Day 26: Exodus 7:1-8:32 “Patience In The Process Of Deliverance & The Plagues Of Egypt”

2-5 The Lord said to Moses, “You are to say everything I command you, and your brother Aaron is to tell Pharaoh to let the Israelites go out of his country. But I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and though I multiply my miraculous signs and wonders in Egypt, he will not listen to you. Then I will lay my hand on Egypt and with mighty acts of judgement I will bring out my people the Israelites. And the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord when I stretch out my hand against Egypt and bring the Israelites out of it.”

It’s interesting- God told Moses to do something, but then essentially said it wouldn’t work. “Go tell Pharaoh this, but he won’t listen to you.” Ever feel like God has told you to do something and it doesn’t seem to be working? I think those are the moments when we need to remember this story. God had a plan, and Pharaoh saying no was all a part of it.

Oh, and verse 7 says Moses was 80 and Aaron was 83 at the time. How’s that for a remarkable plan at that age!

I’m often surprised how many people aren’t aware of the power of magic and sorcery. As a young person, I was fascinated with the subject, but then learned that God forbids it. It’s not that other great spiritual forces don’t exist- after all, God is the one who created all spiritual beings. It’s just that God is the most powerful and in his love and jealousy has instructed us to only call upon the greatest power- himself.

Moses and Aaron did just as the Lord commanded. Aaron threw his staff down in front of Pharaoh and it turned into a snake. However, Pharaoh summoned the sorcerers and magicians who each threw down his own staff and had it turn into a snake.

12 But Aaron’s staff swallowed up their staffs.

In terms of spiritual forces, I understand the excitement in the illusion of being able to conjure up things and perform miracles, however, God is the one and only Most High. He is the absolute supreme power.

The Lord told Moses what to do with Pharaoh the next morning-to take the same staff, tell Pharaoh what the Lord had to say, and instruct Aaron to hold the staff over the waters so that they would turn into blood.

Verse 20 says they did just as the Lord commanded, but it also says he struck the water of the Nile to change it into blood. The fish died and the river smelled. The Egyptians could not drink the water.

22 But the Egyptian magicians did the same things by their secret arts, and Pharaoh’s heart became hard.

Again, Pharaoh didn’t believe Moses and Aaron. After all, his magicians had just replicated the same plague.

25, 8:1 Seven days passed after the Lord struck the Nile. Then the Lord said to Moses to go back to Pharaoh.

I imagine those days passed quite slowly for Moses and Aaron.

They returned to Pharaoh with the threatened consequence of a frog “infestation.” This time, however, Aaron stretched his hand over the waters as instructed.

7 But the magicians did the same things by their secret arts.

Pharaoh asked Moses and Aaron to pray for God to take the frogs away, and said he would release the Israelites. Moses asked Pharaoh for the exact time he wanted that prayer so that he would know “there is no one like the Lord our God.”

Moses prayed and the frogs died.

15 But when Pharaoh saw that there was relief, he hardened his heart and would not listen to Moses and Aaron, just as the Lord had said.

God told Moses to tell Aaron to strike the ground with the staff, and he did so.

17 All the dust throughout the land of Egypt became gnats.

It’s interesting that at first, God told Moses to have Aaron stretch out his hand over the water, and he struck the water. The second plague, God told Moses to have Aaron stretch his hand over the water and he did so. The third plague, God told Moses to tell Aaron to strike the ground and he did so. Sometimes, God’s instructions are very specific.

It’s also interesting to note that the Bible says the Lord told Moses the instructions. Aaron must have had great faith to be able to be a part of such an important event while relying on the voice and instructions of the Lord through someone else.

18 When the magicians tried to produce gnats by their secret arts, they could not.

19 The magicians said to Pharaoh, “This is the finger of God.”

God stepped it up another notch and told Pharaoh about the next plague. Swarms of flies would come on the land, but no swarms of flies would be in Goshen where the Israelites lived.

23 “I will make a distinction between my people and your people. This miraculous sign will occur tomorrow.”

Pharaoh told Moses and Aaron that they could sacrifice to God “here in the land.” It wasn’t what they had asked for, but Pharaoh was trying to bargain.

Moses responded that since their sacrifices were detestable to the Egyptians, they needed to go three days into the desert as God had commanded.

28 Pharaoh said, “I will let you go in the desert, but you must not go very far. Now pray for me.”

Moses had learned that Pharaoh could change his mind.

29 Moses answered, “As soon as I leave you, I will pray to the Lord, and tomorrow the flies will leave Pharaoh and his officials and his people. Only be sure that Pharaoh does not act deceitfully again by not letting the people go.”

Moses prayed and the flies left, but Pharaoh still wouldn’t let the people go.

