1 00:00:13,200 --> 00:00:16,520 Well, we're returning to Exodus this morning to pick up where 2 00:00:16,520 --> 00:00:20,560 we left off with the plagues that were to come to Egypt. 3 00:00:20,800 --> 00:00:24,560 And I remember the excitement in primary school each spring as 4 00:00:24,560 --> 00:00:27,680 the annual hunt for frog spawn would begin. 5 00:00:28,400 --> 00:00:31,440 We would be told to look out in our gardens or the gardens of 6 00:00:31,440 --> 00:00:36,000 our neighbors for the mass of translucent balls that frogs had 7 00:00:36,000 --> 00:00:38,960 laid on the surface of the ponds. 8 00:00:39,200 --> 00:00:42,960 Now, our garden did have a fish pond, and so I would diligently 9 00:00:42,960 --> 00:00:46,480 go looking for whatever frog spawn I could find. 10 00:00:46,960 --> 00:00:49,720 And the purpose, of course, for looking it was to bring it back 11 00:00:49,720 --> 00:00:53,280 into school, where it would be placed in a bowl or a tank of water, 12 00:00:53,440 --> 00:00:58,150 and we would watch the frog spawn hatch into tadpoles and then 13 00:00:58,150 --> 00:00:59,910 grow into frogs. 14 00:01:01,270 --> 00:01:05,470 Now, before primary school, my only connection with frogs was from 15 00:01:05,470 --> 00:01:06,950 my county down cousin. 16 00:01:07,430 --> 00:01:12,590 She would get a frog, she'd get a straw, she'd then insert that 17 00:01:12,590 --> 00:01:16,390 straw into the frog, and I'd leave the rest to your imagination. 18 00:01:17,750 --> 00:01:19,510 To me, that's what happened. 19 00:01:19,590 --> 00:01:20,310 Frogs. 20 00:01:22,640 --> 00:01:26,040 If you haven't got it yet, maybe that's one way of getting rid 21 00:01:26,040 --> 00:01:26,480 of frogs. 22 00:01:26,480 --> 00:01:28,680 Maybe that's the way my father liked, because every time I went 23 00:01:28,680 --> 00:01:32,640 looking for frog spawn, I could never find it, because my father 24 00:01:32,640 --> 00:01:35,720 would be down as soon as he saw the frog spawn and get it out 25 00:01:35,720 --> 00:01:39,320 of our fish pond, because he knew exactly what frogs would do 26 00:01:39,320 --> 00:01:42,600 to his newly planted garden and those things that he'd planted 27 00:01:42,600 --> 00:01:43,280 in the spring. 28 00:01:43,840 --> 00:01:47,880 But I can remember one year I did find some and I was able to bring 29 00:01:47,880 --> 00:01:48,320 it in. 30 00:01:48,930 --> 00:01:52,490 Unfortunately, it was the year that trouble started in the primary 31 00:01:52,490 --> 00:01:55,730 school, because I can remember that year things moved a lot quicker 32 00:01:55,730 --> 00:01:56,930 than our teacher anticipated. 33 00:01:56,930 --> 00:02:00,930 And after one long spring bank holiday weekend, there were a number 34 00:02:00,930 --> 00:02:02,290 of frogs in our classroom. 35 00:02:02,290 --> 00:02:06,850 Whenever we returned, one or two had made it out of the bowl and 36 00:02:06,850 --> 00:02:08,690 were quite literally hopping on our desks. 37 00:02:08,930 --> 00:02:12,770 But thankfully, the majority stayed in the bowl that was there. 38 00:02:13,330 --> 00:02:16,290 Now, I don't think the teacher was trying to give us any biblical 39 00:02:16,290 --> 00:02:19,640 instruction through this annual event of nature, but it's 40 00:02:19,640 --> 00:02:23,120 always stuck with me, along with what my cousin would have done 41 00:02:23,120 --> 00:02:25,320 with frogs when she came on her holidays. 42 00:02:26,360 --> 00:02:29,800 But there are problematic creatures, we know that. 43 00:02:29,800 --> 00:02:32,720 Well, hopefully we know that they're not just these cute little 44 00:02:32,720 --> 00:02:33,480 green things. 45 00:02:33,800 --> 00:02:35,640 They do cause problems. 46 00:02:36,600 --> 00:02:40,800 And the more frogs you have hopping around a room, the more problems 47 00:02:40,800 --> 00:02:41,960 they will cause. 48 00:02:42,760 --> 00:02:46,360 And this is precisely the situation that we find in Exodus 49 00:02:46,440 --> 00:02:47,000 chapter 8. 50 00:02:47,000 --> 00:02:49,320 Only this is no experiment of nature. 