Jesus in the Old Testament 011:
Jesus and the Plagues of Egypt
Jesus and the Plagues of Egypt
Thesis: One of Jesus’ roles within the Godhead has always been to “Make Him
Known” (John 1:18). Scripture also tells
us that Jesus has been exalted above all other spiritual powers (Eph 1:20-23)
and that all of His enemies will be put under his feet (Col 2:15). Obviously,
Jesus is most readily thought of as redeemer (1Jn 4:14). All of these roles and realities are clearly
demonstrated in the story of the Plagues.
- Nutshell with Kids (<5
min)
- Who can
tell me what happened in the story of the Exodus from Egypt? (Guide as
needed)
- John 14:9
Jesus says that whoever has seen Him has seen God. His job is to show people who God is. How do you think he was doing
that in the plagues of Egypt?
- Phil 2:9-11
says that Jesus will be King over everything, even over angels and demons. How do you think he was doing this in the plagues of Egypt?
- Lastly,
John 3:16 says that Jesus saves anyone who trusts in Him. How do you think He was doing this in the plagues of Egypt?
- Jesus is
always working, and He has been revealing, reigning, and redeeming from
the very beginning, even before He was a baby in Bethlehem.
- Deeper with Adults
- Revealing: To Make Him
Known
- John
1:18. It is one of the main
responsibilities of Jesus, the second person of the Godhead, to make
known the invisible God.
- Exodus
5:1-3 That Pharaoh and Egypt will know that “I am the Lord.”
a)
Pharaoh begins, as we all do, in a
state of not knowing who God is.
b)
Ignorance and pride combine and
result in a posture of disobedience.
c)
In one sense, all of the plagues
of Egypt can be seen as an answer to this question: Who is the Lord?
(1)
Ex 7:1-5, 17
(2)
Ex 14:4, 18
- That
Israel may know that I am the LORD (Yahweh)
a)
Israel had lived in Egypt for 430
years (Ex 12:40) and had wandered from their faith so that they did not know
the God that their fathers had served (Ex 3:13-15)
b)
Ex 4:27-31 Initially, when Moses
shows up and demonstrates the signs that God had given him, they rejoice and
worship.
c)
Ex 5:21-23 Their faith was
shallow.
d)
Ex 6:1-9
(1)
Israel had “known” God as
El-Shaddai, the mighty God. Power and
Strength had been exhibited all around them.
(2)
They had “not known” God as
Yahweh, the covenant keeper.
(a)
Covenants made (Gen 12, 15, etc.),
but not yet fulfilled.
(b)
In Ex 3, God’s introduction by His
covenant name was not a revelation of a new word to speak in reference to
Him. It was a new way to experience God.
(3)
Cognitive vs experiential
knowledge.
(4)
Notice, as we have seen before,
that the revelation of God is simultaneously one of rescue and judgment (vs 6;
7:4)
e)
Ex 10:2 God reminds Moses why this
is happening: for generational knowledge that God is Yahweh, the
covenant-keeper.
f)
Ex 13:11-16 God institutes the
sacrifice of the firstborn as a memorial offering, pointing back to the
Passover so that generations with know that he is Yahweh, the covenant-keeper.
g)
Ex 13:17-18 The people left Egypt
armed, presumably part of the plunder they took from Egypt. Yet, while they were physically capable of
war, they did not yet trust God enough.
Their swords were ready, but their faith was not.
h)
Ex 14:30-31 Not until they see
Egyptian corpses floating in the water and their own dry bodies on the other
side of the Red Sea does Israel have real faith in God.
- Reigning: To be exalted
over all other gods
- Jesus is
to be exalted over all other spiritual powers or would-be gods.
a)
Eph 1:20-23 “rule, authority,
power and dominion” are thought to be ranks of angelic or demonic beings.
b)
Phil 2:9-11 Don’t read too
quickly. Spiritual beings are also in
view here.
c)
Psalm 110:1 This is immediately
applied to political enemies of Israel, but it is ultimately about those
spiritual enemies in demonic rebellion.
d)
Col 2:15 The destruction of the
demonic powers was ultimately and permanently wrought in the work of Christ on
the cross, which publically and permanently humiliated them.
- Ex 12:12
Each of the plagues is not only meant to be part of the judgment of
Egypt and Pharaoh for their unbelief and mistreatment of the
Hebrews. They are direct assaults upon false gods, demons, which the Egyptians were worshipping.
a)
The Nile into blood (7:14-25)
(1)
Hapi, the god of the Nile.
(2)
Aaron stabbed the heart of their
god, and he bled.
(3)
Magicians can imitate, so it
doesn’t impact Pharaoh too greatly. More
of an annoyance.
b)
Frogs (8:1-15).
(1)
Heket, the god of fertility. Frog head.
(2)
Perhaps initially, the
overabundance of frogs was seen as a blessing of fertility, but then they all
died at the hand of God and the land stank (vs 13-14).
(3)
Again, magicians imitate it.
c)
Gnats (8:16-19)
(1)
Geb, the god of the earth.
(2)
Aaron strikes the earth (beats on
Geb), and the dust, which signifies his presence, becomes gnats. He has gone from a blessing to a curse.
(3)
Magicians cannot imitate this (vs
18-19).
d)
Flies (8:20-32)
(1)
Kepri, the god of creation, and
rebirth. Head of a fly.
(2)
Rather than giving new birth and
refreshment, the land was “ruined” by the flies (vs 24).
e)
Death of livestock (9:1-7)
(1)
Hathor, the goddess of love. Head
of a cow.
