In the first two verses of this chapter, God reveals to Moses why he has hardened Pharaoh’s heart.

I. That I might show these my signs before him.

II. That all Israel might tell their children what he did in Egypt.

A. The things God did.

B. The signs God did.

III. The above two things are done so all Israel will have proof that God is the LORD.

Verse 1, And the LORD said unto Moses, Go in unto Pharaoh: for I have hardened his heart, and the heart of his servants, that I might show these my signs before him:

I. Moses is not to go in unto Pharaoh until the Lord prepares him.

A. God will harden Pharaoh’s heart so His glory will be seen.

1. God is not being unfair to Pharaoh.

2. God can use any of his creatures in any way it pleases Him.

3. He made them all, therefore has total command of all of them.

B. This verse indicates that if Moses were to approach Pharaoh at the right time, he would willingly let Israel go.

1. If this happened, there wouldn’t be all these plagues upon Egypt.

2. The story of Israel coming out of Egypt wouldn’t circulate among the nations like it did.

3. God would not get all the glory and honor from this circumstance as He did.

4. Moses will follow the commands of God, therefore everything will turn out just like God intended them to.

Verse 2, And that thou mayest tell in the ears of thy son, and of thy son’s son, what things I have wrought in Egypt, and my signs which I have done among them; that ye may know how that I am the LORD.

I. "Tell them"

A. Parents are commanded to tell their children about the great things God has done in the past.

1. This would be a great encouragement toward children and their troubles.

2. They would be more able to turn to God during their troubles allowing God to do things for them that they can tell their children and grandchildren about.

B. There is not much time for that today.

1. There are too many activities going on today.

2. The family is not what God intended it to be with parents and children going in opposite directions.

Verse 3, And Moses and Aaron came in unto Pharaoh, and said unto him, Thus saith the LORD God of the Hebrews, How long wilt thou refuse to humble thyself before me? let my people go, that they may serve me.

I. Proper attitude toward hard times of the past.

A. The message is the same as it has always been.

1. Moses goes before Pharaoh, declaring that Pharaoh hasn’t humbled himself before God.

2. Whether Pharaoh is humbled before Moses and Aaron is not even discussed.

3. Pharaoh doesn’t see it like this, because he believes he is answerable to Moses.

4. Pharaoh’s gods don’t have any power, therefore he doesn’t believe Israel’s God has any power.

B. God gave the victory.

Verse 4, Else, if thou refuse to let my people go, behold, to morrow will I bring the locusts into thy coast:

I. Another threat.

A. I would imagine Pharaoh would hate to hear that another plague was coming.

1. He would certainly be getting tired of seeing his country ravished.

2. Of course, if he is really tired of it, he would let Israel go.

3. God has hardened his heart so he won’t do what a natural man would do in the face of these same troubles.

B. The times "to morrow" shows up in the book of Exodus.

Verse 5, And they shall cover the face of the earth, that one cannot be able to see the earth: and they shall eat the residue of that which is escaped, which remaineth unto you from the hail, and shall eat every tree which groweth for you out of the field:

I. The numbering of the locust will be impossible.

A. One cannot see the earth.

1. Every step one takes will be upon locust.

2. There would be locust in the air, which would be hit with every movement of the arms.

3. I would imagine locust would be on the faces of the people as they walk, in their noses as their breathed, and in their eyes, on their hair, and everywhere.

B. They shall eat the residue.

1. I don’t know how soon the locust came, but if they came quickly after the hail, they would eat the leaves which were freshly beaten off the trees.

2. They would eat the leaves on the trees.

3. They would eat anything that was green, and living.

C. This would certainly take the color out of Egypt.

1. Egypt wouldn’t have the variety of colors a land would normally have.

2. There would be no green trees, or different colored flowers.

3. Everything would be brown, or whatever color the earth was, because that is all that would be left.

Verse 6, And they shall fill thy houses, and the houses of all thy servants, and the houses of all the Egyptians; which neither thy fathers, nor thy fathers’ fathers have seen, since the day that they were upon the earth unto this day. And he turned himself, and went out from Pharaoh.

