The Tenth Plague

TRANSCRIPT

I greet you in a blessed name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Our text for tonight’s message is taken from Exodus chapter 11 verse 1 to 10. So far we have considered the nine plagues that God has sent to Egypt, and God will be sending one last plague, which was the worst and the most deadly amongst all the things: the death of all the firstborns. This is what we want to learn for tonight's message.

There's a spiritual significance in God sending this last plague. Remember, all the plagues were about God demonstrating His power, not only against the Pharaoh but primarily against the gods of Egypt. God had already demonstrated his power over the gods of the rivers, insects, pestilence, disease, fertility, weather, and so forth. You see, God was using all those plagues to show that he was almighty and sovereign, which means He had absolute power over everything He had created. God wants to create them; He was the One who made everything out of nothing; He was the One who sustained the creation.

So the nine plagues showed that God was the true Creator, not the gods of Egypt. The first nine plagues brought the entire creation into chaos, and then God himself brought it back into order again, and that is the reason why Moses said in Exodus 9 verse 29, 'so the Egyptians would know that the Earth is the LORD’s.' By now the Egyptians should know that God was the Creator.

I. The Lord of life and death

But there was another thing that they must also know, and that was that God was in control of life and death. This will be demonstrated in this tenth plague. Our first point is, ‘The Lord of life and death’. Let us begin with verse 1 of Exodus chapter 11. “And the LORD said unto Moses, Yet will I bring one plague more upon Pharaoh, and upon Egypt; afterwards he will let you go hence: when he shall let you go, he shall surely thrust you out hence altogether.” The Pharaoh only will let the Israelites go, but he will drive them out of the land.

Allow me to share a little bit about the ancient Egyptians. The Egyptians were obsessed with life and death, especially death and the afterwards. If you are familiar with the ancient Egyptian culture, you will know what kind of elaborate arrangements they made to prepare for the afterlife to come. They had some of the most sophisticated procedures in embalming the dead bodies, which could last for thousands of years. When you visit the museums in Egypt, you will see the dead mummified bodies of the ancient Egyptians buried together with their wealth and possessions.

The Egyptians were pantheists; they worshiped many gods, and amongst the gods they worshipped, they worshipped the god of the dead named Osiris. This God of the name of Osiris was supposed to have sovereign control over death, and this particular God of the Egyptians had an assistant named Anubis, the god of the underworld. He was in charge of the embalming process and guiding the dead during their passage through the afterlife. Oftentimes he would appear in the form of a dog; he had a dog’s head and the body of the men. You can see his images in the pictures, inscriptions, and statues in ancient Egyptian artifacts.

That was why verse 7 says, “But against any of the children of Israel shall not a dog move his tongue, against man or beast”. In other words, the children of Israel would not be touched by death in this particular plague. And so Anubis, the god of the underworld according to the Egyptians, that dog would have no power over the Israelites. He would not be able to embark his orders at them; that is what “move his tongue” means.

Look down to verse 4. “And Moses said, Thus saith the LORD, About midnight will I go out into the midst of Egypt: And all the 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” – which means all the firstborn of the Egyptians, including the firstborn of the animals, would die.

But there was the death of one particular individual who was especially significant, and that was the firstborn of Pharaoh that sat upon his throne. Why? Because the firstborn of the Pharaoh was the Prince of Egypt, the next in line to sit on the throne. When his father dies, he will become the next Pharaoh, and remember the Egyptians worshipped the Pharaoh as God. So when this firstborn of the Pharaoh died, it would not only mean the death of the king; it would also mean the death of the god of Egypt. It was very devastating, so much so that verse 6 says “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 any more.” There was never such a great cry in Egypt before in the past, and there will never be such a great cry in comparison in the future. It was such a devastating blow to the Pharaoh that he not only will let the Israelites go but, literally, he will drive them out of the land.

