Deliverance - 2

Moses and Aaron have already faced Pharaoh once and their appeal to let the people off for three days to worship their God was not only rejected but the Pharaoh loaded a heavier burden of work on the Israelites claiming their desire to have time off for a religious festival was a sign of laziness and they had too much idle time on their hands. The truth, however, was that the Pharaoh dreaded the potential power of such a large number of foreigners in his country and the only way to undermine their influence was to keep them occupied with forced labor that served to build up the state. Their mud bricks built the city of Rameses (Exodus 1:1) from which they eventually departed on their journey when miraculously liberated (Exodus 12:37).

In Exodus 7:8-13, God renews His call for Moses and Aaron to once again go to the Pharaoh and make their request but this time they will begin to reveal the power of the God they serve who is actually the One making the demand.

I. The Miracle of The Staff – Exodus 7:8-13

God once again rouses Moses and Aaron in order to send them to the Pharaoh, but this time with a difference.

¹⁰So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and did what the Lord had commanded them. Aaron threw down his staff before Pharaoh and his officials, and it became a serpent! ¹¹Then Pharaoh called in his own wise men and sorcerers, and these Egyptian magicians did the same thing with their magic. ¹²They threw down their staffs, which also became serpents! But then Aaron's staff swallowed up their staffs. ¹³Pharaoh's heart, however, remained hard. He still refused to listen, just as the Lord had predicted.
- Exodus 7:10-13

We assume that the same request is made, and Aaron performs the miracle with the staff to confirm that this message is from God. To Moses and Aaron's surprise the Pharaoh duplicates the appearance of the miracle through his magicians. For Pharaoh, who considers himself a god and his magicians as part of his divine authority – Moses is no more than the Jewish version of himself with Aaron a magician in service to Moses. This is a contest to see who has more "power". Pharaoh said, "Work a miracle" (show me your power). When Aaron's snake eats up the snakes produced by the Egyptians, the Pharaoh is non-plussed and dismisses them thinking the challenge was a draw.

The passage says his heart was hardened or in the Hebrew – "strong," which could mean proud. In other words, the attitude that says, "No slave is going to come into my palace and make demands on me. Don't these people know who I am?"

II. The Ten Plagues – Exodus 7:14-12:36

God knew in advance how the Pharaoh would react but Moses and Aaron didn't and needed to get an idea of how stubborn and proud he was, so the second interaction with him opened their eyes. It is at this point that God will inflict great punishment on the Pharaoh and damage on the nation of Egypt in order to pressure the king to release the Jews. There are a total of ten plagues recorded as a result of Moses and Aaron's visits to the Pharaoh until he releases them. Each miracle/plague has certain similar features that can be used as headings in a chart you will find in your workbooks. Here are the headings:

1. Water to Blood – Exodus 7:14-25

¹⁴Then the Lord said to Moses, "Pharaoh's heart is stubborn; he refuses to let the people go. ¹⁵Go to Pharaoh in the morning as he is going out to the water, and station yourself to meet him on the bank of the Nile; and you shall take in your hand the staff that was turned into a serpent. ¹⁶You shall say to him, 'The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, sent me to you, saying, "Let My people go, that they may serve Me in the wilderness. But behold, you have not listened until now." ¹⁷Thus says the Lord, "By this you shall know that I am the Lord: behold, I will strike the water that is in the Nile with the staff that is in my hand, and it will be turned to blood. ¹⁸The fish that are in the Nile will die, and the Nile will become foul, and the Egyptians will find difficulty in drinking water from the Nile."'" ¹⁹Then the Lord said to Moses, "Say to Aaron, 'Take your staff and stretch out your hand over the waters of Egypt, over their rivers, over their streams, and over their pools, and over all their reservoirs of water, that they may become blood; and there will be blood throughout all the land of Egypt, both in vessels of wood and in vessels of stone.'"

²⁰So Moses and Aaron did even as the Lord had commanded. And he lifted up the staff and struck the water that was in the Nile, in the sight of Pharaoh and in the sight of his servants, and all the water that was in the Nile was turned to blood. ²¹The fish that were in the Nile died, and the Nile became foul, so that the Egyptians could not drink water from the Nile. And the blood was through all the land of Egypt. ²²But the magicians of Egypt did the same with their secret arts; and Pharaoh's heart was hardened, and he did not listen to them, as the Lord had said. ²³Then Pharaoh turned and went into his house with no concern even for this. ²⁴So all the Egyptians dug around the Nile for water to drink, for they could not drink of the water of the Nile. ²⁵Seven days passed after the Lord had struck the Nile.
- Exodus 7:14-25

Note that this plague was not accompanied with a request to release the people but rather because the Pharaoh has not listened to God's instructions so far:

¹⁶You shall say to him, 'The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, sent me to you, saying, "Let My people go, that they may serve Me in the wilderness. But behold, you have not listened until now."

The final verses indicate that this plague lasted seven days.

2. Frogs Over the Land – Exodus 8:1-15

¹Then the Lord said to Moses, "Go to Pharaoh and say to him, 'Thus says the Lord, "Let My people go, that they may serve Me. ²But if you refuse to let them go, behold, I will smite your whole territory with frogs. ³The Nile will swarm with frogs, which will come up and go into your house and into your bedroom and on your bed, and into the houses of your servants and on your people, and into your ovens and into your kneading bowls. ⁴So the frogs will come up on you and your people and all your servants."'" ⁵Then the Lord said to Moses, "Say to Aaron, 'Stretch out your hand with your staff over the rivers, over the streams and over the pools, and make frogs come up on the land of Egypt.'" ⁶So Aaron stretched out his hand over the waters of Egypt, and the frogs came up and covered the land of Egypt. ⁷The magicians did the same with their secret arts, making frogs come up on the land of Egypt.
- Exodus 8:1-7

We note the disbelief of the Pharaoh in that he casually lies to Moses in order to get rid of the frogs which demonstrates that he still disregards Moses' God as inferior to himself.

