CHAPTER 7

(1491 B.C.)

PHARAOH

¹And the LORD said unto Moses, See, I have made you a god to Pharaoh: and Aaron your brother shall be your prophet. (Moses having declared that he was of uncircumcised lips, that is, that he was wanting in eloquence, Grace once more pitied his fears, and Aaron is appointed to be his prophet, i.e., his spokesman.)

²You shall speak all that I command you (the Word of God Alone holds the answer): and Aaron your brother shall speak unto Pharaoh, that he send the Children of Israel out of his land. (The weakness of the instrument was fully manifested that it might the better be seen that the power was in Jehovah Alone, and of Jehovah acting not so much in response to Faith, as in Covenant faithfulness and in sovereign Grace.)

³And I will harden Pharaohs heart (the Lord hardened Pharaohs heart, by providing the means for the monarch to do so; in fact, He does the same with all; some accept the Lord, while some rebel, even as did Pharaoh), and multiply My Signs and My Wonders in the land of Egypt. (It is Gods purpose that Israel shall be preeminent in the Earth; and, therefore, everyone who presumes to stand in the way of that preeminence must be set aside. Divine Grace must find its object; and everyone who would act as a barrier in the way of that Grace must be taken out of the way, whether it be Egypt, Babylon, or the beast that was, is not, and yet is; it matters not. Divine Power will clear the channel for Divine Grace to flow and eternal woe be to all who stand in the way. The Palestinians should read these words very carefully.)

⁴But Pharaoh shall not hearken unto you (through foreknowledge, the Lord knew this), that I may lay My Hand upon Egypt, and bring forth My Armies, and My People the Children of Israel, out of the land of Egypt by great judgments. (The idea is, Pharaoh would not yield, would not give in, would not heed the voice of God, as given him through Moses and Aaron, so the Lord turns the tables on him, using his obstinacy to further the Glory of God.)

⁵And the Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD, when I stretch forth My Hand upon Egypt, and bring out the Children of Israel from among them. (He will allow Egypt to do her worst, to put forth her best, to use all the power that she possessed, to keep the Children of Israel as slaves, but, despite this power, the Lord will prevail.)

⁶And Moses and Aaron did as The LORD commanded them, so did they. (Thats all the Lord requires of us, as well!)

⁷And Moses was fourscore years old (80 years old), and Aaron fourscore and three years old (83 years old), when they spoke unto Pharaoh.

THE SERPENT

⁸And the LORD spoke unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying (Verses 8 and 9 portray the beginning of miracles, at least as it regards Egypt; each miracle was designed by God to embarrass and show the utter helplessness of Egypts gods against the God of Israel),

⁹When Pharaoh shall speak unto you, saying, show a miracle for you: then you shall say unto Aaron, Take your rod, and cast it before Pharaoh, and it shall become a serpent. (This is the first miracle, but yet it is not counted among the ten which would affect Egypt. The first miracle that would affect Egypt, which would be the first of the ten, would be the turning of all water to blood, including the mighty Nile River. The serpent is a type of Satan. The Lord was saying by this rod turning to a serpent that the kingdom of Egypt was Satanic.)

¹⁰And 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. (Let the Reader understand that this happened exactly as the Word of God said it happened. To deny that is to deny God!)

¹¹Then Pharaoh also called the wise men and the sorcerers: now the magicians of Egypt, they also did in like manner with their enchantments. (This proclaims the fact that these magicians did actually bring about this miracle, in which Satan himself helped them.)

¹²For they cast down every man his rod, and they became serpents: but Aarons rod swallowed up their rods. (The only power on Earth that is greater than the power of Satan is the Power of God, evidenced here by Aarons rod swallowing up their rod, i.e., the serpent.)

¹³And He (God) hardened Pharaohs heart, that he hearkened not unto them; as the LORD had said (7:3-4).

¹⁴And the LORD said unto Moses, Pharaohs heart is hardened, he refuses to let the people go. (Satan does not give in easily, as should be obvious.)

¹⁵Get thee unto Pharaoh in the morning; lo, he goes out unto the water; and you shall stand by the rivers brink against he come; and the rod which was turned to a serpent shall you take in your hand. (This would be the scene of the first miracle designed to affect Egypt.)

¹⁶And you shall say unto him, The LORD God of the Hebrews has sent me unto you, saying, Let My People go, that they may serve Me in the wilderness: and, behold, hitherto you would not hear.

¹⁷Thus says the LORD, In this you shall know that I am the LORD (will see His miracle-working power): behold, I will smite with the rod that is in my hand upon the waters which are in the river, and they shall be turned to blood. (The Nile is a large river, so this must have seemed totally preposterous to Pharaoh. The necessity of the shed blood of Christ seems preposterous to the world; nevertheless, it is true.)

¹⁸And the fish that is in the river shall die (at least three species of the Nile fish were sacred the oxyrhineus, the lepidotus, and the phagrus; in fact, the River Nile was worshipped by the Egyptians under various names and symbols; it was called the father of life, and the father of the gods; thus, this miracle was a blow to the gods of Egypt), and the river shall stink; and the Egyptians shall loathe to drink of the water of the river.

BLOOD

¹⁹And the LORD spoke unto Moses, Say unto Aaron, Take your rod, and stretch out your 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. (The Egyptians abhorred blood, and their horror must have been extreme when they saw that their sacred river, and all other water in their country, turned to blood. Again, let it be emphasized that this literally happened.)

²⁰And 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.

²¹And 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.

²²And the magicians of Egypt did so with their enchantments: and Pharaohs heart was hardened, neither did he hearken unto them; as the LORD had said. (We find that the effect on Pharaohs heart was to harden it. Such is the incurable hatred of the natural heart that Divine judgments harden instead of subdue it.)

²³And Pharaoh turned and went into his house, neither did he set his heart to this also. (He refused to yield!)

²⁴And all the Egyptians dug round about the river for water to drink; for they could not drink of the water of the river.

²⁵And seven days were fulfilled (the blood remained for that long), after that the LORD had smitten the river (the number seven indicates that God will be fully able to accomplish what He has declared).