EXODUS LESSON 16

    We will begin this lesson in chapter 9.  At the end of chapter 8,
we saw Pharaoh going back on his word, and not letting the people go.

    Exodus 9:1 "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." Exodus 9:2 "For if thou refuse to let [them]
go, and wilt hold them still," Exodus 9:3 "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."

    This was the fifth plague.  The thing that amazes me the most in
all of this is the patience of the Lord.  In the last four plagues, we
have seen the problems coming to the people, themselves, and to
Pharaoh's house.  These pests and the water turning to blood had not
really destroyed the wealth of Egypt, but had rather been an
aggravation.  This murrain was an epidemic disease among the animals,
that would kill a great portion of them.  Notice here, again, each
plague got a little worse; and again here, we see the plague affects
one of their false gods, the cow.  This would deeply hurt the economy
of this land, as well.  It would hurt their transportation in the
horses, asses, and camels. We can see, this was a grievous plague.  Just
as God gives us chance after chance, He gave Pharaoh plenty of
chances to repent, and do what was right.  There is a day of reckoning,
and God will not always wait.

    Exodus 9:4 "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."

    We see here, again, that God was making a difference between the
Egyptians and the children of Israel.  Nothing would be hurt in Goshen,
where the Hebrews lived.

    Exodus 9:5 "And the LORD appointed a set time, saying, Tomorrow
the LORD shall do this thing in the land."

    Pharaoh, a few verses back, set the first time, on the morrow.
Moses set the next time, on the morrow.  Here, God sets the time,
tomorrow.  God is just, in all His dealings with man.  He gives time to
repent.  Man must respond by repenting; when he doesn't, trouble
comes.

    Exodus 9:6 "And the LORD did that thing on the morrow, and all the
cattle of Egypt died: but of the cattle of the children of Israel died
not one."

    As I said before, these plagues were getting worse and worse.  God
had specifically spared His own in the midst of this plague.  Just as
Noah was saved in the flood, these cattle of the Hebrews had been
saved in the midst of the plague.

    Exodus 9:7 "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."

    This is all too similar to what is going on in our world today.
The sins are getting worse and worse.  The people's hearts are getting
harder and harder.  Few are heeding the warnings of God.  There is a
day of wrath coming, which is punishment, for not repenting.  Just as
Pharaoh was headed to a terrible punishment; so are the people who are
living away from God, who are not heeding any of the signs that are
all around us.

    Pharaoh couldn't believe that the Israelite cattle were spared, so
he sent to be sure.  When he found it was true, he still didn't
listen, and would not let the people go.  Look all around us today at
the problems (plagues): Aids, bad water, ozone layer leaving causing
skin cancer, etc.  I could go on and on.  We had better not be like
Pharaoh.  There is very little time left.  Repent, before the wrath of
God falls.

    Exodus 9:8  "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."  Exodus 9:9 "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, throughout all the land
of Egypt."

    These ashes were made with fire.  This "ashes" and "dust", probably,
just show that God can take things common to our everyday lives and
turn them into plagues.  This "sprinkling toward heaven" just shows
that this plague was not one created by man, but sent from God in
heaven as punishment.  These boils seemed to be of a terrible nature.
The description, here, was of sores that were runny and incurable,
accompanied with great pain.  This was so widespread, that all of Egypt
was affected by it, except the Hebrews.  This could be similar to
radiation sores.

    Exodus 9:10 "And they took ashes of the furnace, and stood before
Pharaoh; and Moses sprinkled it up toward heaven; and it became a boil
breaking forth [with] blains upon man, and upon beast."

    This sixth plague could be a warning of the impending danger of
death in the final tenth plague.  Here, in the verse above, we see
this terrible plague brought, just as God said it would be.

    Exodus 9:11 "And the magicians could not stand before Moses
because of the boils; for the boil was upon the magicians, and upon
all the Egyptians."

