Speaking on God’s Behalf
Exodus 7:1-13
April 24, 2022
You have heard it said that life is a marathon not a sprint. One might certainly say that about
the story of God in the Bible. The Bible is one long story in which all the little portions of the
story weave together to tell one amazing big story about God. A few months ago, we studied
the book of Joshua and learned about Israel entering and possessing the Land of
Canaan. God had promised this long before it actually happened. Then we fast-forwarded
to the story of Nehemiah, and we learned about when Israel returned to the Land of
Canaan after being exiled to Babylon. Now, we rewind our story back past Nehemiah, past
Joshua and back to the time when Israel escaped from Egypt as part of God’s plan to grow
a nation.
As our story begins, it is about the year 1446 BC, and much has happened in the lives of Jacob’s
descendents who are now living in Egypt. To better understand this story, we need to remember
that God had made two promises to Jacob. God promised to give his descendents the Land
of Canaan, and God promised to give Jacob many descendents.
God had made a lot happen in order to save Jacob and his family from starving during
a famine and get them to exactly where God wanted them to be. It is interesting how
God can even use sin in our lives to produce the outcome that He desires. One of Jacob’s sons,
named Joseph, was sold into slavery and ended up in Egypt. God so blessed Joseph that over
time Joseph became a high ranking official in Egypt in about 1884 BC. God’s plan worked just
like He told Joseph through Pharaoh’s dream. About 8 years into Joseph’s work as an official in
Egypt, God works it out so that Joseph’s father Jacob, and Jacob’s other offspring came to
Egypt.
It might seem like this trip to Egypt was detour had it not been for the promise God made
to Jacob while he traveled to Egypt. Genesis 46:3 “I am God, the God of your father,” the
voice said. “Do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for there I will make your family
into a great nation.”
We see that things went very well for Jacob and his family in Egypt. They grew in number
from about 70 to over 600,000 men plus the women and children. And they became fairly
wealthy. Then something caused their situation to take a turn for the worst. We read this
report in Exodus 1:8, Eventually, a new king came to power in Egypt who knew nothing
about Joseph or what he had done. Then God raised up a Hebrew who had amazingly
escaped death as a baby, had been raised in Pharaoh’s house, and eventually became the guy
who led Jacob’s people out of Egyptian captivity and to the land God promised them. As our
text begins, this leader, Moses, is 80 years old and his older brother is working with him to
deliver God’s people who are now called Israel. You should know that a Pharaoh is the name
that the early Egyptians called their rulers. They were kings who were also their head religious
leaders. They were considered the intermediary between the people of Egypt and the many
gods they served. While most Pharaohs were men, there were a few women Pharaohs with the
more famous one being Cleopatra. The Egyptians worshipped over 2000 deities. Their culture
was based on how they understood their gods to work among the people. By the time our story
starts, the Egyptians had become cruel slave masters to the Israelites, and it was time for Israel
to go.
1 ¶ Then the LORD said to Moses, “Pay close attention to this. I will make you seem
like God to Pharaoh, and your brother, Aaron, will be your prophet.
2 Tell Aaron everything I command you, and Aaron must command Pharaoh to let
the people of Israel leave his country.
3 But I will make Pharaoh’s heart stubborn so I can multiply my miraculous signs
and wonders in the land of Egypt.
4 Even then Pharaoh will refuse to listen to you. So I will bring down my fist on
Egypt. Then I will rescue my forces — my people, the Israelites — from the land of
Egypt with great acts of judgment.
5 When I raise my powerful hand and bring out the Israelites, the Egyptians will
know that I am the LORD.”
6 So Moses and Aaron did just as the LORD had commanded them.
7 Moses was eighty years old, and Aaron was eighty-three when they made their
demands to Pharaoh.
8 ¶ Then the LORD said to Moses and Aaron,
9 “Pharaoh will demand, ‘Show me a miracle.’ When he does this, say to Aaron, ‘Take
your staff and throw it down in front of Pharaoh, and it will become a serpent.’ ”
10 So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and did what the LORD had commanded
them. Aaron threw down his staff before Pharaoh and his officials, and it became a
serpent!
11 Then Pharaoh called in his own wise men and sorcerers, and these Egyptian
magicians did the same thing with their magic.
12 They threw down their staffs, which also became serpents! But then Aaron’s staff
swallowed up their staffs.
13 Pharaoh’s heart, however, remained hard. He still refused to listen, just as the
LORD had predicted.