Again, the so-called Christian scientists who try to explain this death by some natural possibilities and claim that it was the result of some natural occurrences. For example, they will say that after surviving all the nine plagues, it is only natural that some people would die. In other words, if a particular nation have experienced calamity after calamity, pestilences and diseases, surely some of the people will die, right? This explanation may seem quite logical, but firstly, it could not possibly explain why only the firstborn were killed. Why only the firstborn were killed? How could death be so selective? Secondly, why the Israelites' firstborn did not die? So God's people once again must say let God be true and every man a liar. Say it as God says it, that it was a supernatural divine miracle, just as all the nine plagues were supernatural divine miracles.

II. The Lord of the justice

Our second point is the Lord is the Lord of justice. From the Pharaoh to the servant maid who was grinding the grains behind the mill stones, and everyone else in between, they will suffer the loss of their firstborn. So no one in Egypt was spared; no one was exempted. At this point, some people would question whether it is right for God to kill all the firstborn of Egypt. Was it morally right for God to do that? Let us consider several reasons why it was an act of justice for God to punish the Egyptians with death.

Firstly, the Exodus began with the Egyptians oppressing the children of Israel and killing all the male babies, remember? For 400 years, the Israelites had cried out to God. Turn with me to Exodus chapter 3 verse 7. Let me read for you Exodus 3 verse 7, “And the LORD said, I have surely seen the affliction of my people which are in Egypt, and have heard their cry by reason of their taskmasters; for I know their sorrows”. Now, go back to our text in Exodus 11 verse 6, “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 any more.” In other words, the Egyptians had made the Israelites cry out in distress, and now according to God's perfect timing, His justice had come, and now it was Egypt's turn to cry out in distress.

Secondly, God had clearly said to the Pharaoh that Israel was His firstborn. You can read about that in Exodus 4:22-23. 'And you have oppressed and killed my firstborn. And if you still refuse to let my firstborn go, then I will kill your firstborn.’ Thirdly, and most importantly, the Egyptians deserved to die, just as all men deserve to die because of their sins. The wages of sin is death. Like it or not, all sinners must die. And who is sovereign over life and death? God, because He's the Giver of life, He’s the Sustainer of life. So when God chooses to take a life, it's always justified to do so. The question is not whether or not we are going to die, we will die. But the question is when we are going to die.

Dear friends, when out loved one dies it is most painful. Often times we will cry out to God and say, 'Why? Why must you take away my dad, my mom, or my grandparents?' But we must understand important truth that God is always justified to take a life, whether it is the life of our loved ones or even our lives. The question is not if we are going to die, but when we are going to die.

If you and I understand this important truth, then we will be able to say like Job, 'The Lord giveth, the Lord taketh, blessed be the name of the Lord.' And of course, God had already given the Egyptians ample warnings in the first nine plagues, and if they still stubbornly refused to obey His commandments, then they would rightly face the worst of all the plagues: the death of the firstborn. So, He is the Lord of life and death; He is the Lord of Justice. And that's another amazing thing we can learn from this last plague, and that is the Lord of recompense.

III. The Lord of recompense

‘Recompense’ means to repay, to compensate, to pay back what is due. Let us look back at verse 2, “Speak now in the ears of the people, and let every man borrow of his neighbour, and every woman of her neighbour, jewels of silver, and jewels of gold.” The word “neighbour” was a reference to the Egyptians because the next verse tells us, “And the LORD gave the people favour in the sight of the Egyptians. Moreover the man Moses was very great in the land of Egypt, in the sight of Pharaoh's servants, and in the sight of the people.” The Lord made the Egyptians look upon the Israelites with much favour. Through experiencing the nine plagues, they had started to fear God; they had learned to respect Moses as God's prophet and they held him in high esteem. But it is not sufficient just to be afraid, it is not enough just to be respectful, it is not good enough just to give; one must believe in order to be saved.

