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When is the first time you came across the term “deconstruction” — especially with regard to Christians abandoning their faith? I’m not sure, but I think it was early 2020 for me, when some popular YouTube influences that some of my kids watched regularly put out a series of videos explaining why they no longer considered themselves Christians. They had been in Christian ministry in this area, and made it big on YouTube. Their “deconstruction” really shook some of the young men in our church at the time. Since then, I’ve heard of the deconstruction of many others who have left Christianity behind.
How does this happen? What similarities come out in their stories?
They were challenged to begin to question the foundations of the Christian faith. These might include?
Little by little, when presented with a narrative that contradicts the faith they grew up accepting, they jettison the faith which they once professed.
This is a sad story, but not foreign to the Bible, which acknowledges that some will fall away from the faith.
We are going to look at a different example of deconstruction this morning, though. We will witness the deconstruction of the religion of the Egyptians. I don’t mean by this that they all rejected their former belief system. I simply mean that through the words and actions of Moses and Aaron, the evidence that they should reject their inherited beliefs and turn to the one true God will be overwhelming.
We are continuing in our series through the first fifteen chapters of the Book of Exodus. The events recorded in these chapters likely took place around 3500 years ago.
God’s chosen people, the sons of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob have been in Egypt for over 400 years. They are currently being oppressed as slaves by one of the greatest superpowers on the planet at the time.
They have been praying to God to deliver them and he has heard their prayers. He hears; he sees; he knows. And now he is going to act. God had many ways that he could have delivered his people from Egypt. He could have sent another invading force to come in and deliver them militarily. He could have simply blinded the Egyptians so that the Israelites could have just walked out on their own. God could have sent an angel to kill many of the Egyptians like he did to the Assyrian army many years later.
Instead, the way God chose to deliver them publicly displayed his own absolute power over many Egyptian deities in order to show his own power and glory and to deconstruct their hope in their gods.
We’ll organize the sermon this morning into three main points.
If there has ever been a sermon that demanded some sub-points, this might be it. Our second point will be a bit longer than the others as we go through each of the first nine plagues.
We already read the passage for this first point. You probably noticed that we didn’t begin at the chapter break, but started a few verses before. Moses ends chapter 6 with a question that God answers in verse 1 of chapter 7.
That is quite the beginning to a power showdown. Pharaoh is the most powerful leader within a powerful empire. Moses recently returned from forty years of hiding in the wilderness after murdering an Egyptian. How is it that he will be “like God to Pharaoh?” Because God will give him the words to say and the power to do miraculous signs to back the words up.
Though this may seem like a minor detail, I don’t think it is. God wants to deliver the Israelites in a way that convinces the Egyptians that Yahweh is real—not that Moses was a persuasive negotiator.
As God predicted, Pharaoh demanded a sign. I don’t fault him for asking for some evidence that he speaks for the LORD. He is, after all, claiming to speak on behalf of Yahweh. As the reader, we already know that God has been preparing Moses for this moment over the last forty years.
After all of the protests from Moses up to this point, we should notice and celebrate his own character arc to this point. Look back at verses 6 and 10.
Exodus 7:6 (ESV) — Moses and Aaron did so; they did just as the LORD commanded them.
Exodus 7:10 (ESV) — So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and did just as the LORD commanded…
May that be said of us! We do spend a lot of time and energy seeking to know God and understand his ways. We must not, though, forget the importance of a personal commitment to basic, total obedience to the Lord. We are not God’s equals. We do not negotiate. We are to obey.
It took Moses eighty years to get to this point of straight obedience to the commands of God. What about you?
Back to the narrative…
Moses and Aaron went before Pharaoh, and as previously arranged, Aaron threw down Moses’ staff and it turned into a serpent. As you’ll remember, this is not the first time they have performed this miracle. God commanded Moses to do this in the desert, and Moses and Aaron did this in front of the Israelites to prove they were speaking for Yahweh.
