17th April 2024

17th April 2024


Pray (ACts)


Read (Exodus 10:1-20)


Message (Alan Burke)


My kids love hearing stories about when I was a wain, every time they are in my mums company the topic normally comes up and most of the time they don’t paint me in the best light. I claim that I was practically perfect in every way but for some reason no one believes me but I will go to my grave claiming that even though it is a downright lie. Here’s the thing, none of the things I got up to when I was younger were done for the so that my own wains could be told a story about how great their da was. Look here though the reasons why we are told that the Lord was doing all this to the Egyptians, why he had brought the previous seven plagues and is bringing this the eighth plague of locusts. Well in v1-2 the Lord we are told was doing this so not only the Egyptians would know that the Lord is God and that his people would know that the Lord is God but also that his people may be able to tell them to their children and grandchildren of how the Lord dealt harshly with the Egyptians. 


I know it isn’t the thrust of the passage but in this we learn that it is the family that is meant to be the school of faith. It is the family, the parent to the child, the grandparent to their grandchildren, teaching the truths of the faith is to be handed down from one generation to the next. For those of you who have younger children in your lives, school age, you are responsible for teaching the truths of the faith, you are to pass on to them the wonder of what God has done for them, telling them the story of the salvation that God has brought.


I’ve heard parents say they will let their children make up their own mind about matters of faith, when they are old enough they can decide, they do not teach their children the truths of the faith, and if their children decide not to go to worship, attend the different things on among the church. You ask the same parents as I have done do they do all they can to teach them their maths homework and make sure they go to school they say yes, they wouldn’t dream of letting their children decide for themselves at 15 whether on not to start doing their maths homework or go to school, it’s too late. We are to pass on the faith, teach our children to obey for their benefit and the glory  of God. 


Once more Pharaoh is warned and he fails to humble himself. His officials were even telling Pharaoh to let the people go (v7). His officials saw what had and was befalling on Egypt but Pharaoh could not see it, his heart was hardened. While the magicians had abandoned their attempts to recreate the plagues, and his officials ask him how long. Pharaoh as a result tried to barter with Moses about who could go, look at v9, when Pharaoh enquired who would go to worship the Lord, some translations use the word serve and to this Moses answered “We will go with our young and old, with our sons and daughters, and with our flocks and herds, because we are to celebrate a festival to the Lord.”


The Lord didn’t just want the adults to serve him to worship him, he wanted all of his people to worship, to serve him, from the oldest to the youngest. The Lord was redeeming his people to serve and to worship him. You could ask what is the chief end of the Israelites, to glorify God and enjoy him forever, as they serve and worship him and it is young and old, every man woman and child together. God was demanding from pharaoh his people, he didn’t say split them all up into age specific groups as we sinfully have done but the Lord wanted all his people together. In the worship and the service of him. Again throughout the scripture the same emphasis is given both in the Old and the New Testament. 


Pharaoh is obstinate and plague of locusts came. The crops that had been battered by the hail and left in the field were now devoured by millions of locusts. Pharaoh once more confessed his sin but was unrepentant, the knowledge of our sin should make us cry out to the Lord for mercy and turn from our sinful ways and know his mercy through Jesus Christ. 


Pray (acTS)


Sing


WSC
Q15 What was the sin whereby our first parents fell from the estate wherein they were created?
The sin whereby our first parents fell from the estate wherein thy were created, was their eating the forbidden fruit. (Gen. 3:6)
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