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A Sermon by Dr. Bob Griffin, Teaching Elder at Sovereign Grace Church
I. YHWH IS SOVEREIGN OVER EGYPT’S KING (PHARAOH)
A. CONFIDENCE
>>1. SPEECH
Ex 7:1-2 And YHWH said to Moses, “See, I have made you like God to Pharaoh, and your brother Aaron shall be your prophet. You shall speak all that I command you, and your brother Aaron shall tell Pharaoh to let the people of Israel go out of his land. (also II Cor 3:2-3)
>>2. STRAIGHTFORWARD
Ex 7:3-4 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 armies, My people – the children of Israel – out of the land of Egypt by great acts of judgment. (also Rom 1:24, 28)
>>3. SUBSTANTIATE
Ex 7:5 The Egyptians shall know that I am YHWH, when I stretch out My hand against Egypt and bring out the people of Israel from among them.”
B. COMMANDMENT
>>1. SUPPORT
Ex 7:6 Moses and Aaron did so; they did exactly as YHWH commanded them.
>>2. SERVICE
Ex 7:7 Now Moses was eighty years old, and Aaron eighty-three years old, when they spoke to Pharaoh.
II. YHWH IS SOVEREIGN OVER EGYPT’S RELIGIOUS LEADERS
A. CONFRONTATION
>>1. SURETY
Ex 7:8-9 Then YHWH said to Moses and Aaron, “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.'” (also Ex 4:1-9; 5:15-19)
>>2. STEADFAST
Ex 7:10 So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and did exactly as YHWH commanded. Aaron cast down his staff before Pharaoh and his servants, and it became a serpent. (also Ps 74:13; Ezek 29:3)
B. COUNTERFEIT
>>1. SUPERIORITY
Ex 7:11-12 Then Pharaoh summoned the wise men and sorcerers, and they, the Priesthood of Egypt, also did the same by their occult practices. For each man cast down his staff, and they became serpents. But Aaron’s staff gulped down their staffs. (also II Tim 3:7-9; II Thes 2:9-10; Ex 15:12)
>>2. STUBBORNESS
Ex 7:13 Still Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, and he would not listen to them, as YHWH had said.
III. YHWH IS SOVEREIGN OVER EGYPT’S SOURCE OF LIFE
A. CONDEMNATION
>>1. STATEMENT
Ex 7:14-16 Then YHWH said to Moses, “Pharaoh’s heart is hardened; he refuses to let the people go. Go to Pharaoh in the morning, as he is going out to the water. Stand on the bank of the Nile to meet him, and take in your hand the staff that turned into a serpent. And you shall say to him, ‘YHWH, the God of the Hebrews, sent me to you, saying, “Let my people go, that they may serve me in the wilderness.” But so far, you have not obeyed. Thus says YHWH, “By this you shall know that I am YHWH . . .”
>>2. SPECIFICS
Ex 7:17b-19 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. The fish in the Nile shall die, and the Nile will stink, and the Egyptians will grow weary of drinking water from the Nile.”
And YHWH said to Moses, “Say to Aaron, ‘Take your staff and stretch out your hand over the waters of Egypt, over their rivers, their canals, and their ponds, and all their pools of water, so that they may become blood, and there shall be blood throughout all the land of Egypt, even in vessels of wood and in vessels of stone.'”
>>3. SUFFERING
Ex 7:20-21 Moses and Aaron did as YHWH commanded. In the sight of Pharaoh and in the sight of his servants he lifted the staff and struck the water in the Nile, and all the water in the Nile turned into blood. And the fish in the Nile died, and the Nile stank, so that the Egyptians could not drink water from the Nile. There was blood throughout all the land of Egypt. (also Ps 78:42-44; 105:29; Rev 16:3-4)
B. CONSEQUENCES
>>1. SPURNED
Ex 7:22 But the Priests of Egypt did the same by their occult practices. So Pharaoh’s heart remained hardened, and he would not listen to them, as YHWH had said.
>>2. SIGNIFICANCE
Ex 7:23-25 Pharaoh turned and went into his house, not taking even a passing thought. All the Egyptians dug along the Nile for water to drink, for they couldn’t drink the water of the Nile. This continued for a full week.