However, here, the miracle carries its full force of argument. In Pharaoh’s court, this is no mere sign, but a direct confrontation with Pharaoh himself.
In this activity of changing a staff into a serpent the Israelite leaders attack Pharaoh and his people at the very heart of their beliefs.
In the first place, depicted on the front of the king’s crown was an enraged female cobra, or serpent. This uraeus was thought by the Egyptians to be energized with divine sovereignty and potency. It was considered the emblem of Pharaoh’s power. It symbolized his divinity and majesty.
- John D. Currid, A Study Commentary on Exodus, 161.
The very symbol of power and divinity on Pharaoh’s crown is used against him. Moses is not being subtle. This first sign sets the tone for many of the remaining interactions between Pharaoh and Moses.
Philip Ryken notes that a modern comparison might be taking a bald eagle into the Oval Office and killing it in front of the President.1
Pharaoh is not yet impressed, though. He simply calls for his own magicians to replicate the same miracle. This is a surprising turn of events in the story. I wonder what Moses and Aaron were thinking at that moment. This is the first of three miracles which Pharaoh’s magicians were able to imitate.
You may be wondering, like me, whether or not the magicians actually performed these miracles or simply fooled the onlookers with trickery and slight of hand. The text does not lead us to assume that they were simply using deception or slight of hand. They may have actually performed these signs through demonic powers.
Either way, the result is the same. Aaron’s serpent ate the others, showing the greater power of Yahweh.
One interesting side note (among many today): the word for “serpent” in Chapter 7 is not the same as in Chapter 4 when God first commanded Moses to cast down his staff. Here, the word could mean large reptile, great serpent, dragon, or crocodile. I believe the translators have warrant for using “serpent” but keep in mind that this serpent could have been very large!
Before we dive into each of the plagues, let’s consider why God will end up using ten plagues to convince the Egyptians to let the Israelites go. One thing that I often say in counseling is that God is doing more than one thing at a time. You may only be aware of the hardship you are experiencing, but forget that God is working out his will in situations all around you.
Here, God is working his deliverance for Israel, but also doing more. In fact, the very hardening of Pharaoh’s heart‚which seems to be the biggest threat to the desired deliverance—will be used by God to show his own power and glory.
Exodus 7:3–5 (ESV) — But I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and though I multiply my signs and wonders in the land of Egypt, Pharaoh will not listen to you. Then I will lay my hand on Egypt and bring my hosts, my people the children of Israel, out of the land of Egypt by great acts of judgment. The Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD, when I stretch out my hand against Egypt and bring out the people of Israel from among them.”
Did you catch it? God wants to reveal himself to the Egyptians, not just the Israelites. In fact, God’s purposes even go beyond the Egyptians. He gives further explanation in the 7th plague (Hail).
Exodus 9:14–16 (ESV) — For this time I will send all my plagues on you yourself, and on your servants and your people, so that you may know that there is none like me in all the earth. For by now I could have put out my hand and struck you and your people with pestilence, and you would have been cut off from the earth. But for this purpose I have raised you up, to show you my power, so that my name may be proclaimed in all the earth.
The plagues are about more than deliverance. They are also about more than Egypt. They are a display of the power of the one, true God.
We won’t be able to study each plague in detail this morning, but we will note various aspects of several of them. First, though, let’s consider two questions about them as a unit. First, does God intend for us to map each plague to specific Egyptian deities?
This has been a topic of conversation in my house for weeks. For part of our homeschool curriculum, my kids use Tapestry of Grace, which includes a four-year cycle of studying history and literature. This year, they are on “Year 1” and have been studying ancient cultures, including ancient Egypt. Our dinner conversations have been punctuated with discussions of the Egyptian pantheon of gods and how the plagues attack each of the gods and their powers. It is a fascinating study, and worth some of your time.
