EXODUS, CHAPTER SEVEN

7:1-13, Moses and Aaron again before Pharaoh (This time they came with a sign from God -- The rod which became a serpent).

7:1 AND THE LORD SAID UNTO MOSES, SEE, I HAVE MADE THEE A GOD TO PHARAOH: AND AARON THY BROTHER SHALL BE THY PROPHET.

A.Moses was disheartened, and had just said in 6:30, "I [am] of uncircumcised lips, and how shall Pharaoh hearken unto me?" God is now going to assure him that the process of deliverance was just about to begin, and that he (Moses) would be given authority which even Pharaoh would have to respect.

  1. At this encouragement the hesitance of Moses is no more.
  2. He is now being launched upon this mission from Heaven; He is assured of his miraculous power; He is committed to a struggle with the powerful Egyptian king; And he will per-evere without ever wavering until success is achieved.

B.I HAVE MADE THEE A GOD TO PHARAOH: The first point on which Moses is assured is that he is very much Pharaoh's superior. He has the God-given right to command Pharaoh's obedience, and the God-given strength to enforce his commands. He will not come before the king with just words, but with supernatural power which would cause Pharaoh at last to bow in submission to the command of Moses' God - Ex 12:31, "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 Is-ael; and go, serve the LORD, as ye have said." Compare the trembling of Felix before the Word of God - Ac 24:25.

C.AARON THY BROTHER SHALL BE THY PROPHET: His spokesman, who would express his will to Pharaoh. Compare Ex 4:14-15, "15 And thou shalt speak unto him, and put words in his mouth: and I will be with thy mouth, and with his mouth, and will teach you what ye shall do. 16 And he shall be thy spokesman unto the people: and he shall be, [even] he shall be to thee in-tead of a mouth, and thou shalt be to him instead of God."

7:2 THOU SHALT SPEAK ALL THAT I COMMAND THEE: AND AARON THY BROTHER SHALL SPEAK UNTO PHARAOH, THAT HE SEND THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL OUT OF HIS LAND.

A.This speaking of Moses was to be to Aaron - Ex 4:14.

B."Tell him (who is your prophet) everything that I tell you."

7:3 AND I WILL HARDEN PHARAOH'S HEART, AND MULTIPLY MY SIGNS AND MY WONDERS IN THE LAND OF EGYPT.

A.I WILL HARDEN PHARAOH'S HEART: Pharaoh was going to be so stubborn that he would not listen.

1.Pharaoh was already a bad man; God was going to place him in circumstances which would make him even worse, because he

would resist the will of God. The laws of our moral nature make that kind of result inescapable when truth is resisted and privilege is abused.

2.Because Pharaoh was determined to fight against God, God planned to use the wicked king to display His mighty power and terrible judgment on all those who rebel against Him.

B.AND MULTIPLY MY SIGNS: This is the first time there is refer-ence to numerous miracles (three had been named before).

7:4 BUT PHARAOH SHALL NOT HEARKEN UNTO YOU, THAT I MAY LAY MY HAND UPON EGYPT, AND BRING FORTH MINE ARMIES, [AND] MY PEOPLE THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL, OUT OF THE LAND OF EGYPT BY GREAT JUDGMENTS.

A.PHARAOH SHALL NOT HEARKEN: He would not listen, until God brought the final punishment on Egypt.

B.THAT I MAY LAY MY HAND UPON EGYPT: Pharaoh was allowed to set his will against God's will, in order that there might be a great display of God's power. That would attract the atten-tion of Egypt and surrounding nations. The result would be the glorifying of God among the people, and a fear on the part of others of interfering with His people. See the song after crossing the Sea - Ex 15:14-16, "14 The people shall hear, [and] be afraid: sorrow shall take hold on the inhabitants of Palestine. 15 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. 16 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." Also see Deu 2:25, "This day will I begin to put the dread of thee and the fear of thee upon the nations [that are] under the whole heaven, who shall hear report of thee, and shall trem-ble, and be in anguish because of thee."; and Deu 11:25, "There shall no man be able to stand before you: [for] the LORD your God shall lay the fear of you and the dread of you upon all the land that ye shall tread upon, as he hath said unto you."