Lord, thank you for your deliverance. Let me be confident in your ways even when they seem to take longer than I like or appear to not be working. Your ways are good and I trust you. Let them know you are the Lord.

 

Day 25: Exodus 4:1-6:30 “Moses Definitely Didn’t Seem Excited About His Calling”

13 But Moses said, “O Lord, please send someone else to do it.”

Moses had a lot of questions for God. How was this going to work? How would people believe that God had actually told him to say this?

God gave him 3 miraculous signs- the first was to turn his rod into a snake.

3-4 Moses threw it on the ground and it became a snake, and he ran from it. Then the Lord said to him, “Reach out your hand and take it by the tail.”

I love how the Bible speaks so simply about what I imagine was a humorous sight and a moment of courage for Moses.

The next two signs were to turn Moses’ hand into a leprous hand and back again, and then have water turn to blood as it was poured on the ground.

Moses argued that he had never been eloquent, but God replied that it didn’t matter.

11 The Lord said to him, “Who gave man his mouth? Who makes him deaf or mute? Who gives him sight or makes him blind? Is it not I, the Lord? Now go; I will help you speak and will teach you what to say.”

Go, and he will teach you and help you. How many times do we wait to say yes until we know exactly what we need to say or how it will work. Perhaps we need to go anyway and trust God to equip and teach us when the time comes.

After God had done and said all of this, Moses still wanted someone else to do it.

14 Then the Lord’s anger burned against Moses and he said, “What about your brother, Aaron? I know he can speak well.

Notice he didn’t pick the eloquent speaker to begin with.

15 “I will help both of you speak. He will speak to the people for you, and it will be as if he were your mouth and as if you were God to him.”

It’s remarkable how God just compared the idea of Moses instructing Aaron and using him as a mouth piece to God instructing us and using us a mouthpiece. It really is the same if we learn to tune our hearts and spirits to his voice.

Moses returned to his father in law and asked to go back to Egypt.

19 The Lord had said to Moses, “Go back, for all the men who wanted to kill you are dead.”

He also told Moses to perform the miracles for Pharaoh, even though God would harden Pharaoh’s heart so that he would say no.

22 “Then say to Pharaoh, ‘This is what the Lord says: Israel is my firstborn son, and I told you, “Let my son go, so he may worship me.” But you refused to let him go; so I will kill your firstborn son.'”

Also, remember the king of Egypt had instructed the killing of all the newborn sons of the Israelites.

Apparently Moses’ son was not yet circumcised.

24-25 The Lord met him and was about to kill him, but Zipporah took a flint knife, cut off her son’s foreskin and touched his feet with it.

Next time you’re having a bad day, just be thankful God’s not about to kill you but your mom saves the day by taking your foreskin off with a flint knife.

Just a thought.

God told Aaron to go meet Moses at the mountain, and Moses told him everything that had happened. They called together the elders of Israel to tell them and perform the miraculous signs for them, and they believed.

31 When they heard that the Lord was concerned about them and had seen their misery, they bowed down and worshiped.

Moses and Aaron went to the Pharaoh as instructed, however the Pharaoh decided that the Israelites should start working harder, so ordered them all to make the same amount of bricks as before, but now instead of Pharaoh’s people supplying the straw, they would have to find the straw themselves. The Israelite foremen started getting beaten for not keeping up with the new, more difficult standards and they blamed Moses and Aaron.

Moses returned to God and asked why He had brought about more trouble.

5:23 “I went to Pharaoh to speak in your name, he has brought trouble upon this people, and you have not rescued your people at all.”

Sometimes things get worse before they get better.

God reassured Moses that Pharaoh would let the people go and that the people would inherit the land he promised to Abraham.

6:9 Moses told this to the Israelites, but they didn’t listen because of their discouragement and cruel bondage. 

God told a frustrated Moses to go back to Pharaoh, but Moses asked why Pharaoh should listen to him if the Israelites had not.

Chapter 6 ends outlining a family tree and includes in verse 20 that Moses’ mother was married to her brother’s son.

I wonder if it would have been easier if Moses had just trusted God and done what he was told without trying to figure it all out. It seems like a lot of the battle was in his heart. Yes, things had just gotten worse, but in comparison to the peace that Joseph seemed to have in the midst of trials, I wonder if Moses had the same existing relationship with the Lord.

God, thank you for rescuing us. We may not understand your ways, but let us hold firmly to your word and promises no matter what our circumstances look like. Let us not doubt you based on sight, but trust you by faith. I believe you are for us and not against us. I believe your word is true. I thank you for all you have done and all you will do in my life, our lives, and the world. Convict our hearts today and forgive us where we have failed.