Good evening, once again, if you would please open with me your Bibles tonight to Exodus chapter nine. So we return to the book of Exodus working our way through the 10 plagues. Come once again to Exodus chapter nine. We've already looked together at the first five plagues that God sent as judgment upon the land of Egypt. God turned the Nile into blood. He sent millions of frogs to wreak havoc upon the land. God sent gnats and flies to sting the Egyptians and to lay waste to their crops. He destroyed the livestock of Egypt while protecting his own people. Tonight, we come to consider the sixth plague in Exodus 9, verses 8 through 17. The Lord, as we will see, will send the plague of boils and sores upon all of the Egyptians because of Pharaoh's wicked rebellion against God. And in the Lord's judgment of his enemies, here in this text, we learn of God's plan to make himself known. God is intent on making himself known. He is intent on showing his own power to the nations and to his own covenant people. God is intent on having his own name proclaimed in all the earth for his own eternal glory. So we see all of these things revealed in the text before us tonight. And so let's begin to consider the word of God together. I'll read our text, Exodus chapter nine, beginning in verse eight. Please follow along with me in your copy of God's word. Then the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, take for yourselves handfuls of soot a kiln and let Moses throw it toward the sky in the sight of Pharaoh. It will become fine dust over all the land of Egypt and will become boils, breaking out with sores on man and beast through all the land of Egypt. So they took soot from a kiln and stood before Pharaoh and Moses threw it toward the sky and it became boils, breaking out with sores on man and beast. Magicians could not stand before Pharaoh because of the boils. The boils were on the magicians as well as on all the Egyptians. And the Lord hardened Pharaoh's heart, and he did not listen to them just as the Lord had spoken to Moses. Then the Lord said to Moses, Rise up early in the morning and stand before Pharaoh and say to him, Thus says the Lord, the God of the Hebrews, Let my people go that they may serve me for this time. I will send all my plagues on you and your servants and your people. so that you may know that there is no one like me in all the earth. For if by now I put forth my hand and struck you and your people with pestilence, you wouldn't have been cut off from the earth. But indeed, for this reason, I have allowed you to remain in order to show you my power and in order to proclaim my name through all the earth. Still, you exalt yourself against my people by not letting them go. He who has an ear to hear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the church. Amen. Egyptology is a major area of historical study. As I've spoken with many of you over the years, I know that some of you young people especially have an interest in this area of historical study. The polytheistic religion of the ancient Egyptians is still studied very closely today. Egyptologists are still studying the hieroglyphic script of the ancient Egyptians, seeking to understand and learn more about their language. The architectural ingenuity of the Egyptians is still of great interest today, as some of the pyramids are still standing, standing there in the land of Egypt as some of the seven great wonders of the world. The ancient Egyptians had a very unique way of burying the pharaohs called mummification. And so we learn all kinds of things about the Egyptians from a study of history. And we learn all kinds of things about the Egyptians from recovered skeletal remains, as pharaohs have been dug up over the years, as these mummies have been investigated and considered. And from skeletal remains, we learn about some of the most common Egyptian diseases. Quite a bit of literature out there about some of the diseases that were common among these ancient Egyptians from simply studying the skeletal remains. And so what were some of the most common diseases among the ancient Egyptians? Let me just list a few for you. Anthrax, tuberculosis, malaria, polio, smallpox, parasitic diseases have all been found to be present among the ancient Egyptians. Well, next is chapter nine, verses eight through 17. In the sixth plague, the Lord sends an uncommon disease in an uncommon way upon the Egyptians. What we have before us in the text tonight is no common disease, and it is not sent on God's enemies in a common way. And the disease of the Egyptians in the sixth plague is a reminder of our diseased nature apart from faith in Jesus Christ. It speaks to us about the sinfulness of man. As it refers to man's, as it refers to the disease of man's external nature. And so this text ought to be a reminder for us of our need for spiritual healing. Our need for spiritual healing that can only be given in and by the Lord Jesus