Some people spend a lot of time in the church, serving in the ministries, attending fellowship groups, bible studies. Some people are respectful; they respect the minister and support the Christian work by giving, yet they never gave their lives to Jesus. It is not good enough to do all these things; it cannot get anyone to Heaven. What God requires is faith in His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ. Salvation comes by trusting and believing in His death on the cross and His resurrection from the dead. Salvation comes by believing in the only Saviour of the world. It's not by all these works; it does not come just because someone is fearful or someone is respectful or someone has given much, even to the church. Salvation comes by faith, believing in the only One who can save us.

Some people question whether it is right for the Israelites to plunder the Egyptians; others even accuse the Israelites of theft, of borrowing with no intention of returning. It is all because of the word “borrow.” Actually, the word “borrow” simply means to 'ask'. In other places where the Bible talks about borrowing with the promise of returning, it uses another, different word. So here, this word “borrow” simply means to ask. That is why the Bible makes no mention of any promise to return the jewels of silver and gold. Notice, Moses was commanded to tell the Israelites that all they needed to do was to ask the Egyptians, and they would freely give. How could that possibly be true? How could that possibly happen?

Remember, they were the taskmasters, and they were hard taskmasters; it was all because of God. God made the Egyptians look upon the Israelites with much favour, and this word “favour” is the same word for “grace”; they used the same word, which means the Egyptians looked upon the Israelites with acceptance. And this is all God's doing. The Israelites had served under the Egyptian taskmasters for 400 years; towards the end, the task became worse because they were forced to make bricks without straw. God wanted to make sure that these people would be paid for all that they did in Egypt. Oftentimes we hear this phrase, 'You can never shortchange God.' Most certainly, this is true. But here's another truth that God is teaching us: you can never shortchange God's people.

Dear friends, have you ever felt that people are using you, they are taking advantage of you? They just want to receive from you without giving back. Do you think God does not know? He knows, and He will recompense or repay you, whether in this life or in the life to come. Even if you do not receive your recompense in this life, you will receive your recompense when you see Him face-to-face in Heaven. Now, this truth is also applicable in a negative sense. Those people who do evil things in the church, people who attack Christians, gossip about them, falsely accuse them, do you think God does not know? Do you think God will not recompense them for all the evil things they have done to His people? He will. Like the Israelites, God will make sure that these people will not be short-changed; they will be recompensed, like the Egyptians were recompensed. God will make sure that they will pay back.

So the lesson for us to learn here is that we must always examine ourselves: which side are we standing on? Which side of the fence events? We must always be on the Lord's Side. So even in times whereby we feel that we have been taken advantage of, people abuse us, but we know that like Israelites, He will recompense us. He will not let us be shortchanged. But God forbids them to be on the other side of the fence, to be like the Egyptians whereby we have done wicked things, we have said nasty things, we have ill-treated or abused God's people, we have stumbled the work of the ministry, then God will make sure that, like the Egyptians, we will pay back.

Verse 8, “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 a great anger.” So Moses said to the Pharaoh, after God executed the tenth plague and all the firstborn of Egypt were killed, 'Your servants, your officials, would bow down to me,' obviously not in the sense of worshipping Moses, because he could never allow that to happen, but rather like to prostrate before the dignitaries, out of respect. And they will beg the Israelites to go out. And then also said, 'All of us will go out of Egypt.' Why would the Egyptians do that? Because they would be so afraid, because they wanted to escape God's judgment. They knew that the sooner the Israelites left, the better it was. Did the Pharaoh obey? Most certainly not.

And this time around, it was Moses who left the Pharaoh in a great anger. This was righteous anger. He was angry with the Pharaoh for rejecting God's commandments so many times. He was angry with the Pharaoh for initially agreeing to obey and then turning back on his words. Dear friends, when we hear of people rejecting God's word, people making empty promises to God, people pretending to agree with God’s Word and then going back on their words, would you not be angry? Something is wrong if you are not angry with how people treat God and His Word. God's people must be angry.

