35. Beginner Bible Course: The ten plagues on Egypt

EPISODE 35.  The simple Bible overview of…THE TEN PLAGUES ON EGYPT (TEN CONTRACTIONS LEADING TO BIRTH)

I've been present...

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00:00:04

...for the birth of all four of my children, babies don't just fall out. I think we should have mother's day, at least four times a year. It's incredible what you ladies go through to give us life. Labor's the right term. It's a huge, painful job in Exodus five through 11. We see Israel in the nation of Egypt going through labor pains. Contractions 10 of them. As a matter of fact, strong, painful Contractions increasing in intensity until by the time we get to chapter 14, a baby nation Israel is born. It starts with Moses and Aaron approaching Pharaoh. With the matter of fact demand, let Israel go into the wilderness for three days to sacrifice and worship their God.

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00:00:52

Imagine Pharaoh's response. As he looks on these two 80 year old Hebrew men, one whispering into the other's ear while the other speaks, I imagine him saying your God and what army. Get back to work your deadbeats. You've got too much time on your hands. Pharaoh doubles down to teach them a lesson. He tells us superintendents hold these slaves accountable for the same quota, but let them find their own raw materials. Imagine a carpenter framing, a home told he's got to cut down trees and make his own boards. The task from these taskmasters masters of course is impossible. Repeatedly failing on their quotas.

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00:01:33

The Hebrew foremen are beaten down. You can almost imagine how they felt about Moses and Aaron. Moses gets hammered. Moses crawls back to God and says, told yah, you promise to rescue us. Does this look like rescue to you? God responds Moses. I'm the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. I keep my promises. Think about it. Moses. If Pharaoh just sends you out, it's a Pharaoh thing. But if I deliver you, it's an I am who I am. Thing. Stay tuned. I am. And I've got this Moses then reminds God. If these people won't listen to me, why would Pharaoh God replies all.

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00:02:18

He'll listen to you. All right, I'll get his attention. Start with the staff thing and I'll take it from there. Let the Israelites go into the wilderness to sacrifice through our guide. When Pharaoh scarves, Moses throws down his staff and it becomes a serpent waiting in the wings are the sorcerers of Egypt. The text tells us they too were able to throw down sticks and turn them into serpents. I remind my students that Satan is a deceiver, a counterfeiter. We don't have to wonder what happened to their serpents. However, Moses staff serpents swallowed their serpents up Pharaoh was and walked away.

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00:03:00

So God brought the first contraction the next morning, Moses and Aaron meet Pharaoh on his way down to the Nile, striking the Nile with his staff. Moses turns it to blood or at least to look like blood. And it stunk across Egypt all of the standing water and pots turn blood red. But yet again, Pharaoh's magicians counterfeited, the miracle turning their own water to blood red. I asked my students wouldn't it have been more impressive if they would have undone the blood miracle instead of made it worse. Pharaoh was unmoved that brought on contraction.

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00:03:42

Number two, frogs. I mean the little hoppers were absolutely everywhere. Even in people's homes and ovens that got Pharaoh's attention, make it stop. He begged Moses prayed and the frogs died and they piled them in huge stinky, awful heaps, but Pharaoh hardened his heart bringing on Contractions three NATS find NATS like dust in the air, everywhere on people and animals. Now the magicians come to Pharaoh, begging him to listen. We're in way over our heads, Pharaoh, that Pharaoh was unmoved bringing Contractions for flies, the disease carrying PEs black and the skies, where did all those flies come from?

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00:04:30

They could have come from those piles of riding frogs with the fourth. Contractions there's a new development. No flies are in Goshen where the Israelites live. I mean, there's not even a buzz to be heard this time. Pharaoh says you may sacrifice, but do it here in Egypt, Moses through Aaron says can happen. Egyptians will find our sacrifices, detestable and kill us. Pharaoh hunkers down next contraction, five disease on the livestock. The next day across Egypt there's roadkill everywhere. Still Pharaoh will not relent to bring Contractions six.

