Series: Exodus
Title: Christ in the Plagues (Pt 1)
Text: Ex 7: 14-8: 17
Date: July 16, 2017
Place: SGBC, New Jersey
Our subject is Christ in the Plagues. (Pt 1) In Exodus 7, God begins to pour out judgement in the first of ten plagues upon Pharaoh and Egypt. We will see three things these plagues represent:
1) They represent the judgement of God poured out on all who refuse to believe on Christ.
2) These judgements also show us something of what Christ bore for his people on the cross.
3) And by taking the negative effects produced by God’s judgment upon Pharaoh and looking at their opposite, positive side, we see something of the effects Christ produces for his people through his blood.
Proposition: In the ten plagues we see the judgment of God and its effects upon those who reject Christ and we see the judgement Christ bore and its effects upon his redeemed.
THE WATER TURNED TO BLOOD
Exodus 7: 14: And the LORD said unto Moses, Pharaoh’s heart is hardened, he refuseth to let the people go. 15: Get thee unto Pharaoh in the morning; lo, he goeth out unto the water; and thou shalt stand by the river’s brink against he come; and the rod which was turned to a serpent shalt thou take in thine hand. 16: And thou shalt say unto him, The LORD God of the Hebrews hath sent me unto thee, saying, Let my people go, that they may serve me in the wilderness: and, behold, hitherto thou wouldest not hear. 17: Thus saith the LORD, In this thou shalt know that I am the LORD: behold, I will smite with the rod that is in mine hand upon the waters which are in the river, and they shall be turned to blood. 18: And the fish that is in the river shall die, and the river shall stink; and the Egyptians shall lothe to drink of the water of the river… 20: And Moses and Aaron did so, as the LORD commanded;…and all the waters that were in the river were turned to blood. 21: And the fish that was in the river died; and the river stank, and the Egyptians could not drink of the water of the river; and there was blood throughout all the land of Egypt….24:And all the Egyptians digged round about the river for water to drink; for they could not drink of the water of the river.
This is the righteous judgment of God poured out upon all men for our sins. Just as the Nile River was the life in Egypt, Christ is the Life of all God’s elect. God smote Christ when he bore the sins of his people on the cross, like as he smote the Nile River. It was the judgment of death which justice demanded of his people that Christ bore as our Substitute!
John 12: 31: [Christ said] Now is the judgment of this world: now shall the prince of this world be cast out. 32: And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me. 33: This he said, signifying what death he should die.
Verse 20 says “all the waters that were in the river were turned to blood. 21: And the fish that was in the river died.” Christ called his people fish; he made his apostles fishers of men. All who were in Christ died when Christ shed his life’s blood on the cross—our old man of sin was crucified with him that body of sin might be destroyed, we died to the law and the law died to us. Christ made us the righteousness of God in him.
Then by God’s effectual grace, the Spirit washes us in his blood in regeneration and makes us willing to drink his blood through faith in him. So his people believe on Christ and rejoice in the voice of the gospel, Christ is our Life, our Righteousness.
This is the first miracle of judgment poured out in Egypt. Remember, Christ’s first miracle when he came to this world? At the wedding in Cana, Christ turned the water, not into blood, but into wine! That is what he does for his people by shedding his blood unto death on the cross. “Thou shalt make them drink of the river of thy pleasures.”
Yet, notice this smiting was done v20, “in the sight of Pharaoh, and in the sight of his servants;…21…and there was blood throughout all Egypt.” This thing was not done in a corner. The gospel of Christ and him crucified has gone into all the world. All have heard of Christ and him crucified.
But most sinners do what Pharaoh did v14:…”Pharaoh’s heart hardened, he refused the word of God….18:…the Egyptians lothed to drink of the water of the river….V21:…and the Egyptians could not drink of the water of the river” Sinner’s are inexcusable for not believing on Christ and hearkening to the voice of Christ’s messenger. Therefore, the same justice Christ bore for his people must be poured out on them and they shall bear it themselves.
Exodus 4: 9: And it shall come to pass, if they will not believe also these two signs, [pictured of Christ our Righteousness and Christ our Sanctification] neither hearken unto thy voice, that thou shalt take of the water of the river, and pour it upon the dry land: and the water which thou takest out of the river shall become blood upon the dry land.
Due to sinners rejecting Christ and his gospel, the same blood that cleanses his people must be poured out on the dry sinner in condemnation. The same gospel that is Life to the believer, must harden the rebel unto death because he refused the word of God. Christ said, “Except ye drink my blood you have no life in you.” (Jn 6: 53) Except we are washed in the blood of Christ our sins remain. Men who loath Christ, who will not drink nor wash in the blood, God in judgment makes it so they cannot drink. Christ very blood shall condemn them and it shall be right for God to do so.
In Revelation 16, we see Christ pour out similar judgment on rebels throughout this gospel age. Seven angels are sent by Christ to pour out “the vials of the wrath of God upon the earth.”