Verse 9, “And the LORD said unto Moses, Pharaoh shall not hearken unto you; that my wonders may be multiplied in the land of Egypt.” Verse 10, “And Moses and Aaron did all these wonders before Pharaoh: and the LORD hardened Pharaoh's heart, so that he would not let the children of Israel go out of his land.” So here God revealed to Moses that His plagues and miracles were the result of the Pharaoh hardening his heart. The more he hardened his heart, there came a point whereby God was the One who hardened his hearts, and it was a point of no return. Each time the Pharaoh hardened his heart, God would perform another miracle. Each time the Pharaoh hardened his heart again, God would perform another miracle. In the end, He multiplied those miracles, all for His glory. So all these things, God said to Moses, the hardening of Pharaoh's heart which caused the plagues and the miracles, were all part of God's plan to reveal His glory, as He saved the Israelites.

What can we learn from this? You and I, at times, will face oppositions, whether in the church, in our workplaces, in our schools, because of our Christian faith. We must learn to see how those oppositions relate to the sovereignty of God. If we truly believe in the sovereignty of God, then we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. God, in His sovereignty, allows those oppositions, trials, struggles to come into our lives for His sovereign purposes. One of His purposes is to build up our faith.

If you remember, when God first asked Moses to go to the Pharaoh, what did Moses say? ‘Who am I that I should go to the Pharaoh, that I should bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?' Subsequently he obeyed God. And then along the way, he faced much opposition from his own people the Israelites, especially from the Pharaoh and the Egyptians. Now you look at Moses. He was a different man. He did not question God at all, not even a word. Whatever God says, he simply obeys. God says, 'Go to the Pharaoh, early in the morning.' He obeyed, and he went. 'Go to the Pharaoh's palace.’ He went. ‘Say this to the Pharaoh.' He says exactly what God wants him to say without any question asked. Dear friends, this is how God works in our lives. He allows oppositions to come, trials to come, struggles to come into our lives to build up our faith.

The second most important purpose in God allowing those oppositions to come into our lives is for His glory, as we have just touched on. In His own time, according to His own will and purpose, He will use those oppositions to glorify Himself. We have seen that happening so many times in our lives, in our church, in our ministries, right? And God will continue to use those oppositions to glorify Himself in the future.

So, in times of difficulties, in times of trouble, in times of adversities, what must we do? We must pray, and we must trust that God will reveal His glory through all these oppositions in His own time. Do you believe that? God will reveal His glory in His own time. Let us pray.

Father in Heaven, we thank Thee for enabling us to consider this portion of scriptures in Exodus chapter 11, verses 1 to 10, this tenth plague that Thou has sent to Egypt. And there are many spiritual lessons that we can draw from this passage. We pray that we will not just learn all these truths for head-knowledge’s sake, but most importantly, for heart-knowledge, that we will apply this truth into our lives. And we pray that Thou will continue to teach us, and speak to us in a most special way that as we study Thy truth, at the same time, we must apply Thy truth into our lives. We praise Thee and thank Thee. In Jesus' name, we pray. Amen.

SERMON OUTLINE

• I. The Lord of life and death
• II. The Lord of the justice
• III. The Lord of recompense

THE BOOK OF EXODUS

God’s Prophecy and Promise Had Come To Pass

God’s Prophecy and Promise Had Come To Pass

Exodus 1:1-7

From Prosperity to Persecution

From Prosperity to Persecution

Exodus 1:8-14

God’s Protection in the Midst of Adversities

God’s Protection in the Midst of Adversities

Exodus 1:15-21

The Faith of Jochebed

The Faith of Jochebed

Exodus 1:22-2:10

Message 2: What is Church to you? My Covenantal Family!

Message 2: What is Church to you? My Covenantal Family!

