Exodus 9:13-35
How many gods do you think there are in the world? One, fifty, one hundred, or more? Every religion has its own god, and some have many gods. My friend from Nepal told me that Hinduism has millions of gods and goddesses. The Bible also tells us there are many gods, but more importantly, it tells us there is only ONE true God. The rest are the creations of men.
How does the true God operate? Does He do anything in the world today? Is He concerned about what is going on? Does it make any difference to God what happens here on earth, or can men just go on their own way fashioning their own lives, forging history according to their own whims and fancy, or does God have something to do with the world and its history?
Do you have a problem with the way evil is spreading in the world? Have you ever pondered why this is? Have you wondered why God lets it go on and on? Some people say, “Why doesn’t God do something?”
The subject of my teaching is – GOD USES THE WICKED TO GLORIFY HIM. Do you believe that? Is there any question in your mind about that? A most exciting and interesting portion of God’s Word is Exodus 9:13-35 where we find that God used wicked men to glorify Him.
13. And the LORD said unto Moses, Rise up early in the morning, and stand before Pharaoh, and say unto him, thus saith the LORD God of the Hebrews, Let my people go, that they may serve me.
14. For I will at this time send all my plagues upon thine heart, and upon thy servants, and upon thy people; that thou mayest know that there is none like me in all the earth.
15. For now I will stretch out my hand, that I may smite thee and thy people with pestilence; and thou shalt be cut off from the earth.
16. And in very deed for this cause have I raised thee up, for to shew in thee my power; and that my name may be declared throughout all the earth.
17. As yet exaltest thou thyself against my people, that thou wilt not let them go?
18. Behold, to-morrow about this time I will cause it to rain a very grievous hail, such as hath not been in Egypt since the foundation thereof even until now.
19. Send therefore now, and gather thy cattle, and all that thou hast in the field; for upon every man and beast which shall be found in the field, and shall not be brought home, the hail shall come down upon them, and they shall die.
20. He that feared the word of the LORD among the servants of Pharaoh made his servants and his cattle flee into the houses:
21. And he that regarded not the word of the LORD left his servants and his cattle in the field.
22. And the LORD said unto Moses, stretch forth thine hand toward heaven, that there may be hail in all the land of Egypt, upon man, and upon beast, and upon every herb of the field, throughout the land of Egypt.
23. And Moses stretched forth his rod toward heaven: and the LORD sent thunder and hail, and the fire ran along upon the ground; and the LORD rained hail upon the land of Egypt.
24. So there was hail, and fire mingled with the hail, very grievous, such as there was none like it in all the land of Egypt since it became a nation.
25. And the hail smote throughout all the land of Egypt all that was in the field, both man and beast; and the hail smote every herb of the field and brake every tree of the field.
26. Only in the land of Goshen, where the children of Israel were, was there no hail.
27. And Pharaoh sent, and called for Moses and Aaron, and said unto them, I have sinned this time: the LORD is righteous, and I and my people are wicked.
28. Entreat the LORD (for it is enough) that there be no more mighty thunderings and hail; and I will let you go, and ye shall stay no longer.
29. And Moses said unto him, as soon as I am gone out of the city, I will spread abroad my hands unto the LORD; and the thunder shall cease, neither shall there be any more hail; that thou mayest know how that the earth is the LORD’S.
30. But as for thee and thy servants, I know that ye will not yet fear the LORD God.
31. And the flax and the barley were smitten: for the barley was in the ear, and the flax was bolled.
32. But the wheat and the rye were not smitten: for they were not grown up.
33. And Moses went out of the city from Pharaoh and spread abroad his hands unto the LORD: and the thunder and hail ceased, and the rain was not poured upon the earth.
34. And when Pharaoh saw that the rain and the hail and the thunder ceased, he sinned yet more, and hardened his heart, he, and his servants.
35. And the heart of Pharaoh was hardened, neither would he let the children of Israel go; as the LORD had spoken by Moses.
From this text from the Bible, we discover the CONTROLS God placed upon wicked men to bring out His glory. God uses wicked men to glorify Him.
In the First CONTROL you Find
The Intent of God
Notice in verse fourteen what God said. “For I will at this time send all my plagues upon thine heart…that thou mayest know that there is none like me in all the earth.” God’s intention was that Pharaoh would be forced to confess that there was no one like God. Many people in the world today believe that they can go on their own way without paying any attention at all to God. But this text tells us that God has a certain intent, and He is working it out.
