Exodus 8:16-19
I. Introduction
We
respond to judgment in different ways.
Some men turn and love God.
Others stiffen in their resolve to rebel and hate God. We will study the later this morning and look
at the former as we celebrate the Lord’s Table.
II. God displays his
glory by covering the land with vermin and hardening Pharaoh’s heart. Hatred governs the response of the court.
1. Our text is the third plague. Number three,
six, and nine all come unannounced. This
then is the conclusion of the first series of judgments. God is gracious to warn. But they do not heed them; thus, God strikes
Egypt and her king without warning. So why don’t they heed the first two? Why do they carry on as if nothing and turn a
deaf ear to judgment? I think it is because
they do not want to give in or give up.
They think they can beat God.
Another way to say this is that they love themselves so utterly and
completely that they cannot love God.
See 2 Timothy 3 (lovers of . . . ).
2. We will look first at the response of the
magicians and then Pharaoh.
3. God commands Aaron to strike the dust of the
earth, and when he does, there are gnats on man and beast throughout the
land. The word dust makes this an anti
creation motif in the sense that God creates man out of dust. See Genesis 2:7 (// swarm of frogs). The promise to Abraham is that his
descendents will be as the dust of the earth (13:16). God also uses dust to create judgment. In Genesis 3:19, the curse returns man to
dust. Here the dust becomes vermin. The word is somewhat broad. Some translate it gnats,
and others lice or mosquitoes (bite). In
divine sovereignty, God creates life or death, salvation or judgment. He displays his glory in judgment especially
men will not relent. The word for dust
may also be an allusion to geb, the Egyptian god of the earth from which
spring trees and plants for life and food.
He was also the god of the subsurface or the grave. At burial, man was buried inside geb. His wife was the goddess nut. Nut was placed on the cover of the
sarcophagus and geb at the base.
The twin deities protect man and guide him in his journey in the after
life. As such, God is mocking their god
by using him to create misery and death.
Vermin become their master in an ironic reversal of the role of man
(insects have dominion over
him).
4. The text gives us the response of the magicians. They try with their magic and fail. These men were advisors to the court. They supposedly had the power to predict and change the future. They succeeded partially with their staffs, the Nile, and frogs.But the serpent of Moses swallows theirs. The magic at the Nile and with the frogs does not reverse the judgment; it only compounds it. In other words, God uses them to advance his purpose and defeats them. They confess as much in vs. 19. This is the finger of Elohim (generic name for gods). They merely acknowledge that the God of the Hebrews has defeated their gods. Appl: many will acknowledge God today, but they will deny he is the only God and the only object of worship. Nevertheless, God has come with a miracle that they cannot duplicate. And from here on in, they are silent. This is the last time the magicians appear to counter an act of God. They are surpassed and will not be heard from again (seen but silent)! More importantly, they do repent. They only acknowledge that the God of the Hebrews is greater than their gods. This text is used by Luke. Read 11:20. Jesus is sovereign over the spirit world because he is God and his kingdom is greater than theirs. But do the Jews repent? No. Men will not and cannot because they love their false religions.
5. And how does Pharaoh respond? His heart was hardened. The word is literally to become strong. In other words, he bows up. As a deity, he will not confess or humble himself before the true God. The text reads: he did not hear or listen to them. He ignores the message. He refuses to give up or give in. The phrase as the Lord had said is the final word. God is sovereign over his actions because they are not independent of God. God is judging him. But this is his response to it. He will not and cannot repent because he loves himself.
6. And this is a theme in the Bible. In Revelation, we have a continual recapitulation of the story of the resurrection followed by judgments and then the 2nd Coming in a final and eternal judgment. We have seven seals, trumpets, signs, and bowls. God is saying to us, wake up and get ready. The time is coming. Take heed. How do men respond? Read 6:15-16. They want to hide not repent. Read 9:20-21 & 16:21. They blaspheme God. It is the way of man. They see divine judgment and respond by dismissing it, disbelieving it, discounting it, and denying it. They will not and cannot repent because they love the world.
7. It is not the way of the Church. By the grace of God, we see the judgment of God and flee to Christ for protection and salvation. We repent and call upon the Spirit to help us serve him. By grace we turn from ourselves to him. And to celebrate him, we come to his table in obedience to his commandment.