Exodus 9:8—10:9

Host: Just as Pharaoh tempted and tested Moses with compromise, so the child of God is tempted today. Welcome to Through the Bible. That's the warning that our teacher Dr. J. Vernon McGee gives to us, as the Bible bus continues its journey through the amazing and surprisingly relevant Old Testament book of Exodus. This time, we're going to look at chapters 9 and 10. I'm your host Steve Schwetz, and before we begin, let's hear from a couple of fellow passengers on the Bible bus with us. First, here's a voicemail from a fellow listener in Canada.
Guest (Male): Hi there, I'd love to tell my story. My name is Amir. I'm 63 years old. I live in Calgary, Canada. I've been listening since I was just a young kid when my parents gave me a shortwave radio that also had AM. I used to tune around and listen, and I'd hear this funny, beautiful accent of this Texas preacher. Didn't know anything about the Bible. I didn't know anything about God. And it was 10 years later that I had actually come to know Jesus. But since then, I've heard the best, the most consistent, the most honest approach and sharing of the word of God that I've ever heard. I've been to Bible college. I've been a youth pastor. I've listened in earnest to all the best preaching and teaching in the world as I've traveled. And every time I think I just want to hear an honest, straightforward, no-nonsense approach to the word of God, it's Dr. McGee. The funny thing is now I drive a school bus. So I am on the bus literally. And for the past seven years, after I've dropped my kiddos in the mornings, I always tune on. Today, I've filled up a bus. I hope that goes to further reaching everybody out there with the same wonderful, straightforward word of God that I've come to trust with Dr. McGee. I wish I had met him in person, but I know one day we'll catch up. Thank you very much for your ministry and the word that you send out. But I want you to know how much I appreciate, especially in the day of so much confusion and misinterpretation of the word of God out there by some well-meaning and some obviously not well-meaning people. Thank you again for the work you do, and I really appreciate your consistent approach. I want you to know that I've had kids on the bus that have been saved who I've been able to share with. I'm not allowed to proselytize, but I am allowed to answer questions. And when they ask, "Who is that on the radio?" I tell them, and they get the whole story. Don't stop. You guys are doing a wonderful job. And thank you again for all you do. Be blessed. Be encouraged. And I hope that tank of gas I bought this morning goes a long way in the kingdom of God. All the best.
Host: Well, thanks, Amir. Thanks for your faithful study of God's Word and for sending a donation to fill up that gas tank so that the Bible bus can continue in Calgary and around the world in more than 250 languages. We're praying that you keep flinging that seed on your bus, and I'll save you a seat on this one.
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Guest (Male): Love your ministry. Way back in 1975, I remember hearing you on the radio. The years went by, and I fell. But then, in the early 2000s, you were still there. Two years ago, my wife of almost 40 years died, and I'm alone again. But I listen and study the Bible with you on YouTube. I've learned so much. The Word of God never comes back void. I will continue to support this beautiful ministry.
Host: I'm glad you're back aboard with us, by the way, Reginald. Thanks for the support and for your company on the Bible bus. Isn't it such an encouragement to hear how God's moving in the lives of our listening family? Don't you think? Well, you know, we'd love to celebrate God's work in your life as well. So why don't you share your story? Drop us a note in our app, email us at [email protected], or call 1-800-65-BIBLE and leave a message or send your note to Box 7100, Pasadena, California, 91109. Canadian listeners, write to Box 25325, London, Ontario, N6C 6B1. Let's pray and get right to our study. Lord, thank you for the faithfulness and timeliness of your Word that speaks to us wherever we are. Give us soft hearts so that we can know you better in Jesus' name. Amen.
Host: Now turn to Exodus 9 as we go through the Bible with Dr. J. Vernon McGee.
