IN THE last five days we have read again the daily readings an account of one of the most spectacular outpourings of Divine power that any nation has witnessed, and because we read each of the plagues, its coming and its going, in a matter of two or three verses, I wonder if we really appreciate the devastation that some of them caused. The water to blood! It is easy to see all the fountains, the rivers, the ponds, the vessels, the pots, the storage jars—blood!—no water. And there is no mention of the number of elderly and sick that died during that plague for lack of one of man's vital needs. The murrain of cattle: the cattle in the fields belonging to the Egyptians died. No word of the stinking carcasses that must have littered the fields in the hot Egyptian sun!
Those ten plagues resulted in the Exodus that we have read about this morning. Exodus means the "coming out"—the word is connected with our word "exit". It affected the attitude of the surrounding nations to Israel for generations. The Divine wonders of the Exodus were a measure against which God's judgments of other nations were set by David in the Psalms. They were the major turning point in the development of Israel as a nation that Stephen referred to in Acts ch.7. And the prophets also used the plagues as a comparison with the judgments to come when God once again will intervene in world affairs to fulfil His purpose and to set up His Kingdom.
We can hardly imagine the devastation that the plagues must have caused, although during recent weeks, when we have seen pictures of the floods in France and Holland due to the recent torrential rains, they may have given us some idea of the personal calamities caused by natural disasters. Yet Pharaoh's attitude is almost unbelievable. He said at the start "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". But he was to know the Lord and he was to let Israel go.
Now just as Pharaoh and the Egyptians were to witness God's power used to bring to a standstill all the activities, political and domestic, of one of the great powers in the world at that time, so will we very soon witness similar Divine intervention —the same halting of man's activities—when the Almighty again determines that the nations of the world will know that He is the Lord. The Psalm that is down for our reading today speaks of this. "Make a joyful noise unto God, all ye lands. Sing forth the honour of his name: make his praise glorious. Say unto God, How terrible art thou in thy works! through the greatness of thy power shall thine enemies submit themselves unto thee. All the earth shall worship thee, and shall sing unto thee; they shall sing to thy name" (Psa. 66.1-4). This reference is to the events of the opening chapters of Exodus, for v.5-6 continues: "Come and see the works of God: he is terrible in his doing toward the children of men. He turned the sea into dry land; they went through the flood on foot; there did we rejoice in him". Then comes the exhortation, "Come and hear, all ye that fear God, and I will declare what he hath done for my soul" (v. 16).
This makes it very personal. The Exodus and the plagues that brought it about are not merely a foretaste of Divine judgments to be poured out on the earth—and they are that—but also an invitation to "Come and hear, all ye that fear God". So the lessons that we have been reading in the last few days were for Egypt and also for us. Israel's salvation is a type of our redemption. The warnings too were for the nations and for us.
The lesson of the supremacy of God's power is an obvious one, but it was one that Pharaoh did not learn at first. When Moses threw down his rod and it became a serpent, the magicians did so with their enchantments. When God struck the rivers and fountains of water that they became blood, and "the magicians of Egypt did so with their enchantments", Pharaoh still hardened his heart. Then came the frogs, and again "the magicians did so with their enchantments", but this time the magicians could not take away the plague. So Pharaoh entreated Moses and Moses prayed to God. Pharaoh said "Tomorrow", and Moses said "Be it according to thy word: that thou mayest know that there is none like unto the Lord our God" (Exod. 8.10). Then came the plague of lice, and the magicians with their enchantments tried 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.
This is the finger of God. This was a terrible confession that the magicians had to make. The Nile god was unable to protect the waters of the great river from the first plague, from which the sacred crocodiles suffered too. But because the magicians were able to copy the plague there was the feeling that for some reason the gods were permitting it. It was the same with the frogs, allegedly under the control of the god of fertility Van. He must be allowing it, nay, willing it, if the magicians were able to repeat it, even though by some trick. The god would not listen to the magicians when they besought him to remove the plague, but Moses' God heard him; and the Lord did according to the word of Moses and the frogs died out of the houses, out of the villages and out of the fields. This was recognised by the magicians in the next plague. "This is the finger of God."
