Exodus 10:3-6 - Homiletics

God's long-suffering towards the wicked has a limit.

"How long wilt thou refuse to humble thyself?" ( Exodus 10:3 ). "The goodness of God endureth yet daily." His forbearance and long-suffering are wonderful. Yet they have a limit. God will not proceed to judgment—

I. UNTIL THE SINNER HAS HAD FULL OPPORTUNITY FOR REPENTANCE . Pharaoh had been first warned ( Exodus 5:3 ), then shown a sign ( Exodus 7:10-12 ); after this, punished by seven distinct plagues, each of which was well calculated to strike terror into the soul, and thereby to stir it to repentance. He had been told by his own magicians that one of them, at any rate, could be ascribed to nothing but "the finger of God" ( Exodus 8:19 ). He had been impressed, alarmed, humbled so far as to make confession of sin ( Exodus 9:27 ), and to promise three several times that he would let the Israelites depart from Egypt ( Exodus 8:8 , Exodus 8:28 ; Exodus 9:28 ). But all had been of no avail. No sooner was a plague removed at his humble entreaty than he resumed all his old pride and arrogance, retracted his promise, and showed himself as stiff-necked as at the first. The time during which his trim had lasted, and God's patience endured, must have been more than a year—surely ample opportunity!

II. UNTIL IT IS MANIFEST THAT THERE IS NO HOPE THAT HE WILL REPENT . "What could have been done more in my vineyard, that I have not done to it?" God asks in Isaiah ( Isaiah 5:4 ). And what more could he have done to turn Pharaoh from his evil ways, that he had not done on this occasion? Exhortations, warnings, miracles, light plagues, heavy plagues, had all been tried, and no real, permanent impression made. The worst of all was, that when some kind of impression was made, no good result ensued. Fear—abject, servile, cowardly fear—was the dominant feeling aroused; and even this did not last, but disappeared the moment that the plague was removed. Pharaoh was thus constantly "sinning yet more" ( Exodus 9:34 ). Instead of improving under the chastening hand of God, he was continually growing worse. His heart was becoming harder. His reformation was more hopeless.

III. UNTIL GOD 'S PURPOSES IN ALLOWING THE RESISTANCE OF HIS WILL BY THE SINNER ARE ACCOMPLISHED . God intended that through Pharaoh's resistance to his will, and the final failure of his resistance, his own name should be glorified and "declared throughout all the earth" ( Exodus 9:16 ). It required a period of some length—a tolerably prolonged contest—to rivet the attention both of the Egyptians generally, and of the surrounding nations. After somewhat more than a year this result had been attained. There was, consequently, no need of further delay; and the last three plagues, which followed rapidly the one upon the other, were of the nature of judgments.