7:5 AND THE EGYPTIANS SHALL KNOW THAT I [AM] THE LORD, WHEN I STRETCH FORTH MINE HAND UPON EGYPT, AND BRING OUT THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL FROM AMONG THEM.

A.THE EGYPTIANS SHALL KNOW THAT I AM THE LORD: They would know that He is JEHOVAH, the only true God, and that He does what He says He will do.

B.WHEN I STRETCH FORTH MINE HAND: As He was about to stretch it forth. Compare Psa 2:10-12, "10 Be wise now therefore, O ye kings: be instructed, ye judges of the earth. 11 Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling. 12 Kiss the Son,

lest he be angry, and ye perish [from] the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed [are] all they that put their trust in him."

7:6 AND MOSES AND AARON DID AS THE LORD COMMANDED THEM, SO DID THEY.

**From this time until they were out of Egypt, the obedience of both Moses and Aaron is without question.

7:7 AND MOSES [WAS] FOURSCORE YEARS OLD, AND AARON FOURSCORE AND THREE YEARS OLD, WHEN THEY SPAKE UNTO PHARAOH.

A.Whether we are young (like Samuel and David when they are first seen as God's servants), or in old age (like Moses and Aaron here), there is a place for us if we will yield to God.

B.The day of trust and toil is not over until death ends it.

C.It must have been somewhat of a surprise to Pharaoh to see these brothers appear again before him, after what might have been considered his triumph over them the first time.

D.It also may have been somewhat upsetting to him, and a cause for some sub-conscious worry about their mission and power.

E.God knew that Pharaoh would ask for a miracle as proof...

7:8 AND THE LORD SPAKE UNTO MOSES AND UNTO AARON, SAYING,

7:9 WHEN PHARAOH SHALL SPEAK UNTO YOU, SAYING, SHEW A MIRACLE FOR YOU: THEN THOU SHALT SAY UNTO AARON, TAKE THY ROD, AND CAST [IT] BEFORE PHARAOH, [AND] IT SHALL BECOME A SERPENT.

**WHEN PHARAOH SHALL SPEAK UNTO YOU, SAYING, SHOW A MIRACLE: They were not to produce their credentials until their author-ity was questioned, then they were to produce a sign which would be proof to an honest mind. Compare Jn 3:2.

7:10 AND MOSES AND AARON WENT IN UNTO PHARAOH, AND THEY DID SO AS THE LORD HAD COMMANDED: AND AARON CAST DOWN HIS ROD BEFORE PHARAOH, AND BEFORE HIS SERVANTS, AND IT BECAME A SERPENT.

7:11 THEN PHARAOH ALSO CALLED THE WISE MEN AND THE SORCERERS: NOW THE MAGICIANS OF EGYPT, THEY ALSO DID IN LIKE MANNER WITH THEIR ENCHANTMENTS.

A.WISE MEN...SORCERERS...MAGICIANS: The Egyptians were schooled in witchcraft and magic -- Much attention and study were given to these matters.

B.THEY ALSO DID IN LIKE MANNER: In reading about Satan, it is soon observed that he takes every occasion to set up things which counterfeit Divine things, in order to confuse the minds of people and make them mistake the false for the true.

  1. In order to try to discredit the genuine miracles of the apostles, Satan used "curious arts" (Ac 19:19) and "lying wonders" (2Th 2:9).
  2. After the lifetime of Christ, there were those who claimed to be the Messiah who "showed great signs and wonders," and these false miracles were capable of deceiving "the very elect" (Mt 24:24).
  3. The devil is still at work -- he places religious books be-side the Bible and makes people think they are just as good as it is, and just as much from God.

a.Some throw up their hands, and say, "Who knows?" This is just as good for Satan as an outright acceptance of the other systems of religion.

b.But honest people who really want to know can soon per-ceive the difference between the true and the imitations.

