The Battle of the “gods”

Exodus 7

 

 

As we begin our look into Exodus 7, we need to remember the details from chapter 5. Exodus chapter 5 records Moses and Aaron’s first encounter with Pharaoh. They told Pharaoh that God had met with them and instructed them to go into the wilderness to offer sacrifices to Him. When Pharaoh said “No,” they insisted, saying, “God says, 'Let My people go!'” Pharaoh responded, “Who is the LORD, that I should obey His voice to let Israel go? I do not know the LORD, nor will I let Israel go.” (Exodus 5:2)

 

Then, because God had been so bold as to tell Pharaoh what to do, Pharaoh persecuted God’s people mercilessly, so that they despaired even of their lives. However, God reassured His people that He would deliver them.

 

Now we come to Exodus 7. The Israelites had suffered under increasing burdens long enough to know their situation was hopeless, and for Pharaoh to believe he had won. At just the right time, God told Moses and Aaron to go and speak to Pharaoh. God told them:

Exodus 7:9 (NKJV) “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, in obedience to the Lord, Moses and Aaron went before Pharaoh and repeated the command of the Lord to let God’s people go. And, sure enough, just as God had said, Pharaoh demanded they show a sign. Following this, Exodus 7:10-13 tells us:

Exodus 7:10-13 (NKJV) 10 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. 11 But Pharaoh also called the wise men and the sorcerers; so the magicians of Egypt, they also did in like manner with their enchantments. 12 For every man threw down his rod, and they became serpents. But Aaron’s rod swallowed up their rods. 13 And Pharaoh’s heart grew hard, and he did not heed them, as the LORD had said.

 

Things are happening here that the text doesn't spell out. Let’s consider some of the historical and cultural significance of what God is doing. 

 

God’s wisdom, knowledge, and power have no limits, and He shows us this truth in these events.

 First, let’s consider God’s purpose in choosing to use a staff, a stick, for His first miracle. The staff was essential to the imagery and position Pharaoh held in Egypt. Pharaoh carried a staff to show his care for and protection of the people of Egypt, like a shepherd. The staff also represented his divine right to rule. Look at the picture above. Do you see the staff and flail that Pharaoh is holding? You will notice the crook at the end of the staff. That is because it is a shepherd’s staff. Shepherd’s staffs have not changed for thousands of years! (Remember, Moses was a shepherd, and the staffs that Moses and Aaron held would have been actual shepherd’s staffs.)

 

 

Second, the serpent held great significance for the Egyptians. In the picture above, do you notice the snake on the front of the crown?

 

In ancient Egypt, the serpent represented both divine royal protection and new life, and, believe it or not, the serpent also symbolized chaos and destruction. Life or destruction depended on whether or not the serpent was on your side! Pharaoh wore a stylized cobra on the front of his crown. The serpent on the front of his crown represented the idea that Pharaoh embodied the gods. He was a god in the flesh. However, Pharaoh did not represent just one god. Do you notice the head of a hawk next to the serpent in the picture above? The Hawk represented a different Egyptian god. So, Pharaoh contained, in his person, more than one god, and his crown reminded everyone that he was a god.

 

Please recall with me that in Scripture, Satan is called a serpent, and the great serpent of old (Revelation 12:9). The devil and demons were the power behind the gods of Egypt. What followed in Egypt was the battle of Satan’s false gods as they tried to stand against the one true God. When the magicians of Egypt matched the signs performed by Aaron and Moses, they either used sleight-of-hand tricks or demonstrated the power of demons.

 

When Aaron’s staff, which had become a serpent, swallowed the staffs of Pharaoh’s servants, God showed that He was more powerful.

 

By using the staff for this miraculous sign, God directly challenged Pharaoh’s authority and claim to be a god. In addition, when God demonstrated the dominance of His staff, He revealed something every leader should know: no authority exists except what God gives. Most significantly, when God’s staff swallowed the magicians’ staffs, God made it clear that He is the One and Only God. His name is Yaweh (Jehovah), and He is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

 

Today, Pharaoh shows us what happens to those who harden their hearts against God. In the end, they die. Romans 6:23 explains this truth as follows:

Romans 6:23 (NKJV) For the wages of sin [is] death, but the gift of God [is] eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

 

God records what happened in Egypt to teach us about redemption. We are born into a world enslaved by sin. The serpent of old controls this world. The Bible speaks of this when it says:

2 Timothy 2:26 (NKJV) and [that] they may come to their senses [and] [escape] the snare of the devil, having been taken captive by him to [do] his will.

