Exodus 7: 1 – 25
Can you top this?
7 So the LORD said to Moses: “See, I have made you as God to Pharaoh, and Aaron your brother shall be your prophet. 2 You shall speak all that I command you. And Aaron your brother shall tell Pharaoh to 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 will not heed you, so that I may lay My hand on Egypt and bring My 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 out My hand on Egypt and bring out the children of Israel from among them.” 6 Then Moses and Aaron did so; just as the LORD commanded them, so they did. 7 And Moses was eighty years old and Aaron eighty-three years old when they spoke to Pharaoh. 8 Then the LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, 9 “When Pharaoh speaks to you, saying, ‘Show a miracle for yourselves,’ then you shall say to Aaron, ‘Take your rod and cast it before Pharaoh, and let it become a serpent.’” 10 So Moses and Aaron went in to Pharaoh, and they did so, just as the LORD commanded. And Aaron cast down his rod before Pharaoh and before his servants, and it became a serpent. 11 But Pharaoh also called the wise men and the sorcerers; so the magicians of Egypt, they also did in like manner with their enchantments. 12 For every man threw down his rod, and they became serpents. But Aaron’s rod swallowed up their rods. 13 And Pharaoh’s heart grew hard, and he did not heed them, as the LORD had said. 14 So the LORD said to Moses: “Pharaoh’s heart is hard; he refuses to let the people go. 15 Go to Pharaoh in the morning, when he goes out to the water, and you shall stand by the river’s bank to meet him; and the rod which was turned to a serpent you shall take in your hand. 16 And you shall say to him, ‘The LORD God of the Hebrews has sent me to you, saying, “Let My people go, that they may serve Me in the wilderness”; but indeed, until now you would not hear! 17 Thus says the LORD: “By this you shall know that I am the LORD. Behold, I will strike the waters which are in the river with the rod that is in my hand, and they shall be turned to blood. 18 And the fish that are in the river shall die, the river shall stink, and the Egyptians will loathe to drink the water of the river.”’” 19 Then the LORD spoke to Moses, “Say to Aaron, ‘Take your rod and stretch out your hand over the waters of Egypt, over their streams, over their rivers, over their ponds, and over all their pools of water, that they may become blood. And there shall be blood throughout all the land of Egypt, both in buckets of wood and pitchers of stone.’” 20 And Moses and Aaron did so, just as the LORD commanded. So he lifted up the rod and struck 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. 21 The fish that were in the river died, the river stank, and the Egyptians could not drink the water of the river. So there was blood throughout all the land of Egypt. 22 Then the magicians of Egypt did so with their enchantments; and Pharaoh’s heart grew hard, and he did not heed them, as the LORD had said. 23 And Pharaoh turned and went into his house. Neither was his heart moved by this. 24 So all the Egyptians dug all around the river for water to drink, because they could not drink the water of the river. 25 And seven days passed after the LORD had struck the river.
I do not know about you but the television programs are lately pretty lousy. If it wasn’t for the sports programs I probably deep six the TV. One channel though I find enjoying is a channel that shows the programs that were popular a few decades ago. They are some of the ones I will watch. Two of my favorites are Hogan’s Heroes and The Wild, wild west.
One program which could not keep anyone’s interest and generate a new chance to be televised was the show, Can You Top This? This program made its first television debut on ABC on October 3, 1950 but only lasted until March 26, 1951. It was briefly revived in syndication by Four Star Television on January 26, 1970 with Wink Martindale as host and featured Morey Amsterdam as Executive Producer and a regular panelist, but this incarnation lasted just eight months. In this version, one celebrity (such as Dick Gautier, Louie Nye and Richard Dawson) read jokes submitted by viewers, while a group of panelists (such as Amsterdam, Red Buttons, Paul Winchell and Jack Carter) try to top the viewer's jokes with their own version on the same subject. The viewer would earn $25 for having the joke read by the guest, an additional $25 for each panelist that was unable to top the viewer's joke, and $100 and a nice prize (such as an audio cassette player) if he/she topped all three panelists
Today we are going to witness a version of this program which ran thousands of years ago. The Producer is our Great and Holy Lord God Almighty. The principal participants are Moses, Aaron, Pharaoh, and his magicians. For each plague brought upon the Egyptians, Pharaoh’s magicians topped each unique affliction. That is until…..
