Exodus: Bondage, Deliverance, and Passover: As Yet

Will They Ever Learn

Transcript: AI Transcript

Professor: John Weaver

Subject: Old Testament Studies

Genre: Sermon

Dictation Name:

Date: 2020-07-12

Synopsis: John Weaver examines Pharaoh's self-exaltation and refusal to obey God, drawing parallels to modern politicians who enrich themselves and attempt to control worship. He outlines four compromises Pharaoh offered to keep Israel under his control and warns that attacking God's people is attacking God Himself. The sermon calls for holy living that reflects God's character and warns rulers to learn from Pharaoh's destruction.

[John Weaver] Exodus 9, verse 17, the title of the message is, Will They Ever Learn? And I think you'll see how appropriate the title is as we get into the message. Look in Exodus 9, verse 17, and we'll certainly come back to this verse, but notice what God says to Pharaoh. exalteth thou thyself against my people, that thou wilt not let them go." Have you ever noticed that when any politician is running for office, he always wants to serve the people. But once he is elected, service to the people or being of service and representation is basically over. Usually the only service that is done by a politician that is in office is for himself and for his party.

[John Weaver] The idea of being a service and being a representative is indeed a biblical concept and a biblical principle. However, it has long been perverted and long forgotten as well. A government is no longer about representing the people. It's about perpetuating itself and increasing its power and control. So I want to ask you a question so that I can read an article to you. I thought it was extremely interesting.

[John Weaver] Have you ever asked yourself as to why anyone would spend millions in Federal Reserve notes to get a job that only paid $200,000 in Federal Reserve notes? Have you ever noticed that those who go in to serve always come out much richer than when they went in. And do you know how many millionaires there are in Congress? I want to give you two short articles. One is very short. I want you to listen to this.

[John Weaver] This is absolutely astounding, but remember the date. Stephanie Condon wrote a CBS News article and said this, the average Senate campaign in 2010, ten years ago, cost $8,002,726. The average House campaign cost $1,163,231. Then she wrote, Congress is a club that consists of 245 millionaires. The second article is this. This was written in April of this year by Carl Evers Hillstrom. He wrote, The majority of lawmakers in the 116th Congress are millionaires. Congress is an exclusive club.

[John Weaver] It is also a wealthy one. More than half of those in Congress are millionaires. Data from the lawmakers' most recent personal financial disclosure shows, if they were honest, they may be worth a whole lot more. The median net worth of members of Congress who filed disclosures last year is just over a million dollars. Much of the wealth in Congress is concentrated at the top. The top ten percent of the wealthiest lawmakers have three times more wealth than the bottom 90%. While some lawmakers are still paying off student loans, others are paying off their third and fourth mortgage, which means not three or four houses. The group of wealthiest members includes career politicians who boosted their portfolios over decades in Congress and recently elected lawmakers. According to estimated net worth calculations, Senator Rick Scott, Republican of Florida, is the wealthiest lawmaker with nearly $260 million in net assets. Scott dethroned Senator Mark Warner, Democrat in Virginia, for the top spot after he won the election in 2018, despite injecting nearly $64 million of his own money into his campaign.

[John Weaver] Some lawmakers have not filed one of these reports yet. They include recently appointed Senator Kelly Loeffler of Georgia, Republican, who is estimated to be worth over $500 million. Loeffler recently announced that she would sell all of her stocks amid controversy over stock trades that appeared to be related to the coronavirus pandemic. The leaders of both chambers make up the top ten list. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Democrat, California, has seen her wealth increase to nearly $115 million from $41 million in 2004. The first year Open Secrets began tracking personal finances, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Republican from Kentucky, saw his net worth increase from $3 million to over $34 million during that time. Both political leaders are married to affluent individuals who are driving those increases. Two-term representative Paul Mitchell, Republican for Michigan, saw the largest growth in wealth from 2017 and 2018. The former non-profit college executive's average net worth skyrocketed from $101 million to $180 million. Mitchell won't seek re-election this November. Sometime long-time members of Congress watched their wealth rise to record levels in 2018.

[John Weaver] Representative Colin Peterson, Democrat of Minnesota, was worth an estimated $123,500 in 2008. The House Agricultural Committee Chairman's average net asset stood at $4.2 million as of his most recent financial disclosure. Representative Judy Chu, Democrat of California, was worth less than six figures in 2008. One decade later, her estimated net worth is 7.1 million. Senator Roy Blunt, Republican from Missouri, increased his wealth from $602,000 to $10.7 million over the last decade.

[John Weaver] So obviously, there's a lot of money to be made just simply by being a politician. I don't know if you've ever thought about our original congressman. And it may surprise you to find out that our original congressman served without pay. So here's an article, listen carefully. It might surprise many modern Americans to learn that for the first several decades of its existence, the United States Congress did not pay salaries to its members. From the inception of the United States Congress from 1789 until 1855, with the exception of one brief period, members of the Senate and the House received no salaries and were paid only per diem, that is, daily, while Congress was in session, initially at a rate of six dollars per day.

[John Weaver] In the 18th century, being a legislator, whether local, state, or federal level, was generally not a full-time job. Legislative bodies were not in session year-round. They typically met only for a few months out of the year, and sometimes they convened only infrequently, irregularly, or when specifically called into session rather than on a fixed schedule. And just because a body was in session didn't necessarily mean that all of its members were in attendance. Most legislators had other occupations and livelihoods, that they had to take time out from in order to serve. Therefore, per diem, compensation for actual service was the standard of that time. So, even if you were a congressman, and you were supposed to be there, and you weren't, you did not get the six dollars per day. You only got the $6 per day if you were there. So things have certainly changed in our day and time, that is for sure.

[John Weaver] We no longer have public servants, now we have public masters who basically enrich themselves at the expense of the people they purportedly represent and serve. Moreover, they do not view themselves as bound by law. They only view themselves as being bound by the Constitution. You remember a few weeks ago I told you what the Democratic Florida Rep, Al C. Hastings, said. He said, there are no rules.

[John Weaver] We make them up as we go along. When politicians are asked, very rarely, what gives them the right to do such things as they do, Most of them would answer as Nancy Pelosi did when she was asked, did the Constitution give Congress the right to force Obamacare on the people? Her response was, are you kidding? Are you kidding? In other words, basically we can do whatever we want to do.

[John Weaver] Now, I read all that just to tell you this, that Pharaoh did basically the same thing. He did not view himself as bound by law. He was basically a law unto himself. He could not be reasoned with, neither could he be deterred from his personal agenda. When Moses and Aaron and the Hebrew elders went to Pharaoh and asked him, to let them go three days' journey into the wilderness that they might worship the Lord and have a feast unto Him, he said, no.

[John Weaver] And he said, the problem is you're idle, you're idle, you need more work. Let me just kind of spell this out for you. Basically what he said was this, worship of God is non-essential. But obedience to the state or obedience to my demands happens to be essential as well. So if you look back in the book of Exodus chapter 5, you'll see this beginning there with verse 5. Watch it. Exodus chapter 5 verse 5, And Pharaoh said, Behold, a people will land in our many, and you make them rest from their burdens. And Pharaoh commanded the same day the taskmasters of the people, and their officers, saying, You shall no more give the people straw to make brick, as heretofore. Let them go out and gather straw for themselves. And the tail of the bricks which they did make heretofore you shall lay upon them. You shall not diminish all thereof, for they be idle. Therefore they cry, saying, Watch, let us go and sacrifice to our God. Let there more work be laid upon them.

[John Weaver] upon the men, that they may labor therein, and let them not regard vain words." You see that? Vain words. He said, they're crying, let us go and worship God. Let us go and sacrifice. That's not essential. What is essential? You keep making the same number of bricks, and now we're going to even make it worse for you. So, God sent a lot of plagues. As you know, there were ten plagues. It took several of these plagues really to get Pharaoh's attention. And one of those plagues was when the locusts were going to descend upon Egypt. And even the servants of Pharaoh realized that Egypt is now destroyed.

[John Weaver] And they tried to reason with him, and he would not be reasoned with. So if you look in Exodus 10, and notice if you would please verse 7, here it is, and Pharaoh's servants said unto him, How long shall this man be a snare unto us? Let the men go, that they may serve the Lord their God. Knowest thou not yet that Egypt is destroyed? So Pharaoh refused to listen. He was adamant.

[John Weaver] It was his will, his way, his word. Nothing or no one else mattered. Thus God charged him with self-exaltation.

[John Weaver] Now, I want you to look back at Exodus 9 and verse 17. Here is what God said to Pharaoh. As yet, exaltest thou thyself against My people, that thou wilt not let them go.

[John Weaver] Now, the word exaltus here means to lift up, to exalt, to esteem highly, to prize, and to exalt oneself. So, Pharaoh is the consummate politician. He prized his person, his power, his platform, his purpose above everyone and everything else. Nothing else mattered to Pharaoh.

[John Weaver] Now, the interesting thing about the Hebrew word, exalteth thou, also means to cast up a way or to cast up a highway. Thus, he was building himself up by trampling God's people down. Literally, he was stomping them under his feet, so to speak. And tyrants always destroy the lives of their people. Just think of Stalin and Pol Pot and Idi Amin, Mao Zedong and a host of others that murdered millions of their own people just to keep and maintain control.

[John Weaver] Now, let me show you how all this began. So if you'll look back in your Bibles to Exodus chapter 5, here's an interesting question. Think about this. Why would you obey God if you thought you were God? or at least assume that you were God. So look in Exodus 5 and verse 1, And afterward Moses and Aaron went in and told Pharaoh, Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, Let my people go, that they may hold a feast unto me in the wilderness. And Pharaoh said, Watch it! Who is the Lord, that I should obey his voice and let Israel go? I know not the Lord, neither will I let Israel go. Who is the Lord? I don't know who He is. I don't recognize Him.

[John Weaver] I'm the head of this nation. I have my gods. I'm sovereign. I don't even know who this God is. And I'm certainly not going to obey Him. It was John Calvin who wrote this on this verse. He said, And Pharaoh said, Who is the Lord? It is scarcely credible that there should be such madness in a mortal as thus by wantonly scorning God to fly as it were in the face of heaven. But we must observe that the tyrant being devoted to idolatries, and thus insulted the God of Israel, that he might manifest his great piety toward his false gods. For his mockery in scornfully bending back the name of Jehovah must be referred to the words of Moses as much as to say Why do you bring against me this unknown phantom under the title of an eternal God, as though we had no God of our own? In other words, we have our own gods. We don't need this God. We don't recognize this God. So Pharaoh basically believed that he was sovereign and that he could do exactly what he wanted to do.

[John Weaver] Now, if you look in Exodus 5 and verse 3, now remember it's imperative that you remember that they wanted to go three days' journey into the wilderness. Verse 3, And they said, The God of the Hebrews hath met with us. Let us go, we pray thee, three days' journey into the desert, and sacrifice unto the Lord our God, lest he fall upon us with pestilence and sword.

[John Weaver] Now, the interesting thing is this. Pharaoh is saying, Who is the Lord? I don't know Him. You are demanding that I obey Him and let you go three days in the wilderness and worship Him. What Pharaoh is doing, he is estimating, listen carefully, he is estimating the character and the power of the God of Israel by the abject and miserable condition of His worshipers. Remember, these people who were demanding to be let go were slaves. They had been subjugated. And Pharaoh's reasoning, look, if this is the god of these people, he cannot be very powerful because they are not powerful. They have absolutely nothing. They are my servants. They are my slaves.

[John Weaver] And so therefore, he believed that he was superior, and he believed that his gods were superior as well. And let me point out, I believe this is exactly what has happened to Christianity today. If God is a reflection of the holiness, fidelity, and worship of His people, He must be viewed as powerless and of small significance in the eyes of the world. Because look at the condition of Christians in this day and time. And we say that our God is omnipotent, we say that He's omnipresent, we say that He's immutable, we say that He's the sovereign God of heaven and earth, and He's all-powerful, and look where we are, and look what we are doing.

[John Weaver] Has it ever dawned upon you that as a Christian, your life is a reflection of God's character? And if your life is a reflection of God's character, What does your life say about God? George Gallup, who is supposed to be a Christian, and the great pollster, everyone has heard of the Gallup polls, he was addressing a national seminar of Southern Baptist leaders. And here's what George Gallup said. This should shock you. I'm quoting.

[John Weaver] He said, we find there is very little difference in ethical behavior between churchgoers and those who are not actively religious. The levels of lying, cheating, and stealing are remarkably similar in both groups. Eight out of ten Americans consider themselves Christians, Gallup said, yet only about half of them could identify the person who gave the Sermon on the Mount. And fewer still could recall five of the Ten Commandments. Only two in ten said they would be willing to suffer for their faith's sake. That's astounding. When he said you couldn't tell the difference because of the lying and stealing and cheating, Vance Havner said it a little differently.

[John Weaver] He said when the Lord's white sheep become dirty gray, the black sheep feel more comfortable. And that's a fact. When the white sheep become dirty gray, then the black sheep feel more comfortable. What we've done is this, we've made the world very comfortable, and consequently, we've sent the wrong message not only to the world, but also to wicked rulers. Pharaoh believed that he was able not only to control God, but control the worship of God.

[John Weaver] You know, I don't know if you read it or not, but just this week, Governor Gavin Newsom out in California, who, by the way, is the nephew of Nancy Pelosi, just made an order that there could be no singing in churches because singing might, you know, make the coronavirus go a little bit further. No singing in churches. One church in Tennessee, of course, said no Bible, no song books, no singing.

[John Weaver] What are you going to do with those verses? Sing unto the Lord a new song. Sing praise to the Lord. Give glory to the Lord God of Israel. In other words, the point I'm trying to make is this. Just like Pharaoh, here are modern day politicians who believe that they have power to control God and control the worship of God. Now, the ten plagues that God sent were not just plagues upon Pharaoh and the Egyptians. Those plagues were also upon the false gods of Egypt. If you look in Exodus chapter 12 and verse 12, Exodus 12 and verse 12, look what God says.

[John Weaver] This is dealing with the last plague, but note very carefully. He said, For I will pass through the land of Egypt this night, and will smite all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast, and against all the gods of Egypt. I will execute judgment. I am the Lord. I am the Lord. So, God's plagues were not just against Pharaoh and the Egyptians, but against the false gods as well. Now, it took a number of plagues to get Pharaoh's attention. If you'll look back in your Bibles to the book of Exodus chapter 8, You're going to find that when these plagues really begin to get really serious and really begin to affect Pharaoh, he was willing to compromise.

[John Weaver] At one of them, of course, the first one here, dealt with a swarm of flies. I don't know about you, but I hate flies. Can you imagine not being able to breathe, not being able to move without flies everywhere? It's unbelievable. But notice, if you would, he's going to offer a compromise to get rid of the flies. So notice in Exodus 8, verse 25, And Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron and said, Go ye, sacrifice to your God in the land. Sacrifice to your God in the land. Now he's willing to let them go. He's willing to allow them to sacrifice, but only in the land. And in other words, he wants them to sacrifice where he has absolute control. So he's willing to be multicultural. He's willing to be diverse. He's willing to be liberal as long as he is in control.

