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Firm Foundations

Creation to Christ

Lesson 22 - God Sent Plagues on Egypt; God Passed Over Israel

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REVIEW QUESTIONS:

1. Why did the king of Egypt make the Israelites slaves? Because they had become more in number than the Egyptians, the king was afraid that the Israelites might join with the Egyptians’ enemies to fight against them and take control of Egypt.

2. Who was guiding the king in his wicked plans? Satan.

3. Why would Satan wish to destroy the Israelites? Satan knew that God had promised Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob that one of their descendants would be the Deliverer.

4. Why did God protect and prosper Israel? Because God is unchanging. He was faithful to His promise given to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

5. Why did the Lord allow Pharaoh’s daughter to adopt Moses? Because God planned to use Moses to deliver the Israelites from slavery.

6. Can Satan, any spirit, a human being, or anything hinder God from doing what He plans? No, God does everything He wants to do.

7. Could the Israelites or Moses deliver them from Pharaoh? No.

8. Who is the only one who can deliver a person from Satan’s control? God.

9. Why did God decide to save the Israelites from slavery?

a. Because the Lord saw their suffering and heard their cries.

b. Because God loved them and planned to reveal His love and mercy to them.

c. Because the Lord had promised Abraham that He would make Abraham’s descendants into a great nation and that, through them, the Deliverer would come into the world.

10. Why was the bush which Moses saw not being consumed although it was burning? The bush was not consumed because the Almighty God was in the bush.

11. What does the name of God, “I AM,” mean? It means that God is the self-existent one. He doesn’t need anything or anyone. He was before the beginning of all things. Because He is the Creator of all things, everything is under His power, and He is totally independent of all things.

12. Did God think that the king of Egypt would release the Israelites immediately when Moses told him what the Lord had said? No, He knew that the king would not free the Israelites until he had to. God knows everything.

13. Did the Israelites believe that the Lord had sent Moses? Yes, they did.

14. Is God pleased with and will He accept those who do not believe what He says? No, God rejects and punishes all who treat Him as if He were a liar.

Today’s lesson starts with the Israelites enslaved in Egypt by a powerful pharaoh.

- Probably none of us have been enslaved as the Israelites were.

- But we have been slaves of sin.

Let’s take a look at how God worked deliverance for the Israelites.

God used Moses and Aaron to speak to the king of Egypt, but Pharaoh refused to obey the Lord’s command. (Note: Pharaoh was the title given to all the rulers of Egypt during this period. We are not told in the Bible which pharaoh was in power when Moses became Israel’s leader.) Pharaoh did not know the only true and living God and Creator of the whole earth. The Egyptians did not worship God; they worshiped the things that God had made.

- They worshiped the Nile, the largest river in their country.

- They also worshiped the sun, moon, and many different kinds of animals.

- They had many, many gods.

- In addition, the Egyptians worshiped Pharaoh, their king, as a god.

Most of the people of the world had deliberately turned away from the true knowledge of God.

- They had become foolish in their understanding about Him.

- Because they didn’t want to know God, He allowed them to worship false gods.

Because the majority of the people of the world had turned to worship idols and had lost the true understanding of God, God called Abraham and made him the father of the nation of Israel

- God did this so that, through Israel, He could preserve the true knowledge of God.

- Through them, God planned to make known the truth about Himself to all other people of the world.

- The truth about God is in this book, the Bible, which God gave through the Israelites.

God would have taught the king of Egypt that idols are false gods and that the God of Abraham and Israel is the only true and living God, but Pharaoh did not want to listen.

The generation of Israelites living in Egypt when Moses returned there had not seen any evidence of the Lord’s greatness and power.

- They had only heard about the Lord and what He had done for Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph.

- Now the Lord was going to use this evil Pharaoh and his rebellion to display God’s power and wisdom to this generation of Israelites so that they would know that He was still the almighty and caring God of Israel.

God also planned to show the Egyptians that

- He alone is the true and living God with power over the whole earth.

- The gods whom they trusted and worshiped were unable to protect them from the God of Israel.

- Consider:

Among the Egyptians were intelligent, highly-skilled people: capable writers, mathematicians, chemists, military and civilian leaders, architects, artists, craftsmen, etc. But spiritually, they were totally blind and foolish. Though they held Israel in slavery, the Egyptians themselves were the ones hopelessly enslaved—held captive and completely subservient to Satan. Soon they would know that the God of Israel was alive, powerful, and able to set His people free.

- Consider:

It may be easy for us to see the folly in Egypt’s worship. But remember, Satan had deceived them in a way that they would accept in their day and culture. He is still doing the same thing to people today.

Because Pharaoh was determined to fight against God, God planned to use this wicked king to display His mighty power and terrible judgment on all those who rebel against Him.

This should be a warning to all of us.

- We cannot ignore or fight against God and escape His punishment.

- No one who fights against God can win or escape punishment.

Because the king of Egypt refused to release the Israelites, the Lord began to show His great power. Because of time, we will not read all the details of what happened. But if you want to take the time on your own, you will find the story in Exodus 7:14-10:29.