51 00:02:49,640 --> 00:02:54,140 This was divine punishment upon Pharaoh and the Egyptians for 52 00:02:54,140 --> 00:02:57,060 their refusal to let God's people Go. 53 00:02:57,940 --> 00:03:03,020 At the end of chapter seven, we're told that a week passes from 54 00:03:03,020 --> 00:03:06,740 whenever the blood was in the Nile and the canals and all the springs 55 00:03:06,980 --> 00:03:10,340 to when Moses was told to go to Pharaoh again. 56 00:03:12,100 --> 00:03:15,940 And this is what the Lord says, Go to Pharaoh and say to him, 57 00:03:16,100 --> 00:03:17,460 this is what the Lord says. 58 00:03:17,780 --> 00:03:23,170 Let my people go so that they may worship me. 59 00:03:23,330 --> 00:03:26,530 This is a familiar phrase and will become more familiar. 60 00:03:26,610 --> 00:03:29,330 Let my people go, says the Lord. 61 00:03:29,490 --> 00:03:33,770 And verse two, the Lord goes on to tell of the consequences that 62 00:03:33,770 --> 00:03:35,570 will come on Pharaoh if he refuses. 63 00:03:35,570 --> 00:03:40,290 With the expectation, indeed the knowledge that he will refuse. 64 00:03:40,290 --> 00:03:43,090 And it will be a plague of frogs across the whole country. 65 00:03:44,050 --> 00:03:47,490 And so, after the situation with the blood making the water unusable, 66 00:03:47,570 --> 00:03:50,540 you would have thought that Pharaoh would have been more attentive, 67 00:03:50,540 --> 00:03:53,980 he would have been more open to the request to let the children 68 00:03:53,980 --> 00:03:54,740 of Israel go. 69 00:03:54,740 --> 00:03:57,100 But God knows the heart of Pharaoh. 70 00:03:57,100 --> 00:03:59,380 He knows the heart of the world's superpower. 71 00:04:00,660 --> 00:04:03,700 And the punishment for refusing to follow the command of 72 00:04:03,700 --> 00:04:08,020 the Lord will not be simply a few frogs here and there, but they 73 00:04:08,020 --> 00:04:14,660 will be everywhere, leaving life of the Egyptians difficult because 74 00:04:14,660 --> 00:04:18,589 everywhere they step they will have frogs in their way. 75 00:04:19,229 --> 00:04:22,269 Look at how the event is described in verse three. 76 00:04:23,069 --> 00:04:25,629 The Nile will teem with frogs. 77 00:04:25,789 --> 00:04:29,349 They will come up into your palace and your bedroom and onto 78 00:04:29,349 --> 00:04:32,668 your bed, into the houses of your officials and on your people 79 00:04:32,909 --> 00:04:36,109 and into your ovens and kneading troughs. 80 00:04:36,109 --> 00:04:37,389 Do you see where they're going to be? 81 00:04:37,709 --> 00:04:38,989 They're going to be everywhere. 82 00:04:38,989 --> 00:04:43,029 It's not just going to be the purse of Egyptian society or the 83 00:04:43,029 --> 00:04:44,349 civil servants, those officials. 84 00:04:44,589 --> 00:04:47,869 It's actually going to be in Pharaoh's bedchambers as well. 85 00:04:48,410 --> 00:04:50,970 Not even going to be able to get away from the frogs. 86 00:04:51,530 --> 00:04:52,730 They'll be everywhere. 87 00:04:53,050 --> 00:04:55,210 Houses, kitchens, beds. 88 00:04:55,690 --> 00:04:59,850 There'll be no part of normal life left untouched by the arrival 89 00:05:00,170 --> 00:05:01,290 of these things. 90 00:05:02,250 --> 00:05:05,850 And verse five tells us that they will arrive by Aaron again, 91 00:05:06,410 --> 00:05:10,170 once again stretching out a staff over the water sources of Egypt. 92 00:05:10,410 --> 00:05:12,490 And then they will come up out of them. 93 00:05:13,130 --> 00:05:16,650 Verse 6 tells us that this is what indeed Aaron does. 94 00:05:16,650 --> 00:05:20,080 So we must assume that Pharaoh has refused the request. 95 00:05:21,350 --> 00:05:23,910 And so the plague comes upon the land. 96 00:05:25,590 --> 00:05:30,430 Life with these frogs has now become very difficult for Pharaoh's 97 00:05:30,430 --> 00:05:30,710 people. 98 00:05:31,190 --> 00:05:34,590 It hasn't gone unnoticed because the Lord has done exactly 99 00:05:34,590 --> 00:05:35,590 what he said he would. 100 00:05:36,790 --> 00:05:40,630 But there's a deeper meaning to these frogs coming as the second 101 00:05:40,870 --> 00:05:41,430 plague. 102 00:05:42,630 --> 00:05:46,520 The first plague was that plague of blood where the source, 103 00:05:46,520 --> 00:05:50,840 the main source of water for the daily lives of the people was 104 00:05:50,840 --> 00:05:51,480 contaminated. 