Introduction: In our study this week, we encounter the God of miracles and the signs and wonders that He performs. Additionally, we will consider nine of the ten plagues that He unleashes as divine judgments upon Egypt. Present these elements to your class in the setting of the great controversy—the spiritual battle between forces of good and evil, light and darkness, Christ and Satan, the living God and idols. This spiritual warfare began on earth in the Garden of Eden when Adam and Eve fell into sin. God promised a victorious outcome to this war so that we would not forever be prey to evil (Gen. 3:15). From its inception, the controversy has waged between those who worship the Creator Lord and those who worship creation in its various forms. Worship of the Creator liberates humanity and frees them from the bondage of sin. Worship of creation leads to the moral degradation of humanity, created in the image of God, and ends, ultimately, in their enslavement.
In Exodus 7:8–10:29, the confrontation between the living God and Pharaoh intensifies. Pharaoh wants to demonstrate that he is, indeed, a god, as the Egyptians believed him to be. Thus, he endeavors to play the role of a sovereign monarch, who is in control and decides what is right or wrong. In contrast, God wants to deliver His people from Egyptian bondage, but, at the same time, He wishes to teach the Egyptians who He is and liberate them from slavery to their gods.
One thing must be made crystal clear: God is not against the Egyptians; He loves them as He loves everyone, with His everlasting and unselfish love. At the same time, the Sovereign Lord stands against the Egyptian gods. He intends to demonstrate that these “gods” are a human fabrication, leading people into fear and bondage. Moreover, His primary goal is to break Egypt’s dependence upon these fabricated gods in order that they might serve the living Creator and Redeemer God. However, if the people continue to associate and identify with these false gods, God’s judgment will fall, not only on their gods but on them. Their persistent idolatry will result in their punishment and, ultimately, their destruction.
God clearly declares: “ ‘I will bring judgment on all the gods of Egypt’ ” (Exod. 12:12, NIV); God’s judgment against the Egyptian gods is recounted as a historical fact in Numbers 33:4. Each plague, or judgment, was usually aimed against multiple Egyptian gods that captured the people’s imagination, thoughts, and feelings; influenced their behavior and social life; and led to their enslavement to sin in a comprehensive way. The entire person was thus captured. Thereafter, the soul lived in complete submission to an idolatrous lifestyle. This lifestyle, controlled by magic, stood in diametrical opposition to the freedom of worship that springs from the living, and loving, Creator God.
Part II: Commentary
Part II: Commentary
Signs and Wonders
Signs and Wonders
In Exodus 7:3, we read that the Lord will multiply both “signs and wonders” (NIV) before all the people in order that they might understand who He is. Exodus 7:3 is the only text in Exodus in which these two terms, “signs” and “wonders,” are combined. The word “sign” or “signs” occurs 16 times in the book of Exodus (Exod. 3:12; Exod. 4:8 [twice], 9, 17, 28, 30; Exod. 7:3; Exod. 8:19, NABRE; Exod. 10:1, 2; Exod. 12:13, NIV; Exod. 13:9, 16; Exod. 31:13, 17). In these instances, it is used to emphasize two things: namely, that Moses will perform different signs before Pharaoh (Exod. 10:1, 2), and that the Passover blood will be a sign of life, causing the destroying angel to pass over the homes under its protection (Exod. 12:13). The term “wonder” is used in reference to what God will do before Pharaoh, despite the hardening of his heart (Exod. 4:21). In the context of plagues, this term is structurally crucial because it appears twice at the beginning of nine plagues (Exod. 7:3, 9) and, again, twice at the end of the ninth plague (Exod. 11:9, 10).
There are significant plague characteristics:
The first nine plagues may be divided into three clusters, or groups, of three plagues. The tenth plague is unique and separated from the rest. The people will need a special time and provision to face it.
The first nine plagues affected all three habitats created by God in Genesis 1: the heavens (plagues seven to nine), the earth (plagues three to six), and the waters (plagues one and two). Collectively, these plagues allude to de-creation.
