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Back into the book of Exodus, 
there will be no Bible study next Wednesday evening. I will 
most likely send out an email reminder. My dear bride and I 
are going away for a few days next week, so no Bible study 
next Wednesday night. But tonight, Exodus chapter 10, 
I'll read the chapter and we'll look at the eighth and ninth 
plagues. So beginning in verse one, now 
the Lord said to Moses, go into Pharaoh, for I have hardened 
his heart and the hearts of his servants, that I may show these 
signs of mine before him. And that you may tell in the 
hearing of your son and your son's son, the mighty things 
I have done in Egypt and my signs, which I have done among them, 
that you may know that I am the Lord. So Moses and Aaron came 
into Pharaoh and said to him, thus says the Lord God of the 
Hebrews, how long will you refuse to humble yourself before me? 
Let my people go that they may serve me. Or else if you refuse 
to let my people go, behold, tomorrow I will bring locusts 
into your territory and they shall cover the face of the earth 
so that no one will be able to see the earth. "'And they shall 
eat the residue of what is left, "'which remains to you from the 
hail. "'And they shall eat every tree 
"'which grows up for you out of the field. "'They shall fill 
your houses, "'the houses of all your servants, "'and the 
houses of all the Egyptians, "'which neither your fathers 
"'nor your father's fathers have seen "'since the day that they 
were on the earth to this day.' "'And he turned and went out 
from Pharaoh. 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 know 
that Egypt is destroyed? So Moses and Aaron were brought 
again to Pharaoh, and he said to them, Go, serve the Lord your 
God. Who are the ones that are going? 
And Moses said, we will go with our young and our old, with our 
sons and our daughters, with our flocks and our herds, we 
will go, for we must hold a feast to the Lord. Then he said to 
them, the Lord had better be with you when I let you and your 
little ones go. Beware, for evil is ahead of 
you. Not so, go now, you who are men, 
and serve the Lord, for that is what you desired. And they 
were driven out from Pharaoh's presence. Then the Lord said 
to Moses, stretch out your hand over the land of Egypt for the 
locusts, that they may come upon the land of Egypt and eat every 
herb of the land, all that the hail has left. So Moses stretched 
out his rod over the land of Egypt, and the Lord brought an 
east wind on the land all that day and all that night. When 
it was morning, the east wind brought the locusts, and the 
locusts went up over all the land of Egypt and rested on all 
the territory of Egypt. They were very severe. Previously, 
there had been no such locusts as they, nor shall there be such 
after them. For they covered the face of 
the whole earth, so that the land was darkened, and they ate 
every herb of the land and all the fruit of the trees which 
the hail had left. So there remained nothing green 
on the trees or on the plants of the field throughout all the 
land of Egypt. Then Pharaoh called for Moses 
and Aaron in haste and said, I have sinned against the Lord 
your God and against you. Now, therefore, please forgive 
my sin only this once and entreat the Lord your God that he may 
take away from me this death only. So he went out from Pharaoh 
and entreated the Lord. And the Lord turned a very strong 
west wind, which took the locusts away and blew them into the Red 
Sea. There remained not one locust 
in all the territory of Egypt. But the Lord hardened Pharaoh's 
heart, and he did not let the children of Israel go. Then the 
Lord said to Moses, stretch out your hand toward heaven, that 
there may be darkness over the land of Egypt, darkness which 
may even be felt. So Moses stretched out his hand 
toward heaven, and there was thick darkness in all the land 
of Egypt three days. They did not see one another, 
nor did anyone rise from his place for three days. But all 
the children of Israel had light in their dwellings. Then Pharaoh 
called to Moses and said, Go, serve the Lord. Only let your 
flocks and your herds be kept back. Let your little ones also 
go with you. But Moses said, you must also 
give us sacrifices and burnt offerings, that we may sacrifice 
to the Lord our God. Our livestock also shall go with 
us, not a hoof shall be left behind. For we must take some 
of them to serve the Lord our God. And even we do not know 
with what we must serve the Lord until we arrive there. But the 
Lord hardened Pharaoh's heart, and he would not let them go. 
Then Pharaoh said to him, Get away from me, take heed to yourself, 
and see my face no more. For in the day you see my face, 
you shall die. So Moses said, You have spoken 
well, I will never see your face again. Amen. Well, as I said, 
this is the 8th and the 9th plagues. The plagues start in chapter 
7 at verse 14. The 1st plague was the water 
turned into blood. The 2nd was the frogs. The 3rd 
was the lice. The 4th, the flies. The 5th, 
the livestock was diseased. The 6th was boils. The 7th, hail. 8th, locusts. 9th, darkness. 
And, of course, the 10th is the death of the firstborn. And as 
we look at this particular passage, it is repetitive in terms of 
the way God engages with Pharaoh. And one of the reasons why, or 
several of the reasons why God engages with Pharaoh is in the 
first place to demonstrate his own power. We see that in chapter 
3, 6, 9. And especially at 9, if you look back at verse 16. 