Christ. As Jesus says in Mark 2 in verse 17, as we read just a few moments ago, it is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick. I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. And so tonight, this text ought to point us to Christ. It ought to point us to our own sinful nature apart from faith in God's Son. It ought to point us to our need for such a Savior who alone can heal us of our disease. So I'd like you to consider with me tonight in the first place, boils and sores, verses eight through 11. and sores. In verse eight, the Lord announces the sixth plague without any prior warning being given to Pharaoh. And as we move throughout the 10 plagues, sometimes the Lord gives a warning, but in this case, he does not. Notice with me verses eight and nine. Then the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, take for yourselves handfuls of soot from a kiln and let Moses throw it toward the sky in the sight of Pharaoh will become fine dust over all the land of Egypt and will become boils breaking out with sores on man and beast through all the land of Egypt. So once again, the Lord speaks to Moses and to Aaron by extension, and he speaks immediately. That is to say, without mediation. And oftentimes when we read this in the text, we take for granted what's going on here. We don't realize that the Lord is speaking directly to Moses. We must not assume that the Lord spoke to all of his servants this way in the scripture. Moses was a unique man, a special man that was called out by God for his holy purpose. And so Moses had a unique relationship with God, and he had a special calling as God's servant. In fact, we are informed of this in Exodus 33 in verse 11. The text tells us that the Lord used to speak to Moses face to face, just as a man speaks to his friend. And so when we encounter these kind of references in the book of Exodus, that the Lord was speaking to Moses, and by extension speaking to Aaron, we must understand what's going on here, that the Lord spoke to Moses in a special way, in a unique way, face-to-face, just as a man speaks to his friend. Not in every situation, but oftentimes the Lord spoke to Moses this way. And what does the Lord tell Moses will happen The Lord tells Moses and Aaron to take handfuls of soot from a kiln and throw it toward the sky. Now, what is this reference to soot? Soot is simply fine pottery ash from a fire source. So Moses and Aaron were to perform this act in the sight of Pharaoh. God is telling Moses what they will do, what he and Aaron will do. And this was to be a symbolic act. It was to be a symbolic act of how Quickly, the plague of boils would spread across the land of Egypt so that as the soup was thrown into the air in the sight of Pharaoh, the wind would symbolically catch it and spread it across the land. It would land upon the people. So once again, the Lord tells his servants what to do, and the Lord tells his servants what will happen. Everything here in the 10 plagues is coming to pass just as the sovereign Lord decreed. Lord is telling the servants what will happen because he knows what will happen because he has decreed what will happen. Notice what we're told in verse 10, verse 10. The Lord tells Moses and Aaron what will happen, and now they follow the Lord's instruction So they took soot from a kiln and stood before Pharaoh and Moses threw it toward the sky and it became boils, breaking out the sores on man and beast. And so Moses did as the Lord commanded. He threw the soot toward the sky in the presence of Pharaoh. And as the soot spread and fell on the Egyptians, it became boils on man and beast. He was affected by this plague, by this sixth plague. all of the Egyptians, as the text tells us. And so Pharaoh and his magicians, political leaders, soldiers, men, women, and children, and animals were all affected by this sixth plague. And what were these boils? How might we describe them? I think somebody described them in our Sunday school hour today as being yucky. I think that was the word. Well, there are a number of different opinions on what these boils were, but no matter how you boil it down... Sorry, that's not in my notes. That really was just on the fly. No matter how you boil this down, we can agree that whatever these boils were, they were indeed yucky. In the end, we cannot be certain what this plague was. My belief that the sixth plague was a form of leprosy. And I have reasons for believing this. Let me make a very brief case for this. One commentator notes that the word translated for boils here in the Hebrew occurs a dozen times in the Old Testament and is used for a variety of infectious skin ailments. In Leviticus 13, it seems to refer to leprosy. And so I think we probably have a reference to a form of leprosy here. in Exodus chapter 9. And in the Old Testament, leprosy refers to a number of different skin diseases, including boils, itches, ringworm, scalp conditions, and even