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Awesome Hands – part 52

“To Show in You My Power”

Jan. 7, 2013

In last study we covered the first half of Exodus 9, and how the admonitions in those plagues are lived out in our lives spiritually today.

In the study today, we are going to continue to go over these admonitions and see that the Lord raises His elect up for the very purpose of bringing judgment in their lives and into the lives of others they are around and sent to while in this age.

Exo 9:16  And in very deed for this cause have I raised thee up, for to shew in thee my power; and that my name may be declared throughout all the earth.

Exo 9:17  As yet exaltest thou thyself against my people, that thou wilt not let them go?

When the Lord is working in our lives, He doesn’t hide this Truth. In fact, He works in our lives and causes things to happen that He will later use to bring us to remembrance for the express purposes of allowing us to know that all things are worked out according to His will and that He has been with us all of our lives.

In Exodus 9:16, we know that the Lord is speaking through Moses the message that Pharaoh has been raised up for the power of the Lord to be shown to and through Pharaoh, but whose hand has the rod of the power of the Lord been placed in? It is in Moses and Aaron’s hands.

With this in mind, we know that when we are used to spread the Gospel, we are used to spread spiritual seeds which hold much power!

It is the very Word in our mouths which holds the power, just like the rod in Moses and Aarons hands, and the messengers or laborer as stated in Corinthians, is counted as nothing and know nothing, i.e. we are nothing without Christ, the Word.

Job 8:9  (For we are but of yesterday, and know nothing, because our days upon earth are a shadow:)

1Co 3:5  Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers by whom ye believed, even as the Lord gave to every man?
1Co 3:6  I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase.
1Co 3:7  So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase.
1Co 3:8  Now he that planteth and he that watereth ARE ONE: and every man shall receive his own reward according to his own labour.
1Co 3:9  For we are labourers together with God: ye are God’s husbandry, ye are God’s building.
1Co 3:10  According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise masterbuilder, I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon.
1Co 3:11  For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.

“A very grievous hail”

When the Lord is ready to show forth His complete judgment, He brings forth hail spiritually. Of course, this physically happened to Egypt but it was worked to admonish us today just as much as it was for their purposes back then.

Exo 9:18  Behold, to morrow about this time I will cause it to rain a very grievous hail, such as hath not been in Egypt since the foundation thereof even until now.

If we take the sum of thy Word, and look for other similar occurrences of things which come and have never been seen before and never will be seen again, then we might see that what hail represents spiritually is God coming into our lives and bringing the judgment He alone can bring upon His house.

1Pe 4:17  For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?

What does this judgment have to do with “hail” and why is it spiritually significant? I promise that it was raveningly significant to these Egyptians when it started to fall.

Rev 11:19  And the temple of God was opened in heaven, and there was seen in his temple the ark of his testament: and there were lightnings, and voices, and thunderings, and an earthquake, and great hail.

An earthquake and great hail represent the same thing spiritually speaking but also notice WHEN it is this event of MONUMENTAL proportions happens.

Isa 29:5  Moreover the multitude of thy strangers shall be like small dust, and the multitude of the terrible ones shall be as chaff that passeth away: yea, it shall be at an instant suddenly.
Isa 29:6  Thou shalt be visited of the LORD of hosts with thunder, and with earthquake, and great noise, with storm and tempest, and the flame of devouring fire.

Rev 6:12  And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood;

When is the sun DARKENED and the moon is become as BLOOD?

Joe 2:30  And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke.
Joe 2:31  The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the LORD come.
Joe 2:32  And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the LORD shall be delivered: for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the LORD hath said, and in the remnant whom the LORD shall call.

Act 2:19  And I will shew wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath; blood, and fire, and vapour of smoke:
Act 2:20  The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before that great and notable day of the Lord come:
Act 2:21  And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.

Lastly, just a few verses earlier in Acts:

Act 2:1  And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.
Act 2:2  And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.
Act 2:3  And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them.

Is it just mere coincidence that hail is mentioned as never having happened to Egypt and that it will not be seen in this manner again? I think not and the scripture bears witness to this.