Exodus 12:48-49, Colossians 2:11-12

Moses in Egypt

Moses in Egypt

Exodus 2:11-15

Moses in the Desert of Midian

Moses in the Desert of Midian

Exodus 2:16-25

Moses and the Burning Bush

Moses and the Burning Bush

Exodus 3:1-9

Who Are You?

Who Are You?

Exodus 3:10-15

Who Am I?

Who Am I?

Exodus 3:10-15

God’s Message to Israel and Egypt

God’s Message to Israel and Egypt

Exodus 3:16-22

What If They Still Don’t Believe?

What If They Still Don’t Believe?

Exodus 4:1-9

Send Someone Else

Send Someone Else

Exodus 4:10-17

Moses’ Return to Egypt

Moses’ Return to Egypt

Exodus 4:18-20

When Things Seemed to Get Better, They Got Worse

When Things Seemed to Get Better, They Got Worse

Exodus 5:10-21

When We Have Done Everything Right, and Yet Trouble Comes

When We Have Done Everything Right, and Yet Trouble Comes

Exodus 5:22-6:5

Having to Learn the Same Lesson Twice

Having to Learn the Same Lesson Twice

Exodus 6:6-12

Faithful or Unfaithful

Faithful or Unfaithful

Exodus 6:13-27

What God Wants Is Our Faithfulness and Obedience

What God Wants Is Our Faithfulness and Obedience

Exodus 6:28-7:7

The First Plague - The River of Blood

The First Plague - The River of Blood

Exodus 7:14-25

The Second Plague - The Frogs

The Second Plague - The Frogs

Exodus 8:1-15

The Third Plague

The Third Plague

Exodus 8:16-19

The Fourth Plague

The Fourth Plague

Exodus 8:20-32

The Fifth Plague

The Fifth Plague

Exodus 9:1-7

The Sixth Plague

The Sixth Plague

Exodus 9:8-12

The Seventh Plague

The Seventh Plague

Exodus 9:13-35

The Eighth Plague

The Eighth Plague

Exodus 10:1-20

The Tenth Plague

The Tenth Plague

Exodus 11:1-10

This Do In Remembrance of Me

This Do In Remembrance of Me

Exodus 12:43-51, 1 Corinthians 11:23-32

The First Passover

The First Passover

Exodus 12:1-13

The Feast of the Unleavened Bread

The Feast of the Unleavened Bread

Exodus 12:14-28

Departure From Egypt

Departure From Egypt

Exodus 12:29-42

This Do In Remembrance of Me

This Do In Remembrance of Me

Exodus 12:43-51; 1 Corinthians 11:23-32

Message 2: What is Church to you? My Covenantal Family!

Message 2: What is Church to you? My Covenantal Family!

Exodus 12:48-49, Colossians 2:11-12

Redemption and Consecration

Redemption and Consecration

Exodus 13:1-2, 11-16

Precious Lord, Take My Hand

Precious Lord, Take My Hand

Exodus 13:17-22

Between the Desert and the Red Sea

Between the Desert and the Red Sea

Exodus 14:1-14

Crossing the Red Sea

Crossing the Red Sea

Exodus 14:15-31

The Song of Praise

The Song of Praise

Exodus 15:1-21

Will You Obey Or Not?

Will You Obey Or Not?

Exodus 15:22-27

God’s Response to Israel’s Complaints

God’s Response to Israel’s Complaints

Exodus 16:1-10

The Danger of a Complaining Spirit

The Danger of a Complaining Spirit

Exodus 16:1-3

The Test of Faith

The Test of Faith

Exodus 16:11-20

Lessons About the Sabbath

Lessons About the Sabbath

Exodus 16:21-36

Do Not Test God

Do Not Test God

Exodus 17:1-17

Lift Up Your Hands

Lift Up Your Hands

Exodus 17:8-16

The Blessedness of Reunion

The Blessedness of Reunion

Exodus 18:1-12

Why Do We Have Leaders?

Why Do We Have Leaders?