The first nine plagues intensify, becoming more and more severe in the process of time, as Pharaoh stubbornly refuses to let God’s people go in order that they might freely worship their Creator Lord. The first three plagues were mild, quick, and did not cause death. The next three plagues (plagues four to six) were more serious and harmful, as they destroyed livestock and afflicted humans with skin sores. The following three plagues (plagues seven to nine) were more devastating, involving the death of people and animals but also the destruction of crops.
Generally speaking, each plague fell after a clear warning and plea to surrender to the Lord’s demand. Surprises occurred, but devastation was announced beforehand and could be avoided. An exceptional warning is given before the first two plagues and the tenth, but see also transparent warnings in the introductions to plagues four, five, seven, and eight.
Before plagues three, six, and nine, there is little to no confrontation with Pharaoh.
The first three plagues fell on the Egyptians and the Israelites, but all the remaining plagues came only upon the Egyptians.
Prior to the occurrence of the first plague, God performed a miracle before Pharaoh: Aaron’s staff became a snake that ate all the magicians’ snakes. Yet, “Pharaoh’s heart became hard” (Exod. 7:13, NIV).
The last plague was the most destructive because each family that was not under the protection of the blood of the lamb was affected by the death of its firstborn son. Before the last plague fell, God, in His mercy, gave the people three days of darkness for reflection, meditation, and repentance, as well as instruction on how to avoid the final devastation.
It is after the sixth plague that the record declares that “the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart” (Exod. 9:12, NIV; see also Exod. 10:1, 20, 27; Exod. 11:10; and also Exod. 14:4, 8, 17). During the first five plagues, it was Pharaoh who hardened his heart (Exod. 7:13, 14, 22; Exod. 8:15, 19, 32; Exod. 9:7; Exod. 9:35). Before the actual story about the ten plagues, there are two predictions by God stating that He, the Lord, will harden Pharaoh’s heart (Exod. 4:21, Exod. 7:3).
Magicians could imitate only the first two plagues. When the third plague occurred, they aptly stated: “This is the finger of God” (Exod. 8:19). Later they themselves suffered with boils (Exod. 9:11; see also the urging of Pharaoh’s “officials,” Exod. 10:7, NIV).
The plagues also can be gathered into pairs: plagues one and two are connected with the river Nile; plagues three and four are flying insects (gnats/mosquitoes and flies); plagues five and six resemble each other, with pestilence occurring on animals and boils on humans; plagues seven and eight describe damage to crops; plagues nine and ten are related to darkness—one to physical darkness and the other to the ultimate darkness, namely, death of the firstborn.
It is interesting to note that the Lord specifically invited Pharaoh seven times to “ ‘Let my people go’ ” (Exod. 5:1; Exod. 7:16; Exod. 8:1, 20; Exod. 9:1, 13; Exod. 10:3) and once used a negative conditional phrase: “ ‘If you do not let my people go, I will send . . .’ ” (Exod. 8:21, NIV). Pharaoh consented after the second, fourth, seventh, and ninth plagues (Exod. 8:8, Exod. 8:25–28, Exod. 9:28, Exod. 10:24), but, in the end, refused to let the people go to worship the Lord (Exod. 8:15, Exod. 8:32, Exod. 9:35, Exod. 10:27). He even asked Moses to pray to end specific plagues and to pray also for him (Exod. 8:8, 28; Exod. 9:28; Exod. 10:16, 17). Only after the tenth plague did he summon Moses and Aaron and commanded them: “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. Also take your flocks and your herds, as ye have said, and be gone; and bless me also” (Exod. 12:31, 32).
As we have said, all these calamities related to God’s judgment against the Egyptian gods and upon those who clung to them. One should not overlook the fact that in the midst of all these calamities is the declaration of God’s powerful presence in the land of Egypt. He wanted to make it clear that there was a difference between those who follow Him and those who go against Him: “ ‘If you will not let my people go, behold, I will send swarms of flies on you and your servants and your people, and into your houses. . . . But on that day I will set apart the land of Goshen, where my people dwell, so that no swarms of flies shall be there, that you may know that I am the Lord in the midst of the earth’ ” (Exod. 8:21, 22, ESV).
