Message 17
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The book of Exodus reveals that God desires to rescue His people from everything other than Himself, that He wants to deliver them from everything that is not God. After the exodus from Egypt, God’s people saw a heavenly vision by which they came to know God Himself and, in addition, to know the kind of living that is in accordance with God. Then they could be built up as God’s dwelling place on earth. This is the basic concept of the book of Exodus.
God longs to rescue His chosen people from every form of usurpation and preoccupation so that they may have nothing besides God Himself. After the children of Israel had been delivered from Egypt and had passed through the Red Sea, they came to Mount Horeb, the mountain of God. At one time, God’s people were in Egypt, living an Egyptian life and performing Egyptian labor under the tyranny of Pharaoh. Although many of them may have had no thought of God, they were nevertheless God’s chosen people, for they had been predestinated by God to be separated unto Him. The first chapters of Exodus reveal that God’s people had been usurped by Satan and were held in bondage under Satan’s hand. At that time, everything related to them was Egyptian. There was nothing about them that was for God. Therefore, God came in to deliver them, to separate them, to release them from Satan’s usurpation and Egypt’s preoccupation, and to bring them to the mountain of God, where there was nothing at all Egyptian. There at the mountain of God the people God had chosen could be alone with Him. When the children of Israel came to Mount Horeb, God was their center, their purpose, their business, and their very life. He was even their home. God was everything to them. In the wilderness, especially at the mountain of God, Mount Horeb, the children of Israel had nothing but God. Many Christians today talk about being saved. But very few realize that to be saved is to be brought to a place where there is nothing but God.
More than any other book in the Bible, the book of Exodus exposes the world. Although the New Testament speaks a great deal about the world, even telling us that the whole world lies in the evil one (1 John 5:19), it does not present a clear picture of what the world is. For this, we must come to the book of Exodus, which is a book of pictures. If we read chapters five through twelve in a proper way, we shall see a series of vivid pictures portraying the nature and meaning of the life of the world.
God wants His people to see the world for what it is. If the element of the world remains in us, we shall be damaged in relation to the fulfilling of God’s purpose. When the children of Israel were in the wilderness, they remembered the enjoyment they had in Egypt. They recalled the taste of the leeks, the onions, and the garlic (Num. 11:5). Due to this remembrance they had a problem with God’s dwelling place. The same is true of Christians today. Because many Christians are still in Egypt, they can have nothing to do with God’s dwelling place. Even those who have been separated from Egypt may still remember the pleasure of Egypt. Hence, we all need to see a clear picture of the life and living in Egypt.
Not only were the ten plagues a warning and a punishment to the Egyptians, but they were also a revelation, an unveiling, to God’s people. By means of these plagues, the children of Israel must have come to see the actual situation of Egyptian living. As a result of these plagues, they must have come to loathe their living in Egypt. God wanted the life in Egypt to be exposed so that His people would hate it and want to flee from it. Therefore, God’s purpose in sending the ten plagues was not only to warn the Egyptians and to punish them. It was also to show His own people what the world was.
The world also needs to be unveiled to God’s people today. God wants His people to be His dwelling place on earth. However, this desire can be fulfilled only if we have been delivered from the world and have nothing besides God Himself. In these days we have been emphasizing the need for the building up of the churches. But if we want to see the churches built up in a practical way, we must come fully out of the world.
On the negative side, the book of Exodus unveils the world. On the positive side, it reveals God’s dwelling place. Firstly, the true nature, meaning, and issue of life in Egypt are exposed to God’s people. God’s intention in giving this revelation is to cause His people to become disgusted with Egypt, to leave Egypt behind, and to be separated to God for His dwelling place. The principle is the same today. If we have not been separated from the world, we cannot become God’s dwelling place. For the building up of His dwelling place, we must see the world as it really is. Furthermore, we must loathe the world’s way of living and be willing to forsake it.
