Exodus 7:14-8:19 – “Who’s In Control?”
Outline:
- Intro.
- Vs. 7:14-25 Who is the Sustainer of Life?
- Vs. 8:1-15 Who is the Creator of Life?
- Vs. 8:16-19 Who is in Control of Your Life?
I.) Intro.
We now come to the ten plagues that God brought upon Egypt. A careful look at them will reveal a pattern. They are brought in three segments of three, with the tenth standing by itself. The first of each three starts with the words, “in the morning,” and both it and the plague that follows come with a warning from Moses, while the third comes without warning. In the first three, Aaron uses the staff, and they produce discomfort. The second three involve no staff and produce damage. The last three see Moses using the staff, and they bring about despair.
The word “plague” means “blow or stroke,” and although the blow or stroke affected the Egyptians, the blow was actually leveled against the gods they worshiped. Clearly, God is wanting to show all that He is the one who is in control. Four times in two chapters, Moses records the words, “as the Lord had said.” Life is about control issues. I hear this a lot from Christians and non-Christians alike: “I just don’t have enough faith!” The fact is, everybody has faith—the difference is what it is in.
Every day, we get up to go to work, and we have faith that our cars will get us there safely. When we are sick, we have faith that medicines or the doctor will make us better. Ultimately, the one that we trust the most is ourselves. It is only when plagues or blows come against this that what we have faith in is shaken enough for us to evaluate our spiritual lives.
There are four groups in these chapters, each affected by these plagues in some way. Often, we may find ourselves in one of these categories:
- Moses: In obedience, Moses moves forward in his trust in the Lord, despite a lack of outward success. Moses represents the believer who chooses to trust God at His word, even if results aren’t immediately visible.
- Israelites: They are moved from complacency through affliction and despair, as they are not trusting the Lord but are looking at the results.
- Magicians: Their religion, on paper, seems powerful enough but can only partially satisfy. There is enough ritual to convince them they are good people, but there is no power to deliver or change their lives.
- Pharaoh: He represents a “crisis Christian,” often turning to the Lord during crises only to go back to his former way of life once the crisis has passed.
May I just ask you a question: Who’s in control of your life right now? Does what you have faith in work? You will see in these plagues that God attacks what we trust in when it is not Him.
II.) Vs. 7:14-25 Who is the Sustainer of Life?
Vs. 14-18 We are clearly told that God brought these plagues because of the hardness of Pharaoh’s heart. To the Egyptians, Pharaoh was considered a god. Though many today don’t claim to be gods, we often act as if we are. When we refuse to surrender our lives to God’s word, we are, in effect, saying we are god. That’s what having a hard heart means—resisting His attempts to set us free.
The Nile River was Egypt’s lifeblood. Egypt is essentially a desert, with the Nile running through it. Every year, it would overflow its banks, depositing silt that they used to grow crops. Without the Nile, Egypt would be uninhabitable. The Egyptians worshiped several deities related to the Nile:
- Hapi: Spirit of the Nile, represented as a fat man with the breasts of a woman, indicating fertility and nourishment.
- Isis: Goddess whose bloodstream was believed to be the Nile.
- Khnum: Guardian of the Nile.
God attacked what the Egyptians thought sustained life, turning the Nile’s water into blood, showing that it could not even quench their thirst, let alone sustain life.
Vs. 19-21 Moses and Aaron acted according to God’s word, and all the water—even the water stored in vessels—turned into blood. The vessels would have had carved idols on them, further showing that even past efforts and idols could not save them.
Vs. 22-25 The magicians were able to duplicate the plague but could not reverse its effects, further hardening Pharaoh’s heart. Pharaoh, witnessing all of this, remained hardened. Though the Israelites aren’t mentioned specifically, it’s safe to assume they continued to focus on their discomfort rather than trust in the Lord.
III.) Vs. 8:1-15 Who is the Creator of Life?
Vs. 1-6 Frogs were sacred in Egypt, and it was illegal to kill them. The Egyptians worshiped a goddess named Hequet, who had the head of a frog and was believed to breathe life into humans. God sent an overwhelming number of frogs into Egypt, including Pharaoh’s bedroom. In this way, God turned what they worshiped as a blessing into a curse.
Vs. 7-10 The magicians were again able to duplicate the plague, but they could not reverse it. Pharaoh, however, recognized that the magicians’ efforts only worsened the situation and called for Moses to pray to the Lord. Pharaoh, in this moment of crisis, acknowledged God’s power but still tried to make a deal. Moses, trusting God, allowed Pharaoh to choose when the frogs would be removed to prove that God was in control.
Vs. 14-15 After Moses prayed, God removed the frogs, but Pharaoh’s heart remained hardened as soon as the crisis passed.
IV.) Vs. 8:16-19 Who is in Control of Your Life?
Vs. 16-17 This time, God sent a plague of gnats (or possibly lice or mosquitoes) without warning. The Egyptians worshiped Geb or Set, gods of the earth and desert. God gave life to the earth in a way that brought discomfort and demonstrated that He alone gives and controls life.
Vs. 18-19 The magicians were unable to duplicate this plague and acknowledged, “This is the finger of God.” However, Pharaoh’s heart remained hardened.
In conclusion, God will continue to reveal what we are trusting in, and if it is not Him, He will strip those things away to bring us closer to Him. My prayer is that you will see these events in life as the hand of God making Himself known to you.