Message 22
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In this message we come to the last conflict between God and Pharaoh. This conflict issued in the tenth plague, the slaughter of the firstborn (Exo. 11:1-10; 12:29-36).
In His dealings with Pharaoh God was patient. He sent Moses to negotiate with Pharaoh twelve times. Recently, as I was considering this, I was surprised that the almighty God, the Creator, could be so patient with Pharaoh. Time after time God had sent a plague upon the Egyptians, but Pharaoh still continued to resist His demand.
Exodus 9:16 says, “But for this cause have I made thee stand, in order to show thee my power; and in order to declare my name throughout all the earth” (Heb.). This verse, God’s word to Pharaoh, indicates that it was God who made Pharaoh to stand. Now we can understand why Pharaoh was so strong to reject God’s demand. Here we see two aspects of God’s sovereignty. On the one hand, God hardened Pharaoh’s heart (11:10). On the other hand, God made him to stand. Because God had hardened Pharaoh’s heart, Pharaoh would not submit to the Lord’s dealings. Furthermore, realizing that Pharaoh, in himself, was not strong enough to stand against Him, God made him to stand. Otherwise, God would have lost the opportunity to make His power known and to declare His name throughout the earth.
I believe that in history Pharaoh is unique in refusing to submit to God’s demands. Not even Nebuchadnezzar stood against God the way Pharaoh did. Although Moses, God’s representative, came to Pharaoh again and again, Pharaoh was not subdued.
In Romans 9 Paul was involved in an argument related to God’s selection. In the course of this argument, he appealed to God’s sovereignty. Using Pharaoh as an example, Paul pointed out that the Lord “has mercy on whom He wills, and He hardens whom He wills” (v. 18). It is all according to God’s sovereign will. Paul also quoted the Lord’s word to Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion” (v. 15). Here Paul spoke very boldly. According to His sovereign will, God willed to have mercy on Moses, and He willed to harden Pharaoh.
Twelve times Moses, an elderly man, came to negotiate with Pharaoh on the Lord’s behalf. Pharaoh, the troubled one, could do nothing with Moses, the troubling one, because Moses was backed by the sovereign Lord. The One in the heavens was standing with Moses. Moses, therefore, is an example of one who had received mercy from God, whereas Pharaoh is an example of one who was wholly set aside by God. Although God set Pharaoh aside, He still used him. Not only was Moses useful to the Lord, but Pharaoh was useful also. Can you believe that Pharaoh also was useful to the Lord? In your heart you probably believe that only Moses was useful to Him. Actually, they were both needed and they were both used.
If Pharaoh had suddenly died after the first or second conflict, Moses’ job would have been cut short, and God would have lost His opportunity to show forth His power and to declare His name. Hence, God needed Pharaoh, and He needed him to stand throughout the twelve conflicts. God made Pharaoh strong to stand throughout these conflicts in order that His purpose might be fulfilled.
If we did not have the book of Exodus with its twelve conflicts between God and Pharaoh, we would not know God adequately with respect to His sovereignty. It is easy to know God’s love, but difficult to know His sovereignty. Through the twelve conflicts and the ten plagues that transpired over a period of time, God’s sovereignty was made known. Throughout the course of Moses’ negotiations with Pharaoh, God came in to manifest His sovereignty.
Sovereignty denotes absolute right, authority, and power. As the sovereign One, God has the right to do anything and to make any decision. Sovereignty is one of God’s attributes.
In His sovereignty God used Pharaoh in addition to using Moses. Without Moses, Pharaoh would not have been useful in this aspect. Likewise, without Pharaoh, Moses would not have been useful. Pharaoh and Moses were a match. One made the demands, the other resisted them, and neither budged even an inch. Each time Moses met with Pharaoh, Moses was more demanding and Pharaoh was more obstinate. Pharaoh was never subdued; he refused to give in. In the confrontation between these two we see a portrait of God’s sovereignty.
God’s sovereignty is also manifested in the plagues, which caused damage to human living conditions in Egypt. The blood ruined the water, and the frogs disturbed the Egyptians’ peace and comfort. In the plagues of the lice and the flies, the soil and the air were damaged. After the flies came the pestilence, and then the plague of the boils that broke forth with blisters. The plague of hail damaged the environment, and the locusts devoured all that remained after the severe damage caused by the hail. Finally, the plague of darkness made it impossible for anyone to move. But even after these nine plagues had passed, Pharaoh still was not subdued, although the entire environment related to human living in Egypt had been damaged. God continued to harden Pharaoh’s heart and to strengthen him that he might stand.
