The plagues were not random punishments but deliberate judgments revealing Yahweh’s supremacy over Egypt’s gods and over all spiritual powers. The plagues expose false order and false mercy by unraveling Egypt’s Ma’at and showing that only Yahweh brings true order, light, and life. Through the chaos He sends, God displays His grace—holding creation together by His word; His mercy—sparing His people not because they deserve it but because He is compassionate; and His unrivaled power—defeating every rival deity, culminating in the darkness that shames Amon-Ra and anticipates the death and resurrection of Jesus, the true Light of the world. Therefore, like Psalm 105 urges, we respond by thanking, praising, seeking, and remembering the Lord for His mighty works and saving grace.

In Exodus 7:1–7, we meet the God who hardens hearts—not as a cruel puppeteer or powerless bystander but as the sovereign Lord who strengthens the will already set against Him, so that His name might be known in all the earth. Pharaoh’s resistance becomes the stage for God’s revelation: that He alone is Yahweh, the covenant-keeper who liberates His people and humbles the proud. Every act of judgment and mercy in the Exodus displays His faithfulness, pointing forward to the greater deliverance in Christ. At the cross, the God who once hardened the proud heart of Pharaoh softens the hearts of rebels, revealing His glory fully in Jesus—the One who laid down His own will to accomplish the Father’s.

In Exodus 5, Israel learns that everyone serves someone—and that the wrong master only multiplies burdens. Pharaoh’s command to “get back to your burdens” exposes the cruelty of false masters who demand more and give nothing. But Jesus, the greater Master, stands before the weary and says, “Come to me… and I will give you rest.” This sermon traces the contrast between Pharaoh’s yoke and Christ’s, showing that true freedom is not found in autonomy but in serving the gentle and lowly Lord whose service becomes our rest.