I. The comparison with past invasions of locust.

A. The word "fill."

1. It means to "be full."

2. It doesn’t mean one or two locust will be in the houses.

3. There shall be so many locust that every house will be filled with them.

4. One meaning is that the locust will "mass themselves against."

B. Places where the locust will be.

1. In the house of Pharaoh.

2. In the house of Pharaoh’s servants.

3. In the houses of all the Egyptians.

C. There is no mention made that there were locust in any of the houses of Israel in the land of Goshen.

1. Although the land of Goshen isn’t explicitly excluded, I believe they were.

2. God will not bring unjust judgments upon any people, especially his own people.

D. God wants Pharaoh to understand that this is not the common invasion of locust.

1. There will be so many, all of Egypt will know God sent them.

2. The fact they come "to morrow" is another proof that God sent them.

E. The plague of locust is compared to the plague of hail.

1. Ex. 9:18 – The hail was worse than had ever been in Egypt since the foundation of the nation.

2. Ex. 10:6 – The plague of locust will be worse than had ever been in the world – anywhere, not just in the nation of Egypt.

II. Didn’t want for an answer.

A. Moses wasn’t being cruel.

1. He was following the instructions of God.

2. He didn’t need to wait for an answer from Pharaoh, because God had already told him Pharaoh’s heart was hardened.

B. God sometimes wants us to tell the Word of God when the listeners won’t listen.

1. It is not our business whether people hear, accept, or believe and follow God’s Word.

2. It is our business to declare God’s Word.

3. It is God’s business to make His Word effective.

C. It is not bad to give an invitation at the end of a gospel message, but God doesn’t always require it.

1. God can work with or without an invitation from us.

2. Preachers and church - don’t think you have failed if you don’t give an invitation.

3. Pray that God will give one, and that the people will answer to God.

Verse 7, And Pharaoh’s servants said unto him, How long shall this man be a snare unto us? let the men go, that they may serve the LORD their God: knowest thou not yet that Egypt is destroyed?

See ..\Salvation\Believe, but no trust.doc for a message I preached on this verse 10/24/01 IBC Wednesday Evening

I. Lost people try to avoid the judgment of God, but without repentance. (These lost people believe what Moses said God would do!) Believe, but no trust – therefore they are condemned.

A. It is amazing that lost people know and understand what God is doing, but are powerless to do anything about it.

1. They considered the "man" was the problem – "…How long shall this man be a snare unto us?…"

2. They didn’t consider that God was doing the miracles.

B. They knew the solution.

1. Letting Israel serve the Lord God was the answer to all Egypt’s problems.

2. They didn’t want Israel to serve the Lord God, even though they knew that would solve all their problems.

3. The exact same thing is true today.

a. Lost people know it is good for them if saved people serve God, but they still do all they can do to stop their worshipping.

b. Our nation was founded on Godly principles, and the lost know that, but they still try to pass all kinds of laws to make it illegal to recognize God’s commandments.

c. Lost people try to change times and laws to their own destruction.

C. If it was good for Israel to serve the Lord God, it would also be good for Egypt to serve Him.

1. "What’s good for the goose is also good for the gander."

2. Egypt wasn’t going to serve God even though they saw His power and majesty.

3. A lost person will not come to Christ that they might be saved, even though they know there is a hell to shun and a heaven to gain.

4. God had hardened Egypt’s heart, which must be "softened" toward the gospel before they want to serve God.

5. God must draw the lost person to Himself before they will ever want to believe and spend the rest of their lives serving Him.

II. Counsel for a compromise.

A. The advice to compromise was given by Pharaoh’s servants.

1. I’m not sure who these servants were.

2. They must have been some advisers that had watched the entire process.

3. They could see the "hand writing on the wall," and advised Pharaoh to do something before Egypt was completely destroyed.

B. They could see that Egypt was destroyed.

1. All their commerce would be ended.

2. All their wealth (cattle, produce, clothing) would be gone.

3. It would take many years to rebuild the country.

4. It would take many years for the trees to grow again.

C. Their reasoning was that if the men would go into the wilderness to serve God, they wouldn’t care if their families went or not.