It says, but indeed for this purpose I have raised you up 
that I may show my power in you and that my name may be declared 
in all the earth. That of course is quoted by the 
Apostle Paul in Romans chapter 9 for the same purpose, to demonstrate 
God's supremacy and God's sovereignty and God's power. There in Romans 
9 in the matter of election and predestination and sovereign 
grace and here specifically in terms of God's power and supremacy 
over not only Pharaoh but over Egypt as a whole but also over 
the gods of Egypt. If you look at chapter 12, verse 
12, for I will pass through the land of Egypt on that night and 
will strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man 
and beast, and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute 
judgment. I am the Lord. So the God of 
heaven and earth is declaring that He alone is the living and 
the true God, that He is sovereign, that He is supreme. that He is 
over all things, including nature, including Pharaoh, including 
the would-be deities of the Egyptians, and including the Egyptians themselves. So as we look first at the eighth 
plague in verses 1 to 20, again, a common sort of pattern, you 
see the command given to Moses, and then second, the announcement 
of the plague, and then third, the execution of the plague. 
But notice in the first place the command given to Moses in 
verses 1 and 2. We read at the very beginning, 
go into Pharaoh for I have hardened his heart and the hearts of his 
servants. We've dealt with that clause 
on many occasions as we worked our way through the book of Exodus 
up to this point. Remember that God is not dealing 
with a blank slate. Pharaoh is not this neutral person 
that God viciously comes and hardens his heart. Pharaoh was 
in a line of Pharaohs that had executed the babies of the Israelites 
while they had tenure in the land of Egypt. As well, they 
enslaved the Israelites and used them for free labor. And so these were not neutral 
men. Pharaoh was not a neutral man. And so when God hardens 
his heart, it is an act of justice. It's sort of like in Matthew 
chapter 11, when Jesus praises the Father, for thou didst hide 
these things from the wise and the prudent. but thou didst reveal 
them unto babes." People read that and they say, well that 
isn't fair. Well remember, Jesus isn't dealing 
with a race of neutral persons. He's not dealing with a race 
of innocent persons. These are sinful persons, rebels 
against the living and true God, so the fact that God, or Jesus 
rather, praises the Father for hiding gospel truth is to essentially 
praise the Father for the execution of His justice and His righteousness. And the same thing is true with 
reference to Pharaoh. The hardening of his heart is 
an act of justice on the part of God Almighty. And as well, 
we need to observe with reference to Moses that he's not a hyper-Calvinist. In other words, God tells Moses 
that I have hardened his heart, and Moses doesn't conclude, well 
then why should I go and talk to him? If you already know the 
end from the beginning, you've already decreed the means, then 
what purpose does it serve for me to engage in this particular 
trajectory? Moses doesn't do that. Moses 
obeys God, and Moses goes dutifully to his task to call upon Pharaoh 
to let the people of God go. And then with reference to this, 
we see yet another purpose for God's demonstration of His power 
and signs, not just in the subjugation of Pharaoh and Egypt and the 
execution of the gods of Egypt, but also so that Israelite children 
may learn of the true and living God. Notice in verse one, that 
I may show these signs of mine beforehand. And then the purpose 
is in verse two, and that you may tell in the hearing of your 
son and your son's son, the mighty things I have done in Egypt and 
my signs, which I have done among them, that you may know that 
I am the Lord. So, in other words, God tells 
Moses that this is to happen so that future Israelite boys 
and girls can learn of the true and living God. You see that 
in Deuteronomy chapter 4. Deuteronomy chapter 4 at verse 
5. Surely I have taught you statutes 
and judgments, just as the Lord my God commanded me, that you 
should act according to them in the land which you go to possess. 
Therefore, be careful to observe them, for this is your wisdom 
and your understanding in the sight of the peoples who will 
hear all these statutes, and say, Surely this great nation 
is a wise and understanding people. For what great nation is there 
that has God so near to it as the Lord our God is to us, for 
whatever reason we may call upon Him? Wouldn't it be wonderful 
if the church took seriously her responsibility to function 
in this kind of a capacity? The children of Israel were intended 
to be a kingdom of priests to mediate the blessings of Yahweh 
throughout the entirety of the earth. Well, they go into the 
land of promise and instead of engaging in that particular task, 
such that the nations around them would marvel and say, what 
manner of God do these people serve? They actually ate the 
inhabitants of the land and become like the Canaanites. So therefore 
their mission is not conducted successfully. And with reference 
to the church of the Lord Jesus, we're to shine as lights in a 
crooked and perverse generation. We're to hold forth the word 
of truth according to the Apostle Paul in the book of Philippians. 