105 00:05:51,480 --> 00:05:52,200 They Couldn't use it. 106 00:05:52,200 --> 00:05:54,120 They couldn't use it for washing, they couldn't use it for 107 00:05:54,120 --> 00:05:56,440 cooking, they couldn't use it for drinking, they couldn't use it 108 00:05:56,440 --> 00:05:57,600 to water their crops. 109 00:05:58,720 --> 00:06:02,240 But we have to remember that the Egyptians worshiped the Nile 110 00:06:02,640 --> 00:06:05,120 because of these very life giving properties. 111 00:06:06,000 --> 00:06:10,360 But it was into these waters, remember, that Pharaoh wanted to 112 00:06:10,360 --> 00:06:14,160 throw the Israelite babies, to kill them, to control the birth rate. 113 00:06:14,760 --> 00:06:15,400 God's people. 114 00:06:16,200 --> 00:06:20,520 And now from these same water sources come frogs. 115 00:06:21,000 --> 00:06:23,240 First blood and now frogs. 116 00:06:23,560 --> 00:06:27,840 And so this is very significant for the Egyptians because 117 00:06:27,840 --> 00:06:31,720 God has a very serious theological purpose for sending what 118 00:06:31,720 --> 00:06:33,880 seems to be such a silly plague. 119 00:06:33,960 --> 00:06:37,440 I mean, can you imagine it, these frogs just hopping and croaking 120 00:06:37,440 --> 00:06:38,200 throughout the land. 121 00:06:38,200 --> 00:06:39,640 You can nearly laugh at it. 122 00:06:40,530 --> 00:06:43,330 But there's something more deeper going on because once again, 123 00:06:43,410 --> 00:06:48,170 God was demonstrating his power over the gods of Egypt. 124 00:06:48,170 --> 00:06:50,290 This is what Charles Spurgeon says. 125 00:06:52,130 --> 00:06:56,009 There was a subtleness or suitableness in God's choosing the 126 00:06:56,009 --> 00:06:58,770 frogs to humble Egypt's kings. 127 00:06:59,570 --> 00:07:04,370 Because frogs were worshipped by that nation as emblems of the 128 00:07:04,370 --> 00:07:04,770 deity. 129 00:07:05,740 --> 00:07:10,380 Images of certain frog headed goddesses were placed in the catacombs 130 00:07:10,620 --> 00:07:15,180 and frogs themselves were preserved with sacred honours. 131 00:07:16,060 --> 00:07:22,380 These be thy gods, O Egypt, thou shalt have enough of them. 132 00:07:23,020 --> 00:07:27,180 Pharaoh himself shall pay a new reverence to these reptiles. 133 00:07:27,260 --> 00:07:31,700 As the true God is everywhere present around us, in our bedchambers 134 00:07:31,700 --> 00:07:36,200 and in our streets, so shall Pharaoh find every place filled with 135 00:07:36,200 --> 00:07:39,320 what he chooses to call divine. 136 00:07:40,120 --> 00:07:43,240 Is it not a just way of dealing with him? 137 00:07:44,120 --> 00:07:45,560 Asks Spurgeon. 138 00:07:47,000 --> 00:07:52,280 You see, in the great pantheon of Egyptian gods, the frog goddess 139 00:07:52,360 --> 00:07:56,680 Heket was the spouse of the creator God Kunum. 140 00:07:57,080 --> 00:08:00,360 And the Egyptians believed that Kunum fashioned human bodies 141 00:08:00,360 --> 00:08:01,480 on a potter's wheel. 142 00:08:02,180 --> 00:08:07,780 And then Heket, that frog goddess, breathed into them the breath 143 00:08:07,780 --> 00:08:08,500 of life. 144 00:08:09,380 --> 00:08:14,700 She was the agent of life giving power, and she was also the 145 00:08:14,700 --> 00:08:16,660 symbol of fertility. 146 00:08:17,940 --> 00:08:20,980 Is it starting to make a little bit more sense as to why the 147 00:08:20,980 --> 00:08:25,620 second plague is another God to which the Egyptians worship? 148 00:08:26,740 --> 00:08:30,020 You see, the Egyptians relied on Heket for two things in particular. 149 00:08:30,100 --> 00:08:33,280 One was for the control of the frog population. 