(2)
Rather than a sign of divine love,
the death of all livestock is a sign of the anger of God against the gods of
Egypt.
f)
Boils (9:8-12)
(1)
Isis, goddess of medicine and
peace.
(2)
Besides lice, which are maddening
but not harmful, this is the first assault against the bodies of the Egyptians,
and Isis cannot save them.
(3)
Magicians cannot be in the
presence of Pharaoh if ill, so they leave.
g)
Hail (9:13-35)
(1)
Nut, the goddess of the sky
(2)
The rain was seen as a blessing
from the gods. Now, death comes from
above.
(3)
Fire and hail in large amounts.
(a)
Obviously miraculous. The whole story is. This doesn’t naturally happen on the earth.
(b)
Methane Clathrate, a matrix of
frozen water molecules trapping methane gas.
Burning ice.
(i)
Exists in space, where
temperatures are very low, on asteroids.
(ii)
Makes up a large portion of
comets.
(iii)
Comet breaking up upon entering
earth’s atmosphere above Egypt? Still a
miracle of timing and projectile management.
(iv)
Right when Moses said it would
happen.
(v)
Nothing lands in Goshen.
(4)
Fish and Cattle are already
dead. Now, Barley (minor food crop) and
flax (textiles) are decimated.
h)
Locusts (10:1-20)
(1)
Seth, the god of Chaos and
disorder
(2)
When crop calamities strike, blame
Seth. Sacrifice to him, and he’ll
stop. It doesn’t stop this time.
(3)
All the wheat, vegetables, and
fruit on the trees. Food crisis.
i)
Darkness (10:21-29)
(1)
Ra, the sun god. The greatest of
the gods of Egypt.
(2)
Darkness for three days that was
intense and in some way palpable.
(3)
Not a problem with the sun or a
solar eclipse.
(a)
Goshen had light (vs 23)
(b)
Eclipses last minutes or an
hour. This lasted three days.
j)
Death of the firstborn (12:29-42)
(1)
Pharaoh was believed to be
divine. In fact, he was seen as the son
of Ra.
(2)
The “son of god” cannot protect
his own. Unlike the real Son of God, who
will not lose any from his hand (Jn 10:28).
k)
The pursuit into the Red Sea
(15:1-31).
(1)
Montu, the god of war.
(2)
Egypt had a famously powerful
army. Pharaoh trusted in this last god
to pursue and reclaim the Hebrew slaves.
(3)
In the end, they all die.
l)
When it is all over, the children
of Israel acknowledge that the Lord is God over all and worship him
(15:30-16:21), which prefigures the ultimate exaltation and worship of all
creation before the Son (Phil 2:9-11; Rev 5:13).
- Redeeming: To Prepare for
God a people for His own worship
- Titus
2:11-14
a)
Jesus (God and Savior) who gave
himself to make us a people.
b)
All freely given through grace.
c)
Resulting in good works and
worship.
- 1Pe 2:9-11
a)
God has called a people to himself
and has made them a people, although they are not ethnically just one people.
b)
We are chosen and holy (set
apart), not found at random or without Divine action.
- Rom 11
a)
Israel’s original national
election still stands (vs 29)
b)
For now, though, few believe in
Jesus as Messiah (vs 5)
c)
This is the age of the church,
which is mostly a gentile organization (vs 25).
d)
There will come a time when all of
Israel repents and is saved (vs 23-24)
- Rev
5:8-10; 7:9-12
a)
The assembled church in heaven
after the rapture.
b)
Made up of all nations and tribes
c)
Worshipping Jesus
d)
Waiting for the millennium to
reign with Him.
- From the
beginning, God intended to bless all the nations through Abraham (Gen
12:3; 14:3; 18:18; 22:18; Gen 26:4)
- In Ch. 5
and 6 of Exodus, there is no sense that this activity is meant to save
any Egyptians. However….
a)
8:18, Magicians acknowledge the
power of God first.
b)
9:13-21
(1)
God slowly increased the intensity
of the plagues over time, at least in part, to give some Egyptians time to
repent and glorify and obey God.
(2)
Some of Pharaoh’s servants heed
the warning and are spared the effects of the seventh plague.
c)
10:7 Some of Pharaoh’s servants
are bold enough to declare the power of God to Pharaoh’s face and encourage him
to yield to the God of Israel.
d)
12:37-38 When they finally leave, a
“multitude” of Egyptians and other non-Jews go with them. God has already begun
the work that will culminate in Rev 7.
e)
12:43-49 Gentiles who “graft
themselves in” to Israel may participate as if they were Hebrews. Rom 11 foreshadowed.
- Jesus has
been at work from the beginning of creation Revealing, Reigning, and
Redeeming. His work is ongoing through us.
Group
Discussion Questions: Use these questions to help us
in our prayer time in a few minutes. Remember/write down the answers for later.
- Jesus has
always been revealing God to the world.
- Are you
looking to Him to learn who God is?
- What has He
shown you recently?
- What
questions do you have about God?
- Jesus has
always been defeating the enemies of God.
- Are you
trusting him to defeat your enemies, or do you try to fight for yourself?
- What has He
already defeated that you can praise Him about?
- Is there
something you need to ask Him to defeat in your life right now?
- Jesus has
always been redeeming the lost and building His people.
- Have you
trusted Him to save you and add you to His Kingdom?
- If so, are
you being used by Him to draw others to become “His people”?
- Who can we
pray for, specifically, and ask Jesus to add to “His people”?