How then is this plague of hail representative of the judgment God calls upon His house and what is happening to Egypt?

Isa 28:14  Wherefore hear the word of the LORD, ye scornful men, that rule this people which is in Jerusalem.
Isa 28:15  Because ye have said, We have made a covenant with death, and with hell are we at agreement; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, it shall not come unto us: for we have made lies our refuge, and under falsehood have we hid ourselves:
Isa 28:16  Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation: he that believeth shall not make haste.
Isa 28:17  Judgment also will I lay to the line, and righteousness to the plummet: and the hail shall sweep away the refuge of lies, and the waters shall overflow the hiding place.
Isa 28:18  And your covenant with death shall be disannulled, and your agreement with hell shall not stand; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, then ye shall be trodden down by it.

The Pharaoh who sits on the throne and Egypt of which he rules typifies where God’s people are to come from and which king they are to worship.

Moses and Aaron are literally being sent to the Pharaoh to deliver judgment to his house.

So, because the Lord is merciful, He tells us before the time what He is going to do when the “great and terrible day of the Lord happens”.

Exo 9:18  Behold, to morrow about this time I will cause it to rain a very grievous hail, such as hath not been in Egypt since the foundation thereof even until now.
Exo 9:19  Send therefore now, and gather thy cattle, and all that thou hast in the field; for upon every man and beast which shall be found in the field, and shall not be brought home, the hail shall come down upon them, and they shall die.
Exo 9:20  He that feared the word of the LORD among the servants of Pharaoh made his servants and his cattle flee into the houses:
Exo 9:21  And he that regarded not the word of the LORD left his servants and his cattle in the field.

This seventh plague is bringing a complete judgment against the house of Egypt, but it is also representative of the Lord showing mercy to His people.

The mercy that will be shown is applicable for this plague but also for the last three that are to come.

For those who fear the Word of the Lord, they will be able to recognize that the Lord will bring forth what He says He will bring forth, judgment. It is coming to us all NOW or LATER.

All of these plagues happen relatively quickly in time physically for Egypt, but spiritually speaking we are simply warned that these things will happen and to be prepared.

It is the preparation of the heart that prepares us and we know that there is NOTHING we can do in order to prepare ourselves for this judgment. The preparation or lack of it is all from the Lord.

Joe 2:10  The earth shall quake before them; the heavens shall tremble: the sun and the moon shall be dark, and the stars shall withdraw their shining:
Joe 2:11  And the LORD shall utter his voice before his army: for his camp is very great: for he is strong that executeth his word: for the day of the LORD is great and very terrible; and who can abide it?
Joe 2:12  Therefore also now, saith the LORD, turn ye even to me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning:
Joe 2:13  And rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto the LORD your God: for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repenteth him of the evil.

It is those who fear the Word of the Lord of which the Lord will show mercy. For Egypt, this hail is very grievous and will destroy all the things the Lord says will be destroyed, and for spiritual Israel this is EQUALLY true.

We may not think it a positive occurrence and it is not for the old man in us represented by Egypt, but for the new man in us, this is wonderful indeed because where there is DEATH, LIFE springs up!

Isn’t this what we are told baptism in the Word is all about?

Eph 5:26  That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word,
Eph 5:27  That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.

What is the Word of God ALSO representative of?

Mat 3:11  I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire:
Mat 3:12  Whose fan is in his hand, and he will throughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat into the garner; but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.

No one will be “rending their heart,” no one will be “calling on the name of the Lord,” without this first happening.

1Co 12:3  Wherefore I give you to understand, that no man speaking by the Spirit of God calleth Jesus accursed: and that no man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost.

This is a miraculous event which is spiritually typified by the work the hail is sent to do. It is sent to sweep away all false pretences of God the Father and the refuge of lies that our heart believes in.

