WEBVTT 00:00:00.020 --> 00:00:00.900 He showed them mercy. 00:00:03.360 --> 00:00:05.620 This is the LifeSpring One Year Bible Rewind, 00:00:05.740 --> 00:00:07.580 and coming to you from Riverside, California, 00:00:08.360 --> 00:00:09.680 podcasting since 2004, 00:00:09.920 --> 00:00:12.260 I'm Steve Webb, your OG Godcaster. 00:00:12.920 --> 00:00:14.980 This is the podcast that comes to you every day, 00:00:15.220 --> 00:00:17.700 and we're reading the entire Bible together in a year. 00:00:17.980 --> 00:00:19.060 I'm so glad you're here. 00:00:19.420 --> 00:00:19.620 Welcome. 00:00:19.920 --> 00:00:21.880 The website is lifespringmedia.com. 00:00:22.100 --> 00:00:24.660 And once again, it's Groundhog Day. 00:00:25.320 --> 00:00:27.680 This is one time where television really fails 00:00:27.700 --> 00:00:31.940 to capture the true excitement of a large squirrel predicting the weather. 00:00:32.759 --> 00:00:36.260 Maybe it's just me, but it seems like we've done this before, doesn't it? 00:00:36.720 --> 00:00:38.000 And this is History Tuesday. 00:00:38.230 --> 00:00:41.900 We'll read Exodus 9 through 12, and then I'll share some comments, 00:00:42.160 --> 00:00:44.960 and after that, On This Date in Church History is on deck. 00:00:45.620 --> 00:00:46.060 Let's begin. 00:00:47.140 --> 00:00:50.180 Our Heavenly Father, we love you so very much, and we thank you for your word. 00:00:50.440 --> 00:00:53.140 We pray, God, that as we read today, you would teach us. 00:00:53.740 --> 00:00:54.820 Soften our hearts, Lord. 00:00:55.170 --> 00:00:56.500 I pray this in Jesus' name. 00:00:57.120 --> 00:00:57.340 Amen. 00:01:00.480 --> 00:01:01.660 Exodus chapter 9 00:01:27.420 --> 00:01:32.520 on the cattle, and on the sheep and goats. But Yahweh will make a distinction between the 00:01:32.770 --> 00:01:38.080 livestock of Israel and the livestock of Egypt, and not a thing will die from all that belongs 00:01:38.130 --> 00:01:44.400 to the Israelites. And Yahweh set an appointed time, saying, Tomorrow Yahweh will do this thing 00:01:44.400 --> 00:01:50.660 in the land. And Yahweh did this thing the next day. All the livestock of Egypt died, 00:01:51.300 --> 00:01:57.380 but from the livestock of the Israelites not one died. And Pharaoh sent to check, and it turned out 00:01:57.400 --> 00:02:00.400 Not even one from the livestock of Israel had died. 00:02:01.100 --> 00:02:04.600 But Pharaoh's heart was insensitive, and he did not release the people. 00:02:05.340 --> 00:02:07.340 And Yahweh said to Moses and to Aaron, 00:02:08.240 --> 00:02:11.660 Take for yourselves full handfuls of soot from a smelting furnace, 00:02:12.240 --> 00:02:16.060 and let Moses sprinkle it toward the heavens before the eyes of Pharaoh. 00:02:16.800 --> 00:02:19.920 And it will become fine dust over all the land of Egypt. 00:02:20.700 --> 00:02:23.980 And it will become on humans and on animals a skin sore, 00:02:24.320 --> 00:02:26.420 sprouting blisters in all the land of Egypt. 00:02:27.240 --> 00:02:31.300 And they took the soot of the smelting furnace, and they stood before Pharaoh. 00:02:31.800 --> 00:02:37.400 And Moses sprinkled it towards the heavens, and it became skin sores sprouting blisters 00:02:37.700 --> 00:02:38.960 on humans and on animals. 00:02:39.960 --> 00:02:45.440 And the magicians were not able to stand before Moses because of the skin sores, for the skin 00:02:45.620 --> 00:02:48.220 sores were on the magicians and on all the Egyptians. 00:02:49.080 --> 00:02:54.060 And Yahweh hardened Pharaoh's heart, and he did not listen to them, as Yahweh had spoken 00:02:54.260 --> 00:02:54.620 to Moses. 00:02:55.320 --> 00:03:00.280 And Yahweh said to Moses, Start early in the morning and stand before Pharaoh. 