Aaron's Rod Is Turned Into A Serpent. Series

AARON'S ROD IS TURNED INTO A SERPENT.

Exodus 7:1-12; 7:8-10

SCRIPTURE

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

COMMENTARY

The Story of Aaron's Rod Being Turned into a Serpent

Moses and Aaron had been given a daunting job. They were supposed to lead the Sons of Israel out of Egypt and into the land of Canaan. However, the Lord had sent them to talk with Pharaoh to convince him to let their people go. The Israelites were enslaved people in Egypt - valuable enslaved people that Pharaoh did not want to let go. Moses had the additional burden of being wanted for murder.

Imagine how frightened they must have been as they approached the Pharaoh. Nevertheless, they did have confidence. The Lord had given them the power to turn Aaron's rod into a water snake. Surely this would impress the Pharaoh and prevent him from killing them outright.

However, all did not go according to plan. Yes, Aaron threw down his rod, which became a water snake, but Pharaoh was unimpressed and had his magicians do the same thing with their rods. Imagine the fear they must have felt at that point! Imagine the tremendous doubt that must have entered their minds when they saw they were not the only ones with such power! Was Jehovah as mighty as He claimed? Should they have come in the first place? Had they failed?

Moses and Aaron were allowed to experience doubt when the magicians performed the same feat. Although they were able to fulfill their mission of speaking with Pharaoh, essential spiritual truth is illustrated in this story. It concerns how we interact with our neighbors, spouses, and children. In the same way, the Lord allows us to question the truth that we might not accept too quickly - without really understanding it.

The Lord guards against persuasion: presenting ideas to others so powerfully that there is no room for doubt, and they have no choice but to agree. To overwhelm another with our correctness and brilliance, as would have happened with Moses and Aaron if they had met no opposition from the magicians, depriving them of their freedom of thought is counter-productive in the long run.

Now it may seem that this is not a common problem. Who among us is so convincing that others immediately fall in line to agree with us? We might suspect some people in sales or advertising agencies of attempting to use persuasive tactics to get us to purchase items we do not need. However, indeed this is not a universal problem! Yet, consider how often we have ideas that we want the other person to accept in our work, discussions with our spouse, and raising our children. If we believe something to be accurate, we desire to communicate it, to have others see it as we do. We discuss politics, religion, who said what to whom, and many other issues. And how often do we think we are wrong when we propose an idea? Do we not usually think our judgment and recollections are more accurate than others?

However, there is nothing wrong with communicating and sharing ideas with others. No, there is not. But we leave communicating behind and enter the realm of persuasion whenever we become more concerned with our idea of truth than with the other person seeing what is true for himself. When we are confident we are correct and try to impose our ideas on others, we are no longer discussing but seeking, as the Writings say, to "captivate minds."