"Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul,
and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength" - Mark 12:30

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Let’s go ahead, for the sake of time, and we’ll summarize the burning bush thing. He went up and the thing that’s important is this… let’s come down here, after Moses came up to the burning bush. Exodus 3:5, “And He said, Draw not nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place where on thou standest is holy ground.” Now this shows that wherever God is, it’s holy. Now we can draw also a lesson from this concerning the Sabbath. Wherever God put His presence, that is holy time. That’s why the Sabbath is holy. Now also we can project that out into what? The Passover, and all the holy days as well. That’s why they are called holy days, because God put His presence in it. So wherever God is, that is holy. “Moreover He said, I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob” (Ex. 3:5-6). And that’s the point I want to make here, is that God is following through on His promises to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. And remember, we started out Genesis 15, that He said that his descendants would be slaves in a land not their own and they would come out with great substance. Then He also tells them what His name is.

Now, verse 13, “And Moses said unto God,…”, after God said, “I will surely be with you.” “And Moses said unto God, Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they shall say unto me, What is His name? what shall I say unto them? And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM:…” Now, we find - I have a tape on that about Jesus being the I Am. So not only does this identify the God of the Old Testament, but also it identifies that the God of the Old Testament is the God of the New Testament.

“And He said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you. And God said moreover unto Moses, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, the LORD God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath sent me unto you: this is My name forever, and this is My memorial unto all generations” (vs. 14-15). So He said, “You go on down there and gather all the elders. Your brother Aaron is going to meet you, and you go deliver the people.” Now let’s come to chapter five. So they did that. Moses and Aaron - chapter 4:29, let’s just get this summary here.

The “I Am” verse is John 8:58. Plus there are other ones in there, which in my translation, I bring it out. He said, “If you do not believe that I Am you shall perish in your sins.” So if you don’t have the tape you can write for it. Write for the “I Am” tape.

Exodus 4:29, “And Moses and Aaron went and gather together all the elders of the children of Israel: and Aaron spake all the words which the LORD had spoken unto Moses, and did the signs in the sight of the people. And the people believed: and when they heard that the LORD had visited the children of Israel, and that He had looked upon their affliction, then they bowed their heads and worshiped” (Ex. 4:29-31). Went on their way.

So then here comes the first confrontation between Moses and Aaron and Pharaoh. Now this is kind of like…how shall I put it? Beverly Hillbillies? Maybe not quite that bad, but almost. Coming in to Pharaoh. So here they come. Chapter 5:1, “And afterward Moses and Aaron went in, and told Pharaoh, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Let My people go, that they may hold a feast unto Me in the wilderness.” Now can you imagine that? Here are two upstart people walking in to the pharaoh of Egypt and saying, “Let the people go that we can keep a feast.” Well now, he was supreme ruler. And God raised him up, as He said in the book of Romans, that He raised him up to show His power to all the earth. And the very fact that it is in the scriptures and is everywhere around the world, this story is told over, and over, and over, and over again as a witness that God is greater than Egypt. And even to this day, testifies that He is greater than Egypt.

So what was Pharaoh’s response? “Why, I am so happy that you two showed up. I’ve been waiting for you. I had a dream from God.” No. Pharaoh said, “…Who is the LORD, that I should obey His voice to let Israel go? I know not the LORD, neither will I let Israel go” (vs. 2). And can you imagine the effrontery which he felt with these, you know, two upstarts coming in there and telling him to let them go?

“And they said, The God of the Hebrews hath met with us: let us go, we pray thee, three days’ journey into the desert, and sacrifice unto the LORD our God; lest He fall upon us with pestilence, or with the sword. And the king of Egypt said unto them, Wherefore do ye, Moses and Aaron, let the people from their works? Get you unto your burdens.” Not gonna hear it. “And Pharaoh said, Behold, the people of the land now are many, and ye make them rest from their burdens” (vs. 3-5). Now, “rest” means to sabbatize. So here we have the Sabbath in the land of Egypt long before they get to Mount Sinai. Of course they didn’t understand it.

