Читать книгу Secret References to Christ In the Old testament Scriptures - Kenneth B. Alexander - Страница 11

So the Lord through Moses began His judgments of Egypt, each time the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart and he did not let the people go. Note that throughout the coming judgments God hardened Pharaoh’s heart; he didn’t do it by himself. God had a two-fold reason for allowing the plagues to continue as they did. One He wanted to deliver His people from bondage. But at the same time He intended to judge all the gods of Egypt to cripple the powerful, paganistic country that lived before His face. He revealed this purpose later in the Book: “against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments—I am the Lord” (Ex 12:12). Most of the judgments were executed against the symbols of things the Egyptians worshipped as gods. The phrase אֶעֱשֶׂה שְׁפָטִים (’e’eseh shéfatim) is “I will do judgments.” The statement clearly includes what had begun in Ex 6:1. But the statement that God would judge the gods of Egypt is appropriately introduced here (see also Num 33:4) because with the judgment on Pharaoh and the deliverance from bondage, Yahweh would truly show himself to be the one true God. Thus, “I am Yahweh” is fitting here (see B. Jacob, Exodus, 312). Christ also, by the cross experience judged Satan freeing and delivering God’s people forever.

The first judgment humiliated the magicians of Egypt as Egypt was a land of magic. The Lord told them: “When Pharaoh speaks to you, saying, ‘Work a miracle,’ then you shall say to Aaron, ‘Take your staff and throw it down before Pharaoh, that it may become a serpent.’ ” So they did just that. Aaron threw his staff down before Pharaoh and his servants, and it  became a serpent….[Pharaoh’s] magicians did the same with their secret arts. Each one threw down his staff and they turned into serpents. But Aaron’s staff swallowed up their staffs (Ex 7:9-12). The next miracle was thus: “I will strike the water that is in the Nile with the staff that is in my hand, and  it will be turned to blood. “The fish that are in the Nile will die, and the Nile will become foul, and the Egyptians will find difficulty in drinking water from the Nile” (Ex 7:17-18). “But the magicians of Egypt did the same with their secret arts; and Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, and he did not listen to them, as the Lord had said” (Ex 7:22).

“Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go to Pharaoh and say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord, “Let My people go, that they may serve Me. “But if you refuse to let them go, behold, I will smite your whole territory with frogs. “The Nile will swarm with frogs, which will come up and go into your house and into your bedroom and on your bed, and into the houses of your servants and on your people, and into your ovens and into your kneading bowls” (Ex 8:1-3). Egyptians had frog-like creatures they worshipped as gods. “The magicians did the same with their secret arts, making frogs come up on the land of Egypt” (Ex 8:7). “Then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron and said, “Entreat the Lord that He remove the frogs from me and from my people; and  I will let the people go, that they may sacrifice to the Lord” (Ex 8:8). So the frogs died and” “they piled them in heaps, and the land became foul. But when Pharaoh saw that there was relief, he hardened his heart and did not listen to them, as the Lord had said” (Ex 8:14-15).

“Then the Lord said to Moses, “Say to Aaron, ‘Stretch out your staff and strike the dust of the earth, that it may become gnats through all the land of Egypt.’ ”The gnats appeared to eat the dead frogs which had littered the ground. “They did so; and Aaron stretched out his hand with his staff, and struck the dust of the earth, and there were gnats on man and beast. All the dust of the earth became gnats through all the land of Egypt. The magicians tried with their secret arts to bring forth gnats, but they could not; so there were gnats on man and beast. Then the magicians said to Pharaoh, “This is the finger of God.” But Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, and he did not listen to them, as the Lord had said” (Ex 8:16-19).

“Now the Lord said to Moses, “Rise early in the morning and present yourself before Pharaoh, as he comes out to the water, and say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord, “Let My people go, that they may serve Me. “For if you do not let My people go, behold, I will send swarms of flies on you and on your servants and on your people and into your houses; and the houses of the Egyptians will be full of swarms of flies, and also the ground on which they dwell. “But on that day I will set apart the land of Goshen, where My people are living, so that no swarms of flies will be there, in order that you may know that I, the Lord, am in the midst of the land. “I will put a division between My people and your people” (Ex 8:20-23). Again Pharaoh said he would let the people go if Moses stopped the flies. But when God stopped the flies, Pharaoh again reneged on his promise.

The Lord continued on with His plagues one after another. He caused all the Egyptian cattle to die. He caused great painful boils to afflict man and best. He brought the greatest hail storm ever to be seen In Egypt, ruining all the crops. He brought an infestation of locusts to strip the land of all vegetation. He brought a great darkness (blackness) to cover the land for 3 days. Each time Pharaoh’s heart was hardened and he refused to let the people go (Ex Chapters 9-10). This all set the stage for the last plague, the greatest of all.

“Now the Lord said to Moses, “One more plague I will bring on Pharaoh and on Egypt; after that he will let you go from here. When he lets you go, he will surely drive you out from here completely” (Ex 11:1). God never wavered from the plan He originally spoke to Moses that He would deliver the Israelites. Moses had gained esteem not only from the Israelites but the Egyptians themselves. So He said: “Speak now in the hearing of the people that each man ask from his neighbor and each woman from her neighbor for articles of silver and articles of gold” (Ex 11:2). The Israelites were not going to leave Egypt empty handed. Besides these items would be needed for what they were going to do in the wilderness. “Moses said, “Thus says the Lord, ‘About midnight I am going out into the midst of Egypt, and all the firstborn in the land of Egypt shall die, from the firstborn of the Pharaoh who sits on his throne, even to the firstborn of the slave girl who is behind the millstones; all the firstborn of the cattle as well” (Ex 11:4-5).