 

Everyone in the world is held captive to do the will of the devil until they are redeemed from sin. In other words, we are set free, metaphorically delivered from slavery in Egypt.

 

When the Jews celebrate the Passover every year, they retell the story of redemption. Much of the Passover celebration points to the work of Yeshua the Messiah and the redemption He completed.

 

Pharaoh’s magicians were able to change their staffs into serpents by the power of the evil one. So, Pharaoh dismissed the miracle and maintained his position as Egypt’s “god.” 

 

But the first Egyptian god had lost the battle. 

 

Next, God turned the water in the Nile to blood along with all the water in Egypt. The Nile and its waters were the source of life and were personified as an Egyptian deity.

 

When Pharaoh’s servants also reproduced this miracle, Pharaoh once again dismissed God’s work and maintained his hold over the people.

 

However, another Egyptian god was defeated and shown powerless before the One True God. If Pharaoh’s magicians had turned the blood back into water, that would have been more useful and a true demonstration of power!

 

Then came the frogs, with the same results. The magicians also called forth frogs, which might have shown power but did nothing to help. Frogs represented a major Egyptian god, and they were sacred. God trapped the Egyptians in a sea of frogs that they could not kill lest they bring down the wrath of their god.

 

After these first two plagues, Pharaoh’s magicians could not reproduce any of the miracles. However, each of the ten plagues challenged an Egyptian god. One by one, Egypt’s gods fell before the power of the One True God. 

 

Israel had spent hundreds of years under the dominion of these gods. They needed to be set free of them. However, they grew up believing they could not live without these gods. The Nile was life, the frogs were fertility, and so on. Through the process of delivering them, God taught the Israelites that He was all they needed. Israel and the peoples of the world needed to see that there is only one God that we should worship.

 

God is still working miracles in lives. We were all slaves of sin and under the rule of the false shepherd, the serpent. On the Cross, Jesus defeated Satan. Satan lost the battle spectacularly. All the false gods in our lives (the things we thought we couldn't live without) were defeated, and we were set free. 

 

In the years after they left Egypt, we see that God worked for many years to complete the work of freeing the children of Israel from Egypt. This is true of us. We have been set free from the dominion of the god of this world and now belong to the kingdom of God’s Son, Jesus Christ.However, we grew up believing many of Satan’s lies. Thus, we often think that we are still slaves. But God has given us an answer. We can find it in the words of Jesus. 

John 8:31-32 (NKJV) 31 “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. 32 “And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”

 

If we take God at His word, if we believe God’s word, we will be free. God has defeated everything the devil uses to make us think we are slaves. By abiding in the word of Jesus, we are set free! Freedom comes from taking God at His word.

Deliverance is Never Easy

Exodus 5

 

 

The Children of Israel were slaves in Egypt, and God chose Moses to lead them out of Egypt to serve God.

Exodus 4:29-31 (NKJV) 29 Then Moses and Aaron went and gathered together all the elders of the children of Israel. 30 And Aaron spoke all the words which the LORD had spoken to Moses. Then he did the signs in the sight of the people. 31 So the people believed; and when they heard that the LORD had visited the children of Israel and that He had looked on their affliction, then they bowed their heads and worshiped.

 

The Children of Israel bowed their heads and worshiped. They were grateful to God for the promised deliverance. They gladly accepted God'spromises and anticipated the freedom to come. But then reality struck.

 

Perhaps you can identify with the Israelites. What brought you to this blog Today? What brought you to Jesus? Was it fear of Hell or judgment? Was there something in your life you wanted fixed or repaired: a relationship, a disease, an addiction, or a guilty conscience?

 

God promises to deal with all these things and more. He promises to give us abundant life, to lead us to the Promised Land, as it were. When we believe, we gladly accept these promises and then anticipate the freedom to come. But then reality strikes. Before we called upon God for deliverance, we were slaves to the World, the Flesh, and the Devil. Our deliverance from these is instantaneous in that we are dead to them, buried with Christ in His death and risen with Him in His resurrection. But the world, the flesh, and the Devil fight to keep us enslaved.