Revelation 16: 3 And the second angel poured out his vial upon the sea; and it became as the blood of a dead man: and every living soul died in the sea. 4: And the third angel poured out his vial upon the rivers and fountains of waters; and they became blood. 5: And I heard the angel of the waters say, Thou art righteous, O Lord, which art, and wast, and shalt be, because thou hast judged thus. 6 For they have shed the blood of saints and prophets, and thou hast given them blood to drink; for they are worthy. 7: And I heard another out of the altar say, Even so, Lord God Almighty, true and righteous are thy judgments.
I ask every unbeliever, to please hear this warning. Maybe God will quicken your heart. As we go through these plaques you will see Pharaoh continually reject God’s word and his heart grows harder and harder. Therefore, God’s plagues upon him become more and more severe. Every time you hear the gospel and refuse to bow to Christ, your heart becomes more and more hard. One day God just might harden your heart so that you can’t! Apply your heart to wisdom right now! Seek him while he may be found! Believe on him now!
THE FROGS
Exodus 8: 3: And the river shall bring forth frogs abundantly, which shall go up and come into thine house, and into thy bedchamber, and upon thy bed, and into the house of thy servants, and upon thy people, and into thine ovens, and into thy kneadingtroughs: 4: And the frogs shall come up both on thee, and upon thy people, and upon all thy servants.
This is the judgment whereby God leaves the sinner to the will of his own corrupt heart. When a sinner rejects Christ, God pours out judgement on him in this life by leaving him to his own sinful-corrupt heart and will. That is the worst thing that can happen to a sinner because in his spiritual deadness, he perverts everything he touches, including the gospel.
Psalm 78: 45: He sent…frogs, which destroyed them. “Destroyed” means to corrupt, mar, to pervert.
2 Thessalonians 2: 10:…they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. 11: And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: 12: That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.
Revelation 16: 13: I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the false prophet
These frogs were filthy. They represent being turned over to all ungodliness so that men rejoice in a perverted religion. This corruption in ungodliness is complete and effects every aspect of a sinner’s life. The frogs were: v3-4: “in thine house, thy bedchamber, thy bed, the house of thy servants, thy people, in thine ovens, in thy kneadingtroughs: both on thee, and upon thy people, and upon all thy servants…and covered the land of Egypt.” We are conceived in sin so our natures are corrupt by our first birth. Left to corrupt hearts, we pervert everything completely, including the gospel of Christ.
(Read Rom 1: 21-32)
Yet, Christ, the last Adam, is that Holy Thing, of the Holy Ghost, in the womb of the virgin. Under the holy law he was obedient from a holy heart, even as he bore the sin and judgment for the ungodliness of his people on the cross. “By his one offering he perfected forever them that are sanctified.” (Heb 10: 14)
Therefore, Christ is our Sanctification. Christ our Sanctification makes his preachers holy with a holy heart and pure motives. Christ our Sanctification sends them preaching the truth in spirit and in truth from his holy word. Christ our Sanctification sends the Holy Spirit of God. Christ our Sanctification makes us be born again by the holy, incorruptible seed, the word of God by which the gospel is preached unto you. So Christ makes those he perfected on the cross, pure and holy within and of God is Christ made unto you Sanctification. That is when we become constrained in the new holy heart by the love of Christ to live unto him that loved us and gave his life for us. That is true holiness!
THE LICE
Exodus 8: 16: And the LORD said unto 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. 17: And they did so;…and it became lice in man, and in beast; all the dust of the land became lice throughout all the land of Egypt.
This represents the judgment of being left under the curse of the law. Lice was made out of the dust to attack their persons, even their beasts. When God pronounced the curse upon Adam and all his offspring for rejecting God’s law, God said, “Cursed is the ground for thy sake…dust thou art and unto dust thou shalt return.” (Gen 3: 17-19)
Therefore, without breaking a single law, we come into this world under the curse of the law because of Adam’s transgression. (Rom 5: 12) Therefore, God is just to pour out punishment upon sinner because we are under the curse by our father Adam.
Yet, the one way God’s elect are saved from the curse is Christ and him crucified.
Galatians 3: 13: Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree:
God said, v16: “Stretch out thy rod, and smite the dust of the land, that it may become lice.” When Christ was made of fleshly dust like unto his brethren, he was not under the curse of the law. So he was fit to take the place of his people. When God made him sin for his people, when God laid on him the iniquity of all his elect, God stretched forth his rod of justice, and smote Christ personally—this smiting was Christ being made a curse for us. “The chastisement of our peace was upon him and with his stripes we are healed.” (Is 53: 5) By Christ suffering the punishment we deserved, Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law.
How thankful to know God is a righteous and just God! Since Christ paid the wages of sin which is death for his people, God will not impute sin to us! By Christ putting our sin away, there is no sin, no curse and therefore no imputation of sin to his people.
But unbeliever, outside of Christ you are under the wrath of God—you are under the curse. “He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.” (Joh 3:36) The same righteous and just God that will not pour his wrath on one who believes on Christ, will in no wise clear one who refuses to believe on Christ.
Proverbs 3:33: The curse of the LORD is in the house of the wicked: but he blesseth the habitation of the just.
Amen!