The tenth and final plague on Egypt, the Passover, was a plague of death for the Egyptians and deliverance for Israel, mirroring how Christ's cross is either a savor of life or death depending on one's belief. The cause of this plague was Pharaoh's continued refusal to obey God, leading to God's judicial hardening of his heart, illustrating that persistent rebellion against God results in a hardened heart. The character of the plague was death, a solemn consequence of sin, as stated in James and Romans, and distinct from the second death in Revelation. Despite the widespread devastation, God protected His people, demonstrating His care by making a distinction between Israel and Egypt, as seen in the absence of flies and hail in Goshen.
Restored with Diffio
Audio restored with Diffio. Diffio processed the original archive recording to reduce noise and produce a cleaner listening version; the original stays available.
Hi everybody, it's here, our brother H.E. McKay. Mr. McKay. Well, then if you didn't get a good night's rest last night and you feel particularly sleepy, maybe you'd like to move over here. See, we will eventually have all of the fuse fitted with the new cushions, But as yet, we don't have these ones. And so if you feel you might succumb to that drowsiness, why it won't bother me at all if you're footlong over here. It would bother me a lot more if you sat on that cushion and went to sleep. We're going to read in the book of Exodus again this morning one final message on Egypt.
Those of you who have been here for these studies on the chart know that we have spent quite a bit of time in connection with the children of Israel in Egypt. Now, some feel we're taking quite a bit of time to get you out of Egypt, but if you feel that way, remember the Israelites were there for at least 200 years, possibly even 400, but at least 200 years. So, don't feel too bad for the few weeks that we have been studying these important chapters. this morning, and you will see that the subject of it is the tenth and final plague sent by God on the land of Egypt.
So we begin reading at Exodus 11 and verse 1. And the Lord said unto Moses, Yet one more plague, yet will I bring one more plague upon Egypt he will let you go hence. When he shall let you go, he shall surely thrust you out hence altogether. Speak now in the ears of the people, and let every man borrow of his neighbor, and every woman of her neighbor, Jews of silver and Jews of gold. And the Lord gave the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians.
Moreover the man Moses was very great in the land of Egypt, in the sight of of servants, and the sight of the people. And Moses said, Thus saith the Lord, about midnight will I go out in the midst of Egypt, and all the firstborn in the land of Egypt shall die, from the firstborn of Pharaoh that sits upon his throne, even unto the firstborn of the maid-servant that is behind the mill, and all the firstborn of beasts. And there shall be a great cry throughout all the land of Egypt. such as there was none like it, nor shall be like it any more. But against any of the children of Israel shall not a dog move his tongue, against man or beast, that ye may know how that the Lord hath put a difference between the Egyptians and Israel.
And all these thy servants shall come down unto me, and bow down themselves unto me, saying, Get thee out, and all the people that follow thee. after that I will go out, and he went out from Pharaoh in a great anger. And the Lord said unto Moses, Pharaoh shall not hearken unto you, that my wonders may be multiplied in the land of Egypt. And Moses on Aaron did all these wonders before Pharaoh, and the Lord hardened Pharaoh's heart so that he would not let the children of Israel go out of his land. that you may have wondered about in the reading of this chapter that I'll just refer to at the beginning before we get right into the message.
The one is the command given to the children of Israel in verse 2 to borrow from their neighbors. Now they were leaving and actually there'd be no opportunity to repay this. And this is borrowed, this business of borrowing, without repaying here, has bothered quite a number of people. It's very unfortunate that the Hebrew word was translated borrow here, because that is not the meaning of it. It is asked. In every reference that we have, both here and in chapter 3 and in chapter 12, where you have this referred to, the word borrow is the simple Hebrew a word for ask.
They were simply to ask for these things. It wasn't the thought of borrowing with the promise of repaying them. That's not in the Hebrew thought at all. It's simply in asking for them. Now I'll deal with that more fully when we get down to that in our message. And then you may have wondered why in verse 8 Moses leaves the of peril it says in a great anger now I think I'm correct in saying this is the only the second time that you read in your Bible this is actually the first time but this is only one of twice in your Bible that you read about Moses being angry he is spoken of as a meekest man in all the earth and yet on two occasions you're of them being angry.