 

Let’s look at chapter 5 and see where deliverance and the lives of the Israelites intersected, and from there see where deliverance and our lives intersect.

 

First, we see that deliverance starts from where we are.

 

We see this in Exodus 5:1-5.

 

1. Moses and Aaron approached Pharaoh. They had to start with the king of Egypt because the Children of Israel were his slaves.

 

When we come to God, we have to face our sin because we are slaves to sin.

 

2. Pharaoh did not respond well.

 

He refused to acknowledge God, said he did not know God, nor would he listen to what God had to say. Pharaoh could not be reasoned with.

 

When we confront our sin, we get the same kind of response. Our sin refuses to acknowledge God, nor will it listen to what God has to say. Sin cannot be reasoned with.

 

Second, we see in deliverance that initially things get worse, much worse.

 

We see this in Exodus 5:6-14.

 

Pharaoh responded by increasing their oppression. He multiplied their workload beyond what the Israelites could do. This makes sense when we remember that the world teaches us that the best defense is a good offense. Pharaoh says:

Exodus 5:5 (NKJV) “Look, the people of the land [are] many now, and you make them rest from their labor!”

 

In Exodus chapter 1, the Egyptians feared the growing size of the Israelite population. Now, at least a couple hundred years later, that population had multiplied. The population had not just grown; it had exploded. The Bible says it multiplied greatly. Pharaoh felt threatened.

 

Before God, we were under the Prince and the Power of the air, Satan, the ruler of this world. When we turn to God, Satan knows that he is finished. He no longer has power over us, but he tries to make us believe he does. He does not want to let go, so he causes as much damage as he can. Temptations increase, and doubts attack our hearts and minds.

 

Third, we seek to deliver ourselves or at least stop the attack.

 

We see this in Exodus 5:15-19.

 

The Israelites appealed to Pharaoh. Moses had spoken with Pharaoh and caused the problem, but they did not go to Moses. They went directly to Pharaoh. But Pharaoh rebuked them and treated them with scorn. When they found that Pharaoh would not be reasoned with, they accused Moses of giving the Egyptians the means to kill them.

 

We usually do not understand how deliverance works, so we set about to deliver ourselves. Our approach may be religious, or it may be by human strength. A religious approach seeks to defeat the flesh by keeping rules. Do not eat meat on Fridays. Do not work on Sundays. Do not play cards. Do not smoke. The list of rules is endless. A human-strength approach seeks to solve the problem through determination or education. Determination says, “I will just decide not to do it” (whatever it may be). Education says, “I think Freud had a solution for this.” Either way, we eventually end up where the Israelites did. The world is not our friend. It lies in the power of the evil one, and he uses it against us.

 

Fourth, we surrender.

 

We see this in Exodus 5:20-23.

 

Leaving Pharaoh, the Israelites found Moses and Aaron waiting for them,and they said:

Exodus 5:21 (NKJV) “Let the LORD look on you and judge, because you have made us abhorrent in the sight of Pharaoh and in the sight of his servants, to put a sword in their hand to kill us.”

 

Moses had no answer for them, so he went to the Lord. Exodus 5:22-23 records that interaction.

Exodus 5:22-23 (NKJV) 22 So Moses returned to the LORD and said, “Lord, why have You brought trouble on this people? Why [is] it You have sent me? 23 “For since I came to Pharaoh to speak in Your name, he has done evil to this people; neither have You delivered Your people at all.”

 

Moses pours out his weakness and frustration before the Lord, and finally says, “You have not delivered Your people at all.” This is actually a good thing. Moses has returned to the promise God made. In effect, he is saying, “God, You promised!”

 

Conclusion

 

We will need to look at the first verse of chapter 6 to see God’s response. God says, “Now you shall see what I will do to Pharaoh.”

Exodus 6:1 (NKJV) Then the LORD said to Moses, “Now you shall see what I will do to Pharaoh. For with a strong hand he will let them go, and with a strong hand he will drive them out of his land.”