1. I suppose they gave advice according to what they would think.

2. They do not realize Israel is very much involved in family relationships.

3. If the Egyptians were involved in family relationships like they ought to be, they would have to get that principle from God’s Word.

D. Compromises offered to Israel thus far: (This compromise is offer # 4)

III. The result of such a compromise.

A. A breakup of the home.

1. Satan doesn’t care if some members of the home serve God, as long as others do not.

2. When one member serves God, they can’t fully rejoice in God’s great blessings at home because that is offensive to the other family members.

3. A saved lady (whose husband was lost) once told me she had to stop rejoicing when she got home from church because her husband didn’t like to hear about the things of God, or even about what happened at church.

4. It is very true that lost people aren’t on the same "wave length" as saved people.

5. Their interests and plans are on this world and what they can gain.

6. The saved person is thinking about what God has done for them, and what He can do.

B. If Israel accepted this compromise, it would mean the eventual ruin of the nation of Israel.

1. Israel had not intermarried with the Egyptians in the time they had been in Egypt.

2. I don’t know what made Pharaoh believe they would forsake their families to Egypt now.

3. I think Pharaoh and his counselors are grasping at straws.

C. Many churches today have fallen for this compromise from Satan.

1. They have a program for the seniors, the middle ages, the college age, the older teens, the middle teens, the younger teens, the juniors, the tots; the old married couples, the recently married, the singles, the recently divorced, the separated; the alcoholics, the druggies, and so forth.

2. I can see having a new members class, or some other specialty classes for special needs, but the church should not be divided, or these classes become more important than the church.

3. All this does is divide the church down into various groups.

4. The church does not function as a whole, but as various parts, which are not really a part of the whole.

5. This is not what God ordained.

D. Acts 2:44 - All that believed were together.

1. This means that all the believers were together.

2. That really doesn’t seem so hard to understand, but some folks look at that verse and don’t have the slightest idea what it means.

3. It means everybody was together: the seniors, the middle ages, the college age, the older teens, the middle teens, the younger teens, the juniors, the tots; the old married couples, the recently married, the singles, and so forth.

4. The young people would learn what the older people was thinking, and the older people would learn what the younger people were thinking.

5. Many opportunities for helping others were available, not just helping those in your own "category."

Verse 8, And Moses and Aaron were brought again unto Pharaoh: and he said unto them, Go, serve the LORD your God: but who are they that shall go?

I. Moses and Aaron are brought again unto Pharaoh.

A. I believe it is the same day.

1. Pharaoh and his people had to make a swift decision, because they knew and believed the locust would be present the next day.

2. Even though they believed, they didn’t submit themselves to what they knew would happen.

3. Even though lost people know and believe they are facing the eternal wrath of God, they still won’t submit themselves to what they know will happen.

B. Pharaoh gives limited permission for Israel to leave.

1. It is interesting that Pharaoh doesn’t come out at first and say that only the men are given permission to leave.

2. Pharaoh is trying to word his compromise so it will be accepted.

3. He should have known better.

II. This is really a stupid question on Pharaoh’s part.

A. He has known for some time that all of Israel will go.

B. He just doesn’t want to admit that he is going to lose all the people.

C. He is setting Moses up for compromise.

1. It is important here to understand that Moses already knows that Pharaoh’s heart has been hardened.

2. God told him so in verse 1.

3. Moses wasn’t under any grandiose imaginations that Pharaoh was finally going to listen and let Israel go.

4. It is very important that we understand that Satan sets us up for compromise at every turn.

III. Satan is always wanting God’s people to compromise.

A. If he can’t get us to outright rebel against God, he wants us to give in just a little (which is really outright rebellion).

B. When we give in just a little, we will more readily give in a little bit more.

C. The end result of giving in to Satan is rebellion against God.

1. We may not have intended to rebel against God, but the end result of compromise is rebellion.

2. We will face the end result of this rebellion just like anybody else.

3. All our excuses and "reasons" won’t prevail with God.

Verse 9, And Moses said, We will go with our young and with our old, with our sons and with our daughters, with our flocks and with our herds will we go; for we must hold a feast unto the LORD.