And so with reference to the witness aspect, the testimony 
aspect of the church, we should see something of a parallel of 
what Israel was intended to be and do. And then notice in verse 
nine, "'Only take heed to yourself and diligently keep yourself, 
"'lest you forget the things your eyes have seen, "'unless 
they depart from your heart "'all the days of your life. "'And 
teach them to your children and your grandchildren, "'especially 
concerning the day you stood "'before the Lord your God in 
Horeb, "'when the Lord said to me, gather the people to me, 
"'and I will let them hear my words, "'that they may learn 
to fear me "'all the days they live on the earth, "'and that 
they may teach their children, It was always the intention of 
God to replicate religion in the family unit. In other words, 
we're supposed to take that teaching and instruct our sons, we're 
to instruct our grandsons, we're to instruct a future generation 
such that God in mercy will save them and continue to add to the 
church and strengthen her. You see the same emphasis in 
Deuteronomy 6. 20. When your son asks you in 
time to come, saying, What is the meaning of the testimonies, 
the statutes, and the judgments which the Lord our God has commanded 
you? 21. Then you shall say to your son, 
We were slaves of Pharaoh in Egypt, and the Lord brought us 
out of Egypt with a mighty hand. 22. And the Lord showed signs 
and wonders before our eyes, great and severe, against Egypt, 
Pharaoh, and all his household. Then he brought us out from there, 
that he might bring us in, to give us the land of which he 
swore to our fathers. And the Lord commanded us to 
observe all these statutes, to fear the Lord our God, for our 
good always, that he might preserve us alive as it is this day. then 
it will be righteousness for us if we are careful to observe 
all these commandments before the Lord our God as he has commanded 
us. Again, this idea of duplicating 
the information, passing it on to our children and our grandchildren. This isn't confined here. but 
rather it's carried out throughout the Psalter. And in fact, in 
many instances, the Exodus, that grand redemptive event in the 
Old Testament, serves as much of the fodder for the instruction 
of the present and future generation. So going back to Exodus chapter 
10, as Gil comments that it should be told to their posterity in 
all succeeding ages. So God afflicting the people 
of Egypt with these various flags was to demonstrate his power, 
was to render judgment upon Pharaoh and upon the gods of Egypt, along 
with the people of Egypt, and then as well to provide material 
to teach to the children of Israel such that they could pass that 
information down from generation to generation. Now notice back 
in Exodus chapter 10, verses 3 to 11, you have the announcement 
of the plague. In the first place, you have 
it announced in verses 3 to 6. There is a rebuke and demand. 
Verse 3, So Moses and Aaron came in to Pharaoh and said to him, 
Thus says the Lord God of the Hebrews. How long will you refuse 
to humble yourself before me? Let my people go that they may 
serve me. So God rebukes Pharaoh specifically 
with reference to the sin of pride. It is pride. It is arrogance. It is this failure 
to humble himself under the mighty hand of God after he had seen 
the mighty hand of God's power displayed evidently and prominently 
right there in Egypt. And so he has refused, he has 
rejected, he has continued to engage in rebellion against the 
Lord. And then there is this warning 
concerning the locusts in verse 4. We know from scripture, we 
know from history, we know from hopefully not experience in Chilliwack, 
but this is a very large threat in terms of a natural disaster. Now, every natural disaster ultimately 
comes from God, and obviously we see that in this particular 
place. Verse 4, or else, if you don't 
humble yourself, if you don't repent, if you don't let my people 
go, or else if you refuse to let my people go, behold, tomorrow 
I will bring locusts into your territory. And then he highlights 
the extent of the devastation in verses 5 to 6. The author 
was very aware of the plague of hail and that's why on several 
instances he reminds us that the plague of hail did not utterly 
decimate all of the food supply and that whatever was remaining, 
this plague of locusts would in fact take care of. In fact, 
in the hail narrative, it even indicates those areas or those 
particular things that were still available or would be later available 
in the calendar year in terms of harvest. So he gives Pharaoh 
this announcement concerning the devastation. Now notice the 
attempt by Pharaoh to bargain with Moses. This is the obvious 
representation that his heart is not humble. His heart is still 
hardened. He is still in rebellion against 
the living and the true God. But in the first place, notice 
the words of the servants. Very often in biblical narrative, 
servants are a lot sharper than the people they actually serve. 
You'll see that here. You see that throughout judges. 
You see that throughout the kings, first and second kings as well. 