 

The Israelites and Moses had no idea what deliverance would look like. Not only did God need to get Israel out of Egypt, but He also needed to get Egypt out of Israel. Getting Egypt out of Israel involved giving them the certainty that there is only one God and the gods of the Egyptians could not stand against God. The ten plagues were a demonstration that there is but one God and the 10 greatest gods of the Egyptians were as nothing before Him.

 

We also have many false gods in our lives. In our deliverance, God addresses each one. It is a process. But when we surrender to God, He says, “Now you will see what a great deliverance I will work.”

 

God addresses the things that enslave us one by one. We experience victories and defeats, but through it all we know God is working. James 1:2 says:

James 1:2-5 (NKJV) 2 My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, 3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. 4 But let patience have [its] perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. 5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.

 

Rejoice in what God is doing in your life. Trials are not easy; deliverance never is. It requires perseverance and faith. We must trust God and ask Him for wisdom. Do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways, acknowledge Him, and He will do it.

 

A promise of God from Isaiah 57:18:

“I have seen his ways, and will heal him; I will also lead him.”

When God Puts Something in Your Hand

Exodus 4

 

In Exodus 4:2, God asks Moses, “What is that in your hand?”

 

Moses was a shepherd. He had the one thing every shepherd carried, a staff.

 

It was an ordinary stick that Moses had carried for years while tending sheep in the wilderness.

 

However, after God called Moses, Scripture begins referring to it differently.

“And you shall take this rod in your hand, with which you shall do the signs.” (Exodus 4:17)

 

A few verses later, we read:

“And Moses took the rod of God in his hand.” (Exodus 4:20)

 

It was still the same piece of wood.

 

But it was no longer merely a shepherd’s staff.

 

It had become the rod of God.

 

God did not give Moses a scepter, place a crown on his head, or show him where there was a sword to pull out of a stone. He used Moses’s shepherd’s staff as a visible reminder that God had commissioned Moses.

 

This morning, I want us to consider three truths concerning God’s calling on our lives. God Gives Visible Reminders of His Calling. God’s Calling Always Carries Responsibility. God’s Power Accomplishes God’s Work.

 

In Exodus 4, we see the significance of the rod that Moses carried in his relationships with people. The rod was important because Moses had to work with people. The rod set Moses apart from his brother Aaron. The rod came between Moses and his wife, Ziporah. Tthe rod established Moses with the people of Israel. And, in chapter 5, we the rod will become the center of the confrontation with Pharaoh. The rod itself was a stick. However, it was a symbol of the authority that God’s annointing gavve Moses..

 

We all have visible reminders of the authority that our God given responisiblities place upon us.

 

I. God Gives Visible Reminders of His Calling

 

Throughout Scripture, God often attaches visible symbols to His work.

 

For Moses, it was the staff.

 

For Noah, it was the rainbow.

 

For Israel, it was circumcision.

 

For the priests, it was their garments.

 

Our Lord Jesus Christ bears a visible reminder of His earthly work.

After His resurrection, He still carries the scars of the Cross.

 

Those scars forever proclaim what He accomplished for our salvation, and mark Him as the Head of the Church.

 

The Apostle Paul also spoke of visible reminders.

“From now on let no one trouble me, for I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus.” (Galatians 6:17)

 

Paul was speaking of the scars left by beatings, imprisonments, and stonings. He earned his scars as the Apostle to the Gentiles.

 

Life leaves its marks on all of us. For example, years leave gray hair.

 

Proverbs says,

“The glory of young men is their strength, and the splendor of old men is their gray head.” (Proverbs 20:29)

 

The beauty of gray hair is not simply its color. It represents lessons learned, trials endured, mistakes corrected, and wisdom gained.

 

We earn those gray hairs.

 

Likewise, many of the responsibilities God gives us have outward signs.

 

A diploma speaks of years of study.

 

A medical license recognizes years of disciplined work in the study of medicine.

 

In the church, ordination through the laying on of hands publicly recognizes God’s calling and the years of preparation in a person’s liffe.

 

A wedding ring reminds us of the covenant between husband and wife.

 

These symbols do not create the calling.

 

They remind us of the calling.

 

 

II. God’s Calling Always Carries Responsibility

 

The rod was not a decoration. It represented responsibility. God entrusted Moses with leading Israel out of Egypt. That responsibility changed his life.Before leaving Midian, Moses first settled matters with his father-in-law.Then Moses had to deal with matters in his home when God confronted him because he had not circumcised his son.

