Abounding Grace

Guest (Male): Coming up today on Abounding Grace.

Pastor Ed Taylor: We see it in the deliverance of Noah and his family. We see it in the deliverance of Lot and his family. We see it in the deliverance of Rahab and her family. And we see it in the future that he will deliver the church in a moment, in a twinkling of an eye at the last trumpet. The dead will be raised incorruptible and we shall be all changed.

There is a generation that will be changed at the last trumpet, the rapture of the church. Distinctions. You see it all throughout the scripture.

Guest (Male): Today on Abounding Grace, Pastor Ed Taylor brings us a study in Exodus chapters seven and eight. Can you think of an example of a hard heart in the Bible? No doubt, many of you immediately think of Pharaoh, and for good reason. As we will see today, God gave him chance after chance to do what he told him to do.

When the pressure was on, Pharaoh would comply, but when the pressure was off, he was back to doing things his way rather than God's. Well, there are quite a number of people like Pharaoh living today, and maybe some or a lot of his stubbornness can be seen in your life. Let's be encouraged by the scriptures to go God's way instead of our own. Here is Pastor Ed.

Pastor Ed Taylor: "Then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron and said, 'Entreat the Lord that he may take away the frogs from me and from my people, and I will let the people go that they may sacrifice to the Lord.'" Really? It happened that fast? Read on.

"Moses said to Pharaoh, 'Accept the honor of saying when I shall intercede for you, for your servants and your people to destroy the frogs from you and your houses that they may remain in the river only.'" So he said, "Tomorrow." Mark that word. Very important. And he said, "Let it be according to your word that you may know that there is no one like the Lord our God. And the frogs shall depart from you and from your houses, from your servants, from your people. They shall remain in the river only."

Sounds like Pharaoh's softening a little. The language: "Oh, please pray and take away the frogs." But not really. We get a hint in verse eight as you read carefully by the word "the". He says, "Entreat the Lord that he may take away the frogs from me and from my people." Pharaoh calls upon the Lord, but he doesn't admit his power, his authority, his ownership, his sovereignty. He doesn't call upon his Lord. He just calls upon the Lord. That's very important.

This is not what it sounds, which I thought was a wonderful thing for our brother Brad to lead us in prayer today because that one prayer request to see with spiritual eyes—all I could keep thinking and praying for was discernment. Discernment. That we could see and to know the way God sees and knows in a situation.

And there's discernment here because all the words are right. He even offers in verse eight to let the people go, but he's not repenting here. He's not admitting here. He's not declaring here. No, instead, quietly, progressively, his heart continues to harden. Chapter seven and verses 13 and 14. Chapter seven, verses 22 and 23.

Now later on, notice in verse 15, you need discernment at verse eight, but verse 15 you know. "Pharaoh saw there was relief, he hardened his heart, did not heed them as the Lord had said." And life is like that. There are times in situations where you need discernment, but if you don't have discernment in verse eight, just know verse 15 is coming. You'll know. You can trust the Lord.

Sometimes God will give it to you in verse eight and go, "No, I don't think this is legit." But Moses doesn't know yet and he's like, "Okay, this is it. We're done. All it took was two: blood and frogs. That's it." And Moses asked him—this is so instructive; this is the word of the Lord to someone—he says, "Hey, when should I do this?" And Pharaoh's answer was, "Tomorrow."

And you have to stand here. Again, I want to encourage you as you're reading through the Bible to the best of your sanctified imagination, just act like you're there watching it and listening to it. You've got all the nasty frogs around and you are out digging for water around the bloody Nile, which is huge. And you're just there and you're listening to Pharaoh.

I say, "Hey, when do you want me to ask God? It's obvious that God listens. I'm representing God. When do you want?" "Oh, we can go through this one more day. Tell him tomorrow. We'll be all right. We've done seven days with a bloody river and we can last. We don't want seven days with the frogs, but ask him tomorrow." Tomorrow? Are you out of your mind? Yes, he is.

There are frogs everywhere: frogs in his bed, frogs in his kitchen, frogs in his robe. And he's saying tomorrow? Why not today? Well, maybe he was hoping they'd disappear on their own, but his heart is hard. That's why. There's no indication of a softened heart here.

Part of me, I'm looking at this and I'm like, this doesn't make sense. But the other part of me, a larger part of me is not just looking at this puzzled, but I also look at this grieved because so many today are like Pharaoh. Maybe tomorrow. Maybe tomorrow. They hear the gospel. They have that Bible that was given to them. They've been invited to church.

