The Second Book of Moses, called Exodus
Exodus 7
Chapter VII · Vol. I, pp. 306–308
1 Moses is encouraged to go to Pharaoh. 7 His and Aaron's age. 8 Aaron's rod is turned into a serpent. 11 The magicians do the like. 13 Pharaoh's heart is hardened: 14 God's message to Pharaoh. 19 The river is turned into blood.
1 AND the LORD said unto Moses, See, I have made thee a a god to Pharaoh; and Aaron thy brother shall be thy prophet.6
a ch. 4.16; 22.28. Je. 1.10. Jn. 10.34,35. Ps. 82.1, 6.
6 This remarkable declaration was calculated to remove, and it did remove, Moses' last doubts and fears. He was made a god to Pharaoh—he was gifted with power over the stubborn monarch, to subdue him gradually, yet effectually, to his will. Aaron was to be his prophet—to declare his will, to announce projected miracles and judgments.—P.
2 Thou shalt speak b all that I command thee: and Aaron thy brother shall speak unto Pharaoh, that he send the children of Israel out of his land.
b Mat. 28.20. 1 Ch. 4.2. Eze. 3.17. Ac. 20.27. Ps. 119.46. Je. 1.8-10, 17, 18. Nu. 24.13. 2 Co. 18.13.
3 And c I will harden Pharaoh's heart, and multiply my d signs and my wonders in the land of Egypt.
c ver. 13. See ch. 4.21.
4 But Pharaoh shall not hearken unto you, that I may lay my e hand upon Egypt, and bring forth mine f armies, and my people the children of Israel, out of the land of Egypt by great g judgments.
5 And the Egyptians shall h know that I am the LORD, when I stretch forth mine hand upon Egypt, and bring out the children of Israel from among them.
h Ps. 9.16; 58.11; 83.18. Eze. 25.17; 28.22.
6 And Moses and Aaron did i as the LORD commanded them, so did they.5
A.M. 2513. B.C. 1491.
i ch. 12.28. Ps. 119.4, 6. De. 12.32. Ac. 4.19; 5.29; ver. 4, 10.
5 Moses, now delivered from his fears, makes no more objections, but being strengthened in faith, goes about his arduous work with undaunted courage, and proceeds in it with indefatigable perseverance.
7 And Moses was k fourscore years old, and Aaron fourscore and three years old, when they spake unto Pharaoh.
k Ac. 7.23, 30.
8 And the LORD spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying,
9 When Pharaoh shall speak unto you, saying, Show a miracle for you: then thou shalt say unto Aaron, Take thy l rod, and cast it before Pharaoh, and it shall become a serpent.
l ch. 4.2, 3, 17, 20.
10 And Moses and Aaron went in unto Pharaoh, and they did so m as the LORD had commanded: and Aaron cast down his rod before Pharaoh, and before his servants, and it became a serpent.
m ver. 6, 9.
11 Then Pharaoh also called the n wise men and the sorcerers: now the magicians of Egypt, they o also did in like manner with their6 enchantments.7
n Ge. 41.8. Da. 2.2; 4.6. Is. 47.12. 2 Ti. 3.8.
o 2 Th. 2.9-11. Re. 13.13, 14.
6 Moses does not affirm that there was a perfect conformity between his works and those of the magicians; he makes choice of a word which does not necessarily express anything more than a general similitude, such as is consistent with a difference in many important respects—they did so, or in like manner.—Farmer.
7 We learn from Paul (2 Ti. 3. 8) that these, at least the chief of them, were Jannes and Jambres, and they withstood Moses, as Farmer judiciously intimates in the preceding note, not as some suppose, by performing, through diabolical power, the same miracle that Moses wrought by the power of God; but merely in like manner, by what is called legerdemain, sleight of hand, and visual deception, with the privity and through the connivance of Pharaoh, as, from ch. 5. 19, will afterwards appear.—C.
12 For they cast down every man his rod, and they became serpents:8 but p Aaron's rod swallowed up their rods.
8 That is, they became serpents to the eye of the spectators—Moses relating, not what actually took place, but what, to the senses, appeared to take place. The key to the inconsistent and vacillating conduct of Pharaoh is found, 1. In his total disregard of Jehovah, the true God, ch. 5.2; and 2. In the idolatrous principle that gods were local, and of different powers, contending even in bitter rivalry for pre-eminence, and occasionally foiled or successful, according to fate and circumstances.—Note, How many are the destructive consequences of one original erroneous principle! Like the foundation on sand, it ensures the ruin of the superstructure.—C.
p Ac. 6.10. 1 Jn. 4.3, 4.