00:03:01.080 --> 00:03:06.820 Look, he is going out to the water, and you must say to him, Thus says Yahweh the God of the Hebrews, 00:03:07.780 --> 00:03:10.120 Release my people so that they may serve me. 00:03:10.610 --> 00:03:14.160 For at this time I am sending all of my plagues to you personally, 00:03:14.820 --> 00:03:17.000 and among your servants, and among your people, 00:03:17.560 --> 00:03:20.980 so that you will know that there is no one like me in all the earth. 00:03:21.400 --> 00:03:26.240 For now I could have stretched out my hand, and I could have struck you and your people with the 00:03:26.420 --> 00:03:32.240 plague, and you would have perished from the earth. But for the sake of this I have caused you to stand, 00:03:32.520 --> 00:03:37.640 for the sake of showing you my strength, and in order to proclaim my name in all the earth. 00:03:38.640 --> 00:03:45.399 Still you are behaving haughtily to my people by not releasing them. Look, about this time tomorrow 00:03:45.580 --> 00:03:51.620 I am going to cause very severe hail to rain, the like of which has not been seen in Egypt 00:03:51.940 --> 00:03:58.700 from the day it was founded until now. And now send word, bring into safety your livestock and 00:03:58.840 --> 00:04:04.200 all that belongs to you in the field. The hail will come down on every human and animal that 00:04:04.280 --> 00:04:10.659 is found in the field, and not gathered into the house, and they will die. Anyone from the servants 00:04:10.680 --> 00:04:15.760 of Pharaoh who feared the word of Yahweh caused his servants and livestock to flee to the houses. 00:04:16.620 --> 00:04:21.519 But whoever did not give regard to the word of Yahweh abandoned his servants and his livestock 00:04:21.730 --> 00:04:28.400 in the field. And Yahweh said to Moses, Stretch out your hand to the heavens, and let there be 00:04:28.530 --> 00:04:34.200 hail in all the land of Egypt, on human and on animal, and on all the vegetation of the field 00:04:34.250 --> 00:04:40.640 in the land of Egypt. And Moses stretched out his staff to the heavens, and Yahweh gave thunder and 00:04:40.800 --> 00:04:45.580 and fire went down to the earth, and Yahweh caused hail to rain on the land of Egypt. 00:04:46.160 --> 00:04:51.400 And there was hail, and fire was flashing back and forth in the midst of the very severe hail, 00:04:51.900 --> 00:04:56.520 the like of which was not seen in all the land of Egypt, since it had become a nation. 00:04:57.360 --> 00:05:03.300 And the hail struck in all the land of Egypt all that was in the field, from human to animal. 00:05:04.100 --> 00:05:08.900 And the hail struck all the vegetation of the field, and smashed every tree of the field. 00:05:09.500 --> 00:05:13.880 Only in the land of Goshen, where the Israelites were, there was no hail. 00:05:15.020 --> 00:05:19.740 And Pharaoh sent and called Moses and Aaron and said to them, I have sinned this time. 00:05:20.500 --> 00:05:24.460 Yahweh is the righteous one, and I and my people are the wicked ones. 00:05:25.380 --> 00:05:30.760 Pray to Yahweh, the thunder of God and hail are enough, and I will release you, and you 00:05:30.860 --> 00:05:32.380 will no longer have to stay. 00:05:33.040 --> 00:05:38.040 And Moses said to him, At my leaving the city, I will spread out my hands to Yahweh. 00:05:38.500 --> 00:05:44.040 The thunder will stop, and the hail will be no more, so that you will know that the earth belongs 00:05:44.220 --> 00:05:49.420 to Yahweh. But as for you and your servants, I know that you do not yet fear the presence of 00:05:49.560 --> 00:05:55.600 Yahweh God. And the flax and the barley were struck, because the barley was in the ear and 00:05:55.600 --> 00:06:00.820 the flax was in the bud. But the wheat and the spelt were not struck, because they are late 00:06:00.980 --> 00:06:06.320 ripening. And Moses went from Pharaoh out of the city, and he spread his hands to Yahweh. 00:06:06.520 --> 00:06:10.800 and the thunder and the hail stopped, and the rain did not pour on the earth. 