Now I believe in one he was right and the other he was wrong. We will notice the other occasion when we get to it in chapter later in our study on the chart. But here to understand this we would have to go back to the end of the previous chapter and we'd find there the peril after all that God had demonstrated of his power after everything God had done through Moses to break down the stubborn will of this mighty monarch of Egypt. We have Pharaoh at the end of chapter 10 hotly ordering Moses out of his presence.
He says that, where now get out and don't come back again. You're not going to see my face again and Moses says you're right you're not going to see my face again and the next time that Moses saw Pharaoh Pharaoh was dead on the shores of the Red Sea drowned under the judgment of God but here is this meekest man in all the earth and he's angry with a righteous anger refusal on the part of Pharaoh to bow to the will and the command of God.
There's a version of Psalm which says, God is angry with the wicked every day. Now does that mean God doesn't love the wicked? No, it doesn't. As I reared my family of three sons, I was angry with don't apologize for. I was angry at them because I loved them. And I was angry because they were doing something I knew was very detrimental to them. And that if I didn't correct it and correct it in such a way, and they continued in that, it could be disastrous.
So there is a real place for anger in the life of a Christian, not this business of flying off in a rage that is uncontrollable. That's not at all. But it's the anger of love when you see something being done that is wrong and detrimental to the person who is doing it. Now that's why God is angry with the wicked. He loves that. He provided salvation for them. But as the wicked go on disregarding God's love and refusing his gift and signing, as it were, their own eternal death warrant, God's angry with them.
And that the righteous anger of love, he wants them to turn and be saved and delivered from all of their judgment. Now, I'm sure that practically all of you here this morning are familiar with the Passover. We have that in chapter 12, of course, and it's one of the great mountain peaks in our Bible. We will spend a number of Sunday mornings on our study of Exodus chapter 12, though it's a very familiar chapel, so that you know something at least about the Passover.
But I wonder how many of you realize the Passover was a plague. That is, as we were reading here, it was a plague on Egypt. It was a Passover for Israel. And what brought deliverance to Israel brought death to Egypt. So it's the tenth plague sends on Pharaoh and his people and the land of Egypt. I repeat, what was deliverance to Israel was death to the firstborn in Egypt.
Now that's like the cross of Christ. You remember when our Lord died on Calvary, there were two thieves, two manufacturers crucified with him. one on the right hand, one on the left. Now we are not told about the life of those two. Tradition tells us a lot. But tradition very often tells us a lot that isn't true. So we don't know, and we dare not say, what one's life had been any worse than the other. But one of them went to heaven and the other went to hell. One of them was saved and the other was lost. were both right beside the Christ of Calvary.
They both saw the same thing, they both heard the same thing, and yet one died and was lost, and the other was saved and went to paradise. And the cross of Christ is either a savor of life unto life, or of death unto death. That the Christ who died on Calvary's cross as your personal Savior, that brings salvation with all the attendant blessings. That brings it to you. But if you reject, if you refuse to accept Christ as your Savior, the cross of Christ is your final condemnation.
Now you will, if you are unfortunate enough to die on faith in the lake of fire you will be punished for all of your sins be sure of that but you are not going to the lake of fire because of your sins you're going to the lake of fire because you're rejecting God's salvation through Jesus Christ because on Calvary, He made provision to save you from the penalty of your sins. But if you won't receive that, if you brush it aside, then God Himself can't save you.
You have to accept Jesus Christ as your Savior. And if you don't, your final condemnation will be that you rejected Jesus Christ. he that believeth on him, that's on Christ, is not condemned, but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he have not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. You see, it hinges on your believing. God, through his Son, has taken care of the sin question.