7 So the LORD said to Moses: “See, I have made you as God to Pharaoh, and Aaron your brother shall be your prophet. 2 You shall speak all that I command you. And Aaron your brother shall tell Pharaoh to send the children of Israel out of his land.
In chapter 4.16 our Holy Father God Yahweh had said that Moses would be ‘as a god’ to Aaron, and Aaron would be his ‘mouth’. Now he is to ‘be a god’ to Pharaoh with Aaron as his prophet. The idea would seem therefore to be that he will stand aloof and Aaron will speak on his behalf and perform wonders (4.17). Moses would not only stand as God’s representative but would have the mystique that goes with divinity, and be seen as a god and to be at war with the gods of Egypt, and especially the god Pharaoh. He would be the voice, but Aaron would be the mouth.
Elohim is used here, not in the Hebrew sense of God, but as a faithful rendering of the Egyptian title, neter, "god", which was one of the attributes of Pharaoh. It applied to the living as well as to the dead Pharaoh. Thus he could be called "the glorious god" or "the god without equal". In many cases the Pharaohs were also described as "the good god" (neter nefer), or "the great god" (neter ar). In our passage, the use of Elohim is thus putting Moses on a parallel position to Pharaoh, suggesting with the word an ironical reference to Pharaoh's pretensions.
We probably do not appreciate how powerful Pharaoh felt in being divine but now when he saw Moses he would see someone whom he would soon regard as his equal. Moses was to be the ‘Pharaoh’ of the children of Israel, and Aaron would, in his turn, be his prophet, his "mouth". These names given to Moses and Aaron were a guarantee of the signs and wonders that were about to be revealed. These alone could have made Pharaoh see Moses as a God.
3 And I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and multiply My signs and My wonders in the land of Egypt. 4 But Pharaoh will not heed you, so that I may lay My hand on Egypt and bring My 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 out My hand on Egypt and bring out the children of Israel from among them.”
The plan is now laid bare. God will harden Pharaoh’s heart so that he refuses to let the children of Israel go into the wilderness to worship their God, and this will result in the pouring out of God’s mighty judgments in signs and wonders until at last they will be able to go altogether and Egypt will be left glad to see them go and knowing that Yahweh is indeed ‘the One Who is there to act’, greater than all the gods of Egypt. By it the Egyptians will know that He is ‘Yahweh’.
It should, however be noted that the gods of Egypt are only mentioned once in the whole Exodus account (12.12). From his own point of view Moses was dealing with the living Pharaoh and the gods of Egypt were nothing. He did not see himself as battling with gods in which he did not believe. It was Pharaoh, basking in his own divinity, who would see him as a god.
We learn that the verse saying, ‘My signs and my wonders’ is an indication that what was to come would be so outstanding and unique that they would be beyond the expectation of everyone. ‘Signs’ are something that demonstrates Who and What He is. ‘Wonders’ are something to fill men with awe.
Knowing that He Is Yahweh involves seeing Him in action. His successful actions will reveal what He Is and the meaning of His name.
The hardening of Pharaoh’s heart was so that he would not compromise and thus so benefit the position that Israel would have no reason for leaving. We learn here that our Holy and Great God Yahweh Was not here intending to harden the heart of a compassionate man. He was ensuring that a cruel, arrogant and evil despot did not for the sake of expediency compromise. What was at stake here was the whole future of Israel.
