Exodus chapter 11. Exodus the
11th chapter. Actually, we'll begin in chapter
10 at verse 27. That's really where the chapter
division would be more appropriately put. I want to speak to you tonight,
if God will help me, on the subject divine attributes revealed, particularly
I want you to see how the Lord God reveals himself to his people
in the saving operations of his free grace as they are set before
us in this passage of scripture. In the 10th chapter of Exodus,
the Lord specifically told Moses in verses 1 and 2 that he hardened
Pharaoh's heart for this purpose, that he might perform his wonders
in Egypt so that his people might know that he is the Lord. Look at that with me. Exodus
10, 1. The Lord said to Moses, go in unto Pharaoh, for I have
hardened his heart. and the heart of his servants,
that I might show these my signs before him. I've hardened his
heart and the hearts of his servants for this purpose, that I might
show my signs before him, and that thou mayest tell in the
ears of thy son and of thy son's son, What things I have wrought
in Egypt and my signs, which I have done among them. Now watch
this that you may know that I am the Lord. In verse 7 of chapter 11, he
tells us that this knowledge of him as God who alone is God,
this knowledge of him as the Lord God is seen particularly
in the revelation of his divine attributes in the saving of his
people. He says that his salvation is
performed that you may know how that the Lord doth put a difference
between the Egyptians and Israel. No mortal on this earth can ever
grasp all the wonders of God's distinguishing grace. Indeed,
we will probably spend eternity learning the wonders of what
God has done for us. the wonders of his distinguishing
mercy. And yet, even now, God's great
distinguishing grace by which he has revealed and does reveal
himself to our souls is a matter of unceasing astonishment and
wonder to our hearts. It is by the grace that we have
experienced and continually experience in God's marvelous work of salvation
in our souls that we know him to be God alone. How often he said, I am God,
there is none beside me. I am God, beside me there is
none else. Who is a God like unto our God? None. All the imaginary gods
of men, Both those that men have carved from stone and overlaid
with silver and gold and jewels, and those that men carve from
the dark forest of their own depraved imaginations, do not
in any way compare to him. To whom will you liken me? I
am a just God and a Savior, he says. What a vast difference
grace makes between Egypt and Israel. What a vast difference
grace makes between the righteous and the wicked, between him that
serveth God and him that serveth him not. What an everlasting
difference grace will make in the world to come. Our hearts
ought to be lifted continually with unceasing adoration and
praise as we consider the work by which God separates the precious
from the vile, by which God distinguishes his people from all other people. May God the Holy Spirit give
us grace always to observe with the keen eye of faith that which
he does distinctly for us and grace ever to praise him for
doing it. Who maketh thee to differ from
another? What hast thou that thou didst
not receive? And if thou didst receive it,
why dost thou glory? as if thou hadst not received
it. Brother Bob first mentioned it, and then some others came
in, mentioned the same thing. God's great grace. We sometimes
get aggravated, upset, because people can't see things. A blind man can't see. A deaf
man can't hear. And the only reason you see and
I see anything of the wonder of God's grace, the only reason
you and I hear his voice in his word is because he's given us
seeing eyes, hearing ears, and believing hearts. Oh, thank you,
our God. for that grace by which we live
and believe and see and walk before you. Now, look at Exodus
chapter 10, verse 27. The first thing we see in this
passage of scripture is the sovereignty of our God. And I'm going to
spend the bulk of my time with this deliberately. We read in
verse 27, the Lord hardened Pharaoh's heart, and he would not let them
go. And Pharaoh said to Moses, get
thee from me, take heed to thyself, see my face no more, for in the
day thou seest my face, thou shalt die. And Moses said, Thou
hast spoken well. I will see thy face again no
more. Chapter 11, verse 10. And Moses
and Aaron did all these wonders before Pharaoh, and the Lord
hardened Pharaoh's heart so that he would not let the children
of Israel go out of his land. Now listen to the word of God.