There are some right now as I'm speaking that that little invitation that you gave for Resurrection weekend is in their house. It's on one of their tables behind the little cubby there or maybe in the back of their car on that back window and it's just getting faded out. Maybe tomorrow. Maybe tomorrow.

But today is the day of salvation, the Bible says. Second Corinthians chapter six: "Behold now is the accepted time. Behold now is the day of salvation." With all the frogs and all the blood and all the stink. All the stink of life. The separation. What sin has done. The stench.

It says right here in verse 12, notice: "Then Moses and Aaron went out from Pharaoh, and Moses cried out to the Lord concerning the frogs which he had brought against Pharaoh. And the Lord did according to the word of Moses. The frogs died out of the houses and out of the courtyards and out of the fields. They gathered them together in heaps and the land stank."

And when Pharaoh saw there was relief, he hardened his heart and did not heed them as the Lord had said. And the stench has filled the land. Piles and piles, heaps and heaps of dead decaying frogs.

It reminded me—you have these memories—but I remember visually, I have a visual memory and a nose memory when we dissected frogs in high school. I couldn't keep it in. I can't deal with that kind of stuff. And I remember the smell and I remember it all and I remember having to step out of the class.

It wasn't just our frog; the classroom was filled with cut-up frogs that we were supposed to take and go really close and take out all the pieces. And I'm like, "Who wants to do this with their life? Why are we doing this?" This is one of those things in high school that I have never used in real life. Never! They taught us all kinds of things we never use in our entire life.

But I remember the smell. It came back to me. Just like 15 frogs, we had to all team up. Oh. But each smell, each breath of the smell, was a reminder of Pharaoh's failure, of the magician's weakness and ineptitude. And Pharaoh had time to think on this and what was his response? He hardened his heart.

He didn't keep his word. He voluntarily hardened his heart. Moses and Aaron kept their commitment. God answered their prayer, kept his part of the deal, but Pharaoh refused to keep his word. Why? Because he wasn't interested the way it sounds. He wasn't interested in God or the children of Israel. He didn't even at this point care about his reputation. He just wanted relief.

I have met many men and women who in their desperation make promises and commitments, and we hope you keep them, but many times they don't. They're just stuck. They're in a place of desperation. They're in a tough situation. They're in trouble. They say, "If God will just get me out of this one." But this one is like the twentieth "this one", the twenty-first "this one", the twenty-fifth one.

And God does come through for them and then they go right back and forget the promises. Not everyone. Some of you are like, "No, Pastor. That was my commitment. I'm here today because I made that commitment." And to that we give God the glory for you keeping your word and he kept his word. But that's not the norm.

In Psalm 66, verse 13 it says, "I will go into your house with burnt offerings and I will pay my vows, which my lips have uttered and my mouth has spoken when I was in trouble." Now, most people don't get to a place of desperation. Like most of that, that type of illustration doesn't hit everyone.

But here's what does hit everyone: We all make commitments to people. We all say things that require us to come through. We all say we're going to be somewhere at a certain time. We all say we're going to pay a certain bill. We all say that I'll come and help you. We all say that I'll pray for you. We all say.

And Jesus says this: "Let your yes be yes and your no no." Otherwise you're going to be like Pharaoh. You ever consider, "I'd never be like Pharaoh"? Really? Pharaoh hardened his heart and didn't keep his word. Well, you don't harden your heart, but do you keep your word?

You don't want to be like Pharaoh. I don't want to be like Pharaoh, so disconnected from God, so close but so far away. And one way you can measure that is whether you keep your word. The people on the earth that should be the most trustworthy are those men and women who say they follow the Lord, who say they name the name of Christ, where we say yes and we mean it, and we say no and we mean it.

Well, notice, here's the third plague, verse 16: "So the Lord said to Moses, 'Say to Aaron, "Stretch out your rod and strike the dust of the land so that it may become lice"'—or some of your translations say gnats—'throughout all the land of Egypt.'" And they did so. Aaron stretched out his hand and his rod struck the dust of the earth and it became lice on man and beast. All the dust of the land became lice throughout all the land of Egypt.

Now the magicians so worked with their enchantments to get rid of the lice. No, they brought forth lice too. But they couldn't. They wanted to, but they couldn't. That was their heart. In their hearts they did, but they couldn't. There was lice on man and beast. They couldn't copy this one.