burns. And so in Leviticus 13, this is a broad term. It's got a wide semantic range. This is why, as one author says, Leviticus 13 and 14 reads like an ancient manual on dermatology. You go and read Exodus 13 and 14, that's what you're going to find. Of course, there was no dermatologist on call in the ancient world. So just imagine with me if these boils and sores are indeed leprosy and if they're anything akin to what the Lord Jesus saw in his own time there in the first century. Just imagine having terrible boils and sores all over your body. Just imagine and think about the experience of this. pus underneath your skin ready to erupt at any time. Yucky, right? You're constantly in pain, you are itching, and you are bleeding. This was the plague of boils and sores that God sent upon his enemies to judge them, to bring his holy wrath against them. In fact, we're told of the boils and sores' effect upon the magicians, notice with me verse 11, the magicians could not stand before Moses because of the boils, for the boils were on the magicians as well as on all the Egyptians. The boils and sewers were so bad for the magicians that they could not even stand in the presence of Pharaoh nor in the presence of Moses and Aaron. Again, it seems from verse 11 that all of the Egyptians were affected. That no one was left out of this scenario, no one was No one could escape God's judgment. Pharaoh himself, presumably, was struck with these words. And this is an interesting judgment to come upon Pharaoh. He who thought himself a god was in fact subject to God's judgment and God's will. You have to remember that the pharaohs of Egypt considered themselves, and the people of Egypt considered their pharaohs to be deities. The king of Egypt was not only subject to God's wrath, subject to God's will, but he was also a witness to God's power by way of his inexperience. He had a first-hand account of the airborne kilt spreading throughout the land of Egypt. The false gods of Egypt. Pharaoh himself is no help to her citizens. None of these gods that the Egyptians worship, the many gods, this polytheistic religion and polytheistic culture could not deliver these people from God's judgment. And so this plague of boils and sores is likely a devastating plague that may have killed many people in the land of Egypt. We need to ask another question. I bypassed asking this question for a reason. you'll understand in just a moment. But we need to ask this question, from where was this ash or soot taken? This is an interesting question. And I think there's an answer that's very likely. We cannot be sure of this, but a number of commentators suggest this. Let me quote one to you. The type of furnace spoken of here was probably a kiln for burning bricks. The furnace, then, was a symbol of the oppression of the Hebrews. The sweat and the tears they were shedding to make bricks for the Egyptians. Thus, the very soot made by the enslaved people was now to inflict punishment on their oppressors." This is an interesting point. We can't be certain of this. But I do think that there's a good chance that this is likely God's poetic justice. We see a kind of ironic or poetic justice, I think, in the text. Now thinking a little bit more carefully and a little bit more broadly about the application of this sixth plague, the plague of boils and sores, it has to say something to us about man's sinfulness, about man's uncleanness. External disease is but a dim reflection of our natural internal disease. Let me say that once more. External disease is but a dim reflection of our natural internal disease. You see, apart from Christ, all men, all women and children are sick and diseased. If you are apart from Jesus Christ, if you have not put your faith in Him, you are sick and you are diseased. You may look healthy on the outside, but on the inside, you are as sick as sick can get. Jeremiah 17, 9 tells us this, the heart is more deceitful than all else and is desperately sick. Who can understand it? Your heart, apart from Christ, is desperately sick. It is diseased, it is unclean. And so this sixth plague is a pointer for us. Yes, it's a disease that affects the outward man, But it points us to the inward man, it points us to our ultimate need for cleansing. And where will we go? To whom can we flee to be cleansed? Who can heal the disease of man's sin? Who can heal man's heart sickness? One God. Let's consider together in the second place now, the Lord's pardoning, verse 12. and verse 17, having now looked at some of the specifics of the plague of boils and sores. Now let's look at the Lord's hardening of Pharaoh. Verse 12, and the Lord hardened Pharaoh's heart, and he did not listen to them, just as the Lord had spoken to Moses. And I want you to notice the activity that's taking place in verse 12. Who is it that hardened Pharaoh's heart? It's not Pharaoh here, it's the Lord. The Lord is the one actively hardening Pharaoh's heart. But we