- What do you think was God’s primary reason for wanting Israel to leave Egypt? Being in
Egypt was part of God’s plan for the Jews. Their experience there would not be an easy
experience, but it would be a necessary experience for God’s plan to be carried out. The nation
was allowed to grow without the pollution of being mixed with pagan cultures. However,
they became slaves to Egypt over time. More and more their slavery became oppressive, and
God heard their cries. Plus, the Land of Canaan was God’s promise. - What roles were Moses and Aaron to play in God’s plan? (7:1-2)
1 ¶ Then the LORD said to Moses, “Pay close attention to this. I will make you seem
like God to Pharaoh, and your brother, Aaron, will be your prophet. 2 Tell Aaron
everything I command you, and Aaron must command Pharaoh to let the people of
Israel leave his country.
Besides being the leaders of Israel, they were the men instructed to go before Pharaoh with
God’s message. God promised to make Moses seem like God to Pharaoh while Aaron would act
as his prophet. They would be sent repeatedly before Pharaoh with messages from God that
were commands for Pharaoh to let the Jews leave his country.
- In what ways might it seem as if God is making His own job harder to do? (7:3-4)
3 But I will make Pharaoh’s heart stubborn so I can multiply my miraculous signs
and wonders in the land of Egypt. 4 Even then Pharaoh will refuse to listen to you. So
I will bring down my fist on Egypt. Then I will rescue my forces — my people, the
Israelites — from the land of Egypt with great acts of judgment.
At this point in our reading, we have questions about why God would want to make Pharaoh less
cooperative. The obvious agenda is to get Israel out of Egypt. If Pharaoh agreed to God’s plan,
it seems to me that the problem is solved. But we are caused to wonder if God has more to His
plan than just the things we know about at this point in the text. The tension is building. God
doesn’t just want Pharaoh to let Israel go, God wants Pharaoh to be in agreement with Israel
going. God wants to move Pharaoh over to God’s side. - What was God’s goal for the Egyptians? How might the Egyptians’ belief in many gods make
God’s plan more difficult to accomplish?
5 When I raise my powerful hand and bring out the Israelites, the Egyptians will
know that I am the LORD.”
God wants to make the Egyptians fully aware that He is the Lord. Since the Egyptians believed in
many, many gods, it would be a real shift in their thinking to believe that the God of the
Israelites was the One True and Living God. - What is significant about the way Moses and Aaron responded to God? (7:6) What can we
learn from their response?
6 So Moses and Aaron did just as the LORD had commanded them.
Moses and Aaron obeyed God exactly as they had been instructed. This reminds us clearly of
the importance of knowing what God has said so that we can follow His instructions exactly
as He wants. His plan makes life better. - What request did God predict? (7:8-9) What does this teach us about God?
8 ¶ Then the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, 9 “Pharaoh will demand, ‘Show me a
miracle.’ When he does this, say to Aaron, ‘Take your staff and throw it down in front
of Pharaoh, and it will become a serpent.’ ”
God told Moses and Aaron that Pharaoh would demand a supernatural event to
demonstrate the power of their God. Sure enough, just like God said, Pharaoh did what God said
he would do. This reminds us that God is all-knowing. He knows what is going to happen before
it happens, and He knows why things happen. Nothing ever catches God by surprise! We
can ignore God, run from God, or refuse to hear God, but we do so at our own peril. - What happened when Moses and Aaron responded to Pharaoh’s demand? (7:10-12) 10 So
Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and did what the LORD had commanded them.
Aaron threw down his staff before Pharaoh and his officials, and it became a serpent!
11 Then Pharaoh called in his own wise men and sorcerers, and these Egyptian
magicians did the same thing with their magic. 12 They threw down their staffs,
which also became serpents! But then Aaron’s staff swallowed up their staffs.
Pharaoh responded to this miracle with some magic intended to display his own power.
His magicians threw down their staffs and they became serpents too.
Then Aaron’s staff ate the other staffs. - How did Pharaoh respond to this miracle? (7:13) How can struggles and problems cause our
hearts to grow hard toward God? What is the solution to a hard heart?
13 Pharaoh’s heart, however, remained hard. He still refused to listen, just as the
LORD had predicted.
Pharaoh was a stubborn man. He believed he was a god on earth and that he was the
intermediary between the gods and man. So when Moses and Aaron say things that challenge
Pharaoh’s self-image, it would have been easy to predict a stubborn response.
Who is speaking on God’s behalf today? The Bible. The Holy Spirit. People who teach the
truth of God’s word.
Will you respond like Pharaoh, or will you respond like Moses and Aaron?