And the magicians said to Pharaoh, "This is the finger of God." But Pharaoh's heart grew hard and he did not heed them just as the Lord said. So God's showing abundant mercy to this man that doesn't keep his word, his powerful grace, and all Pharaoh does is respond with a hard heart. And so God sends a third plague right away: the dust of the ground becomes lice or gnats.

Some have suggested they might have even been mosquitoes, which would have been really bad. The root word in Hebrew here means "to pinch" or "to nip". Waves and waves of annoying bugs. It was a judgment against the earth-god Geb. This was a bug problem as thick and as pervasive as the dust.

The land is stinky with dead frogs, which brings on a horde of scavenger lice to feast upon the frogs. Judgment. And the magicians couldn't copy it. They tried; they couldn't duplicate this miracle. Even though in their hearts they wanted it, their power is limited and they know it is of God. "This is the finger of God."

An interesting phrase. It's an anthropomorphism. It is when you describe God using human language. This is a description of God using human language. You look at the attributes of God and you are limited in our finite ability to describe it, so we use human attributes to describe God. Like in Psalm 61, he's described as a shelter. It doesn't mean God is like a tough shed. He's a shelter, a strong tower from the enemy. "I will abide in your tabernacle and trust in the shelter of your wings."

Second Chronicles 16:9: "The eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout all the earth to show himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal." He has this description of God with eyes like a human. Truly the only time we physically see the finger of God writing anything is when Jesus is writing in the dust. Writing judgment on that woman caught in adultery. And we don't actually know what he was writing, but whatever it was brought great conviction to the accusers.

I found it interesting in Luke chapter 11, verse 20: "If I cast out demons with the finger of God..." Again, it is a euphemism described to describe ultimate power, singularly from God. "Surely the kingdom of God has come upon you." So now you've got the lice here and in verse 19, Pharaoh's heart grew hard again.

Verse 20: "And the Lord said to Moses, 'Rise early in the morning, stand before Pharaoh when he comes out to the water. Say to him, "Thus says the Lord: Let my people go that they may serve me."'" This is the fifth time Pharaoh hears this. "If you want, let my people go. Behold, I will send swarms of flies on you and your servants, on the people and into your houses. And the houses of the Egyptians shall be full of swarms of flies and also on the ground on which they stand."

And just for a second here, think about swarms of flies. Have you ever had that situation where just one fly is annoying? Just one! Laying down to take a nap and you hear bzz-bzz-bzz-bzz-bzz... or they get stuck behind the blinds. Just one fly. Swarm! Swarms of flies. Interesting. On top of the stink, on top of the scavenger lice, flies.

In that day, verse 22, this is an additional thing now: "I will set apart the land of Goshen, in which my people dwell, that no swarms of flies shall be there in order that they may know that I am the Lord in the midst of the land. I will make a difference between my people and your people. Tomorrow this sign shall be."

And the Lord did so. Thick swarms of flies came into the house of Pharaoh, into his servants' houses and all the land of Egypt. The land was corrupted because of the swarms of flies. "Let my people go" is the refrain. "And if not, I am going to send these flies." And with flies come maggots.

It is a very difficult time in the land of Egypt. And up to this time, there is no indication that there has been a distinction between Goshen where the Hebrews were given, remember with Joseph as we studied earlier, and the rest of the land of Egypt. But now there brings a distinction that there is going to be an obvious protection of his own people in Goshen.

Up to this point, it seems like the plagues have affected everyone, but now God makes a distinction, makes a difference. It is a very important principle. Would you turn over to Second Peter chapter 2? God is able to make a distinction. He is able to make a distinction. And I want you to notice in Second Peter in chapter 2, pick up with me in verse 4. God can make a difference and make a distinction in judgment.

He says, "For if God did not spare the angels who sinned"—this is Second Peter 2:4—"but cast them down to hell and delivered them into the chains of darkness to be reserved for judgment, and he did not spare the ancient world but saved Noah"—that's a distinction—"one of eight people"—that's a distinction—"a preacher of righteousness bringing in the flood on the world"—that's a distinction—"of the ungodly."

"He turned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes"—that's a distinction—"condemning them to destruction, making them an example to those afterward who would live ungodly, and delivered righteous Lot"—that's a distinction—"who was oppressed with the filthy conduct of the wicked, for that righteous man dwelling among them tormented his righteous soul from day to day by seeing and hearing their lawless deeds."