I. Moses doesn’t give in to Pharaoh’s demands.

A. All of Israel will leave.

1. The young and the old. (See part "B" below.)

2. The sons and daughters.

a. This is the future generation.

b. Israel must make sure the younger generation only marries within Israel, otherwise, there will also be some Egyptians leave.

c. Numbers 11:4, There was a mixt multitude that followed Israel that always gave them trouble.

3. The flocks and herds.

a. These flocks and herds are one measure of Israel’s wealth.

b. They will offer a portion of these flocks and herds as a sacrifice to God.

4. It should also be noted that all the dead will leave!

a. Moses doesn’t say anything about the dead leaving, but the scriptures declare this is so.

b. Gen. 50:26 - When Joseph died, he was put in a coffin in Egypt, not buried, or transported to Canaan to be buried.

c. Exodus 14:11 - When Israel escaped from Egypt, they came to the Red Sea, where the Egyptian army tried to destroy them. Their complaint to Moses was "...because there were no graves in Egypt, hast thou taken us away to die in the wilderness..."

d. I believe Israel carried the dead bodies of the Israelites out of Egypt, and during the entire 40 years wilderness wanderings.

e. When they got to Canaan, I assume they buried those bodies.

B. The young and the old.

1. One would imagine that the very young and the very old cannot walk, therefore they will have to be carried.

a. This is not what the Bible says.

b. Psalms 105:37 states, "He brought them forth also with silver and gold: and there was not one feeble person among their tribes."

2. God is well able to keep his people in good health.

a. All of Israel was in good health when they left Egypt.

b. Moses, Joshua and Caleb remained in good health well into old age.

c. Moses was "fit as a fiddle" when he went into the mountain to die.

3. Is feebleness within the population of a nation a sign of the judgment of God?

a. Exodus 15:26 states, "And said, If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the LORD thy God, and wilt do that which is right in his sight, and wilt give ear to his commandments, and keep all his statutes, I will put none of these diseases upon thee, which I have brought upon the Egyptians: for I am the LORD that healeth thee."

b. I am not saying that all sickness, all disease and all bad health is caused by wickedness, but all disease is caused by sin, which is a natural part of our existence.

c. Wicked living equals the judgment of God, which often occurs in "natural" ways, as bad health.

1) The use of tobacco = bad health.

2) The wrong use of alcohol and drugs = bad health.

3) The wrong use of sex = bad health.

4) The wrong use of anything God intended for good = bad health.

d. God often closed the wombs of wicked people so they would see the error of their ways.

1) Genesis 29:31 – "And when the LORD saw that Leah was hated, he opened her womb: but Rachel was barren."

2) Genesis 30:1,2 – "And when Rachel saw that she bare Jacob no children, Rachel envied her sister; and said unto Jacob, Give me children, or else I die. 2 And Jacob's anger was kindled against Rachel: and he said, Am I in God's stead, who hath withheld from thee the fruit of the womb?"

3) Genesis 30:22 – "And God remembered Rachel, and God hearkened to her, and opened her womb."

4) I Samuel 1:5,6 – "But unto Hannah he gave a worthy portion; for he loved Hannah: but the LORD had shut up her womb. 6 And her adversary also provoked her sore, for to make her fret, because the LORD had shut up her womb."

e. God often sends physical bad health to people because of their disobedience.

1) Leviticus 26:16 – "I also will do this unto you; I will even appoint over you terror, consumption, and the burning ague, that shall consume the eyes, and cause sorrow of heart: and ye shall sow your seed in vain, for your enemies shall eat it."

2) Deuteronomy 28:22 – "The LORD shall smite thee with a consumption, and with a fever, and with an inflammation, and with an extreme burning, and with the sword, and with blasting, and with mildew; and they shall pursue thee until thou perish."

3) The present AIDS scare is caused by exceeding great wickedness. The disease is passed by wickedness, both the misuse of sex, and the misuse of drugs.