150 00:08:33,680 --> 00:08:38,000 And so Heket's job was to protect the crocodiles in the Nile 151 00:08:38,160 --> 00:08:42,440 so that they would eat the frogs that needed to be eaten and 152 00:08:42,440 --> 00:08:44,960 thereby keep their population low. 153 00:08:45,280 --> 00:08:48,800 And so when Egypt was overrun with frogs, well then the goddess 154 00:08:48,800 --> 00:08:52,080 Heket was humiliated because what could she do? 155 00:08:52,960 --> 00:08:57,640 The plague proved that she was powerless to resist the mighty strength 156 00:08:57,640 --> 00:08:58,320 of the Lord. 157 00:08:58,640 --> 00:09:02,440 So God is challenging the divine nature that the Egyptians 158 00:09:02,440 --> 00:09:04,460 are plac in this false God. 159 00:09:05,100 --> 00:09:08,260 But Hekat's other responsibility was to assist women 160 00:09:08,260 --> 00:09:09,260 in childbirth. 161 00:09:09,340 --> 00:09:12,100 And since she was the spirit who breathed life into the body, 162 00:09:12,100 --> 00:09:13,180 that's what they believed. 163 00:09:13,260 --> 00:09:16,700 Women turned to her for help when they were in the pains of labor. 164 00:09:17,180 --> 00:09:20,940 And this suggests that there may be a connection between the second 165 00:09:20,940 --> 00:09:24,860 plague and Pharaoh's sin against the Hebrew midwives. 166 00:09:25,500 --> 00:09:28,420 The American commentator Phil Ryken says this. 167 00:09:28,420 --> 00:09:31,860 The very river that Pharaoh used as an instrument of genocide 168 00:09:31,860 --> 00:09:32,860 was turned to blood. 169 00:09:32,860 --> 00:09:37,280 And the first goddess to be Humil was the one who governed labor 170 00:09:37,280 --> 00:09:38,200 and delivery. 171 00:09:38,520 --> 00:09:43,240 There was a connection between Pharaoh's crime, that crime of wanting 172 00:09:43,240 --> 00:09:47,400 to get rid of the children of Israel, and God's punishment. 173 00:09:48,680 --> 00:09:51,720 And all this would have been very apparent to the Egyptians and 174 00:09:51,720 --> 00:09:52,760 to Pharaoh in particular. 175 00:09:52,840 --> 00:09:56,440 This will not have gone unnoticed and the depth of meaning 176 00:09:56,440 --> 00:09:57,800 that is being displayed here. 177 00:09:58,680 --> 00:10:03,210 But as we've seen before, Pharaoh has his magicians, and they're 178 00:10:03,210 --> 00:10:05,730 able to conjure up more frogs. 179 00:10:05,970 --> 00:10:09,970 And of course, this is meant to show their power that Pharaoh 180 00:10:09,970 --> 00:10:12,610 can do as much as the God of the Israelites. 181 00:10:12,930 --> 00:10:15,090 But what do these magicians really do? 182 00:10:15,970 --> 00:10:18,050 They simply add more frogs to the problem. 183 00:10:18,690 --> 00:10:22,010 So rather than getting rid of them, they're adding to Pharaoh's 184 00:10:22,010 --> 00:10:22,250 problem. 185 00:10:22,250 --> 00:10:23,410 They can't get rid of them. 186 00:10:23,810 --> 00:10:27,090 And that's why we see Pharaoh's response in verse eight. 187 00:10:27,650 --> 00:10:28,770 It may surprise us. 188 00:10:28,850 --> 00:10:31,250 Pharaoh's basically asking for a prayer meeting. 189 00:10:31,730 --> 00:10:35,770 He summons Moses and Aaron and says, pray to the Lord to take the 190 00:10:35,770 --> 00:10:40,170 frogs away from me and my people, and I will let your people 191 00:10:40,170 --> 00:10:43,330 go to offer sacrifices to the Lord. 192 00:10:43,410 --> 00:10:44,850 Well, this is enough for Pharaoh. 193 00:10:44,930 --> 00:10:46,530 He's had enough of the frogs. 194 00:10:46,530 --> 00:10:48,050 He can't get rid of them himself. 195 00:10:48,050 --> 00:10:53,060 And so he turns to the only source of where they come from, the 196 00:10:53,060 --> 00:10:54,860 Lord God Almighty. 197 00:10:55,260 --> 00:10:58,660 And you know, this is a remarkable request, Remarkable because 198 00:10:58,660 --> 00:11:02,540 it shows how much Pharaoh has learned about the ways of God. 199 00:11:03,180 --> 00:11:07,740 Remember how he began the first time he encountered Moses? 200 00:11:07,820 --> 00:11:12,060 He asked the question in Exodus 3, verse 2, who is the Lord? 201 00:11:12,380 --> 00:11:14,060 I do not know the Lord. 202 00:11:14,700 --> 00:11:16,060 Well, Pharaoh knows him. 203 00:11:16,060 --> 00:11:19,260 Now Pharaoh turns to him to get rid of these frogs. 204 00:11:21,280 --> 00:11:25,960 And just as God had promised the plague, so Moses knew that God 205 00:11:25,960 --> 00:11:28,560 would be faithful in getting rid of it. 206 00:11:29,680 --> 00:11:33,520 And so Pharaoh's speech to Moses and Aaron begins with the name 207 00:11:33,680 --> 00:11:37,200 that Pharaoh didn't know just a matter of weeks before. 