The Final Plague of the Firstborn

Have you ever prayed and felt like God was silent? Bible League International created a free devotional called What to Do When God Seems Silent, a Seven Day Journey of Faith, Hope, and Healing. This short devotional walks you through scripture and gives encouragement to help you trust God, even in seasons when you're struggling to hear his voice. If you're going through a difficult time. Or simply need spiritual refreshing, this resource can help you connect with God's truth. To download for free, text study to nine four eight seven eight. That's study to nine four eight seven eight. Life Audio The Bible Study Podcast, episode nine hundred and seventy one. Today the Bible study podcast continues a study of the book of Exodus with chapter ten. Welcome to the Bible study podcast. I'm your host, Chris Christensen, and we're gonna continue on with more plagues, including some real famous ones. But first a word from this sponsor. 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And now is a great time because Colorado Christian University is giving you a chance to win a $10,000 or $5,000 scholarship toward an associate, bachelor's, or master's degree offered 100% online. Even if you don't win the grand prize, you might still be eligible for a $1,000 scholarship just for entering. Contest ends June 12th. Enter today at ccu.edu slash scholarship. That's cus.edu slash scholarship. I say we're continuing on with more plagues. We start with a plague of locusts, which is really just your Classic. Biblical wrath of God kinda plague. Then the Lord said to Moses, Go to Pharaoh, for I have hardened his heart and the heart of his officials, so that I may perform these signs of mine. Among them. That you may tell your children and grandchildren how I dealt with partially with the Egyptian and how I performed my signs among them. And that you may know that I am the Lord. So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and said to him, This is what the Lord, the God of the Hebrews, says How long will you refuse to humble yourself? Before me. Let my people go, so that they may worship me. If you refuse to let them go, I will bring locusts into your country tomorrow. They will cover the face of the ground so that it cannot be seen. They will devour what little you have left after the hail. Including every tree that is growing in your fields. They will fill your houses and those of all your officials and all the Egyptians. Something neither your parents nor your ancestors Have ever seen from the day they settled in this land. Till now. Then Moses turned and left Pharaoh. Pharaoh's officials said to him, How long will this man be a snare to us? Let the people go, so that they may worship the Lord their God. Do you not realize that Egypt is ruined? Then Moses and Aaron were brought back. Pharaoh. Go worship the Lord your God, he said. Tell me who will be going. Moses answered, We will go with our young and our old With our sons and our daughters and with our flocks and herds. Because we are to celebrate a festival to the Lord. Pharaoh said, The Lord be with you if I let you go along with your women and children. Clearly you are bent on evil, no, have only the men go. And worship the Lord, since that's what you have been asking for. Then Moses and Aaron were driven out of Pharaoh's presence. And the Lord said to Moses, Stretch out your hand over Egypt. So that locusts swarm over the land and devour everything growing in the fields. Everything left by the hail. So Moses stretched out his staff over Egypt, and the Lord made an east wind blow Across the land all that day and all that night. I Morning. brought the locusts. They invaded all Egypt and settled down in every area. of the country in great numbers. Never before have there been such a plague of locusts. Nor will there ever be again. They covered all the ground until it was black. They devoured all that was left after the hail. Everything in the fields. And the fruit on the tree. and the fruit on the trees, nothing green remained on tree or plant in all the land of Egypt. Pharaoh quickly Moses and Aaron and said I have sinned against the Lord, your God, and against you. Now forgive my sin once more. Pray to the Lord your God to take this deadly plague away from me. Moses left Pharaoh and prayed to the Lord. And the Lord changed the wind to a very strong west wind. Caught up the locusts. and carried them into the Red Sea. Not a locust was left anywhere in Egypt. But the Lord hardened Pharaoh's heart. and he would not let the Israelites go. I have to feel like of all the plagues, this is the one that sounds most like a biblical plague. Although I don't know why we pick it out for that. Basically at this point, there's a couple things that have changed. One of the things that has changed is The officials are now arguing with Pharaoh that he needs to let people go. Egypt is in ruin because of these plagues, and it is time. And so Pharaoh starts to bargain more. And he is looking for a solution that is acceptable. He's looking to negotiate. The last time he bargained it was you can't go far. Or This time it's only the men, not the women and the children. And so when Moses says no it has to be all of us, they throw him out. Again a plague comes. At this point If you're Pharaoh Erfe the officials You Should have known That this would happen. We haven't had any of this where Moses says Tomorrow there'll be a plague. Well, not tomorrow, but the next day. Well, not the next day, but the day after. Every time Moses says there's going to be a plague, here's what it's going to be. It has happened. And so Faro and the officials. could have made the decision before the locust came. that they didn't want their crops to be eaten by locusts. They should have known it was coming. They were told it was coming. God has been true to God's word. And so The locusts come and they eat everything. Again, Pharaoh. Has a change of heart. Only up until Plague disappears. Again, change is hard. And giving up power is hard. And Pharaoh isn't there yet. The Plague of Darkness. Then the Lord said to Moses, Stretch out your hand towards the sky, so that darkness spreads over Egypt, darkness that can be felt. So Moses stretched out his hand toward the sky and And total darkness covered all Egypt for three days. No one could see anyone else or move about for three days. Yet all the Israelites had light in the places where they lived. Then Pharaoh summoned Moses and said, Go worship the Lord. Even your women and children may go with you, only leave your flocks. And herds. Behind. But Moses said, You must allow us to have sacrifices and burnt offerings. To present to the Lord our God, our livestock too must go with us, not a hoof. Is to be left behind. We have to use some of them in worshiping the Lord our God. And until we get there we will not know What we are to use to worship the Lord. But the Lord hardened Pharaoh's heart, and he was not willing to let them go. Pharaoh said to Moses, Get out of my sight. Make sure you do not appear before me again. The day you see my face you will die. Just as you say, Moses replied. I will never appear before you again. Again, something changed. Did you notice this time there was no warning? There was no Moses appearing before Pharaoh and saying, If you don't let us go, there'll be a plague. So that's a change. There's this plague of darkness for three days only in the land of Egypt, not in the land of Goshen. Which is that sub region of Egypt where the Israelites live. And Pharaoh goes further. Okay, uh you can take your women and children, but not your flocks. I have to wonder, was there a point at which Pharaoh could have said yes and the people would have gone. And they would have worship God and then had to come back. Because that's what told Pharaoh they would do. The Lord just know that Pharaoh would never say yes up until he said yes and now go completely. Probably. At this point Pharaoh is done. He doesn't ever want to hear from Moses again. If you appear before us again, you're going to die. Pharaoh as far as he knows. is done. negotiating and he's done With these problematic Israelites. But there's another plague. Plague of the Firstborn, Chapter eleven. Now the Lord had said to Moses, I will bring one more plague on Pharaoh and onto Egypt. After that he will let you go from here, and when he does, he will drive you out completely. Tell the people that men and women alike are to ask their neighbors for articles of silver and gold. The Lord made the Egyptians favorably disposed toward the people, and Moses himself was highly regarded in Egypt by Pharaoh's officials and by the people. So Moses said, This is what the Lord says about midnight, I will go throughout Egypt and Every firstborn son in Egypt will die. From the firstborn of Pharaoh. Who sits on the throne? to the firstborn son of the female slave.