- First, the Lord turned the water in their river into blood.

- Next, He sent plagues of frogs, lice (gnats), and flies.

- Then God caused the Egyptians’ horses, cattle, sheep, camels, and donkeys to become sick.

- Next, the Lord caused all the Egyptians to have terrible boils.

- This was followed by a terribly destructive hailstorm, a plague of locusts, and three days of thick darkness in all the places where the Egyptians were living. Pharaoh and the Egyptian people could not save themselves from these terrible plagues sent by the Lord. Neither could their false gods save them.

- Note:

Interestingly, each of the plagues pointed to the falseness of a particular god of the Egyptians: for example, their frog god, their sun god, and their storm god.

But for the Lord’s mercy and love to the Israelites, they, too, would have suffered the plagues. The Lord protected the Israelites so that none of these terrible things happened to any of them, even though they were living nearby in the same country.

- The Lord didn’t protect the Israelites because they were without sin or because they deserved His care.

- He protected them because of His love, mercy, and grace.

- Another reason why God protected the Israelites was that God had not forgotten His promises to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. God chose Abraham and promised to bless him and to make his descendants into a great nation and promised that He would be their God.

Although hundreds of years had passed and the Israelites were now slaves in Egypt, God still claimed the Israelites as His special people because they were the descendants which God had promised to Abraham.

- God also protected Israel from the plagues so that the king of Egypt would realize that the God of Israel was the only true and living God in the whole earth. God is supreme and sovereign. He does whatever He chooses to do.

With each of the plagues, the pattern of response was the same:

- Each time the Lord sent a plague on Egypt, Pharaoh called for Moses and asked him to remove the plague.

- Pharaoh claimed that he would then let Israel go.

- When Pharaoh said that he would allow the Israelites to go free, the Lord removed the plague.

- But as soon as the Lord removed the plague, Pharaoh hardened his heart and would not let the Israelites leave Egypt.

- Every time Pharaoh did this, he became more hard-hearted and proud.

Although the Lord had already sent nine terrible plagues on the rebellious Egyptians, the king of Egypt still refused to obey the Lord and let the Israelites go free. God knew all along that Pharaoh would be stubborn and would refuse to release the Israelites.

- Even before He sent Moses back to Egypt, God had told Moses that this would happen.

- God is never surprised by what people do or by what happens.

- He always knows everything before it happens, and He always has His plan worked out so that He always wins, no matter what people say or do.

- This wicked king could not stop God from delivering the descendants of Abraham. The Lord knew that, after this final plague, Pharaoh would release the Israelites.

God told Moses how the Israelites must prepare for the final and most terrible plague of all.

The Israelites were also sinners and deserved to die for their sins.

They also would have suffered through this last terrible judgment if it had not been for the Lord’s mercy and grace

God remembered His promises to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

- God had promised to take Abraham’s descendants back to the land which God had given to them.

- It was now God’s chosen time to do this.

This is what the Lord told Moses that the Israelites must do in order to save their firstborn children from death.

1. They must choose a lamb without blemish.

The head of each home had to choose a lamb or goat. The lamb or goat had to be without blemish.

- Recall:

Do you remember the ram that was to be offered instead of Isaac? It was caught by the horns in a thorny bush. Why was it caught by the horns? God is perfect, and everything that He says and does is perfect. He would never accept as an offering an animal that was sick or hurt.

2. They must kill the lamb and catch its blood in a basin.

The lamb was to be kept until the day specified by the Lord, which was the fourteenth day of the month. They were to kill the lamb in the evening of that day. The lamb must die. Its blood, on which its life depended, must be allowed to flow out. This was to remind the Israelites that the punishment for sin is death.

Recall:

Until Adam and Eve sinned, there was no death in the world. But when Adam and Eve were separated from God because of their disobedience, God said that their bodies must also die. All of Adam and Eve’s descendants were born sinners, separated from God. That is why all people must also die physically, including you and me. If there were no sin in the world, there would be no physical death. If there were no sin, there would be no separation from God in the everlasting fire prepared for Satan and his followers.

Explanation:

When the Israelites killed the lambs and the blood flowed out, the people were reminded that the punishment for sin is death. Just as the ram died instead of Isaac, the perfect lambs which were chosen and killed by the Israelites died instead of their firstborn children.

3. They must place the blood on both of the doorposts and above the door.

God told the Israelites to catch the blood in a basin. Then they were to take a small branch of a certain bush and dip it into the blood. With this bush, they were to put the blood on both sides of the door and over the door of the house where they were going to be eating the lamb on that night. It was the blood of the lamb on the doorpost that would save the firstborn from God’s judgment.

4. They must stay inside the house on which they had placed the blood.

They must not go out of the house until the morning.

Explanation:

The Israelites were to stay inside their houses on which they had placed the blood. It was just as if they were to hide behind the death and blood of the lamb which God said they must kill in place of the firstborn.

5. They must not break any of the lamb’s bones.

They were not to break the bones of the animal when they killed it or ate it.