4. The curse God placed upon the Israelites, causing them to die in the 40 year wilderness wanderings was much different from what they had been experiencing.

a. While in Egypt, there was not a feeble Israelite.

b. In the short 40 year wilderness wandering, that whole generation of Israelites became sick and died.

c. Even though God kept their clothes, shoes and other necessary articles in perfect condition, their bodies became racked with diseases and they died.

d. They ate perfect food, so there diseases weren’t caused by a bad diet.

e. They had plenty of exercises because they walked a lot.

II. We must hold a feast unto the Lord.

A. This is the "short term" goal.

1. This is all Israel knows.

2. This is all God has told them.

3. They would anticipate God had more in store for them because they knew the promises given to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

4. In anticipation of the fulfilling of these promises, they took all the dead bodies of Israel out of Egypt.

B. They are to live by faith.

1. The Old Testament saints lived by faith, not by the law.

2. God revealed to them one step at a time, just like He reveals one step at a time to us.

C. Only after Israel gets out of the land of Egypt will God reveal more of His plan to them.

1. We serve God one step at a time.

2. We do today what He reveals to us.

3. Tomorrow, we will do what He reveals to us.

4. The next day, we will do what He reveals to us.

5. Taking each day by itself, we will be able to live a complete, full life for God.

Verse 10, And he said unto them, Let the LORD be so with you, as I will let you go, and your little ones: look to it; for evil is before you.

I. Let God agree with my decision (the little ones agree).

A. Pharaoh is saying, "You had better watch out because if you and the LORD don’t agree to my plan, there is evil waiting that I will do to you."

1. There is no definition of what this evil is.

2. This is just an idle threat, completely meaningless.

B. Your little ones agree with me.

1. Pharaoh was asking the opinion of children, who are immature and can’t make decisions like this.

2. These kind of decisions are to be left with the adults, not children.

3. In these cases, children really don’t know what is best for them.

4. Parents are wrong to expect their children to make adult decisions.

5. Childhood is the time for play, and relying on adults.

6. Adulthood is the time for work and play, protecting children.

C. If the children don’t leave, somebody has to stay behind and take care of them.

1. The ones that will stay behind are the women, the very old, and the infirm.

2. Promise Keepers has the same motto as Pharaoh.

3. They believe the men ought to gather together without their wives and children.

4. It is ridiculous what some people think will build strong families.

Verse 11, Not so: go now ye that are men, and serve the LORD; for that ye did desire. And they were driven out from Pharaoh’s presence.

I. Pharaoh’s plan:

A. It is not so that everybody will go, as you have suggested.

1. I will allow only the men to go serve the LORD.

2. Pharaoh doesn’t want entire families to serve the Lord, because he knows that is where the strength of the family – thus the strength of the nation – is.

B. He asserts that was what he thought the original agreement was.

1. This is completely pointless as everybody knows the original agreement was for all of Israel to go.

2. Never was it mentioned that only the men would leave Egypt.

C. Pharaoh doesn’t want to lose the Israelites as slaves of Egypt.

1. They do very much work, contributing much toward making Egypt the great nation it is.

2. He believes that if only the men go and sacrifice, leaving the families behind, they will return.

3. When they return, the desire to sacrifice will be gone, and they will return to work.

II. Moses and Aaron were driven from Pharaoh’s presence.

A. I would think this was pretty risky business.

1. Any guard that feared the Lord would realize all Moses had to do was raise his rod and they would immediately be killed.

2. II Kings 2:23 - When the youngsters called Elisha a "bald head," he cursed them in the name of the LORD and two she bears came out of the woods and tore 42 of them.

3. The man of God is not without protection when he is doing God’s will.

B. Moses and Aaron gave in to the authority of Pharaoh.

1. God hadn’t told them not to leave when Pharaoh told them to.

2. Their ego’s are not involved in this situation.

3. God will show his strength in due time.

C. It is important to note that Moses and Aaron left when they were driven away.

1. They didn’t stand there and defy Pharaoh’s orders when they had completed everything God told them to do.

2. If they still had some things yet to do, there is no doubt they wouldn’t have left so easily.

3. Retreat doesn’t always mean defeat.

4. Sometimes it means "regroup."

Verse 12, And the LORD said unto Moses, Stretch out thine hand over the land of Egypt for the locusts, that they may come up upon the land of Egypt, and eat every herb of the land, even all that the hail hath left.