Now notice what the servants say in verse seven. 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 know that Egypt 
is destroyed?" I would suppose that he didn't. I would suppose 
that he was the typical politician that was so out of touch with 
life on the street that as far as he was concerned, his pride, 
his position, his prestige, and his power mattered more than 
the people that he was supposed to serve. Brethren, there ain't 
nothing new under the sun. This kind of hubris on the part 
of Pharaoh is still manifested today. There are faithful servants 
out there telling political leaders that society is crippled. Society 
is perishing. Businesses are being lost, the 
economy is failing, and for whatever reason, the pharaohs of our day 
are doubling down and say, oh no, we've got to continue in 
this particular path. This is a manifestation of what 
is called hubris. Hubris is overbearing pride or 
presumption, arrogance. If you want a perfect illustration 
of that, Google Tony Fauci. If you are critical of Tony Fauci, 
you hate science. You deny science. Tony Fauci 
is science, according to Tony Fauci. Brethren, that that happens 
is sad. That it happens and affects an 
entire nation is horrific. And the people of God need to 
pray to God about these sorts of things, and in the language 
of Moses, Cry out to the Lord. God moved them to let your people 
go. This is not a good thing. That 
kind of hubris in the heart of a political leader. The servants 
were concerned that Pharaoh did not appreciate the extent to 
which his conduct had affected Egypt. Do you not yet know that 
Egypt is destroyed? Go take a walk downtown. Go look 
at the cities. Go look at the carnage. Go look 
at what the water and the blood, the frogs, the lice, the flies, 
the diseased livestock, the boils, the hail. Go see what that has 
done in terms of wreaking havoc upon the body politic. This is 
simply unacceptable. Now notice the words of Pharaoh 
back to Moses. So you see this hubris. Not only 
does he not listen to the God of heaven and earth, he certainly 
doesn't listen to Moses, and he doesn't listen to his servants 
who have a lot better handle on the situation going on in 
Egypt than he himself does. Now notice what he does. In the 
first place, he tries to bargain with Moses. He doesn't just submit, 
he doesn't just repent, he doesn't just humble himself because that 
would be to admit that he was wrong. That would be to admit 
that he had not had the best interest of Egypt in his mind. 
So notice in verse 8, Moses and Aaron were brought again to Pharaoh 
and he said to them, go serve the Lord your God. Who are the 
ones that are going? That's not your business, who 
are the ones that are going. Go serve the Lord your God is 
the only acceptable response at this juncture. Notice again, 
verse three, thus says the Lord God of the Hebrews. How long 
will you refuse to humble yourself before me? Let my people go that 
they may serve me. Very clear, very candid, not 
difficult in terms of interpretation, but we get down to verse eight, 
and now Pharaoh wants to bargain with Moses. Go serve the Lord 
your God, who are the ones that are going. Verse 9, Moses says, 
We will go with our young and our old, with our sons and our 
daughters, with our flocks and our herds. We will go, for we 
must hold a feast to the Lord. In other words, we are God's 
people, not just the adults, not just the men, but the children 
and all of our livestock. This is God's possession. Therefore, 
let us go. Now notice Pharaoh's response 
in verse 10. The Lord had better be with you 
when I let you and your little ones go. Beware for evil is ahead 
of you. This is a threat. Don't miss 
that. He's essentially saying your 
God better protect you because I intend to harm you. Now, again, 
this is hubris. This is pride on steroids, as 
we might say. Overbearing pride or presumption, 
arrogance. It is absolutely necessary and 
requisite for political leaders, for ecclesiastical leaders, for 
family leaders, for leaders in any sort of a situation, to not 
be filled with overbearing pride, with overbearing arrogance. There's 
not an infallible man on the face of the earth. No one expects 
infallibility from any of those particular leaders. But we do 
expect, hopefully, a willingness to repent, a willingness to apologize, 
a willingness not to double down on already bad decisions. So 
he issues this threat. Now notice his terms in verse 
11. Not so. Go now, you who are men, 
and serve the Lord, for that is what you desire. And they 
were driven out from Pharaoh's presence. So Pharaoh at this 
point would only, quote unquote, permit the men of Israel to go 
and serve the Lord. So he's still operating under 
this assumption that he's deity. He's operating under this assumption 
that he has absolute authority. He's operating under the assumption 
that the true and living God is not really one that he has 
to worry about or actually has to contend with. Now notice the 
execution of the play. Verses 12 to 13, Moses is commanded 
to lift up his staff. Rather, stretch out your hand 
over the land of Egypt for the locusts that they may come upon 
the land of Egypt and eat every herb of the land, all that the 
hail has left. So Moses stretched out his rod 
over the land of Egypt and the Lord brought an east wind on 
the land all that day and all that night. It was God who brought 
the locusts. Moses didn't have the power to 
bring the locusts. This was symbolic, it was an 
act or an emblem rather, and Moses does this as he is told. And then in terms of the actual 
devastation, you see the severity of the attack in verse 14. Interesting, 
the same sort of literary technique is used in Matthew 24 in terms 
of the Great Tribulation, something that never has been nor ever 
will be again. It is a literary convention. 
You should expect that in a work of literature, that not every 
time you see that particular statement, it is to be universalized. In this instance, we see that. 