C.THEIR ENCHANTMENTS: They were highly trained in the art of snake-charming.

D.Pharaoh may have been told that this was one of the signs which had been done before the people of Israel when Moses and Aaron first came from Midian.

  1. He then would be sure his "magicians" were prepared to duplicate "the trick."
  2. Now they are called to bring their rods (which could have been snakes charmed and stiffened).

7:12 FOR THEY CAST DOWN EVERY MAN HIS ROD, AND THEY BECAME SERPENTS: BUT AARON'S ROD SWALLOWED UP THEIR RODS.

A.Some think these men had actual communication with the unseen world, and did their wonders by the power of evil spirits.

B.It seems easier to think they were men who had a great know-ledge of many secrets of nature which were generally unknown, and that they used that knowledge to cause others to believe they had supernatural power.

C.If that is the case, they were skilled in sleight-of-hand and juggling, and in snake-charming and other strange things of the natural world, but did not have supernatural powers.

D.Historians say there is written evidence that these men could charm snakes and cause them to stiffen like a rod.

E.When they threw the snakes on the floor it caused them to be disenchanted, and they began to act like snakes again.

F.BUT AARON'S ROD SWALLOWED UP THEIR RODS: To any clear and thoughtful mind which was honest, this would have been abso-lute and undeniable evidence that there was a Superior Power behind the work of Moses and Aaron. But Pharaoh was not an honest man, and would not allow himself to be impressed that what he had witnessed was the overcoming of a trick by a cer-tain miracle from God.

G.But whereas Pharaoh's unbelief was strengthened, surely the faith of Moses was strengthened -- He might not be able to explain how the magicians did their tricks, but he knew that he and Aaron were not magicians, and that the power of God was with them as long as they did His will.

7:13 AND HE HARDENED PHARAOH'S HEART, THAT HE HEARKENED NOT UNTO THEM; AS THE LORD HAD SAID.

A.HE HARDENED PHARAOH'S HEART (AND PHARAOH'S HEART GREW HARD, NKJ): One modern version says, "The king behaved just as the Lord had said and stubbornly refused to listen."

B.His heart was too seared for the miracle to make an impression which would cause him to see that Moses and Aaron had power to do much more than his magicians could do.

C.AS THE LORD HAD SAID: In Verse 4 God had said, "But Pharaoh shall not hearken (listen) unto you."

D.Clearly he wanted to disbelieve, and he did it.

E.This unwillingness to look at truth continued in his mind until it became a solid and fixed determination to refuse the request and to resist any demand God might make.

F.He would have to be made to suffer before he would consent to let Israel go.

G.Compare the apparent ease with which he closed the door of his heart to the quick and flimsy arguments which are raised against every point of truth today.

  1. God allows that to happen if people are so inclined.
  2. But He also gives us minds with which to question and study, and come to a perception of truth, if truth is what we want.

Three Divisions: Historical; Legislative; Ecclesiastical.

1-18, Historical: The Exodus -- Divine Power.

19-24, Legislative: The Law -- Divine Holiness.

25-40, Ecclesiastical: The Tabernacle -- Divine Wisdom.

1.HISTORICAL: THE EXODUS (DIVINE POWER) - CHAPTERS 1-18.

A.BONDAGE OF THE PEOPLE OF GOD: CHAPTERS 1-7:13.

B.DELIVERANCE BY THE GRACE OF GOD: CHAPTERS 7:14-19:2.

7:14-12:36, God revealed Himself to Pharaoh through the ten plagues which came upon the land. This is 1446 BC.

a.God is now going to use the stubbornness of Pharaoh to magnify His own power. He will send ten severe plagues upon the land to punish the Egyptians for their cruel treatment of the Israelites and to convince Pharaoh to let his people go.

b.The plagues might be thought of as growing in severity, and that makes them easy to memorize.

c.The tenth plague brought death to the firstborn of every Egyptian household. (Remember the warning of 4:22-23, "22 and thou shalt say unto Pharaoh, thus saith the Lord, Israel [is] my son, [even] my firstborn: 23 and I say unto thee, let my son go, that he may serve me: and if thou refuse to let him go, behold, I will slay thy son, [even] thy firstborn."