The prophet Isaiah speaks about God’s love and future plans for Egypt in astounding words: “In that day there will be a highway from Egypt to Assyria. The Assyrians will go to Egypt and the Egyptians to Assyria. The Egyptians and Assyrians will worship together. In that day Israel will be the third, along with Egypt and Assyria, a blessing on the earth. The Lord Almighty will bless them, saying, ‘Blessed be Egypt my people, Assyria my handiwork, and Israel my inheritance’ ” (Isa. 19:23–25, NIV).
Hardening of Pharaoh’s Heart
Hardening of Pharaoh’s Heart
The hardening of Pharaoh’s heart fascinates students of the Bible. We must stress that God did not predetermine Pharaoh’s decisions. The choices were his. He was not predestined to stubbornly refuse to follow God’s instructions and be doomed to perdition. God gives freedom of choice to every individual and enables people to respond to His message of love and offer of grace. He does not force people to obey or disobey Him.
The complete textual survey regarding the hardening of Pharaoh’s heart (see point 9 in previous section) provides the following result: in the process of hardening, it was first Pharaoh himself who stubbornly refused to humble himself before God (Exod. 10:3). It was his decision, his willful disobedience, that led him to go beyond the irreversible point of no return. His character became fixed. The divine call to him to let the Israelites go and worship the living God only added fuel to the proverbial fire in his heart, kindled against the Almighty and His servant Moses.
Part III: Life Application
Part III: Life Application
The evidence was piling up that the Lord was a sovereign God who wanted to deliver His people and lead them out of Egypt. What is in our hearts and lives that may cause us to stubbornly refuse all of God’s promptings to repent and follow Him?
What is so attractive about idolatry? Why was it so difficult for the Egyptians to break with their idolatry, even after they saw what kind of devastation it brought?
Humans are ingenious about creating their own idols. Virtually anything can be transformed into an idol. What is an idol? How do we make our own gods and bow down before them? What principles can one describe and detect behind such degrading behavior? Why does God stand so vehemently against idolatry?
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Part I: Overview
Key Text: Exodus 9:35
Study Focus: Exod. 7:8–10:29
Introduction: In our study this week, we encounter the God of miracles and the signs and wonders that He performs. Additionally, we will consider nine of the ten plagues that He unleashes as divine judgments upon Egypt. Present these elements to your class in the setting of the great controversy—the spiritual battle between forces of good and evil, light and darkness, Christ and Satan, the living God and idols. This spiritual warfare began on earth in the Garden of Eden when Adam and Eve fell into sin. God promised a victorious outcome to this war so that we would not forever be prey to evil (Gen. 3:15). From its inception, the controversy has waged between those who worship the Creator Lord and those who worship creation in its various forms. Worship of the Creator liberates humanity and frees them from the bondage of sin. Worship of creation leads to the moral degradation of humanity, created in the image of God, and ends, ultimately, in their enslavement.
In Exodus 7:8–10:29, the confrontation between the living God and Pharaoh intensifies. Pharaoh wants to demonstrate that he is, indeed, a god, as the Egyptians believed him to be. Thus, he endeavors to play the role of a sovereign monarch, who is in control and decides what is right or wrong. In contrast, God wants to deliver His people from Egyptian bondage, but, at the same time, He wishes to teach the Egyptians who He is and liberate them from slavery to their gods.
One thing must be made crystal clear: God is not against the Egyptians; He loves them as He loves everyone, with His everlasting and unselfish love. At the same time, the Sovereign Lord stands against the Egyptian gods. He intends to demonstrate that these “gods” are a human fabrication, leading people into fear and bondage. Moreover, His primary goal is to break Egypt’s dependence upon these fabricated gods in order that they might serve the living Creator and Redeemer God. However, if the people continue to associate and identify with these false gods, God’s judgment will fall, not only on their gods but on them. Their persistent idolatry will result in their punishment and, ultimately, their destruction.
