Welcome back to our “No Bible, No Breakfast” spiritual exercise. We resume with the 7th chapter of Exodus. We read how Moses and Aaron confronted and defeated the demonic power of Pharaoh’s magicians. After Pharaoh refused to obey God’s command, God began to unleash plagues upon Egypt. The ten plagues reveal His progressive warnings for sinners to repent. The ten plagues also foreshadow the coming wrath that God will unleash upon the world in the end times (for those who reject the gospel).
Let us review…
1. THE DIVINE DECLARATIONS
Exo. 7:1-3 So the Lord said to Moses: “See, I have made you as God to Pharaoh, and Aaron your brother shall be your prophet. 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. And I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and multiply My signs and My wonders in the land of Egypt.
Chapter 6 ended with Moses’s 7th objection to God’s calling, yet rather than being hit by God’s anger, God’s mercy abounded towards him. God showed compassion and grace, strengthening Moses’ faith with divine declarations. Notice the:
- Delegation of Duty:
I have made you as God to Pharaoh, and Aaron your brother shall be your prophet.
When God said that Moses would be “as God” to Pharaoh, He meant that Moses would reveal God’s will to Pharaoh, who, in turn, is expected to execute God’s will. And when God said that Aaron shall be Moses’ “prophet”, He meant that Aaron would be a spokesman for Moses (Exo 4:16). And just as Moses was not to act on his own initiative but to wait on God’s directives, Aaron would also not act on his own initiative, but wait for God’s directives through Moses.
- Directives to Deliver:
You shall speak all that I command you…
God speaks the command to Moses, and Aaron repeats the exact words to Pharaoh. None of them was to add to God’s Words. God’s directive was clear: “Let My people go!” The plan remained unchanged and non-negotiable. God then promised to sponsor Pharaoh in his choice of rebellion. God did not harden Pharaoh’s heart against Pharaoh’s own desire. He does the same today (Rom. 1:24, 28).
- Display of Divinity:
multiply My signs and My wonders in the land of Egypt.
Even as God would be sponsoring Pharaoh’s rebellion, He would also give him sufficient reasons to believe and surrender. God promised to demonstrate His power through signs and wonders, affirming His sovereignty over Egypt. Some believers might be wondering if there’s any difference between “signs” and “wonders”. The basic difference is that signs are miracles that have special significance – especially pointing to God’s sovereignty, while wonders are miracles that produce astonishment and awe in all who witness the miracles.
2. THE DRAMATIC DEMONSTRATIONS
Exo. 7:8-9 Then the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, “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.’”
God is the only One Who knows the plans and thoughts of every man, and He knew that Pharaoh would ask for the accreditation status of Moses and Aaron. Hence, He decided to answer his request in more ways than he desired. Jesus would later face the same challenge with the unbelieving Jews (John 2:18, John 6:30). Notice:
- The Conflict
But Pharaoh also called the wise men and the sorcerers; so the magicians of Egypt, they also did in like manner with their enchantments.
Seeing the miracle performed on Aaron’s rod, Pharaoh calls on Satan, and his vendors of the powers of darkness, to deliver a similar miracle for this “Magic Fest”. People might think that this was a battle between Pharaoh and Moses, but in the actual sense, it was between Pharaoh’s Satan and Moses’ God. Sorcery vs. Sovereignty. Dark arts vs. Divine authority. Secret powers vs. Secret place of the Most High. Believers must note that Satan can deceive men by performing “all kinds of counterfeit miracles, signs, and wonders” (2 Thess. 2:9-10). Don’t be swayed by every miracle you see.
- The Checkmate
For every man threw down his rod, and they became serpents. But Aaron’s rod swallowed up their rods.
Aaron’s rod swallowed up the magicians’ rods, and this indicates that God’s power is greater than Satan’s. There is a great point of the gospel here. Satan had the power of death (Heb. 2:14), but by the virtue of Jesus’ resurrection, death is “swallowed up in victory” (1 Cor. 15:54). Victory has been won for us by our Lord Jesus Christ through His death and resurrection. This is a checkmate against Satan! No more moves left.