And so what did Pharaoh do? “And Pharaoh commanded the same day the taskmasters of the people, and their officers, saying, Ye shall no more give the people straw to make brick, as heretofore: let them go and gather straw for themselves. And the tale of the bricks, which they did make heretofore, ye shall lay upon them; ye shall not diminish aught thereof: for they be idle; therefore they cry, saying, Let us go and sacrifice to our God. Let there more work be laid upon the men, that they may labour there in; and let them not regard vain words” (vs. 6-9). So they went out and did that, and the people of Israel, they were expecting to be let go just, you know, just like that at the snap of a finger; and things didn’t work out the way that they want, and it came down just the opposite of what they expected. Lesson: just because it doesn’t work out the first time, doesn’t mean that God doesn’t mean what He says. He has other things in mind.

So then, what happened? They came and they told Moses, they said, “Look, this is getting worse! We’re not being let go.” And so, Moses and Aaron went back to Pharaoh. Verse 20 - yes this is what they said here. Verse 20, here’s what the people told Moses and Aaron, “…Who stood in the way as they came forth from Pharaoh: and they said unto them, The LORD look upon you, and judge; because ye have made our savour to be abhorred in the eyes of Pharaoh, and in the eyes of his servants, to put a sword in their hand to slay us. And Moses returned unto the LORD…” And see, even Moses didn’t believe at this point. “…And said, LORD, wherefore hast Thou so evil entreated this people? And why is it that Thou hast sent me?” He was even questioning, “Well what am I doing here Lord? I went and said ‘Let them go,’ and he didn’t let them go. Now what you want me to do?” “For since I came to Pharaoh to speak in Thy name, he hath done evil to this people; neither hast Thou delivered Thy people at all” (vs. 20-23).

So God gave him the answer. He said, “Wait, Moses. I’ve got a plan.” “…For with a strong hand shall he let them go, and with a strong hand shall he drive them out of his land. And God spake unto Moses, and said unto him, I am the LORD: and I appeared Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, by the name of God Almighty [which is “El Shaddai”], but by My name JEHOVAH was I not known to them” (Ex. 6:1-3). So that’s the covenant name of God for the Old Covenant: Jehovah. He says, “I’m going to release them.”

Now let’s come to chapter 7. Let’s see when God gets down to business what happens here. And we find this account, now we’re going to find the signs, and then the plagues. Notice what God said beginning in verse 1, “And the LORD said unto Moses, See, I have made thee a god unto Pharaoh: and Aaron thy brother shall be thy prophet. Thou shalt speak all that I command thee: and Aaron thy brother shall speak unto Pharaoh, that he send the children of Israel out of his land. And I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and multiply My signs and My wonders in the land of Egypt. But Pharaoh shall not hearken unto you, that I may lay My hand upon Egypt, and bring forth Mine armies, and My people the children of Israel, out of the land of Egypt by great judgments. And the Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD, when I stretch forth Mine hand upon Egypt, and bring out the children of Israel from among them. And Moses and Aaron did as the LORD commanded them, so did they” (Ex. 7:1-6).

Now, Moses was 80 years old, and Aaron was 83. So you talk about an old church. So here’s the first sign. They go in, and the Lord said, verse 9, “When Pharaoh shall speak unto you, saying, Shew a miracle for you [me]: then thou shalt say unto Aaron, Take thy rod, and cast it before Pharaoh, and it shall become a serpent” Now this is important, because they were serpent worshipers there. “And Moses and Aaron went in unto Pharaoh, and they did so as the LORD had commanded: and Aaron cast down his rod before Pharaoh, and before his servants, and it became a serpent. Then Pharaoh also called the wise man and the sorcerers: now the magicians of Egypt, they also did in like manner with their enchantments.” So you see, there are false miracles and there are things that Satan can do to make it look like it’s the hand of God. “For they cast down every man his rod, and they became serpents:…” So here is a snake fight, right out in the middle of it. “…But Aaron’s rod swallowed up their rods. And He hardened Pharaoh’s heart, that he hearkened not unto them; as the LORD had said” (vs. 9-13).

So then we have the next sign. The second sign is blood being made from water. Now remember that the Egyptians worshipped the Nile. It was like a god. And that’s why they had crocodile gods and frog gods, and so forth. So as he went out there, and stretched forth his rod, verse 20, “And Moses and Aaron did so, as the LORD commanded; and he lifted up the rod, and spoke the waters that were in the river, in the sight of Pharaoh [right in front of him], and in the sight of his servants; and all waters that were in the river were turned to blood. And the fish that was in the river died; and the river stank, and the Egyptians could not drink of the water of the river; and there was blood throughout all the land of Egypt. And the magicians of Egypt did so with their enchantments: and Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, neither did he hearken unto them; as the LORD had said” (vs. 20-22). So then after the seven days were fulfilled, then they were able to drink the water.