And so the plagues followed one by one. Swarms of flies showed the utter powerlessness of Keper Rurer the beetle god—the Egyptian equivalent of Beelzebub the god of flies. What could Aphis the god of the sacred bulls do to prevent the murrain of cattle? And the next plague of boils actually infested the magicians themselves! Could not their gods save them? And the hail. "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 show in thee my power and that my name may be declared throughout all the earth" (Exod. 9.15-16).
And now there is a beginning of a change of heart—not yet in Pharaoh, but in his people. "He that feared the word of the Lord among the servants of Pharaoh made his servants and his cattle flee into the houses: and he that regarded riot the word of the Lord left his servants and his cattle in the field" (Exod.9.20- 21). Pharaoh sent for Moses and Aaron to plead for help and said "I have sinned this time: the Lord is righteous, and I and my people are wicked. Intreat the Lord... that there be no more mighty thunderings and hail; and I will let you go and ye shall stay no longer". Once again the reason for the plague is emphasised. The Egyptians believed that Osiris, one of the senior gods, controlled the elements. But what could Osiris do? "The earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof (and that includes the locusts!). And now Pharaoh's servants besought him to let Israel go. But when the locusts were removed, Pharaoh again hardened his heart. The Lord turned a "mighty strong west wind" which took away the locusts into the Red Sea; there remained not one locust in all the coasts of Egypt. But the Lord hardened Pharaoh's heart so that he would not let the children of Israel go.
What then? Amman Ra—the sun god, the eternal, the father, was plagued. His Egyptian title is "the begetter of all the gods"! His supposed light was blotted out by a darkness that could be felt; a darkness brought by the God of Heaven and placed by Him within his bounds. Thus one by one the gods of Egypt were debased. We read in our chapter this morning "Against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment: I am the Lord" (Exod. 12.12). First the lesser gods, then the higher gods, then the father of the gods, the magicians, the priests, the servants of Pharaoh, his court, and finally all Egypt and Pharaoh himself were brought to realise that there is a God in Heaven, the God of Moses, of Israel, who lives for ever and ever and who is our God.
And when the gods of Egypt had been brought to naught, what was left in which Pharaoh could trust? Only in man himself. Pharaoh still had his army. He still had the might of the great nation of Egypt; but what man could stand against the Almighty? Even the pride of man was brought low by the slaying of all the firstborn, in every house, in every family. No wonder we read that there was a great cry in all the land of Egypt.
David says "Put not your trust in princes, nor in the son of man, in whom there is no help. His breath goeth forth, he returneth to his earth; in that very day his thoughts perish. Happy is he that hath the God of Jacob for his help, whose hope is in the Lord his God: which made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that therein is: which keepeth truth for ever: which executeth judgment for the oppressed: which giveth food to the hungry. The Lord looseth the prisoners ... openeth the eyes of the blind ... raiseth them that are bowed down ... loveth the righteous ... preserveth the strangers ... relieveth the fatherless and widow ... The Lord shall reign for ever, even thy God, 0 Zion, unto all generations. Praise ye the Lord" (Psa. 146). What God is like our God?
What of the gods of today? What of money, industry, political dogma, insurance? We have had so many envelopes over the past two or three weeks offering insurance for this, insurance for that. Because of my age I am now entitled to have this kind of insurance, as if it is the answer to everything, and solves all our problems—it has become almost a god for some people.
What of atomic power and all the modem weapons of destruction? The God of heaven who brought the plagues on Egypt and who rained fire on Sodom and Gomorrah can do more than all these. Remember those wonderful words of the prophet Isaiah, speaking God's words: "I am the Lord, and there is none else, there is no God beside me: I girded thee, though thou hast not known me: that they may know from the rising of the sun, and from the west that there is none beside me. I am the Lord and there is none else. I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace and create evil, I the Lord do all these things ... Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else. I have sworn by myself, the word is gone out of my mouth in righteousness and shall not return. That unto me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear" (Isa. 45.5-7,22-23).
