardened, and he did not let the people of Israel go, just as the LORD had spoken through Moses.
Exodus 10: The Eighth Plague: Locusts
1 Then the LORD said to Moses, "Go in to Pharaoh, for I have hardened his heart and the heart of his servants, that I may show these signs of mine among them,
2 and that you may tell in the hearing of your son and of your grandson how I have dealt harshly with the Egyptians and what signs I have done among them, that you may know that I am the LORD."
3 So Moses and Aaron went in to Pharaoh and said to him, "Thus says the LORD, the God of the Hebrews, 'How long will you refuse to humble yourself before me? Let my people go, that they may serve me.
4 For if you refuse to let my people go, behold, tomorrow I will bring locusts into your country,
5 and they shall cover the face of the land, so that no one can see the land. And they shall eat what is left to you after the hail, and they shall eat every tree of yours that grows in the field,
6 and they shall fill your houses and the houses of all your servants and of all the Egyptians, as neither your fathers nor your grandfathers have seen, from the day they came on earth to this day.'" Then he turned and went out from Pharaoh.
7 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 their God. Do you not yet understand that Egypt is ruined?"
8 So Moses and Aaron were brought back to Pharaoh. And he said to them, "Go, serve the LORD your God. But which ones are to go?"
9 Moses said, "We will go with our young and our old. We will go with our sons and daughters and with our flocks and herds, for we must hold a feast to the LORD."
10 But he said to them, "The LORD be with you, if ever I let you and your little ones go! Look, you have some evil purpose in mind.
11 No! Go, the men among you, and serve the LORD, for that is what you are asking." And they were driven out from Pharaoh's presence.
12 Then the LORD said to Moses, "Stretch out your hand over the land of Egypt for the locusts, so that they may come upon the land of Egypt and eat every plant in the land, all that the hail has left."
13 So Moses stretched out his staff over the land of Egypt, and the LORD brought an east wind upon the land all that day and all that night. When it was morning, the east wind had brought the locusts.
14 The locusts came up over all the land of Egypt and settled on the whole country of Egypt, such a dense swarm of locusts as had never been before, nor ever will be again.
15 They covered the face of the whole land, so that the land was darkened, and they ate all the plants in the land and all the fruit of the trees that the hail had left. Not a green thing remained, neither tree nor plant of the field, through all the land of Egypt.
16 Then Pharaoh hastily called Moses and Aaron and said, "I have sinned against the LORD your God, and against you.
17 Now therefore, forgive my sin, please, only this once, and plead with the LORD your God only to remove this death from me."
18 So he went out from Pharaoh and pleaded with the LORD.
19 And the LORD turned the wind into a very strong west wind, which lifted the locusts and drove them into the Red Sea. Not a single locust was left in all the country of Egypt.
20 But the LORD hardened Pharaoh's heart, and he did not let the people of Israel go.
The Ninth Plague: Darkness
21 Then the LORD said to Moses, "Stretch out your hand toward heaven, that there may be darkness over the land of Egypt, a darkness to be felt."
22 So Moses stretched out his hand toward heaven, and there was pitch darkness in all the land of Egypt three days.
23 They did not see one another, nor did anyone rise from his place for three days, but all the people of Israel had light where they lived.
24 Then Pharaoh called Moses and said, "Go, serve the LORD; your little ones also may go with you; only let your flocks and your herds remain behind."
25 But Moses said, "You must also let us have sacrifices and burnt offerings, that we may sacrifice to the LORD our God.
26 Our livestock also must go with us; not a hoof shall be left behind, for we must take of them to serve the LORD our God, and we do not know with what we must serve the LORD until we arrive there."
27 But the LORD hardened Pharaoh's heart, and he would not let them go.
28 Then Pharaoh said to him, "Get away from me; take care never to see my face again, for on the day you see my face you shall die."
