The Book Of Exodus
Exodus 3:14 "And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and He said, Thus shalt thou say
unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you."
Verses 1-7: God reiterates for Moses his new ability to do miracles in the presence of Pharaoh. The Lord had previously stated this to Moses in Exodus 4:16. (Jeremiah 1:10) This is what God means when He says here, “…I have made thee a god to Pharaoh…” Aaron would be the spokesman for Moses, just like a prophet. (v.2) God then lays out the game plan for Moses once more: He would harden Pharaoh’s heart so that His signs and wonders would be multiplied throughout Egypt so that Pharaoh would let the Israelites go, but only after the great judgments. (v.4) God is emphatic that it won’t just be the children of Israel that will know He is the Lord. The Egyptians, too, will recognize Him as the one true God when He frees “…the children of Israel from among them.” (v.5) And so Moses, now 80 years old, and Aaron, 83, go before Pharaoh a second time. (v.7)
Verses 8-13: God predicts that Pharaoh will demand a sign from Moses and Aaron. (Exodus 10:1, Isaiah 7:11, John 2:18, 6:30). God tells Moses to tell Aaron to cast down his rod, just as God had shown to Moses at the burning bush (Exodus 4:2-3). Aaron does so, but Pharaoh is not impressed. (v.10) He calls for his sorcerers and magicians (Genesis 41:8, Daniel 2:2, 2 Timothy 3:8), and they are able to do the same miracle. (Exodus 8:7, 18, 2 Timothy 3:9, Revelation 13:13-14) But, even after Aaron’s serpent swallows up all of their serpents (v.12), Pharaoh’s heart is still hardened. He refuses to bow to God’s sovereignty and authority, just as God predicted. (v.13) It was the power of Satan that allowed Pharaoh’s magicians and soothsayers to do those miracles. This whole episode of the Israelites’ exodus from Egypt was a power struggle between God and the devil, and God allowed Satan to work through Pharaoh and his “wise men” (v.11) so that God’s power and name would only be further magnified throughout Egypt and the rest of the known world at that time. Paul states in 2 Corinthians 11:14 that “…Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.” Lucifer is a created being, same as all the other angels, same as you and me, and, thus, he has no genuine, original power of his own. God allows him to do what he does, and his days are numbered. Satan hates God and all that He loves, and so Satan does his best to deceive us – God’s creation – by imitating God’s miracles. This, too, was all part of God’s plan for delivering His chosen people from the hand of Pharaoh. Verses 14-25: God tells Moses and Aaron to meet Pharaoh at the bank of the Nile river the next morning. The phrase “…goeth out unto the water…” most likely refers to bathing. (Exodus 2:5) The Nile river was the lifeblood of Egypt. It was the source of all the drinking water for the Egyptians as well as the primary means by which they watered their crops. Some of the gods in the Egyptian pantheon were represented by the river itself as well as the animals within it. Many of the plagues – or judgments – were directed against specific deities of Egyptian mythology. (See the chart at the end of this post.) This was yet another way in which God demonstrated his power and sovereignty over the natural world, as well as proof that He was – and is – the one true and living God, the creator and sustainer of all things. God tells Moses and Aaron to tell Pharaoh that, because he refused to hearken to the word of the lord, God will turn the Nile river into blood. All living creatures within it will die, and the river will stink. There will be no drinkable water anywhere in the land. (v.19, 21) As soon as Aaron stretches forth his rod over the river, the judgment comes true. Verse 22 states that Jannes and Jambres, Pharaoh’s magicians (2 Timothy 3:8), also turn the water to blood, and thus Pharaoh stubbornly refuses to believe Moses, just as God had predicted. It’s unclear if the sorcerers were able to turn the blood back into water and then into blood again, or if only a portion of the river had been turned into blood first by God and then the rest by the magicians because of God allowing them to do so to fulfill His judgment and prophecy. Whatever the case, every single drop of water throughout the land of Egypt – except the Goshen valley where the Israelites dwell (Genesis 47:6) – is turned to blood, even that which had been stored in wooden vessels and other pots within the Egyptian houses. (v.19) The effects described in verse 21 indicate that the blood was real. This was no mere illusion or something that resembled blood. It was actual human blood. As noted in my study Bible, “In addition to the loss of all their fish and their drinking water, the Egyptians suffered the extreme indignity of seeing the gods of the Nile made loathsome before their very eyes.” Pharaoh returns to his house, persisting in his unbelief (v.23). Despite their efforts digging for fresh water around the river, the Egyptians fail to find any to drink (v.24) God allows the judgment to stand for seven days. Though it doesn’t say specifically in this passage, we can safely conclude that many Egyptians died of thirst in those seven days. The ten plagues that God uses here in Exodus to judge Pharaoh and his people are a foreshadowing of the judgments He will bring upon the whole world during the Tribulation. This first one, specifically, will be repeated in the second trumpet and the second and third vials. (Revelation 8 & 16) And, just like Pharaoh here in Exodus, there will be many then that will harden their hearts in unbelief, thus sealing their judgment of eternal damnation in the lake of fire. (Revelation 20:15)
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