They were very severe with reference to the locust attack in verse 
14. Previously, there had been no 
such locusts as they, nor shall there be such after that. As 
I mentioned in Matthew 24, relative to tribulation, it's the same 
sort of convention that is utilized to highlight the gravity of the 
situation and the gravity of the justice at hand. And then 
in terms of the actual extent of the devastation, notice in 
verse 15, for they covered the face of the whole earth, which 
they do, so that the land was darkened, which it will be. And 
they ate every herb of the land and all the fruit of the trees, 
which the hail had left. So there remained nothing green 
on the trees or on the plants of the field throughout all the 
land of Egypt. So it was severe, it was extensive, 
it was ruinous in terms of the actual devastation involved. Now notice what happens in terms 
of Pharaoh. Pharaoh has a change of heart, 
not a change of heart in the best sense, but a change of heart 
relative to the fact that he doesn't want any more locust 
plague. If he was out of touch in terms of what the devastation 
looked like with reference to Egypt, he now got a lesson in 
being in touch. And so Pharaoh calls for Moses 
and Aaron in haste and says, notice what he does. He confesses 
sin in verse 16. I have sinned against the Lord 
your God and against you. And then he entreats or he requests 
relief in verse 17. Now therefore, please forgive 
my sin only this once and entreat the Lord your God that he may 
take away from me this death only. So again, the obvious situation 
is that he doesn't want a locust plague. The obvious situation 
is not a humble heart before God. The obvious situation is 
simply that he doesn't want any more locusts to devastate the 
property and probably that he doesn't want anything similar 
to locusts or any more additional plagues. Now notice, in verse 
18, he went out from Pharaoh and entreated the Lord. Moses 
did. And the Lord turned a very strong west wind, which took 
the locusts away and blew them into the Red Sea. There remained 
not one locust in all the territory of Egypt, but the Lord hardened 
Pharaoh's heart, and he did not let the children of Israel go. 
Again, you're dealing with an act of justice. You're dealing 
with the execution, not only of plagues upon Egypt, but upon 
Pharaoh's heart specifically. Because God has a purpose, God 
has a plan, there's going to be 10 plagues. The 10th plague's 
already been foreshadowed in the narrative, so it must obtain. And that brings us to the 9th 
plague in verses 21 to 29. Notice in verse 21, the command 
to Moses, Stretch out your hand toward 
heaven. Now, in several or at least a few of the plagues, there's 
no announcement. Moses doesn't tell Pharaoh, hey, 
this is going to happen if you don't let my people go. The third 
plague, lice, the sixth plague, boils, and this one has no warning 
given to Pharaoh. And with reference to the language, 
stretch out your hand toward heaven, that there may be darkness 
over the land of Egypt, darkness which may even be felt. That it could be felt either 
means there was some substance involved or it was so dark it 
was depressing. I don't know, some substance 
involved, or it was so dark, it was so depressing. And you 
notice in verse 23, they did not see one another, nor did 
anyone rise from his place for three days. So this idea of isolation 
certainly lends itself to a depression that was most sorrowful and most 
intense. So the execution of the plague 
happens at once. Notice the darkness for three 
days in verse 22, the extent of the darkness in verse 23a, 
which incidentally, the eighth plague has a correspondence with 
reference to the fifth trumpet in the book of Revelation, and 
then this ninth plague has correspondence with the fifth bull in Revelation 
chapter 16. So when you get to the book of 
Revelation, it's not like new things are being done. There's 
still Old Testament concept, Old Testament aspects of judgment 
coming upon whatever the target is there in the book of Revelation. But then notice the exception 
relative to the darkness. What a beautiful thing at the 
end of verse 23. Verse 23 at the beginning says, 
they did not see one another, nor did anyone rise from his 
place for three days, but all the children of Israel had light 
in their dwellings. It paid to be a child of Israel. It was a good thing to be a son 
or daughter of the true and living God. And that is a most blessed 
statement. Remember, they lived in the land 
of Goshen, and so with reference to their dwellings, with reference 
to their situation, they had light in the midst of the darkness 
that plagued the land of Egypt. Now, notice the request made 
by Pharaoh. Verse 24, then Pharaoh called 
to Moses and said, go serve the Lord, only let your flocks and 
your herds be kept back. Let your little ones also go 
with you. That's hubris, brethren. He's 
not willing to deal. In the first case, or with reference 
to the eighth plague, no doubt he wanted to keep the children 
so that the men would return. If he kept the children, they 
would have a vested interest to go out to the wilderness to 
worship Yahweh, but then, of course, to return. So he's willing 
to negotiate. But what he fails to realize 
is that you don't negotiate with the God of Israel. The God of 
Israel has demanded, let my people go. You don't have the posture 
upon which or the leverage from which you can negotiate with 
the true and the living God. Same sort of thing is probably 
representative here. You go ahead, you take the children 
in this instance, but we're gonna hang on to your flocks, we're 
gonna hang on to your herds. See how long you last without 
all that. Sure, you can go out for a few 
days, worship your God, but when you get hungry, you'll come crawling 
back and we'll have possession of you again. So this, verse 
24, Pharaoh commands, go serve the Lord, only let your flocks 
and your herds be kept back, let your little ones also go 
with you. And then notice Moses' response in verses 25 to 26. In the first place, Pharaoh must 
give them their sacrifices, must give them sacrifices and burnt 
offerings for sacrifice. In other words, they cannot go 
empty handed out into the wilderness, because their God has called 
them to offer up sacrifice. And in order for them to offer 
up sacrifice, they actually need to have the various things that 
provide for sacrifice. And then notice in verse 26, 
Our livestock also shall go with us, not a hoof shall be left 
behind, for we must take some of them to serve the Lord our 
God. And even we do not know with what we must serve the Lord 
until we arrive there. Again, we see the judicial the 
justice of God Almighty in verse 27. And then we see the anger 
of Pharaoh in verses 28 and 29. And we should explain this because 
in chapter 11, Moses is still with Pharaoh, or some have supposed 
that he has come back to Pharaoh. But I think there's a way to 
understand what's happening without any sort of a contradiction. 
