Church of Christ Sermon Outlines

The Ten Plagues of Egypt – Part IV

 

 

Introduction: 

Many years before God sent the plagues upon Egypt, the Lord told Abram the following:  Genesis 15:12-15
"Now when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and behold, horror and great darkness fell upon him. 13 Then He said to Abram: "Know certainly that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, and will serve them, and they will afflict them four hundred years. 14 And also the nation whom they serve I will judge; afterward they shall come out with great possessions." (NKJV)
 

Body: 

IX. Ninth Plague – Darkness (Exodus 10:21-29) 

• Thick darkness came upon Egypt for three days.  No doubt this brought terror upon the Egyptians.  It impacted them emotionally and psychologically.  Artificial light sources would not work either.
• This same Hebrew word for darkness is used in Genesis 1:2.
• This plague was against several Egyptian deities.
  1. Amon-Ra, the sun god, who was originally two separate deities.  Ra was represented with man’s body and a falcon’s head topped with a solar disk.
  2. Horus was the sky god of Upper Egypt, the god of light.
  3. Atem was the sun god and creator.
  4. Ptah was the god who created the sun, moon, and earth.

• The three days of darkness remind us of Saul’s three days of blindness.  (Acts 9:8-12)   But the three days of darkness didn’t lead Pharaoh to open his eyes to the identity of Jehovah.(Verses 24-29)
• Darkness separated them from God and kept them away from His presence.  At the end of the parable of the wedding feast, the man who had no wedding garment is to be cast into darkness.    (Matthew 22:11-14)
• Darkness is also described by Jude in verses 6 and 13.

 X. Tenth Plague – Death of the Firstborn (Exodus 11:1-10, 12:29-32) 

• The tenth plague was very selective.  Only Egyptian first-born males, human or animal, were affected.  This was too selective to be a childhood epidemic.  The death of the first born was especially significant.   (Genesis 49:3)
• This plague was against all the gods of Egypt as God directed judgment.  (Exodus 12:12)
  1. Meskhenet was the goddess who presided at childbirth.
  2. Heqt was the goddess of birth.
  3. Min was the god of procreation.
  4. Selket was guardian of life.
  5. Renenutet was guardian of Pharaoh.

None of these had any power against this plague. 

Invitation: 

Read Exodus 12:33-36, 40-42.  Then read Psalms 78:51-55. 

Bobby Stafford

December 11, 2011

More on Christian Faith

More on Christian Living