[John Weaver] Dr. Brooks Stockton is a friend of mine. He has a little website, Nike Insights, and here's what he said concerning this compromise. Listen carefully. In the land, Israel would still be slaves to the government. In the land, Israel would still be subject to governmental laws and statutes. In the land, Israel would still drink from the well of Egyptian culture. In the land there will be no temple, no priesthood, no altar, and no sacrifice of lambs to Yahweh. In the land, Yahweh would be one of many in Pharaoh's pantheon of gods. In the land, Israel could never achieve its purpose to glorify God. So now, what is happening, Pharaoh is saying, look, I'm going to let you go sacrifice, but you have to do it in the land.

[John Weaver] I want you to look at verses 26 and 27, because Moses gave an appropriate response. He said this, and Moses said, It is not meet so to do. For we shall sacrifice the abomination of the Egyptians to the Lord our God. Lo, we shall sacrifice the abomination of the Egyptians before their eyes, and will they not stone us? We will go three days journey in the wilderness and sacrifice to the Lord our God as he shall command us. Wow. Wow. Notice, if you would, that Pharaoh said, I will let you go, that you may sacrifice the Lord your God in the wilderness, only you shall not go very far away and treat for me. Wow! You understand, if you would please, the Egyptians hated shepherds. They also hated sheep.

[John Weaver] Everyone has heard of the sacrificial lamb. And you understand the lambs that were sacrificed in the Old Testament, each one of them represented and typified the Lord Jesus Christ. I want you to look in your Bibles, hold Exodus, but look in your Bibles to the book of Genesis chapter 43 and verse 32. There will be another passage here, but look in Genesis 43 and verse 32 to show you How the Egyptians viewed the Hebrews.

[John Weaver] You must remember now that Joseph was second in command in the land of Egypt. He was second under Pharaoh. So notice, if you would please, when Joseph now is about to have food and settle for his brethren as well. Watch, if you would, verse 32. And they sat on for him, that is Joseph, by himself, and for them by themselves, and for the Egyptians, which did eat with him by themselves, because the Egyptians might not eat bread with the Hebrews, for that is an abomination to the Egyptians. So Joseph and his brethren got served, but they got served separately. So the Egyptians would not eat with the Hebrews and the Hebrews could not eat with the Egyptians. Now look in Genesis chapter 46 and look if you would at verse 34. Genesis 46 and verse 34. He says, that you shall say thy servant's trade has been about cattle from our youth, even until now, both we and also our fathers, that you may dwell in the land of Goshen, for every shepherd is an abomination unto the Egyptians.

[John Weaver] And of course, Moses said, we can't do this because we'll sacrifice the abomination of the Egyptians. We'll sacrifice the land. And by the way, may I point out that Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God, is still an abomination to the world. He's still an abomination to those who do not believe. It's interesting that Moses said that God requires that we go three days into the wilderness. Of course, three days only speak of and represent the resurrection of Jesus Christ. But it also speaks of a real, genuine separation from the world and its influences. And let me point out again, I know I've said it in recent weeks, but the Church of Jesus Christ is a totally separate jurisdiction from that of civil government. So the very first compromise that Pharaoh offered was, you may sacrifice, only you do it in the land, you do it under my control.

[John Weaver] That is basically, what you have when you have incorporated churches with a 501c3 tax-exempt status, because they're under the control of Caesar. They're under the control of the state. Now watch this. There was a second compromise. If you look in Exodus chapter 8 and verse 28 again, here it is. And Pharaoh said, I will let you go that you may sacrifice to the Lord your God in the wilderness, only you shall not go very far away and preach for me. Here's a second one, is you may sacrifice if you don't go very far away. The hand of God was against Pharaoh and his people.

[John Weaver] He wanted relief, but he did not want to lose his slaves. You know, that's exactly the way people are today. You can walk out on the street and you can say, well, how many of you want to be judged by God? How many of you want to be condemned by God? How many of you want to face the judge of all the earth and receive the sentence of condemnation? Nobody does.

[John Weaver] At least no one in their right mind. But please listen to this. Although they may not want to face the judge of all the earth and be condemned by God, they do not want that badly enough to give up their sins. What they want is to not be condemned, and yet at the same time keep their sins and keep their rebellion. And so this is what Pharaoh was saying, look, what I want is this. I want these plagues lifted. I want some relief, but I don't want you going very far away. I want you to come back.

[John Weaver] You see, the world does not despise Christians that are like themselves. They only despise Christians that are holy, godly, righteous, and obedient. And unhappily, most Christians have not gone very far from the world because the world's cynical always pulls them back in. Unhappily, it was the Apostle Paul who said in 2 Timothy 4, verse 10 concerning Demas, he said, For Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present world, and is departed into Thessalonica.

[John Weaver] So the first compromise was this. You may serve God and you may sacrifice to God, but you've got to do it in the land. The second one is, you can go and you can do it, but don't go very far away from Me. If you look in Exodus chapter 10, you're going to see the third compromise, and that is, go ye that are men and serve Him. Notice Exodus chapter 10, beginning there with verse 7. Notice if you would, Exodus 10 verse 7, And Pharaoh's servants said unto him, How long shall this man be a snare unto us? Let the men go, that they may serve the Lord their God.

[John Weaver] Knowest thou not yet that Egypt is destroyed? And Moses and Aaron were brought again unto Pharaoh, and he said unto them, Go, serve the Lord your God. But who are they that shall go? And Moses said, We will go with our young, and with our old, and with our sons, and with our daughters, and with our flocks, and with our herds will we go. For we must hold a feast unto the Lord. And he said unto them, Let the Lord be so with you, and I will let you go, and your little ones look to it, for evil is before you." Not so, he says. Pharaoh says, not so. Go now ye that are men, and serve the Lord.

[John Weaver] For that you did desire. And they were driven out of Pharaoh's presence. So now, It was first of all, you can sacrifice in the land. Secondly, you can sacrifice if you go not far away.

[John Weaver] Now he said, I'm willing to let you go, but it's only just the men that can go. I want you to stop and think about this compromise. What Pharaoh was endeavoring to do was to separate the affections of the people. So they had spiritual affections, of course. They wanted to worship God and sacrifice and be obedient to Him. But they also had natural affections as well. So Pharaoh said, look, you may go into the wilderness, but just you men go. Your wives stay here. Your children stay here. Well, I don't care how spiritual a man is. I mean, he's going to miss his wife and miss his children. And the women are going to want their husbands back, and they want the fathers back. And so Pharaoh knew very well if he just let the men go, it would only be a matter of time before they were all back just the way they should be. Moses, of course, said, No, it's not going to happen like this. But you just stop and think of how many people have really and truly left their families behind.

[John Weaver] Think of the Fathers that serve the Lord, but the wives and the children do not. Think of the wives that serve the Lord, but the husbands and children do not. Or think of the parents that serve the Lord, but not the children. Or the children that serve the Lord, but not the parents. In other words, divided affections produce divided families. Moses did not take the bait. He knew that God wanted The whole man and the whole heart and the whole family. And true men will lead their wives and lead their children into obedience and righteousness and holiness.

[John Weaver] So here is the third compromise. You men go. Just leave the women and children back. No. It will not work like that, says Moses. Here's the fourth compromise. Look in Exodus 10 and verse 24. That is, take your families But leave your possessions. And Pharaoh called unto Moses and said, Go ye, serve the Lord, only let your flocks and your herds be stayed. Let your little ones also go with you. So now this is a pretty good compromise, you would think. He is saying, look, take your family, take your children, but you got to leave your possessions.

[John Weaver] Now this might appeal to pietistic people. There are many people that say, well, all we need is the Lord. Well, that's true in one sense of the word. But this compromise is an appeal to those who are so heavenly minded they're no earthly good. What do I mean by that? I mean this. I understand that God is our all in all. I understand that. It is certainly true that He supplies our needs. And it's certainly true that He gives us everything that we have. But the truth of the matter is we do need wealth, we do need possessions in order to worship Him, in order to serve Him, in order to sacrifice to Him and for Him.

[John Weaver] We live on earth in time and in history. And the last time I went to a grocery store, they demanded money. They wouldn't let me out without paying. I'm just going to be pointing out the fact, it is true that we can only give back to God that which He's already given unto us. That is true. But still, whatever He gives us, there is a requirement that we give back to Him.

[John Weaver] Now, please listen very carefully. Wealth is not necessarily the goal for the Christian. But wealth is necessary, not only for our families, but also to serve God. So on the one hand, You have a problem denying this truth, and on the other hand, you have those people who don't deny that they have to sell their souls just simply to accumulate wealth. Whatever we have belongs to God.

[John Weaver] I want you to look. Moses certainly did not fall for this bait. Look in Exodus 10 and verse 25, after Pharaoh said, Go and serve the Lord, you and your little ones, leave your flocks behind. Verse 25, and Moses said, Thou must give us also sacrifices and burnt offerings, that we may sacrifice the Lord our God. Our cattle also shall go with us. There shall not an hoof be left behind. For therefore must we take to serve the Lord our God, and we know not with what we must serve the Lord until we come thither."

[John Weaver] Now, while a man needs wealth to serve his family and his God, The goal of the Christian life is far more than accumulation of wealth. God requires us to give and to support His work. Not because He needs anything, but simply because we have a need to be involved in His service and in His work. As Deuteronomy says it, we may learn to fear the Lord our God.

[John Weaver] I want you to hold on to Exodus, but look in your Bibles to the book of Philippians chapter 4 and verse 17. I want you to see what the Apostle Paul said to these Philippians. They were the ones that supported Paul regularly, and Paul acknowledges that. But listen to what he said. In the book of Philippians, chapter 4 and verse 17. Look what he said. Let's read verse 16. He says, go back to verse 15. He says, Now you Philippians know also that in the beginning of the gospel, when I departed from Macedonia, no church communicated with me as concerning giving and receiving, but you only. So the Philippians were the ones that supported Paul on a regular basis. Now watch.

[John Weaver] For even in Thessalonica you sent once again unto my necessity. But look what he says. Not because I desire a gift. But I desire fruit that may abound in your account." So what he is saying is this, all that you invested in me is going to come back to you because it will be spiritual fruit that will be abounding to your account because you were involved in supporting the work of the ministry. So that's exactly what the apostle is saying. In Philippians 4, it's exactly what is being taught in the book of Exodus chapter 12. We have to be able to support the work of God.

[John Weaver] Now, modern day churches can usually be found in one of these four compromises. You just look around. I got an email this week that was almost astounding. I don't know the young man, but he emailed me and said, I have been listening to your sermons regularly. And he said, I need encouragement. I need help. He said, I just wanted to reach out and see if you real. I emailed him back and I said, yes, I'm real. I'm alive and I'm here. And I'll help you any way that I can.

[John Weaver] But we have to understand this. Now, when the last plague hit, Pharaoh was more than willing to let the children of Israel go. I want you to look, if you would, in Exodus chapter 12, beginning at verse 31, and let's read verse 32. Exodus 12, verse 31. Remember now, the death of the firstborn. Watch what happened in Exodus 12 verse 31. And he called for Moses and Aaron by night and said, Rise up and get you forth from among my people, both you and the children of Israel, and go and serve the Lord as you have said.

[John Weaver] And take your flocks and your herds, as you have said, and be gone. And bless me also. Did you notice those last four words? And bless me also. Isn't that astounding? Pharaoh refused to obey God. He would not even recognize God. He mocked God. He hated God. He ridiculed God. And now, when God has forced him to do what he commanded him to do to begin with, now he asks Moses to bless him. It's astounding. It's astounding that tyrants They think that they deserve to be blessed when they allow God's people to do that, which is their inalienable right to begin with. Their God-given right to begin with. It's our God-given right to worship Him and to sacrifice to Him. And finally, when he was forced to let them go, he said, Bless me also. Those that defy and despise God are not and cannot be blessed. They are cursed. If you hate God, if you despise God, you're not going to be blessed by God. I can assure you, you will be cursed by God.

[John Weaver] Now, let me make some applications. I want to try to tie this together. Remember, I started with Exodus 9, verse 17, as yet exalted by self against my people. Do you realize that when one attacks and persecutes and harms or seeks to destroy God's people, he is attacking God Himself? There is no tyrant, there is no politician, there is no president, there is no congressman that can reach up and slap God in the face. None can stick his hand or his finger in the eye of God. Not one. While they could not do that literally, they can do that spiritually by attacking and persecuting the people of God. Do you remember that passage in Zechariah 2, verse 8, where God said, listen carefully, for he that touches thee touches the apple of my eye. So the apple of the eye is the pupil, and God says, when you touch my people, you're sticking your finger in my eye. And once you start challenging God and poking God in the eye, you're going to be in trouble like you've never seen before.

[John Weaver] And this is what God is saying. You're stomping my people down. You're trying to build up yourself by tearing my people down. It's not going to work. Here's the second application. I want you to understand it is in honor and glory of God to destroy His enemies. So I could ask you a couple of questions. Was it right and was it honorable for Moses to kill that Egyptian in saving another one's life?

[John Weaver] And the answer is yes. Was it right and honorable and glorious for David not only to protect himself and his family and the nation by killing Goliath? And the answer is yes. Well, I want you to see something. Look in Exodus chapter 14 and let's begin reading there with verse 17. Exodus chapter 14 notice if you would please verse 17 the Bible says God is speaking and I behold I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians and they shall follow them and I will get me honor upon Pharaoh and upon all his hosts upon his chariots and upon his horsemen, and the Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD, when I have gotten me honor upon Pharaoh and upon his chariots and upon his horsemen." How did God get honor from the Egyptians? And the answer is by destroying them. Because God is absolutely just. This was the justice of God. Skip down, if you would please, to verse 24. Exodus 14, verse 24. It came to pass that in the morning watch, the Lord looked unto the host of the Egyptians through the pillar of fire and of the cloud, and troubled the host of the Egyptians, and took off their chariot wheels, that they drove them heavily.

[John Weaver] So the Egyptians said, Let us flee from the face of Israel. For the Lord fighted for them against the Egyptians. And the Lord said unto Moses, Stretch out thine hand over the sea, that the waters may come again upon the Egyptians, upon the chariots, and upon their horsemen. And Moses stretched forth his hand over the sea, and the sea returned to its strength when the morning appeared. And the Egyptians fled against him. And the Lord overthrew the Egyptians in the midst of the sea. And the waters returned, and covered the chariots, and the horsemen, and all the hosts of Pharaoh that came into the sea after them.

[John Weaver] There remained not so much as one of them. But the children of Israel walked upon dry land in the midst of the sea, and the waters were a wall on them on their right hand and on their left. Thus the Lord saved Israel that day out of the hand of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians dead upon the seashore. And Israel saw that great work which the Lord did upon the Egyptians. And the people feared the Lord, and believed the Lord and His servant Moses." Wow! Wow.

[John Weaver] Now, let me show you something. You remember. God says this to Pharaoh in the book of Exodus and the Apostle Paul quotes it in the book of Romans, where he says to Pharaoh for this cause, have I raised the up that I might show my power in thee? Hmm. In other words, Pharaoh then is to be an example to all tyrants, to all despots, to all rulers who are contrary to God. I want you to look in Exodus chapter 15 beginning there in verse 13. I want you to see the application of what happened to Pharaoh as it is applied to the rulers in Canaan. Exodus 15, beginning there with verse 13. Watch.