7:14 AND THE LORD SAID UNTO MOSES, PHARAOH'S HEART [IS] HARDENED, HE REFUSETH TO LET THE PEOPLE GO.

A.Pharaoh had been given his opportunity, and despised it.

B.Now he was going to have to face the power of Jehovah.

7:15 GET THEE UNTO PHARAOH IN THE MORNING; LO, HE GOETH OUT UNTO THE WATER; AND THOU SHALT STAND BY THE RIVER'S BRINK AGAINST HE COME; AND THE ROD WHICH WAS TURNED TO A SERPENT SHALT THOU TAKE IN THINE HAND.

A.This reminds us of the time eighty years before, when Moses was at the river, and the daughter of Pharaoh came to find and protect the helpless babe. Now that same babe is again at the River, and Pharaoh will come and find him, not to protect him, but to resist him and his God. Both meetings were important to the salvation of Israel.

B.AGAINST HE COME: Old English way of saying "to meet him" (so rendered in the NKJV).

C.TAKE IN THINE HAND: When the time came to smite the waters, the rod was placed in Aaron's hand - Verse 19.

7:16 AND THOU SHALT SAY UNTO HIM, THE LORD GOD OF THE HEBREWS HATH SENT ME UNTO THEE, SAYING, LET MY PEOPLE GO, THAT THEY MAY SERVE ME IN THE WILDERNESS: AND, BEHOLD, HITHERTO THOU WOULDEST NOT HEAR.

A.Pharaoh had been given the opportunity to hear the will of God, and had he been obedient, all would have been well.

B.But he had paid no attention, and would not obey.

7:17 THUS SAITH THE LORD, IN THIS THOU SHALT KNOW THAT I [AM] THE LORD: BEHOLD, I WILL SMITE WITH THE ROD THAT [IS] IN MINE HAND UPON THE WATERS WHICH [ARE] IN THE RIVER, AND THEY SHALL BE TURNED TO BLOOD.

A.IN THIS THOU SHALT KNOW THAT I AM THE LORD: In Ex 5:2 Pharaoh had said, "Who [is] the LORD, that I should obey His voice to let Israel go? I know not the LORD, neither will I let Israel go." Now he is told "thou shalt know that I am the LORD."

  1. In the turning of water to blood Pharaoh could see that there is a true God Who controls nature -- He can do as He wills with the Nile, which the Egyptians regarded as a god.
  2. Pharaoh could have freely granted release, now he will be compelled to grant it -- If he will not bow to reason, he must bow to power - cf Phi 2:10-11 with Rom 14:11-12.

B.WATERS...SHALL BE TURNED TO BLOOD: Not simply become the color of blood by being discolored with red soil or some kind of plant life, but actually become literal BLOOD.

C.Perhaps God intended for this to be an especially appropriate judgment upon the River -- Remember that it had been made the means of destroying the Israelites - Ex 1:9 "And he said unto his people, behold, the people of the children of Israel [are] more and mightier than we: 10 Come on, let us deal wisely with them; lest they multiply, and it come to pass, that, when there falleth out any war, they join also unto our enemies, and fight against us, and [so] get them up out of the land.... ......22 Pharaoh charged all his people, saying, every son that is born ye shall cast into the river." NOW the River is made the means of destroying Egypt if they do not repent.

7:18 AND THE FISH THAT [IS] IN THE RIVER SHALL DIE, AND THE RIVER SHALL STINK; AND THE EGYPTIANS SHALL LOATHE TO DRINK OF THE WATER OF THE RIVER.

A.FISH SHALL DIE: The Egyptians lived to a great extent on fish, the fish being taken from the Nile and its canals and ponds.

B.THE RIVER SHALL STINK: After a few hours there naturally would be total corruption because the blood would decompose/decay.

C.EGYPTIANS SHALL LOATHE TO DRINK: This suggests that they would not believe the fluid could really be blood, and so they would try to drink it, soon learning that they could not do so.