If we see God’s purpose as it is disclosed in the book of Exodus, it will be easier for us to understand the significance of the plagues. God’s intention in sending the plagues was not only to punish the Egyptians; it was also to expose the Egyptian living. Like the Egyptians in the book of Exodus, the people in the world today have no understanding of the actual situation of life in the world. The worldly people have all been drugged. Under the influence of Satan’s drugging, they are happy with their life in the world. They have no realization of what it is to live without God in the world. In their experience, the water of the world needs to be turned into blood. Then they will know the nature of life in the world and the result of living in the world. The nature of life in the world is death, and the result of living in the world is also death.
In the fourth conflict with Pharaoh, the Lord smote all the borders of Egypt with frogs (8:2). Frogs came up from the waters of the rivers, the streams, and the ponds. By coming upon Pharaoh, all his servants, and all the Egyptians, the frogs destroyed the enjoyment of the comfortable Egyptian living. How troublesome these frogs were! By sending the plague of the frogs upon the Egyptians, the Lord wanted the Egyptians to realize that their life in Egypt was not really a life of enjoyment, but a life of trouble. The Egyptians did not realize that, in the eyes of God, all their enjoyments were “frogs.” Everything they gathered from the Nile, the source of the world’s supply, was a frog. The waters in Egypt that once produced fish now brought forth frogs.
In principle, we may experience the same thing today. Throughout the course of my life, I have gathered many things that turned out to be “frogs.” At first, I enjoyed these things. But one by one, they became “frogs.” What I thought was a “fish” was actually a “frog.” Sooner or later, everything you gain in this world will become a “frog.” This means that everything you gather up from the “Nile,” the source of supply for the world, will be a cause of trouble to you. Material possessions and even people dear to you can be “frogs.” When the things we treasure turn into “frogs,” then we realize that the enjoyment of the world is not the true enjoyment. On the contrary, it is very troublesome.
The frogs in Egypt did not kill anyone, but they were a nuisance to everyone. They were everywhere — in their houses, in their bedrooms, upon their beds, in their ovens, and in their kneading troughs. What a nuisance!
Whether the plague of the frogs was a form of punishment or a revelation depended upon the attitude of the people who were subject to the plague. If they had received the Lord’s mercy, it would have been a revelation to them, an exposure of the fact that Egypt with its enjoyment is a land of frogs. This is the meaning of the living of the world. Every aspect of the world’s enjoyment is a “frog.” Those who refused the Lord’s mercy, however, had to endure the plague of the frogs as a punishment.
The Egyptian magicians were able to do three of the things that Aaron did with his rod: change the water into blood, change the rod to a serpent, and bring forth frogs. With their enchantments Pharaoh’s magicians brought up frogs upon the land of Egypt (8:7). However, they could not take the frogs away.
A preacher of the gospel must be able to bring forth “frogs.” This means that he must cause people to realize that all the enjoyments and preoccupations of the world are “frogs.” However, certain philosophical teachers also are able to make people realize that the things of the world usurp them and damage them. Evangelists expose the real situation of living in the world, but some “magicians” or philosophers can do the same thing. As we preached the gospel in China, we frequently encountered such “magicians,” the philosophers of the world. We told the people that life in the world usurps them. Some of the philosophers taught the same thing. For example, Taoism teaches simplicity and selflessness. We also told people that the enjoyment of this world is actually a form of death. Some philosophers taught this also.
However, just as the Egyptian magicians were not able to take away the frogs, so today’s “magicians” cannot take away the “frogs” that trouble people in our time. Those philosophers in China could bring forth the “frogs,” but they could not make them disappear. When Moses cried unto the Lord concerning the frogs, the Lord did according to Moses’ word (8:12-13), and the frogs died out. In the same principle, a proper evangelist not only brings forth “frogs,” but also causes them to be driven away.