are also told that Pharaoh did not listen. Now look with me at verse 17. Let's get down just a few verses and look at verse 17. As the Lord passes judgment on Pharaoh once again, still you exalt yourself against my people by not letting them go. Even after the sixth plague, Pharaoh is still determined. He's determined to exalt himself above God and against his people. And so in the account of the ten plagues, even here in our text tonight, Pharaoh is held responsible for his sin. Yes, the Lord hardened his heart, but Pharaoh is still seeking to exalt himself against God's people and against God. And so the plagues are God's just judgment against Pharaoh for not obeying his commands. Maybe you're thinking, but that's not fair. But that's not fair. God hardened Pharaoh's heart. Let's briefly consider the subject of God's sovereignty and man's free will. I want us to think about this a little bit further tonight. And this question came up in our Sunday school hour last week as I taught on the doctrines of grace. And so this is a good place. This is a good text for us to refresh on the subject of God's sovereignty and man's free will. Chapter five of our confession tells us that God is the primary cause of all things that come to pass. This is the meat and potatoes of Reformed theology, isn't it? We believe that God is sovereign. We believe this most fundamentally. We believe that God is sovereign in salvation. We believe that we contribute nothing to our salvation, but the Lord himself saves us. We believe that God is sovereign. This book says in Ephesians one, all things come to pass. according to the counsel of God's will, as we learn in Job 42, that no purpose of God's can be thwarted. And yet, in God's ordinary providence, in the way that he ordinarily works to bring about his sovereign will in the world, he ordinarily works through secondary causes. God is the primary cause of all things, but he often works through secondary causes. God often works in the world by the willful agency and actions of men. And this is because God has endued the will of man with a kind of natural liberty and a power of acting upon choice that is neither forced nor by any necessity of nature determined to do good or evil. This is what our confession teaches in summarizing the scripture for us. And so the twofold reality of man and God acting in the world is what we call concurrence. Is God the primary cause of all things? Yes. Does God use man as a secondary cause, as a secondary agent to accomplish his will in the world? Yes. This is what we call concurrence. So I want you to think with me about how this applies to the text chorus. Did Pharaoh have a choice in the matter of his rebellion? Did Pharaoh have a choice in the matter of his rebellion? The answer to this is yes. Pharaoh did exactly what he wanted to do. Would Pharaoh have let Israel go had the Lord not hardened his hearts? The answer to this is no. Pharaoh was not a good man, but he was a wicked, hard-hearted man. In fact, we are told 10 times, 10 times from Exodus 4 through Exodus 14, that Pharaoh hardened his own heart. As we have asked before, did Pharaoh harden his heart or did God? And what's the answer? Yes. Yes. It's not an either or, it's a both and. Pharaoh hardened his own heart and yes, the Lord hardened Pharaoh's heart. One author, I think, gives a very good and hopeful explanation for what the text means when it tells us that the Lord hardened Pharaoh's heart. He writes this, the Lord causes Pharaoh's heart to become hard, literally difficult, not by implanting evil in it, but by giving it over to its evil direction without restraint. I want you to catch what this author is saying, because I think he's exactly right. The Lord hardens Pharaoh's heart, not by implanting evil in us. God cannot implant evil in the heart of man. God is not the author of evil, nor is he the approver of it. Our God is holy and righteous and good. But God simply hardens Pharaoh's heart by giving Pharaoh what he wants, by giving Pharaoh over to his own evil. And so we have a kind of Romans 1 situation, don't we? Just as God gave over those people to their passions and their lusts, so God gives Pharaoh over to his own evil devices. And so this is why throughout the book of Exodus, Pharaoh is held morally responsible for his sin. God is constantly calling Pharaoh to account. Pharaoh is held morally responsible for his sin because he himself is the one sinning. He is the one rebelling against God at his word. So ultimately, Pharaoh is a part of God's divine design. He's a part of God's ultimate plan to bring about salvation, to bring about redemption for his people. As we are told in Proverbs chapter 16, The Lord has made everything for its own purpose, even the wicked for the day of evil. God creates all things with a purpose. He created Pharaoh with a divine purpose, with a sovereign purpose. Even the wicked for the day of evil. And so this is the great power