To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under
the heaven. I said in my heart, God shall
judge the righteous and the wicked, for there is a time for every
purpose and for every work. The God who is God, he who alone
is God, is a God of absolute sovereign
purpose, according to whose purpose all things come to pass. Everything. Isaiah responds or
gives us God's response concerning Satan's cry that he will take
over. When Lucifer lifted his heart
and said, I will ascend to heaven. I'll set myself on the throne
of God. The Lord of Hosts hath sworn, saying, Surely, as I have
thought, so shall it come to pass. And as I have purposed,
so shall it stand. This is the purpose that is purposed
upon the whole earth, and this is the hand that is stretched
out upon the nations. For the Lord of Hosts hath purposed
and who shall disannul it? His hand is stretched out and
who can turn it back? Any thought any man has of a
God who lacks an absolute purpose by which he rules the universe,
worships a God who is no God at all. The Lord God well described
them as a people who pray unto a God that cannot save. Only he who is God absolutely,
God over all, God of absolute unalterable purpose is God able
to save. Do you understand this? He who is God is a God who is
absolutely sovereign. People talk about God's sovereignty.
Every now and then you'll listen to some preacher on radio or
television who will say something about God being sovereign. And
yet they, when they speak of sovereignty, they speak of it
like the sovereignty of a king over a nation. The king has sovereignty,
sort of. Sort of. He has powerful influence,
but not sovereignty. He is the sovereign over a given
sphere, but even then, his sovereignty is terribly limited. Not God's. God Almighty is king over all
things, sovereign over all things, that which he thought before
the world was, and that alone comes to pass in time. Listen
to what he says. He is that God who declares the
end from the beginning and from ancient times, the things that
are not yet done, saying my counsel shall stand and I will do all
my pleasure. The Lord of hosts has sworn,
saying, surely, as I have thought, so shall it come to pass. This
is God. Now turn to Romans chapter 11
and let me show you how the Spirit of God inspired the Apostle Paul
to give praise to God Almighty. Remember now, in Romans the 11th
chapter, just hold your hands here for a minute. Romans the
11th chapter Paul has been describing for us God's purpose in all things
He tells us in chapter 8 verse 28 all things work together for
good to them that love God to them who are the called according
to his purpose His purpose of grace being the salvation of
his people. And in accordance with that purpose,
he says, Jacob have I loved, Esau have I hated. In accordance
with that purpose, he says he cast off Israel, the physical
nation. He sent blindness to Israel,
the physical nation. He sent hardness of heart to
Israel, the physical nation. so that they could not believe
the message that had been delivered to them for 2,000 years. And he did it so that he might
send the light of his grace to his chosen among the Gentiles,
and so all Israel, the true Israel of God, Jew and Gentile, shall
be saved. And when Paul considered these
things, the casting away of his own family, his own kinsmen according
to the flesh, his own race of people. This is what he says,
Romans 11, 23. Oh, the depth of the riches, both of
the wisdom and knowledge of God. What a difference between that
and the response of folks you and I know to the declaration
of God's sovereignty. How unsearchable are his judgments,
and his ways past finding out. For who hath known the mind of
the Lord, or who hath been his counselor? Or who hath first
given to him, and it shall be recompensed unto him again? For
of him, and through him, and to him. Now remember, every word
is deliberately written and every word specifically meaningful. The Apostle Paul is declaring
with regard to all the affairs of the universe, with regard
to all the affairs of all history, with regard to the affairs of
the reprobate and the elect, he says of him, that means their
source is God. And through Him, that means these
things come to pass by His decree, by His hand, by His wisdom, by
His will, by His order. And to Him, they are for His
praise and His glory are all things to whom be glory forever. Amen. Specifically, God's purpose
is twofold. He has purposed the everlasting
salvation of all his chosen, who are described in Romans 9,
and I want you to turn there, as vessels of mercy, whom he
prepares for glory. And his purpose is the everlasting
destruction of all the reprobate, vessels of wrath, who are in
this world fitted for just destruction by their own obstinate rebellion. This is what we see in the Lord's
dealings with Pharaoh, Egypt, and Israel. Essentially, Moses
said to Pharaoh, as the prophet of God did to wicked king Amaziah,
I know that God hath determined to destroy thee because thou
hast done this and hast not hearkened to my counsel. Pharaoh mocked
the messengers of God and despised his words and misused his prophets
until the wrath of the Lord arose against his people until there
was no remedy. Often, often, a natural man tries
to reason things out naturally. Religious natural men are just
as ignorant as irreligious natural men. I can't tell you how often
I find folks who get upset because we press this matter of man's
responsibility while at the same time asserting God's absolute
sovereignty. Some say, well, if you believe
that God's absolutely sovereign, then man has no responsibility
before him. And some will press the matter
in a logical way, they think, they imagine. Man's logic is
illogical if it runs contrary to the revelation of God, but
they seem to think this is so logical. Well, if God's predestinated
everything, If God's ordered all things, then men don't believe
and they go to hell because God arbitrarily predestined that
they go to hell. Not so. Not so. Did God purpose the judgment
upon the wicked? Absolutely. And he purposed it
in accordance with strict justice. Pharaoh perished under the wrath
of God according to the purpose of God being fitted to destruction
by his own willful rebellion. Let's read it together. Romans
9 verse 13. Now read what the book says.