It must be remembered that humanly speaking Pharaoh had Israel under a slave contract. This would put them in the wrong if they simply disappeared. Our Father God Yahweh would not encourage the breaking of treaties. Thus it was important that Pharaoh by his own choice insisted that they leave. Of course, once he sent his army after them having first made an agreement with them which he was then intending to break, he had put himself in the wrong and himself broken the contract. Thus Israel was no longer bound by it.
6 Then Moses and Aaron did so; just as the LORD commanded them, so they did.
This is to let us know immediately that Moses and Aaron did do what Yahweh commanded. They were obedient.
7 And Moses was eighty years old and Aaron eighty-three years old when they spoke to Pharaoh.
Numbers are important when we come across them in our bibles. Eight is the number of deliverance. There were eight people who were delivered in the ark (Genesis 7.7). Circumcision which brought men into the covenant with Abraham and delivered them from the world into the covenant community was carried out on the eighth day (Genesis 17.12). It was the eighth day of the feast of Tabernacles, the day that signaled the end of the agricultural year, on which deliverance was proclaimed. It was on the eighth day that God would accept His people when the new altar of Ezekiel was built, following seven days of atonement, when the new deliverance began (Ezekiel 43.27). It was on the eighth day that Aaron and his sons began their priestly ministry of deliverance and atonement (Leviticus 9.1). The cleansing and deliverance of the onetime skin diseased man was accomplished on the eighth day (Leviticus 14.10, 23). It is probable that the eight hundred years of the early patriarchs (Genesis 5.4), indicated their long triumph over death (although it came in the end). Here then the eighty years was probably intended to indicate that these two were God’s appointed deliverers.
8 Then the LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, 9 “When Pharaoh speaks to you, saying, ‘Show a miracle for yourselves,’ then you shall say to Aaron, ‘Take your rod and cast it before Pharaoh, and let it become a serpent.’” 10 So Moses and Aaron went in to Pharaoh, and they did so, just as the LORD commanded. And Aaron cast down his rod before Pharaoh and before his servants, and it became a serpent.
Moses and Aaron again approached Pharaoh and his high officials (his servants). He was now aware that they came in the name of Yahweh so he challenged them. ‘Support your case with a show of divine power, a ‘wonder’.’ So they did so. Aaron threw down the staff and it became a large snake.
The word for snake here is ‘tannin’, different from that in 4.13 and verse 15 below. It possibly refers to a larger snake. It was also the word used for sea creatures and large reptiles such as crocodiles, including mythical monsters. But it may just be used for variation here and so that the reader will link it with the ideas of demi-gods, seeing the snake as a symbol of them.
Pharaoh was probably not impressed. He had seen things like this before. ‘Signs and wonders’ on a minuscule scale were the forte of magicians around the world, and especially in Egypt where they proliferated. They were like the prominent conjurors of today.
11 But Pharaoh also called the wise men and the sorcerers; so the magicians of Egypt, they also did in like manner with their enchantments. 12 For every man threw down his rod, and they became serpents. But Aaron’s rod swallowed up their rods.
The wise men and magicians were also able to do what appeared to be a similar thing. Their staves also became snakes.
It is significant that it says ‘staff or rod’ and not ‘snake’. The staff or rod was the symbol of authority and status. Thus we have here Moses’ and Aaron’s authority and status revealed as greater than that of the magicians. This should have given Pharaoh pause for thought, especially as the snake had significance in Egyptian mythology as a semi-divine creature and Pharaoh himself often bore the symbol of the uraeus-snake on his head for protection when he went into battle. The power of Moses was thereby revealed. Pharaoh’s protective snake will do him no good. It will be eaten up.
This incident should have brought home to Pharaoh that the serpents of Egypt with all their significance stood no chance against Yahweh. He was Lord over all, and could swallow everything whole whether earthly or heavenly.