I. Moses did nothing until instructed by God.

A. Even though Moses knew what he was supposed to do next, he did nothing until God told him to.

1. Going by verse 4 and verse 13, I believe Moses stretched forth his hand immediately after he left Pharaoh’s presence.

2. This is a very good command to obey.

3. A saved person should be so close to God, so understanding of his ways, that they completely trust and obey Him in everything, having no thoughts of their own.

4. May God help us not to be presumptuous in our service to Him.

B. David was a man after God’s own heart.

1. I Sam. 13:14 - God sought a man after his own heart to serve as king after Saul.

2. Acts 13:22 - David was a man after God’s own heart.

3. Examples:

a. I Sam. 30:6 - When all his friends turned against him, David encouraged himself in the Lord.

b. II Sam. 2:1 - After Saul’s death, David didn’t attempt to take over the throne, even though it was already given to him by God.

Verse 13, And Moses stretched forth his rod over the land of Egypt, and the LORD brought an east wind upon the land all that day, and all that night; and when it was morning, the east wind brought the locusts.

I. There is no more compromising.

A. Pharaoh doesn’t call for Moses and Aaron, and God doesn’t command Moses and Aaron to return to Pharaoh.

B. There is a certain fearful looking for the judgment of God.

1. Heb. 10:26,27 – "For if we sin willfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, 27 But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries.

2. There would be a fearful anticipation of the coming judgment of God as the Egyptians feel the east wind all the remainder of that day and night.

II. The morning brings the plague of locust.

A. It happened just like God said it would.

B. The coming judgment of God upon this world will happen just like God said it would.

Verse 14, And the locusts went up over all the land of Egypt, and rested in all the coasts of Egypt: very grievous were they; before them there were no such locusts as they, neither after them shall be such.

I. The locust were all over the land of Egypt.

A. It is interesting the Bible uses the word "rested" to describe how relaxed the locust were.

B. I would imagine the Egyptians weren’t resting at all.

C. There were more locust than ever had been, or ever will be again.

Verse 15, For they covered the face of the whole earth, so that the land was darkened; and they did eat every herb of the land, and all the fruit of the trees which the hail had left: and there remained not any green thing in the trees, or in the herbs of the field, through all the land of Egypt.

I. A description of how bad the locust were.

II. They did exactly what God commanded them to do, and as he told the Egyptians they would do.

Verse 16, Then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron in haste; and he said, I have sinned against the LORD your God, and against you.

I. Pharaoh didn’t wait very long to call for Moses and Aaron.

II. Pharaoh recognized his sin against God and Moses, but he didn’t repent.

Verse 17, Now therefore forgive, I pray thee, my sin only this once, and entreat the LORD your God, that he may take away from me this death only.

I. Pharaoh was intend on removing the plague, but was interested in admitting his sinfulness before Almighty God.

A. It is one thing to admit sin, and another thing to admit you are a sinner.

II. Pharaoh called this plague a death because Egypt will be completely destroyed if God doesn’t cause the locust to leave.

Verse 18, And he went out from Pharaoh, and entreated the LORD.

I. Moses did as Pharaoh desired.

II. God is merciful to those that call on his name, even if they call in the wrong manner.

Verse 19, And the LORD turned a mighty strong west wind, which took away the locusts, and cast them into the Red sea; there remained not one locust in all the coasts of Egypt.

I. It is amazing that God cast all the locust in the Red Sea, which (scholars say) was only 6" deep!

A. When a verse of scripture is twisted to prove our pet beliefs, that twisting is revealed by another scripture.

Verse 20, But the LORD hardened Pharaoh’s heart, so that he would not let the children of Israel go.

I. God hardened Pharaoh’s heart once again.

A. God will get more glory and honor from Pharaoh’s hard heart than he would get from his softened heart.