As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated. That is, I give no consideration,
no thought, no care for Esau. What shall we say then? Well,
this is how your family and mine, this is how your neighbors and
mine respond. That's not right. How many times, Brother Cecil,
have you had somebody come up to you and say, well, that's
not right. That's not right. That's not fair. Well, Paul took
that into consideration. Is there unrighteousness with
God? You dare charge God with being unrighteous? You? You dare
question God's righteousness? God forbid. For he saith to Moses,
I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy. I will have compassion
on whom I will have compassion. So then, this is the conclusion
of this matter. This thing of salvation, grace,
eternal life, election, eternal redemption is not of him that
willeth. Your will's got nothing to do
with it. Nor of him that runneth, but of God that showeth mercy. For the scripture saith unto
Pharaoh, and this is what this whole thing in the book of Exodus
is all about. The whole of Israel's bondage,
the whole of Pharaoh's rebellion, the whole of Pharaoh's overthrow,
the whole of Israel's redemption crossing the Red Sea is about
this. The scripture said to Pharaoh,
God said to Pharaoh, Even for this same purpose have I raised
thee up. He raises up kings and puts down
kings. That I might show my power in
thee, and that my name might be declared throughout all the
earth. Therefore, hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy, and
whom he will he harden. Thou will say then unto me, well,
if that's the case, then God can't sit in judgment over anybody.
Why does he yet find fault for who has resisted his will? Nay,
but old man, who art thou that replies against God? Shall the
thing form, say to him that formed it, why hast thou made me thus?
Hath not the potter power over the clay of the same luck to
make one vessel unto honor and another unto dishonor? What if
God, willing to show his wrath and to make his power known,
endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath, look at
it now, fitted to destruction? to destruction. Why did Pharaoh
go to hell? Because he refused to bow to
God on his throne. Why do men go to hell today?
Because you refuse to bow to God on his throne. Because you
insist that God has no right to rule you and to rule this
world. That's why folks go to hell.
That's why Pharaoh's in hell. He was fitted to destruction
by his obstinate, willful rebellion and unbelief. But read on. And
that he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels
of mercy, look at it, which he had aforeprepared under glory. Now be sure you understand the
teaching of scripture in this matter. Are all things according
to God's purpose? Yes. Do men go to hell because
God refuses to have mercy on them? Never. Why do folks go
to hell? Read this book. I challenge you.
Find me any place in this book where any man is spoken of as
bearing the judgment of God without that judgment falling upon him
because of what that man personally has done. will not find it. If you go to hell, it will be
your fault and your doing. Well, I just, I can't believe
that. Take it up with God. Just take
it up with God. That's the way it is. And if
you go to glory, it'll be God's doing. All God's doing. Let me show you one more time.
Proverbs chapter one. Proverbs chapter one. Thera went to hell according
to God's purpose. But he went to hell because he
despised the counsel of the Most High. He perished under the sentence
of divine justice, not under the sentence of divine predestination. Proverbs chapter 1, verse 24. We're beginning now the book
of wisdom. the revelation of him who is the wisdom of God
and wisdom says because I have called and you refused come unto
me all you that labor and heavy laden I'll give you rest if any man come to me I'll receive
him he said I will in no wise cast out any who come to me Come
on, come on. I've called. And you say, no,
sir. I will not have his yoke. I will
not bow to his rule. I will not submit to his dominion.
I will have my own way. I will be my own God. Nobody will rule me. Okay. I've
stretched out my hand. No man regard it. But you have
said it not, all my counsel, and would none of my reproof.
I also will laugh at your calamity. I will mock when your fear cometh.
