The Ten Plagues - Exodus 6:9 - 12:51

Teacher: Rusty Kennedy
​Series: Bible Stories

Rusty's Notes

Review:

• Exodus 4:10-11 – But Moses replied to the Lord, “Please, Lord, I have never been eloquent—either in the past or recently or since you have been speaking to your servant—because my mouth and my tongue are sluggish.”
• The Lord said to him, “Who placed a mouth on humans? Who makes a person mute or deaf, seeing or blind? Is it not I, the Lord? 12 Now go! I will help you speak and I will teach you what to say.” [1]
• This passage emphasizes God's sovereignty over creation, including the physical capabilities of humans.
• This passage highlights God's sovereignty over creation, including human abilities and disabilities.
• It emphasizes that God is the Creator and has authority over all aspects of life.
• While this verse acknowledges God's role in creating people with various abilities, it is important to understand it within the broader context of Scripture.
• The Bible consistently reveals God's character as loving, compassionate, and just.
• Disabilities and challenges in life are part of the fallen world we live in, and they can serve various purposes in God's plan.
• In the New Testament, Jesus' ministry often involved healing the sick and restoring sight to the blind, demonstrating God's compassion and power (Matthew 11:5; John 9:1-7).
• These miracles were signs pointing to the coming of God's kingdom and the ultimate restoration that believers will experience.
• Moreover, challenges such as disabilities can serve to draw people closer to God, deepen their faith, and display His strength in their weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9-10).
• They can also provide opportunities for the body of Christ to demonstrate love, support, and unity by caring for one another.
• Ultimately, while we may not fully understand why certain challenges exist, we can trust in God's goodness and His ability to work all things together for the good of those who love Him (Romans 8:28).

GOD PROMISES FREEDOM
EXODUS 6
2 Then God spoke to Moses, telling him, “I am the Lord. 3 I appeared to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob as God Almighty, but I was not known to them by my name ‘the Lord.’ 4 I also established my covenant with them to give them the land of Canaan, the land they lived in as aliens. 5 Furthermore, I have heard the groaning of the Israelites, whom the Egyptians are forcing to work as slaves, and I have remembered my covenant.
6 “Therefore tell the Israelites: I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from the forced labor of the Egyptians and rescue you from slavery to them. I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and great acts of judgment. 7 I will take you as my people, and I will be your God. You will know that I am the Lord your God, who brought you out from the forced labor of the Egyptians.[2]
 
8 I will bring you to the land that I swore to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and I will give it to you as a possession. I am the Lord.” 9 Moses told this to the Israelites, but they did not listen to him because of their broken spirit and hard labor.
10 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, 11 “Go and tell Pharaoh king of Egypt to let the Israelites go from his land.”
12 But Moses said in the Lord’s presence, “If the Israelites will not listen to me, then how will Pharaoh listen to me, since I am such a poor speaker?” 13 Then the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron and gave them commands concerning both the Israelites and Pharaoh king of Egypt to bring the Israelites out of the land of Egypt. [3]
 
Verses 14-25 - Genealogy of Moses and Aaron.
Verses 6:26 – 7:5

• God reminded Moses of who He was and the promise He made to His ancestors.
• God told Moses to remind the Hebrews.
• God told Moses & Aaron to return to Pharaoh

 
EXODUS 7
6 So Moses and Aaron did this; they did just as the Lord commanded them. 7 Moses was eighty years old and Aaron eighty-three when they spoke to Pharaoh.
8 The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, 9 “When Pharaoh tells you, ‘Perform a miracle,’ tell Aaron, ‘Take your staff and throw it down before Pharaoh. It will become a serpent.’ ” 10 So Moses and Aaron went in to Pharaoh and did just as the Lord had commanded. Aaron threw down his staff before Pharaoh and his officials, and it became a serpent. 11 But then Pharaoh called the wise men and sorcerers—the magicians of Egypt, and they also did the same thing by their occult practices. 12 Each one threw down his staff, and it became a serpent. But Aaron’s staff swallowed their staffs. 13 However, Pharaoh’s heart was hard, and he did not listen to them, as the Lord had said.[4]
 

• Plague #1
  God tells Moses to return to Pharaoh
• Staff in the Nile… river to blood… fish died, smelled bad
• Then all water sources in Egypt were turned to blood.
• Egyptian magicians did similar
• 7 days passed

 
8

• Plague #2
• God tells Moses to return to Pharaoh
• Plague of Frogs (magicians matched)
• Pharaoh bartered with Moses
• Take frogs away and I will respond
• Frogs died except in the Nile
• Pharaoh reversed his decision
• Plague #3
• Plague of gnats… rose up from the dust
• Magicians could not match (finger of God)

 