God said to Pharaoh that He had raised him up so that His power and Name would be declared throughout all the earth. Now that may seem a bit strange to you, but God is in such complete control that even a wicked man like Pharaoh a tool for God’s Name to be declared throughout all the earth. Some people think that God doesn’t know what’s going on. But every person, in some sense, is God’s showcase. God demonstrates His power and glory to and through every person in some way. It may not be clear to us at the moment, but God said that He had raised up Pharaoh in order to declare His Name in all the earth. This teaches us that God is in control, and He has a certain intent that He is working out.
The Second CONTROL I have Called,
The Extent of the Plague
We call this a plague because the Lord said He was going to bring a pestilence upon the people, and it would be worse than any other had been. He said it was going to rain grievous hail – worse than it had ever been before. He said, “such as has not been in Egypt since the foundation thereof even until now.”
There is something else in this text which I believe is very important to our understanding of God’s control—He controls the elements. The God who made the world and separated the earth from the sea and the cloud from the dry land is still in charge. In this particular case, He said He was going to make it rain grievous hail. So, God controls the elements. Certainly, He does!
God warned them to take special precautions because this was going to be worse than it had ever been. This hail would kill people and the cattle in the field. So, God urged them to bring the cattle in. Those who feared the LORD did it, and those who did not fear the LORD didn’t do it. Those who obeyed saved their servants and their cattle, and those who didn’t obey lost them.
Then Moses stretched out his hand toward heaven, and the hail came. The description is rather awesome. “The LORD sent thunder and hail, and fire ran along upon the ground; and the LORD rained hail upon the land of Egypt…very grievous, such as there was none like it in all the land of Egypt since it became a nation.” We are also told, “And the hail smote throughout all the land of Egypt all that was in the field, both man and beast; and the hail smote every herb of the field and brake every tree of the field.”
Now it would certainly appear that God goes to the full extent to lead men to Himself so that they might voluntarily glorify Him. It is their free choice whether they want to glorify Him, or not. And here you have the extent of the plague as another control that God has in the affairs of men.
The Final CONTROL I have Called,
The Contempt of Pharaoh
When Pharaoh saw what had happened, he called for Moses and Aaron and acted as though he had repented. I mean, he mocked it. He said, “I have sinned this time: the LORD is righteous, and I and my people are wicked.” And so, he pled that somehow the hail might cease. He said he would let them go, but we have learned that he didn’t mean it.
Moses gave him a futile warning. He said, “Look, I’ll do what you asked me to do. I’ll go out and spread out my hands before heaven, and God will stop the thunder and the rain and the hail. But I know you. I know that you will not yet fear the LORD God. You will not let the people go.” Moses knew that this was really contempt and not really the intention of Pharaoh.
And he made that fearful reversal. Once the hail ceased, the Bible tells us that he sinned yet more and hardened his heart, he, and his servants. Oh, that is very, very serious. But in it all, God was in control. Even this contempt of Pharaoh God would turn to His glory.
Pharaoh had the freedom to stand against God and not accept Him as the true God. He had the right and freedom to do that. But, oh, the result is frightening.
Wicked men glorify God because God is in control. All men someday will acknowledge Him. Every knee shall bow, and every tongue confess to the glory of God. Some refuse now. Some have refused. Some keep on refusing until terrible judgments are poured out, and others keep on their rebellious way.
I urge you to turn to the true God now. Acknowledge His authority and rule. Don’t be rebellious like Pharaoh. Worship and serve the God of Moses. He is my God and wants to be your God too.
Thank you, J. Mark, for this teaching, and thank you for joining us today; we trust that you have been blessed. It is a blessing to serve a God who is personal and with us; He is Emmanuel.
It reminds me of a line of poetry by Elizabeth Browning. She said, “Earth is crammed with heaven, and every common bush afire with God, but only he who sees takes off his shoes; the rest sit round and pluck blackberries.” Do we look for and see God? Can you see Him in normal routine life? He certainly is present, but not everyone sees Him; we must have eyes for Him. Let’s be like Moses and see God. When we do, we will worship Him and share this good news with others, so others see our great God.
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This brings us to the end of today’s program; thanks for being there. Please join us next week as we continue our journey through Exodus. Go with God this week, and we hope you will see Him and respond like the cherubim in Isaiah. “Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord of Hosts: the whole earth is full of His glory.” May we Praise His great Name.
*This episode is an exposition of Exodus 9:13-35 by J. Otis Yoder, re-recorded by J. Mark Horst, with an opening and closing by Arlin Horst.