and sovereignty of our God. We see it here in our text tonight, in Exodus chapter 9. He hardens whom he will harden, and he heals whom he will heal. This is our Lord's sovereign power. Our most holy and righteous God decrees and providentially rules over all things. Even though all things proceed from God's decree, He is not the author or approver of sin, but sin proceeds from the creature by God's permission without violation of the creature's will. This is the great mystery that displays God's infinite wisdom. who can know the ways of the Lord. His ways are higher than our ways. But this is the power of our great God. This is what God is doing. This is what he is working in the heart of Pharaoh for his own glory and for the ultimate good of his people. So this is the Lord's heartening of Pharaoh's heart. Consider with me in the third place now a divine message as we move into verses 13 through 16. A divine message. As we come to verses 13 through 16, we should observe that these verses are a kind of intermission in the account of the 10 plagues. As the Lord instructs Moses to go before Pharaoh again, there should be verse 15 or excuse me, verse 13. Then the Lord said to Moses, Rise up early in the morning and stand before Pharaoh and say to him, Thus says the Lord, the God of the Hebrews, let my people go that they may serve me. And so once again, the command comes to Pharaoh. been held morally responsible for disobeying God's command, and yet he is given another chance. And in verse 14, the Lord speaks of an escalation of judgment because of Pharaoh's continued disobedience. Verse 14, for this time, for this time, I will send all my plagues on you and your servants and your people so that you may know there is no one like me in all the earth. You see, this is the point of no return for Pharaoh and for the people of Egypt. This is the point of no return. As the Lord says in verse 14, for this time, for this time, I will send all my plagues on you and your servants and your people so that you may know I am the Lord. One author says this, now that no place is found for repentance in Pharaoh, nothing can prevent his utter destruction, for only that would have prevented it. There's no repentance in Pharaoh's heart. His heart is hard. He's a wicked and rebellious man. And so this is the point of no return. And once again, we see the reason why the Lord is doing all of these things to show himself to Pharaoh, to show himself to his covenant people so that all would know who our great God is. He is the God of the nations. He is the God of creation, providence and redemption, and none can thwart his will. The Lord says of himself, there is no one like me and all of you. Notice with me verse 15. For if by now I had put forth my hand and struck you and your people with pestilence, you then would have been cut off from the earth. God is saying to Pharaoh that if I poured out all my plagues on you and your people, you would already be dead. So we see the slowness of God's judgment here. The slowness of God's judgment is always evidence of his mercy. The slowness of God's judgment is always evidence of his mercy. God was merciful with Pharaoh. God was merciful with many of the Egyptians. And we believe that many of the Egyptians repented of their sins and believed in God's Messiah, as many of the Egyptians left with the Hebrews and presumably took on their faith, true faith in God. And so here we see the slowness of God's judgment as evidence of his mercy. And certainly Pharaoh did not earn God's mercy. We always expect the mercy of God towards us as his people. And indeed, we confess and we believe that God's mercy is new to us every morning. It's new to you every morning. You are recipients of God's grace and his mercy each and every day. The fact that you're sitting here right now in this building, shielded from the rain, free from persecution, is evidence of God's mercy. But sometimes the Lord preserves the wicked. Sometimes the Lord is patient with the wicked for his glory. And sometimes the Lord suffers the righteous for his glory. Think of a man like Job. Consider that Job suffered greatly as a righteous man. And so again, because of this, we must confess that God's ways are above our ways. His will is a great mystery to us. Notice verse 16, as the Lord speaks once again, verse 16. But indeed, God says, for this reason, I have allowed you to remain in order to show you my power, in order to proclaim my name through all the earth. So the Lord is temporarily allowing Pharaoh to live for two reasons. To show the world his power, and to proclaim his name in all the earth. Our great triune God has a supreme interest in his own glory. And that's not self-conceit on God's part. God alone deserves all glory. He alone deserves all honor and praise. And this is his eternal interest. And we've already said we've already heard the same thing said to Pharaoh in Exodus seven and verse five, the Egyptian