Dr. J. Vernon McGee: Now last time in the ninth chapter of Exodus, we took up the plague that is mentioned there. And this is that of the murrain that was on the cattle. And I tell you, they were all around worshipping sick cows, which to me has a note in it of humor. And then in verse 8, why we come here to this statement, and I'll begin reading. The Lord said unto Moses and unto Aaron, "Take to you handfuls of ashes of the furnace, and let Moses sprinkle it toward the heaven in the sight of Pharaoh. And it shall become small dust in all the land of Egypt and shall be a boil breaking forth with blains upon man and upon beast throughout all the land of Egypt." And they took ashes of the furnace and stood before Pharaoh, and Moses sprinkled it up toward heaven, and it became a boil breaking forth with blains upon man and upon beast. Now, I don't know this, but I assume, since this one was done right in the presence of Pharaoh, that Pharaoh was the first one that got the boils, by the way. And verse 11, "And the magicians could not stand before Moses because of the boils, for the boil was upon the magicians and upon all the Egyptians." And you see with Pharaoh all the time were these magicians or wise men. They were his counselors, and they got the boils also. You remember they were able to duplicate the first three, but after that, they were not able to. They were unable to duplicate the one that had to do with the lice upon the dust of the earth. And they now are being infected by one of the judgments. Now, do you notice for the first time God is touching man as well as beast? It's affecting man personally, his own physical body. And this, of course, meant that the priests in that day were spotless. They could not serve in the temple with any kind of a breaking out or sickness. And now the magicians, they take off. Believe me, they're gone. The priests, well, they can't serve. They're unclean. And so they are having really a holiday as far as all this worship in Egypt. And you can imagine what it was. I walked over part of the ruins of the city of Memphis. And by the way, practically all the ruins are gone now, but they know something of the extent of that great city that was there. And down one thoroughfare and up another, temple after temple. I forget how many hundreds of temples, well over a thousand that were in that city. And priests serving it all of them. Now, you can imagine what it did. Why, it brought to a halt all of that false worship. And everything slowed down to a standstill, and all the bright lights went off. I noticed reading at the time that they had the strike up at Las Vegas, there on Glitter Gulch, where they probably have more neon lights than any place in the world, I'm told. And I haven't been through there in years, but I'm told that if you fly over it at night, while you think the sun's coming up, it's so bright. Well, when they had the strike, the lights went out, the hotels closed up, the people left. And it brought a deadness. It was so startling that they had to settle the strike and begin immediately. Well, you can imagine what's happened here in the land of Egypt. False religion is out of business. And they're all got boils. They can't serve. And so you have up a sign on all the temples, "Closed because of sickness." We read now in verse 12, it reveals the condition again of the heart of Pharaoh, "And the Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh." You see, God's making him stand to it now, even when he himself has boils. And he hearkened not unto them as the Lord had spoken unto Moses. And the Lord said unto Moses, "Rise up early in the morning, stand before Pharaoh and say unto him, 'Thus saith the Lord God of the Hebrews, Let my people go that they may serve me.'" And how many times have we read that God says, "Let my people go?" And he's not letting them go yet. You can see his heart is indeed hardened. "For I will at this time send all my plagues upon thine heart and upon thy servants, and upon thy people, that thou mayest know that there's none like me in all the earth. For now I will stretch out my hand that I may smite thee and thy people with pestilence, and thou shalt be cut off from the earth." "And in every deed, for this cause have I raised thee up for to show in thee my power, and that my name may be declared throughout all the earth." Now, God says that I'm going to use you, Pharaoh, to demonstrate my power throughout all the earth. And actually, God uses the wrath of man really to praise him. And here is a case of it. Now verse 17, "As yet exaltest thou thyself against my people that thou wilt not let them go. Behold, tomorrow about this time, I will cause it to rain a very grievous hail, such as hath not been in Egypt since the foundation thereof even unto now." Now, the land of Egypt is a land of no rain. I was told when I was there that they had less than one inch of rain. And the year that I was there, it was, of course, early spring, in long about May, and they had not had a drop of rain that year. And I do not know how much they got during the year, but it averages out less than an inch of rain. Now they're going to have a rain of the kind of which they could do without. And we are told here, verse 19, "Send