Message 16
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The book of Exodus is a book of pictures, not a book of philosophy. The pictures in the first part of Exodus present a portrait of life in the world under Satan’s usurpation. By means of these pictures the nature of such a life is exposed. The pictures in this book also unveil the desire of God’s heart with respect to His chosen people. God said to Pharaoh, “Let my people go, that they may hold a feast unto me in the wilderness” (5:1). God’s people had fallen into a worldly life under Satan’s usurpation. As the book of Exodus reveals, God delivered them from this and brought them into the wilderness and to the mountain, where they received a heavenly vision of the pattern of God’s dwelling place on earth. God wanted the tabernacle to be His dwelling place. This was the desire of His heart.
In order to expose the real situation of life in the world under Pharaoh’s usurpation, the book of Exodus describes twelve conflicts between Jehovah and Pharaoh. In the first conflict there were no miracles, plagues, or judgments. Instead, there was simply the negotiation between Jehovah and Pharaoh. God demanded that Pharaoh let His people go into the wilderness a three days’ journey to hold a feast unto Him. But Pharaoh refused to acknowledge Jehovah or to hearken to His demand.
In the second conflict there was a miracle, but no plague; there was exposure, but no judgment. In 7:9 the Lord said, “When Pharaoh shall speak unto you, saying, Show a miracle for you: then thou shalt say unto Aaron, Take thy rod, and cast it before Pharaoh, and it shall become a serpent.” The purpose of this miracle was to expose the actual situation of life in the world. For this reason, the second conflict involved exposure, but not judgment.
After the first two conflicts, the plagues began to come upon Pharaoh and his people. In Exodus there are two groups of ten items: the ten plagues that came upon the Egyptians and the Ten Commandments that were given to God’s people. The ten plagues can be grouped into four categories. The first group includes the plagues of blood, frogs, and lice; the second group, the plagues of flies, murrain, and boils; the third group, the plagues of hail, locusts, and darkness; and finally, the plague of the killing of the firstborn. Each plague was more severe than the one before. The plagues in the first group were troublesome, but they were not injurious. The plagues in the second group caused harm both to beasts and to men. The plagues in the third group destroyed the environment, and the last plague terminated the worldly life. In the last plague, all the firstborn in the land of Egypt died, from the firstborn of Pharaoh to the firstborn of the maidservants (Exo. 11:5).
In Revelation 16 we see the seven ultimate plagues that God will send upon the earth, plagues that will come toward the end of the great tribulation. These seven plagues will be “the seven bowls of the fury of God” (Rev. 16:1). In many respects, the seven plagues in Revelation are similar to the ten plagues in Exodus. By means of the ten plagues God was able to accomplish the exodus of His chosen people from Egypt. During the great tribulation, the seven plagues will enable God’s people to make their final exodus from the world. At the end of this age, most of God’s people will still be in Egypt, that is, in the world. In their time, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob had no need of an exodus. In like manner, the overcomers at the end time will have no need of an exodus. Therefore, they will be raptured before the tribulation. The majority of Christians, however, will need an exodus. By the seven last plagues, God will bring His people out of the world.
Let us now consider the second conflict between Jehovah and Pharaoh (Exo. 7:8-14). Exodus 7:10 says, “And Moses and Aaron went in unto Pharaoh, and they did so as Jehovah had commanded: and Aaron cast down his rod before Pharaoh, and before his servants, and it became a serpent” (Heb.). I doubt that Pharaoh and his servants realized that the significance of this miracle was to expose the fact that their life was a life under Satan’s usurping hand, that their living in Egypt was under the Devil’s usurpation and possession. Pharaoh and his people relied on the natural resources of Egypt, especially on the rich supply of the Nile. This supply was their “rod,” a rod which was actually a serpent, the Devil. In God’s eyes Pharaoh and the Egyptians were relying on Satan and were living under Satan’s usurping hand.
This exposure was not a punishment, but an expression of God’s mercy. In His mercy God exposed the true nature of Egyptian living. He wanted the Egyptians to know that everything they relied on was of the Devil. God’s intention in this exposure was to cause them to forsake that kind of living. The principle is the same today. When God comes to us, He does not firstly punish the self, the flesh, or the old man. In His mercy He firstly exposes the satanic nature of our fallen life.
Pharaoh called upon the magicians to do the same thing with their rods as Aaron had done with his (7:11). Verse 12 says, “For they cast down every man his rod, and they became serpents: but Aaron’s rod swallowed up their rods.” Years ago, I wondered why the Egyptian magicians were able to do the same thing Aaron had done. I asked the Lord concerning this and told Him that I did not see how such a thing could happen. We may encounter a similar situation in the preaching of the gospel. We may compare the philosophers of the world today to those magicians. These philosophers may teach things similar to what we preach in the gospel. We may expose the nature of the fallen human life, and they may do the same. We may speak about the preoccupations of life in the world, and they may do this also. Nevertheless, just as Aaron’s rod swallowed up the rods of the Egyptian magicians, so the preaching of the gospel swallows up today’s philosophical teachings.
We experienced this many times in our gospel preaching in China, where there were many “magicians,” or philosophical teachers. Certain teachings of these philosophers were nearly the same as some of the teachings in the Bible. For example, the Bible teaches that we should not love the world. Some Chinese philosophers taught the same thing. However, in our preaching of the gospel Aaron’s rod swallowed up the rods of the “magicians.” Philosophers from colleges and universities sometimes attended our gospel meetings. Instead of being threatened by their presence, we called on the Lord and asked Him to deal with these people. He showed forth His wisdom, and we saw the gospel swallow up the teaching of the philosophers.