29 Moses said, "As you say! I will not see your face again."
Things to think about…
1. In the previous chapters we saw the magicians begin by doing the same miracles that were done by the hand of Moses. Yet today we see the plagues come upon the magicians and all the Egyptians. The Lord continues to make a distinction between His people and the world. Here we see the Israelite stock spared and the boils came only upon the Egyptians, Ex 9:1-12. We do not receive many of the world’s plagues simply because of the Lord’s favour upon our lives.
2. Have another look at Ex 9:16 and Ex 10:1. The Apostle Paul requotes Ex 9:16 in Rom 9. Never kick against the doctrine of God’s sovereignty. This is a truth and we must rejoice in all truth, even when it feels uncomfortable. Pharaoh hardened his heart and God hardened Pharaoh’s heart. The truth is there. Pray for mercy that the Lord gives us soft hearts and willing spirits to hear and obey Him.
3. Did all Egyptians fail to receive the Lord’s mercy? No. Look at Ex 9:20 – some feared the Lord and their servants and livestock were spared. Praise God He calls out a people for Himself – the Jew first and then the Gentile. Compare their hearts with those of Pharaoh and his servants, Ex 9:30.
4. Pharoah receives wise counsel after hearing that everything in Egypt had been destroyed, even before the plague of locusts was released, Ex 10:7. He did not listen, and the remaining crops and trees were destroyed. The livestock and barley were already destroyed. Without grace we would rather suffer losing everything than save our souls or the souls of others. When someone sees their sin and repents and accepts Christ as their saviour it is a greater miracle than someone rising from the dead.
5. When people reject the truth and the Holy Spirit’s power long enough there comes a blindness and a darkness that can be felt – much like the ninth plague. Pharaoh declares he will kill Moses if he ever sees his face again. Moses says that Pharaoh will not see him again, Ex 10:29. This sets the scene for the final plague – death of the firstborn. The wages of sin is death, Rom 6:23. Spiritual darkness arrives beforehand, proclaiming the inevitable final judgement upon Egypt. Pray that those we love and live along side of may have tender hearts towards the Lord’s Spirit.
Vision statement for CBC
CBC’s Vision :- To be a growing biblical church community, significantly influencing our city and beyond, through intentional outreach, fulfilling our mission.
Cell groups are encouraged to come to church on Wednesday night 6:30pm at church. Be encouraged and join us for a time of teaching, fun and food.
Prayer Points
1. The conflicts in Israel and Ukraine. Thousands of people have lost their loves in these war zones thus far. When there is evil, it needs to be confronted. Pray for the families and lives that will be affected over the coming weeks. May Christ rule and reign in Israel and beyond.
2. Mathys has a prayer time at church on Monday afternoons. He would be happy for you to join him and to send prayer requests.
3. That those who are new to the church are encouraged and settle in well into the church.
4. That we be bold in our witnessing for Christ. Pray for a heart to see those around you to be saved. Pray for the blessing over the new pastoral care and hosting program.
5. Pray for our Carols program, Sun 17th Dec.
6. Pray for Rosie and the teachers at Kids@church, pray for continued growth of this ministry.
7. Growth, conversions, joy in the Word and Spirit to remain and increase.
Praise Points
1. Praise God for worship and teaching time on Sunday.
2. Praise God for new folk, pray they can settle into the church.
3. Continue to pray for our Wed mid-week meeting.
4. Good ministry after the service. Continue to pray for this blessing to increase.
5. Some encouraging signs of those wanting to consider who Jesus was. People asking about baptism.
6. Joy, peace and grace we see at CBC. Thankyou Lord
Announcements
1. Mid week topical teaching every Wednesday night – 6:30pm at church.
2. Gaza, Israel and Bible Prophesy – 12th Nov morning service.
3. Annual general meeting – 26th Nov after the service.
4. Carols starting in the afternoon from 4pm Sunday 17th Dec.
5. Church bank details bsb:- 704 913 and Acc number:- 4000 4388 1
6. Tune in again this week on our YouTube page. Subscribe to the CBC channel Chuwar Baptist YouTube channel.
Catechism questions for November...
Q. 14. Where do you learn how to love and obey God? A. In the Bible.