Now chapter 8. They come in again. And I think that the movie, “The Ten Commandments”, they did a really good job in showing this. I think they really portrayed it. That was one of the good movies that they made. Of course, it was made years ago. I know Cecil B. DeMille produced it. I think it was in the ‘50s, some time, it was done. And it’s a classic. And every year about Passover time they always play the full version of “The Ten Commandments.” So if it comes on, watch it again.

Ok, here’s the third sign. Frogs. Now if you’ve ever seen Egyptian frogs, you will know that these are just not the little pestilential things, but these are huge - about the size of the big head. Now, I just want you to picture this: the land filled with frogs. Here’s what’s going to happen. God said, chapter 8:1, “And the LORD spake unto Moses, Go unto Pharaoh, and say unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Let My people go, that they may serve Me. And if thou refuse to let them go, behold, I will smite all thy borders with frogs: and the river shall bring forth frogs abundantly, which shall go up and come into thine house, and into thy bedchamber, and upon thy bed, and into the house of thy servants, and upon thy people, and into the ovens, and into thy kneadingtroughs: and the frogs shall come up both on thee, and upon thy people, and upon all thy servants.” (Ex. 8:1-4). So they stretched out the rod, and guess what? All these frogs started coming out of the river. Now imagine all the sound that goes with it. All of the croaking and the urping and so forth. So the magicians did the same thing, and they brought up frogs. So three times the magicians were able to counterfeit the miracle of God.

Now this got to Pharaoh. This did get to him for a little bit. Verse 8, “Then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron, and said, Entreat the LORD, that He may take away the frogs from me, and from my people; and I will let the people go, that they may do sacrifice unto the LORD. And Moses said unto Pharaoh, Glory over me [you have your say]: when shall I intreat for thee, and for thy servants, and for thy people, to destroy the frogs from thee and from thy houses, that they may remain in the river only? And he said, Tomorrow.” So Moses said, “…Be it according to thy word. That thou mayest know that there is none like unto the LORD our God” (vs. 8-10). So they departed. So his heart was hardened.

Now here comes the next one. God has a way of doing things that really gets your attention. Verse 16, “And the LORD said unto Moses, say unto Aaron, Stretch out thy rod, and smite the dust of the land, that it may become lice throughout all the land of Egypt.” Now have you ever had lice? “And they did so; for Aaron stretched out his hand with his rod, and smote the dust of the earth, and it became lice in man, and in beast; all the dust of the land became lice throughout all the land of Egypt.” And Rite Aid ran out of itching powder. (Laughs) “And the magicians did so with their enchantments to bring forth lice, but they could not: so there were lice upon man, and upon beast. Then the magicians said unto Pharaoh, This is the finger of God: and Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, and he hearkened not unto them; as the LORD had said” (vs. 16-19). Now I wonder how they got rid of the lice? Who knows? It doesn’t say that they removed them, does it? It doesn’t say how long they endured. But I tell you what, they must of had a lice-killing program there, you know, crushing them, killing them, combing them out of the hair, cleaning out all of the beds, cleaning off all the clothes, sweeping out the house, putting them up in buckets and burning them. You know, you’d almost have to just picture how this went on. It doesn’t tell us how long does what on.

But after that, now then, we have the fifth sign, which is flies. Now have you ever been bothered by a fly? Imagine swarms of them. Have you ever seen pictures of people in Africa and their cows with all of these big huge flies? Well just keep that in mind when we read this here. “And the LORD said unto Moses, Rise up early in the morning, and stand before Pharaoh; lo, he cometh forth to the water;…” See, every day it was the obligation of Pharaoh to go to the river, because he was representative of god, in their pagan religion, and he would be there at sunrise. So He says, go forth to the water, “…And say unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Let My people go, that they may serve Me” (vs. 20). And Pharaoh probably thought, “We just got rid of the lice! You’re here again.”

