EXODUS
CHAPTER 7
Moses appointed to give word of the Lord to Pharaoh—The Lord to multiply signs and wonders in Egypt—Aaron’s rod becomes a serpent—River is turned into blood—Magicians imitate miracles of Moses and Aaron.
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.
4 But Pharaoh shall not hearken [ Hebrew "Shema" is translated here as hearken which means to "listen" and "obey". ] 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.
[ While it is true that the signs and wonders that Jehovah will do through Moses are intended to have Pharaoh let the Israelites go. But the target audience really isn't Pharaoh or the Egyptian Nobles in Pharaoh's court. The target audience for all of these signs and wonders is Israel itself. That's who Jehovah really has in mind. Yes, he's going to use these signs and wonders to make Pharaoh let the Israelites go. But the real intended audience, the audience that Jehovah is most interested in is Israel itself. I think that we get a sense of that in much of this narrative. ]
6 And Moses and Aaron did as the LORD commanded them, [ While Moses may have still had doubts about his calling he does go forth and do. We see that he didn't start out that way on day one, that's a lesson for us. Is that the Lord takes us where we're at and whoever he calls, he qualifies. It may take a few years for us to ramp up and become fully the kinds of leaders that we think the Lord needs and that he does need. But he guides us and he nurtures us and he mentors us along, all of us. Moses is a great example of that. ] so did they.
7 And Moses was fourscore years old, and Aaron fourscore and three years old, when they spake unto Pharaoh.
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.
[ This might go un noticed but I think it is a warning, a sign to the Pharaoh that God has more power. The idea that the serpent of God swallowed up the fake serpent is a warning to them of who has the real power. There's an important side note, a footnote to this particular episode. It centers on snakes, on serpents. In almost every culture of the Mediterranean world, anciently, the serpent or the snake was a dual symbol. On the one hand, it represented the ultimate goodness of God. On the other hand, it represented the ultimate evil of demons that also inhabit the world. Of course, that's true in the Judeo-Christian culture. On the one hand, the serpent represents Satan, Lucifer in the garden. On the other hand, the serpent represents the Messiah, Jesus Christ as acknowledged by Jesus in John chapter 3. He was the very one as Jehovah who commanded Moses to raise the brazen serpent. So we live in this world where serpents symbolize so very much good and sometimes evil. The serpent, the cobra, the Ureus as it is called, is the symbol. Right in the front of Pharaoh's crown, the symbol of his power, and the symbol of his authority. Every Pharaoh in Egypt was regarded as a living god on earth. So we have Moses representing the true and living God to one who was regarded by his people, Pharaoh as a living god on earth. In fact, he has the serpent as his symbol. This is his power, this is his authority. What happens? The serpent of the true and living God swallows up the serpents of the false god that are produced. The snakes that are produced by the magicians in Pharaoh's court. serpents place such an important role in the ancient world. For the Egyptians, the serpent represented Pharaoh, who was the living god on earth. He was Horus, the son of Osiris. Who was the great original god of the Egyptian Pantheon, the god of resurrection. That's why Osiris is always portrayed in papyrus documents in the color green because he represents life, verdancy, and so on. So that's the backstory here. I think it's a fascinating one and I think it's a powerful one. It also helps us to appreciate that this image of the serpent was by Lucifer. So that he could come in the guise of the Messiah. He wasn't the Messiah but he comes in the guise of the Messiah. What does he do? He promises, Lucifer promises things that only the true Messiah can promise. You shall not surely die but you'll be as the gods. Well, he doesn't have the power or the authority to bring that about but he's trying to demonstrate to Adam and Eve that he really does have the power and authority that's represented by the image of the serpent, which is a true image of the Messiah. We see that at even in Christianity as well. ]
14 ¶ And the LORD said unto Moses, Pharaoh’s heart is hardened, [ The word in Hebrew that's used that's translated as harden. I will harden my heart or he hardens his own heart is the word for heavy. Kaved is the Hebrew word, kaved or kaved. So what the text is really having Pharaoh say is I will make my heart heavy. This plays directly into an ancient Egyptian religious practice, which is known as the weighing of the heart. This has to do with the afterlife. Candidates who wish to enjoy a life after this one , to live in the realm of the Gods are required on their deathbed to pass a series of tests. So we see this person being brought to the god, Anubis, who's the god of the dead. He's the jackal-headed god. We see another Egyptian god, who's got a slate in his hand and a stylist and he's taking notes. That's the god Thoth, who is the god of scribes. Then we see the balance scales, where the candidate for eternal life's heart is being weighed against the feather of the goddess Maat. A candidate is required to stand there but have his heart weighed on the balance scales. They viewed the world differently than we do. So he wants to enjoy eternal life with the gods, his heart is weighed. If his heart weighs heavier than the feather of Maat, it means that the accumulated deeds of his life have been evil. So things are out of balance. If his heart weighs heavier than the feather of Maat, then he's turned over to what's called the Ammit monster. The Ammit monster is represented as a creature with the head of a crocodile, the chest and pause of a lion, and the rear end of a hippopotamus. These are the three largest man-eating animals in Egypt, in the ancient world as they are today. So you stay away from those three. So he's cooked, he's done. He won't get eternal life. But if your heart weighs as light as the feather of Maat, then you are brought into the next realm, where you stand before Osiris. You go through a series of, I guess what we would call ordinances is too strong a word. We would use that word but the ancient Egyptians would say he goes through a series of in enthronement tasks. Then he's anointed for eternal life. The ankh is poured out on his head, he's robed with the robe of the gods. Then he's ushered into the presence of Osiris to live his life. ] he refuseth to let the people go.
[ So the Lord provided an opportunity for the Pharaoh to do as he was asked by God, but he chose not to, so he left God with no other choice if he is to keep his covenants - so the plagues begin. ]
15 Get thee unto Pharaoh in the morning; [ The first nine plagues that are recounted in this section of Exodus can be divided into three groups of three plagues each. Chapter 7 verse 15 through chapter 8 verse 19, that's the first set of three plagues. Chapter 8 verse 20 through chapter 9 verse 12, that's the second grouping of three plagues. And then chapter 9 verse 13 through chapter 10 verse 29. What's interesting about this grouping of plagues is that we see Moses going to Pharaoh to deliver the warning as Pharaoh is going out to the River Nile in the morning to participate in his daily devotions, daily ablutions, his washings, in his daily worshiping the chief gods of the Egyptian Pantheon. And so three times the Lord says to Moses, you go out at the time of Pharaoh's early morning personal devotionals if you will, personal worship sessions, and you remind him that this is going to be his lot if he doesn't accede to Jehovah's wishes.
] 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.
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.
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.
18 And the fish that is in the river shall die, and the river shall stink; and the Egyptians shall lothe to drink of the water of the river.
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.
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.
[ So what happens, the River Nile then ceases to be a source of life. It's changed from living water, if you will, from pure water into blood. And scholars have debated whether or not this is literal or whether or not it was figurative for the red color that the Nile begins to exhibit. some people say, well, the Nile river was changed because the red silt from Ethiopia was washed down on the banks of the Nile and it caused the whole river to be changed. Others say, well, no, it looks more like an algae bloom, red algae, and this would cause the fish to die and the river to stink. I'm not sure it makes any difference to me. What does make a difference is that this is the Lord's doing and that the Lord is behind the miracle. The Lord says, "By the corruption of the Nile, I have power over your supreme deity. And by extension, I have power over life and death." ]
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.
22 And the magicians of Egypt did so with their enchantments: and Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, neither did he hearken [ Hebrew "Shema" is translated here as hearken which means to "listen" and "obey". ] unto them; as the LORD had said.