    Here, we see sudden judgement fell on these false prophets
(magicians).  These boils were hurting so badly, that they could not
stay in the presence of Pharaoh, Moses, and Aaron.  These wonders, as
we said before, were in the presence of Pharaoh, so that he could not
deny they came from God.

    Exodus 9:12 "And the LORD hardened the heart of Pharaoh, and he
hearkened not unto them; as the LORD had spoken unto Moses."

    One other place in the Bible, where we see similar happenings, and
the people not repenting, is in the Book of Revelation, when the wrath
of God falls.  This is the first time there was a direct statement that
God, himself, had hardened Pharaoh's heart.  It seemed God was very
angry with Pharaoh and these followers of false gods, the Egyptians
(world).  This like, all the other plagues, attacked false worship in
Egypt.  The Egyptians had practiced human sacrifices in the high
places, and had grabbed foreigners for their sacrifices.  Hebrews had,
sometimes, been their victims.  They would take the ashes of these
people and throw them in the wind.  Whether this plague was in
repayment for this or not, I am not sure.  The furnace could be
symbolic of the slavery of the Hebrews.  At any rate, this was a
terrible plague.  The Pharaoh seemed to not be afflicted by the boils.
He was a cruel king, who did not have sympathy for his people, and he
did not let the Hebrews go.  So far, Pharaoh had gotten off with no
personal pain to his body, but he had better prepare for the worst.

    Exodus 9:13  "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."

    We see, here, that the message of God never changes.  God never
changes, either.

    Exodus 9:14 "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."

    Here, we see that God was not going to play around with Pharaoh, any
longer.  This was not for a later time.  God would bring these plagues
right now in rapid succession.  We have no way of knowing the
intervals between the other plagues, but we do know that these last
plagues were to happen in a short period of time.  These plagues would
break Pharaoh down.  He would not be able to stand against the power of
Almighty God.  Pharaoh would have to humble himself, and admit that God
was far superior to all of Egypt's gods.  Not only would Pharaoh admit
that Egypt's gods were nothing to compare to Jehovah God, but Pharaoh
would insist on the Israelites leaving Egypt.

    Exodus 9:15 "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."

    Here, we see that God could have totally destroyed Pharaoh and his
people, at any moment He wanted to.  God had been more than patient,
but He was going to show Pharaoh, and all of these Egyptians, and all the
people around Egypt, that God, with a mighty hand, would bring His
people out of Egypt.  God would show all of that part of the world, that
He was the true God, and that all the world was subject to Him.

    Exodus 9:16 "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."

    God, here, told Pharaoh (through Moses and Aaron) that He was the
 one who made him Pharaoh.  God was going to use this very evil world
 leader to show His supreme power.  The world surrounding Egypt
 would know this in a few days, but the whole world would know of God's
 power shown to Pharaoh because of it being written in the Bible.  So,
 truly, the whole world does know of God's greatness.

                             Notes











































                          Exodus 16 Questions


1.  This plague, that would come upon the animals, was what?
2.  Name the specific animals listed.
3.  What was this murrain?
4.  What would be some side effects of this plague?
5.  What difference would be shown between Egypt and these Hebrews?
6.  Where did the Hebrews live?
7.  What 3 appointed the morrow as a time element?
8.  What was the ultimate end of the cattle?
9.  Where did Pharaoh check to see, if their cattle were killed?
10. What are some plagues in our day?
11. What was Moses to do with the ashes?
12. Who was to be present, when they did this?
13. What plague would this bring?
14. What false teaching did this plague attack?
15. Who had the boils?
16. Who could not stand before Moses, because of their boils?
17. Where is another book in the Bible, that speaks of horrors such as
    these, where the people repented not?
18. These plagues attacked what?
19. The furnace could be symbolic of what?
20. Why did God keep giving Moses the same message to give Pharaoh?
21. Whose heart would all of the plagues fall on?
22. Why?
23. What would these last plagues do to Pharaoh?
24. Would Pharaoh let them go?
25. How would God bring His people out?
26. Why did God make Pharaoh ruler of Egypt?
27. God was going to use this evil ruler to do what?