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00:05:12

God tells Moses to throw sick from a furnace into the air in front of Pharaoh. As the set settles to earth boils breakout on man and animals. And Pharaoh's magicians. I imagine itchy poison Ivy, welts Pharaoh still won't relent. Contractions seven is Hale. God says, warn the Egyptians. It's going to devastate their country. It will be a hailstorm like no other killing any man or animal left out in the open this time. Some of the Egyptians, listen, if you're skeptical, hail can be lethal. You should know that in Vivian, South Dakota, in 2010, eight inch hail the size of volleyballs fell, they weighed two pounds.

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00:05:56

Each imagine getting pelted with two pound volleyballs. Goshen was spared that got Pharaoh's attention. He summons Moses and Aaron and said, I've sinned. Pray for me. The text then tells us this God hardened Pharaoh's heart. This really causes people to problem in the 10 Contractions on Egypt. I remind my students that five separate times, given the opportunity to change Pharaoh consciously, intentionally hunkered down and disobeyed. I also remind them that on each occasion, Pharaoh has given gracious advanced warning.

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00:06:36

I suggest to my students, hearts are like wax or clay. Adversities are tests are like heat, heat melts, wax, but it bakes clay hard. Perhaps. That's what happened here. God supplied heat to second Pharaoh's motion and make it harder. The hailstorm God brought was so severe. It shattered even trees. There wasn't much left. That was green. What was left? However would be devastated by contraction. Number eight, locus from the East, Moses through Aaron warns, Pharaoh of this Pharaoh throws them out of his court. Pharaoh's servants beg him to reconsider Egypt is being devastated before their eyes.

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00:07:22

Pharaoh, summons, Moses and Aaron back. Okay. You can go into the wilderness to worship, but who's going with you. Moses says everyone's going to church in the wilderness. Pharaoh's reply. Forget it. Men only the women and children will stay as hostages. That's my final offer. A strong East wind blows all night. And the following day Egypt is covered in locusts. The text tells us you couldn't even see the ground. They were so thick. I got to taste of this. When I worked in Texas for a restaurant corporation one morning, when I drove to inspect one of the units, the entire parking lot was covered in black tire marks.

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00:08:03

I asked the owner who is spinning donuts all over the parking lot. He gave me a dull look and motion me outside, pointing down at the tire marks. He said, take a close, look. It wasn't rubber on that parking lot. It was crushed bugs. I could see their little legs for a few nights. Each year, the bugs were so thick on the ground. That accidents would happen when cars would slide through intersections on the bug, slime, the locusts devoured everything that was left. Pharaoh, confesses his sin, and please with them to remove them. Moses prays in a West wind blows them into the red sea. But again, Pharaoh's heart became harder.

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00:08:45

I've heard scholars say all eight of the Contractions so far have attacked Egyptian gods starting with the God of the Nile river. I haven't confirmed. That's true, but I know Contractions nine attack their biggie RA the sun. God, God brought three days of darkness on the land. Heavy darkness. Can't see your hand in front of your face darkness, a darkness that you could feel except in Goshen. Can you imagine seeing Egypt from satellite view, the nation blacked out, but a little window of light over Goshen, somehow Aaron and Moses find their way to Pharaoh's dark palace.

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00:09:30

You can go, but leave your animals as collateral, get out. And if I ever see your faces again, you're dead. Moses says you're right. You'll never see my face again. I've been there for the birth of my babies. I know the difference between hall. That was a big one in honey. Get the car. Now the first nine Contractions clearly got Farrow in the Egyptians attention, but the 10th contraction was the big one. It's a time where there's an overwhelming desire to push. And that's precisely what the hard-hearted Pharaoh will do with the 10th contraction.

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00:10:11

He will push the nation of Israel out of the womb of Egypt. What was that? 10th honey, get the car. It's time to push Contractions God brought on the nation of Egypt. We'll discover that in our next wordpicture.