7:19 AND THE LORD SPAKE UNTO MOSES, SAY UNTO AARON, TAKE THY ROD, AND STRETCH OUT THINE HAND UPON THE WATERS OF EGYPT, UPON THEIR STREAMS, UPON THEIR RIVERS, AND UPON THEIR PONDS, AND UPON ALL THEIR POOLS OF WATER, THAT THEY MAY BECOME BLOOD; AND [THAT] THERE MAY BE BLOOD THROUGHOUT ALL THE LAND OF EGYPT, BOTH IN [VESSELS OF] WOOD, AND IN [VESSELS OF] STONE.

A.The rod would be stretched out over the Nile, but all THE WATERS OF EGYPT would be turned to blood.

B.THROUGHOUT ALL THE LAND OF EGYPT: The miracle would extend right into the Egyptian homes, so that water which was stored in buckets, jars, and tanks of whatever sort would be ruined.

7:20 AND MOSES AND AARON DID SO, AS THE LORD COMMANDED; AND HE LIFTED UP THE ROD, AND SMOTE THE WATERS THAT [WERE] IN THE RIVER, IN THE SIGHT OF PHARAOH, AND IN THE SIGHT OF HIS SERVANTS; AND ALL THE WATERS THAT [WERE] IN THE RIVER WERE TURNED TO BLOOD.

7:21 AND THE FISH THAT [WAS] IN THE RIVER DIED; AND THE RIVER STANK, AND THE EGYPTIANS COULD NOT DRINK OF THE WATER OF THE RIVER; AND THERE WAS BLOOD THROUGHOUT ALL THE LAND OF EGYPT.

A.This would be a tremendous miracle, horrible to see, and sickening to smell and be near.

B.It would be difficult to imagine a worse punishment.

C.Note the correspondence between this first public miracle of Moses (water turned to blood, a sign of judgment), and the first public miracle of the Messiah (water turned to wine, a sign of mercy) - Jn 2:1-12.

7:22 AND THE MAGICIANS OF EGYPT DID SO WITH THEIR ENCHANTMENTS: AND PHARAOH'S HEART WAS HARDENED, NEITHER DID HE HEARKEN UNTO THEM; AS THE LORD HAD SAID.

A.MAGICIANS OF EGYPT DID SO: All they had was a little drinking water (Verse 24), so they could produce only a feeble imita-tion of the great miracle. They could not turn all the bodies of water to blood, for that was already done.

B.WITH THEIR ENCHANTMENTS: By their secret powers (perhaps nothing more that their skill at sleight-of-hand).

C.If Pharaoh had trusted them to have the power of Moses and Aaron, he would have ordered them to turn the blood into water, which would have done him some good, but they could not do so, and clearly he knew they could not.

7:23 AND PHARAOH TURNED AND WENT INTO HIS HOUSE, NEITHER DID HE SET HIS HEART TO THIS ALSO.

A.Seemingly satisfied that the magicians had proved that Moses and Aaron did not have greater power than that of Egypt, he left the River and went back to the palace.

B.This is a continuation of his hardening his heart.

C.He stiffens himself in his determination to resist God, by simply refusing to think, by deliberately turning away from the light of truth.

D.He knows what he should do, but he will not obey Jehovah.

7:24 AND ALL THE EGYPTIANS DIGGED ROUND ABOUT THE RIVER FOR WATER TO DRINK; FOR THEY COULD NOT DRINK OF THE WATER OF THE RIVER.

7:25 AND SEVEN DAYS WERE FULFILLED, AFTER THAT THE LORD HAD SMITTEN THE RIVER.

A.It is not clear if this is saying the blood remained for seven days, or if it was seven days before the next plague.

B.Either way, Pharaoh had a week to think it over and to change his mind about resisting Jehovah.

C.But he had so steadfastly set his mind and his course that he was not going to be embarrassed before his magicians and his nation by granting release to Israel in obedience to Jehovah.

D.It is very hard to admit, especially before the whole world, that one has been wrong; Pharaoh was not going to do so.

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