00:06:11.880 --> 00:06:14.960 And Pharaoh saw that the rain and the hail and the thunder stopped, 00:06:15.780 --> 00:06:19.860 and he again sinned and made his heart insensitive, he and his servants. 00:06:20.840 --> 00:06:24.340 And Pharaoh's heart was hard, and he did not release the Israelites, 00:06:24.710 --> 00:06:27.420 as Yahweh had said by the agency of Moses. 00:06:28.180 --> 00:06:29.280 Exodus chapter 10 00:06:29.780 --> 00:06:32.720 Then the Lord said to Moses, Go and see the king. 00:06:33.020 --> 00:06:38.700 I have made him and his officials stubborn, in order that I may perform these miracles among them, 00:06:39.140 --> 00:06:46.100 and in order that you may be able to tell your children and grandchildren how I made fools of the Egyptians when I performed the miracles. 00:06:47.000 --> 00:06:48.940 All of you will know that I am the Lord. 00:06:50.260 --> 00:06:52.800 So Moses and Aaron went to the king and said to him, 00:06:53.220 --> 00:06:55.740 The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, says, 00:06:56.520 --> 00:06:58.860 How much longer will you refuse to submit to me? 00:06:59.580 --> 00:07:02.140 Let my people go, so that they may worship me. 00:07:02.420 --> 00:07:06.460 If you keep on refusing, then I will bring locusts into your country tomorrow. 00:07:07.440 --> 00:07:10.660 There will be so many that they will completely cover the ground. 00:07:11.440 --> 00:07:16.060 They will eat everything that the hail did not destroy, even the trees that are left. 00:07:16.660 --> 00:07:20.860 They will fill your palaces and the houses of all your officials and all your people. 00:07:21.700 --> 00:07:24.660 They will be worse than anything your ancestors ever saw. 00:07:25.580 --> 00:07:27.040 Then Moses turned and left. 00:07:27.520 --> 00:07:29.080 The king's officials said to him, 00:07:29.420 --> 00:07:31.600 How long is this man going to give us trouble? 00:07:32.160 --> 00:07:35.760 Let the Israelite men go so that they can worship the Lord their God. 00:07:36.620 --> 00:07:38.480 Don't you realize that Egypt is ruined? 00:07:40.040 --> 00:07:43.300 So Moses and Aaron were brought back to the king, and he said to them, 00:07:43.760 --> 00:07:45.800 You may go and worship the Lord your God. 00:07:46.300 --> 00:07:47.640 But exactly who will go? 00:07:48.320 --> 00:07:49.020 Moses answered, 00:07:49.640 --> 00:07:52.680 We will all go, including our children and our old people. 00:07:53.360 --> 00:07:56.940 We will take our sons and daughters, our sheep and goats, and our cattle, 00:07:57.520 --> 00:07:59.860 because we must hold a festival to honor the Lord. 00:08:00.860 --> 00:08:05.620 The king said, I swear by the Lord that I will never let you take your women and children. 00:08:06.250 --> 00:08:08.000 It is clear that you are planning to revolt. 00:08:08.680 --> 00:08:12.440 No, only the men may go and worship the Lord if that is what you want. 00:08:13.280 --> 00:08:16.360 With that, Moses and Aaron were driven out of the king's presence. 00:08:17.280 --> 00:08:22.300 Then the Lord said to Moses, Raise your hand over the land of Egypt to bring the locusts. 00:08:22.740 --> 00:08:26.880 They will come and eat everything that grows, everything that has survived the hail. 00:08:27.540 --> 00:08:34.039 So Moses raised his stick, and the Lord caused a wind from the east to blow on the land all that day and all that night. 00:08:34.659 --> 00:08:36.599 By morning it had brought the locusts. 00:08:37.219 --> 00:08:39.900 They came in swarms and settled over the whole country. 00:08:40.719 --> 00:08:45.300 It was the largest swarm of locusts that had ever been seen or that ever would be seen again. 00:08:46.300 --> 00:08:48.620 They covered the ground until it was black with them. 00:08:49.160 --> 00:08:53.380 They ate everything that the hail had left, including all the fruit on the trees. 00:08:54.280 --> 00:08:58.560 Not a green thing was left on any tree or plant in all the land of Egypt. 