Sometimes as we preached to certain of the wealthy people in China, we caused “frogs” to appear to them. This convinced them that the enjoyment of the world is really a nuisance, a cause of unending trouble. At their request, we prayed for them, and the “frogs” were taken away. But this only served to show us that their condition was the same as Pharaoh’s after the frogs were taken away. When Pharaoh saw that there was respite, he hardened his heart and did not hearken to Moses and Aaron (8:15). In the same principle, when these rich people saw that the “frogs” were removed and that there was relief from their situation, they refused to repent and believe in the Lord.
In the fifth conflict, the Lord said to Moses, “Say unto Aaron, Stretch out thy rod, and smite the dust of the land, that it may become lice throughout all the land of Egypt” (8:16). When Aaron stretched out his hand with his rod and smote the dust of the earth, “it became lice in man, and in beast; all the dust of the land became lice throughout all the land of Egypt” (v. 17). Formerly, the dust of Egypt produced grain that could be used for food. But in this plague the dust became lice that caused great discomfort to the Egyptians. The lice were extremely irritating. However, the plague of the lice was not only a punishment, but also a revelation that, ultimately, the dust of Egypt produces lice, not grain for food.
In these plagues God was both wise and merciful. He did not use a powerful weapon to teach the Egyptians a lesson once for all. Instead, He used something very small. If God had suddenly destroyed all the Egyptians, there would have been no warning, no reminder, and no revelation. In His wisdom and mercy, God used lice to expose the situation of the living in Egypt and to encourage His people to get out of Egypt.
God does the same thing in principle today. Again and again He shows us that Egypt is not lovable, and He reminds us not to remain in Egypt. He causes us to see that life in Egypt is disgusting. The water brings forth frogs, and the dust produces lice. He knows that if His people are clear about the situation in Egypt, they will desire to be separated from it. By means of plagues God’s people come to realize that their living should not be the living of the world, but the living unto God in the wilderness.
The plague of the frogs unveils the nature of the water in Egypt, whereas the plague of the lice unveils the nature of the dust in Egypt. The dust becoming lice indicates that the source of the supply of our living in the world eventually becomes a cause of irritation. Today people throughout the world depend upon water and dust for their living. Without these, it is impossible to have the life supply. Although water and dust were created for us by God, they have been taken over by Satan and used for his own evil purpose. Therefore, in His judgment, God exposed the actual nature of the water and dust in their fallen condition. He changed the water into blood and the dust into lice.
The first three plagues — the plagues of the blood, the frogs, and the lice — unveil to us the nature, meaning, and result of living in the world. Those who keep on living in the world will encounter death, trouble, and irritation. We all need to receive such a revelation of the living in the world today. May this vision make such a deep impression upon us that we never forget it.
Pharaoh’s magicians tried to bring forth lice, but they were unable to do so. They admitted to Pharaoh that it was the finger of God that caused the dust of Egypt to become lice. They did not say that it was the hand of God, but the finger of God. This indicates that Jehovah, the God of the Hebrews, was almighty. To their understanding, God had only to use His finger to do something that they were not able to do. However, Pharaoh’s heart remained hard, stubborn, and he hearkened not to Moses and Aaron, as Jehovah had said.
My burden in this message is not to teach the saints that they should not love the world. My burden is to point out the picture portrayed in the book of Exodus. Consider how the plagues of the blood, the frogs, and the lice expose today’s world. Do you still want to settle down in the world? Do you still regard it as the best place for you to dwell? If we are impressed with the picture given in the book of Exodus, we shall desire to get out of today’s Egypt. In His mercy, God has shown us a vivid picture that unveils the nature, meaning, and consequence of living in the world. He desires to rescue us from the world and to bring us to Himself at Mount Horeb, the mount of God. At this mountain, we have no plagues of blood, frogs, and lice. Instead, we have light, revelation, purpose, the presence of God, and a future filled with God’s supply. What a contrast between life in Egypt and life at Mount Horeb! Do you want to be in Egypt with the blood, the frogs, and lice, or do you want to be with God at Mount Horeb? No one needs to advise us to leave the world. If we see the picture portrayed in Exodus, we shall spontaneously loathe the world, flee from it, and be gathered to the Lord at the mountain of God.