Verse 21, “Else, if thou wilt not let My people go, behold, I will send swarms of flies upon thee, and upon thy servants, and upon thy people, and into thy houses: and the houses of the Egyptians shall be full of swarms of flies, and also the ground where on they are. And I will sever in that day the land of Goshen, in which My people dwell, that no swarms of flies shall be there; to the end thou mayest know that I am the LORD in the midst of the earth. And I will put a division between My people and thy people: tomorrow shall this sign be.” So the Lord did so. Now it says, verse 24, “…And there came a grievous swarm of flies into the house of Pharaoh, and into his servants’ houses, and into all the land of Egypt:…” (vs. 21-24). And Rite Aid ran out of fly spray. (Laughs) No way to get rid of them. (Pause – audience comment) The children of Israel suffered the first four so they would understand that God is behind it, and to let them know they better listen to God and not do as Pharaoh. Let’s go on here.

Now it didn’t take long for Pharaoh to react this time. When you have just one fly that goes like this, you know, doing its little square flight pattern right in front of you. And you kind of sit there and wait for it to land on you, and you just wait. All you do is end up slapping your face real hard. Or there’s a fly that’s coming down on your food. Now imagine swarms of flies. Just crawling everywhere. Just all over your hair, all over your arm, all over the walls. You can’t even walk across the room without squishing the flies that are there. And they’re into the cupboards and they’re eating everything, and everything is dirty. And there would have to be fly dung everywhere. I mean, let’s look at this realistic as how it happens.

“And Pharaoh called for Moses and for Aaron, and said, Go ye, sacrifice to your God in the land.” “Now I’m not going to let you go out. You do it in the land. I’ll go halfway.” So much with common ground. “And Moses said, It is not meet so to do; for we shall sacrifice the abomination of the Egyptians to the LORD our God: lo, shall we sacrifice the abomination of the Egyptians before their eyes, and will they not stone us?” (vs. 25-26). No. They were probably animal worshipers, you know, just like the Indians in India today. The Hindus, they worshiped cows. And if a miracle happens with a cow, they run and they gather the urine and they gather the dung so they can put it on themselves, and they can wipe themselves with the manure, and they can anoint themselves with the urine. Now if the children of Israel were out there sacrificing to cattle and to sheep, you know, they would really raise a big stink.

So Moses said, “We will go three days’ journey into the wilderness, and sacrifice to the LORD our God, as He shall command us. And Pharaoh said, I will let you go, that ye may sacrifice to the LORD your God in the wilderness; only ye shall not go very far away: entreat for me. And Moses said, Behold, I go out from thee, and I will entreat the LORD that the swarms of flies may depart from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people, tomorrow: but let not Pharaoh deal deceitfully any more in not letting the people go to sacrifice to the LORD. And Moses went out from Pharaoh, and entreated the LORD” (vs. 27-30). So Moses went out, the flies went away, there remained not one the next day.

Now if you were the average Egyptian, and all these flies came in one day and they bothered you for however many days they had the flies, and then all of a sudden one day – phfft - they’re gone. Now you’d begin to think that Moses and Aaron had contact with God, a greater power than, you know, the sorcerers and the magicians. But Pharaoh’s heart was hardened. He didn’t let them go. So again, “Then the LORD said unto Moses, Go in unto Pharaoh, and tell him, Thus saith the LORD God of the Hebrews, let My people go, that they may serve Me. For if thou refuse to let them go, and wilt hold them still, behold, the hand of the LORD is upon thy cattle which is in the field, upon the horses, upon the asses, upon the camels, upon the oxen, and upon the sheep: there shall be a very grievous murrain.” Well, murrain means boils and blains. “And the LORD shall sever between the cattle of Israel and the cattle of Egypt: and there shall nothing die of all that is the children’s of Israel” (Ex. 9:1-4). Now, you see, God was also demonstrating to the children of Israel. And the thing is, as we will see, they didn’t remember these things. By time they got seven days out of Egypt to the Red Sea, they were complaining to God already. So you see, many times - and this is a lesson for us- we need to remember the things that God has done, and not be complaining to God for the things that He hasn’t yet done.

Now let’s continue on here, verse 5, “And the LORD appointed a set time, saying, Tomorrow the LORD shall do this thing in the land.” So He did it. “…And all the cattle of Egypt died: but of the cattle of the children of Israel died not one.” So Pharaoh’s getting desperate here. “And Pharaoh sent, and, behold, there was not one of the cattle of the Israelites dead. And the heart of Pharaoh was hardened, and he did not let the people go” (vs. 5-7). All right, so He put murrain, which is boils and blains, upon the cattle. And they died.

