Exodus 7-10
Day 32: Exodus 7-10 Notes & Takeaways
God has shown his mercy and grace to Moses even after the outburst he had in the previous chapter. He tells Moses that he will be like God to Pharaoh, and Aaron would be his prophet. Pharaoh said in Exodus 5:2, “Who is the LORD, that I should obey him and let Israel go?” Moses and Aaron would show him.
We must note that once again we see the younger being placed above the older. Moses was 80 years old and Aaron was 83 when they Spoke to Pharaoh. They were both older and at a perfect time for retirement and taking it easy, but God had other plans. This just goes to show that it doesn’t matter what age we are, God can use us if we are willing to place our trust in Him. It doesn’t matter if we have faltering lips or slow of speech and tongue, God can use you and equip you for the task ahead; He just needs you to trust in Him.
Aaron and Moses perform their first miracle, they take the Staff and it turns into a snake, but the magicians of Pharaoh replicated it as well. But, just like Jesus crushed the serpent’s head on the cross, the Lord’s staff turned snake “swallowed up their staffs [snakes]” (Exodus 7:12). The magicians and sorcerers may be intelligent but intelligence is nothing without God’s wisdom. 2 Timothy 3:7-9. This is a powerful example of God’s power and how His power can overcome anything the enemy would want to throw our way. His poor imitations don’t compare to God’s greatness.
We will see time and time again that Pharaoh hardens his heart and that the LORD hardens Pharaoh’s heart. We must understand that Pharaoh was not an innocent bystander, he was an evil, cruel dictator who oversaw the Israelites slavery, gave them undeserved punishment, and was the one who initiated mass murder. God gave Pharaoh many warnings and opportunities to turn back and allow the Israelites to leave, but Pharaoh himself hardened his heart due to the cruelty of his own nature.
“It could be that, as a result of Pharaoh’s hard-heartedness, God hardened Pharaoh’s heart even further, allowing for the last few plagues and bringing God’s full glory into view (Exodus 9:12; 10:20, 27). Pharaoh and Egypt had brought these judgments on themselves with 400 years of slavery and mass murder. Since the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23), and Pharaoh and Egypt had horribly sinned against God, it would have been just if God had completely annihilated Egypt. Therefore, God’s hardening Pharaoh’s heart was not unjust, and His bringing additional plagues against Egypt was not unjust. The plagues, as terrible as they were, actually demonstrate God’s mercy in not completely destroying Egypt, which would have been a perfectly just penalty.
Romans 9:17-18 declares, “For the Scripture says to Pharaoh: ‘I raised you up for this very purpose, that I might display my power in you and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.’ Therefore God has mercy on whom He wants to have mercy, and He hardens whom He wants to harden.” From a human perspective, it seems wrong for God to harden a person and then punish the person He has hardened. Biblically speaking, however, we have all sinned against God (Romans 3:23), and the just penalty for that sin is death (Romans 6:23). Therefore, God’s hardening and punishing a person is not unjust; it is actually merciful in comparison to what the person deserves.” (GotQuestions.org)
With Pharaoh’s unyielding heart, he refused to let the people go (Exodus 7:14). Therefore the LORD empowered Moses to perform miracles & wonders; each of the plagues corresponded to an Egyptian god or goddess, and in essence displayed God’s power as they One True God. The plagues were as of follows:
The plague of water to blood: HAPI— god of the Nile; water bearer
The plague of frogs: HEKET— goddess with head of a frog
The plague of gnats from the dust: SEB— god of the earth
The plague of the flies: UATCHIT— god of the fly
The plague of the death of the livestock: HATHOR— god of bulls and cows
The plague of the boils: SERAPIS and IMHOTEP— gods of healing
The plague of hail: NUT— goddess of the sky
The plague of locusts: SERAPIA— god of protection from locusts
The plague of complete darkness: RA— the god of the sun
The plague of the death of the first born: PHARAOH— considered the son of Ra himself
“The ‘plagues’ are described by cognate Hebrew words, all meaning ‘blow’ or ‘stroke’.” (Cole) This means that each plague was a blog to a god that the Egyptians worshipped. Although, the magicians, sorcerers, or wise men of Pharaoh could recreate the turning of the staff into a snake and the water to blood, we don’t know for sure whether it was through a magic trick of sorts or if in fact satan himself worked through them. But, one thing we know for sure is that if he was working through them, he could not recreate any of the rest and could not reverse the effects of the bloody water. This is because satan can’t cleanse anything, only God can do that. Satan can’t overturn God’s powerful work either, he is not powerful enough to overcome God’s greatness. Therefore, we can trust that our God is powerful enough to help us overcome any adversity.
