Exodus 9:1–7

There we go. Hey, good morning. Good morning. Welcome to coffee and devotions is where every day you and I, we get together. We have a little bit of coffee. We get into God's word and we grow in our love for the Lord together. And this year, 2023 Lord willing, we'll make it from Genesis to Leviticus. So glad to be with you.
We're at Exodus chapter eight. Nope, nope, nope, nope. Exodus chapter nine verses one through seven. Why don't we have some coffee? We'll pray. We'll get into God's word. Let's pray. Oh, Lord, you are gracious and loving, wonderful and good. We thank you for your word. And we pray that you would please teach us, help us, instruct us, comfort us, soften our hearts and let us believe in Jesus's name. Amen. Here we go. Exodus chapter nine, beginning at verse one.
Then the Lord said to Moses, Go into Pharaoh and tell him, Thus says the Lord God of the Hebrews, Let my people go, that they may serve me. If you refuse to let them go and still hold them, behold, the hand of the Lord will be upon your cattle in the field, on the horses, on the donkeys, on the camels, on the oxen, and on the sheep, a very severe pestilence. The Lord will make a difference between the livestock of Israel and the livestock of Egypt. So nothing shall die that belongs to the children of Israel. Then the Lord appointed a set time saying tomorrow the Lord will do this in the land. So Lord did this thing on the next day. And all the livestock of Egypt died. But the livestock of the children of Israel did not die. Then Pharaoh sent and indeed not even one of the livestock of the Israelites was dead. But the heart of Pharaoh became hard. And he did not let the people go.
Well, we need to ask ourselves, A, what's this about? B, what's the best versus summarizes and see what are we called to do? All right, well, we're now at the fifth plague. We've had the sign of the rod. We've had the water turn into blood. And then we had all the frogs and we had the lice and we had the flies. Now we're at livestock. This is the first time now things are dying.
God says I'm going to make a distinction. All the Egyptians, livestock is going to be one. But all of the Israelite livestock, it's going to be safe. And then God sets in a point of time, he does it. Pharaoh even sends out investigators to see if this is going to happen. That's what verse seven says. And what does he find out? Not even one. Of the livestock of the Israelites was dead. All throughout Egypt, all over Pharaoh's kingdom, all the livestock are dying, but not in Israel. How's that possible?
Because God is the God who's able to do it. He holds life and death in his hand. He's the one who does these things. He is the one who's all powerful. He is trying to make a point. As he goes after each one of these, he's showing that he is the God over all creation. And that his people are his.
And he's commanded Pharaoh to let his people leave, to go out of Egypt. And Pharaoh is not going to listen. What do we find in verse eight here? or verse seven, but the heart of Pharaoh became hard. You don't listen. Not going to listen. He wants his own power. He wants to keep squeezing everything he can out of the Israelites. Indeed, he's got so much pride and arrogance and hatred in his heart. He will not let them go. And this is where this tension comes in here. Is it God hardening Pharaoh's heart or is Pharaoh hardening Pharaoh's heart? Yes. Yeah. Yeah, it's true. Both are true here.
God said he was going to harden Pharaoh's heart. and Pharaoh doubles down of his own will. He doesn't want to let them go. He doesn't care about them. He hates God. Even though he's watching his entire kingdom get into trouble after trouble after trouble, it doesn't matter. He's not going to let them go.
I see this all the time in people's families, in their lives, in their hearts. Things happen. Trouble after trouble after trouble after trouble after trouble. Their hearts never soften to the Lord. Indeed, sometimes they hate the Lord even more, more, more and more and more. No matter how much you tell them, repent. Come to Christ. No desire.
But what's the point here? Why is God doing all this? Is the main point about Pharaoh? No, the main point is about God and God's going to redeem his people. He's more powerful than Pharaoh. More powerful than any king. He's the creator of heaven and earth. What's the best verse to summarize this one? I have verse 7 underlined, but that doesn't really help that much. I'd probably have to underline 6 and 7, but maybe you would have something different. Feel free to let me know down in the comments what would you underline. So what are we called to do?
Even when things seem to be going poorly in our lives, Know that the Lord is caring for his people. He does have a redemptive end. He's doing things in his providence for an end, and the end is his own glory and the good of his people. But sometimes that means that you and I are going to go through really difficult things. Before we're able to get to that end. But take courage, take heart, Christian. Everything going on in your life is not accidental. Lord knows. And the Lord is bringing about his purposes. Let's pray. Father, we do trust you. As the one and only true God. Maker of heaven and earth. Father, we pray that you would please give us.
Courage. and faith to go through the trials and the difficulties of this life, knowing that you do have a redemptive plan for our lives. And we pray, God, that you would please let us see the miracle of you softening others' hearts. We know that you take out hearts of stone and give hearts of flesh. We pray that for our loved ones who do not know you, do not love you. Father, we pray that you would, by your supernatural power, make them reborn. We pray these things in Jesus' name. Amen. May the Lord bless you. May you walk in the joy and peace of Jesus Christ, knowing that that great shepherd of the sheep who laid down his life for you is watching over your every step. I'll see you tomorrow. Bye.
Thanks for listening to this week's message from God's Word for You, a ministry of Sharon R.P. Church in rural southeast Iowa. We pray that the message would be used by God to transform your faith and your life this week. If you'd like to get more information about us, feel free to go to the website, SharonRPC.org. We'd love to invite you to worship with us. Our worship time is 10 a.m. every Sunday at 25204 160th Avenue. Morning Sun, Iowa, 52640. May God richly bless you this week.