 

The passage does not explain why Mose had neglected to circumcise his son. Perhaps Moses delayed. Perhaps Zipporah resisted. Whatever the reason, God held Moses responsible.

 

Look at Exodus 4:24

Exodus 4:24 (NKJV) And it came to pass on the way, at the encampment, that the LORD met him and sought to kill him.

 

God was going to kill Moses because, as the husband, Moses was Moses’s responsibility. Look now at verse 25.

Exodus 4:25 (NKJV) Then Zipporah took a sharp stone and cut off the foreskin of her son and cast [it] at [Moses]’ feet, and said, “Surely you [are] a husband of blood to me!”

 

After this, Ziporah took her son and returned to Midian to her father. What was behind Ziporah’s words and behavior? We do not know. But what we do know is that God did not rebuke or seek to kill Ziporah. Whatever was going on with Ziporah, Moses was the one God demanded an accounting from.

 

The staff came with responsibilities. When God put the staff in Moses’s hand, He elevated Moses to a position where he would receive a harsher judgment because of the authority that position conferred. God was saying, in effect, “If you are going to lead My people, you must first obey Me yourself.”

 

Leadership never exempts us from obedience.

 

It demands it.

 

Every one of us has responsibilities God has assigned.

 

Some are husbands.

 

Some are wives.

 

Some are parents.

 

Some are grandparents.

 

Some serve in the church.

 

Some care for aging parents.

 

Some have responsibilities in their workplace.

 

God has placed each of us where He wants us.

 

The question is not whether we have responsibilities.

 

The question is whether we are being faithful to them.

 

 

III. God’s Power Accomplishes God’s Work

 

The wonderful truth of Exodus 4 is that Moses was not sufficient for the task.

 

He knew it.

 

That is why he kept making excuses.

 

“I can’t speak.”

 

“They won’t believe me.”

 

“Send someone else.”

 

God never answered those objections by telling Moses how capable he was.

 

Instead, he promised,

 

“I will be with you.”

 

That was enough.

 

The rod constantly reminded Moses that God had called him. This is why Exodus 4:20 is so important.

And Moses took the rod of God in his hand.” (Exodus 4:20)

 

When Moses stretched out the rod, God divided the sea.

 

When Moses lifted the rod, God defeated Amalek.

 

When Moses obeyed, God displayed His power.

 

The staff itself possessed no power. It was a piece of wood.

 

The power belonged to God.

 

Sadly, near the end of Moses’ life, we also learn another lesson.

 

God told him to speak to the rock.

 

Instead, Moses struck it with the staff.

 

He misused the authority God had entrusted to him.

 

Because of that act of disobedience, God did not permit Moses to enter the Promised Land.

 

Even faithful servants remain accountable to the One who called them.

 

Authority is always God’s gift.

 

It is never ours to use as we please. Moses was angry and acted out his anger instead of using his God given authority for leading and protecting God’s people.

 

 

Conclusion

 

When Moses left Midian, he carried the rod of God.

 

Wherever he went, it reminded him,

“This is God’s work.”

 

God has entrusted each of us with responsibilities.

 

He has placed us in families.

 

He has placed us in churches.

 

He has placed us in neighborhoods.

 

He has placed us in occupations.

 

You may feel inadequate.

 

So did Moses.

 

You may wonder whether you are strong enough.

 

You are not.

 

Neither was Moses.

 

But the God who called Moses also promised to be with him.

 

And the God who calls us still gives the same promise.

 

Whatever God has entrusted to you today, remember this:

 

The responsibility is yours.

 

The power is His.

 

Be faithful where He has placed you.

 

Walk in obedience.

 

Trust His presence.

 

And you will see, as Moses did, the deliverance of the Lord accomplished—not by your strength, but by the power of God.

 

I want to leave you with some verses that provide a key to managing your responsibilities.

 

Proverbs 3:5-6

Proverbs 3:5-6 (NKJV) 5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart, andlean not on your own understanding; 6 In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.

 

Psalm 37:5

Psalm 37:5 (NKJV) Commit your way to the LORD, Trust also in Him, And He shall bring [it] to pass.