13 And Pharaoh’s heart grew hard, and he did not heed them, as the LORD had said.
In chapter 4.21 Our Holy Creator God Yahweh had said that He would harden Pharaoh’s heart. Yahweh was seen by His people as, and revealed Himself as, sovereign over all. Everything that took place was therefore seen to be as a result of His activity. So in one sense if men hardened their hearts it was because Yahweh had done it. But the use of the passive tense lets us realize that here the action was indirect rather than direct. Pharaoh had taken up such an attitude that he was engaged in hardening his own heart. Yahweh did not make a good man evil, He allowed an evil man full sway in his evil. Pharaoh was not an innocent tool, but totally blameworthy.
We note here that God was gradually revealing His power to Pharaoh. He began with lesser wonders which could partly be duplicated but through which He demonstrated His superiority, and would then move on to greater. Had Pharaoh been discerning there would have been no problem and no plagues? And God is like this with all men. He does not force Himself on them but gives them indications of His power and presence. Then it depends on their response whether they receive more. Yet at the same time He works His sovereign will.
Moses had been a shepherd, but now, because he had obeyed God, he had become as ‘a god’. Each of us can be ‘gods’ in the place where He has put us. For if we are Christians it is not only we who are there but within us is the living God. Christ lives through us. And as we allow Him to do so day by day so will God be present in all the situations around us. For we are the main means by which God seeks to break through into the world. If we fail to reveal Him the world will never know Him.
Being a god would not be easy for Moses. Things lay ahead that he had never dreamed of. But he learned here from the beginning through the sign of the snake that whatever Satan threw against him God could gobble it up. Thus did he have nothing to fear? If you are a Christian people may multiply snakes against you. But do not be afraid, for if you look to Him, God will gobble them up. He will ‘bruise Satan under your feet shortly’ (Romans 16.20).
We should note that there is a definite pattern in these series of threes. The first and second of each of the judgments in each series is announced to the Pharaoh before it takes place, while in each case the third is unannounced. The first incident of each series of three is to take place early in the morning, and in the first and second of these ‘first incidents of three’ the place where Moses meets Pharaoh is by the Nile, in the third it is before Pharaoh. The second judgment in each series is announced in the king's palace. The third judgment in each series comes without the Pharaoh or the Egyptians being warned. As these judgments from God continue, their severity increases until the last three bring the Egyptian people to a place where life itself becomes almost impossible, and their economy is almost totally destroyed. The huge hailstones kept them in their homes and wrecked their environment, the locusts ate up what the hail had left and made life unbearable, and the thick darkness kept them in solitude even from each other. They must have wondered what was coming next.
Furthermore in the first two judgments the magicians pit themselves against Moses as they imitate the judgments of blood and frogs, but in the third judgment of the first series, that of lice, they are forced to yield and acknowledge, "This is the finger of God" (Exodus 8.19) and from then on they withdraw from the contest. In the sixth they cannot even stand before Moses, presumably because of the effect of the boils which they could do nothing about.
In the second series an important distinction is drawn between the Israelites and the Egyptians, for from then on only the Egyptians are affected, and not the whole land of Egypt as previously. Several times the specific protection of Israel is mentioned.
As the intensity of the plagues increases, so does the intensity of the Pharaoh's desire to secure the intervention of Moses and Aaron for deliverance from the plague and we note that Moses becomes more outspoken.
In the first series of three judgments the staff of Aaron is used, in the second series of three no staff is mentioned and in the third series either the hand or staff of Moses is prominent. Note also that in two cases in the second series neither Moses nor Aaron does anything.
Another division can be made in that the first four plagues are personal in effect producing annoyance and distress while the next four inflict serious damage on property and person, the ninth is the extreme of the first four and the tenth the extreme of the second four.