[John Weaver] Thou and thy mercy has led forth a people which thou hast redeemed. Thou hast guided them in thy strength unto thy holy habitation. The people shall hear... What people? The ones in Canaan. The people shall hear and be afraid. Sorrow shall take hold of the inhabitants of Palestina. Then the dukes of Edom shall be amazed, the mighty men of Moab trembling shall take hold upon them, all the inhabitants of Canaan shall melt away, fear and dread shall fall upon them, by the greatness of thine arm they shall be as still as a stone, till thy people pass over, O Lord, till thy people pass over which thou hast purchased." thou shalt bring them and plant them in the mountain of thine inheritance, in the place, O Lord, which thou hast made for thee to dwell in, in thy sanctuary, O Lord, which thy hands have established, the Lord shall reign for ever and ever."

[John Weaver] So, what happened to Pharaoh is to be a warning to all others. It is this truth that I read several Sundays back from Psalm 2, verses 10 through 12, where God says, Be wise now therefore, O ye kings, be instructed, you judges of the earth. Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest he be angry with thee, and you perish in the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little. You remember that passage in Psalm 110, verses 5 and 6,"'The Lord at thy right hand shall strike through kings in the day of his wrath.

[John Weaver] He shall judge among the heathen. He shall fill the places with the dead bodies. He shall wound the heads over many countries.'" So here's why I titled this message, Will They Ever Learn? Will they ever learn? Pay attention to what happened to Pharaoh. Pay attention to what happened to the despots and tyrants In Canaan land. Pay attention to what has happened all through the Bible and all through history as well. So that now is the time to listen if they're going to ever listen and learn. You can't. You can't.

[John Weaver] Touch God's people without touching God. You can't try to control God's worship without trying to control God. You can't do one thing over God because God is sovereign. One last passage. Look in Exodus chapter 18, and let's begin there with verse 9. You see, the destruction of God's enemies. especially those rulers that rebel against him, demonstrates and shows us the absolute superiority and sovereignty and supremacy of God. So in Exodus chapter 18, beginning there with verse 9, and Jethro rejoiced. Now, Jethro was the father-in-law of Moses. If you go back to verse 8, and Moses told his father-in-law all that the Lord had done unto Pharaoh. So, verse 9, Jethro's the father-in-law, and Jethro rejoiced for all the goodness which the Lord had done to Israel, whom he had delivered out of the hand of the Egyptians. And Jethro said, Blessed be the Lord who delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians, and out of the hand of Pharaoh, who delivered the people from under the hand of the Egyptians."

[John Weaver] Look what he says now. Now I know that the Lord is greater than all gods. For in the thing wherein they dealt proudly, He was above them. Wait a minute. In the thing wherein they dealt proudly, He was above them. What was our text? Exodus 9, 17, As yet exaltest thyself against my people. What was Pharaoh doing? He was indeed acting proudly and God brought him down. May I point out that God is able to abase all that exalt themselves. God is able to protect his people and we need to have our leaders understand that you cannot touch God's people and you cannot touch God's worship without assaulting God himself. And when you want to challenge God, you are insane already because God is sovereign.

[John Weaver] Let's make sure that our lives reflect the true character of God in holiness, in righteousness, in our obedience to Him as we worship Him and give Him the honor and the glory that He deserves. Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, we bow to Thee. We thank You for Your Word. We thank You for Your truth. We ask for Your help and blessings. Teach us, Lord, to love Thee, to live for Thee, to honor Thee, to glorify Thee. And Lord, may we understand that Thou art sovereign and You will indeed deal with those who hate You in Your time and in Your way for Your honor and Your glory. We give Thee praise. In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, Amen.

Will They Ever Learn

John Weaver | SermonAudio

Lecture Metadata	Details
Speaker	John Weaver
Source	SermonAudio
Media ID	71320120161472
Subject	Old Testament Studies
Course	Exodus: Bondage, Deliverance, and Passover: As Yet
Genre	Sermon
Date	2020-07-12
Dictation Name
Book	Book 079: Exodus: Bondage, Deliverance, and Passover - Volume 2 — Chapter 24
Source Timed Segments	68

Formatted Transcript

Introduction: The Self-Exalting Politician

Weaver contrasts the biblical ideal of servant leadership with modern politicians who enrich themselves and view themselves as above the law, using Pharaoh as the ultimate example.

Exodus 9, verse 17, the title of the message is, "Will They Ever Learn?" And I think you'll see how appropriate the title is as we get into the message. Look in Exodus 9, verse 17, and we'll certainly come back to this verse, but notice what God says to Pharaoh:

Scripture Reading — Exodus 9:17

"As yet exaltest thou thyself against my people, that thou wilt not let them go."

Have you ever noticed that when any politician is running for office, he always wants to serve the people? But once he is elected, service to the people or being of service and representation is basically over. Usually the only service that is done by a politician that is in office is for himself and for his party. The idea of being of service and being a representative is indeed a biblical concept and a biblical principle. However, it has long been perverted and long forgotten as well. A government is no longer about representing the people. It's about perpetuating itself and increasing its power and control. So I want to ask you a question so that I can read an article to you. I thought it was extremely interesting.

Have you ever asked yourself as to why anyone would spend millions in Federal Reserve notes to get a job that only paid $200,000 in Federal Reserve notes? Have you ever noticed that those who go in to serve always come out much richer than when they went in? And do you know how many millionaires there are in Congress? I want to give you two short articles. One is very short. I want you to listen to this. This is absolutely astounding, but remember the date. Stephanie Condon wrote a CBS News article and said this: "The average Senate campaign in 2010, ten years ago, cost $8,002,726. The average House campaign cost $1,163,231." Then she wrote, "Congress is a club that consists of 245 millionaires." The second article is this. This was written in April of this year by Carl Evers Hillstrom. He wrote, "The majority of lawmakers in the 116th Congress are millionaires. Congress is an exclusive club.

The Wealth of Modern Congress

Citing articles, Weaver highlights how members of Congress become millionaires while in office, contrasting this with early congressmen who served without salary.

It is also a wealthy one. More than half of those in Congress are millionaires. Data from the lawmakers' most recent personal financial disclosure shows, if they were honest, they may be worth a whole lot more. The median net worth of members of Congress who filed disclosures last year is just over a million dollars. Much of the wealth in Congress is concentrated at the top. The top ten percent of the wealthiest lawmakers have three times more wealth than the bottom 90%. While some lawmakers are still paying off student loans, others are paying off their third and fourth mortgage, which means not three or four houses. The group of wealthiest members includes career politicians who boosted their portfolios over decades in Congress and recently elected lawmakers. According to estimated net worth calculations, Senator Rick Scott, Republican of Florida, is the wealthiest lawmaker with nearly $260 million in net assets. Scott dethroned Senator Mark Warner, Democrat in Virginia, for the top spot after he won the election in 2018, despite injecting nearly $64 million of his own money into his campaign.

Some lawmakers have not filed one of these reports yet. They include recently appointed Senator Kelly Loeffler of Georgia, Republican, who is estimated to be worth over $500 million. Loeffler recently announced that she would sell all of her stocks amid controversy over stock trades that appeared to be related to the coronavirus pandemic. The leaders of both chambers make up the top ten list. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Democrat, California, has seen her wealth increase to nearly $115 million from $41 million in 2004. The first year Open Secrets began tracking personal finances, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Republican from Kentucky, saw his net worth increase from $3 million to over $34 million during that time. Both political leaders are married to affluent individuals who are driving those increases. Two-term representative Paul Mitchell, Republican for Michigan, saw the largest growth in wealth from 2017 and 2018. The former non-profit college executive's average net worth skyrocketed from $101 million to $180 million. Mitchell won't seek re-election this November. Sometime long-time members of Congress watched their wealth rise to record levels in 2018.

Representative Colin Peterson, Democrat of Minnesota, was worth an estimated $123,500 in 2008. The House Agricultural Committee Chairman's average net asset stood at $4.2 million as of his most recent financial disclosure. Representative Judy Chu, Democrat of California, was worth less than six figures in 2008. One decade later, her estimated net worth is 7.1 million. Senator Roy Blunt, Republican from Missouri, increased his wealth from $602,000 to $10.7 million over the last decade.

So obviously, there's a lot of money to be made just simply by being a politician. I don't know if you've ever thought about our original congressman. And it may surprise you to find out that our original congressman served without pay. So here's an article, listen carefully. It might surprise many modern Americans to learn that for the first several decades of its existence, the United States Congress did not pay salaries to its members. From the inception of the United States Congress from 1789 until 1855, with the exception of one brief period, members of the Senate and the House received no salaries and were paid only per diem, that is, daily, while Congress was in session, initially at a rate of six dollars per day. In the 18th century, being a legislator, whether local, state, or federal level, was generally not a full-time job. Legislative bodies were not in session year-round. They typically met only for a few months out of the year, and sometimes they convened only infrequently, irregularly, or when specifically called into session rather than on a fixed schedule. And just because a body was in session didn't necessarily mean that all of its members were in attendance. Most legislators had other occupations and livelihoods, that they had to take time out from in order to serve. Therefore, per diem, compensation for actual service was the standard of that time. So, even if you were a congressman, and you were supposed to be there, and you weren't, you did not get the six dollars per day. You only got the $6 per day if you were there. So things have certainly changed in our day and time, that is for sure.

Pharaoh's Self-Exaltation and Refusal to Obey

Pharaoh exalted himself above God's people, refusing to recognize the Lord and viewing the Hebrews' God as weak because of their enslaved condition.

Now, I read all that just to tell you this, that Pharaoh did basically the same thing. He did not view himself as bound by law. He was basically a law unto himself. He could not be reasoned with, neither could he be deterred from his personal agenda. When Moses and Aaron and the Hebrew elders went to Pharaoh and asked him to let them go three days' journey into the wilderness that they might worship the Lord and have a feast unto Him, he said, "No." And he said, "The problem is you're idle, you're idle, you need more work." Let me just kind of spell this out for you. Basically what he said was this, worship of God is non-essential. But obedience to the state or obedience to my demands happens to be essential as well. So if you look back in the book of Exodus chapter 5, you'll see this beginning there with verse 5. Watch it. Exodus chapter 5 verse 5,

Scripture Reading — Exodus 5:5-9

"And Pharaoh said, Behold, the people of the land now are many, and you make them rest from their burdens. And Pharaoh commanded the same day the taskmasters of the people, and their officers, saying, You shall no more give the people straw to make brick, as heretofore: let them go and gather straw for themselves. And the tale of the bricks, which they did make heretofore, you shall lay upon them; you shall not diminish ought thereof: for they be idle; therefore they cry, saying, Let us go and sacrifice to our God. Let there more work be laid upon the men, that they may labor therein; and let them not regard vain words."

You see that? Vain words. He said, they're crying, "Let us go and worship God. Let us go and sacrifice." That's not essential. What is essential? You keep making the same number of bricks, and now we're going to even make it worse for you. So, God sent a lot of plagues. As you know, there were ten plagues. It took several of these plagues really to get Pharaoh's attention. And one of those plagues was when the locusts were going to descend upon Egypt. And even the servants of Pharaoh realized that Egypt is now destroyed.

And they tried to reason with him, and he would not be reasoned with. So if you look in Exodus 10, and notice if you would please verse 7, here it is,

Scripture Reading — Exodus 10:7

"And Pharaoh's servants said unto him, How long shall this man be a snare unto us? Let the men go, that they may serve the Lord their God: knowest thou not yet that Egypt is destroyed?"

So Pharaoh refused to listen. He was adamant. It was his will, his way, his word. Nothing or no one else mattered. Thus God charged him with self-exaltation.

Now, I want you to look back at Exodus 9 and verse 17. Here is what God said to Pharaoh: "As yet exaltest thou thyself against my people, that thou wilt not let them go." Now, the word "exaltest" here means to lift up, to exalt, to esteem highly, to prize, and to exalt oneself. So, Pharaoh is the consummate politician. He prized his person, his power, his platform, his purpose above everyone and everything else. Nothing else mattered to Pharaoh.

Now, the interesting thing about the Hebrew word, "exaltest thou," also means to cast up a way or to cast up a highway. Thus, he was building himself up by trampling God's people down. Literally, he was stomping them under his feet, so to speak. And tyrants always destroy the lives of their people. Just think of Stalin and Pol Pot and Idi Amin, Mao Zedong and a host of others that murdered millions of their own people just to keep and maintain control.

Now, let me show you how all this began. So if you'll look back in your Bibles to Exodus chapter 5, here's an interesting question. Think about this. Why would you obey God if you thought you were God? Or at least assume that you were God. So look in Exodus 5 and verse 1, "And afterward Moses and Aaron went in and told Pharaoh, Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, Let my people go, that they may hold a feast unto me in the wilderness. And Pharaoh said, Who is the Lord, that I should obey his voice and let Israel go? I know not the Lord, neither will I let Israel go." Who is the Lord? I don't know who He is. I don't recognize Him.

I'm the head of this nation. I have my gods. I'm sovereign. I don't even know who this God is. And I'm certainly not going to obey Him. It was John Calvin who wrote this on this verse. He said, "And Pharaoh said, Who is the Lord? It is scarcely credible that there should be such madness in a mortal as thus by wantonly scorning God to fly as it were in the face of heaven. But we must observe that the tyrant being devoted to idolatries, and thus insulted the God of Israel, that he might manifest his great piety toward his false gods. For his mockery in scornfully bending back the name of Jehovah must be referred to the words of Moses as much as to say, Why do you bring against me this unknown phantom under the title of an eternal God, as though we had no God of our own?" In other words, we have our own gods. We don't need this God. We don't recognize this God. So Pharaoh basically believed that he was sovereign and that he could do exactly what he wanted to do.

Now, if you look in Exodus 5 and verse 3, now remember it's imperative that you remember that they wanted to go three days' journey into the wilderness. Verse 3,

Scripture Reading — Exodus 5:3

"And they said, The God of the Hebrews hath met with us: let us go, we pray thee, three days' journey into the desert, and sacrifice unto the Lord our God; lest he fall upon us with pestilence, or with the sword."

Now, the interesting thing is this. Pharaoh is saying, "Who is the Lord? I don't know Him. You are demanding that I obey Him and let you go three days in the wilderness and worship Him." What Pharaoh is doing, he is estimating, listen carefully, he is estimating the character and the power of the God of Israel by the abject and miserable condition of His worshipers. Remember, these people who were demanding to be let go were slaves. They had been subjugated. And Pharaoh's reasoning, look, if this is the god of these people, he cannot be very powerful because they are not powerful. They have absolutely nothing. They are my servants. They are my slaves.

And so therefore, he believed that he was superior, and he believed that his gods were superior as well. And let me point out, I believe this is exactly what has happened to Christianity today. If God is a reflection of the holiness, fidelity, and worship of His people, He must be viewed as powerless and of small significance in the eyes of the world. Because look at the condition of Christians in this day and time. And we say that our God is omnipotent, we say that He's omnipresent, we say that He's immutable, we say that He's the sovereign God of heaven and earth, and He's all-powerful, and look where we are, and look what we are doing.

The Reflection of God's Character in His People

Weaver argues that the world judges God by the condition of His people, citing George Gallup's statistics on the lack of ethical difference between churchgoers and non-churchgoers.