Exodus 18:13-27

I Will Carry You On Eagles’ Wings

I Will Carry You On Eagles’ Wings

Exodus 19:1-6

Approach God Fearlessly or Fearfully

Approach God Fearlessly or Fearfully

Exodus 19:7-15

God Reached Out And Spoke

God Reached Out And Spoke

Exodus 19:16-25

Thou Shalt Have No Other Gods

Thou Shalt Have No Other Gods

Exodus 20:1-3

Thou Shalt Not Make Graven Images

Thou Shalt Not Make Graven Images

Exodus 20:4-6

Thou Shalt Not Dishonour God’s Name

Thou Shalt Not Dishonour God’s Name

Exodus 20:7

Thou Shalt Keep The Sabbath Day

Thou Shalt Keep The Sabbath Day

Exodus 20:8-11

Honour Thy Father And Thy Mother

Honour Thy Father And Thy Mother

Exodus 20:12

Thou Shalt Not Kill

Thou Shalt Not Kill

Exodus 20:13

Thou Shalt Not Commit Adultery

Thou Shalt Not Commit Adultery

Exodus 20:14

Thou Shalt Not Steal

Thou Shalt Not Steal

Exodus 20:15

Thou Shalt Not Lie

Thou Shalt Not Lie

Exodus 20:16

Thou Shalt Not Covet

Thou Shalt Not Covet

Exodus 20:17

The Response To The Ten Commandments

The Response To The Ten Commandments

Exodus 20:18-21

How God Wants Us To Worship Him

How God Wants Us To Worship Him

Exodus 20:22-26

Why Would God Allow Slavery?

Why Would God Allow Slavery?

Exodus 21:1-11

The Punishment Fits The Crime — a life for a life

The Punishment Fits The Crime — a life for a life

Exodus 21:12-17

The Punishment Fits The Crime — an eye for an eye

The Punishment Fits The Crime — an eye for an eye

Exodus 21:18-36

The Punishment Deters The Crime — property laws

The Punishment Deters The Crime — property laws

Exodus 22:1-15

The Character Of God

The Character Of God

Exodus 22:16-20

Reaching Out To The Down-And-Out

Reaching Out To The Down-And-Out

Exodus 22:21-24

The Compassion, Authority & Holiness Of God

The Compassion, Authority & Holiness Of God

Exodus 22:25-31

Truth Cannot Be Subjected To Anything But Truth

Truth Cannot Be Subjected To Anything But Truth

Exodus 23:1-9

Remember Who God Is

Remember Who God Is

Exodus 23:10-19

What Must We Do To Have Victory

What Must We Do To Have Victory

Exodus 23:20-33

How We Ought To Worship God

How We Ought To Worship God

Exodus 24:1-4, 7

On What Basis Can We Approach His Majesty?

On What Basis Can We Approach His Majesty?

Exodus 24:4-8

Responding To God’s Invitation

Responding To God’s Invitation

Exodus 24:9-18

The Right Attitude Of Giving

The Right Attitude Of Giving

Exodus 25:1-8

There I Will Meet You

There I Will Meet You

Exodus 25:9-22

Physical Or Spiritual Bread, Which Is More Important?

Physical Or Spiritual Bread, Which Is More Important?

Exodus 25:23-30

Let Your Light So Shine Before Men

Let Your Light So Shine Before Men

Exodus 25:31-40

The Veil That Separates

The Veil That Separates

Exodus 26:1-37

A Day In Thy Court Is Better Than A Thousand

A Day In Thy Court Is Better Than A Thousand

Exodus 27:1-19

Who Can Represent Us Before God?

Who Can Represent Us Before God?

Exodus 27:20-28:14

How Can We Know God’s Will?

How Can We Know God’s Will?

Exodus 28:15-30

If Thy Presence Go Not with Me, Carry Us Not Up Hence

If Thy Presence Go Not with Me, Carry Us Not Up Hence

Exodus 33:12-23