In all this the gods of Egypt would be prominent to the Egyptians as the people were made aware that the God of the Hebrews was doing this, and that their gods could seemingly do nothing about it. Prominent among these would be Ha‘pi, the Nile god of drought, Heqit the goddess of fruitfulness, whose symbol was the frog, Hathor the goddess of love, often symbolized by the cow, along with Apis the bull god, Osiris for whom the Nile was his life-blood, now out of control, the goddess Hatmehyt whose symbol was a fish, and of whom models were worn as charms, Nut the sky goddess, Reshpu and Ketesh who were supposed to control all the elements of nature except light, and Re the sun god. All these would be seen to be unable to prevent Yahweh doing His work and thus to have been at least temporarily defeated.
But it should be noted that that is the Egyptian viewpoint. Moses only mentions the gods of Egypt once, and that is probably sarcastically (12.12). As far as he is concerned they are nothing. They are irrelevant.
14 So the LORD said to Moses: “Pharaoh’s heart is hard; he refuses to let the people go.
The account of the ten plagues begins with this criticism by our Holy God Yahweh which stresses that Pharaoh is to be seen as blameworthy. His heart is proud and stubborn and self-willed. He is not just a tool in the hand of God. It will also end with the same judgment, although there it is attributed to Yahweh (11.10). So whatever ‘Yahweh hardened Pharaoh’s heart’ later means this initial statement indicates that it does not mean that Pharaoh had no choice. He had a clear choice to make, and he was making it.
15 Go to Pharaoh in the morning, when he goes out to the water, and you shall stand by the river’s bank to meet him; and the rod which was turned to a serpent you shall take in your hand.
It would appear that Pharaoh went to the Nile frequently in the morning just as earlier Pharaoh’s daughter had done the same when she found Moses. This was probably in order to venerate the Nile god. Moses was to meet him there with the staff of God which had previously turned into a snake in his hand, and stand by the edge of the river.
The specific continued reference to the snake suggests that it is to be seen as significant in regards to what was to happen. This could well be because God knew how significant the snake was to Pharaoh. When worn as a symbol on his head Pharaoh probably saw it as protecting him from harm. Now he would learn that there was one who could devour his snake and any his people reproduced.
16 And you shall say to him, ‘The LORD God of the Hebrews has sent me to you, saying, “Let My people go, that they may serve Me in the wilderness”; but indeed, until now you would not hear! 17 Thus says the LORD: “By this you shall know that I am the LORD. Behold, I will strike the waters which are in the river with the rod that is in my hand, and they shall be turned to blood. 18 And the fish that are in the river shall die, the river shall stink, and the Egyptians will loathe to drink the water of the river.”’”
Moses is now told that he must make the position crystal clear to Pharaoh. Yahweh’s command is that Pharaoh let His people go so that they may serve Him in the wilderness. This command will be constantly repeated.
But Pharaoh has refused to let the people go to serve Him in the wilderness so Yahweh now tells Pharaoh through Moses that He will turn the Nile red as blood, so that the fish die and the Nile smells, and so that even those who worship the Nile will refuse to drink its waters.
The Nile regularly turned red annually as a result of high flooding bringing red earth down from its sources, but that was common and did not have major effects. It was then still drinkable. However, Moses declares that in this case the water will be so polluted that it will kill the fish and their rotting bodies will pollute the Nile. The major miracle here is that it will appear to happen at the time Yahweh commands, and in great profusion.
The Egyptians would readily describe any thick blood-red liquid as blood. There would clearly be a change to the color of the Nile that day in excess of what was usually known, a change that would be very noticeable as the flood waters swept down bearing excessive quantities of the red earth.
The red earth came from the basins of the Blue Nile and Atbara, and the more earth the flooding Nile carried the redder it became. The flood would further bring down with it flood microcosms known as flagellates and associated bacteria. These would heighten the blood-red color of the water and create conditions in which the fish would die in large numbers resulting in rotting fish and a great stench. The latter would not, of course, all happen in one day.
Pharaoh and the people were used to the Nile looking somewhat red at this time of the year, thus the intensity of the redness must have been such that it amazed even them.