Has it ever dawned upon you that as a Christian, your life is a reflection of God's character? And if your life is a reflection of God's character, what does your life say about God? George Gallup, who is supposed to be a Christian, and the great pollster, everyone has heard of the Gallup polls, he was addressing a national seminar of Southern Baptist leaders. And here's what George Gallup said. This should shock you. I'm quoting. He said, "We find there is very little difference in ethical behavior between churchgoers and those who are not actively religious. The levels of lying, cheating, and stealing are remarkably similar in both groups. Eight out of ten Americans consider themselves Christians," Gallup said, "yet only about half of them could identify the person who gave the Sermon on the Mount. And fewer still could recall five of the Ten Commandments. Only two in ten said they would be willing to suffer for their faith's sake." That's astounding. When he said you couldn't tell the difference because of the lying and stealing and cheating, Vance Havner said it a little differently.

He said when the Lord's white sheep become dirty gray, the black sheep feel more comfortable. And that's a fact. When the white sheep become dirty gray, then the black sheep feel more comfortable. What we've done is this, we've made the world very comfortable, and consequently, we've sent the wrong message not only to the world, but also to wicked rulers. Pharaoh believed that he was able not only to control God, but control the worship of God.

Pharaoh's Four Compromises

Pharaoh offered four compromises to keep Israel under his control: sacrifice in the land, don't go far, only men go, and leave possessions behind. Moses rejected each one.

At one of them, of course, the first one here, dealt with a swarm of flies. I don't know about you, but I hate flies. Can you imagine not being able to breathe, not being able to move without flies everywhere? It's unbelievable. But notice, if you would, he's going to offer a compromise to get rid of the flies. So notice in Exodus 8, verse 25,

Scripture Reading — Exodus 8:25

"And Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron and said, Go ye, sacrifice to your God in the land."

Sacrifice to your God in the land. Now he's willing to let them go. He's willing to allow them to sacrifice, but only in the land. And in other words, he wants them to sacrifice where he has absolute control. So he's willing to be multicultural. He's willing to be diverse. He's willing to be liberal as long as he is in control.

Dr. Brooks Stockton is a friend of mine. He has a little website, Nike Insights, and here's what he said concerning this compromise. Listen carefully. "In the land, Israel would still be slaves to the government. In the land, Israel would still be subject to governmental laws and statutes. In the land, Israel would still drink from the well of Egyptian culture. In the land there will be no temple, no priesthood, no altar, and no sacrifice of lambs to Yahweh. In the land, Yahweh would be one of many in Pharaoh's pantheon of gods. In the land, Israel could never achieve its purpose to glorify God." So now, what is happening, Pharaoh is saying, look, I'm going to let you go sacrifice, but you have to do it in the land.

I want you to look at verses 26 and 27, because Moses gave an appropriate response. He said this, "And Moses said, It is not meet so to do; for we shall sacrifice the abomination of the Egyptians to the Lord our God: lo, shall we sacrifice the abomination of the Egyptians before their eyes, and will they not stone us? We will go three days' journey into the wilderness, and sacrifice to the Lord our God, as he shall command us." Wow. Wow. Notice, if you would, that Pharaoh said, "I will let you go, that you may sacrifice to the Lord your God in the wilderness; only you shall not go very far away: intreat for me." Wow! You understand, if you would please, the Egyptians hated shepherds. They also hated sheep.

Everyone has heard of the sacrificial lamb. And you understand the lambs that were sacrificed in the Old Testament, each one of them represented and typified the Lord Jesus Christ. I want you to look in your Bibles, hold Exodus, but look in your Bibles to the book of Genesis chapter 43 and verse 32. There will be another passage here, but look in Genesis 43 and verse 32 to show you how the Egyptians viewed the Hebrews. You must remember now that Joseph was second in command in the land of Egypt. He was second under Pharaoh. So notice, if you would please, when Joseph now is about to have food and settle for his brethren as well. Watch, if you would, verse 32.

Scripture Reading — Genesis 43:32

"And they set on for him by himself, and for them by themselves, and for the Egyptians, which did eat with him, by themselves: because the Egyptians might not eat bread with the Hebrews; for that is an abomination unto the Egyptians."

So Joseph and his brethren got served, but they got served separately. So the Egyptians would not eat with the Hebrews and the Hebrews could not eat with the Egyptians. Now look in Genesis chapter 46 and look if you would at verse 34. Genesis 46 and verse 34. He says,

Scripture Reading — Genesis 43:32

"That ye shall say, Thy servants' trade hath been about cattle from our youth even until now, both we, and also our fathers: that ye may dwell in the land of Goshen; for every shepherd is an abomination unto the Egyptians."

And of course, Moses said, "We can't do this because we'll sacrifice the abomination of the Egyptians. We'll sacrifice the lamb." And by the way, may I point out that Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God, is still an abomination to the world. He's still an abomination to those who do not believe. It's interesting that Moses said that God requires that we go three days into the wilderness. Of course, three days only speak of and represent the resurrection of Jesus Christ. But it also speaks of a real, genuine separation from the world and its influences. And let me point out again, I know I've said it in recent weeks, but the Church of Jesus Christ is a totally separate jurisdiction from that of civil government. So the very first compromise that Pharaoh offered was, you may sacrifice, only you do it in the land, you do it under my control.

That is basically, what you have when you have incorporated churches with a 501c3 tax-exempt status, because they're under the control of Caesar. They're under the control of the state. Now watch this. There was a second compromise. If you look in Exodus chapter 8 and verse 28 again, here it is.

Scripture Reading — Exodus 8:28

"And Pharaoh said, I will let you go, that ye may sacrifice to the Lord your God in the wilderness; only ye shall not go very far away: intreat for me."

Here's a second one, is you may sacrifice if you don't go very far away. The hand of God was against Pharaoh and his people.

He wanted relief, but he did not want to lose his slaves. You know, that's exactly the way people are today. You can walk out on the street and you can say, well, how many of you want to be judged by God? How many of you want to be condemned by God? How many of you want to face the judge of all the earth and receive the sentence of condemnation? Nobody does. At least no one in their right mind. But please listen to this. Although they may not want to face the judge of all the earth and be condemned by God, they do not want that badly enough to give up their sins. What they want is to not be condemned, and yet at the same time keep their sins and keep their rebellion. And so this is what Pharaoh was saying, look, what I want is this. I want these plagues lifted. I want some relief, but I don't want you going very far away. I want you to come back.

You see, the world does not despise Christians that are like themselves. They only despise Christians that are holy, godly, righteous, and obedient. And unhappily, most Christians have not gone very far from the world because the world's siren call always pulls them back in. Unhappily, it was the Apostle Paul who said in 2 Timothy 4, verse 10 concerning Demas, he said, "For Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present world, and is departed unto Thessalonica."

So the first compromise was this. You may serve God and you may sacrifice to God, but you've got to do it in the land. The second one is, you can go and you can do it, but don't go very far away from Me. If you look in Exodus chapter 10, you're going to see the third compromise, and that is, go ye that are men and serve Him. Notice Exodus chapter 10, beginning there with verse 7. Notice if you would, Exodus 10 verse 7, "And Pharaoh's servants said unto him, How long shall this man be a snare unto us? Let the men go, that they may serve the Lord their God: knowest thou not yet that Egypt is destroyed?"

And Moses and Aaron were brought again unto Pharaoh, and he said unto them, "Go, serve the Lord your God: but who are they that shall go?" And Moses said, "We will go with our young and with our old, with our sons and with our daughters, with our flocks and with our herds will we go; for we must hold a feast unto the Lord." And he said unto them, "Let the Lord be so with you, as I will let you go, and your little ones: look to it; for evil is before you. Not so: go now ye that are men, and serve the Lord; for that ye did desire." And they were driven out from Pharaoh's presence. So now, it was first of all, you can sacrifice in the land. Secondly, you can sacrifice if you go not far away.

Now he said, I'm willing to let you go, but it's only just the men that can go. I want you to stop and think about this compromise. What Pharaoh was endeavoring to do was to separate the affections of the people. So they had spiritual affections, of course. They wanted to worship God and sacrifice and be obedient to Him. But they also had natural affections as well. So Pharaoh said, look, you may go into the wilderness, but just you men go. Your wives stay here. Your children stay here. Well, I don't care how spiritual a man is. I mean, he's going to miss his wife and miss his children. And the women are going to want their husbands back, and they want the fathers back. And so Pharaoh knew very well if he just let the men go, it would only be a matter of time before they were all back just the way they should be. Moses, of course, said, "No, it's not going to happen like this." But you just stop and think of how many people have really and truly left their families behind.

Think of the fathers that serve the Lord, but the wives and the children do not. Think of the wives that serve the Lord, but the husbands and children do not. Or think of the parents that serve the Lord, but not the children. Or the children that serve the Lord, but not the parents. In other words, divided affections produce divided families. Moses did not take the bait. He knew that God wanted the whole man and the whole heart and the whole family. And true men will lead their wives and lead their children into obedience and righteousness and holiness.

So here is the third compromise. You men go. Just leave the women and children back. No. It will not work like that, says Moses. Here's the fourth compromise. Look in Exodus 10 and verse 24. That is, take your families but leave your possessions. "And Pharaoh called unto Moses, and said, Go ye, serve the Lord; only let your flocks and your herds be stayed: let your little ones also go with you." So now this is a pretty good compromise, you would think. He is saying, look, take your family, take your children, but you got to leave your possessions.

Now this might appeal to pietistic people. There are many people that say, well, all we need is the Lord. Well, that's true in one sense of the word. But this compromise is an appeal to those who are so heavenly minded they're no earthly good. What do I mean by that? I mean this. I understand that God is our all in all. I understand that. It is certainly true that He supplies our needs. And it's certainly true that He gives us everything that we have. But the truth of the matter is we do need wealth, we do need possessions in order to worship Him, in order to serve Him, in order to sacrifice to Him and for Him.

We live on earth in time and in history. And the last time I went to a grocery store, they demanded money. They wouldn't let me out without paying. I'm just going to be pointing out the fact, it is true that we can only give back to God that which He's already given unto us. That is true. But still, whatever He gives us, there is a requirement that we give back to Him.

Now, please listen very carefully. Wealth is not necessarily the goal for the Christian. But wealth is necessary, not only for our families, but also to serve God. So on the one hand, you have a problem denying this truth, and on the other hand, you have those people who don't deny that they have to sell their souls just simply to accumulate wealth. Whatever we have belongs to God. I want you to look. Moses certainly did not fall for this bait. Look in Exodus 10 and verse 25, after Pharaoh said, "Go and serve the Lord, you and your little ones, leave your flocks behind." Verse 25,

Scripture Reading — Exodus 10:24-26

"And Moses said, Thou must give us also sacrifices and burnt offerings, that we may sacrifice unto the Lord our God. Our cattle also shall go with us; there shall not an hoof be left behind; for thereof must we take to serve the Lord our God; and we know not with what we must serve the Lord, until we come thither."

Now, while a man needs wealth to serve his family and his God, the goal of the Christian life is far more than accumulation of wealth. God requires us to give and to support His work. Not because He needs anything, but simply because we have a need to be involved in His service and in His work. As Deuteronomy says it, we may learn to fear the Lord our God.

The Plagues as Judgment on Egypt's Gods

The plagues were not only against Pharaoh but also against the false gods of Egypt, demonstrating God's supremacy.

This is dealing with the last plague, but note very carefully. He said, "For I will pass through the land of Egypt this night, and will smite all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment: I am the Lord." So, God's plagues were not just against Pharaoh and the Egyptians, but against the false gods as well. Now, it took a number of plagues to get Pharaoh's attention. If you'll look back in your Bibles to the book of Exodus chapter 8, you're going to find that when these plagues really begin to get really serious and really begin to affect Pharaoh, he was willing to compromise.

Pharaoh's Forced Release and Request for Blessing

After the death of the firstborn, Pharaoh finally let Israel go but astonishingly asked Moses to bless him, revealing the delusion of tyrants.

But we have to understand this. Now, when the last plague hit, Pharaoh was more than willing to let the children of Israel go. I want you to look, if you would, in Exodus chapter 12, beginning at verse 31, and let's read verse 32. Exodus 12, verse 31. Remember now, the death of the firstborn. Watch what happened in Exodus 12 verse 31.

Scripture Reading — Exodus 12:31-32

"And he called for Moses and Aaron by night, and said, Rise up, and get you forth from among my people, both ye and the children of Israel; and go, serve the Lord, as ye have said.

Also take your flocks and your herds, as ye have said, and be gone; and bless me also." Did you notice those last four words? "And bless me also." Isn't that astounding? Pharaoh refused to obey God. He would not even recognize God. He mocked God. He hated God. He ridiculed God. And now, when God has forced him to do what he commanded him to do to begin with, now he asks Moses to bless him. It's astounding. It's astounding that tyrants think that they deserve to be blessed when they allow God's people to do that, which is their inalienable right to begin with. Their God-given right to begin with. It's our God-given right to worship Him and to sacrifice to Him. And finally, when he was forced to let them go, he said, "Bless me also." Those that defy and despise God are not and cannot be blessed. They are cursed. If you hate God, if you despise God, you're not going to be blessed by God. I can assure you, you will be cursed by God.

Applications: Attacking God's People is Attacking God

Weaver applies the narrative by warning that persecuting God's people is like poking God in the eye, and God gets honor by destroying His enemies.

Now, let me make some applications. I want to try to tie this together. Remember, I started with Exodus 9, verse 17, "As yet exaltest thou thyself against my people." Do you realize that when one attacks and persecutes and harms or seeks to destroy God's people, he is attacking God Himself? There is no tyrant, there is no politician, there is no president, there is no congressman that can reach up and slap God in the face. None can stick his hand or his finger in the eye of God. Not one. While they could not do that literally, they can do that spiritually by attacking and persecuting the people of God. Do you remember that passage in Zechariah 2, verse 8, where God said, listen carefully, "For he that toucheth you toucheth the apple of his eye." So the apple of the eye is the pupil, and God says, when you touch my people, you're sticking your finger in my eye. And once you start challenging God and poking God in the eye, you're going to be in trouble like you've never seen before.

And this is what God is saying. You're stomping my people down. You're trying to build up yourself by tearing my people down. It's not going to work. Here's the second application. I want you to understand it is in honor and glory of God to destroy His enemies. So I could ask you a couple of questions. Was it right and was it honorable for Moses to kill that Egyptian in saving another one's life?

And the answer is yes. Was it right and honorable and glorious for David not only to protect himself and his family and the nation by killing Goliath? And the answer is yes. Well, I want you to see something. Look in Exodus chapter 14 and let's begin reading there with verse 17. Exodus chapter 14 notice if you would please verse 17 the Bible says God is speaking and I behold I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians and they shall follow them and I will get me honor upon Pharaoh and upon all his hosts upon his chariots and upon his horsemen, and the Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD, when I have gotten me honor upon Pharaoh and upon his chariots and upon his horsemen.

Scripture Reading — Exodus 14:17-31

" How did God get honor from the Egyptians? And the answer is by destroying them. Because God is absolutely just. This was the justice of God. Skip down, if you would please, to verse 24. Exodus 14, verse 24. "

And it came to pass, that in the morning watch the Lord looked unto the host of the Egyptians through the pillar of fire and of the cloud, and troubled the host of the Egyptians, and took off their chariot wheels, that they drave them heavily: so that the Egyptians said, Let us flee from the face of Israel; for the Lord fighteth for them against the Egyptians."