3. Lice/Mosquitos – Exodus 8:16-19

¹⁶Then the Lord said to Moses, "Say to Aaron, 'Stretch out your staff and strike the dust of the earth, that it may become gnats through all the land of Egypt.'" ¹⁷They did so; and Aaron stretched out his hand with his staff, and struck the dust of the earth, and there were gnats on man and beast. All the dust of the earth became gnats through all the land of Egypt. ¹⁸The magicians tried with their secret arts to bring forth gnats, but they could not; so, there were gnats on man and beast. ¹⁹Then the magicians said to Pharaoh, "This is the finger of God." But Pharaoh's heart was hardened, and he did not listen to them, as the Lord had said.
- Exodus 8:16-19

Note that this time the magicians themselves are convinced and tell the Pharaoh that this is what they believe, but Pharaoh refuses to listen to his own counselors' advice as far this is concerned.

4. Flies – Exodus 8:20-22

²⁰Now the Lord said to Moses, "Rise early in the morning and present yourself before Pharaoh, as he comes out to the water, and say to him, 'Thus says the Lord, "Let My people go, that they may serve Me. ²¹For if you do not let My people go, behold, I will send swarms of flies on you and on your servants and on your people and into your houses; and the houses of the Egyptians will be full of swarms of flies, and also the ground on which they dwell. ²²But on that day I will set apart the land of Goshen, where My people are living, so that no swarms of flies will be there, in order that you may know that I, the Lord, am in the midst of the land.
- Exodus 8:20-22

We note that God now begins to make a distinction between His people and the Egyptians which make the miraculous plagues truly a judgment upon the Pharaoh and his people. It's personal now – Moses' God vs. Pharaoh and his gods.

5. Livestock – Exodus 9:1-17

⁶So the Lord did this thing on the next day, and all the livestock of Egypt died; but of the livestock of the sons of Israel, not one died. ⁷Pharaoh sent, and behold, there was not even one of the livestock of Israel dead. But the heart of Pharaoh was hardened, and he did not let the people go.
- Exodus 9:6-7

Even when Pharaoh has proof that only his people are targeted, confirming what Moses and Aaron as well as his own priests and magicians are telling him, he remains defiant.

6. Boils and Skin Ulcers – Exodus 9:8-12

⁸Then the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, "Take for yourselves handfuls of soot from a kiln, and let Moses throw it toward the sky in the sight of Pharaoh. ⁹It will become fine dust over all the land of Egypt and will become boils breaking out with sores on man and beast through all the land of Egypt." ¹⁰So they took soot from a kiln and stood before Pharaoh; and Moses threw it toward the sky, and it became boils breaking out with sores on man and beast. ¹¹The magicians could not stand before Moses because of the boils, for the boils were on the magicians as well as on all the Egyptians. ¹²And the Lord hardened Pharaoh's heart, and he did not listen to them, just as the Lord had spoken to Moses.
- Exodus 9:8-12

The fact that the magicians who often acted as counselors to the king were not allowed at court meant that Pharaoh was now becoming isolated.

7. Hail – Exodus 9:13-35

¹³Then the Lord said to Moses, "Rise up early in the morning and stand before Pharaoh and say to him, 'Thus says the Lord, the God of the Hebrews, "Let My people go, that they may serve Me. ¹⁴For this time I will send all My plagues on you and your servants and your people, so that you may know that there is no one like Me in all the earth. ¹⁵For if by now I had put forth My hand and struck you and your people with pestilence, you would then have been cut off from the earth. ¹⁶But, indeed, for this reason I have allowed you to remain, in order to show you My power and in order to proclaim My name through all the earth. ¹⁷Still you exalt yourself against My people by not letting them go.
- Exodus 9:13-17

God tells the Pharaoh that He could have destroyed the Egyptian land, animals, people and himself, but instead let them live so they could witness His power and His presence. To prove that this statement is true, He sends a horrific hailstorm that causes incredible damage.

8. Locusts – Exodus 10:1-20

This was a second wave of destruction which threatened the Egyptian food supply and ultimate destruction of the nation if there was not a change in the Pharaoh's response – however, like many godless leaders since, the Pharaoh's pride (hard heart) was ready to sacrifice his people in the service of his own vision and ego.

9. Darkness – Exodus 10:21-29

Ra was one of the oldest deities in Egyptian history. He was eventually merged with the god Horus becoming the morning sun; later merged with the god Ahun becoming the evening sun. Ra was associated with primal life-giving energy – to control or have the power to block out the sun, at will, was to demonstrate a power beyond what the Egyptians knew or could even imagine.

At this sign the Pharaoh tries to negotiate with Moses concerning who could leave and who would stay behind, but Moses repeats God's demand to release all the Israelites and their possessions – at this the Pharaoh threatens Moses with death if he returns.

²⁸Then Pharaoh said to him, "Get away from me! Beware, do not see my face again, for in the day you see my face you shall die!" ²⁹Moses said, "You are right; I shall never see your face again!"
- Exodus 10:28-29

We will save the last plague for the next chapter because it will involve the first step in creating a nation, which will be a feast commemorating the Israelites' freedom from slavery.