When your fear cometh as a desolation and your destruction cometh as
a whirlwind, when distress and anguish cometh upon you, then
shall they call upon me, but I will not answer. They shall
seek me early, but they shall not find me. For that they hated
knowledge. and did not choose the fear of
the Lord. But we can't preach that. We're
good Calvinist. Throw the Calvinism away and
get hold of this book. Throw the theology away and see
what this book says. You will either choose the fear
of the Lord or you will go to hell. You will either receive
Christ or you will go to hell. And if you go to hell, it will
be because you refuse to choose the worship of the Lord and refuse
to receive Jesus Christ as Lord and King. Read on. They would
none of my counsel. They despised all my reproof,
despised every pricking of conscience, despised every rebuke of providence,
despised every display of judgment, despised every word that came
from God, despised the preaching of the gospel, despised the intercessions
and warnings of God's people, despised all my reproof. Therefore,
therefore, underscore the therefore, therefore, they shall eat the
fruit of their own way and be filled with their own devices. This night Pharaoh king of Egypt is eating the fruit of his own
way and being filled with his devices according to the sovereignty
of divine justice. Lindsay read this to us Sunday
morning. He that being often reproved,
hardeneth his neck, shall be suddenly destroyed, and that
without remedy. That was the case with Pharaoh.
He was fitted to destruction. by his own rebellion and unbelief. He went to hell because he chose
destruction over life. And you will too, unless God
intervenes. You will too. All it takes for you to go to
hell is for God to leave you alone. That's all it takes. Oh God, don't leave them alone. Thank God there are some folks
He will not leave to themselves. They're called vessels of mercy.
Not vessels of mercy who are fitted by their works to glory. but vessels of mercy afore prepared
to glory. Prepared from old eternity and
covered at mercy, called a holy people even before they're born. In Christ the lamb slain from
the foundation of the world. The deliverance of the children
of Israel is a picture of that deliverance. It was altogether
an act of God's free grace according to God's revealed purpose as
given to Israel in a covenant made for them before they were
ever born with a representative man named Abraham. You can read
about it in Genesis 15. And God's elect are saved throughout
the ages of time. by God's free grace, by God's
sovereign mercy, according to God's revealed purpose in this
book, according to a covenant. made with us and for us on our
behalf in a representative man, Jesus Christ, our covenant surety
before ever the world was made. And that's how God saves sinners
in the work of absolute sovereignty. This is the first thing we see
here is the sovereign character of our God. Look at verse five
of chapter 11. And all the firstborn of the
land of Egypt shall die, from the firstborn of Pharaoh that
sitteth upon the throne, even unto the firstborn of the maidservant
that is behind the mill, and all the firstborn of the beast.
And there shall be a great cry throughout the land of Egypt,
such as there was none like it, nor shall be like it any more. Against any of the children of
Israel shall not a dog move his tongue. Against man or beast
that you may know how that the Lord put a difference between
the Egyptians and Israel. Why did God make a distinction
between Israel and Egypt? Why should he hate Egypt but
love Israel? Why should he afflict Egypt with
his plagues and spare Israel? Why did he choose Israel alone
among the nations of the earth to be the object of his grace
and mercy and pass all others by? Why was Israel favored? Why did he say to Israel, you
only have I known of all the families of the earth? Doesn't
he know everybody, Larry? Of course he does. Doesn't he
know everything about everybody? Of course he does. But this is
not talking about God's omniscience. This is not talking about the
God's attribute of omniscience. It's talking about God's act
of grace. You only have I known, loved,
approved of, embraced, and taken of all the families of the earth.
How come? Listen to this. For thou art
an holy people unto the Lord thy God. The Lord thy God hath
chosen thee to be a special people unto himself. Was it because they were holy
in themselves, inwardly or outwardly? Oh, no. The Lord did not set
his love on you or choose you because you were more in number
than any people, for you were the fewest in number. And certainly
Israel's included when he says all have sinned. and come short
of the glory of God. And yet he says, I've known you
and you're a special people and a holy people. I've known you. I've known you and embraced you
and accepted you as a special, peculiar people, a holy people. How can that be? because he set
them apart, sanctified them, and accepted them in Christ the
Redeemer before ever the world was made. And he looks upon us
continually in just that light. Why did he have mercy on you? Why Would he have mercy on me? Samuel gives the answer in these
words, because it pleased the Lord to make you his people. If that upsets you, I'm sorry.