"And the Lord said unto Moses, Stretch out thine hand over the sea, that the waters may come again upon the Egyptians, upon their chariots, and upon their horsemen. And Moses stretched forth his hand over the sea, and the sea returned to his strength when the morning appeared; and the Egyptians fled against it; and the Lord overthrew the Egyptians in the midst of the sea. And the waters returned, and covered the chariots, and the horsemen, and all the host of Pharaoh that came into the sea after them; there remained not so much as one of them." "But the children of Israel walked upon dry land in the midst of the sea; and the waters were a wall unto them on their right hand, and on their left. Thus the Lord saved Israel that day out of the hand of the Egyptians; and Israel saw the Egyptians dead upon the sea shore. And Israel saw that great work which the Lord did upon the Egyptians: and the people feared the Lord, and believed the Lord, and his servant Moses." Wow! Wow.

Warning to Rulers and Call to Holy Living

The destruction of Pharaoh serves as a warning to all rulers. Believers must reflect God's character in holiness so the world sees His power.

Now, let me show you something. You remember. God says this to Pharaoh in the book of Exodus and the Apostle Paul quotes it in the book of Romans, where he says to Pharaoh, "For this cause have I raised thee up, that I might show my power in thee." Hmm. In other words, Pharaoh then is to be an example to all tyrants, to all despots, to all rulers who are contrary to God. I want you to look in Exodus chapter 15 beginning there in verse 13. I want you to see the application of what happened to Pharaoh as it is applied to the rulers in Canaan. Exodus 15, beginning there with verse 13. Watch.

"Thou in thy mercy hast led forth the people which thou hast redeemed: thou hast guided them in thy strength unto thy holy habitation. The people shall hear, and be afraid: sorrow shall take hold on the inhabitants of Palestina. Then the dukes of Edom shall be amazed; the mighty men of Moab, trembling shall take hold upon them; all the inhabitants of Canaan shall melt away. Fear and dread shall fall upon them; by the greatness of thine arm they shall be as still as a stone; till thy people pass over, O Lord, till the people pass over, which thou hast purchased. Thou shalt bring them in, and plant them in the mountain of thine inheritance, in the place, O Lord, which thou hast made for thee to dwell in, in the Sanctuary, O Lord, which thy hands have established. The Lord shall reign for ever and ever."

So, what happened to Pharaoh is to be a warning to all others. It is this truth that I read several Sundays back from Psalm 2, verses 10 through 12, where God says, "Be wise now therefore, O ye kings: be instructed, ye judges of the earth. Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little." You remember that passage in Psalm 110, verses 5 and 6, "The Lord at thy right hand shall strike through kings in the day of his wrath. He shall judge among the heathen, he shall fill the places with the dead bodies; he shall wound the heads over many countries." So here's why I titled this message, "Will They Ever Learn?" Will they ever learn? Pay attention to what happened to Pharaoh. Pay attention to what happened to the despots and tyrants in Canaan land. Pay attention to what has happened all through the Bible and all through history as well. So that now is the time to listen if they're going to ever listen and learn. You can't. You can't.

Touch God's people without touching God. You can't try to control God's worship without trying to control God. You can't do one thing over God because God is sovereign. One last passage. Look in Exodus chapter 18, and let's begin there with verse 9. You see, the destruction of God's enemies, especially those rulers that rebel against him, demonstrates and shows us the absolute superiority and sovereignty and supremacy of God. So in Exodus chapter 18, beginning there with verse 9, "And Jethro rejoiced." Now, Jethro was the father-in-law of Moses. If you go back to verse 8,

Scripture Reading — Exodus 18:9-11

"And Moses told his father in law all that the Lord had done unto Pharaoh."

So, verse 9,

Scripture Reading — Exodus 18:9-11

"Jethro rejoiced for all the goodness which the Lord had done to Israel, whom he had delivered out of the hand of the Egyptians. And Jethro said, Blessed be the Lord, who hath delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians, and out of the hand of Pharaoh, who hath delivered the people from under the hand of the Egyptians."

Look what he says now. "Now I know that the Lord is greater than all gods: for in the thing wherein they dealt proudly he was above them." Wait a minute. In the thing wherein they dealt proudly, He was above them. What was our text? Exodus 9:17, "As yet exaltest thou thyself against my people." What was Pharaoh doing? He was indeed acting proudly and God brought him down. May I point out that God is able to abase all that exalt themselves. God is able to protect his people and we need to have our leaders understand that you cannot touch God's people and you cannot touch God's worship without assaulting God himself. And when you want to challenge God, you are insane already because God is sovereign.

Let's make sure that our lives reflect the true character of God in holiness, in righteousness, in our obedience to Him as we worship Him and give Him the honor and the glory that He deserves. Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, we bow to Thee. We thank You for Your Word. We thank You for Your truth. We ask for Your help and blessings. Teach us, Lord, to love Thee, to live for Thee, to honor Thee, to glorify Thee. And Lord, may we understand that Thou art sovereign and You will indeed deal with those who hate You in Your time and in Your way for Your honor and Your glory. We give Thee praise. In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, Amen.

Study Guide

Major Themes

Self-Exaltation of Rulers

Summary: Pharaoh and modern politicians exalt themselves above the people and above God, viewing themselves as sovereign and unbound by law.

Evidence: Exodus 9:17 'As yet exaltest thou thyself against my people' and the description of Congress as a club of millionaires who serve themselves.

The Sovereignty of God Over Rulers

Summary: God demonstrates His supremacy by judging Pharaoh and the gods of Egypt, showing that no ruler can defy Him without consequence.

Evidence: Exodus 12:12 'against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment' and the destruction of Pharaoh's army in the Red Sea.

Compromise with the World

Summary: Pharaoh's four compromises represent the world's attempts to keep believers under its control, offering partial obedience instead of full separation.

Evidence: The four compromises: sacrifice in the land (Ex. 8:25), not far away (Ex. 8:28), men only (Ex. 10:11), leave possessions (Ex. 10:24).

The Reflection of God's Character in His People

Summary: The world judges God by the condition of His people; when Christians live like the world, God appears powerless.

Evidence: George Gallup's statistics on ethical behavior of churchgoers and Vance Havner's quote about dirty gray sheep.

Persecution of God's People is Attack on God

Summary: To touch God's people is to touch the apple of His eye; rulers who persecute believers are assaulting God Himself.

Evidence: Zechariah 2:8 'he that toucheth you toucheth the apple of his eye' and the application of Pharaoh's destruction as a warning.

Key Arguments

Modern politicians mirror Pharaoh's self-exaltation

Summary: Like Pharaoh, today's politicians enrich themselves, view themselves as above the law, and attempt to control worship, as seen in COVID-19 restrictions on singing.

Evidence: Articles on congressional wealth, Alcee Hastings' 'no rules' quote, Nancy Pelosi's 'Are you kidding?' response, and Gavin Newsom's ban on singing in churches.

Pharaoh's refusal stemmed from viewing God as weak

Summary: Pharaoh judged God's power by the enslaved condition of Israel, just as the world today sees a powerless God because of the compromised state of the church.

Evidence: Exodus 5:2 'Who is the Lord?' and the explanation that Pharaoh estimated God's character by the abject condition of His worshipers.

The four compromises represent incomplete obedience

Summary: Pharaoh's offers to let Israel sacrifice in the land, not far away, men only, or without possessions all represent attempts to keep believers under worldly control.

Evidence: Exodus 8:25, 8:28, 10:11, 10:24 and Moses' rejection of each compromise.

God's judgment on Pharaoh is a warning to all rulers

Summary: The destruction of Pharaoh and his army demonstrates that God will honor Himself by judging those who exalt themselves against Him and His people.

Evidence: Exodus 14:17-18 'I will get me honor upon Pharaoh' and Psalm 2:10-12 'Be wise now therefore, O ye kings.'

Believers must live holy lives to reflect God's true character

Summary: The church's compromise has made the world comfortable and misrepresented God; Christians must pursue holiness so that God is seen as sovereign and powerful.

Evidence: George Gallup's statistics and the application that our lives are a reflection of God's character.

Scripture References

Exodus 9:17

Context: God's charge against Pharaoh for exalting himself against His people.

Exodus 5:5-9

Context: Pharaoh increases the Hebrews' labor, calling worship 'vain words.'

Exodus 10:7

Context: Pharaoh's servants warn him that Egypt is destroyed.

Exodus 5:1-2

Context: Pharaoh asks 'Who is the Lord?' and refuses to obey.

Exodus 5:3

Context: Moses and Aaron request a three-day journey to sacrifice.

Exodus 12:12

Context: God will execute judgment against the gods of Egypt.

Exodus 8:25

Context: Pharaoh's first compromise: sacrifice in the land.

Exodus 8:26-27

Context: Moses rejects sacrificing in Egypt because it would be an abomination.

Genesis 43:32

Context: Egyptians would not eat with Hebrews; shepherds were an abomination.

Genesis 46:34

Context: Every shepherd is an abomination to the Egyptians.

Exodus 8:28

Context: Pharaoh's second compromise: go but not very far away.

2 Timothy 4:10

Context: Demas forsook Paul, having loved this present world.

Exodus 10:7-11

Context: Pharaoh's third compromise: only the men may go.

Exodus 10:24-26

Context: Pharaoh's fourth compromise: leave flocks and herds; Moses refuses.

Philippians 4:15-17

Context: Paul desires fruit that abounds to the Philippians' account for their giving.

Exodus 12:31-32

Context: After the death of the firstborn, Pharaoh releases Israel and asks for a blessing.

Zechariah 2:8

Context: He who touches you touches the apple of God's eye.

Exodus 14:17-31

Context: God gets honor by destroying Pharaoh's army in the Red Sea.

Exodus 15:13-18

Context: The inhabitants of Canaan melt in fear because of what God did to Egypt.

Exodus 18:9-11

Context: Jethro rejoices and declares the Lord is greater than all gods.

Historical References

Early U.S. Congress (1789-1855)

Context: Members served without salary, receiving only a per diem of $6 per day when in session.

Stephanie Condon, CBS News article (2010)

Context: Reported average Senate campaign cost $8 million and Congress had 245 millionaires.

Carl Evers Hillstrom article (April 2020)

Context: Majority of 116th Congress are millionaires; details wealth of specific lawmakers.

Senator Rick Scott (R-FL)

Context: Wealthiest lawmaker with nearly $260 million net assets.

Senator Kelly Loeffler (R-GA)

Context: Estimated worth over $500 million; sold stocks amid controversy.

Nancy Pelosi (D-CA)

Context: Wealth increased from $41 million in 2004 to nearly $115 million.

Mitch McConnell (R-KY)

Context: Net worth increased from $3 million to over $34 million.

Alcee Hastings (D-FL)

Context: Said 'There are no rules. We make them up as we go along.'

George Gallup

Context: Pollster reported little ethical difference between churchgoers and non-churchgoers.

Governor Gavin Newsom (CA)

Context: Issued order banning singing in churches during COVID-19 pandemic.

Important Quotes

As yet exaltest thou thyself against my people, that thou wilt not let them go.

Significance: The key verse of the sermon, showing Pharaoh's self-exaltation against God's people.

Who is the Lord, that I should obey his voice and let Israel go? I know not the Lord, neither will I let Israel go.

Significance: Pharaoh's defiant refusal to recognize God's authority.

We find there is very little difference in ethical behavior between churchgoers and those who are not actively religious. The levels of lying, cheating, and stealing are remarkably similar in both groups.

Significance: George Gallup's indictment of the modern church's lack of distinctiveness.

When the Lord's white sheep become dirty gray, the black sheep feel more comfortable.

Significance: Vance Havner's quote illustrating how compromised Christians make the world comfortable in sin.

Go ye, sacrifice to your God in the land.

Significance: Pharaoh's first compromise, representing worship under state control.

I will let you go, that ye may sacrifice to the Lord your God in the wilderness; only ye shall not go very far away: intreat for me.

Significance: Pharaoh's second compromise, representing partial separation from the world.

Go now ye that are men, and serve the Lord; for that ye did desire.

Significance: Pharaoh's third compromise, attempting to divide families.

Bless me also.

Significance: Pharaoh's audacious request for blessing after being forced to obey, showing the delusion of tyrants.

Discussion Questions

In what ways do modern politicians mirror Pharaoh's self-exaltation and attempt to control worship?

Context: Weaver draws parallels between Pharaoh and modern rulers who enrich themselves and restrict religious freedom.

How does the compromised state of the church affect the world's view of God's power and character?

Context: Weaver argues that Pharaoh judged God by the condition of His people, and the same happens today.

Which of Pharaoh's four compromises do you see most prevalent in the church today, and how can we resist them?

Context: The four compromises represent incomplete obedience and worldly control over worship.

What does it mean that attacking God's people is like touching the apple of God's eye, and how should this affect our prayers for persecuted believers?

Context: Weaver applies Zechariah 2:8 to show God's protective jealousy over His people.

How does God's destruction of Pharaoh serve as a warning to rulers today, and what is the appropriate response for those in authority?

Context: The sermon concludes with a call for rulers to 'kiss the Son' and serve the Lord with fear.

Applications

Live holy lives that reflect God's true character

Summary: Believers must pursue holiness so that the world sees God's power and sovereignty, not a weak and compromised deity.

Evidence: George Gallup's statistics and the argument that Pharaoh judged God by Israel's condition.

Reject worldly compromises in worship and obedience

Summary: Christians must refuse any compromise that keeps them under the control of the world or the state, insisting on full obedience to God alone.

Evidence: Moses' rejection of all four of Pharaoh's compromises.

Trust God to judge wicked rulers in His time

Summary: Rather than taking vengeance, believers should trust that God will honor Himself by judging those who exalt themselves against Him and His people.

Evidence: Exodus 14:17-18 and the application that God gets honor by destroying His enemies.

Lead your whole family in serving the Lord

Summary: Fathers and mothers must ensure that their entire household follows God, not allowing divided affections to separate the family spiritually.

Evidence: Moses' insistence that young and old, sons and daughters, all go to worship.

Use wealth to serve God, not as an end in itself

Summary: While wealth is necessary for family and worship, it must be held loosely and used for God's purposes, not accumulated for its own sake.

Evidence: Moses' demand to take flocks and herds for sacrifices, and Paul's teaching on giving in Philippians 4.

deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | clean_readable_transcript | 2026-06-05T15:05:58Z

deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | weaver_study | 2026-06-06T04:05:10Z

Clean Transcript

Will They Ever Learn

Clean readable transcript. This view follows the Commentary.net cleaned segment text while preserving timestamps for audio follow-along.