As we go from one plague to another we see Pharaoh’s heart continue to harden increasingly. Thus, we must remember that God never hardened Pharaoh’s heart until he first hardened it against the LORD and His people (Exodus 7:13, 7:22, 8:15, 8:19, 8:32, and 9:7).
As we continue in sin and reject God’s opportunities for us to repent and return, the hardening continues. It is commonly seen. A man doesn’t start by gambling away his paycheck; it starts with continuing on in friendly betting, and his heart grows hard. A man doesn’t start with shameful perversion; it starts with a few magazines, a couple of videos, and his heart grows hard. A woman doesn’t start addicted to alcohol; it starts with some social drinking and her heart grows hard. (Guzik)
“The drunkard, the murderer himself, is a man who at first did evil as far as he dared, and afterwards dared to do evil which he would once have shuddered at.” (Chadwick)
Through each plague God showed his greatness, even in the plague of darkness, it was a “darkness which may even be felt” (Exodus 10:21-23): This was no normal darkness, it was supernatural. Light is an aspect of God’s character (God is light and in Him is no darkness at all, 1 John 1:5). In judgment, God can withdraw His presence so much that all that remains is a darkness which may even be felt. Not only were the Egyptians in total darkness, it seems that not even artificial light like candles could work, but for the Israelites, they had light in the places where they lived.
How does “a darkness that can be felt” feel? I imagine that it’s cold, uninviting, confusing. Every little sound makes you say, “What was that? Who’s there?” What fear must have come over the Egyptians that they didn’t even leave from where they were. While darkness keeps you confused and worried, light gives you freedom to move without fear—you can step with certainty, knowing that you are in the right place.” (Hilton)
It’s so wonderful to see God’s power, but also God’s protection. Although the plagues were on the Egyptians and falling on all of Egypt, they did not fall on Goshen, where the Israelites lived. Time and time again God put a hedge of protection around them (Job 1:10). Pharaoh might have thought, “we have our gods, and the Hebrews have their God, but there is no difference!” Except there was!
“The Lord hath put a difference between those who are his people and those who are not. There are many distinctions among men which will one day be blotted out; but permit me to remind you at the outset that this is an eternal distinction.” (Spurgeon)
The plagues affected every phase of nature: mineral, animal, vegetable, and human; except the people, property, and land of God’s people. When we are walking with God, He places a hedge of protection around us, and satan himself knows this. For when God suggested that satan look at Job, whom was “blameless and upright” (Job 1:1), satan asked him, “Does Job fear God for nothing? Have you not put a hedge [of protection] around him and his household, and everything he has?” (Job 1:9) Therefore, we know that God protects us too, for we are his children. Psalm 34:7-8 says, “The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear him, and he delivers them. Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in Him.”
This is where we end today. Tomorrow we will dive more into chapter 11 & 12, since technically we went up to chapter 11 today. I hope you’re learning a lot and enjoying it all at the same time. I know I am! Make sure to follow RF on Instagram, and join our FB Group to stay up to date for our next weekly zoom sessions!
REFERENCES
Chadwick, G.A. The Book of Exodus (New York: Hodder and Stoughton)
Guzik, David Enduring Word Commentary (Enduringword.com)
Hilton, Natalie A Darkness that Can be Felt: Praying Your Way into the Light (Nataliehilton.com)
Spurgeon, Charles Haddon The New Park Street Pulpit, Volumes 1-6 and The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Volumes 7-63 (Pasadena, Texas: Pilgrim Publications, 1990)
