Sunday School Lesson 2 - Ex. 7:1-13 - Confrontation
INTRODUCTION: Last week, in Ex. 3:4-14; 4:13-16, we were introduced to the Book of Exodus with the story of Moses' first encounter with God at the burning bush at Sinai. After identifying Himself as the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, God informed Moses that he was being called as God's chosen instrument to lead the Sons of Israel out of slavery in Egypt. When Moses expressed honest doubts about his personal qualifications to do what God asked, God assured him that He would be "with him," and Moses would be acting with God's power and authority to carry out this seemingly impossible task. When Moses asked God His Name so he could authenticate the person for whom he was acting, God instructed him to say, "I AM has sent me to you"-i.e., basically, that He is Yahweh, the one true God and creator of the universe, Who is Himself uncreated and eternal. Then, after hearing all these assurances, Moses asked God to please send somebody else, which demonstrated unwillingness, not inability, which "kindled" God's anger, a bad thing to do. God then informed Moses that he wasn't asking him to volunteer but ordering him to go-period! We learned two broad Biblical truths from this: (1) That God purposes are never accomplished with human ability but by His own power; and (2) That salvation-from slavery in Egypt in this instance-is always from the message of God's Word, and in the same way, we Christians are messengers of the gospel.
This week, in Ex. 7:1-13, we'll find out that a lot has happed since Moses' original encounter with God at Sinai: (1) Moses has left Midian and returned to Egypt, taking his wife and their son with him (4:18-25); (2) Moses is reunited with his brother Aaron in the wilderness (4:27-28); (3) Moses and Aaron gathered together all the elders of Israel and spoke the words of the LORD, authenticating themselves with miracles and signs (4:29-31); (4) Moses and Aaron went before Pharaoh and asked him to "let my people go," but Pharaoh refused, saying he did not "know" Israel's "LORD" (Yahweh), and instead made the work of the Israelites much harder (5:1-23); (5) God speaks to Moses again, promising deliverance and ordering him to repeat His demands to Pharaoh (6:1-13); and (7) the genealogy of Moses and Aaron is listed (6:14-30). As we come into today's lesson, we find Moses and Aaron in a very nerve-racking situation. Both of them are still stinging from Pharaoh's earlier rejection of their demand, together with the Israelite people's understandable rage over the even harder work conditions that had been imposed on them. Moses' and Aaron's willingness to try again is based on a renewed confidence in God's sovereign plans and authority.
Read Ex. 7:1-5 - I WILL LAY MY HAND ON EGYPT
1 Then the Lord said to Moses, "See, I have made you as God to Pharaoh, and your brother Aaron shall be your prophet. 2 As for you, you shall speak all that I command you, and your brother Aaron shall speak to Pharaoh that he let the sons of Israel go out of his land. 3 But I will harden Pharaoh's heart, so that I may multiply My signs and My wonders in the land of Egypt. 4 When Pharaoh does not listen to you, I will lay My hand on Egypt and bring out My armies, My people the sons of Israel, from the land of Egypt by great judgments. 5 Then the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord, when I extend My hand over Egypt and bring out the sons of Israel from their midst."
v. 1: "Then the Lord said to Moses, "See, I have made you as God to Pharaoh, and your brother Aaron shall be your prophet" - The phrase, "as God to Pharaoh," doesn't mean Moses is being elevated to the status of deity, but that he will be God's messenger, like apostles who were later empowered to perform signs and miracles. In this role, he can speak the words of God with the all the authority of God, but notice he only has God-like authority as long as he speaks God's word; and Aaron similarly, only has authority as long as he speaks the words of Moses.
v. 2: "As for you, you shall speak all that I command you, and your brother Aaron shall speak to Pharaoh that he let the sons of Israel go out of his land" - Here, God basically ignores the objection that Moses raised in 6:30 (" I am unskilled in speech") and simply orders him and Aaron to return to Pharaoh and "speak all that I command you." The point of this verse is that God's expects us to obey His commands and follow His plans even when we don't fully understand them. We don't see the bigger picture as God does. And Moses is still struggling to patiently wait on God's perfect timing.