- The Conceit
And Pharaoh’s heart grew hard, and he did not heed them, as the Lord had said.
Pharaoh’s hardness of heart is a result of sin, and a hard heart will not be receptive to God’s revelations. It will rather rebel against “anything” relating to God. The Lord knew that this was going to happen. Pharaoh focused on the miracles, not the message. He was engrossed in a show of power and credentials. But faith comes by hearing the word of God (Rom. 10:17). The gospel is to be the basis of our faith, not miracles. Whenever God works a miracle, the miracle is designed to lead people to believe the gospel. No miracle of God will rob God of His glory.
3. THE DEADLY DISASTERS
Exo. 7:14-15 So the Lord said to Moses: “Pharaoh’s heart is hard; he refuses to let the people go. 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.
Seeing that Pharaoh was stubborn, God began to deliver His disastrous judgements on Egypt. If a man stubbornly refuses to accept God’s will in a humble manner, his pride will lead him to a fall that would make him eventually accept God’s will by force. From this point onwards, we will be considering the ten plagues and their spiritual significance.
- PLAGUE 1: WATER TO BLOOD
Exo. 7:19-21 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, “Say to Aaron, ‘Take your rod and stretch out your hand over the water…streams… rivers… ponds, and… 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.’” …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. 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.
Notice:
- The Discovery at the Nile
Let us flash back to chapter 2. The daughter of Pharaoh found baby Moses on the banks of the Nile. Her actions changed the future of the life of Moses. Back to the banks of the Nile, Moses now meets another Pharaoh, and his actions will forever change the life of Pharaoh, his household, and his nation. - The Devotion at the Nile
Bible scholars believe that Pharaoh was at the river to worship. The Nile River was worshipped as a god. It was the chief god of Egypt. At the Nile, they worshipped Hapi (the bull god), who was considered the god of the Nile. Isis was the goddess of the Nile. Khnum (the ram god) was the guardian of the Nile. - The Drama at Cana
The first plague turned water to blood. Jesus’ first miracle turned water to wine (John 2:1-11). The first plague was an act of judgement; Jesus’ first miracle was an act of grace. The first plague was for condemnation; Jesus’ first miracle was for celebration. The first plague led to death; Jesus’ first miracle meant newness and freshness of life. The first plague made “water” detestable; Jesus’ first miracle made “water” more desirable. At the Nile, what was loved was now loathed. What was desired was now despised. What was worshipped was now wretched. The object of adoration was an abomination. But at Cana, what was lacking was now lavished. What was ordinary was now extraordinary. What was ending was now extended. The object of embarrassment was a symbol of excellence.
Hallelujah!
Dear Gogolights, please beware of the wave of wrong teachings sweeping across the internet, that God “can not” kill. The peddlers of this error twist the scriptures, accuse and malign God’s prophets, discredit their revelations, and even go as far as saying that God’s ministers partner themselves with Satan to bring the acts of destruction that we read about in the Bible. They do all these in order to push their narrative and paint the picture of a “God” who has no wrath. Please flee such doctrines. We do not deny that God has a wrath; our hope is in the truth of the gospel that Jesus is the one Who delivers us from the wrath of God.
“Why then did God send plagues to Egypt?” someone may ask. While I may not exhaust all possible reasons, permit me to share a few with you:
- The plagues reveal the omnipotence of God and the impotence of Pharaoh.
- They demonstrate God’s power to protect and shield His people as He cares for us.
- They were a divine visitation of God’s wrath and a punishment of Pharaoh and the Egyptians for their cruel treatment of the Jews.
- They were also a judgement of God upon the demons and fake gods of Egypt.
- The judgements were a solemn warning to other nations that God would curse those who curse Israel.
- The turning of water to blood is a precursor of the tribulation judgements (Rev. 8:8-9).
Do not join the bandwagon of those who reject the workings of God because they are actions of judgements. Rather, rejoice in the truth that you have crossed from death to life, from judgement to grace, from wrath to love, and let this motivate you to continually preach the gospel of salvation to others. We shall continue tomorrow.
Grace to you, Church!
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