God promised Moses and Aaron His presence, even to the point of saying Moses would be as God and Aaron as his prophet to Pharoah. This was God’s response to Moses saying in the previous chapter, in Exodus 6:30, “Behold, I am of uncircumcised lips, and how shall Pharaoh heed me?” Moses and Aaron had no authorization from earth to speak to this king, but they did have authorization from heaven, and God is above all earthly authorities.
A man cannot stop a speeding 18-wheel truck coming at him with muscle. But if that man is wearing a police badge and uniform, the driver will stop because he fears what the authority behind that man will do. When God has authorized a work to be done, the demons that would normally destroy a man or woman who defies them, fear to do so.
James 2:19 says, “You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe—and tremble!” The demons tremble in the presence of God. He has the power to throw them into the lake of fire. In Matthew 8:29, when two demon-possessed men met Jesus, the demons asked Him, “What have we to do with You, Jesus, You Son of God? Have You come here to torment us before the time?” The demons were afraid of Jesus because they knew He is the Son of God. Thus, although Moses and Aaron did not have access to New Testament teaching, they had a knowing from God that He had endued them with His power to confront Pharaoh.
Moses and Aaron were renewed and strengthen by God’s Word and Spirit. God told Moses Pharaoh’s heart would be hard and resistant to His Word, but that He would multiply signs and wonders in Egypt and bring their Hebrew brothers out from under him.
The Lord showed me a parallelism with Exodus and the Gospels. God did signs and wonders in Egypt so the Egyptians would know He is God. Jesus did signs and wonders in Jerusalem so the religious Jews would know He was Messiah. Moses faced resistance from hard-hearted unbelievers and so did Jesus, but their unbelief did not thwart God from accomplishing His Word among them.
Moses had ten confrontations with Pharoah before it became obvious to Pharoah that God was God and he was not. The religious leaders would have killed Jesus early on, but could not until Jesus allowed it, and after He allowed it, He resurrected three days later. No Jewish person today identifies as a “Pharisee” in the historical sense, but many Jews are now believers in Jesus Messiah. Praise the Lord!
“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.’ So, Moses and Aaron went in to Pharaoh, and they did so, just as the Lord commanded. And Aaron cast down his rod before Pharaoh and before his servants, and it became a serpent. But Pharaoh also called the wise men and the sorcerers; so, the magicians of Egypt, they also did in like manner with their enchantments. For every man threw down his rod, and they became serpents. But Aaron’s rod swallowed up their rods. And Pharaoh’s heart grew hard, and he did not heed them, as the Lord had said.” Exodus 7:8-13
According to the Jamieson Fausset Brown Commentary, the magicians of Egypt would press at the nape of the snake’s neck to render it stiff and immovable — thus seeming to change it into a rod. They concealed the snake, and by sleight of hand produced it from their dress, stiff and straight as a rod. Paul identified these tricksters as Jannes and Jambres in 2 Timothy 3:8. Paul brought up their names in the context of exposing corrupt leaders who always resist the truth
The snake that God formed from the rod was no imposter. It swallowed up the snakes of Jannes and Jambres. Even so, Pharoah refused to respond to God’s commandment to let the slaves go.
“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. And you shall say to him, ‘The Lord God of the Hebrews has sent me to you, saying, let My people go, that they may serve Me in the wilderness; but indeed, until now you would not hear! Thus, says the Lord: by this you shall know that I am the Lord. Behold, I will strike the waters which are in the river with the rod that is in my hand, and they shall be turned to blood. And the fish that are in the river shall die, the river shall stink, and the Egyptians will loathe to drink the water of the river.’ Then, the Lord spoke to Moses, ‘Say to Aaron, take your rod and stretch out your hand over the waters of Egypt, over their streams, over their rivers, over their ponds, and over all their 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.’ And Moses and Aaron did so, just as the Lord commanded. 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. Then, the magicians of Egypt did so with their enchantments; and Pharaoh’s heart grew hard, and he did not heed them, as the Lord had said. And Pharaoh turned and went into his house. Neither was his heart moved by this. So, all the Egyptians dug all around the river for water to drink, because they could not drink the water of the river. And seven days passed after the Lord had struck the river.” Exodus 7:14-25
The sight of such vast rolling streams of blood could not but strike a horror upon people. Now, the Egyptians must either drink blood or die for thirst. The fish died probably causing a great stench along the shoreline where they rotted in the hot Egyptian sun. [1]
The Egyptians idolized the Nile River. They did devotions to its streams. God humbled it. [2]
They had stained the river with the blood of Hebrew babies. Did this blood red river jog their memories of the times that they had previously seen dead Hebrew baby boys floating in it?