00:08:59.280 --> 00:09:02.240 Then the king hurriedly called Moses and Aaron and said, 00:09:02.740 --> 00:09:05.460 I have sinned against the Lord your God and against you. 00:09:06.280 --> 00:09:12.080 Now forgive my sin this one time and pray to the Lord your God to take away this fatal punishment from me. 00:09:13.240 --> 00:09:15.280 Moses left the king and prayed to the Lord. 00:09:16.060 --> 00:09:19.040 And the Lord changed the east wind into a very strong west wind, 00:09:19.500 --> 00:09:22.740 which picked up the locusts and blew them into the Gulf of Suez. 00:09:23.460 --> 00:09:25.660 Not one locust was left in all of Egypt. 00:09:26.490 --> 00:09:30.340 But the Lord made the king stubborn, and he did not let the Israelites go. 00:09:31.080 --> 00:09:32.420 The Lord then said to Moses, 00:09:33.320 --> 00:09:34.680 Raise your hand toward the sky, 00:09:35.330 --> 00:09:38.560 and a darkness thick enough to be felt will cover the land of Egypt. 00:09:39.540 --> 00:09:41.480 Moses raised his hand toward the sky, 00:09:42.090 --> 00:09:45.340 and there was total darkness throughout Egypt for three days. 00:09:46.180 --> 00:09:48.000 The Egyptians could not see each other, 00:09:48.600 --> 00:09:50.560 and no one left his house during that time. 00:09:51.160 --> 00:09:56.240 but the Israelites had light where they were living. The king called Moses and said, 00:09:56.780 --> 00:10:00.480 You may go and worship the Lord, even your women and children may go with you, 00:10:00.900 --> 00:10:06.800 but your sheep, goats, and cattle must stay here. Moses answered, Then you would have to provide us 00:10:06.920 --> 00:10:12.460 with animals for sacrifices and burnt offerings to offer to the Lord our God. No, we will take our 00:10:12.700 --> 00:10:18.299 animals with us, not one will be left behind. We ourselves must select the animals with which to 00:10:18.320 --> 00:10:24.060 worship the Lord our God. And until we get there, we will not know what animals to sacrifice to him. 00:10:24.940 --> 00:10:28.860 The Lord made the king stubborn, and he would not let them go. He said to Moses, 00:10:29.540 --> 00:10:35.060 Get out of my sight. Don't let me ever see you again. On the day I do, you will die. 00:10:35.740 --> 00:10:39.200 You are right, Moses answered. You will never see me again. 00:10:40.160 --> 00:10:43.160 Exodus chapter 11 Then the Lord said to Moses, 00:10:43.960 --> 00:10:47.400 I will send only one more punishment on the king of Egypt and his people. 00:10:48.180 --> 00:10:49.560 After that, he will let you leave. 00:10:50.080 --> 00:10:51.960 In fact, he will drive all of you out of here. 00:10:52.740 --> 00:10:56.800 Now speak to the people of Israel and tell all of them to ask their neighbors for gold 00:10:56.920 --> 00:10:57.680 and silver jewelry. 00:10:58.760 --> 00:11:00.780 The Lord made the Egyptians respect the Israelites. 00:11:01.210 --> 00:11:05.480 Indeed, the officials and all the people considered Moses to be a very great man. 00:11:06.620 --> 00:11:07.940 Moses then said to the king, 00:11:08.600 --> 00:11:14.539 The Lord says, At about midnight I will go through Egypt, and every firstborn son in Egypt 00:11:14.560 --> 00:11:20.160 will die, from the king's son, who is heir to the throne, to the son of the slave woman who grinds 00:11:20.300 --> 00:11:26.000 grain. The firstborn of all the cattle will die also. There will be loud crying all over Egypt, 00:11:26.340 --> 00:11:31.480 such as there has never been before or ever will be again, but not even a dog will bark at the 00:11:31.700 --> 00:11:37.320 Israelites or their animals. Then you will know that I, the Lord, make a distinction between the 00:11:37.480 --> 00:11:43.879 Egyptians and the Israelites. Moses concluded by saying, All your officials will come to me and 00:11:43.900 --> 00:11:50.400 bow down before me, and they will beg me to take all my people and go away. After that I will leave. 