Notice in verse 28, Then Pharaoh said to him, Get away from me, 
take heed to yourself, and see my face no more. For in the day 
you see my face, you shall die. So Moses said, You have spoken 
well, I will never see your face again. But if you drop down to 
verse 8, notice, And all these your servants shall come down 
to me and bow down to me, saying, Get out, and all the people who 
follow you. After that I will go out. Then he went out from 
Pharaoh in great anger. Most likely, he never left from 
Pharaoh at that particular point. So in 11.4, Moses is with Pharaoh 
up to verse 8. So people wonder how this jives 
with verses 28 and 29. Didn't Pharaoh say, you'll never 
see my face again? Most likely, verses 1 to 3 is 
either parenthetical, this had been something God had previously 
told Moses, the NIV renders it well, and the Lord had said, 
previous to this statement by Moses, Or the Lord told Moses 
this at some point during the three days of darkness. Or God 
revealed it to Moses while he was standing there in the presence 
of Pharaoh. So no contradiction, there's 
no he left and then he came back kind of a thing. He was in his 
presence and then he departs according to verse 8. So all 
of that to say there's a few lessons that we need to understand. 
In the first place, the glory of God in the demonstration of 
His power. Brethren, when we read Scripture, 
we are met with or we see a God of absolute unrivaled sovereignty 
and power. And that ought to encourage the 
people of God. And we ought to realize that 
it's not constantly that he does these sorts of things. Remember 
that Israel had been enslaved by Egypt for several hundred 
years. So for that period of time, there 
wasn't this conspicuous demonstration of God's power and the acts thereof. We need to remember that he not 
only has absolute power, we call that omnipotence, but he also 
is sovereign. So he dispenses or demonstrates 
or engages in these particular things according to his will, 
according to his decree, according to his plan and purpose. And 
very often the children of God go through seasons of affliction. And the idea is not, well, God, 
can't you vindicate us? Can't you break us free from 
this? Can't you release us from the pharaohs of our age? Of course 
he can. But as the psalmist said, it 
was good for me that I was afflicted. I mean, Psalm 119, he says in 
verse 67, before I was afflicted, I went astray. excuse me, but 
now I keep your word. And then in verse 71, it is good 
for me that I have been afflicted that I may learn your statutes. 
The Geneva Bible comments, the end of affliction is to humble 
ourselves with true repentance under the hand of God. So the 
question is never does God have power to vindicate his church? 
The question is never can God defeat the pharaohs of any given 
age? No, the issue is that God is 
working all things for good to those who love God, to those 
who are the called according to His purpose. Now in that context, 
Paul must mean that even bad things are used by God for the 
good of His people. And that's a tough lesson to 
be sure, and it's one we bump into a lot when we read our Bibles, 
but it's one we ought to pray to God to help us understand 
experientially so that we don't freak out and lose our minds. Secondly, we need to understand 
the pride of Pharaoh and the destruction of Egypt. Hubris 
is a bad thing. And it's not just in Pharaoh, 
it's not just in civil authority, it's certainly not just in ecclesiastical 
authority, it's not just in family authority, but it's in every 
one of our hearts over and over again. Scripture condemns the 
sin of pride. God resists the proud, but he 
gives grace to the humble. But with reference to this particular 
context, the implications of the servant's words in verse 
seven are real. This man was so blinded in his 
own pride and hubris that he failed to realize that the very 
nation that he was overseeing and ruling was being destroyed 
by the true and living God. John Calvin commented on verse 
three. He says, let us not doubt, therefore, 
that all tyrants who unjustly persecute the church contend 
with God himself, to whose powers they will find themselves far 
inferior. So on the one hand, brethren, 
we have a God who's going to vindicate his bride. On the other 
hand, we have image bearers that are raising their fists at that 
God. We ought to pray for their conversion. We ought to pray 
for their humility. We ought to pray that they would 
no longer resist the true and living God. He who sets himself 
up against the living and true God is on a mission of destruction. Calvin then again comments on 
verse 4, let the pharaohs of our age also learn that when 
they impede by their cruel menaces the pure worship of God, it is 
in his strict justice that fanatics like locusts assail their kingdoms 
with their impious errors and infect their people with contagion. 