Exodus 9, verse 17, the title of the message is, "Will They Ever Learn?" And I think you'll see how appropriate the title is as we get into the message. Look in Exodus 9, verse 17, and we'll certainly come back to this verse, but notice what God says to Pharaoh: "As yet exaltest thou thyself against my people, that thou wilt not let them go." Have you ever noticed that when any politician is running for office, he always wants to serve the people? But once he is elected, service to the people or being of service and representation is basically over. Usually the only service that is done by a politician that is in office is for himself and for his party.
#1 | 0:00 to 1:02 | cleaned
The idea of being of service and being a representative is indeed a biblical concept and a biblical principle. However, it has long been perverted and long forgotten as well. A government is no longer about representing the people. It's about perpetuating itself and increasing its power and control. So I want to ask you a question so that I can read an article to you. I thought it was extremely interesting.
#2 | 1:03 to 1:33 | cleaned
Have you ever asked yourself as to why anyone would spend millions in Federal Reserve notes to get a job that only paid $200,000 in Federal Reserve notes? Have you ever noticed that those who go in to serve always come out much richer than when they went in? And do you know how many millionaires there are in Congress? I want to give you two short articles. One is very short. I want you to listen to this.
#3 | 1:34 to 2:09 | cleaned
This is absolutely astounding, but remember the date. Stephanie Condon wrote a CBS News article and said this: "The average Senate campaign in 2010, ten years ago, cost $8,002,726. The average House campaign cost $1,163,231." Then she wrote, "Congress is a club that consists of 245 millionaires." The second article is this. This was written in April of this year by Carl Evers Hillstrom. He wrote, "The majority of lawmakers in the 116th Congress are millionaires. Congress is an exclusive club.
#4 | 2:09 to 3:03 | cleaned
It is also a wealthy one. More than half of those in Congress are millionaires. Data from the lawmakers' most recent personal financial disclosure shows, if they were honest, they may be worth a whole lot more. The median net worth of members of Congress who filed disclosures last year is just over a million dollars. Much of the wealth in Congress is concentrated at the top. The top ten percent of the wealthiest lawmakers have three times more wealth than the bottom 90%. While some lawmakers are still paying off student loans, others are paying off their third and fourth mortgage, which means not three or four houses. The group of wealthiest members includes career politicians who boosted their portfolios over decades in Congress and recently elected lawmakers. According to estimated net worth calculations, Senator Rick Scott, Republican of Florida, is the wealthiest lawmaker with nearly $260 million in net assets. Scott dethroned Senator Mark Warner, Democrat in Virginia, for the top spot after he won the election in 2018, despite injecting nearly $64 million of his own money into his campaign.
#5 | 3:04 to 4:25 | cleaned
Some lawmakers have not filed one of these reports yet. They include recently appointed Senator Kelly Loeffler of Georgia, Republican, who is estimated to be worth over $500 million. Loeffler recently announced that she would sell all of her stocks amid controversy over stock trades that appeared to be related to the coronavirus pandemic. The leaders of both chambers make up the top ten list. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Democrat, California, has seen her wealth increase to nearly $115 million from $41 million in 2004. The first year Open Secrets began tracking personal finances, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Republican from Kentucky, saw his net worth increase from $3 million to over $34 million during that time. Both political leaders are married to affluent individuals who are driving those increases. Two-term representative Paul Mitchell, Republican for Michigan, saw the largest growth in wealth from 2017 and 2018. The former non-profit college executive's average net worth skyrocketed from $101 million to $180 million. Mitchell won't seek re-election this November. Sometime long-time members of Congress watched their wealth rise to record levels in 2018.
#6 | 4:27 to 5:50 | cleaned
Representative Colin Peterson, Democrat of Minnesota, was worth an estimated $123,500 in 2008. The House Agricultural Committee Chairman's average net asset stood at $4.2 million as of his most recent financial disclosure. Representative Judy Chu, Democrat of California, was worth less than six figures in 2008. One decade later, her estimated net worth is 7.1 million. Senator Roy Blunt, Republican from Missouri, increased his wealth from $602,000 to $10.7 million over the last decade.
#7 | 5:52 to 6:33 | cleaned
So obviously, there's a lot of money to be made just simply by being a politician. I don't know if you've ever thought about our original congressman. And it may surprise you to find out that our original congressman served without pay. So here's an article, listen carefully. It might surprise many modern Americans to learn that for the first several decades of its existence, the United States Congress did not pay salaries to its members. From the inception of the United States Congress from 1789 until 1855, with the exception of one brief period, members of the Senate and the House received no salaries and were paid only per diem, that is, daily, while Congress was in session, initially at a rate of six dollars per day.
#8 | 6:34 to 7:32 | cleaned
In the 18th century, being a legislator, whether local, state, or federal level, was generally not a full-time job. Legislative bodies were not in session year-round. They typically met only for a few months out of the year, and sometimes they convened only infrequently, irregularly, or when specifically called into session rather than on a fixed schedule. And just because a body was in session didn't necessarily mean that all of its members were in attendance. Most legislators had other occupations and livelihoods, that they had to take time out from in order to serve. Therefore, per diem, compensation for actual service was the standard of that time. So, even if you were a congressman, and you were supposed to be there, and you weren't, you did not get the six dollars per day. You only got the $6 per day if you were there. So things have certainly changed in our day and time, that is for sure.
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We no longer have public servants, now we have public masters who basically enrich themselves at the expense of the people they purportedly represent and serve. Moreover, they do not view themselves as bound by law. They only view themselves as being bound by the Constitution. You remember a few weeks ago I told you what the Democratic Florida Rep, Al C. Hastings, said. He said, "There are no rules.
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We make them up as we go along." When politicians are asked, very rarely, what gives them the right to do such things as they do, most of them would answer as Nancy Pelosi did when she was asked, did the Constitution give Congress the right to force Obamacare on the people? Her response was, "Are you kidding? Are you kidding?" In other words, basically we can do whatever we want to do.
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Now, I read all that just to tell you this, that Pharaoh did basically the same thing. He did not view himself as bound by law. He was basically a law unto himself. He could not be reasoned with, neither could he be deterred from his personal agenda. When Moses and Aaron and the Hebrew elders went to Pharaoh and asked him to let them go three days' journey into the wilderness that they might worship the Lord and have a feast unto Him, he said, "No."
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And he said, "The problem is you're idle, you're idle, you need more work." Let me just kind of spell this out for you. Basically what he said was this, worship of God is non-essential. But obedience to the state or obedience to my demands happens to be essential as well. So if you look back in the book of Exodus chapter 5, you'll see this beginning there with verse 5. Watch it. Exodus chapter 5 verse 5, "And Pharaoh said, Behold, the people of the land now are many, and you make them rest from their burdens. And Pharaoh commanded the same day the taskmasters of the people, and their officers, saying, You shall no more give the people straw to make brick, as heretofore: let them go and gather straw for themselves. And the tale of the bricks, which they did make heretofore, you shall lay upon them; you shall not diminish ought thereof: for they be idle; therefore they cry, saying, Let us go and sacrifice to our God. Let there more work be laid upon the men, that they may labor therein; and let them not regard vain words."
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You see that? Vain words. He said, they're crying, "Let us go and worship God. Let us go and sacrifice." That's not essential. What is essential? You keep making the same number of bricks, and now we're going to even make it worse for you. So, God sent a lot of plagues. As you know, there were ten plagues. It took several of these plagues really to get Pharaoh's attention. And one of those plagues was when the locusts were going to descend upon Egypt. And even the servants of Pharaoh realized that Egypt is now destroyed.
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And they tried to reason with him, and he would not be reasoned with. So if you look in Exodus 10, and notice if you would please verse 7, here it is, "And Pharaoh's servants said unto him, How long shall this man be a snare unto us? Let the men go, that they may serve the Lord their God: knowest thou not yet that Egypt is destroyed?" So Pharaoh refused to listen. He was adamant.
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It was his will, his way, his word. Nothing or no one else mattered. Thus God charged him with self-exaltation.
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Now, I want you to look back at Exodus 9 and verse 17. Here is what God said to Pharaoh: "As yet exaltest thou thyself against my people, that thou wilt not let them go."
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Now, the word "exaltest" here means to lift up, to exalt, to esteem highly, to prize, and to exalt oneself. So, Pharaoh is the consummate politician. He prized his person, his power, his platform, his purpose above everyone and everything else. Nothing else mattered to Pharaoh.
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Now, the interesting thing about the Hebrew word, "exaltest thou," also means to cast up a way or to cast up a highway. Thus, he was building himself up by trampling God's people down. Literally, he was stomping them under his feet, so to speak. And tyrants always destroy the lives of their people. Just think of Stalin and Pol Pot and Idi Amin, Mao Zedong and a host of others that murdered millions of their own people just to keep and maintain control.
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Now, let me show you how all this began. So if you'll look back in your Bibles to Exodus chapter 5, here's an interesting question. Think about this. Why would you obey God if you thought you were God? Or at least assume that you were God. So look in Exodus 5 and verse 1, "And afterward Moses and Aaron went in and told Pharaoh, Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, Let my people go, that they may hold a feast unto me in the wilderness. And Pharaoh said, Who is the Lord, that I should obey his voice and let Israel go? I know not the Lord, neither will I let Israel go." Who is the Lord? I don't know who He is. I don't recognize Him.
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I'm the head of this nation. I have my gods. I'm sovereign. I don't even know who this God is. And I'm certainly not going to obey Him. It was John Calvin who wrote this on this verse. He said, "And Pharaoh said, Who is the Lord? It is scarcely credible that there should be such madness in a mortal as thus by wantonly scorning God to fly as it were in the face of heaven. But we must observe that the tyrant being devoted to idolatries, and thus insulted the God of Israel, that he might manifest his great piety toward his false gods. For his mockery in scornfully bending back the name of Jehovah must be referred to the words of Moses as much as to say, Why do you bring against me this unknown phantom under the title of an eternal God, as though we had no God of our own?" In other words, we have our own gods. We don't need this God. We don't recognize this God. So Pharaoh basically believed that he was sovereign and that he could do exactly what he wanted to do.
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Now, if you look in Exodus 5 and verse 3, now remember it's imperative that you remember that they wanted to go three days' journey into the wilderness. Verse 3, "And they said, The God of the Hebrews hath met with us: let us go, we pray thee, three days' journey into the desert, and sacrifice unto the Lord our God; lest he fall upon us with pestilence, or with the sword."
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Now, the interesting thing is this. Pharaoh is saying, "Who is the Lord? I don't know Him. You are demanding that I obey Him and let you go three days in the wilderness and worship Him." What Pharaoh is doing, he is estimating, listen carefully, he is estimating the character and the power of the God of Israel by the abject and miserable condition of His worshipers. Remember, these people who were demanding to be let go were slaves. They had been subjugated. And Pharaoh's reasoning, look, if this is the god of these people, he cannot be very powerful because they are not powerful. They have absolutely nothing. They are my servants. They are my slaves.
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And so therefore, he believed that he was superior, and he believed that his gods were superior as well. And let me point out, I believe this is exactly what has happened to Christianity today. If God is a reflection of the holiness, fidelity, and worship of His people, He must be viewed as powerless and of small significance in the eyes of the world. Because look at the condition of Christians in this day and time. And we say that our God is omnipotent, we say that He's omnipresent, we say that He's immutable, we say that He's the sovereign God of heaven and earth, and He's all-powerful, and look where we are, and look what we are doing.
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Has it ever dawned upon you that as a Christian, your life is a reflection of God's character? And if your life is a reflection of God's character, what does your life say about God? George Gallup, who is supposed to be a Christian, and the great pollster, everyone has heard of the Gallup polls, he was addressing a national seminar of Southern Baptist leaders. And here's what George Gallup said. This should shock you. I'm quoting.
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He said, "We find there is very little difference in ethical behavior between churchgoers and those who are not actively religious. The levels of lying, cheating, and stealing are remarkably similar in both groups. Eight out of ten Americans consider themselves Christians," Gallup said, "yet only about half of them could identify the person who gave the Sermon on the Mount. And fewer still could recall five of the Ten Commandments. Only two in ten said they would be willing to suffer for their faith's sake." That's astounding. When he said you couldn't tell the difference because of the lying and stealing and cheating, Vance Havner said it a little differently.
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He said when the Lord's white sheep become dirty gray, the black sheep feel more comfortable. And that's a fact. When the white sheep become dirty gray, then the black sheep feel more comfortable. What we've done is this, we've made the world very comfortable, and consequently, we've sent the wrong message not only to the world, but also to wicked rulers. Pharaoh believed that he was able not only to control God, but control the worship of God.
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You know, I don't know if you read it or not, but just this week, Governor Gavin Newsom out in California, who, by the way, is the nephew of Nancy Pelosi, just made an order that there could be no singing in churches because singing might, you know, make the coronavirus go a little bit further. No singing in churches. One church in Tennessee, of course, said no Bible, no song books, no singing.
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What are you going to do with those verses? "Sing unto the Lord a new song. Sing praise to the Lord. Give glory to the Lord God of Israel." In other words, the point I'm trying to make is this. Just like Pharaoh, here are modern day politicians who believe that they have power to control God and control the worship of God. Now, the ten plagues that God sent were not just plagues upon Pharaoh and the Egyptians. Those plagues were also upon the false gods of Egypt. If you look in Exodus chapter 12 and verse 12, Exodus 12 and verse 12, look what God says.
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This is dealing with the last plague, but note very carefully. He said, "For I will pass through the land of Egypt this night, and will smite all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment: I am the Lord." So, God's plagues were not just against Pharaoh and the Egyptians, but against the false gods as well. Now, it took a number of plagues to get Pharaoh's attention. If you'll look back in your Bibles to the book of Exodus chapter 8, you're going to find that when these plagues really begin to get really serious and really begin to affect Pharaoh, he was willing to compromise.
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At one of them, of course, the first one here, dealt with a swarm of flies. I don't know about you, but I hate flies. Can you imagine not being able to breathe, not being able to move without flies everywhere? It's unbelievable. But notice, if you would, he's going to offer a compromise to get rid of the flies. So notice in Exodus 8, verse 25, "And Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron and said, Go ye, sacrifice to your God in the land." Sacrifice to your God in the land. Now he's willing to let them go. He's willing to allow them to sacrifice, but only in the land. And in other words, he wants them to sacrifice where he has absolute control. So he's willing to be multicultural. He's willing to be diverse. He's willing to be liberal as long as he is in control.
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Dr. Brooks Stockton is a friend of mine. He has a little website, Nike Insights, and here's what he said concerning this compromise. Listen carefully. "In the land, Israel would still be slaves to the government. In the land, Israel would still be subject to governmental laws and statutes. In the land, Israel would still drink from the well of Egyptian culture. In the land there will be no temple, no priesthood, no altar, and no sacrifice of lambs to Yahweh. In the land, Yahweh would be one of many in Pharaoh's pantheon of gods. In the land, Israel could never achieve its purpose to glorify God." So now, what is happening, Pharaoh is saying, look, I'm going to let you go sacrifice, but you have to do it in the land.
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I want you to look at verses 26 and 27, because Moses gave an appropriate response. He said this, "And Moses said, It is not meet so to do; for we shall sacrifice the abomination of the Egyptians to the Lord our God: lo, shall we sacrifice the abomination of the Egyptians before their eyes, and will they not stone us? We will go three days' journey into the wilderness, and sacrifice to the Lord our God, as he shall command us." Wow. Wow. Notice, if you would, that Pharaoh said, "I will let you go, that you may sacrifice to the Lord your God in the wilderness; only you shall not go very far away: intreat for me." Wow! You understand, if you would please, the Egyptians hated shepherds. They also hated sheep.
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Everyone has heard of the sacrificial lamb. And you understand the lambs that were sacrificed in the Old Testament, each one of them represented and typified the Lord Jesus Christ. I want you to look in your Bibles, hold Exodus, but look in your Bibles to the book of Genesis chapter 43 and verse 32. There will be another passage here, but look in Genesis 43 and verse 32 to show you how the Egyptians viewed the Hebrews.
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You must remember now that Joseph was second in command in the land of Egypt. He was second under Pharaoh. So notice, if you would please, when Joseph now is about to have food and settle for his brethren as well. Watch, if you would, verse 32. "And they set on for him by himself, and for them by themselves, and for the Egyptians, which did eat with him, by themselves: because the Egyptians might not eat bread with the Hebrews; for that is an abomination unto the Egyptians." So Joseph and his brethren got served, but they got served separately. So the Egyptians would not eat with the Hebrews and the Hebrews could not eat with the Egyptians. Now look in Genesis chapter 46 and look if you would at verse 34. Genesis 46 and verse 34. He says, "That ye shall say, Thy servants' trade hath been about cattle from our youth even until now, both we, and also our fathers: that ye may dwell in the land of Goshen; for every shepherd is an abomination unto the Egyptians."