These were God’s instructions for Israel. They had to do everything exactly as the Lord had told Moses.

- Recall:

God has always been the same. He will not let people save themselves in their own way. Do you remember that He refused to accept the clothing that Adam and Eve made for themselves in the garden of Eden? God also refused the offering that Cain brought because it was not according to His instructions. God told Noah to make the ark exactly as He had instructed him. In the same way, everything had to be done by the Israelites exactly as God had instructed Moses.

- Consider:

God is still the same. He has not changed. We cannot come to God according to our own ideas or the ideas of any other person. We can only come to God according to His way. If we don’t come the way He says, then He will never accept us.

God promised the Israelites that, when He saw the blood on their houses, He would not allow the plague to enter and kill their firstborn.

- Consider:

How would you feel if this was going to happen here? You can well imagine the tremendous fear of God that swept through the Israelites. They knew God meant what He said. They believed and obeyed the Lord.

- Consider:

What do you think would have happened if an Israelite had said, “I’m not going to kill one of my good lambs. I have a sick one. That will do.” Do you think God would have accepted the blood of a sick lamb? Or, what if another man reasoned, “It’s a shame to kill this good lamb. I won’t kill it. I will just tie it up at the door. God will see the living lamb, and He will not kill my child by the plague.” Do you think God would have passed by the firstborn of that house? No! The lamb had to die. The blood must be shed. They must not forget that the punishment for sin is death. It all had to be done the way God had told Moses.

The Israelites were to trust in God who had told them that, when He saw the blood on the doorposts of their houses, their firstborn children and the firstborn of their livestock would not die.

Every firstborn Egyptian child and the firstborn of all the Egyptians’ livestock died.

- Consider:

The punishment for sin is death. But we must remember that the punishment for sin is not only physical death but also everlasting separation from God in the lake of fire.

The Lord passed through Egypt just as He said He would.

- He always does what He says. He doesn’t merely threaten and then not carry out His threats.

- When God decides to punish sinners, there is no way to escape. Because the Israelites had put the blood on their houses in obedience to the Lord, not one of their firstborn children or livestock died.

- God always does what He says.

- He said He would destroy the firstborn in the Egyptian homes, and He did.

- He said He would pass over every house where He saw the blood, and He did.

- The Lord can be trusted to do everything He says.

- Consider:

Had Pharaoh been warned? Yes! He had! All of the other nine plagues that the Lord had promised to send had come, just as announced by Moses. Pharaoh’s refusal to yield to God cost him and all Egypt not only their livestock and crops, but now also their firstborn sons! Because Pharaoh refused to believe God, he and all Egypt paid a horribly tragic price. But even more tragic is the eternal price they would pay for their unbelief: separation from God forever in the Lake of Fire.

Pharaoh called Moses that very night and told him to take the Israelites out of Egypt. Pharaoh thought that he could fight against God and that God couldn’t make him give in, but no one can fight against the Lord and win.

We are fortunate to have this story. We do not need to refuse God as Pharaoh did. We can learn from this awful tragedy to believe God and to believe His Word.

God has not changed.

- He still requires that we believe Him.

- He still judges sin.

- And He still keeps His promises.

The Lord delivered His people just as He had promised He would. God will punish those who fight against Him, but He will show His mercy and give His peace to those who trust Him.

QUESTIONS:

1. What did Pharaoh say when Moses told him that the Lord God of Israel commanded him to let Israel go?

2. Did the king’s answer surprise the Lord?

3. Does anything which a person says, thinks, or does take the Lord by surprise.

4. How did God plan to use this wicked king?

5. How did the Lord show His power?

6. What were those plagues?

7. Why didn’t these plagues also come on the Israelites?

a.

b.

c.

8. Did the Israelites deserve to be protected like this?

9. What did Pharaoh do each time the Lord sent a plague?

10. What did Pharaoh do when the Lord removed the plague?

11. Was the Lord surprised?

12. Was the king of Egypt able to win against God?

13. Can anyone fight against God and win?

14. What was the last judgment which God sent on the Egyptians?

15. What did God tell the Israelites to do so their firstborn children would not die?

a.

b.

c.

d.

e.

16. What would have happened if the Israelites had not done everything exactly as God instructed Moses?

17. Who is the only one who can tell us how we can come to God and be accepted by Him?

18. What happened in the Egyptian homes on that night when God said that He would kill the firstborn of every family?

19. What was God’s promise to the Israelites?

20. What happened to the Israelites?

21. Why didn’t the Israelite children die?

a.

b..

22. Does God always do what He says?

23. What did Pharaoh, the king, tell Moses after the Egyptians’ firstborn children died?

OPTIONAL DISCUSSION QUESTION:

24. What have you learned from this lesson?

Suggested Daily Bible Readings:

Day 106: Joshua, Chapter 24 and Judges, Chapter 1

Day 107: Judges, Chapters 2 and 3

Day 108: Judges, Chapters 4 and 5

Day 109: Judges, Chapters 6 and 7

Day 110: Judges, Chapters 8 and 9