This plague of Egypt is alluded to in Revelation 16:3-4. There the sea, as well as the rivers and fountains of water, are turned into blood.
Moses turned water into blood. Jesus turned water into wine. The Law which curses sin was given by Moses. Grace and truth, which, like wine, makes glad the heart, came by Jesus Christ. [3]
The Egyptians sought relief from the plague by digging round about the river for water to drink. Perhaps, they found some. God does show mercy amidst releasing His wrath. [4]
The plague continued seven days. Pharaoh’s pride would not let him ask Moses for mercy.
“And the Lord spoke to Moses, ‘Go to Pharaoh and say to him, thus says the Lord: let My people go, that they may serve Me. But if you refuse to let them go, behold, I will smite all your territory with frogs. So, the river shall bring forth frogs abundantly, which shall go up and come into your house, into your bedroom, on your bed, into the houses of your servants, on your people, into your ovens, and into your kneading bowls. And the frogs shall come up on you, on your people, and on all your servants.’ Then, the Lord spoke to Moses, ‘Say to Aaron, stretch out your hand with your rod over the streams, over the rivers, and over the ponds, and cause frogs to come up on the land of Egypt.’ So, Aaron stretched out his hand over the waters of Egypt, and the frogs came up and covered the land of Egypt. And the magicians did so with their enchantments and brought up frogs on the land of Egypt. Then, Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron, and said, ‘Entreat the Lord that He may take away the frogs from me and from my people; and I will let the people go, that they may sacrifice to the Lord.’ And Moses said to Pharaoh, ‘Accept the honor of saying when I shall intercede for you, for your servants, and for your people, to destroy the frogs from you and your houses, that they may remain in the river only.’ So he said, ‘Tomorrow.’ And he said, ‘Let it be according to your word, that you may know that there is no one like the Lord our God. And the frogs shall depart from you, from your houses, from your servants, and from your people. They shall remain in the river only.’ Then, Moses and Aaron went out from Pharaoh. And Moses cried out to the Lord concerning the frogs which He had brought against Pharaoh. So, the Lord did according to the word of Moses. And the frogs died out of the houses, out of the courtyards, and out of the fields. They gathered them together in heaps, and the land stank. But when Pharaoh saw that there was relief, he hardened his heart and did not heed them, as the Lord had said.” Exodus 8:1-15
God could have plagued Egypt with ferocious lions or bears, but He chose contemptible little frogs to magnify His power. 1 Corinthians 1:27 says, “God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty.” 2 Corinthians 4:7 says, “We have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us.” [5]
Pharaoh with all his chariots and horsemen could not defeat this army. Neither would they be able to combat the coming plagues.
The frogs entered their houses, their beds, and their tables. They croaked through the night making it hard for any Egyptian to sleep.
Egypt’s magicians could supposedly bring frogs up but could not remove them.
In Revelation 16:13, unclean spirits come out of the mouth of the dragon in the form of frogs. They go forth to the kings of the earth, to deceive them. The dragon, like the magicians, wants to deceive people, but God uses them to destroy the deceivers.
In Exodus 8:8, Pharoah begs Moses to remove the frogs. He promised to let the people go, but like so many politicians today, once pressure is off, so are his promises.
The purpose of God’s judgments and mercies is to convince people that He is God.
Moses gave to Pharaoh the honor of naming the day for the plagues to end. Then, he cried out to the Lord and the frogs died. There were dead frogs everywhere. They piled them into mounds. Egypt stunk. Even so, Pharaoh hardened his heart and did not let the people go.
“So, the Lord said to Moses, ‘Say to Aaron, stretch out your rod, and strike the dust of the land, so that it may become lice throughout all the land of Egypt.’ And they did so. For Aaron stretched out his hand with his rod and struck the dust of the earth, and it became lice on man and beast. All the dust of the land became lice throughout all the land of Egypt. Now, the magicians worked with their enchantments to bring forth lice, but they could not. So, there were lice on man and beast. Then, the magicians said to Pharaoh, ‘This is the finger of God.’ But Pharaoh’s heart grew hard, and he did not heed them, just as the Lord had said.” Exodus 8:16-19
God has many tools. He used a tiny foe to humble Egypt. Lice! They bite. At first, Pharoah thought he could erase the hope of freedom from the hearts of the slaves by increasing their misery. He made them gather straw for their brick making which request was never made of them before. Now, Pharoah and his people are getting a heavy dose of misery from God. May God, likewise, humble tyrants today who are making the lives of their nations miserable.
Pharoah’s magicians acknowledged that God was with Moses. In John 3:2, a Pharisee named Nicodemus admitted to Jesus, “No one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him.”