19 Then the LORD spoke to Moses, “Say to Aaron, ‘Take your rod and stretch out your hand over the waters of Egypt, over their streams, over their rivers, over their ponds, and over all their pools of water, that they may become blood. And there shall be blood throughout all the land of Egypt, both in buckets of wood and pitchers of stone.’”
Three times Aaron is told to take his staff, in 7.9, 15, 19. The staff would have special significance for Pharaoh because it had turned into a large snake and eaten the snakes produced by the magicians. It had swallowed his protection and had outmaneuvered his magicians. It was a symbol of the power of Yahweh and of Moses and Aaron.
Our Great and Holy God Yahweh now tells Moses that Aaron, as Moses’ prophet, is to stretch out the staff of God over the Nile resulting in all water sources being contaminated. This would be inevitable, for all drew their water from the Nile. The Nile was the lifeblood of Egypt on which Egypt depended for its very existence. All its water in the end came from the Nile, and where the Nile and its offshoots did not reach was only desert.
All water sources are covered; the Nile, its tributaries, the irrigation canals built to irrigate the land, the standing pools and the man made reservoirs. Please also note the fivefold description of the water sources. In Egypt five was the number of completeness.
20 And Moses and Aaron did so, just as the LORD commanded. So he lifted up the rod and struck 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. 21 The fish that were in the river died, the river stank, and the Egyptians could not drink the water of the river. So there was blood throughout all the land of Egypt.
Aaron acts but it is Moses who is in charge. And at their action the Nile begins to go a deeper red and darken, the fish die, the stench increases and the waters become undrinkable. For Egypt this was a great disaster. They depended on the fish for a food source, and on the water for drink, and both failed.
22 Then the magicians of Egypt did so with their enchantments; and Pharaoh’s heart grew hard, and he did not heed them, as the LORD had said. 23 And Pharaoh turned and went into his house. Neither was his heart moved by this.
The Nile and all its offshoots were now red as blood. Thus the magicians had to find uncontaminated water, either in storage pots or in springs not yet affected by what had happened to the Nile. Once they had done so it would not be hard with their learning and abilities to make it look to Pharaoh and his officials as though they also could then turn it red, which they did, no doubt dramatically. Pharaoh and his officials would be the last to suffer from events. They would be provided with drinking water and with food while the people struggled and went hungry and had to dig for their water. Thus Pharaoh was not prepared to change his mind. He could bravely allow his people to suffer.
The statement ‘Pharaoh turned and went into his house’ is a dramatic description of his refusal to hear. There he was safe from all the problems that would be caused. He could ignore the world outside. He was not willing to heed the message given. ‘Turned and went’ may signify peremptory action.
24 So all the Egyptians dug all around the river for water to drink, because they could not drink the water of the river. 25 And seven days passed after the LORD had struck the river.
For the people it was not so easy. Pharaoh could sit in his house and have his water brought to him, but they had to provide their own water. And they had to find it by digging to find places where the water was not contaminated. The great Nile had failed them. The water they found would not be very drinkable because of the nature of the soil which gave it a bitter taste, but at least it was usable.
The ‘seven days’ that now passed represented the divinely perfect and complete time, a short time determined by Yahweh, and however long as was necessary. During this time Pharaoh was to be left to think, and then Yahweh would act again. It was only Yahweh Who knew what would come next.
What lessons then can we draw from this passage? There are many. It declares God’s power over creation. It reveals His right to make demands on us. It reveals the arrogance of man’s heart over against God. The people we live among may not be Pharaoh’s, but they are equally rejecting the commands of Yahweh. It tells us that God will bring all sins into account, whether it is soon or in the more distant future, for it reveals a God Who requires obedience to His commandments.
And these lessons will continually be taught in the passages that follow for in this battle between Yahweh’s will and Pharaoh’s we have a picture of the world in contention with God. God has shown man through His word what he must do. But man is continually obstinate like Pharaoh and refuses to obey His will. Thus must God continually work to bring man into submission, with the warning that if he will not submit he can only expect the judgment of God?