00:11:51.140 --> 00:11:56.800 Then, in great anger, Moses left the king. The Lord had said to Moses, The king will continue 00:11:56.860 --> 00:12:02.160 to refuse to listen to you in order that I may do more of my miracles in Egypt. Moses and Aaron 00:12:02.360 --> 00:12:07.060 performed all these miracles before the king, but the Lord made him stubborn, and he would not let 00:12:07.060 --> 00:12:13.740 the Israelites leave his country. Exodus chapter 12. The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron in Egypt. 00:12:13.880 --> 00:12:17.340 This month is to be the first month of the year for you. 00:12:18.300 --> 00:12:20.840 Give these instructions to the whole community of Israel. 00:12:21.780 --> 00:12:26.860 On the tenth day of this month, each man must choose either a lamb or a young goat for his household. 00:12:27.580 --> 00:12:32.580 If his family is too small to eat a whole animal, he and his next-door neighbor may share an animal, 00:12:33.080 --> 00:12:36.980 in proportion to the number of people and the amount that each person can eat. 00:12:37.320 --> 00:12:43.840 You may choose either a sheep or a goat, but it must be a one-year-old male without any defects. 00:12:44.640 --> 00:12:50.420 Then, on the evening of the fourteenth day of the month, the whole community of Israel will kill the animals. 00:12:51.340 --> 00:12:58.260 The people are to take some of the blood and put it on the doorposts and above the doors of the houses in which the animals are to be eaten. 00:12:59.180 --> 00:13:04.560 That night the meat is to be roasted and eaten with bitter herbs and with bread made without yeast. 00:13:05.580 --> 00:13:12.640 Do not eat any of it raw or boiled, but eat it roasted whole, including the head, the legs, and the internal organs. 00:13:13.360 --> 00:13:18.220 You must not leave any of it until morning. If any is left over, it must be burned. 00:13:19.060 --> 00:13:26.380 You are to eat it quickly, for you are to be dressed for travel, with your sandals on your feet and your walking stick in your hand. 00:13:26.780 --> 00:13:29.820 It is the Passover festival to honor me, the Lord. 00:13:30.900 --> 00:13:39.060 On that night I will go through the land of Egypt, killing every firstborn male, both human and animal, and punishing all the gods of Egypt. 00:13:39.900 --> 00:13:40.680 I am the Lord. 00:13:41.540 --> 00:13:45.520 The blood on the doorposts will be assigned to mark the houses in which you live. 00:13:45.980 --> 00:13:50.480 When I see the blood, I will pass over you and will not harm you when I punish the Egyptians. 00:13:51.380 --> 00:13:56.580 You must celebrate this day as a religious festival to remind you of what I, the Lord, have done. 00:13:57.420 --> 00:13:59.420 Celebrate it for all time to come. 00:14:00.500 --> 00:14:07.280 The Lord said, For seven days you must not eat any bread made with yeast, eat only unleavened bread. 00:14:07.960 --> 00:14:10.900 On the first day you are to get rid of all the yeast in your houses, 00:14:11.540 --> 00:14:14.720 for if anyone during those seven days eats bread made with yeast, 00:14:15.180 --> 00:14:17.640 he shall no longer be considered one of my people. 00:14:18.580 --> 00:14:22.340 On the first day, and again on the seventh day, you are to meet for worship. 00:14:23.340 --> 00:14:26.780 No work is to be done on those days, but you may prepare food. 00:14:27.560 --> 00:14:31.680 Keep this festival, because it was on this day that I brought your tribes out of Egypt. 00:14:32.560 --> 00:14:36.100 For all time to come you must celebrate this day as a festival. 00:14:37.010 --> 00:14:41.400 From the evening of the fourteenth day of the first month to the evening of the twenty-first 00:14:41.580 --> 00:14:44.180 day you must not eat any bread made with yeast. 00:14:45.080 --> 00:14:51.140 For seven days no yeast must be found in your houses, for if anyone, native-born or foreign, 00:14:51.540 --> 00:14:55.660 eats bread made with yeast, he shall no longer be considered one of my people. 