So Calvin's argument is simple. When that sort of thing happens, 
it becomes chaotic. There becomes societal decay. You see that in Romans 1, when 
the heathen rebels against God, what's God's course of action? 
He gave them up to a reprobate mind. He gave them up. He gave 
them over to a condition of absolute lawlessness. That's never a good 
sign, brethren, when you see that kind of thing. It ought 
to encourage you, prayer at the throne of grace, for the mercy 
of God through the preaching of the gospel of Christ for the 
salvation of sinners. Because that is what ultimately 
stays the judgment of God, when we see His word blessed by the 
power of the Holy Spirit and the salvation of sinners. And 
we long to see that. But as well, in this passage, 
we need to understand the limitation placed upon civil government 
by God Most High. They're not in a position to 
bargain with God. God has commanded public worship. That is settled in Scripture. 
We have seen the passages. We have rehearsed these things 
over the past six months. Nothing has changed since then. 
There is no new information. There's not been a secret text 
found out there by persons who are OK with closing churches. 
that thwarts the whole purpose and plan of God in terms of the 
public worship of God on the day of God in the house of God 
by the people of God. This is a non-negotiable on the 
part of God's church. The government cannot limit, 
they cannot restrict or prohibit the church to meet. And then 
in terms of prayer for civil government, I referred to this 
in a sermon not long ago, we ought to pray for their conversion. I think that's the emphasis in 
1 Timothy 2, verses one to seven. Secondly, we pray for their restraint. 
If God doesn't save them, then we ought to pray that God would 
restrain them. And brethren, our prayer ought 
not to just be for the church of Jesus Christ, but for image 
bearers across the nation, image bearers that perhaps aren't Christians, 
but are nevertheless losing their livelihoods, being forced into 
poverty or whatever by foul decisions on the part of civil government. 
And then thirdly and finally, removal from office. And ultimately, 
that is God's prerogative in how he chooses to engage in that. And then finally, the believer's 
response to the judgment of God. Turn to the prophet Isaiah for 
just a moment. Isaiah 36. For those of you who 
use the McShane calendar, you've been in this section. I'm sorry, 
Isaiah 37. You have Sennacherib wanting 
to come against the children of Israel. You have a threat 
leveled about the supremacy of the Assyrians and how no one 
else was able to face them. And you Israelites are just like 
everybody else. You're going to fall, you're 
going to die, you're going to have all of these issues. And then 
you have Hezekiah pray. And I just want to focus at the 
last part of his prayer in chapter 37 at verse 20. He says, now, therefore, O Lord, 
our God, save us from his hand. "'that all the kingdoms of the 
earth may know "'that you are the Lord, you alone.'" So in 
other words, Hezekiah doesn't pray, God, you know, save us 
or spare us so that we can engage in commerce and we can have good 
life and we can have family and all that. Though I'm not convinced 
that that's always a bad prayer. I think that's a legit thing. 
I think Paul tells us to pray thus in 1 Timothy 2, that we 
may lead peaceable and quiet lives. But in this instance, 
he pleads the glory of God. He pleads the knowledge of God 
to be published throughout the earth. Lord, vindicate your people, 
vindicate your covenant community, save and spare us in order that 
all the kingdoms of the earth may know that you are the Lord, 
you alone. It's a good way to pray, brethren. 
This was one of the lessons in the Valley of Elah when David 
went to battle with Goliath. It was twofold in terms of its 
scope. Well, threefold. It was to clean 
Goliath's clock and to send the Philistines packing. But what 
David wanted was that Israel would know that there was a God 
in the earth. but that all the earth would 
know that there was a God in heaven and on earth. This is 
to pray theologically for the glory of God. And I think when 
we look at the Lord's Prayer, that's the priority. The first 
petition in the Lord's Prayer is, hallowed be thy name. In other words, God's glory, 
God's kingdom, God's will comes first. And then comes our food, 
our forgiveness, and our protection. So it's legit to pray for our 
food. It's legit to pray for our forgiveness. It's legit to 
pray for our protection. But first and foremost, brethren, 
we ought to pray for the name of God, for the kingdom of God, 
and for the will of God. And in that, imitate Hezekiah 
and several others throughout scripture who had that mindset 
with reference to God's judgment on the face of the earth in the 
execution of justice. A second observation that I think 
we need to address in Exodus in terms of the 10 plagues is 
that people at times think that this is bad. Well, look at what 
God did. God hardened Pharaoh's heart. 