v. 3: "But I will harden Pharaoh's heart, so that I may multiply My signs and My wonders in the land of Egypt" - Nine times in Exodus the hardening of Pharaoh's heart is attributed to God. In Scripture the "heart" refers to our inner-self-the intellect, will, and emotions which control a person's behavior. Here and elsewhere, the references to "Pharaoh's heart" all speak of someone who has a predisposition to act in opposition to the LORD, with the implication that Pharaoh, an arrogant and ungodly tyrant, not God, is ultimately responsible for whatever happens. We will learn more about this as we move further into Exodus. Also, the idea of a multiple series of "signs and...wonders" (miracles) is mentioned explicitly here for the first time.
v. 4a: "When Pharaoh does not listen to you" - God, who is all-knowing, already knew that Pharaoh would reject Moses' next demand in behalf of the LORD, and already had it factored into His plans.
v. 4b: "I will lay My hand on Egypt and bring out My armies, My people the sons of Israel, from the land of Egypt by great judgments" - The Israelite nation, organized into 12 tribes, was seen by God as being organized like "armies," and indeed, it would be much later on. What God has planned for Egypt was not something that would happen quietly and go unnoticed. His "great judgments" would show not only Egypt but the surrounding nations the power of Almighty God (Yahweh).
v. 5: "Then the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord, when I extend My hand over Egypt and bring out the sons of Israel from their midst." God's express purpose in Exodus is that "the Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD," specifically, that He is the one true God whose power is so incredibly vast that it discredits the power of Egypt's false gods and any other false gods, completely.
Read Ex. 7: 6-8 - MOSES AND AARON DID AS THE LORD COMMANDED
6 So Moses and Aaron did this; as the Lord commanded them, so they did. 7 And Moses was eighty years old and Aaron eighty-three, when they spoke to Pharaoh.
v. 6: "So Moses and Aaron did this; as the Lord commanded them, so they did" - Here, we see Moses and Aaron reach a milestone. From this time forward, any reluctance or resistance on Moses' part to God's leading ceased. He subordinated his will to God's will, so that in the Faith Hall of Fame, he's credited as being "faithful in all God's house as a servant' (Heb. 3:5). Aaron acted in like manner until they reached Sinai, where he caved-in to the sinful agitation of the people (Ex. 32:1-6). But here, we see no more doubt, no more hesitation on either Moses' or Aaron's part. They were totally onboard because the power of God had vanquished their fears. Charles Hadden Spurgeon remarked that Moses categorically deserved the title, "The Man of God," because, "Moses was peculiarly a man of God and God's man; chosen of God, inspired of God, and faithful to God in all his house."
v. 7: "And Moses was eighty years old and Aaron eighty-three, when they spoke to Pharaoh" - This seems old to us, past the age of retirement, but given Moses' extended lifespan-120 years-he was really in his early middle years at this time, the prime of life. But the idea here is that God can use anyone, whether young or old, to be the chosen instruments who will accomplish His will.
Read Ex. 7:8-10 - WORK A MIRACLE
8 Now the LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, 9 "When Pharaoh speaks to you, saying, 'Work a miracle,' then you shall say to Aaron, 'Take your staff and throw it down before Pharaoh, so that it may turn into a serpent.'" 10 So Moses and Aaron came to Pharaoh, and so they did, just as the LORD had commanded; and Aaron threw his staff down before Pharaoh and his servants, and it turned into a serpent.
v. 8: "Now the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying" - This marks the first instance we see God speaking to both Moses and Aaron at the same time.
v. 9a: "When Pharaoh speaks to you, saying, 'Work a miracle,'" - In their previous meeting with Pharaoh (5:1-3), the ruler didn't ask Moses and Aaron to perform miracles, so none were offered. For the next meeting, God tells them to perform no miracles until Pharaoh expressly asks for one.
