MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.— Exodus 9:17-21
THE PLAGUE OF HAIL THREATENED; OR, ATTENTION TO THE WORD OF GOD THE CONDITION OF SAFETY IN THE FINAL JUDGMENT OF LIFE
Here is a particular prediction of the plague of hail, and a gracious advice to Pharaoh and his people, to send for their servants and cattle out of the field, that they might be sheltered. When God’s justice threatens ruin, His mercy at the same time shews men a way of escape from it, so unwilling is He that any should perish. We take this threat, the mercy by which it was accompanied, as typical of the final judgment of life, and the opportunity given to men to avert its awful terrors.
I. That there is a great and awful judgment threatened upon man in the future. The plague of hail was to come upon Egypt on the morrow. But it is not made known when the final judgment will dawn upon the race. That time is known only to the great God; and it does not become the human mind to be inquisitive on the subject. The fact is certain; and that is enough for all the varied purposes of moral conduct.
1. That as the plague of hail was threatened before its occurrence; so the final judgment is previously made known to the world. The plague of hail was threatened upon the Egyptians before its descent, in all its severity. It was made known to Pharaoh and to those in league with him. And so the fact of the future judgment is made known to the world. It is revealed clearly in the inspired volume. It is enforced by the conscience. It is prefigured by tribunals of earthly justice. A day is ordained in which Christ will judge the world in righteousness. That day will be on the morrow of the world’s history. It ought not to take men by surprise, as it is so emphatically predicted.
2. That as the plague of hail was grievous in its infliction; so the future judgment will be woful to the wicked. The hail was to be very grievous. We read that it smote the flax and the barley. And how grievous the final judgment will be no tongue can tell, or pen describe. We have descriptions of it in the Word of God, but only the dread reality will disclose to the soul its real terrors. Then the hope and joy of the sinner will be smitten, and the unholy life will be an eternal wreck.
3. That as the plague of hail was unparalleled in severity; so the final judgment will be unique in its method and horror. The Egyptians had been afflicted with many plagues, and had passed through many experiences of retribution, but none more grievous than this. This was unique in its method and severity. It was fatal to many. It was injurious to national prosperity. And so, humanity will pass through many judgments prior to the final one, through much painful discipline, designed to be corrective, but none will be equal or similar to that of the last great day. It will be unparalleled, such as will not have been known from the foundation of the world.
II. That there is a shelter provided from the final judgment of the future.
1. Divinely made known. When the plague of hail was threatened, at the same time the possibility of safety was made known. And so when the danger of man’s moral condition was made known in the garden of Eden, the remedy was immediately announced. The shelter of the soul from the final retribution of life is the one great theme of the Bible. Man is urged to flee to it at once.
2. Mercifully sufficient. All those who heeded the word of God in reference to the plague were freed from its alarming consequences. They found shelter in their homes. Christ is the home of the soul. In Him it is secure. In Him it will rest peacefully amidst the final judgment of the universe.
3. Gratefully welcomed. We can imagine how welcome to the Egyptians who were obedient to the word of God, would be the shelter of their homes during this terrible storm. Much more welcome will be Christ as the refuge of the soul in the final hour of life.
III. That only those who heed the warning of God, and avail themselves of the shelter provided, will be safe in the final judgment of life. All the Egyptians who remained in the open field were destroyed by the hail. And all who remain in the open field of sin, of carnal pleasure, and of wilful scepticism will be awfully smitten by the final judgment of God. They will have no mode of escape. They will perish in their disobedience. Then no refuge will be available. And so those who have neglected to flee to Christ, will in the last day have no mitigation of the penalty they have deserved. Then no plea will avail them. They will be lost.
IV. That many through unbelief or through neglect of the word of God, will perish in the final judgment of Life. Many Egyptians died through their unbelief. They heeded not the warning of God. And so, many at the last day will be in a like condition. They had every opportunity of salvation. But unbelief will be their ruin. LESSONS:
1. Believe in the judgment to come.
2. Believe in the mercy of Christ.
3. Flee from the wrath to come.
SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS ON THE VERSES— Exodus 9:17
A SELF-EXALTED MAN
I. That a self-exalted man often treats with contempt the claims of duty. Pharaoh was commanded to give Israel their freedom. This was his duty. But he regarded it with great contempt. And so many people, who are great in their own conceit, reject the claims of God upon them and their service. They imagine themselves above all morality, and as superior to those laws and principles of conduct which more humble spirits regard as the rule of life.