And you can have that if you'll accept Jesus Christ. But the very cross that would save you will condemn you if you reject him. So that this tenth plague, it was a plague of death to Egypt. life and deliverance to Israel I'd like to bring before you quite briefly four things regarding this place maybe you can remember them if I enumerate them in this way I want to bring before you the cause of this place why did it come I want to bring before you the character of this place What was it like when it did come?
I want to point out to you the great cry that was caused by this plague. And I'd like to conclude by showing you God's care for his people during this plague. What was the cause of this plague? Why did it come? because of the stubborn, continued refusal of Pharaoh to bow to the command of God. Now, there are details connected with that. God had been dealing with this man, Pharaoh, for some time, just how long I have no way of knowing.
A brother asked me after one of our messages recently, possibly the last one. just how long these ten plays took. That is, how long a period of time did they cover? Well, I said, I didn't know. And once again, I went over these familiar chapters, and they provide no clue. I do not think it was on the lengthy period of time. One of them, at least, was for seven days. Another was for three days. I would judge... that it was at least all compressed into a month of time. Maybe more, maybe less.
But during this time, God has been dealing with this proud monarch of Egypt. He has sent a clear command, Let my people go. And Pharaoh had come back with a defiant refusal, I will not let Israel go. go." All right, so God, here are the consequences. And one after another, nine plagues fall on this man, on his people, on his land. God is giving him to see, and as God himself says, God is giving all men afterwards to see the absolute utter folly of refusing to obey God.
What are you saying? Okay, what's my God to do with me? Why not preach on something that's up to date? This is what has to do with you. Acts 17.31 says, God now commandeth all men everywhere to repent. Have you repented? They know it happened. Then your name is Pharaoh. And you get ready for trouble. Because you, by your refusal to repent and to believe the gospel, you are rebelling against Almighty God.
And here is a supreme example of the utter disastrous folly of pursuing such a course. And so these nine plagues that we're looking at in our last study, these nine plagues they fall one after another on this defiant man now at times he had said on two occasions he said I've sinned and it looked as though he was repented but just as soon as the pressure was taken off he swung right back again to his former Matthew 6 times he hardened his heart and one of the words that's used for that there are 3 different words used in connecting with the hardening of the heart of Pharaoh what one of them is is he became stubborn he just would not bow to God and even though he said he'd sinned when the pressure was taken off he just as stubborn as ever and God God, in
his judicial dealings, said, Pharaoh, I've seen you six times hardening your heart. Stubbornly refuses. Now it's too late. I'm going to take over. And four times you read that God hardened Pharaoh's heart. That's a solemn thing. If you continue to be stubborn against God, God will leave you to become so stubborn that you couldn't believe what he said that's a solemn day I could take two different materials today and I think the Sun is strong enough out there to even to do it today I could take a material in my hand, carried outside, put it in the new day's sun, and a little while it will all have melted away.
Do you know what that is? Have the ice and be melted away. I could take a handful of another material, put it out there, and it would get harder and harder and harder and harder. If I looked at it tonight, when I came to the evening service, it'd be hard. If I looked at it tomorrow, it'd be harder still. If I left it out there the next Monday morning, it'd be harder still. What does happen with it? Quay. My friend, you're either like ice or quay under dawn.
I have been preaching now for almost 50 years. And during those 50 years, I have seen the Spirit of God melt people like us. I've seen them slagger into my gospel meetings there and sit down proud and haughty and hard. I don't believe in this stuff, but I just came along because my wife wanted me to. God went to work. And I sat down beside those same people when they were drenched in peace. No. By the power of God. I have preached almost this long to some people, and they're harder now than they were when I first spoke to them.
What about you? That was the cause of us. What was the character of us? Now notice, for the first time, this was death. Now God gave a warning of that. Do you remember the first point? The water of the river Nile was turned into blood. And all the water they took out of the river, when they poured it out, it was blood. Now that should have been a warning to them. We're on a danger course. This is going to end in death. But while God warned them, he didn't send death until the spray. Now he sent lice, and you can imagine everybody being covered with lice.