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And of course, Moses said, "We can't do this because we'll sacrifice the abomination of the Egyptians. We'll sacrifice the lamb." And by the way, may I point out that Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God, is still an abomination to the world. He's still an abomination to those who do not believe. It's interesting that Moses said that God requires that we go three days into the wilderness. Of course, three days only speak of and represent the resurrection of Jesus Christ. But it also speaks of a real, genuine separation from the world and its influences. And let me point out again, I know I've said it in recent weeks, but the Church of Jesus Christ is a totally separate jurisdiction from that of civil government. So the very first compromise that Pharaoh offered was, you may sacrifice, only you do it in the land, you do it under my control.
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That is basically, what you have when you have incorporated churches with a 501c3 tax-exempt status, because they're under the control of Caesar. They're under the control of the state. Now watch this. There was a second compromise. If you look in Exodus chapter 8 and verse 28 again, here it is. "And Pharaoh said, I will let you go, that ye may sacrifice to the Lord your God in the wilderness; only ye shall not go very far away: intreat for me." Here's a second one, is you may sacrifice if you don't go very far away. The hand of God was against Pharaoh and his people.
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He wanted relief, but he did not want to lose his slaves. You know, that's exactly the way people are today. You can walk out on the street and you can say, well, how many of you want to be judged by God? How many of you want to be condemned by God? How many of you want to face the judge of all the earth and receive the sentence of condemnation? Nobody does.
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At least no one in their right mind. But please listen to this. Although they may not want to face the judge of all the earth and be condemned by God, they do not want that badly enough to give up their sins. What they want is to not be condemned, and yet at the same time keep their sins and keep their rebellion. And so this is what Pharaoh was saying, look, what I want is this. I want these plagues lifted. I want some relief, but I don't want you going very far away. I want you to come back.
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You see, the world does not despise Christians that are like themselves. They only despise Christians that are holy, godly, righteous, and obedient. And unhappily, most Christians have not gone very far from the world because the world's siren call always pulls them back in. Unhappily, it was the Apostle Paul who said in 2 Timothy 4, verse 10 concerning Demas, he said, "For Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present world, and is departed unto Thessalonica."
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So the first compromise was this. You may serve God and you may sacrifice to God, but you've got to do it in the land. The second one is, you can go and you can do it, but don't go very far away from Me. If you look in Exodus chapter 10, you're going to see the third compromise, and that is, go ye that are men and serve Him. Notice Exodus chapter 10, beginning there with verse 7. Notice if you would, Exodus 10 verse 7, "And Pharaoh's servants said unto him, How long shall this man be a snare unto us? Let the men go, that they may serve the Lord their God: knowest thou not yet that Egypt is destroyed?"
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And Moses and Aaron were brought again unto Pharaoh, and he said unto them, "Go, serve the Lord your God: but who are they that shall go?" And Moses said, "We will go with our young and with our old, with our sons and with our daughters, with our flocks and with our herds will we go; for we must hold a feast unto the Lord." And he said unto them, "Let the Lord be so with you, as I will let you go, and your little ones: look to it; for evil is before you. Not so: go now ye that are men, and serve the Lord; for that ye did desire." And they were driven out from Pharaoh's presence.
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So now, it was first of all, you can sacrifice in the land. Secondly, you can sacrifice if you go not far away.
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Now he said, I'm willing to let you go, but it's only just the men that can go. I want you to stop and think about this compromise. What Pharaoh was endeavoring to do was to separate the affections of the people. So they had spiritual affections, of course. They wanted to worship God and sacrifice and be obedient to Him. But they also had natural affections as well. So Pharaoh said, look, you may go into the wilderness, but just you men go. Your wives stay here. Your children stay here. Well, I don't care how spiritual a man is. I mean, he's going to miss his wife and miss his children. And the women are going to want their husbands back, and they want the fathers back. And so Pharaoh knew very well if he just let the men go, it would only be a matter of time before they were all back just the way they should be. Moses, of course, said, "No, it's not going to happen like this." But you just stop and think of how many people have really and truly left their families behind.
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Think of the fathers that serve the Lord, but the wives and the children do not. Think of the wives that serve the Lord, but the husbands and children do not. Or think of the parents that serve the Lord, but not the children. Or the children that serve the Lord, but not the parents. In other words, divided affections produce divided families. Moses did not take the bait. He knew that God wanted the whole man and the whole heart and the whole family. And true men will lead their wives and lead their children into obedience and righteousness and holiness.
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So here is the third compromise. You men go. Just leave the women and children back. No. It will not work like that, says Moses. Here's the fourth compromise. Look in Exodus 10 and verse 24. That is, take your families but leave your possessions. "And Pharaoh called unto Moses, and said, Go ye, serve the Lord; only let your flocks and your herds be stayed: let your little ones also go with you." So now this is a pretty good compromise, you would think. He is saying, look, take your family, take your children, but you got to leave your possessions.
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Now this might appeal to pietistic people. There are many people that say, well, all we need is the Lord. Well, that's true in one sense of the word. But this compromise is an appeal to those who are so heavenly minded they're no earthly good. What do I mean by that? I mean this. I understand that God is our all in all. I understand that. It is certainly true that He supplies our needs. And it's certainly true that He gives us everything that we have. But the truth of the matter is we do need wealth, we do need possessions in order to worship Him, in order to serve Him, in order to sacrifice to Him and for Him.
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We live on earth in time and in history. And the last time I went to a grocery store, they demanded money. They wouldn't let me out without paying. I'm just going to be pointing out the fact, it is true that we can only give back to God that which He's already given unto us. That is true. But still, whatever He gives us, there is a requirement that we give back to Him.
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Now, please listen very carefully. Wealth is not necessarily the goal for the Christian. But wealth is necessary, not only for our families, but also to serve God. So on the one hand, you have a problem denying this truth, and on the other hand, you have those people who don't deny that they have to sell their souls just simply to accumulate wealth. Whatever we have belongs to God.
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I want you to look. Moses certainly did not fall for this bait. Look in Exodus 10 and verse 25, after Pharaoh said, "Go and serve the Lord, you and your little ones, leave your flocks behind." Verse 25, "And Moses said, Thou must give us also sacrifices and burnt offerings, that we may sacrifice unto the Lord our God. Our cattle also shall go with us; there shall not an hoof be left behind; for thereof must we take to serve the Lord our God; and we know not with what we must serve the Lord, until we come thither."
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Now, while a man needs wealth to serve his family and his God, the goal of the Christian life is far more than accumulation of wealth. God requires us to give and to support His work. Not because He needs anything, but simply because we have a need to be involved in His service and in His work. As Deuteronomy says it, we may learn to fear the Lord our God.
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I want you to hold on to Exodus, but look in your Bibles to the book of Philippians chapter 4 and verse 17. I want you to see what the Apostle Paul said to these Philippians. They were the ones that supported Paul regularly, and Paul acknowledges that. But listen to what he said. In the book of Philippians, chapter 4 and verse 17. Look what he said. Let's read verse 16. He says, go back to verse 15. He says, "Now ye Philippians know also, that in the beginning of the gospel, when I departed from Macedonia, no church communicated with me as concerning giving and receiving, but ye only." So the Philippians were the ones that supported Paul on a regular basis. Now watch.
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"For even in Thessalonica ye sent once and again unto my necessity. Not because I desire a gift: but I desire fruit that may abound to your account." So what he is saying is this, all that you invested in me is going to come back to you because it will be spiritual fruit that will be abounding to your account because you were involved in supporting the work of the ministry. So that's exactly what the apostle is saying. In Philippians 4, it's exactly what is being taught in the book of Exodus chapter 12. We have to be able to support the work of God.
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Now, modern day churches can usually be found in one of these four compromises. You just look around. I got an email this week that was almost astounding. I don't know the young man, but he emailed me and said, "I have been listening to your sermons regularly." And he said, "I need encouragement. I need help." He said, "I just wanted to reach out and see if you're real." I emailed him back and I said, "Yes, I'm real. I'm alive and I'm here. And I'll help you any way that I can."
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But we have to understand this. Now, when the last plague hit, Pharaoh was more than willing to let the children of Israel go. I want you to look, if you would, in Exodus chapter 12, beginning at verse 31, and let's read verse 32. Exodus 12, verse 31. Remember now, the death of the firstborn. Watch what happened in Exodus 12 verse 31. "And he called for Moses and Aaron by night, and said, Rise up, and get you forth from among my people, both ye and the children of Israel; and go, serve the Lord, as ye have said.
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Also take your flocks and your herds, as ye have said, and be gone; and bless me also." Did you notice those last four words? "And bless me also." Isn't that astounding? Pharaoh refused to obey God. He would not even recognize God. He mocked God. He hated God. He ridiculed God. And now, when God has forced him to do what he commanded him to do to begin with, now he asks Moses to bless him. It's astounding. It's astounding that tyrants think that they deserve to be blessed when they allow God's people to do that, which is their inalienable right to begin with. Their God-given right to begin with. It's our God-given right to worship Him and to sacrifice to Him. And finally, when he was forced to let them go, he said, "Bless me also." Those that defy and despise God are not and cannot be blessed. They are cursed. If you hate God, if you despise God, you're not going to be blessed by God. I can assure you, you will be cursed by God.
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Now, let me make some applications. I want to try to tie this together. Remember, I started with Exodus 9, verse 17, "As yet exaltest thou thyself against my people." Do you realize that when one attacks and persecutes and harms or seeks to destroy God's people, he is attacking God Himself? There is no tyrant, there is no politician, there is no president, there is no congressman that can reach up and slap God in the face. None can stick his hand or his finger in the eye of God. Not one. While they could not do that literally, they can do that spiritually by attacking and persecuting the people of God. Do you remember that passage in Zechariah 2, verse 8, where God said, listen carefully, "For he that toucheth you toucheth the apple of his eye." So the apple of the eye is the pupil, and God says, when you touch my people, you're sticking your finger in my eye. And once you start challenging God and poking God in the eye, you're going to be in trouble like you've never seen before.
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And this is what God is saying. You're stomping my people down. You're trying to build up yourself by tearing my people down. It's not going to work. Here's the second application. I want you to understand it is in honor and glory of God to destroy His enemies. So I could ask you a couple of questions. Was it right and was it honorable for Moses to kill that Egyptian in saving another one's life?
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And the answer is yes. Was it right and honorable and glorious for David not only to protect himself and his family and the nation by killing Goliath? And the answer is yes. Well, I want you to see something. Look in Exodus chapter 14 and let's begin reading there with verse 17. Exodus chapter 14 notice if you would please verse 17 the Bible says God is speaking and I behold I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians and they shall follow them and I will get me honor upon Pharaoh and upon all his hosts upon his chariots and upon his horsemen, and the Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD, when I have gotten me honor upon Pharaoh and upon his chariots and upon his horsemen." How did God get honor from the Egyptians? And the answer is by destroying them. Because God is absolutely just. This was the justice of God. Skip down, if you would please, to verse 24. Exodus 14, verse 24. "And it came to pass, that in the morning watch the Lord looked unto the host of the Egyptians through the pillar of fire and of the cloud, and troubled the host of the Egyptians, and took off their chariot wheels, that they drave them heavily: so that the Egyptians said, Let us flee from the face of Israel; for the Lord fighteth for them against the Egyptians."
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"And the Lord said unto Moses, Stretch out thine hand over the sea, that the waters may come again upon the Egyptians, upon their chariots, and upon their horsemen. And Moses stretched forth his hand over the sea, and the sea returned to his strength when the morning appeared; and the Egyptians fled against it; and the Lord overthrew the Egyptians in the midst of the sea. And the waters returned, and covered the chariots, and the horsemen, and all the host of Pharaoh that came into the sea after them; there remained not so much as one of them."
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"But the children of Israel walked upon dry land in the midst of the sea; and the waters were a wall unto them on their right hand, and on their left. Thus the Lord saved Israel that day out of the hand of the Egyptians; and Israel saw the Egyptians dead upon the sea shore. And Israel saw that great work which the Lord did upon the Egyptians: and the people feared the Lord, and believed the Lord, and his servant Moses." Wow! Wow.
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Now, let me show you something. You remember. God says this to Pharaoh in the book of Exodus and the Apostle Paul quotes it in the book of Romans, where he says to Pharaoh, "For this cause have I raised thee up, that I might show my power in thee." Hmm. In other words, Pharaoh then is to be an example to all tyrants, to all despots, to all rulers who are contrary to God. I want you to look in Exodus chapter 15 beginning there in verse 13. I want you to see the application of what happened to Pharaoh as it is applied to the rulers in Canaan. Exodus 15, beginning there with verse 13. Watch.
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"Thou in thy mercy hast led forth the people which thou hast redeemed: thou hast guided them in thy strength unto thy holy habitation. The people shall hear, and be afraid: sorrow shall take hold on the inhabitants of Palestina. Then the dukes of Edom shall be amazed; the mighty men of Moab, trembling shall take hold upon them; all the inhabitants of Canaan shall melt away. Fear and dread shall fall upon them; by the greatness of thine arm they shall be as still as a stone; till thy people pass over, O Lord, till the people pass over, which thou hast purchased. Thou shalt bring them in, and plant them in the mountain of thine inheritance, in the place, O Lord, which thou hast made for thee to dwell in, in the Sanctuary, O Lord, which thy hands have established. The Lord shall reign for ever and ever."
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So, what happened to Pharaoh is to be a warning to all others. It is this truth that I read several Sundays back from Psalm 2, verses 10 through 12, where God says, "Be wise now therefore, O ye kings: be instructed, ye judges of the earth. Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little." You remember that passage in Psalm 110, verses 5 and 6, "The Lord at thy right hand shall strike through kings in the day of his wrath.
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He shall judge among the heathen, he shall fill the places with the dead bodies; he shall wound the heads over many countries." So here's why I titled this message, "Will They Ever Learn?" Will they ever learn? Pay attention to what happened to Pharaoh. Pay attention to what happened to the despots and tyrants in Canaan land. Pay attention to what has happened all through the Bible and all through history as well. So that now is the time to listen if they're going to ever listen and learn. You can't. You can't.
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Touch God's people without touching God. You can't try to control God's worship without trying to control God. You can't do one thing over God because God is sovereign. One last passage. Look in Exodus chapter 18, and let's begin there with verse 9. You see, the destruction of God's enemies, especially those rulers that rebel against him, demonstrates and shows us the absolute superiority and sovereignty and supremacy of God. So in Exodus chapter 18, beginning there with verse 9, "And Jethro rejoiced." Now, Jethro was the father-in-law of Moses. If you go back to verse 8, "And Moses told his father in law all that the Lord had done unto Pharaoh." So, verse 9, "Jethro rejoiced for all the goodness which the Lord had done to Israel, whom he had delivered out of the hand of the Egyptians. And Jethro said, Blessed be the Lord, who hath delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians, and out of the hand of Pharaoh, who hath delivered the people from under the hand of the Egyptians."
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Look what he says now. "Now I know that the Lord is greater than all gods: for in the thing wherein they dealt proudly he was above them." Wait a minute. In the thing wherein they dealt proudly, He was above them. What was our text? Exodus 9:17, "As yet exaltest thou thyself against my people." What was Pharaoh doing? He was indeed acting proudly and God brought him down. May I point out that God is able to abase all that exalt themselves. God is able to protect his people and we need to have our leaders understand that you cannot touch God's people and you cannot touch God's worship without assaulting God himself. And when you want to challenge God, you are insane already because God is sovereign.
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Let's make sure that our lives reflect the true character of God in holiness, in righteousness, in our obedience to Him as we worship Him and give Him the honor and the glory that He deserves. Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, we bow to Thee. We thank You for Your Word. We thank You for Your truth. We ask for Your help and blessings. Teach us, Lord, to love Thee, to live for Thee, to honor Thee, to glorify Thee. And Lord, may we understand that Thou art sovereign and You will indeed deal with those who hate You in Your time and in Your way for Your honor and Your glory. We give Thee praise. In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, Amen.
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deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | clean_readable_transcript | 2026-06-05T15:05:58Z