II. That a self-exalted man often treats with contempt the people of God. Pharaoh treated Israel as slaves, and Moses and Aaron as vile imposters, unworthy his notice. And how often do self-exalted men oppress and malign the church, and how often do they ill-treat the ministers of God.
III. That a self-exalted man is often humiliated by the sad discipline of life. Was it not so in the case of Pharaoh? Who can read the history of his self-exaltation without seeing his self-defeat. True is it that men who exalt themselves shall be abased. Self-conceit is self-destruction. Pride invites a severe discipline. The plagues of Egypt are evidence of this.
Self-exaltation:—
1. In what it consists.
2. How it is punished.
God expostulates with highest powers on earth for injury done to His church.
Such injury draws on more vengeance upon proud persecutors.
Exodus 9:18. God demonstrates judgments to the wicked before He sends them.
Jehovah is the author of rain in judgment as well as in mercy.
God has time in his hand to determine events of judgment at His pleasure.
The morrow-events for judgment are only in God’s hand, unparalleled judgments does God inflict upon unparalleled sinners.
Exodus 9:19. God’s advice to escape judgment goes along with threatenings of it to the sinner.
God teaches men providence to hide themselves from the stroke of judgment.
God foretells that all despisers of providence, and presumers on God shall perish.
SALUTARY FEAR
Exodus 9:20. Threatened judgments test men. There was a difference even among the Egyptians: some would defy God to the last, others were ready to yield to Him. Men in all conditions and climes, differ much with respect to their measure of power to resist God. Religious impressionableness varies. Some are more susceptible to the presence of God than others.
I. These men feared God’s threatened judgment. They had seen that the Divine words spoken by Moses had previously come to pass, and believing his words now, they feared. Fear often arises from faith in God’s word. If sinners believed the judgments threatened against them they would be in great fear. “There is enough terror in the Bible to make the sinner’s hair stand on end.” Fear is a blessing to the sinner and often serviceable to the saint; though perfect love casteth out fear. If we are His children we are as safe in times of judgment as in times of mercy. Fear is the alarum of the soul. It is frequently the first emotion in a new life. Bunyan represents his pilgrim starting from the “City of Destruction” because he feared its overthrow. Fear often brings in love “as the needle draws in the thread”—Adams. God often awakens sinners by judgments, before he reveals to them His mercy. Fear however may be slavish, and not lead to higher experiences. When calamities threaten, such as famine, war, or pestilence, how the sanctuaries are crowded! Some receive life, others go back to death. These Egyptians may have been led by their fears to recognize the claims of the true God, and to serve Him. They might have been among those who left Egypt with the Israelites. Their goodness also may have been like the morning cloud on early dew. It is a serious hour when men are awakened out of the sleep of sin by fear. They may then take the first step towards heaven or increase the condemnation which previously rested upon them.
II. Their fear led to appropriate action. They prepared for the coming storm. What discussions would arise among the servants of Pharaoh respecting this overhanging judgment! Ridicule might have been heaped upon some for their faith in God’s word. Some doubtless acted merely to secure themselves from loss; others because they recognized the supremacy of Jehovah. Fear often leads to right action. There would be far more sin in the world if there was less fear. Men remember a coming judgment, and turn into the ways of righteousness. There is a storm yet to break upon the earth far more terrible than even this which struck terror into the hearts of the Egyptians. “Upon the wicked He shall rain snares, fire and brimstone, and an horrible tempest, this shall be the portion of their cup.” Are we making preparations for that day? Have we fled for refuge, and laid hold on the hope set before us in the gospel? Christ is the hiding-place from this coming storm. There is shelter for all in Him. The wise are warned and hide themselves in Him. God’s threatenings are sure to be fulfilled. The simple neglect the warning and are destroyed.
III. Their fear led to welcome safety. Obedience brought its reward. Men’s property would be safer if they had greater respect for the word of God. God cares for the cattle. The animal creation has suffered much for man’s sins. Religion in the master benefits the whole circle of the home. God-fearing masters are a great blessing to their servants. No one liveth to himself. Our influence is the boundary line of our responsibility. The actions of masters often affect the eternal welfare of their dependents. Masters should use loving constraint. They should seek to make their households flee into Christ the house of refuge to escape the coming storm. Many masters are guilty of great neglect. Well may they ask in the trenchant words of Wesley,
“Shall I through indolence repine
Neglect, betray, my charge Divine,
My delegated power?