However, I’d like to make a case that one need not know the specifics about the Egyptian gods in order to learn the lessons we need to learn from the the narrative in Exodus and specifically the plagues.
First, Moses (and therefore scripture) chooses not to name the specific gods of Egypt. He certainly could have drawn a direct correlation to them, but he didn’t. Second, though some direct connections can be argued, that’s not equally true for all of the plagues. Some feel like a real stretch to me, or conjecture at the least.
Scripture does, however, make the claim that God is addressing the Egyptian gods as a system.
Exodus 12:12 (ESV) — For I will pass through the land of Egypt that night, and I will strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and on all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments: I am the LORD.
Moses mentions this again in Numbers 33.
Numbers 33:4 (ESV) — while the Egyptians were burying all their firstborn, whom the LORD had struck down among them. On their gods also the LORD executed judgments.
Based on this, I find it most helpful to consider the plagues as a broader attack on the gods of Egypt as a whole. Simply stated…
Yahweh is bigger than the gods of Egypt and will unleash the forces of creation to drive this point home.
- Peter Enns, Exodus, The NIV Application Commentary, 205.
Let’s walk through the plagues briefly and then we can ask another question of them.
I did find it helpful to see that the plagues are arranged with purpose and structure. They can be grouped into three groups of three plagues each. The first of each group are delivered in the morning, the second in Pharaoh’s palace, and the third without warning.
Since the first sign (the staff turning into a serpent) does not convince Pharaoh to obey Yahweh’s commands, Moses moves on to the next sign, which is now the first plague.
Imagine saying to Pharaoh, “So far, you have not obeyed” (7:16).
Exodus 7:17 (ESV) — Thus says the LORD, “By this you shall know that I am the LORD: behold, with the staff that is in my hand I will strike the water that is in the Nile, and it shall turn into blood.
Aaron then held out the staff over the waters of Egypt and they turned to blood. There are some natural phenomena which can make the Nile more red than usual, but this appears to be more significant than that. Otherwise, Pharaoh could have simply said, “this happens every year…”
The magicians are again able to mimic this miracle, which leads Pharoah to dismiss the sign entirely. He simply went back inside his house and “did not take even this to heart” (vs. 23).
Why is this sign so significant? It could be that the Nile was considered the life source for Egypt. The Egyptians worshipped three separate gods related to the Nile, which was considered the bloodstream of their god, Osiris.
If the serpent represented Egypt’s power, the Nile represented its economic stability. The Egyptians credited the Nile with their prosperity. For the water to be undrinkable, or for the fish to perish would lead to significant economic distress.
In modern terms in America, we might substitute the “god of the NASDAQ” or stock market.
The plague of the frogs does not seem life-threatening but is very disturbing to consider.
Exodus 8:3 (ESV) — The Nile shall swarm with frogs that shall come up into your house and into your bedroom and on your bed and into the houses of your servants and your people, and into your ovens and your kneading bowls.
Again the magicians were able to replicate this miracle. However, I guess they didn’t have the power to get rid of the frogs, which would have been much more useful.
One interesting aspect of this plague was that Moses asked Pharaoh to tell him when he wanted the frogs to go away. In other words, it’s one thing for frogs to come up out of the Nile. It’s another to make them die or stop coming out of the Nile by command.
This shows God’s patience with Pharaoh and the Egyptians.
Exodus 8:10–11 (ESV) — And he said, “Tomorrow.” Moses said, “Be it as you say, so that you may know that there is no one like the LORD our God. The frogs shall go away from you and your houses and your servants and your people. They shall be left only in the Nile.”
I grew up in south Georgia below the “gnat line.” If you don’t know what that means, consider yourself blessed. If you’ve lived north of the gnat line in Georgia, I don’t think you can fully appreciate this plague. The climate and sandy soil of south Georgia are very hospitable to gnats. They fly around your face and into your mouth, nose, and eyes when you are working outside. They buzz in your ears.