208 00:11:38,640 --> 00:11:40,640 And it is the special name of the Lord. 209 00:11:41,040 --> 00:11:44,640 You see, Pharaoh has learned something of God's power. 210 00:11:45,290 --> 00:11:48,610 The very reason he summons Moses and Aaron was because he knew 211 00:11:48,610 --> 00:11:51,210 that this plague was a divine miracle. 212 00:11:51,290 --> 00:11:55,490 Maybe not Interpreting it as divine punishment, but certainly 213 00:11:55,490 --> 00:11:55,970 as a miracle. 214 00:11:55,970 --> 00:11:59,450 He knew that God had sent the frogs and that only God could take 215 00:11:59,450 --> 00:12:02,810 them away by asking for their removal. 216 00:12:02,970 --> 00:12:06,330 It was Pharaoh who was admitting that the Lord God of Israel 217 00:12:06,730 --> 00:12:08,810 had power over all creation. 218 00:12:09,370 --> 00:12:13,220 And now Pharaoh seems to have understood that the way to gain access 219 00:12:13,220 --> 00:12:15,580 to that power was through prayer. 220 00:12:15,580 --> 00:12:17,860 And so he asks Moses and Aaron to pray for him. 221 00:12:17,860 --> 00:12:20,820 And Moses doesn't refuse this request from Pharaoh. 222 00:12:21,220 --> 00:12:25,020 And we could easily think that this is now going to be the way that 223 00:12:25,020 --> 00:12:25,660 we'd hoped for. 224 00:12:25,660 --> 00:12:28,980 That at last, Pharaoh, he doesn't know there's going to be 225 00:12:28,980 --> 00:12:31,900 10 plagues, but he's realizing who God is, and he let the people 226 00:12:31,900 --> 00:12:32,260 go. 227 00:12:33,140 --> 00:12:35,780 But did you notice what Moses asks in verse nine? 228 00:12:36,260 --> 00:12:40,300 Moses asks Pharaoh when he wants him to pray so that the plague 229 00:12:40,300 --> 00:12:41,910 of frogs will end. 230 00:12:42,950 --> 00:12:44,950 This is what he gets in verse 10. 231 00:12:45,510 --> 00:12:47,190 Tomorrow, Pharaoh said. 232 00:12:47,670 --> 00:12:51,630 Moses replied, it will be as you say, so that you may know there 233 00:12:51,630 --> 00:12:54,310 is no one like the Lord our God. 234 00:12:55,430 --> 00:12:57,830 What was Pharaoh thinking? 235 00:12:58,790 --> 00:13:02,070 If there was three frogs in the house, I would want them away 236 00:13:02,150 --> 00:13:03,110 immediately. 237 00:13:03,590 --> 00:13:05,990 And he's happy to wait until tomorrow morning. 238 00:13:07,280 --> 00:13:08,240 What is he thinking? 239 00:13:08,880 --> 00:13:10,400 Does he think he's still in control? 240 00:13:10,400 --> 00:13:11,840 Well, actually, he does. 241 00:13:13,280 --> 00:13:16,440 Most Egyptians would have asked for the plague to stop right 242 00:13:16,440 --> 00:13:19,840 away, but Pharaoh wants one more chance. 243 00:13:21,120 --> 00:13:23,800 Pharaoh's basically saying, just give me one more night with 244 00:13:23,800 --> 00:13:24,480 these frogs. 245 00:13:24,480 --> 00:13:24,960 Moses. 246 00:13:25,680 --> 00:13:28,640 Perhaps he still hoped that they would hop away on their own 247 00:13:28,960 --> 00:13:31,880 so he could avoid needing God's help and he could declare that 248 00:13:31,880 --> 00:13:34,270 he had defeated the God of Israel. 249 00:13:34,910 --> 00:13:37,750 Or perhaps, and this seems more likely, he thought that even 250 00:13:37,750 --> 00:13:41,910 God would need at least 24 hours to get rid of so many frogs. 251 00:13:41,910 --> 00:13:45,070 Remember, Pharaoh's working in the context where he's divine, but 252 00:13:45,070 --> 00:13:48,629 he's only human, where he sees his magicians as being able to conjure 253 00:13:48,629 --> 00:13:48,870 things. 254 00:13:48,870 --> 00:13:50,830 But perhaps they have said they needed time. 255 00:13:51,310 --> 00:13:54,670 So he's only working within the framework of what he understands. 256 00:13:54,670 --> 00:13:58,920 But yet God will demonstrate a greater understanding to all of this. 257 00:13:59,800 --> 00:14:02,240 Well, whatever Pharaoh was thinking, it's not hard to guess 258 00:14:02,240 --> 00:14:03,400 what Moses had in mind. 259 00:14:03,960 --> 00:14:07,800 By letting Pharaoh decide when the frogs would go, he was showing 260 00:14:07,800 --> 00:14:10,680 his absolute confidence in the power of God. 261 00:14:10,840 --> 00:14:12,920 That's what's on demonstration here. 262 00:14:13,640 --> 00:14:15,640 Moses was not being polite. 