Now then, we have the seventh sign. So now it’s going come on the people. Now let’s pick it up here in verse 8. “And 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 [now that’s the remainder of the beasts], throughout all the land of Egypt.” So they did it. They sprinkled it to heaven. And here came the boils breaking forth. “And the magicians could not stand before Moses because of the boils; for the boil was upon the magicians, and upon all the Egyptians” (vs. 8-11). Now one boil really lays you low. How many have ever had a boil? One. The worst kind of boil is called, what? A Carbuncle? Isn’t that the worst kind? And that is painful. Now I don’t know if they were covered from head to toe with boils, like Job was. But what a sight that must of been.

And verse 12, “And the LORD hardened heart of Pharaoh, that he hearkened not unto them; as the LORD had spoken unto Moses. And the LORD said unto Moses, Rise up early in the morning, and stand before Pharaoh, and say unto him, Thus saith the LORD God of the Hebrews, Let My people go, that they may serve Me. 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 is none like Me in all the earth” (vs. 12-14). Now we get the plagues. The signs were bad enough.

So here we have the whole purpose of Pharaoh, verse 15, “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 very deed for this cause have I raised thee up, for to shew in thee My power; and that My name may be declared throughout all the earth. As yet exaltest thou thyself against My people, if 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 until now” (vs. 15-18). So he said, “Whatever left of the cattle, you get them out of there and get them under cover, because they’re going to die.” And that’s what happened.

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,…” Now can you imagine the weather reports today, if there were snow in Cairo? I mean, just snow. “…Upon man, and 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;…” That’s probably because of the lightning. “…And the LORD rained hail upon a 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. Only in the land of Goshen with the children of Israel were, there was no hail.” (vs. 22-26)

Now this time Pharaoh kinda, almost got the point. I mean, what does it take sometimes to get people’s attention? Verse 27, “And Pharaoh sent, and called for Moses and Aaron, and said unto them, I have sinned this time: the LORD is righteous, and I and my people are wicked. Entreat the LORD (for it is enough) that there be no more mighty thunderings and hail; and I will let you go, and ye shall stay no longer” (vs. 27-28). Now I tell you what, after you hear hail and see lightning, and hear the thunder, and have that stacking up, and of course, you’re used to this warm climate. Now can you imagine what all of this hail and ice is going to do? It’s going to drop the temperature; you don’t have any clothes for cold weather. There you are, hail all round. Man. But he still didn’t quite get it.

Now verse 34, “And when Pharaoh saw that the rain and the hail and the thunders were ceased, he sinned yet more, and hardened his heart, he and his servants.” And so then, God said, chapter 10, “Now I’m going to bring another plague.” Now you see, by the time all this is done, there is virtually nothing left in Egypt. Chapter 10:1, “And the LORD said unto Moses, Go in unto Pharaoh: for I have hardened his heart, and heart of his servants, that I might shew 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 have done among them;…” (Ex. 10:1-2). So there’s a time when we are to read and go through these things to know that it was the hand of God that did it.

“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 locusts 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, and the houses of all thy servants, and houses of all the Egyptians; which neither thy fathers, nor thy father’s fathers 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 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?” (vs. 3-7).

“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? 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 we will 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 [me]. Not so: go now ye that are men,…” Just the men. “I'm only going to let the men go.” Verse 11, “…And serve the LORD; for that ye did desire. And they were driven out from Pharaoh’s presence” (vs. 8-11).

So then what happened? Moses went out, raised his rod, and the locusts came. Covered the land. And I don’t imagine they were itty-bitty things. I bet they were huge, giant devouring things. And they ate everything. 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.” Now here’s worldly repentance again. “Then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron in haste; and he said, I have sinned against the LORD your God, and against you. 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” (vs. 15-16). So they went out and did it. When they were gone his heart was hardened.

So then here comes another plague. Now this is quite a plague. You kind of really have to imagine this. So verse 21, “And the LORD said unto Moses, Stretch out thine hand toward heaven, but that there may be darkness over the land of Egypt, even darkness which may be felt. And Moses stretched forth his hand toward heaven; and there was a thick darkness in all the land of Egypt three days:” They could feel it. It would be kind of like this: have you ever been in a room with all the doors shut, and you turn out the light, and you can’t see anything? Now, three days, “…They saw not one another, neither rose any from his place for three days: but all the children of Israel had light in their dwellings” (vs. 21-23).