shall know that I am the Lord when I stretch out my hand on Egypt and bring out the sons of Israel from their midst, God wants all the world to know of his great glory. We must know of God's great glory as his covenant people. His enemies must know of his great glory and of his wrath and judgment. So this is the purpose of our great God. This is the sovereignty of our great God. In all things that he does, he wants men to know that he is the only glorious and eternal God. Well, in all of these things, as we have seen tonight, the plague of oils is a reminder to us, yes, of God's sovereign judgment, and yes, of man's sinfulness. As we've already said, external disease is but a dim reflection of our natural internal disease. And so again, we come to ask the question, who can heal the disease of man's sin? Who can do this? Who can heal your disease? Who can deliver you from the wrath of God to come? Who can deliver you from your sin? Who can heal the man with boils, and who can heal the man whose heart is desperately sick? Well, Exodus chapter nine, verses eight through 17, echoes forward to the Lord Jesus. We have to think about this text in light of Christ, because the Lord Jesus Christ is the great physician, and he is the only one who can heal man's disease. Only the Lord can make a man clean, and only the Lord can heal man's hardness of heart. Only the Lord can do it. I want you to turn over with me your Bibles to Mark chapter 1, verses 40 through 45. This is part of the text that Michael read for us this evening, Mark chapter 1, verses 40 through 45. I want you to notice our Lord's healing of the leper here in Mark chapter one or chapter one beginning in verse 40. And the leper came to Jesus, beseeching him and falling on his knees before him and saying, if you are willing, you can make me clean. Moved with compassion, Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him and said to him, I am willing to be cleansed. Immediately the leprosy left him and he was cleansed, and he sternly warned him and immediately sent him away. And he said to him, See that you say nothing to anyone but go, show yourself to the priest and offer for your cleansing what Moses commanded as a testimony to them. But he went out and began to proclaim it freely and to spread the news around to such an extent that Jesus could no longer publicly enter a city, but stayed out in unpopulated areas as they were coming to him from everywhere. Narrative C that we just read in Mark 1, 40-45, is an invitation to you, dear sinner, to come and be made clean in Christ. That's what this text is. It's an invitation to you. Come and be made clean. Come and be healed of your disease through faith in God's Son. You are desperately sick. Your heart is desperately sick, and the only remedy, the only physician that you can flee to is the Lord Jesus Christ. You must go to him in faith. And so come and be healed through faith. And this scene is a reminder to you, dear Christian, to you, dear Christian, that you have been made clean by the word and by the touch of your Savior. Christ has made you clean. you are no longer what you once were, by God's grace and by the healing touch and power of our great Savior and Redeemer, the Lord Jesus Christ. As we read our final verse from Mark chapter two tonight, it is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick. I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners. And so this is what Christ has come to do. Do you see how Exodus chapter nine points us to Christ. Do you see how Exodus chapter 9 teaches us something about man's nature, his fallen nature, his depraved nature, his total inability apart from saving faith in Christ? And so again, this text simply points us to the Savior, as it reminds us of our own sinful nature, and it helps us to have high and lofty and exalted views of Christ, that we might see him for who he truly is, that we might see him as the only healer and physician of sinful men. Our Heavenly Father, our God, we bless you and we thank you once again for your holy word. We thank you that it speaks so clearly to us about Christ. Father, we pray that you would help us to understand something about our own depravity apart from you, our own need of you, our own heart sickness. Oh God, we thank you for Christ. We thank you that he's given us such a great salvation in himself, not that we have earned our salvation, but that you have given it to us freely through faith in your son. So we bless you and we thank you, O great God. We thank you for your mercy. We thank you for your grace, your kindness, and your compassion. We pray, O Lord, that you would save many. For those that are in this room tonight and have not yet come to saving faith in your son, we pray, O Lord, that you would change their hearts, that you would heal them of their sickness and their disease. Bring them, O God, unto yourself for your own glory. We pray all these things in Jesus' name, amen.