00:14:56.880 --> 00:14:59.700 Moses called for all the leaders of Israel and said to them, 00:15:00.460 --> 00:15:03.540 Each of you is to choose a lamb or a young goat and kill it, 00:15:03.880 --> 00:15:05.700 so that your families can celebrate Passover. 00:15:06.800 --> 00:15:10.540 Take a sprig of hyssop, dip it in the bowl containing the animal's blood, 00:15:10.870 --> 00:15:14.300 and wipe the blood on the doorposts and the beam above the door of your house. 00:15:15.060 --> 00:15:17.240 Not one of you is to leave the house until morning. 00:15:18.200 --> 00:15:20.580 When the Lord goes through Egypt to kill the Egyptians, 00:15:21.110 --> 00:15:23.599 He will see the blood on the beams and the doorposts 00:15:23.620 --> 00:15:26.740 and will not let the angel of death enter your houses and kill you. 00:15:27.540 --> 00:15:29.980 You and your children must obey these rules forever. 00:15:31.120 --> 00:15:33.680 When you enter the land that the Lord has promised to give you, 00:15:34.150 --> 00:15:35.520 you must perform this ritual. 00:15:36.180 --> 00:15:37.400 When your children ask you, 00:15:37.750 --> 00:15:39.100 What does this ritual mean? 00:15:39.450 --> 00:15:40.060 You will answer, 00:15:40.700 --> 00:15:43.420 It is the sacrifice of Passover to honor the Lord, 00:15:44.000 --> 00:15:46.920 because He passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt. 00:15:47.390 --> 00:15:49.880 He killed the Egyptians, but spared us. 00:15:50.840 --> 00:15:52.620 The Israelites knelt down and worshipped. 00:15:53.360 --> 00:15:56.320 Then they went and did what the Lord had commanded Moses and Aaron. 00:15:57.380 --> 00:16:00.660 At midnight, the Lord killed all the firstborn sons in Egypt, 00:16:01.080 --> 00:16:05.460 from the king's son, who was heir to the throne, to the son of the prisoner in the dungeon. 00:16:06.380 --> 00:16:08.620 All the firstborn of the animals were also killed. 00:16:09.500 --> 00:16:13.920 That night, the king, his officials, and all the other Egyptians were awakened. 00:16:14.700 --> 00:16:20.120 There was loud crying throughout Egypt, because there was not one home in which there was not a dead son. 00:16:20.900 --> 00:16:24.200 That same night, the king sent for Moses and Aaron and said, 00:16:24.740 --> 00:16:26.220 Get out, you and your Israelites. 00:16:27.120 --> 00:16:27.740 Leave my country. 00:16:28.440 --> 00:16:30.360 Go and worship the Lord as you asked. 00:16:30.760 --> 00:16:33.320 Take your sheep, goats, and cattle and leave. 00:16:33.740 --> 00:16:35.760 Also, pray for a blessing on me. 00:16:36.580 --> 00:16:39.520 The Egyptians urged the people to hurry and leave the country. 00:16:39.800 --> 00:16:42.280 They said, We will all be dead if you don't leave. 00:16:43.420 --> 00:16:46.320 So the people filled their baking pans with unleavened dough, 00:16:46.780 --> 00:16:49.120 wrapped them in clothing, and carried them on their shoulders. 00:16:50.020 --> 00:16:56.460 The Israelites had done as Moses had said, and had asked the Egyptians for gold and silver jewelry and for clothes. 00:16:57.240 --> 00:17:01.320 The Lord made the Egyptians respect the people and give them what they asked for. 00:17:02.000 --> 00:17:05.360 In this way, the Israelites carried away the wealth of the Egyptians. 00:17:06.660 --> 00:17:10.000 The Israelites set out on foot from Ramesses for Succoth. 00:17:10.400 --> 00:17:14.100 There were about 600,000 men, not counting women and children. 00:17:15.020 --> 00:17:19.819 A large number of other people, and many sheep, goats, and cattle also went with them. 00:17:20.600 --> 00:17:31.000 They baked unleavened bread from the dough that they had brought out of Egypt, for they had been driven out of Egypt so suddenly that they did not have time to get their food ready or to prepare leavened dough. 