Exo 9:22  And the LORD said unto Moses, Stretch forth thine hand toward heaven, that there may be hail in all the land of Egypt, upon man, and upon beast, and upon every herb of the field, throughout the land of Egypt.
Exo 9:23  And Moses stretched forth his rod toward heaven: and the LORD sent thunder and hail, and the fire ran along upon the ground; and the LORD rained hail upon the land of Egypt.
Exo 9:24  So there was hail, and fire mingled with the hail, very grievous, such as there was none like it in all the land of Egypt since it became a nation.
Exo 9:25  And the hail smote throughout all the land of Egypt all that was in the field, both man and beast; and the hail smote every herb of the field, and brake every tree of the field.
Exo 9:26  Only in the land of Goshen, where the children of Israel were, was there no hail.

Is it not apparent that ANYTHING left in the field was destroyed only to leave the faintest of residue of what once was? The very trees themselves were broken and what are trees representative of?

Mar 8:23  And he took the blind man by the hand, and led him out of the town; and when he had spit on his eyes, and put his hands upon him, he asked him if he saw ought.
Mar 8:24  And he looked up, and said, I see men as trees, walking.Psa 92:12  The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree: he shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon.

Psa 92:13  Those that be planted in the house of the LORD shall flourish in the courts of our God.

Isa 2:11  The lofty looks of man shall be humbled, and the haughtiness of men shall be bowed down, and the LORD alone shall be exalted in that day.
Isa 2:12  For the day of the LORD of hosts shall be upon every one that is proud and lofty, and upon every one that is lifted up; and he shall be brought low:
Isa 2:13  And upon all the cedars of Lebanon, that are high and lifted up, and upon all the oaks of Bashan,

“I have sinned this time”

Spiritually speaking, when you are in the process of being destroyed you will naturally call out to God for deliverance and physically speaking we see this happening with Pharaoh and his kingdom.

Exo 9:27  And Pharaoh sent, and called for Moses and Aaron, and said unto them, I have sinned this time: the LORD is righteous, and I and my people are wicked.
Exo 9:28  Intreat the LORD (for it is enough) that there be no more mighty thunderings and hail; and I will let you go, and ye shall stay no longer.

When we are going through death, likened to having a deadly wound, we cry out for deliverance. Pharaoh is no different in this.

He wants the plague to stop “for it is enough,” but as soon as this “wound” is healed, the Pharaoh goes right back to his old ways of thinking.

Exo 9:29  And Moses said unto him, As soon as I am gone out of the city, I will spread abroad my hands unto the LORD; and the thunder shall cease, neither shall there be any more hail; that thou mayest know how that the earth is the LORD’S.
Exo 9:30  But as for thee and thy servants, I know that ye will not yet fear the LORD God.
Exo 9:31  And the flax and the barley was smitten: for the barley was in the ear, and the flax was bolled.
Exo 9:32  But the wheat and the rie were not smitten: for they were not grown up.

The purpose for the hail is to tell us, is to show us that the Lord has full control over all aspects of our lives both physically and spiritually.

However, the hail comes to also show us that we must be full of Godly repentance. We, like Pharaoh, just want the judgment to stop so we do and say whatever we can in order to petition the Lord to heal us of the death that these plagues bring.

The wheat and the rie have not yet been dealt with but they still remain in Egypt. This is so that the Lord can allow them time to grow so that those things which remain “under the surface” can be dealt with in due time.

Exo 9:33  And Moses went out of the city from Pharaoh, and spread abroad his hands unto the LORD: and the thunders and hail ceased, and the rain was not poured upon the earth.
Exo 9:34  And when Pharaoh saw that the rain and the hail and the thunders were ceased, he sinned yet more, and hardened his heart, he and his servants.
Exo 9:35  And the heart of Pharaoh was hardened, neither would he let the children of Israel go; as the LORD had spoken by Moses.

Just like Pharaoh, we too will “repent” but will go right back into our ways but this is all the start of this spiritual admonition that the Lord will fully deal with “all that is in Egypt,” thus; the Locusts will come.

Next study, we will see Lord willing, the spiritual significance of “Moses went out of the city” as compared to what the means to us today in the spirit. Though the hail will end, the locusts will be sent to completely devour anything that is left over from the hail.

They will also usher in the start of great darkness for the old man.