All this is not a question of God’s love, but of God’s sovereignty. In Romans 9 Paul does not deal with the love of God, but with the sovereignty of God. God’s sovereignty is especially seen in Pharaoh, and His mercy is seen in particular with Moses. Therefore, in the confrontation between Moses and Pharaoh, we see a display of God’s sovereignty on the one hand and of His mercy on the other.
While the angels were killing the firstborn of the Egyptians, God preserved the children of Israel and their beasts in peace and calm, even stilling the barking of the dogs. After Pharaoh was subdued by the slaughter of the firstborn, God still caused Israel to plunder the Egyptians of their gold, silver, and raiment. This was all under God’s sovereignty.
Pharaoh’s stubbornness forced God to slaughter the firstborn. Especially in ancient times, the firstborn represented the strong one and the most lovable one. Even today parents may lavish special care upon their firstborn child. In the tenth and last plague, the firstborn of the Egyptians and even the firstborn of their beasts were killed.
When I was young, I disagreed with God regarding the slaughter of the firstborn. Now I can see that God did this according to His sovereignty. There was no need for Him to gain man’s approval before taking this action. He simply gave commandment to the angels, and they carried it out. Do not reason that in doing this God was not loving. Remember, according to the Bible, God is not only loving, but also sovereign. Elsewhere in the Scriptures we see that God is full of mercy and rich in kindness and forgiveness. The New Testament clearly declares that God is love. But the very God who is love came in, according to His sovereignty, to slaughter the firstborn.
In 12:30 we are told that among the Egyptians there was “not a house where there was not one dead.” This slaughter took place at midnight (12:29), the time when people usually enjoy the best sleep. That was the time the angels came to slay the firstborn, the strongest and most lovable ones in all the families in Egypt. By this last plague Pharaoh was subdued (11:1; 12:21-30, 33). He and his servants rose up in the night and called for Moses and Aaron, telling them that they and the children of Israel should go forth out of Egypt and serve the Lord. Pharaoh was subdued to such an extent he was willing to let all Israel go, not only with their little ones, but also with their flocks and herds (12:31-32). He even asked Moses and Aaron to bless him. He and all the Egyptians actually drove the children of Israel out of Egypt (v. 33). The Egyptians were even willing to give the children of Israel whatever they asked. They were willing for the whole nation to be plundered by Israel (v. 36).
When the slaughter of the firstborn of the Egyptians was taking place, the children of Israel were preserved from any kind of bothering and were at rest, enjoying God’s salvation. Exodus 11:7 says, “But against any of the children of Israel shall not a dog move his tongue, against man or beast: that ye may know that Jehovah doth put a difference between the Egyptians and Israel” (Heb.). Where God’s people were, there was no disturbance at all. Under God’s sovereignty, the dogs were not even allowed to bark. While the Egyptians were weeping and crying out, the children of Israel were enjoying a pleasant time. This also manifests God’s sovereignty.
Although Pharaoh was subdued by the last plague, he was only subdued temporarily. After the children of Israel had left Egypt, Pharaoh regretted what he had done and pursued them with chariots. Once again, Pharaoh’s heart became hard. This also was according to God’s sovereignty so that the Egyptians might know that He is the Lord (14:4). Only after the Egyptian forces had been buried in the Red Sea was the Lord finished with Pharaoh. God had no further use for him. Do not say that in His dealings with Pharaoh God was not loving. Once again I must point out that here the question is not love, but sovereignty.
Praise the Lord that in these chapters in Exodus we see the sovereignty of God! We need to worship God for His sovereignty. We should say, “Lord, I worship You for Your sovereignty because Your sovereignty reflects Your mercy. Lord, I am weak and sinful. Sometimes I am even rebellious. But I thank You, Lord, that my heart has been softened and is always willing to repent. Lord, I thank You for giving me such a soft heart.” If you do not know that you should worship God for His sovereignty, you may not realize His mercy to you. But if you know God’s sovereignty, you will thank Him for His mercy. You will realize, even as you come to the meetings of the church, that you are under the Lord’s sovereign mercy. Consider how many people are involved with sinful things or with worldly things. But we desire to come together in the Lord’s presence, to listen to His word, to seek what is on His heart, and to practice being one with Him. This is according to God’s sovereign mercy. Praise Him that we are under His sovereign mercy!