00:17:31.580 --> 00:17:34.540 The Israelites had lived in Egypt for 430 years. 00:17:35.480 --> 00:17:40.700 On the day the 430 years ended, all the tribes of the Lord's people left Egypt. 00:17:41.260 --> 00:17:44.280 It was a night when the Lord kept watch to bring them out of Egypt. 00:17:44.740 --> 00:17:50.600 This same night is dedicated to the Lord for all time to come as a night when the Israelites must 00:17:50.640 --> 00:17:58.500 keep watch. The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, These are the Passover regulations. No foreigner 00:17:58.740 --> 00:18:04.120 shall eat the Passover meal, but any slave that you have bought may eat it if you circumcise him 00:18:04.380 --> 00:18:11.039 first. No temporary resident or hired worker may eat it. The whole meal must be eaten in the house 00:18:11.060 --> 00:18:17.020 in which it was prepared. It must not be taken outside. And do not break any of the animal's 00:18:17.160 --> 00:18:23.560 bones. The whole community of Israel must celebrate this festival, but no uncircumcised 00:18:23.720 --> 00:18:29.040 man may eat it. If a foreigner has settled among you and wants to celebrate Passover to 00:18:29.130 --> 00:18:34.860 honor the Lord, you must first circumcise all the males of his household. He is then to be 00:18:35.060 --> 00:18:40.199 treated like a native-born Israelite and may join in the festival. The same regulations 00:18:40.220 --> 00:18:46.260 apply to native-born Israelites and to foreigners who settle among you. All the Israelites obeyed 00:18:46.480 --> 00:18:51.580 and did what the Lord had commanded Moses and Aaron. On that day, the Lord brought the Israelite 00:18:51.760 --> 00:18:58.080 tribes out of Egypt. Well, what do you think? Was it unfair for God to harden Pharaoh's heart? 00:18:58.660 --> 00:19:03.359 Why should Pharaoh be accountable if God caused his heart to be hardened? Well, first, let's 00:19:03.380 --> 00:19:10.760 remember what Romans 6.23 says, for the wages of sin is death. Pharaoh was an evil man. He was what 00:19:10.820 --> 00:19:16.800 we would call today a dictator. He had horribly mistreated the Israelites. As an example, do you 00:19:16.960 --> 00:19:22.560 remember how Moses came to be raised in Pharaoh's household? The Pharaoh had ordered every male 00:19:22.940 --> 00:19:28.899 Hebrew baby that was born to be killed. But Moses' mother, in order to save him, put him in a basket 00:19:28.920 --> 00:19:33.380 and set him adrift on the Nile River where he was found by Pharaoh's daughter who took him in. 00:19:33.920 --> 00:19:39.720 In Exodus 1.16, we're told that for over 400 years the Israelites had been slaves of the 00:19:40.040 --> 00:19:45.960 Pharaohs in Egypt. Slaves. This Pharaoh was in a long line of those who mistreated God's chosen 00:19:46.200 --> 00:19:51.900 people, and it could be reasonably assumed that the Egyptian population followed their leader's 00:19:52.160 --> 00:19:58.880 lead. They probably thought the Israelite people as less than, as people who could and should be 00:19:58.900 --> 00:20:04.700 treated. Also, remember that we're told that Pharaoh hardened his own heart in Exodus 8.15. 00:20:05.600 --> 00:20:11.220 That verse said, but when Pharaoh saw that there was relief, he hardened his heart and would not 00:20:11.400 --> 00:20:18.800 listen to Moses and Aaron just as the Lord had said. And also back in Exodus 8.32, we're told, 00:20:19.200 --> 00:20:23.340 but this time also Pharaoh hardened his heart and would not let the people go. 00:20:23.980 --> 00:20:27.260 So, with Pharaoh hardening his own heart, as we read more about today, 00:20:28.020 --> 00:20:31.960 he perhaps brought on himself the further hardening by God. 00:20:32.720 --> 00:20:35.740 Have you ever heard of a parent catching a teenager smoking a cigarette 00:20:36.020 --> 00:20:40.440 and then as punishment the parent making the teen smoke more cigarettes until they got sick? 00:20:40.960 --> 00:20:43.860 Of course, the goal of the parent was not to make the child sick. 00:20:44.180 --> 00:20:50.020 The goal was to correct his behavior in such a way that they never want to even touch another cigarette. 