therefore now and gather thy cattle and all that thou hast in the field, for upon every man and beast which shall be found in the field, and shall not be brought home, the hail shall come down upon them, and they shall die." "He that feared the word of the Lord among the servants of Pharaoh, made his servants and his cattle flee into the houses." You see, it's a question here whether you believe God or not. God says, "Get your servants in, your cattle in." Many didn't believe God, and they were judged by the hail and were destroyed, of course. But God gave them a chance, you see. It's just a question of whether you believe God or not. And that holds good today. Verse 21, "And he that regarded not the word of the Lord, left his servants and his cattle in the field." And that was, of course, to a great disadvantage. Now, Isis is the goddess of the air. And you find a great deal it's said about her in the religion of Egypt. And she's one of the principal members of the theophany, by the way. She is one that was very prominent in the land of Egypt. Now, hail is actually directed against her, but you see, it touches mankind. And that's very important to note. Now we have in verse 22, "And the Lord said unto Moses, Stretch forth thine hand toward heaven that there may be hail in all the land of Egypt upon man, upon beast, and upon every herb of the field throughout the land of Egypt." "And Moses stretched forth his rod toward heaven, and the Lord sent thunder and hail, and the fire ran along upon the ground, and the Lord rained hail upon the land of Egypt. So there was hail and fire mingled with the hail, very grievous, such as there was none like it in all the land of Egypt since it became a nation." "And the hail smote throughout all the land of Egypt, all that was in the field, both man and beast. And the hail smote every herb of the field and break every tree of the field." Now, those that didn't believe God, naturally, they made no provision for protection. That's the same message that God has for the world today. That judgment is coming, and that man's not wise today to go on as if nothing is going to happen. It was that way in the days of Noah. It will be that when He comes again in judgment. And here you have a great many didn't believe God. All God does is ask you to believe Him. Now again, we're reminded of the fact in verse 26, "Only in the land of Goshen, where the children of Israel were, was there no hail." You see, from here on, the land of Goshen is spared from the plagues that are coming on the land. And we find here that the plague now of the hail had a tremendous effect upon the land of Egypt. For instance, we're told in verse 31, "And the flax and the barley was smitten, for the barley was in the ear, and the flax was bold." So that flax was for the garments, for clothing, barley for food. And the wheat and the rye also, we're told, was smitten. They weren't grown up. It's all beaten down. And this was a judgment against the foodstuff and the clothing. You see, God is now striking at man, and Pharaoh was smitten first. And he ought to wake up, but he's not. He's hardened. We're told here, verse 35, "And the heart of Pharaoh was hardened, neither would he let the children of Israel go as the Lord had spoken by Moses." He would not yield yet. Well, you wonder what it's going to take to make it possible for this man to let them go. All right, now notice God prepares to move again. And here he says, "And the Lord said unto Moses, Go in unto Pharaoh, for I've hardened his heart and the heart of his servants that I might show these my signs before him. 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've done among them, that ye may know how that I am the Lord." Now, you see, God has many reasons for doing what he does. One of them was to make this man Pharaoh to reveal what was in his heart, that he's this kind of a man, that he was a godless man. You see, God could have taken the children of Israel immediately out of the land of Egypt without even making any contact with Pharaoh. And many people would say, the critic would, and many, I'm sure, would offer the objection, "Well, God certainly was not fair to Pharaoh. He should have given him an opportunity to have let the children go and given this man an opportunity for salvation." Well, friend, that's exactly what God has done. He didn't take them out immediately now. But also, God is demonstrating to his own people before he got them in the wilderness what he was able to do, and that he was able to not only deliver them out of Egypt, but he was well able to bring them into the land that he had promised to give to Abraham, Isaac, and to Jacob. Now, I read here in verse 2 of chapter 10, "And that thou mayest tell in the ears of thy son, thy son's sons, what things I have wrought in Egypt." And at the Passover now, for almost 4,000 years, it's the oldest religious holiday that there is. Why, this story's been told about how God delivered his people out of the land of Egypt. Now, 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." "Else if thou refuse to let my people go, behold, tomorrow will I bring the locust into thy coast. 