It is of the Lord’s mercy that we can attend the church meetings. Many of us can testify that the happiest nights of the week are the meeting nights. If there were no meetings to attend, what would we do with all our time? In our free time we would be miserable. Praise the Lord that, according to His sovereign mercy, we can come together in the meetings!
The more we recognize God’s sovereignty, the more grateful we shall be for His mercy. Hallelujah, God’s mercy has been sovereignly bestowed upon us! By His mercy, we are not stubborn like Pharaoh. Sometimes we may be stubborn, but in the Lord’s sovereign grace, we can be stubborn only for a short while. Then we repent, either to the Lord or to one we have wronged. This desire to repent is the Lord’s mercy to us.
The morning is an excellent time for us to repent and make confession to the Lord. I thank the Lord that every morning we can have a new beginning. As we spend time with Him, we may realize that we have made mistakes. Then we repent, confess, and experience a genuine spiritual cleansing. What a mercy that we are willing to repent, to confess, and to be cleansed by the Lord! This shows that we are destined not to be Pharaohs, but to be sons of God, sons of mercy.
We should not read these chapters in Exodus as a mere story. These chapters are a valuable portrait revealing the sovereignty of God. Thank the Lord that in the Bible there is a section dedicated to showing forth God’s sovereignty. We need to ponder these chapters again and again, until we see God’s sovereignty and worship Him for it. For years we may have worshipped God for His love, but not for His sovereignty. Now we must worship Him as the sovereign One. We should say, “Lord, You are the sovereign God. Because of Your sovereign mercy, I am one of Your children. Hallelujah, You have predestinated me to be one of Your sons, not to be a Pharaoh.” In a time when so many are given to worldly entertainments, we have the desire to seek the Lord and to meet together in His presence. In God’s sovereign mercy, our hearts have been inclined to Him. Because of His mercy to us, we seek Him day by day. Praise Him that we are not today’s Pharaoh, but today’s Moses!
In the conflicts between God and Pharaoh we also can learn the proper way to work for God. The proper way is not to labor or to endeavor, but to represent Him. Just as Moses was sent by God, so we also must be sent by Him.
Exodus 11:3 says, “The man Moses was very great in the land of Egypt, in the sight of Pharaoh’s servants, and in the sight of the people.” Moses did not fight or even work hard. As God’s representative, he simply came to see Pharaoh again and again. Moses did not come on his own. Every time he came, he came as one sent by God. Furthermore, he did not speak to Pharaoh on his own. He always spoke what the Lord had told him to say, letting Pharaoh know what God required of him. Therefore, Pharaoh was actually not listening to Moses and dealing with him; he was listening to God and dealing with God. Moses was God’s ambassador, God’s sent one. The way to work for God is to be such a representative of God.
I would remind the co-workers that there is no need for us to endeavor so much. This does not mean that we should be idle or lazy. It means that we should spend more time to contact the Lord. In our prayer, we should not pray so much for our work. Instead, we should pray to touch the Lord, to know His heart, and to sense His feeling. We need to stay in His presence until He saturates our being. Then we shall represent Him, and He will send us forth. Remember, it is not up to him who runs nor to him who wills, but to God, the One who shows mercy (Rom. 9:16). There is no need for us to run or to will. Our need is to represent God and to be His sent ones.
An apostle is a sent one. He is sent by the person he represents. As God’s sent ones, we need to have the assurance that wherever we may be, we are there as God’s representatives. We are insignificant and very weak. Actually, we are nothing. But we represent God. As God’s representatives, we do not speak our own words or carry out our own work. We are the bush, and the Lord is the fire burning in the midst of the bush. The fire and the bush are one. When we are in this reality, it is difficult to distinguish the bush from the fire. This reminds us of Paul’s word in 1 Corinthians 6:17: “He who is joined to the Lord is one spirit.” The proper way to work for God is to have the assurance that we represent the One whom we love and serve. Wherever we go, we go not by ourselves, but with Him and in Him.
In these chapters in Exodus we see both the stubborn Pharaoh and Moses, God’s representative. By Pharaoh God made Himself manifest as the sovereign God, but in Moses God had one to represent Him and to execute His will. Praise the Lord that none of us are Pharaoh but we all are Moses, those who are one with the Lord! In His sovereignty and mercy, wherever we go, we go with the Lord, we represent Him, and we execute His will. May we all worship the Lord for His sovereignty and thank Him for His mercy!