The gospel swallows up all the philosophies of the world. Do not be threatened or discouraged in your preaching of the gospel. Rather, believe that your rod will swallow up the philosophical rods. Nothing can overcome the gospel. Although the gospel is not philosophy, nothing is more philosophical than the gospel. For this reason the gospel is able to swallow up the rods of the world’s philosophers.
In verses 13 and 14 we see the issue of the second conflict. Verse 13 says, “And Pharaoh’s heart was hard, that he hearkened not unto them” (Heb.). Most versions of the Bible say that Pharaoh’s heart was hardened. This, however, is not the meaning here. Such a rendering implies that Pharaoh’s heart may have been soft but that it became hard. But Pharaoh’s heart was hard from the very beginning. Darby says that the Hebrew word for hard in this verse means stubborn. Because Pharaoh’s heart was stubborn, it could not be changed. The second conflict exposed the hardness of Pharaoh’s heart.
A further issue of this conflict was Pharaoh’s refusal to let the children of Israel go (v. 14). The first time God came in, Pharaoh refused to hearken to His word. This time Pharaoh refused to hearken to God’s demand, even after God had exposed the nature of life in the world under Satan. This forced God to deal with Pharaoh more severely in the third conflict.
This conflict took place in the morning by the brink of the river Nile (7:15). Two other conflicts also took place early in the morning (8:20; 9:13). Pharaoh may have gone down to the river to relax and to enjoy a time of pleasantness and ease. But his relaxation was disturbed by the presence of Moses and Aaron. God had charged them to confront Pharaoh again with His demand. God’s intention was to let Pharaoh know that this was no time to relax. Rather, it was time for the nature of life in Egypt to be exposed. Pharaoh had to see that life in Egypt was not a life of rest and enjoyment, but a life of blood. There are times today also that we need to go to the place where the worldly people have their pleasure to expose to them the fact that all their worldly entertainments and pleasures issue in death.
Moses and Aaron repeated the same demand they had made before: “Let my people go, that they may serve me in the wilderness” (7:16). This time God’s demand was backed up by the first plague.
On behalf of Jehovah, Moses and Aaron were to say to Pharaoh, “In this thou shalt know that I am Jehovah: Behold, I will smite with the rod that is in mine hand upon the waters which are in the river, and they shall be turned to blood” (7:17, Heb.). Because God is Jehovah, whatever He says comes to pass. Jehovah had said, “Let My people go.” Although Pharaoh may resist this word, he will eventually be subdued and know that God is Jehovah.
According to verse 19, Aaron was to take the rod and stretch out his hand “upon the waters of Egypt, upon their streams, upon their rivers, and upon their ponds, and upon all their pools of water, that they may become blood; and that there may be blood throughout all the land of Egypt.” Aaron did so, and throughout the whole land of Egypt the water was turned into blood, even the water in vessels of wood and of stone. Because the waters of the Nile were turned to blood, the fish in the river died, the river stank, and the Egyptians could not drink of the water of the river (v. 21). The Egyptians digged round about the river for water to drink. It may have been that the water became blood as soon as they found it.
The first plague gives a thorough indication that the life of Egypt, that is, the life of the world, issues in nothing but death. It does not matter where the water of the world is, in a river, pond, or vessel, the issue is death. This plague was the beginning of the punishment and destruction of Egyptian life. In this way God began to destroy the life of worldly enjoyment. If we realize the significance of this plague, we shall know that under the wrath of God’s judgment the life of the world issues in death.
Many of us have experienced this. While we were indulging in some form of worldly pleasure, the water suddenly became blood. This was both a punishment and an exposure. Through that exposure we saw that worldly entertainments and amusements are not the real pleasures, but are pleasures that issue in death. In the eyes of God, the waters of Egypt are not waters at all; they are blood. By causing the water of the world to turn into blood, God exposes the true nature of worldly pleasure. He unveils the fact that the people in the world are drinking blood. According to Revelation 16, near the end of the great tribulation God will once again change the water of the world into blood. This blood represents death, the issue of a life of sin.
We have pointed out that the first plague, which lasted seven days (7:25), exposed Egyptian life. If the Egyptians had repented, this exposure would not have been a punishment to them. But because they did not repent, it became a form of punishment. The principle is the same in the preaching of the gospel today. If sinners receive the word of the gospel, this word will simply expose them. But if they will not receive it, it will be to them a word of judgment. The Lord Jesus Himself indicated that those who do not receive His word will be judged by the very word they reject (John 12:48).
The first plague reveals that God is merciful and wise. In this plague He did not kill the Egyptians. He simply turned the water into blood in order to warn them and expose them. He did nothing here to hurt them directly. If Pharaoh had accepted this exposure, it would have been a mercy to him. But because he rejected it, it became judgment instead. God is not unkind in His dealings with people. On the contrary, He is wise and very merciful. Therefore, in the punishment of the first plague there was a merciful warning.
The purpose of the first plague was to make the Egyptians know that their worldly supply and enjoyment issued in death. The death signified by the blood unveiled the nature and significance of life in the world.
Once again, the magicians of Egypt were able to do the same thing with their enchantments as Moses and Aaron had done with the rod. However, although they could bring the blood in, they were not able to get rid of it. Today the philosophers of the world can expose that life in the world is actually death, but they do not have the means to take away the death. Only the gospel can do this.
The issue of the third conflict was that for the second time the hardness of Pharaoh’s heart was exposed. Once again he did not hearken to Moses and Aaron. Verse 23 says, “And Pharaoh turned and went into his house, neither did he set his heart to this also.” Because Pharaoh was stubborn, he had no heart for God’s demand. This made it necessary for the second plague to come upon the Egyptians.