14 And the LORD said unto Moses, Pharaoh's heart is hardened, he refuseth to let the people go.
15 Get thee unto Pharaoh in r the morning: lo, he goeth out unto the water; and thou shalt stand by the river's brink against he come; and the rod which was turned to a serpent shalt thou take in thine hand.
16 And thou shalt say unto him, s the LORD God of the Hebrews hath sent me unto thee, saying, Let my people go, that they may serve me in the wilderness; and, behold, hitherto thou wouldest not hear.
s ch. 5.1-4; 3.12, 18. Je. 23.28, 29. Mat. 7.29. Je. 1.8, 17-19. Nu. 24.13. 2 Ch. 18.13.
17 Thus saith the LORD, In this thou shalt t know that I am the LORD: behold, I will smite with the rod that is in mine hand upon the waters which are in the river, and they shall be turned to u blood.
18 And the fish that is in the river shall die, and the river shall stink; and the Egyptians shall x loathe to drink of the water of the river.
x ver. 24.
19 And the LORD spake unto Moses, Say unto Aaron, y Take thy rod, and stretch out thine hand upon the waters of Egypt, upon their streams, upon their rivers, and upon their ponds, and upon all their z 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.1
y ch. 4.2, 20; 8.16; 9.8, 22, 23, &c.
z Heb. gathering of their waters, Ge. 1.10.
1 The Nile is the only river of Egypt; but the country is filled with canals and ducts, and cisterns and pools, all constructed for the diffusion of the water over the surface of the ground, and for its preservation for purposes of irrigation and household use, after the Nile has become low. The description in this verse is thus most accurate.—P.
20 And 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 a the waters that were in the river were turned to blood.2
a Ps. 78.44. See ver. 17, with ch. 1.22. Re. 16.6. Je. 2.17, 19; 4.18.
2 The Nile being one of the deities of the Egyptians, this miracle was therefore well qualified to teach them that there was no confidence to be placed in their idols; and that what Moses told was an undeniable fact, that the God of Israel, and he alone, held the uncontrolled dominion of the universe, and that all things were subjected to his sway.
21 And 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.
22 And b the magicians of Egypt did so with their enchantments: and Pharaoh's heart was hardened, neither did he hearken unto them; as the LORD had said.
b ver. 11; ch. 8.7, 8. 2 Ti. 3.8.
23 And Pharaoh turned and went into his house, neither did he set his c heart to this 3 also.
3 The magicians endeavoured, by some sleight of hand, to turn some small portion of water into blood, which would lead Pharaoh, in his state of mind, very easily to conclude that Moses and Aaron were only a little more skilled in their arts than his magicians, and he turned away from them defying the threatenings of Jehovah.—J.
24 And all the Egyptians digged round about the river for water to drink: for they could not drink of the water of the river.
Notes
Ver. 1. Moses was a god to Pharaoh: he dealt with him in the name and authority of God, and punished his disobedience with plagues which none but God could inflict.
Ver. 6. They manifested the noblest courage in speaking to or dealing with proud Pharaoh, and the most exact fidelity in the execution of all God's commands.
Ver. 12-22. Whether the magicians imposed upon the sight of the spectators by artfully conveying away the rods, and putting serpents in their places; or whether Satan actuated the rods, and made them appear as serpents; or whether, for the hardening of Pharaoh, God himself effected this change, is hard to determine. It was more easy to impose upon spectators in turning the water into blood, or in bringing up frogs. But it is manifest, that all which the magicians did increased the plagues, but could not remove them; and that the swallowing up of their rods by Aaron's, and their inability to produce lice, proved that Moses' miracles were effected by a power infinitely superior to what they had in command.
Reflections.—How great is the condescension of God, in putting some of his honour upon sinful men, and in speaking to us by them, that his dread may not make us afraid! But, amidst trials and discouragements, ministers have need to be fully satisfied that, whatever contradiction they meet with, God will do right by their work, both in them that are saved and in them that perish. Happy those who know the Lord to be God by his fulfilment of promises to them: but miserable indeed are they who know him to be God by the execution of his justice upon them! The contest between Almighty God and the strongest worms of mankind is greatly unequal: let the potsherds strive with the potsherds of the earth; for, if men will not bow before the sceptre of his grace, they must break beneath the rod of his judgment. But, in mercy, God often warns before he punishes them. Sinners frequently desire to see miracles, not for their conviction, but to strengthen their unbelief. And readily is Satan permitted to harden such in their sin by his lying wonders. Through his influence men harden themselves against warnings, against judgments and deliverances: and whatever other shifts they try for relief, they will not so much as cry to God when he bindeth them. But the cause of God and truth shall prevail at last, and reign without contradiction: and dreadful shall be the just miseries of them who oppressed his people and contemned his admonition!