Here is the invitation to each one of us this morning. "Look unto me"—the great God who did all these things says to you and to me "Look unto me and be saved". What a wonderful invitation! It was one that we sang about this morning. "Sing, pray, and keep His ways unswerving, so do thine own part faithfully, and trust His word ... God never yet forsook in need the man that trusted Him indeed".
And what an example we had this morning in the chapters that were read—and indeed in our readings for the last few days! The Egyptian servants who believed God brought their cattle indoors and were protected from the hail. And Israel even more so. "I will sever in that day the land of Goshen ... 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." When the murrain struck, "all the cattle of Egypt died, but of the cattle of the children of Israel died not one." It was the same with the boils and the hail and the darkness. The darkness could be felt, but the children of Israel had light in their dwellings.
There was a separation—a dividing, which became more abundantly evident in the last plague. A separation between the Egyptians and the children of Israel. A separation between those who believed, including some of the Egyptians, and those who believed not. Those who accepted God's invitation enjoyed His protection. In a simple case the believing Egyptian kept his cattle indoors, but finally those who wanted the protection of God and to feel His covering hand had to make a definite stand in the symbolic act of the passover. And it is the same for us. If we want to be seen as God's people we have to respond to His commands. How are we to respond?
The children of Israel at this time performed an act which marked them out from all who lived among them: an act of faith, an act of trust in God. Can we put ourselves in the position of that eldest son or daughter in an Israelitish household? There is the father with the basin of blood and the brush of hyssop. How carefully the firstborn would supervise the father's action! His very life depended on it. "More on this side, father, now some just there; now some more on the top. Don't worry about what people say. Let them stare if they will ... We were told to strike the lintel not just to dab it on." That word strike shows the spirit in which the action was to be done. Nothing half-hearted, an enthusiastic willingness to obey, a wholehearted acceptance of the obligation.
And now, in the quiet moments we have for self-examination as we partake of these emblems, may we examine ourselves particularly in this respect? There was nothing half-hearted about God's deliverance of Israel. There is nothing hesitant or weak about the wonderful deliverance from death that God has wrought on our account. So let there be nothing hesitant or weak in our service to Him. He has given for us His own firstborn son. His only son. What greater love could be shown than that? Christ is "our passover"—his blood was shed for us.
And what about our service in return? Are we really eager and enthusiastic to do any little thing? Are we anxious to let slip no opportunity of proclaiming our thanks to Him, whatever people say of our actions? At home, in the ecclesia, to our brethren and sisters, are we enthusiastic in our willingness to perform those actions of kindness, or do we just drift along? On Sunday morning do we say "Yes we ought to be at the meeting, I suppose"? Are we nominal brethren and sisters (what a dreadful phrase)? Are we just Sunday-morning-meeting-only brethren and sisters? This morning may be our last chance —as it was at the time of the passover for those who were obedient or for those who ignored the Divine invitation. We know that Christ is at the door. God's power is yet to break forth on the world in such a way as to make all the might of man seem insignificant.
Where will we be in that day? It will depend on our attitude now—"more on that side, strike the lintel, don't just dab it on." Is that our enthusiasm for attending the meeting, preparing our Sunday School lesson or getting an address ready, for writing to the sick or lonely? But if we are among those that are sick and spend a lot of time alone, we can still show a keenness in the way that from time to time we concentrate on the work of preaching that others are doing and remember that work in our prayers. There is work for all of us to do. We can all show the attitude of those firstborn chosen at the time of the passover.
God's purpose is moving on, nothing can stop it. Pharaoh and all the might of Egypt could not, for "it came to pass at the end of four hundred and thirty years, even the selfsame day it came to pass, that all the hosts of the Lord went out from the land of Egypt", just as God had foretold to Abraham. Just as surely, on God's determined day, will Christ come. And then those that are the host of the Lord will be taken out of spiritual Egypt.
Let us ponder this as we have the opportunity once again to remember Christ our passover, and the manner of our deliverance. Let us then share the tremendous confidence of Moses, which was also the confidence of the apostle Paul: "When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall we also appear with him in glory."
M.J.W