Exodus 5:2Pharaoh said,

“Who is the LORD, that I should

obey Him and let Israel go? I do not know

the LORD and I will not let Israel go.”

“God in His omniscience foreknew exactly how Pharaoh

would respond, and He used it to accomplish

His purposes. God ordained the means

of Pharaoh's free, but stubborn action”

- Dr. Norman Geisler

“Purposeful Plagues”1.) Judgment on Pharaoh & Egypt for their injustice against the Israelites2.) Showing God’s saving power to Israel with miraculous mercy during them3.) God revealing Himself to Egypt and the entire Earth by these “wonders”

Exodus 9: 15-1715 “By now I could have stretched out

My Hand and struck you and your people with a plague that would have wiped you off the earth. 16 But I have raised you up (or spared you) for this very purpose, that I might show you My power and

that My Name might be proclaimed in all the earth. 17 You still set yourself against

my people and will not let them go.”

Exodus 34: 6-76 And God passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, “The LORD, the LORD,

the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and

faithfulness, 7 maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion

and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; He punishes the children and

their children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation.”

Exodus 4: 21-2321 The LORD said to Moses,

“When you return to Egypt, see that you perform before Pharaoh all the wonders

I have given you the power to do. But I will harden his heart so that he will not

let the people go. 22 Then say to Pharaoh, ‘This is what the LORD says: Israel is my

firstborn son, 23 and I told you, “Let my son go, so he may worship me.” But you refused to let him go; so I will kill your firstborn son.’”

Exodus 12: 1-32Belief Blood Bread

Unlike Pharaoh,Moses and the Israelites chose to believe God

and obeyed His instructions for the Passover preparations…

no matter how odd they may have

seemed to them.

The first function of the blood

in the Passover was to serve as a “sign,” distinguishing the

people of Israel from the Egyptians.

This pattern recurred throughout all of the plagues.

The second function of the blood in the

Passover was to serve as a “substitute.” God was teaching Israel, through

the lamb, a lesson in substitutionary

atonement… that sin’s high cost is always death.

God desired for future generations to remember and

celebrate the freedom that He provided His people…so He decreed it to be an

annual event for the Jews:“Feast of Unleavened Bread”By taking this meal together, it is hoped that all will find

freedom again from whatever may have them in bondage.

1 Peter 1: 18-19, 2118 “For you know that it was not with

perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the

empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors, 19 but with the

precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect… 21 Through Him

you believe in God, who raised Him from the dead and glorified him, and so your

faith and hope are in God.”

1 Corinthians 5: 7-87 “Get rid of the old yeast,

so that you may be a new unleavened batch—as you really are. For Christ,

our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. 8 Therefore let us keep the Festival,

not with the old bread leavened with malice and wickedness, but with the

unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.”

“We begin our journey into the wilderness when we

honestly admit that life is a bloody mess, when we confess our powerlessness

to defeat the enslavements of our lives.It’s an exit strategy that defies

conventional wisdom and quick fixes. But it’s crucial for our successful navigation

through the wilderness ahead.”- Chuck DeGroat, “Leaving Egypt”