263 00:14:15,640 --> 00:14:19,040 By giving some kind of reverence to Pharaoh to make the 264 00:14:19,040 --> 00:14:23,320 decision, this was a public statement of faith. 265 00:14:24,290 --> 00:14:28,050 See, whenever someone performs a miracle, they're always skeptics. 266 00:14:28,530 --> 00:14:32,050 So Moses gave Pharaoh the advantage of setting the time, which 267 00:14:32,050 --> 00:14:34,290 would prove that his power came from God. 268 00:14:34,850 --> 00:14:36,930 And the next day, at Pharaoh's request. 269 00:14:36,930 --> 00:14:39,010 Moses made intercession for Egypt. 270 00:14:39,570 --> 00:14:43,330 And the result, we're told in verses 12 to 14, is that the plague 271 00:14:43,330 --> 00:14:45,170 ends with the death of the frogs. 272 00:14:45,570 --> 00:14:49,250 They now decompose under the heat of the African sun, leaving 273 00:14:49,250 --> 00:14:52,200 a stench that was known throughout the land. 274 00:14:53,560 --> 00:14:56,440 But this doesn't change Pharaoh's heart. 275 00:14:56,840 --> 00:14:58,080 It looked like it was. 276 00:14:58,080 --> 00:15:00,880 It looked as if there was a glimmer of hope that the people would 277 00:15:00,880 --> 00:15:06,680 be set free, but with some breathing space, as verse 15 tells 278 00:15:06,680 --> 00:15:10,520 us, Pharaoh basically returns to business as usual. 279 00:15:11,880 --> 00:15:13,920 But when Pharaoh saw that there was. 280 00:15:13,920 --> 00:15:19,750 This is the key word, relief, he hardened his heart and would not 281 00:15:19,750 --> 00:15:23,990 listen to Moses and Aaron, just as the Lord had said. 282 00:15:25,510 --> 00:15:27,750 This is a sad story for Pharaoh. 283 00:15:28,950 --> 00:15:32,630 When we recount this story, we see that he had all the information 284 00:15:32,870 --> 00:15:35,030 he needed to know who God is. 285 00:15:35,830 --> 00:15:39,590 And he had all the information he needed on how to respond to God. 286 00:15:40,070 --> 00:15:44,880 But instead he chooses to barter with God. 287 00:15:45,600 --> 00:15:49,600 If God does this, then I'll believe in him. 288 00:15:51,680 --> 00:15:56,560 See, Pharaoh wants to relegate God to a transaction that benefits 289 00:15:56,880 --> 00:15:57,280 him. 290 00:15:58,800 --> 00:16:01,600 The only thing that really mattered to Pharaoh was his own personal 291 00:16:01,680 --> 00:16:02,320 comfort. 292 00:16:02,800 --> 00:16:05,760 When he saw that there was a respite from the frogs, that they'd 293 00:16:05,760 --> 00:16:10,870 gone, he once again hardened his heart against God. 294 00:16:12,230 --> 00:16:14,390 And this is a common trait of humanity. 295 00:16:15,270 --> 00:16:17,550 We too are quick to barter with God. 296 00:16:17,550 --> 00:16:21,030 If God would only do this, then I will believe in him. 297 00:16:21,590 --> 00:16:25,149 If God does what I want him to do because I think it will make me 298 00:16:25,149 --> 00:16:27,030 happy, then I'll trust Him. 299 00:16:27,430 --> 00:16:31,190 If God will only change the situation, then I will attend church 300 00:16:31,190 --> 00:16:31,990 regularly. 301 00:16:33,030 --> 00:16:38,480 Like Pharaoh, we set conditions of how and when we will 302 00:16:38,480 --> 00:16:39,520 respond to God. 303 00:16:40,480 --> 00:16:42,480 But this is not how God works. 304 00:16:43,760 --> 00:16:47,280 We've seen this trivial approach in the life of Pharaoh. 305 00:16:47,920 --> 00:16:49,760 But God is the one who made us. 306 00:16:49,760 --> 00:16:51,000 God is the one who keeps us. 307 00:16:51,000 --> 00:16:54,840 And as Paul tells us in Acts 17, verse 28, for in him we live 308 00:16:54,840 --> 00:16:56,480 and move and have our being. 309 00:16:57,440 --> 00:17:00,120 God is the only giver and sustainer of life. 310 00:17:00,120 --> 00:17:02,160 Without him, we have nothing. 311 00:17:02,950 --> 00:17:05,350 We simply know his common grace and all humanity. 312 00:17:05,350 --> 00:17:08,150 But that common grace only goes to a certain point. 