The souls I from my Lord receive
Of each I an account must give
At that tremendous hour!”
W. O. Lilley.
Exodus 9:21. Belief of the Word of God:—
1. Makes men tremble.
2. Makes men wise.
3. Makes men safe.
4. Makes men singular.
Wicked men through fear may flee from temporal plagues but not eternal.
Disregard of God:—
1. Ruinous.
2. Presumptuous.
3. Foolish.
4. Common.
5. Inexcusable.
ILLUSTRATIONS
BY
REV. WM. ADAMSON
Divine Power! Exodus 9:17. In Canada there are times when the mighty St. Lawrence sweeps down with irresistible might. When the vast surface of ice has broken up before the rushing waters and beneath the spring sunbeams, the huge floes roll down the stream, bearing away all that opposes. If a bridge spans the river, the force with which the waters bring the massive ice-blocks against the arches and piers proves overwhelming. Pharaoh stood—set himself up as a dam or mound to resist the stream of Jehovah’s power; and was swept away by its omnipotent tide. None can withstand His will!
“Who then would wish, or dare, believing this
Against His purposes to shut the door?”
Cattle! Exodus 9:19. When the Romans were about to make a league with Ptolemy, king of Egypt, the treaty was broken off owing to a Roman soldier having chanced inadvertently to kill a cat. Although the Egyptians were themselves most anxious to have the treaty, yet so enraged were they at the act that they ran in tumult to seize the offender; and in spite of the persuasion of their own Princes they vented their fury upon the soldier. Such was the superstitious veneration of Egypt for their idol-beasts that Porphyry declares, they would rather feed on human flesh than the flesh of a heifer. So that this plague of hailstones was more than ever a direct blow aimed at the monstrous idolatries of that nation, all of which are discernible upon the ruins,
“When the classic pilgrim sweeping free
From fallen architrave the desert vine
Reads the dim names of their divinities.”
—Bethune.
Safety! Exodus 9:19. During the recent Malay insurrection, when Mr. Birch had been savagely massacred, his companion, Lieutenant Abbott, made his escape in a remarkable manner. He succeeded in reaching a boat—in pushing it out into the Perak river—and in steering it in the middle of the stream towards the residency. The banks were lined with Malay rebels—who kept up an incessant fire upon the fugitive; but their efforts to kill proved futile, for in the centre of the river, the gallant sailor was beyond gunshot. He reached the Fort in safety. Is there no escape from the persistent attacks of the enemy? Yonder flows the river, by its brink rests the canoe: launch on that stream, and it will bear you beyond reach of foe. You will be borne safely down; though fierce savages may crowd the bank, and shoot their poisoned arrows as a thick cloud. The stream is wide: steer your barque in the middle, and no harm can betide;—
“Soon shall the ark in safety rest
On some eternal height;
The hills shall be with verdure drest,
And bathed in quenchless light.”
Divine Shelter! Exodus 9:20. When travellers are overtaken on the mountains by the storms of the Cordilleras of South America, they seek shelter till these pass away in caves and beneath jutting cliffs. Dark clouds gather; dense mist masses float about; flashes of forked lightning dart across the path, ploughing up the ground, while peals of thunder seem to rend the mountain tops. Flash succeeds flash, the very atmosphere quivering with the uninterrupted peals, repeated a thousand-fold by the mountain echoes. Rocks and earth come hurling down from the lofty peaks. Those out in the forest are stricken by the vivid gleams of fire, or smitten by the massive blocks of hail, or crushed beneath falling trees, riven by the same power. But those in the shelter of caves and crevices are safe; and when the storm is over, they may come out and resume their journey. Those who shelter beneath the Rock of Ages, amid the storms of life are safe; and, like Israel leaving Egypt, they get beyond the storm, amid the sunlight on the other side of the Red Sea.
“So I, by faith, with sin oppressed,
Would refuge take, O Christ, in Thee;
Thou art my hiding place and rest,
From every evil shelter me.”