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." "And they shall fill thy houses, the houses of thy servants, the houses of all the Egyptians, which neither thy fathers, neither thy fathers' father have seen since the day that they were upon the earth unto this day. And he turned himself and went out from Pharaoh." "And Pharaoh's servant said unto him, How long shall this man be a snare unto us? Let the man go that they may serve the Lord their God. Knowest thou not yet that Egypt is destroyed?" Now, what he's saying is just simply this, "The land of Egypt is being absolutely demolished. And it's destroyed by these plagues that are coming on the land. How long are you going to go along with this type of thing? Why not at least make a compromise with these people?" And so we find here that Moses and Aaron now are brought in again unto Pharaoh. And he said unto them, "Now, here's his third compromise. Go serve the Lord your God, but who are they that shall go?" And Moses said, "We'll go with our young, with our old, with our sons, with our daughters, with our flocks and with our herds, will we go for we must hold a feast unto the Lord." 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. 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. The compromise now is this, "Moses, you go on out in the wilderness with the men, with the adults." "But you leave the children in the land, and you go out without them." Well, Pharaoh, I think, suspected that if they got three days in the wilderness, they would keep going. And so he wants to stop that, and he knows if he keeps the children, they'd not run away. They would come back for their children. Now, this again has a corollary. It's a pattern for believers today. I think that as Pharaoh tested and tempted this man Moses with a compromise, that the child of God is today tempted with a compromise. In fact, you will find these four compromises parallel in the Christian life. Now, first of all, of course, is be a Christian, but don't be narrow. And then you be a Christian, but don't go too far in this. If you insist on doing certain things, well, don't make a practice of it. In other words, compromise. Now, this as someone has said, is probably the most subtle temptation of all. In other words, there are a great many people who are told today, and a great many Christians. I'm of the opinion I'm speaking to a great many Christians like this right now. "Yes, you go ahead and be a Christian. But remember that your children are being brought up in the world in Egypt. And you want to prepare them for Egypt." So that today, we have a great conflict in the average Christian home. I've seen this again and again. There is this matter of the child being brought up under an educational system that's absolutely contrary to Christianity. And he's told, "Well, he must get along in the world. And that the child of God's in the world. And that the child of God, since he's to be in the world, he's to get in the world and make all the money he can and get involved in the world." Friends, I've been a pastor a long time, over 30 years. I haven't learned very much, but I've learned a few things. And I have seen again and again and again a godly father and mother. And yet, they want everything for their children. They say, "We want them to have the best education. We want them to get up in the world. We want them to succeed. We want them to be successful. We want them to get rich." And believe me, one after another has fallen. One after another's departed from the Lord. This is the most subtle temptation that comes today to Christian parents. And I personally think that's the problem right now in the Christian home where we've got young people in rebellion. What did you expect, my friend, when you sent them to these worldly institutions and he came home one day a hippie or something even worse? And you say, "My, how could he do that brought up in a Christian home?" He did that because actually he wasn't brought up in a Christian home. The parents are lovely Christian people, but they didn't train really the children in Christian values and in Christian things. They were so anxious and ambitious for them to get on in the world. And they've lost them. Oh, how they have been lost today. This is the most subtle temptation of it all. And I spent time with it because I think it's rather important. But we're going to have to leave off there today, my beloved.
Host: Do you think the most destructive plagues are over, or are there more to come? Does Pharaoh finally relent, or does he once again harden his heart? Find out next time when Dr. McGee continues our dramatic study of Exodus. Until then, to be in touch, you can email us at [email protected] or drop us a note in the feedback section of our app. And if you loved hearing from Amir earlier, I know others would love to hear from you too. So why not you call and share your story at 1-800-65-BIBLE. In the options, you're going to hear one for leaving your Bible bus story. That's what you want. From there, it's just as simple as listening to the prompt and recording your voicemail, and just imagine talking to one person. That number again is 1-800-652-4253. I'm Steve Schwetz, and as always, I'll save you a seat on the Bible bus next time.
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