God continued to set him up only to judge him further and harsher. 
And that is not an act of mercy. That is not an act of grace. 
But rather, that is the vicious, arbitrary, and capricious act 
of a vengeful God directed to an otherwise decent people. Well, 
I'd like to think we know better than that, brethren. You know 
who it was an act of mercy and an act of grace to? To the Israelites 
who lost their babies in the murderous rage of Pharaoh. To 
the Israelites who got to ultimately leave slavery and go into the 
liberty of the sons of God. It's an act of mercy on the part 
of God's people when God sends justice and judgment to vindicate 
his own name and to vindicate his blessed bride. So as the 
people of God, we ought never to be embarrassed by the justice 
of God. We ought never to try to explain 
it away. We ought never to be apologetic 
in terms of, well, I'm sorry that our God did thus and thus. Brethren, we are never called 
to defend God's justice in the way that God chooses to execute 
his sovereignty upon sinners and upon even the people of God 
in terms of chastisement. So as we move our way through 
scripture and as we see those things that oftentimes cause 
people to sort of freak out and then castigate our God, we see 
it as the display of a God who is glorious, a God who is wondrous, 
and a God who is gracious and merciful. And in the execution 
of His grace and mercy to His beloved, there is the execution 
of justice and righteousness upon those who would do injustice 
both to them and to Him. Well, let us pray. Our Father 
in heaven, we thank you for your word and we thank you for this 
book of Exodus and what it teaches us concerning your glory and 
your power and your majesty. And I pray that you would help 
us to learn the lessons from this book. I pray for our civil 
authority that they would read the book of Exodus, that they 
would see what it is to resist the true and living God. that 
they would see the necessity of letting the people of God 
go to do what the Lord God Most High has called them unto. Lord, 
bless this country. Have mercy upon the civil authority. Have mercy upon the churches 
who have been affected. Have mercy upon our church, God. 
We don't want to pay a cent for these fines. We don't want to 
have to do this, Lord God. We know it seems so unjust to 
us. We just commit this to you and 
to your gracious care. It doesn't have anything to do 
with the money. It has everything to do with what is right. And 
we pray that you would vindicate your holy name, not just in Canada, 
but throughout the nations of the earth. And we pray through 
Christ our Lord. Amen. Well, any questions or 
comments in light of this? Yes. Yeah, I don't know. I'm looking 
at my timeline guide. Do you have anything to add there? 
Okay. Yeah, I'm sure that I'd have to look at, probably John 
Gill would have it down to the second. Yeah, it wasn't 10 days, 
I wouldn't think. Because yeah, with reference 
to the plague of hail, it would be the later crops that were 
then available for the locust plague. So yeah, it was a period 
of time. Yes. Oh, Revelation, let me look at 
the notes here. The 8th plague, the plague of 
locusts, you see the 5th trumpet in Revelation 9. And then the 
plague of darkness, you see the 5th bull in Revelation 16 at 
verse 10. That's just kind of neato information. I don't know that it had anything 
really significant, but there is, I guess my point is when 
you get to the book of Revelation, the very Old Testament book, 
and a lot of the things or concepts that are done there are things 
that have already occurred at other points in history in God's 
dealings. All right. Well, I know people have, with 
the Canaanites, I've definitely met that. They really have issue 
with God having commanded the children of Israel to go in and 
dispossess the land of the Canaanites, right? So there's this idea that 
it was vicious and arbitrary on his part to do that. I'm speculating, 
I don't know if there are apologists per se out there for the Egyptians, 
but I've met not a few Christians who get a bit bothered by these 
acts of judgment in the Old Testament. Well, you could be a New Testament-only, 
which is still not legit, love-only kind of person. A lot of people 
focus on the one perfection of God, God is love, and the thought 
of his justice or his wrath or a commendation of jail driving 
the tent peg through Cicero's head bothers them. One very famous 
commentator refers to that as murder. And that he does that, 
to me, betrays basic common sense. Jail was not murdering Cicero. That was not at all what is happening 
in that passage. Because in Judges 5, in the Song 
of Deborah, She extols JL with the same language applied to 
Mary, the mother of Jesus. Blessed are you among women. 
So there is this antipathy to God's judgment, I think, on the 
part of some in terms of some of the more, what people can 
consider the more unsavory parts of scripture. You've not met any of that? You've 
not met? Yeah. Yeah. People don't like 
judgment. All right. So as I said, no Bible 
study,