313 00:17:08,550 --> 00:17:13,590 It's not saving grace that the Lord lavishingly pours out. 314 00:17:15,350 --> 00:17:19,430 You see, God is the one who not only gives us what we need to 315 00:17:19,430 --> 00:17:23,190 live and move and have our being, but he does give us that way 316 00:17:23,190 --> 00:17:26,630 of salvation, a way that no one else can give. 317 00:17:27,510 --> 00:17:30,790 This is not a transaction on our part, because God has already 318 00:17:30,950 --> 00:17:35,590 demonstrated both his love and his power and sending his one and 319 00:17:35,590 --> 00:17:36,070 only Son. 320 00:17:36,070 --> 00:17:39,470 This is a transaction where our sin is placed on Jesus Christ, 321 00:17:39,470 --> 00:17:40,630 the only Savior. 322 00:17:40,870 --> 00:17:46,070 And that's at no cost to us so that we can know that forgiveness 323 00:17:46,070 --> 00:17:49,430 is ours, that we will have forgiveness of our sins and so escape 324 00:17:49,430 --> 00:17:52,550 the punishment that we deserve because of our sin. 325 00:17:53,110 --> 00:17:55,350 This is truly a free gift. 326 00:17:56,310 --> 00:18:02,240 Yet we go around as if we're the ones in charge and we will have 327 00:18:02,240 --> 00:18:07,040 God do things our way rather than his. 328 00:18:08,640 --> 00:18:10,720 Isn't this how Pharaoh wanted it? 329 00:18:11,200 --> 00:18:12,320 And look what happened. 330 00:18:12,880 --> 00:18:14,040 His heart was hardened. 331 00:18:14,040 --> 00:18:17,680 And as the account in Exodus unfolds, he will be lost in his sin 332 00:18:17,920 --> 00:18:24,200 forever because he thought he was the one who could barter with 333 00:18:24,200 --> 00:18:24,640 God. 334 00:18:26,160 --> 00:18:31,520 See, I want you to love Jesus for who he is and not for whatever 335 00:18:31,600 --> 00:18:35,020 perceived transaction transaction you can get out of Him. 336 00:18:35,740 --> 00:18:39,580 I am a living testimony of what you gain. 337 00:18:40,060 --> 00:18:43,740 You gain far more than you can ever imagine when you come to Christ 338 00:18:43,740 --> 00:18:45,020 and know him fully. 339 00:18:45,340 --> 00:18:48,699 That's what my salvation means, that I have the fullness of 340 00:18:48,699 --> 00:18:49,020 life. 341 00:18:49,980 --> 00:18:54,420 But yet how easily, how so easily I can move into that transactional 342 00:18:54,420 --> 00:18:57,820 nature of the world and think, if I do this, well, then God will 343 00:18:57,820 --> 00:18:58,860 definitely do that. 344 00:18:59,690 --> 00:19:01,330 But that's transaction on my part. 345 00:19:01,330 --> 00:19:02,410 That's not his. 346 00:19:04,330 --> 00:19:08,250 So what will it be for you on this first Sunday of 2026? 347 00:19:09,290 --> 00:19:12,610 Will you continue to barter with God that if he will give you 348 00:19:12,610 --> 00:19:16,090 what you want, then you'll respond to him? 349 00:19:17,930 --> 00:19:20,010 Or will you reverse this notion? 350 00:19:20,250 --> 00:19:24,490 And will you consider God for who he truly is, the one who has 351 00:19:24,490 --> 00:19:29,770 given his all for for you, because his invitation is still for 352 00:19:29,770 --> 00:19:33,730 you today, as his own words tell us in John 5:24. 353 00:19:33,810 --> 00:19:34,890 I tell you the truth. 354 00:19:34,890 --> 00:19:39,610 Whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal 355 00:19:39,610 --> 00:19:41,650 life and will not be condemned. 356 00:19:42,049 --> 00:19:45,650 He has crossed over from death to life. 357 00:19:47,650 --> 00:19:49,090 That's what all of this is about. 358 00:19:50,050 --> 00:19:51,890 Read the story of this Pharaoh. 359 00:19:51,890 --> 00:19:54,910 And he will not move from death to life. 360 00:19:55,230 --> 00:19:59,310 He will remain in death because of the hardness of his heart, 361 00:19:59,630 --> 00:20:03,790 because he thinks he can barter, he can transact with God. 362 00:20:04,590 --> 00:20:05,710 We cannot. 363 00:20:06,910 --> 00:20:12,230 The transaction is already God's where our sin he is willing 364 00:20:12,230 --> 00:20:16,350 to place on his Son so that we can go free. 365 00:20:18,190 --> 00:20:22,800 What will it be on this first Sunday of 2026? 