00:20:50.540 --> 00:20:54.000 It was the teen who brought it on himself, wouldn't you say? 00:20:54.700 --> 00:20:57.900 Maybe there was an element of this in God's hardening of Pharaoh's heart. 00:20:58.540 --> 00:21:03.120 And a couple of minutes ago, I mentioned Romans 6.23, which says the wages of sin is death. 00:21:03.620 --> 00:21:07.920 Well, the Pharaohs in Egypt had a 400-year history of sinning against God 00:21:08.160 --> 00:21:09.840 by the way they treated the Israelites. 00:21:10.700 --> 00:21:12.180 The wages of sin is death. 00:21:12.660 --> 00:21:16.720 God would have been just even if he had completely wiped them from the face of the earth. 00:21:16.800 --> 00:21:17.580 But he didn't. 00:21:18.040 --> 00:21:21.480 He showed them mercy by allowing them to continue to exist. 00:21:22.400 --> 00:21:23.320 There's something to think about. 00:21:23.880 --> 00:21:27.000 Our reading tomorrow is 1 Samuel 26-31. 00:21:27.700 --> 00:21:29.980 Here's the verse of the day. 00:21:32.780 --> 00:21:35.720 And today's verse is Exodus 9-12. 00:21:36.600 --> 00:21:41.660 But the Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh, and he did not listen to them as the Lord had spoken to Moses. 00:21:42.260 --> 00:21:43.520 Exodus 9-12. 00:21:49.080 --> 00:21:51.560 On this date in church history, February 2nd. 00:21:52.080 --> 00:21:56.920 Today we're going back to the birth of the youth group and the passing of a legendary songwriter. 00:21:58.040 --> 00:22:07.780 In 1881, in a small church in Portland, Maine, Pastor Francis Edward Clark was looking for a way to get young people more involved in the life of the congregation. 00:22:08.520 --> 00:22:11.840 He founded the Young People Society of Christian Endeavor. 00:22:12.440 --> 00:22:16.020 Before this, youth ministry as we know it didn't really exist. 00:22:16.600 --> 00:22:21.480 His model focused on personal devotion and active service, and it quickly spread across 00:22:21.960 --> 00:22:23.480 Protestant denominations worldwide. 00:22:24.120 --> 00:22:28.140 It laid the foundational blueprint for the modern youth groups that millions of teenagers 00:22:28.660 --> 00:22:29.580 attend every week. 00:22:30.020 --> 00:22:35.120 And then we go to 1915 when the church said goodbye to one of its most prolific voices, 00:22:35.620 --> 00:22:36.340 Fanny Crosby. 00:22:36.900 --> 00:22:41.260 Though blind from infancy, Fanny saw the gospel with incredible clarity. 00:22:41.680 --> 00:22:45.100 and she left the church with a legacy of over 8,000 hymns. 00:22:45.560 --> 00:22:49.620 I'll have links on today's show notes page to four episodes of LifeSpring Hymn Stories. 00:22:50.100 --> 00:22:52.320 And in addition to the stories, you'll hear the hymns. 00:22:52.540 --> 00:22:53.520 I think you'll enjoy them. 00:22:55.300 --> 00:22:57.260 Lifespringmedia.com slash support. 00:23:05.940 --> 00:23:10.400 Beloved, as we close today, remember that God's justice is always tempered by His mercy. 00:23:11.080 --> 00:23:15.600 Even in the face of Pharaoh's stubbornness, God was making a way for his people to be free. 00:23:16.360 --> 00:23:18.260 Until tomorrow, may God bless you richly. 00:23:18.580 --> 00:23:20.740 Thank you so much for inviting me to be a part of your day. 00:23:21.200 --> 00:23:22.200 My name is Steve Webb. 00:23:22.920 --> 00:23:23.100 Bye. 00:23:24.700 --> 00:23:30.420 All the programs in the Lifespring Media family are made possible by your value-for-value support. 00:23:31.160 --> 00:23:31.480 Thank you. 00:23:33.720 --> 00:23:41.120 The Lifespring One Year Bible Rewind is a Lifespring Media production hosted by Steve Webb, the OG Godcaster, since 2004.