Exodus 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.
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.
3 And I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and multiply my signs and my wonders in the land of Egypt.
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.
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.
6 And Moses and Aaron did as the LORD commanded them, so did they.
7 And Moses was fourscore years old, and Aaron fourscore and three years old, when they spake unto Pharaoh.
8 And the LORD spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying,
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.
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.
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.
12 For they cast down every man his rod, and they became serpents: but Aaron’s rod swallowed up their rods.
13 And he hardened Pharaoh’s heart, that he hearkened not unto them; as the LORD had said.
God knows the heart of man. He knows those who are His and those He can trust. He wants all men to know Him. In our text we read that God would make Moses to be a god unto Pharaoh. Pharaoh had his counsellors. They were all fools just as he was. They would give him counsel, but it was not good counsel. Moses would stand in the gap between God and Pharaoh. He would reveal the will and power of the true God to Pharaoh. Pharaoh had never encountered such a thing before.
God would also make Aaron as Moses’ prophet. In the eyes of Pharaoh, Aaron would be as an inspired man to Pharaoh.
God reminded Moses again that this was His Word. All Scripture is given by inspiration of God. It is all profitable for man. The sad reality is that most people believe they have no time for God’s Word. That is why we have the mess we have in our country. Rather than blaming Mr. Trump for our problems, we should look in the mirror. A pagan nation does not have insight. It cannot see what is right in front of it, never mind that which is afar off.
In verse 2 God reminded Moses that he was to speak all that He would command him. Moses was not supposed to come up with his own ideas. His words were not important. God’s Word was important then, and it is important now. God’s Word is powerful.
Hebrews 4:12 For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
Pharaoh would not like what Moses would have to say to him, but he could not refute it. He would simply dig himself a bigger hole until finally God would destroy him and his armies.
In verse 3 we read that the LORD would harden Pharaoh’s heart. God has the power to save and He also has the power to shut the door of the heart on those who continually despise Him. God is longsuffering but He also knows those who despise His longsuffering. The LORD would multiply His signs and His wonders in the land of Egypt. It would not be one plague but ten different plagues that would hit the nation over the next short while. Each plague would have further impact upon the land and the people. The land would not recover from those plagues in the time of this Pharaoh.
As we have noted, Egypt had several hundred years to consider God’s hand of mercy upon them. They had witnessed God’s provision for their land while the nations around them suffered from famine. Egypt was able to feed itself and also supply food for other lands. This was all due to God’s hand upon them. Joseph had made it abundantly clear that he was not the brains behind the interpretation of the earlier Pharaoh’s dreams. Those dreams were given to him by God. His counsellors could not help him to understand those dreams. It was Joseph, a stranger and a former prisoner, whom God would raise up to tell the Pharaoh the interpretation of his dreams. That Pharaoh understood the importance of putting Joseph in charge of the food supply of the nation. Joseph proved himself a wise man because he trusted in God’s wisdom. He was able to gather enough grain to feed the entire nation of Egypt and the surrounding nations with food for seven years of famine. There was no starvation at that time. There was no shortage of necessary foods.
There was a vast difference in how things were done then and how they are conducted in our time. We have supply management on some foods and we have artificially high prices on those foods because the governments tell farmers to dump certain products like milk in order to keep the prices higher. Yes, the dairy farmers can make extra money that way, but spoiling food is not a wise plan.
Then we have the manufactured bird flu which is allowing the governments to go and slaughter entire flocks of chickens for no good reason. This causes a shortage of eggs and forces the price of eggs up. Ungodly governments operate on the principle of greed and power. They know that starvation is one way to gain control of people.
In our text, God would impact the food supply to help the Egyptians to see that He is the Supplier of man’s needs. God would bring the children of Israel out of Egypt with a high hand. Egypt would never have faced such severe judgments before.
In verse 5 we read that God’s purpose was that the Egyptians would know that He was the LORD. Every nation needs to know that. God would demonstrate His authority through the many plagues. Moses and Aaron would remind the people that these plagues were not accidental. They were the direct result of the hand of the LORD.
In verse 7 we are told the ages of Moses and Aaron. Aaron was three years older than Moses, and yet God chose Moses to be the chief among the two.
In verse 8 the LORD again reminded Moses and Aaron of the importance of obedience to His commands. They needed to demonstrate the LORD’s power with the rod of Aaron and also with the other signs.
We read that Pharaoh’s wise men and his sorcerers were also able to cast down their rods and they also became serpents. However, Aaron’s rod swallowed up their rods. God allows the devil some power. That power is enough to convince many people to follow the devil. Most people dismiss the power of God and settle for the finite power of the devil.
In our text we read that even though Aaron’s rod swallowed up the rods of the wise men and the sorcerers, Pharaoh’s heart was hardened by the LORD so that he would not submit to the power of God. As we have noted, when a person chooses to defy the LORD, the LORD can oblige the person and cause that person not to be able to see truth.
The nation of Israel is blinded today, that it cannot see the mighty hand of the LORD. They are trusting in the help of the U.S. and any other nation that will offer them help. They are not ready to acknowledge the true God at this time. The day will come when they will repent and acknowledge the true God as their God and Saviour.
The majority of the Gentile world is also blinded to the truth. Most people in Canada are still dependent upon the government to fix the problems we are facing. They cry about bail reform and the need for housing, etc. They look to this political party or that one to come up with a solution.
Jesus warned:
Luke 6:39 And he spake a parable unto them, Can the blind lead the blind? shall they not both fall into the ditch?
Those who are born again need to listen to the LORD. Just as Moses and Aaron were to obey God’s commands, so too, those who are saved today need to obey God’s commands. We need to walk humbly with the Lord and glorify Him in our words and actions. Jew or Gentile, all need to know the power of the Gospel of Christ.
Pastor Bartel