“And the Lord said to Moses, ‘Rise early in the morning and stand before Pharaoh as he comes out to the water. Then say to him, thus says the Lord: let My people go, that they may serve Me. Or else, if you will not let My people go, behold, I will send swarms of flies on you and your servants, on your people and into your houses. The houses of the Egyptians shall be full of swarms of flies, and also the ground on which they stand. And on that day, I will set apart the land of Goshen, in which My people dwell, that no swarms of flies shall be there, in order that you may know that I am the Lord in the midst of the land. I will make a difference between My people and your people. Tomorrow this sign shall be.’ And the Lord did so. Thick swarms of flies came into the house of Pharaoh, into his servants’ houses, and into all the land of Egypt. The land was corrupted because of the swarms of flies. Then, Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron, and said, ‘Go, sacrifice to your God in the land.’ And Moses said, ‘It is not right to do so, for we would be sacrificing the abomination of the Egyptians to the Lord our God. If we sacrifice the abomination of the Egyptians before their eyes, then will they not stone us? We will go three days’ journey into the wilderness and sacrifice to the Lord our God as He will command us.’ So, Pharaoh said, ‘I will let you go, that you may sacrifice to the Lord your God in the wilderness; only you shall not go very far away. Intercede for me.’ Then, Moses said, ‘Indeed I am going out from you, and I will entreat the Lord, that the swarms of flies may depart tomorrow from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people. But let Pharaoh not deal deceitfully anymore in not letting the people go to sacrifice to the Lord.’ So, Moses went out from Pharaoh and entreated the Lord. And the Lord did according to the word of Moses; He removed the swarms of flies from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people. Not one remained. But Pharaoh hardened his heart at this time also; neither would he let the people go.” Exodus 8:20-32
The flies were relentless pests... bizzing about their faces and around their ears. Flying into their mouths when possible. Landing on their food. Finally, Pharoah gave the Hebrews permission to sacrifice to their God outside of Egypt. Moses warned the Pharaoh not to go back on his word. Then, Moses asked the Lord to remove the flies and He did. Not even one fly remained.
Did Pharaoh rejoice and give thanks to the Lord? No, he hardened his heart again and did not keep his promise to Moses.
Certain plagues that God released on Egypt, He shall release against the kingdom of the antichrist before Christ returns. These are signs that the Lord’s return is soon. The plagues include water turned into blood, sores on people, hail, and darkness during daylight hours. [6]
God’s plagues against Pharaoh precede their trip to the Promised Land. God’s plagues in Revelation precedes their trip to the New Heavens and New Earth.
You or I may not be given the mandate by God, as Moses and Aaron were, to speak directly to a king, but we can pray for kings and all who are in authority.
In 1 Timothy 2:1-2, Paul wrote, “Pray for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence. We can pray Ezekiel 36:26 for them: “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you. I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.”
God does miracles. For example, in Daniel 5:20–21, when King Nebuchadnezzar’s heart became arrogant and hardened with pride, God deposed him until he acknowledged that the Most High God is sovereign over the kingdoms of men and sets over them anyone He wishes.
In Acts 26:27-28, Paul asked a king, “’King Agrippa, do you believe the prophets? I know that you do believe.’ Then Agrippa said to Paul, ‘You almost persuade me to become a Christian.’”
“For nearly 300 years, the Roman Empire frequently and brutally persecuted Christians, viewing their refusal to worship Roman gods as treasonous, until Emperor Constantine legalized the religion with the Edict of Milan in 313 A.D., shifting it from a banned, marginal group to a protected, eventually state-sanctioned faith.” [7]
Proverbs 21:1 says, “The king's heart is in the hand of the Lord, as the rivers of water: He turns it wherever He wishes.” Let us pray for the hearts of our world’s leaders to turn to God.
Recently, I’ve been praying for governments in light of Samson’s pushing over the pillars that held up the temple of Dagon. He did this by the power of God’s Spirit. God’s Spirit is still moving among us. I pray that He will push down the pillars that are holding up crime networks which do everything possible to discourage, sabotage, overwhelm and destroy godly leaders from institutionalizing laws based on the Word of God.
One thing is for certain, evil empires have an expiration date. When King Jesus returns those kingdoms will expire and be no more. The kingdom of Jesus Christ is a good and everlasting kingdom.
[1] Matthew Henry Commentary
[2] Ibid
[3] Ibid
[4] Ibid
[5] Edited insights from Matthew Henry Commentary
[6] Exodus 7:19-21 - Revelation 16:4-7; Exodus 9:8-12 - Revelation 16:1-2; Exodus 9:22-26 - Revelation 16:17-21; Exodus 10:21-23 - Revelation 16:10-11; Matthew 24:31
[7] Google sources
[7] Google sources
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