What happened in Egypt must have been much worse. So significant was this particular plague (which the magicians couldn’t replicate) that they acknowledged that “this is the finger of God.”
We are not sure if the early plagues impacted the Israelites directly or not, but Moses is clear that some of the remaining plagues will not affect Differentiation between Egypt and Israel.
Exodus 8:22–24 (ESV) — But on that day I will set apart the land of Goshen, where my people dwell, so that no swarms of flies shall be there, that you may know that I am the LORD in the midst of the earth. Thus I will put a division between my people and your people. Tomorrow this sign shall happen.” ’ ” And the LORD did so. There came great swarms of flies into the house of Pharaoh and into his servants’ houses. Throughout all the land of Egypt the land was ruined by the swarms of flies.
The differentiation between Egypt and Israel continues. This distinction is evidence that these plagues were not mere natural phenomena.
Exodus 9:6 (ESV) — And the next day the LORD did this thing. All the livestock of the Egyptians died, but not one of the livestock of the people of Israel died.
If I were to ask which plague you would avoid, I think this one might be it.
Exodus 9:11 (ESV) — And the magicians could not stand before Moses because of the boils, for the boils came upon the magicians and upon all the Egyptians.
This is the first plague in the final triplet, and has the longest description and explanation.
Now is a good time to consider how the plagues show the patience of God. He is giving Pharaoh and the Egyptians so many opportunities to turn, believe, and let God’s people go.
Exodus 9:14–16 (ESV) — For this time I will send all my plagues on you yourself, and on your servants and your people, so that you may know that there is none like me in all the earth. For by now I could have put out my hand and struck you and your people with pestilence, and you would have been cut off from the earth. But for this purpose I have raised you up, to show you my power, so that my name may be proclaimed in all the earth.
Because Pharaoh refuses to humble himself before Yahweh, the destruction is expanding in scope and economic destruction.
We also find a new purpose of the powerful signs
Exodus 10:1–2 (ESV) — Then the LORD said to Moses, “Go in to Pharaoh, for I have hardened his heart and the heart of his servants, that I may show these signs of mine among them, and that you may tell in the hearing of your son and of your grandson how I have dealt harshly with the Egyptians and what signs I have done among them, that you may know that I am the LORD.”
Now the signs are given so that the coming generations of Israel would know that Yahweh reigns.
After the massive destruction of the hail and the locusts on the Egyptians’ food supply, God shows that he is even over one of their main deities, “Re” the sun-god.
Three days of darkness showed God’s power over Re and led to a final showdown between Moses and Pharaoh.
Exodus 10:28–29 (ESV) — Then Pharaoh said to him, “Get away from me; take care never to see my face again, for on the day you see my face you shall die.” Moses said, “As you say! I will not see your face again.”
The second question to consider regarding the plagues is whether they were simply natural phenomena. After all, many of these events could happen naturally to some degree.
Certainly, God can use the power of nature to bring judgment. However, we cannot accept that these were only the normally occurring events of nature.
In the Bible Speaks Today commentary, Motyer expresses the main takeaway like this:
Possibly the most obvious truth arising from the history of the plagues is of the immense, irresistible power of the Lord, its total command of every possible resource and its total sway over the whole field of human life—place, person, and event. All things, and everything, all peoples and every person lie ‘uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account’ (Heb. 4:13).
— Alec Motyer, The Message of Exodus, 122–23.
After such a display of power and precision… after such a dismantling of the culture’s false gods, what would you expect to be the result?
Well, honestly, I think we would expect a change of mind and heart toward Yahweh, the one, true God.
Are you surprised that this is not what happens? We should not be surprised.
Romans 1:21–23 (ESV) — For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.
Paul describes in Romans exactly what was happening in Egypt. And this is still what happens in the heart of man today.
Let’s briefly consider some of the responses we see in the narrative.
Daniel will be preaching next week about “The Hardening of Pharaoh’s Heart,” which has theological implications beyond this particular narrative.