• Plague #4
• God tells Moses to return to Pharaoh
• Plague of flys (only to Egyptians… not Goshen)
• Pharaoh bartered with Moses (stay in Egypt)
• Take flies away and you can go worship

 
9

• Plague #5
• God tells Moses to return to Pharaoh
• Plague of livestock
• Pharaoh got report it was only the Egyptians animals that died
• Pharaoh’s heart was still hardened
• Plague #6

8 Then the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “Take handfuls of furnace soot, and Moses is to throw it toward heaven in the sight of Pharaoh. 9 It will become fine dust over the entire land of Egypt. It will become festering boils on people and animals throughout the land of Egypt.” 10 So they took furnace soot and stood before Pharaoh. Moses threw it toward heaven, and it became festering boils on people and animals. 11 The magicians could not stand before Moses because of the boils, for the boils were on the magicians as well as on all the Egyptians. 12 But the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart and he did not listen to them, as the Lord had told Moses. [5]

• Plague #7
• God tells Moses to return to Pharaoh
• All plagues & worst hail storm
• Man and livestock were crushed by hail
• Some crops destroyed
• Pharaoh bartered with Moses
• Hardened his heart again

 
10

• Plague #8
• God tells Moses to return to Pharaoh
• Plague of locusts
• Ate everything green
• Pharaoh bartered with Moses (all families must go too)
• Hardened his heart again

 
21 

• Plague #9
• God tells Moses to return to Pharaoh
• Plague of darkness except in Goshen for 3 days
• Pharaoh bartered with Moses (animals must go too)
• Hardened his heart again

 
11

• Plague #10
• God tells Moses to return to Pharaoh
• One more plague
  
  

4 So Moses said, “This is what the Lord says: About midnight I will go throughout Egypt, 5 and every firstborn male in the land of Egypt will die, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sits on his throne to the firstborn of the servant girl who is at the grindstones, as well as every firstborn of the livestock. 6 Then there will be a great cry of anguish through all the land of Egypt such as never was before or ever will be again. 7 But against all the Israelites, whether people or animals, not even a dog will snarl, so that you may know that the Lord makes a distinction between Egypt and Israel. 8 All these officials of yours will come down to me and bow before me, saying: Get out, you and all the people who follow you. After that, I will get out.” And he went out from Pharaoh’s presence fiercely angry.
9 The Lord said to Moses, “Pharaoh will not listen to you, so that my wonders may be multiplied in the land of Egypt.” 10 Moses and Aaron did all these wonders before Pharaoh, but the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he would not let the Israelites go out of his land.[6]
 
12

• God gave instruction to Moses
• Take unblemished animal (you can share)
• Sacrifice it at Twilight
• Spread the blood over the door
• Roast the meat and eat it all
• Be prepared to leave

 
24 “Keep this command permanently as a statute for you and your descendants. 25 When you enter the land that the Lord will give you as he promised, you are to observe this ceremony. 26 When your children ask you, ‘What does this ceremony mean to you?’ 27 you are to reply, ‘It is the Passover sacrifice to the Lord, for he passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt when he struck the Egyptians, and he spared our homes.’ ” So the people knelt low and worshiped. 28 Then the Israelites went and did this; they did just as the Lord had commanded Moses and Aaron.
 
THE EXODUS
29 Now at midnight the Lord struck every firstborn male in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sat on his throne to the firstborn of the prisoner who was in the dungeon, and every firstborn of the livestock. 30 During the night Pharaoh got up, he along with all his officials and all the Egyptians, and there was a loud wailing throughout Egypt because there wasn’t a house without someone dead. 31 He summoned Moses and Aaron during the night and said, “Get out immediately from among my people, both you and the Israelites, and go, worship the Lord as you have said. 32 Take even your flocks and your herds as you asked and leave, and also bless me.” [7]
Hebrews left quickly taking their unrisen dough

• Egyptians paid the Hebrews to leave
  
  

40 The time that the Israelites lived in Egypt was 430 years. 41 At the end of 430 years, on that same day, all the Lord’s military divisions went out from the land of Egypt. 42 It was a night of vigil in honor of the Lord, because he would bring them out of the land of Egypt. This same night is in honor of the Lord, a night vigil for all the Israelites throughout their generations.[8]

• They partook in the Passover meal

 
"What we refer to as the ten 'plagues' were actually judgments designed to authenticate Moses as God's messenger and his message as God's message.
Their ultimate purpose was to reveal the greatness of the power and authority of God to the Egyptians (7:10—12:36) in order to bring Pharaoh and the Egyptians into subjection to God."

[1] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Ex 4:10–12.
[2]  Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Ex 6:2-7.
[3] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Ex 6:8-13.
[4] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Ex 7:6-13.
[5] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Ex 9:8–12.
[6] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Ex 11:4–10.
[7] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Ex 12:24–32.
[8] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Ex 12:40–42.