v. 9b: "Take your staff and throw it down before Pharaoh, so that it may turn into a serpent" - The "staff" is an important symbol here. For Moses and Aaron, it signifies that God is the one working through them, both for the benefit of the children of Israel and to glorify God Himself.
v. 10a: "So Moses and Aaron came to Pharaoh, and so they did, just as the LORD had commanded" - The phrase, "and so they did, just as the LORD had commanded," implies that (1) Pharaoh again refused to let the Israelites go and (2) demanded that they show him some sign or miracle that would validated their God's power.
v. 10b: "and Aaron threw his staff down before Pharaoh and his servants, and it turned into a serpent" - We think of "serpent" in terms of a snake, but the word used for it here (Heb. tannin [tan-neen']) can literally mean sea monster or crocodile, and it is a different word than the one used for the "serpent" which tempted Eve in the Garden (Gen. 3:1-2). In any event, the ability to turn a wooden staff into any kind of living animal would require supernatural power.
Read Ex. 7:11-13 - AARON'S STAFF SWALLOWED THEIR STAFFS
v. 11 Then Pharaoh also called for the wise men and the sorcerers, and they too, the soothsayer priests of Egypt, did the same with their secret arts. 12 For each one threw down his staff, and they turned into serpents. But Aaron's staff swallowed their staffs. 13 Yet Pharaoh's heart was hardened, and he did not listen to them, just as the LORD had said.
v. 11: "Then Pharaoh also called for the wise men and the sorcerers, and they too, the soothsayer priests of Egypt, did the same with their secret arts" - These "wise men... sorcerers...soothsayer priests" are referred to as "magicians" in other translations. The exact nature of their so-called "secret arts" has been a source of much scholarly speculation over the centuries. Some say they were using slight of hand to perform magic tricks or illusions, while others claim they used demonic powers given to them by Satan. Interestingly, the Egyptian wise men surface in the NT as "Jannes and Jambres" who "opposed Moses" (2 Tim. 3:8).
v. 12a: "For each one threw down his staff, and they turned into serpents" - Again, the word used for "serpents" is the same as the one used in v. 10. Some of the imaginary Renaissance artwork depicting this scene shows them as pony-sized dragons with wings. Take your pick.
v. 12b: "But Aaron's staff swallowed their staffs" - Notice that Aaron didn't say or do anything to make this happen; God simply acted through Aaron's "staff" to display the superiority of His power over the magician's secret arts. We also know that the Egyptians feared and worshipped serpents, and that they were a symbol of Pharaoh's power over his kingdom. Thus, the act of Aaron's staff swallowing up the Egyptian magicians' staffs might be viewed as strong message demonstrating the superiority of God's power over the demonic powers of Satan-a triumph of good over evil.
v. 13: "Yet Pharaoh's heart was hardened, and he did not listen to them, just as the LORD had said" - A better translation would be that Pharaoh's heart was already too hard to change his mind or humble him before the demonstrated power of God, and remember that God's perfect timing is controlling every event as it unfolds
APPLICATION-Delivering People from Bondage
PRAYER: God, our Father in heaven, we come before your throne this morning with thankful hearts, praising You for the love, mercy, and grace You constantly show toward us as individual Christian believers and as a Church. We thank You especially that You loved us enough to send Your Son to die on a cross for us so that we may live, eternally. We thank You that we have the freedom and the opportunity to assemble as a class to study, learn, and apply the fundamental truths of Your holy Word. We, Dear God, like Moses, are inadequate servants whom You have empowered to speak the Gospel message to a dying world. And I ask that You will use this time of study and learning to encourage and convict every one of us as Your witnesses-to share this truth with the lost people of this community who are all around us. We ask, God, for Your divine direction in the future of this church, especially over the next few weeks as our Pastor Search Committee continues to seek the man who You have called to be our new shepherd, and we look forward to what You have planned for us. I ask these things in the name of Jesus Christ, our precious Lord and Redeemer, AMEN.