Boy, Pharaoh, he really had it this time. “And Pharaoh called unto Moses, and said, Go ye, serve the LORD; only let your flocks and your herds be stayed:…” “All of our cattle are killed, we want yours.” “…Let your little ones also go with you. And Moses said, Thou must give us also sacrifices and burnt offerings, that we may sacrifice unto the LORD our God. Our cattle also shall go with us; there shall not an hoof be left behind; for thereof must we take to serve the LORD our God; and we know not with what we must serve the LORD, until we come thither. But the LORD hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he would not let them go. And Pharaoh said to him,…” Now this kind of sounds like the last stand of Hitler, right? Very similar to it. “And Pharaoh said to him, Get thee from me, take heed to thyself, see my face no more;…” “I’m so important, you better not come in my presence and see my face any more lest you die!” Verse 29, “And Moses said, Thou hast spoken well, I will see thy face again no more” (vs. 24-29).

And so then, God said, “I have yet one more plague,” the fourth plague. And this one is going to be the most devastating of all. So we’ll finish verse 11 here, and the next time we’ll pick it up with the Passover in chapter 12. Let’s finish Chapter 11 here. “And the LORD said unto Moses, Yet will I bring one plague more upon Pharaoh,…” This is the fourth plague. So you had seven signs and four plagues. “…And upon Egypt; afterwards he will let you go hence: when he shall let you go, he shall surely thrust you out hence all together. Speak now in the ears of the people, and let every man borrow of his neighbor,…” Now this wasn’t borrow, this was spoiling. “…Of his neighbor, and every woman of her neighbor, jewels of silver, and jewels of gold” (Ex. 11:1-2). I imagine they were so frightened and fearful, that when the children of Israel went up and said, “I want your gold and I want your silver,” they said, “Here!” Lest they die. Or, lest more plagues come upon them.

“And the LORD gave the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians. Moreover the man Moses was very great in the land of Egypt,…” Because, remember, at the beginning in chapter 7, He says, “I have made you a god to Pharaoh.” So he was very great. “…In the land of Egypt, in the sight of Pharaoh servants, and in the sight of the people. And Moses said, Thus saith the LORD, About midnight…” Now, we’ll see that’s the 14th day of the first month. “…Will I go out into the midst of Egypt: and all firstborn in the land of Egypt shall die, from the firstborn of Pharaoh that sitteth upon his throne, even unto the firstborn of the maidservant that is behind the mill; and all the firstborn of beasts.” That is, which ever ones are left alive. “And there shall be a great cry throughout all the land of Egypt, such as there was none like it, nor shall be like it anymore. But against any of the children of Israel shall not a dog move his tongue, against man or beast: that ye may know how that the LORD doth put a difference between the Egyptians and Israel” (vs. 3-7).

Now let’s understand something very important here concerning the Church. God has put a difference between His people and the world. A very big difference. You are the people of God. You represent God and all that He is to everyone else in the world that comes in contact with you, you see. That’s very important to understand. And God has called you to be in His kingdom. Therefore, that’s why He says we’re not to be part of the world. We’re in the world, but we’re not of the world. Now, just like there could be no compromise with the children of Israel with the Egyptians in their dealings with God. So He puts a difference.

“And all these thy servants shall come down unto me, and bow down themselves unto me, saying, Get thee out, and all the people that follow thee: and after that I will go out. And he went out from Pharaoh in great anger.” Boy. What a witness to Pharaoh. He says, “You get out of here and don’t see my face anymore.” And Moses just really said, said all these words, and then left in great anger. “And the LORD said unto Moses, Pharaoh shall not hearken unto you; that My wonders may be multiplied in the land of Egypt. And Moses and Aaron did all these wonders before Pharaoh: and the LORD hardened Pharaoh’s heart, so that he would not let children of Israel go out of his land” (vs. 8-10). And the reason God did that was to show the children of Israel that He was God, He alone could deliver them, He alone would fight their battles and overcome them. And if they trusted in Him, they would be released from their slavery.

Now we come to chapter 12 and the Passover. So we’ll continue next time with the Passover and the children of Israel.

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