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.
God was going to elevate Moses in his stature before Pharaoh. We see here again that we do not need to use manipulation or deception to get somewhere. God elevated Moses to be leader of the nation of Israel. You notice that Moses would be seen as a god, small “g”, before Pharaoh. Aaron would also be given a high position. We see that neither one of them was seeking these positions. Those who are seeking a high position often are not that well suited for it. They are too self-confident. God chooses those who understand the need to trust Him in their walk.
In verse 2 Moses was again reminded that he needed to speak all that God commanded him. God’s servants cannot pick and choose which words of God they like and want others to follow and which they do not like and do not want others to follow. The true servant of God has no need to be ashamed of anything that God says. Some things that God says are quite contrary to what society thinks. Societies’ views are often warped. They are corrupt and they are destructive. God desires to bless man, but He must judge those who reject Him.
Aaron was still going to be the spokesperson for Moses to Pharaoh. Again we see that God’s Words were not optional. God’s Words were absolute and they need to be heeded. Pharaoh needed to come to the place of sending the nation of Israel out of his land.
In verse 3 God told Moses that He would harden Pharaoh’s heart. We need to understand that Pharaoh had already had the opportunity to turn to Him. Pharaoh chose to reject the LORD. God is the only One Who can determine that someone is so hardened that he or she will not turn to Him. Pharaoh was at that place.
The LORD would now harden Pharaoh’s heart and He would multiply His signs in Egypt. The entire land would be able to see that their false gods were nothing. They would be able to see that the LORD that Moses served and spoke of was the only true God.
In verse 4 we learn that the LORD was going to show Himself strong in the entire nation. Not only that, but we know that even the people in Jericho would hear about God’s mighty hand long before the Hebrews would cross over the Jordan and conquer Jericho. God referred to some within the nation of Israel as His army. His army functions differently than secular armies do. God would bring His people out with great judgments. As we will see, that was certainly the case.
In verse 5 the nation of Egypt would know that He was the LORD. The sad reality is that the nation of Egypt did not repent and trust in the LORD. Some of the people joined Israel and left when they left. However, they were of the mixed multitude that stirred up the people as they journeyed toward Canaan. They knew better, but they were too stubborn to do right.
In verse 6 we see that Moses and Aaron did as the LORD commanded them. God is never pleased when those He chooses as leaders, decide they are going to “adjust” His ways to suit themselves.
Proverbs 4:26 Ponder the path of thy feet, and let all thy ways be established.
27 Turn not to the right hand nor to the left: remove thy foot from evil.
I listened to a well known secular man yesterday, who gave a short speech at a garden party this past Sunday. I was sent the link by an organization I listen to sometimes. Interestingly, the man speaking talked about how he observed that former generations had much greater interest in church than this current generation does. He recognized that not all churches were good churches, even by his standard. It was interesting to me that he was called to this garden party on a Sunday and he was bemoaning the fact that there is a great decrease in people’s interest in church in this time. It did not seem to dawn on him that he was not in church that Sunday either. He was the guest speaker at this garden party. I believe there were between 30-40 people at this garden party. That is 30-40 people that chose not to go to church, but chose to listen to an ungodly man bemoan the fact that interest in churches is dwindling. This man did not identify the problem as being a lack of interest in God. That is the problem in our country.
Psalm 127:1 Except the LORD build the house, they labour in vain that build it: except the LORD keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain.
Our country is in a mess like we have never seen before. The only reason it has not crumbled yet is because God is not allowing that to happen. God is merciful and not willing that any should perish. He is allowing people to choose a garden party or a golf game or a shopping trip or a camping trip over listening to Him and getting to know the truth. Those who make those choices, will regret it one day.
The authority is in God, not in us. Those God calls us to lead need to be reminded that we are not acting on a whim. We are not like politicians. We are not seeking to build a name for ourselves. God’s servants are just that. He tells us through His Word what we are to do. In our time, anyone can read God’s Word and they can see for themselves what they should expect from their pastor.
In Moses’ day, the LORD told Moses to speak to the elders of the children of Israel and tell them what His plan was. The LORD gave Moses the ability to do some signs to convince the Hebrews that he was speaking God’s Word. They could not examine His Words from the Bible. The Bible was not written at that time.
We have the entire Word of God now if we use the KJV for the English speaking world. Those who think this is not important and choose to use the perversions do not have God’s Word. There are many changes between the KJV and the perversions. If that does not concern a reader, then there is something drastically wrong with their claim to be saved. As we have noticed before and have been reminded in today’s text, God required Moses and Aaron to speak every Word that He gave them.
In verse 7 we see the ages of Moses and Aaron. These men were not young men. God commanded them to obey Him. They were not so old that they could do as they pleased. Born again Christians are never at that place where they do not need to follow God’s way. We see too often where older men seem to get tired of the fight and they cave in to the whims and wishes of younger people who are either lost or deeply compromised. When older men compromise they encourage the younger men to compromise as well. That is why we see a weakening of doctrine in many churches. That is why churches that once had somewhat of a good stand, are now apostate. We need to study God’s Word to seek His approval and we need to preach and teach God’s Word so that others can know the truth and walk in it.
Pastor Bartel