God clearly declares: “ ‘I will bring judgment on all the gods of Egypt’ ” (Exod. 12:12, NIV); God’s judgment against the Egyptian gods is recounted as a historical fact in Numbers 33:4. Each plague, or judgment, was usually aimed against multiple Egyptian gods that captured the people’s imagination, thoughts, and feelings; influenced their behavior and social life; and led to their enslavement to sin in a comprehensive way. The entire person was thus captured. Thereafter, the soul lived in complete submission to an idolatrous lifestyle. This lifestyle, controlled by magic, stood in diametrical opposition to the freedom of worship that springs from the living, and loving, Creator God.
Part II: Commentary
Part II: Commentary
Signs and Wonders
Signs and Wonders
In Exodus 7:3, we read that the Lord will multiply both “signs and wonders” (NIV) before all the people in order that they might understand who He is. Exodus 7:3 is the only text in Exodus in which these two terms, “signs” and “wonders,” are combined. The word “sign” or “signs” occurs 16 times in the book of Exodus (Exod. 3:12; Exod. 4:8 [twice], 9, 17, 28, 30; Exod. 7:3; Exod. 8:19, NABRE; Exod. 10:1, 2; Exod. 12:13, NIV; Exod. 13:9, 16; Exod. 31:13, 17). In these instances, it is used to emphasize two things: namely, that Moses will perform different signs before Pharaoh (Exod. 10:1, 2), and that the Passover blood will be a sign of life, causing the destroying angel to pass over the homes under its protection (Exod. 12:13). The term “wonder” is used in reference to what God will do before Pharaoh, despite the hardening of his heart (Exod. 4:21). In the context of plagues, this term is structurally crucial because it appears twice at the beginning of nine plagues (Exod. 7:3, 9) and, again, twice at the end of the ninth plague (Exod. 11:9, 10).
There are significant plague characteristics:
The first nine plagues may be divided into three clusters, or groups, of three plagues. The tenth plague is unique and separated from the rest. The people will need a special time and provision to face it.
The first nine plagues affected all three habitats created by God in Genesis 1: the heavens (plagues seven to nine), the earth (plagues three to six), and the waters (plagues one and two). Collectively, these plagues allude to de-creation.
The first nine plagues intensify, becoming more and more severe in the process of time, as Pharaoh stubbornly refuses to let God’s people go in order that they might freely worship their Creator Lord. The first three plagues were mild, quick, and did not cause death. The next three plagues (plagues four to six) were more serious and harmful, as they destroyed livestock and afflicted humans with skin sores. The following three plagues (plagues seven to nine) were more devastating, involving the death of people and animals but also the destruction of crops.
Generally speaking, each plague fell after a clear warning and plea to surrender to the Lord’s demand. Surprises occurred, but devastation was announced beforehand and could be avoided. An exceptional warning is given before the first two plagues and the tenth, but see also transparent warnings in the introductions to plagues four, five, seven, and eight.
Before plagues three, six, and nine, there is little to no confrontation with Pharaoh.
The first three plagues fell on the Egyptians and the Israelites, but all the remaining plagues came only upon the Egyptians.
Prior to the occurrence of the first plague, God performed a miracle before Pharaoh: Aaron’s staff became a snake that ate all the magicians’ snakes. Yet, “Pharaoh’s heart became hard” (Exod. 7:13, NIV).
The last plague was the most destructive because each family that was not under the protection of the blood of the lamb was affected by the death of its firstborn son. Before the last plague fell, God, in His mercy, gave the people three days of darkness for reflection, meditation, and repentance, as well as instruction on how to avoid the final devastation.
It is after the sixth plague that the record declares that “the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart” (Exod. 9:12, NIV; see also Exod. 10:1, 20, 27; Exod. 11:10; and also Exod. 14:4, 8, 17). During the first five plagues, it was Pharaoh who hardened his heart (Exod. 7:13, 14, 22; Exod. 8:15, 19, 32; Exod. 9:7; Exod. 9:35). Before the actual story about the ten plagues, there are two predictions by God stating that He, the Lord, will harden Pharaoh’s heart (Exod. 4:21, Exod. 7:3).
Magicians could imitate only the first two plagues. When the third plague occurred, they aptly stated: “This is the finger of God” (Exod. 8:19). Later they themselves suffered with boils (Exod. 9:11; see also the urging of Pharaoh’s “officials,” Exod. 10:7, NIV).