This morning, I’m more interested in observing and evaluating the broader aspects of the responses from the Egyptians, including Pharaoh, to the commands and powerful acts of Yahweh.
Exodus 7:9 (ESV) — “When Pharaoh says to you, ‘Prove yourselves by working a miracle,’ then you shall say to Aaron, ‘Take your staff and cast it down before Pharaoh, that it may become a serpent.’ ”
Exodus 7:22–23 (ESV) — But the magicians of Egypt did the same by their secret arts. So Pharaoh’s heart remained hardened, and he would not listen to them, as the LORD had said. Pharaoh turned and went into his house, and he did not take even this to heart.
Exodus 8:8 (ESV) — Then Pharaoh called Moses and Aaron and said, “Plead with the LORD to take away the frogs from me and from my people, and I will let the people go to sacrifice to the LORD.”
Exodus 8:15 (ESV) — But when Pharaoh saw that there was a respite, he hardened his heart and would not listen to them, as the LORD had said.
Exodus 8:18–19 (ESV) — The magicians tried by their secret arts to produce gnats, but they could not. So there were gnats on man and beast. Then the magicians said to Pharaoh, “This is the finger of God.” But Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, and he would not listen to them, as the LORD had said.
Exodus 8:28–29 (ESV) — So Pharaoh said, “I will let you go to sacrifice to the LORD your God in the wilderness; only you must not go very far away. Plead for me.” … Only let not Pharaoh cheat again by not letting the people go to sacrifice to the LORD.”
Exodus 8:31–32 (ESV) — And the LORD did as Moses asked, and removed the swarms of flies from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people; not one remained. But Pharaoh hardened his heart this time also, and did not let the people go.
Exodus 9:20–21 (ESV) — Then whoever feared the word of the LORD among the servants of Pharaoh hurried his slaves and his livestock into the houses, but whoever did not pay attention to the word of the LORD left his slaves and his livestock in the field.
Exodus 9:27–28 (ESV) — Then Pharaoh sent and called Moses and Aaron and said to them, “This time I have sinned; the LORD is in the right, and I and my people are in the wrong. Plead with the LORD, for there has been enough of God’s thunder and hail. I will let you go, and you shall stay no longer.”
Exodus 9:34–35 (ESV) — But when Pharaoh saw that the rain and the hail and the thunder had ceased, he sinned yet again and hardened his heart, he and his servants. So the heart of Pharaoh was hardened, and he did not let the people of Israel go, just as the LORD had spoken through Moses.
Exodus 10:16–17 (ESV) — Then Pharaoh hastily called Moses and Aaron and said, “I have sinned against the LORD your God, and against you. Now therefore, forgive my sin, please, only this once, and plead with the LORD your God only to remove this death from me.”
Exodus 10:27–29 (ESV) — But the LORD hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he would not let them go. Then Pharaoh said to him, “Get away from me; take care never to see my face again, for on the day you see my face you shall die.” Moses said, “As you say! I will not see your face again.”
How does your faith hold up to the God of the Bible?
How will you respond if God systematically tore down the world you have put your hope in? If the stock market crashed and your 401k disappeared… if the political scene changed and persecuted you for your faith… if all that you had were stripped away, would your faith in the one, true God remain in tact?
Habakkuk 3:17–19 (ESV) — Though the fig tree should not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines, the produce of the olive fail and the fields yield no food, the flock be cut off from the fold and there be no herd in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the LORD; I will take joy in the God of my salvation. GOD, the Lord, is my strength; he makes my feet like the deer’s; he makes me tread on my high places.
The problem is not always merely intellectual or informational.
Have you even considered that God could be hardening someone’s heart?
We need the Holy Spirit to awaken our hearts to believe.
Yahweh is over the gods of Egypt. He is over the false gods in America.
Worship Him!
God reigns.
Here are some other recent messages.
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