I'm sorry it upsets you, but I'm sure not sorry it's so. let me ever be pleased with that
which pleases you in your absolute eternal purpose. Therefore, because he said his heart on
us and loved us, he deals with us with special care. In verse two, he says, Moses, Go talk to Israel. Look at it. Speak now in the ears of the
people. Now, I don't know who God's Israel
is. I can't identify them so that
I preach just to them. I've been hearing since I was
17 years old. If I believed what you do, I'd
just preach to the elect. I would do if you tell me who
they are. I wouldn't spend any time preaching to anybody else,
but I don't know who they are. Mr. Spurgeon said, if you'll
paint a yellow stripe down their back and lift up the shirt tails
and show me who they are, I'll preach just to them. I'll lift
up the shirt tails and identify them. But since you can't do
that, we preach the gospel as we're commanded to all men. But
all the while speaking to Israel, I've got a message for you whom
God will enable to hear it. Salvation is of the Lord. Redemption
is in Christ Jesus. Grace abundant and free is found
in the Savior. Did you hear that? If you did,
you're the Israel into whose ears God the Holy Spirit speaks. And he makes this promise. Against
any of the children of Israel shall not a dog move his toe. Not even against Israel's dogs.
Not against man or beast. What a word of security. Paul
speaks of some dogs in Philippians chapter 3, works mongers, will
worshipers, and they yak all the time. I get cussed by them
everywhere I go. I've gotten accustomed to it.
I find that it's been the case throughout history and is the
case this day. Dogs continually bark against
God's people and against God's truth. But you know what? I've been around a lot of dogs.
I've been bit by a few. But I've never been bit by one
that was barking. They can't bark while they're
biting you. And if they're biting you, they're not barking. The
dog shall not move his tongue. What's that mean? Doesn't matter
what Egypt does, ain't gonna hurt you. Doesn't matter what
Satan does, it's not going to harm you. Doesn't matter what
comes out of heaven or out of hell, God's people are under
God's care and no harm shall fall upon them. The God of all
grace, our Heavenly Father, set his love upon us, undeserving
sinners, though we are from old eternity. He appointed his dear
son to bring our salvation to us and to bring us to his salvation. And he's done it. Christ has
fulfilled his commission, saving his people from their sins by
the sacrifice of himself. And, oh, our blessed Savior will
without fail bring his people to his eternal glory. Now, did
you notice in verse five, the Lord God declares all the firstborn
of the land of Egypt shall die. I see here, and I don't believe
I'm stretching the text at all or the intent of the Holy Spirit.
I see here a striking display of God's justice as our savior. Throughout the Levitical ages,
throughout the Mosaic Old Testament dispensation, There is a constant
reference to the firstborn, the one that openeth the womb in
his birth. You remember who the firstborn
is? Can't possibly refer to anyone or anything born on this earth
except him who is born of the Virgin. The womb is not broken
in birth. The womb is broken in conception. But our Lord Jesus came forth
born of a woman and he broke his mother's womb in his birth
because he is the firstborn. And the only way God Almighty
in his absolute justice can ever have mercy on your wretched soul
or mine is by the sacrifice of his virgin born son in human
flesh as our substitute in whom and by whom he declares his righteousness in the forgiving of our sins.
David, one of the most difficult struggles I had when first God
began to reveal his son in me and show me something of my sin,
I kept trying to do something to make up with God. And he couldn't
do it, no matter what I did, no matter how I reformed, no
matter what restitution I might try to make. I said to my father years ago,
we were still living in Junction City, we'd been discussing things
eternal. He said to me with tears in his
eyes, as my heart now bleeds for him because he went to hell
believing it. He said, son, someday I hope
I can do something to make up to God. And I said to him with tears
in my eyes, Dad, I pray God will teach you to quit trying. You
can't make up with God. It can't be done. It can't be
done. It can't be done. I'm going to
make my peace with God. Hear folks on television, preachers
and news folks all tell them, well, I believe in redemption.
That is, I believe Bobby can redeem himself no matter what
he's done. Oh, no. What you gonna give for the redemption
of your soul? I saw God's justice could not
be satisfied. Could not be satisfied. Except
one way. And when I saw Jesus Christ crucified,
dying under the wrath of God when he made sin for me. My conscience said what it could
never say with reference to anything else. That's enough. That'll do. God Almighty Himself
cannot demand more and He cannot accept less than the sacrifice
of the firstborn and He displayed it in judgment. as well as in
the next chapter, he displays it in grace. Oh, let us spend
our days observing the astonishing goodness
of our God. Every time you read something
in the newspaper, see something on television, experience some
bitterness in your life's little journey, Remember, God's purpose
is the saving of his people, that his name might be known
throughout his universe as God. And with that in mind, be assured, no dog will ever move his tongue
against you so as to harm you, it won't happen. And that being
his purpose, so it shall come to pass. God shall be praised
in everything, and his people shall be saved by his mighty,
mighty, free, distinguishing grace. Amen.