366 00:20:23,920 --> 00:20:26,720 Are you still going to try and do it your way? 367 00:20:26,960 --> 00:20:30,000 Where maybe you turn up on a Sunday and then the rest of the week 368 00:20:30,000 --> 00:20:33,360 is what it is, and then come back as if nothing's happened, yet 369 00:20:33,440 --> 00:20:34,240 so much does. 370 00:20:35,120 --> 00:20:39,520 Where we deny Christ, where we don't live for him, where we continue 371 00:20:39,600 --> 00:20:44,560 to reject him and our hearts are hardened just like the Pharaohs. 372 00:20:45,770 --> 00:20:50,330 The invitation is whoever hears the words of Christ and believes 373 00:20:50,330 --> 00:20:53,050 him who sent has eternal life. 374 00:20:53,850 --> 00:21:01,530 And there will be no condemnation beginning in 2026. 375 00:21:02,810 --> 00:21:04,490 What will it truly be? 376 00:21:05,850 --> 00:21:07,610 I can tell you what I want for you. 377 00:21:08,010 --> 00:21:09,370 I want you to love Jesus. 378 00:21:09,530 --> 00:21:10,210 That's what I want. 379 00:21:10,210 --> 00:21:12,250 I want each and every one of you to love Jesus more. 380 00:21:12,250 --> 00:21:15,490 I want you to know him as your Savior, but I want you to live for 381 00:21:15,490 --> 00:21:20,030 him confidently by way and not slipping into the ways of the world. 382 00:21:20,030 --> 00:21:23,910 Because those ways will not save, those ways will not redeem, 383 00:21:24,070 --> 00:21:26,550 and those ways will not keep you to the end. 384 00:21:27,830 --> 00:21:31,190 Put aside any notion that you can control God. 385 00:21:32,870 --> 00:21:37,070 Put aside any notion that he's your good luck charm, because he's 386 00:21:37,070 --> 00:21:37,350 not. 387 00:21:37,910 --> 00:21:39,430 He is far greater. 388 00:21:39,670 --> 00:21:43,310 And whether you realize it or not, in him you live, you move, and 389 00:21:43,310 --> 00:21:44,550 you have your being. 390 00:21:44,790 --> 00:21:48,070 It is only by him that you have the breath that you're breathing 391 00:21:48,070 --> 00:21:48,560 right now. 392 00:21:48,790 --> 00:21:49,030 Now. 393 00:21:50,550 --> 00:21:52,070 So why are you rejecting Him? 394 00:21:52,470 --> 00:21:54,990 Why are you thinking you can claim his name and then do whatever 395 00:21:54,990 --> 00:21:55,430 you want? 396 00:21:55,990 --> 00:21:56,710 You can't. 397 00:21:57,190 --> 00:21:59,750 For no one can take God for the full. 398 00:22:01,190 --> 00:22:05,870 Trust him and love him and know that assurance that you have 399 00:22:05,870 --> 00:22:08,630 crossed over from death to life. 400 00:22:09,670 --> 00:22:11,750 What's the whole purpose of the Exodus? 401 00:22:11,830 --> 00:22:13,350 Well, it is about salvation. 402 00:22:13,990 --> 00:22:16,790 That indeed we will be sealed for the glory of God. 403 00:22:18,310 --> 00:22:19,430 Truly for our good. 404 00:22:20,230 --> 00:22:22,230 Come to a Savior who invites us. 405 00:22:24,230 --> 00:22:26,950 Come to a Savior who will soften your hard heart. 406 00:22:28,150 --> 00:22:31,590 Come to a Savior who will give you joy and life. 407 00:22:32,390 --> 00:22:35,430 And that's now and forevermore. 408 00:22:36,070 --> 00:22:36,870 Let's pray. 409 00:22:37,990 --> 00:22:41,590 Our Father God, we thank you for your word that encourages us 410 00:22:41,590 --> 00:22:46,100 to look onto Jesus, that indeed our hard hearts will be transformed. 411 00:22:46,900 --> 00:22:48,900 That hearts, just like Pharaoh's. 412 00:22:50,260 --> 00:22:55,780 But we have one who went to the cross for us so that our sins 413 00:22:55,940 --> 00:22:57,660 receive the punishment they deserve. 414 00:22:57,660 --> 00:23:00,020 But not on us, on Him. 415 00:23:01,300 --> 00:23:03,300 So may we never take it for granted. 416 00:23:04,180 --> 00:23:05,780 May we never abuse your name. 417 00:23:06,420 --> 00:23:10,310 May we never try to make a fool of you, because we can't. 418 00:23:11,430 --> 00:23:16,030 May we look only to Jesus in all honesty and in all truth and 419 00:23:16,030 --> 00:23:21,270 live for him as he commands and calls us to this day. 420 00:23:22,150 --> 00:23:23,910 And it's in Christ's name we pray. 421 00:23:24,710 --> 00:23:25,270 Amen.