Will They Ever Learn

John Weaver | Freedom Ministries

John Weaver examines Pharaoh's self-exaltation and refusal to obey God, drawing parallels to modern politicians who enrich themselves and attempt to control worship. He outlines four compromises Pharaoh offered to keep Israel under his control and warns that attacking God's people is attacking God Himself. The sermon calls for holy living that reflects God's character and warns rulers to learn from Pharaoh's destruction.

Introduction: The Self-Exalting Politician

Weaver contrasts the biblical ideal of servant leadership with modern politicians who enrich themselves and view themselves as above the law, using Pharaoh as the ultimate example.

Scripture Reading — Exodus 9:17

"As yet exaltest thou thyself against my people, that thou wilt not let them go."

The Wealth of Modern Congress

Citing articles, Weaver highlights how members of Congress become millionaires while in office, contrasting this with early congressmen who served without salary.

Pharaoh's Self-Exaltation and Refusal to Obey

Pharaoh exalted himself above God's people, refusing to recognize the Lord and viewing the Hebrews' God as weak because of their enslaved condition.

Scripture Reading — Exodus 5:5-9

"And Pharaoh said, Behold, the people of the land now are many, and you make them rest from their burdens. And Pharaoh commanded the same day the taskmasters of the people, and their officers, saying, You shall no more give the people straw to make brick, as heretofore: let them go and gather straw for themselves. And the tale of the bricks, which they did make heretofore, you shall lay upon them; you shall not diminish ought thereof: for they be idle; therefore they cry, saying, Let us go and sacrifice to our God. Let there more work be laid upon the men, that they may labor therein; and let them not regard vain words."

And they tried to reason with him, and he would not be reasoned with. So if you look in Exodus 10, and notice if you would please verse 7, here it is,

Scripture Reading — Exodus 10:7

"And Pharaoh's servants said unto him, How long shall this man be a snare unto us? Let the men go, that they may serve the Lord their God: knowest thou not yet that Egypt is destroyed?"

So Pharaoh refused to listen. He was adamant. It was his will, his way, his word. Nothing or no one else mattered. Thus God charged him with self-exaltation.

Now, if you look in Exodus 5 and verse 3, now remember it's imperative that you remember that they wanted to go three days' journey into the wilderness. Verse 3,

Scripture Reading — Exodus 5:3

"And they said, The God of the Hebrews hath met with us: let us go, we pray thee, three days' journey into the desert, and sacrifice unto the Lord our God; lest he fall upon us with pestilence, or with the sword."

The Reflection of God's Character in His People

Weaver argues that the world judges God by the condition of His people, citing George Gallup's statistics on the lack of ethical difference between churchgoers and non-churchgoers.

Pharaoh's Four Compromises

Pharaoh offered four compromises to keep Israel under his control: sacrifice in the land, don't go far, only men go, and leave possessions behind. Moses rejected each one.

Scripture Reading — Exodus 8:25

"And Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron and said, Go ye, sacrifice to your God in the land."

Scripture Reading — Genesis 43:32

"And they set on for him by himself, and for them by themselves, and for the Egyptians, which did eat with him, by themselves: because the Egyptians might not eat bread with the Hebrews; for that is an abomination unto the Egyptians."

Scripture Reading — Genesis 43:32

"That ye shall say, Thy servants' trade hath been about cattle from our youth even until now, both we, and also our fathers: that ye may dwell in the land of Goshen; for every shepherd is an abomination unto the Egyptians."

Scripture Reading — Exodus 8:28

"And Pharaoh said, I will let you go, that ye may sacrifice to the Lord your God in the wilderness; only ye shall not go very far away: intreat for me."

Here's a second one, is you may sacrifice if you don't go very far away. The hand of God was against Pharaoh and his people.

Scripture Reading — Exodus 10:24-26

"And Moses said, Thou must give us also sacrifices and burnt offerings, that we may sacrifice unto the Lord our God. Our cattle also shall go with us; there shall not an hoof be left behind; for thereof must we take to serve the Lord our God; and we know not with what we must serve the Lord, until we come thither."

The Plagues as Judgment on Egypt's Gods

The plagues were not only against Pharaoh but also against the false gods of Egypt, demonstrating God's supremacy.

Pharaoh's Forced Release and Request for Blessing

After the death of the firstborn, Pharaoh finally let Israel go but astonishingly asked Moses to bless him, revealing the delusion of tyrants.

Scripture Reading — Exodus 12:31-32

"And he called for Moses and Aaron by night, and said, Rise up, and get you forth from among my people, both ye and the children of Israel; and go, serve the Lord, as ye have said.

Applications: Attacking God's People is Attacking God

Weaver applies the narrative by warning that persecuting God's people is like poking God in the eye, and God gets honor by destroying His enemies.

Scripture Reading — Exodus 14:17-31

" How did God get honor from the Egyptians? And the answer is by destroying them. Because God is absolutely just. This was the justice of God. Skip down, if you would please, to verse 24. Exodus 14, verse 24. "

Warning to Rulers and Call to Holy Living

The destruction of Pharaoh serves as a warning to all rulers. Believers must reflect God's character in holiness so the world sees His power.

Scripture Reading — Exodus 18:9-11

"And Moses told his father in law all that the Lord had done unto Pharaoh."

So, verse 9,

Scripture Reading — Exodus 18:9-11

"Jethro rejoiced for all the goodness which the Lord had done to Israel, whom he had delivered out of the hand of the Egyptians. And Jethro said, Blessed be the Lord, who hath delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians, and out of the hand of Pharaoh, who hath delivered the people from under the hand of the Egyptians."

Will They Ever Learn

John Weaver | SermonAudio

Lecture Metadata	Details
Speaker	John Weaver
Source	SermonAudio
Media ID	71320120161472
Subject	Old Testament Studies
Course	Exodus: Bondage, Deliverance, and Passover: As Yet
Genre	Sermon
Date	2020-07-12
Dictation Name
Book	Book 079: Exodus: Bondage, Deliverance, and Passover - Volume 2 — Chapter 24
Source Timed Segments	68

Lecture Guide

Outline

Introduction: The Self-Exalting Politician: Weaver contrasts the biblical ideal of servant leadership with modern politicians who enrich themselves and view themselves as above the law, using Pharaoh as the ultimate example.
The Wealth of Modern Congress: Citing articles, Weaver highlights how members of Congress become millionaires while in office, contrasting this with early congressmen who served without salary.
Pharaoh's Self-Exaltation and Refusal to Obey: Pharaoh exalted himself above God's people, refusing to recognize the Lord and viewing the Hebrews' God as weak because of their enslaved condition.
The Reflection of God's Character in His People: Weaver argues that the world judges God by the condition of His people, citing George Gallup's statistics on the lack of ethical difference between churchgoers and non-churchgoers.
Pharaoh's Four Compromises: Pharaoh offered four compromises to keep Israel under his control: sacrifice in the land, don't go far, only men go, and leave possessions behind. Moses rejected each one.
The Plagues as Judgment on Egypt's Gods: The plagues were not only against Pharaoh but also against the false gods of Egypt, demonstrating God's supremacy.
Pharaoh's Forced Release and Request for Blessing: After the death of the firstborn, Pharaoh finally let Israel go but astonishingly asked Moses to bless him, revealing the delusion of tyrants.
Applications: Attacking God's People is Attacking God: Weaver applies the narrative by warning that persecuting God's people is like poking God in the eye, and God gets honor by destroying His enemies.
Warning to Rulers and Call to Holy Living: The destruction of Pharaoh serves as a warning to all rulers. Believers must reflect God's character in holiness so the world sees His power.

Major Themes

Key Arguments

Modern politicians mirror Pharaoh's self-exaltation

Like Pharaoh, today's politicians enrich themselves, view themselves as above the law, and attempt to control worship, as seen in COVID-19 restrictions on singing.

Articles on congressional wealth, Alcee Hastings' 'no rules' quote, Nancy Pelosi's 'Are you kidding?' response, and Gavin Newsom's ban on singing in churches.

Pharaoh's refusal stemmed from viewing God as weak

Pharaoh judged God's power by the enslaved condition of Israel, just as the world today sees a powerless God because of the compromised state of the church.

Exodus 5:2 'Who is the Lord?' and the explanation that Pharaoh estimated God's character by the abject condition of His worshipers.

The four compromises represent incomplete obedience

Pharaoh's offers to let Israel sacrifice in the land, not far away, men only, or without possessions all represent attempts to keep believers under worldly control.

Exodus 8:25, 8:28, 10:11, 10:24 and Moses' rejection of each compromise.

God's judgment on Pharaoh is a warning to all rulers

The destruction of Pharaoh and his army demonstrates that God will honor Himself by judging those who exalt themselves against Him and His people.

Exodus 14:17-18 'I will get me honor upon Pharaoh' and Psalm 2:10-12 'Be wise now therefore, O ye kings.'

Believers must live holy lives to reflect God's true character

The church's compromise has made the world comfortable and misrepresented God; Christians must pursue holiness so that God is seen as sovereign and powerful.

George Gallup's statistics and the application that our lives are a reflection of God's character.

Scripture References

Exodus 9:17: God's charge against Pharaoh for exalting himself against His people.
Exodus 5:5-9: Pharaoh increases the Hebrews' labor, calling worship 'vain words.'
Exodus 10:7: Pharaoh's servants warn him that Egypt is destroyed.
Exodus 5:1-2: Pharaoh asks 'Who is the Lord?' and refuses to obey.
Exodus 5:3: Moses and Aaron request a three-day journey to sacrifice.
Exodus 12:12: God will execute judgment against the gods of Egypt.
Exodus 8:25: Pharaoh's first compromise: sacrifice in the land.
Exodus 8:26-27: Moses rejects sacrificing in Egypt because it would be an abomination.
Genesis 43:32: Egyptians would not eat with Hebrews; shepherds were an abomination.
Genesis 46:34: Every shepherd is an abomination to the Egyptians.
Exodus 8:28: Pharaoh's second compromise: go but not very far away.
2 Timothy 4:10: Demas forsook Paul, having loved this present world.
Exodus 10:7-11: Pharaoh's third compromise: only the men may go.
Exodus 10:24-26: Pharaoh's fourth compromise: leave flocks and herds; Moses refuses.
Philippians 4:15-17: Paul desires fruit that abounds to the Philippians' account for their giving.
Exodus 12:31-32: After the death of the firstborn, Pharaoh releases Israel and asks for a blessing.
Zechariah 2:8: He who touches you touches the apple of God's eye.
Exodus 14:17-31: God gets honor by destroying Pharaoh's army in the Red Sea.
Exodus 15:13-18: The inhabitants of Canaan melt in fear because of what God did to Egypt.
Exodus 18:9-11: Jethro rejoices and declares the Lord is greater than all gods.

Historical References

Early U.S. Congress (1789-1855): Members served without salary, receiving only a per diem of $6 per day when in session.
Stephanie Condon, CBS News article (2010): Reported average Senate campaign cost $8 million and Congress had 245 millionaires.
Carl Evers Hillstrom article (April 2020): Majority of 116th Congress are millionaires; details wealth of specific lawmakers.
Senator Rick Scott (R-FL): Wealthiest lawmaker with nearly $260 million net assets.
Senator Kelly Loeffler (R-GA): Estimated worth over $500 million; sold stocks amid controversy.
Nancy Pelosi (D-CA): Wealth increased from $41 million in 2004 to nearly $115 million.
Mitch McConnell (R-KY): Net worth increased from $3 million to over $34 million.
Alcee Hastings (D-FL): Said 'There are no rules. We make them up as we go along.'
George Gallup: Pollster reported little ethical difference between churchgoers and non-churchgoers.
Governor Gavin Newsom (CA): Issued order banning singing in churches during COVID-19 pandemic.

Important Quotes

As yet exaltest thou thyself against my people, that thou wilt not let them go.

The key verse of the sermon, showing Pharaoh's self-exaltation against God's people.

Who is the Lord, that I should obey his voice and let Israel go? I know not the Lord, neither will I let Israel go.

Pharaoh's defiant refusal to recognize God's authority.

We find there is very little difference in ethical behavior between churchgoers and those who are not actively religious. The levels of lying, cheating, and stealing are remarkably similar in both groups.

George Gallup's indictment of the modern church's lack of distinctiveness.

When the Lord's white sheep become dirty gray, the black sheep feel more comfortable.

Vance Havner's quote illustrating how compromised Christians make the world comfortable in sin.

Go ye, sacrifice to your God in the land.

Pharaoh's first compromise, representing worship under state control.

I will let you go, that ye may sacrifice to the Lord your God in the wilderness; only ye shall not go very far away: intreat for me.

Pharaoh's second compromise, representing partial separation from the world.

Go now ye that are men, and serve the Lord; for that ye did desire.

Pharaoh's third compromise, attempting to divide families.

Bless me also.

Pharaoh's audacious request for blessing after being forced to obey, showing the delusion of tyrants.

Discussion Questions

[Question]

In what ways do modern politicians mirror Pharaoh's self-exaltation and attempt to control worship?

[Context]

Weaver draws parallels between Pharaoh and modern rulers who enrich themselves and restrict religious freedom.

[Question]

How does the compromised state of the church affect the world's view of God's power and character?

[Context]

Weaver argues that Pharaoh judged God by the condition of His people, and the same happens today.

[Question]

Which of Pharaoh's four compromises do you see most prevalent in the church today, and how can we resist them?

[Context]

The four compromises represent incomplete obedience and worldly control over worship.

[Question]

What does it mean that attacking God's people is like touching the apple of God's eye, and how should this affect our prayers for persecuted believers?

[Context]

Weaver applies Zechariah 2:8 to show God's protective jealousy over His people.

[Question]

How does God's destruction of Pharaoh serve as a warning to rulers today, and what is the appropriate response for those in authority?

[Context]

The sermon concludes with a call for rulers to 'kiss the Son' and serve the Lord with fear.

Applications

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deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | weaver_study | 2026-06-06T04:05:10Z