What an uncomfortable condition. he sent boils can you imagine everybody breaking out in boils I've had one or two little ones in my life and on my finger and that's all I want but imagine to be covered with boils and one of the words that's used for the boils is a boil that's just pouring out it's awful corruption think of that Lord Santana God sent swarms of flies. The flies are little things, but aren't they aggravating? I know why it is no matter what boot or table we sit at and what restaurant we go to in Greensboro.
There's one fly. I've never been able to tell whether it's the same one, but there's one fly like whatever the McKay's order from the menu, that one fly will be there. Little thing. but it buzzes around it just on your pie and everything just worries can you imagine the whole country full of flies wouldn't that be terrible then God sent hail and other things but only now does he stand dead what's he telling him he's telling him what the whole Bible says sin when it is finished bring forth death James tells us that in the first letter first chapter of his life in Romans 6 23 we read the wages of sin is death and in the prophecy of Ezekiel chapter 18 verse 4 says the soul that sineth It shall
die. Now, that doesn't mean the soul that's in you. That means the individual. And very often, the word soul, in our Bible, while it's used for the inner man, it's also used for the individual. And so he's saying, now, if the father dies, the son isn't going to be put to death for the father. And vice versa. But the soul that's in of it shall die. Well, you say, Mr. McKay, everybody dies eventually. Yes, if our Lord did not come, that will be true. And everyone so far, with exception of two, have died.
But there's another death. You see, you read in Revelation 20, verse 15, Whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. Don't miss that. If you're born once, you'll die twice. If you're born twice, you'll die once. Maybe. I was born once. Sixty-eight years ago. I was born the second one.
Almost fifty years ago. So I've been born twice. I may die once but I'll never die once if the Lord comes I won't even die once we're thinking about that in the first service is one but if you've only been born once you're going to die physically and you're going to die the second death which is the lake of fire and so God is teaching them this solemn lesson in the last plane this is God God's knockout blow. He said, as we read the beginner chapter, he said to Moses, now Moses, I'm going to send one more plague on Egypt and Pharaoh, and after that he's going to let you go.
In fact, he can't get rid of you quick enough. He's going to hurry you up. That's exactly what happened. God was seeking to soften up this man Pharaoh. And instead of the blow softening him, they hardened it. Alright, so God and Moses, here it comes. Here it comes. And here's a knockout blow from the Almighty God. And no puny man can stand before that. And so the character of it was death. Is any wonder then that we read here the words of verse 6 That which is fulfilled in chapter 12 and verse 30.
God has said, and Moses repeats, There will be a great cry for Egypt, such as there never has been, or ever will be before. You know, today, this Lord said, there are going to be cries of sorrow go up from hearts and lips all over the world. today, right here in Greensboro, many more in North Carolina, many more in the United States, many more around the world. And what a crime. But suppose today, in every house in America there was a death.
Just suppose, wouldn't there be a tremendous cry go up to God? from America today? One dead in every house. Now, when we get to chapter 12, where the blow falls, we will see, it says there was not a house where there was not one dead. Then he wondered, this fly went up the drop of the whole of Egypt. What a cry it must have been. But in the midst of this song, God cares for his people.
Do you notice in verse 7, Against thou any of the children of Israel shall not a dog, moose, come against man or beast, that ye may know how that the Lord have put a difference between the Egyptians and Israel. Now I do not know, because the Bible is silent, know if there was any light on the Israelites. I don't think there was, but I can't say there wasn't. He doesn't say. I don't know what there's any boils on. But I do know that in four of the play, it definitely states that God made a difference between them.
There were no flies. In Goshen, where the Israelites went, there was no plague on the cattle that caused all the livestock in Egypt to die. There wasn't a cow, nor a calf, nor a horse, nor an ox died in Goshen. There wasn't any of the hail that deep down the crops and everything living. didn't strike in Goshen. And when there was a darkness huckled down for three days over the land of Egypt, a darkness that gripped them so the people had to stay right where they were.
It's as of Goshen, they had light in their dwellings. But they didn't have to do one thing to make that difference.