Lesson 55 - Junior

Memory Verse

"The LORD cometh out of his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth" (Isaiah 26:21).

Notes

Shelter Offered

Still greater disasters were in store for the Egyptians than they had suffered in the first six plagues. The next ones were going to wound them to their very heart.

But there was mercy mingled with this judgment. God told Moses to tell Pharaoh that He would send a tremendous hailstorm, greater than anything that had ever happened in the land before. It would be so severe that the people who were out in the open would be killed, so Moses warned the king to bring in all his servants and his cattle from the field. After all the grief God had brought upon the Egyptians, one would think the people would have believed instantly that what Moses predicted would come to pass, and would have run for shelter. But some people did not fear the Lord and they stayed in the field and were killed, along with all the cattle that was not in the barns. Would you not think that such people were foolish to stay outside and be Ruled?

Jesus has warned us that the day of His wrath is approaching, and all who want to be saved can come to Him and be sheltered under His Blood. But people go on in their heedless way, not knowing what moment judgement will strike, yet making no preparation to meet God. Lee Lord may come at any moment; then those who are ready will go up to meet Him, and those who are left will have to go through the terrible tribulation. Jesus said two people would be sleeping in one bed; the one would be taken and the other left. Two women will be grinding at the mill; the one will be taken and the other left. Will it not be dreadful to be the one who is left? The Spirit said that "whosoever will" may come, and that means everybody.

God had set up Pharaoh as a king, and had given him great power. It was not the will of God that Pharaoh should be lost; but if he was going to resist God to the end, the Lord wanted all the world to know what would happen to such a man. The greater the height of his power the greater his fall would be. God was going to prove that He was Lord over the universe.

Down through the years many people have tried to deny that the plagues ever came upon Egypt; but in recent times archaeologists have found in the buried ruins of that land notes carved on stone that give the accounts of the supernatural destruction in Egypt, and the exodus of a great company of Hebrew slaves. God's Word stands against the attacks of unbelievers of all ages, and what He has said shall come to pass.

Hail, Thunder, and Lightning

When Moses stretched out his rod the hail began to fall, the thunder crashed loudly, bolts of lightning struck, and fire ran along the ground. Many people pray when they hear the loud clap of thunder; and well they should, for lightning could strike them dead at any moment. But the repentance that comes of fear does not last very long. When the storm has passed and the fear is gone, those prayers are forgotten.

The hailstones were so large that they broke down the grain in the fields, and even the trees, and killed the unprotected people and livestock. But in Goshen there was no storm. Perhaps the Children of Israel heard the thunder and knew what trouble was going on in Egypt; and they probably saw the lightning, too; but they were the children of God and were under His protection. No lightning struck in Goshen; no hail fell on the fields of the Hebrews.

Unrepentant Remorse

Pharaoh begins to see the light. He admits he is a sinner and begs Moses to pray for him. But he still does not say he is sorry for his sins. He is like the people who are sorry their sins get them into trouble, but do not mourn because they have sinned against God.

Moses went out from the presence of Pharaoh, stretched his hands toward the sky, and the storm ceased. But what wreckage it had left behind! All the crops that were ready to be harvested were destroyed; all the trees were broken down; and many people were dead. As soon as the king saw that the storm had stopped, he forgot his confession, and sinned still more.

Holy Boldness

Moses' demands are getting stronger. He is not afraid of Pharaoh (and it is surprising that the king did not try to kill Moses and Aaron), but boldly stands before him and threatens him with more plagues. God's Spirit in the heart of His people makes them bold to stand against sin and the powers of wickedness. We read of the boldness Daniel had when he was threatened with being cast into the lions' den. He prayed as usual, and trusted God to take care of him. The three Hebrew children could say, "We are not careful to answer thee in this matter. If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king. But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods" (Daniel 3:16 18).

Starvation Threatened

Times were getting harder in Egypt. Soon there would be nothing left to eat. The hail had broken down many crops, and now it was said that locusts would come, and that they would eat everything that was left. Pharaoh's servants were becoming desperate. Couldn't the king see that their land was being destroyed? Of what help would all the slaves be if there was nothing to eat? Why not let the people go, and have peace and prosperity in the land again?

Pharaoh considered what they said, and called Moses and Aaron before him. He asked them to repeat exactly what they wanted to do, although we are sure he knew. He thought perhaps by now Moses would compromise and not demand quite so much. But Moses never let down an iota. They must take all they owned when they went to worship God, just as we must consecrate all we possess when we live to please the Saviour. Moses insisted that they all go into the wilderness to worship: the young and the old, the men and women, the children, and the flocks and herds. Pharaoh remained stubborn; so Moses stretched out ' his hand over the land, and the locusts appeared. There were locusts everywhere. The ground was covered with them until a person could not walk without crushing them underfoot. The locusts were in the houses; the air was full of them until they clouded the sky. They ate up every little bit of green that had been left from the hail.

Pharaoh seemed to realise that if this plague continued it would mean the death of them all, so he quickly called for Moses and Aaron again. He admitted he had sinned against God, and against Moses, but he did not say he was sorry. He only wanted to be forgiven so that he would not die. When God took away the locusts He did not leave any in the fields to decay, but blew them all into the Red Sea -- every one of them. And still Pharaoh would not let the people go.

Gross Darkness

Moses did not warn the king of the next plague. In answer to God's command he stretched out his hand and darkness came upon the land. In the beginning God said, "Let there be light," and there was light. The God of Heaven, and not the gods and goddesses that the Egyptians worshiped, has the power over light and darkness. Besides the god of the sun and the god of light in whom the Egyptians believed, there was the goddess of fire who was also proved to be powerless by the plague of darkness. It seems that during this period of darkness even artificial light could not penetrate. The people did not leave their houses for three days because they could see nothing. It was so dark that the darkness could be felt. "But all the children of Israel had light in their dwellings" (Exodus 10:23). Would you not rather have been in a humble home in Goshen where there was light than in Pharaoh's beautiful palace where it was pitch dark? The Egyptians suffered only three days in that darkness; but the sinners who turn from God now and refuse to repent, as well as those Egyptians, are going to hear the judgment of God: "Bind him hand and foot, and take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth" (Matthew 22:13). That darkness will last forever -- it will never end How much more pleasant is the way of the Christian. "The path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day" (Proverbs 4:18).

Jesus is the Light of the world now, and when we get to Heaven we shad see that there will be no need of the sun nor of the moon, because the glory of God win lighten it, and "the Lamb is the light thereof" (Revelation 21:23). No one will ever need to be afraid of the dark.

Pharaoh's Short Yielding

Once more Pharaoh thought he would let the people go -- and even the children this time. But he still wanted them to leave their flocks and herds behind. Moses would not yield. Everything must go! God had commanded it; and besides, If should go into the wilderness with only a few heifers to over as sacrifices unto the Lord, what would happen if God should ask for sheep? Or if they took some sheep, God might ask for cattle. And besides, that great company of people had to have something to eat while they were in the wilderness.

Moses' demands made Pharaoh so angry that he told him to go and never come before him again. Moses agreed to leave Pharaoh, never to return, but before he left he gave the king his final warning, threatening the lives of all their first born.

Questions

1. How was mercy shown to the Egyptians in the seventh plague? Did they an accept it? What happened to those who did not?

2. How can we escape the judgments of God?

3. Was Moses afraid of Pharaoh? Why not?

4. How much are we supposed to give to God when we worship Him?

5. How dark was it in Egypt during the ninth plague? Was it dark in Goshen?