Listen: distinction, distinction, distinction. Listen, here is the conclusion. If God can do that, then notice verse 9: "Then the Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptations and to reserve the unjust under punishment for the day of judgment." God knows. And do you know the difference?

The difference is between a hard heart and a soft heart. The heart, the sum of who you are. A hard heart speaks to ears that don't hear and eyes that don't see. But a soft heart, sensitivity and feeling, giving your attention, listening carefully. Remember what Jesus said in Revelation? "He who has ears, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches." Said that seven times: "He who has ears." And a soft heart hears the voice of the Lord.

So as we wind down in history, we see it's in perfect alignment with God to make a distinction. Let me just add here, back in Exodus as God is making a distinction between Goshen and the rest of Egypt, it is just a little hint. It's not the full revelation of the doctrine, but it's just a little hint that we've already seen in the New Covenant.

But I want you to understand, as you see this unfold throughout the scriptures, it makes sense, perfectly in line with the character of God to deliver the church before the coming of the Great Tribulation period. What we would know today as the rapture of the church. It's such a disturbing doctrine to people that they have to attack it.

They have to come after it in all kinds of fanciful ways, but I see in my Bible that God makes a distinction very early on. He is able to make a distinction between black and white, between good and evil, between those who believe and those who don't believe, between the hard-hearted and the soft-hearted.

We see it in the deliverance of Noah and his family. We see it in the deliverance of Lot and his family. We see it in the deliverance of Rahab and her family. And we see it in the future that he will deliver the church in a moment, in a twinkling of an eye at the last trumpet. The dead will be raised incorruptible and we shall be all changed. There is a generation that will be changed at the last trumpet, the rapture of the church. Distinctions. You see it all throughout the scripture.

Guest (Male): This is Abounding Grace, and you are listening to a message from Pastor and Bible teacher Ed Taylor. Simply go online to hear it again at aboundinggraceradio.com. Again, we are at aboundinggraceradio.com. If you haven't already downloaded our free app, simply search for Ed Taylor in the App Store or Google Play. It is a great way to take in a steady dose of God's Word. Pastor Ed, you pointed out today that the first three plagues were distressful, the next three painful and costly, and the final four dangerous and destructive. Do we notice a progression in God's judgment in other places in scripture?

Pastor Ed Taylor: We do notice a progression of judgment in other places of scripture. How can we not remember on a question like this the judgments in Revelation? They go from the seals in Revelation 6 to the trumpets in Revelation 8 and 9, to the bowl judgments in Revelation 16. It starts out with war and famine, martyrdom, but then a third of the land and sea and rivers are struck.

Then finally there is this painful sores and the water turned to blood and scorching heat. Listen, here is the thing for us today: In Christ, the judgment for our sin was taken upon him on the cross. You are and I am fully forgiven by faith by the blood of Jesus Christ. But here is the thing: What a man sows, that is what he will reap.

And we need to be careful in our lives because there is a progression in the consequences as well from our sin. None of us get away with sin. None of us sidestep the consequences. None of us can get around the reality that if we have sown to the flesh, we are going to reap corruption. So please, friends, when you are thinking of judgments and you are thinking about the heaviness of consequence, repent and come clean before the Lord today.

Let's just do it and come clean in these last days and live a life in the light as we walk in the light as he is in the light. We have fellowship with one another and the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us from all sin. That's what John said and it's true as the Holy Spirit inspired it.

Guest (Male): Thanks again, Pastor Ed. As we begin a new year, we have picked out a timely resource from Chuck Smith called Faith. As the title of the book would suggest, this book is all about faith and the key to a successful Christian life. Pastor Chuck explains how faith takes you by the hand and walks you from one level of maturity to another.

Using examples from the Bible and illustrations he's gleaned from the ministry, Pastor Chuck lays out a strong case for faith. We will send you a copy with our thanks for a gift of $25 or more to Abounding Grace. Just call us at 877-30-GRACE and ask for "Faith." And even if you are not in a position to be able to give to the ministry, we would still like to hear from you.

Pastor Ed loves to read listener emails and letters. It is easy to connect with us through our website at aboundinggraceradio.com when you click on "Contact" and leave a prayer request or send Pastor Ed a question. That's aboundinggraceradio.com. Don't miss our next study in Exodus here on Abounding Grace with Pastor Ed Taylor. May God richly bless you with his abounding grace.

Abounding Grace is brought to you by Calvary Church in Aurora, Colorado and online at aboundinggraceradio.com.