The plagues also can be gathered into pairs: plagues one and two are connected with the river Nile; plagues three and four are flying insects (gnats/mosquitoes and flies); plagues five and six resemble each other, with pestilence occurring on animals and boils on humans; plagues seven and eight describe damage to crops; plagues nine and ten are related to darkness—one to physical darkness and the other to the ultimate darkness, namely, death of the firstborn.
It is interesting to note that the Lord specifically invited Pharaoh seven times to “ ‘Let my people go’ ” (Exod. 5:1; Exod. 7:16; Exod. 8:1, 20; Exod. 9:1, 13; Exod. 10:3) and once used a negative conditional phrase: “ ‘If you do not let my people go, I will send . . .’ ” (Exod. 8:21, NIV). Pharaoh consented after the second, fourth, seventh, and ninth plagues (Exod. 8:8, Exod. 8:25–28, Exod. 9:28, Exod. 10:24), but, in the end, refused to let the people go to worship the Lord (Exod. 8:15, Exod. 8:32, Exod. 9:35, Exod. 10:27). He even asked Moses to pray to end specific plagues and to pray also for him (Exod. 8:8, 28; Exod. 9:28; Exod. 10:16, 17). Only after the tenth plague did he summon Moses and Aaron and commanded them: “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. Also take your flocks and your herds, as ye have said, and be gone; and bless me also” (Exod. 12:31, 32).
As we have said, all these calamities related to God’s judgment against the Egyptian gods and upon those who clung to them. One should not overlook the fact that in the midst of all these calamities is the declaration of God’s powerful presence in the land of Egypt. He wanted to make it clear that there was a difference between those who follow Him and those who go against Him: “ ‘If you will not let my people go, behold, I will send swarms of flies on you and your servants and your people, and into your houses. . . . But on that day I will set apart the land of Goshen, where my people dwell, so that no swarms of flies shall be there, that you may know that I am the Lord in the midst of the earth’ ” (Exod. 8:21, 22, ESV).
The prophet Isaiah speaks about God’s love and future plans for Egypt in astounding words: “In that day there will be a highway from Egypt to Assyria. The Assyrians will go to Egypt and the Egyptians to Assyria. The Egyptians and Assyrians will worship together. In that day Israel will be the third, along with Egypt and Assyria, a blessing on the earth. The Lord Almighty will bless them, saying, ‘Blessed be Egypt my people, Assyria my handiwork, and Israel my inheritance’ ” (Isa. 19:23–25, NIV).
Hardening of Pharaoh’s Heart
Hardening of Pharaoh’s Heart
The hardening of Pharaoh’s heart fascinates students of the Bible. We must stress that God did not predetermine Pharaoh’s decisions. The choices were his. He was not predestined to stubbornly refuse to follow God’s instructions and be doomed to perdition. God gives freedom of choice to every individual and enables people to respond to His message of love and offer of grace. He does not force people to obey or disobey Him.
The complete textual survey regarding the hardening of Pharaoh’s heart (see point 9 in previous section) provides the following result: in the process of hardening, it was first Pharaoh himself who stubbornly refused to humble himself before God (Exod. 10:3). It was his decision, his willful disobedience, that led him to go beyond the irreversible point of no return. His character became fixed. The divine call to him to let the Israelites go and worship the living God only added fuel to the proverbial fire in his heart, kindled against the Almighty and His servant Moses.
Part III: Life Application
Part III: Life Application
The evidence was piling up that the Lord was a sovereign God who wanted to deliver His people and lead them out of Egypt. What is in our hearts and lives that may cause us to stubbornly refuse all of God’s promptings to repent and follow Him?
What is so attractive about idolatry? Why was it so difficult for the Egyptians to break with their idolatry, even after they saw what kind of devastation it brought?
Humans are ingenious about creating their own idols. Virtually anything can be transformed into an idol. What is an idol? How do we make our own gods and bow down before them? What principles can one describe and detect behind such degrading behavior? Why does God stand so vehemently against idolatry?