Exodus 7:7 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Pay close attention to this. I will make you seem like God to Pharaoh, and your brother, Aaron, will be your prophet. 2 Tell Aaron everything I command you, and Aaron must command Pharaoh to let the people of Israel leave his country. 3 But I will make Pharaoh’s heart stubborn so I can multiply my miraculous signs and wonders in the land of Egypt. 4 Even then Pharaoh will refuse to listen to you. So I will bring down my fist on Egypt. Then I will rescue my forces—my people, the Israelites—from the land of Egypt with great acts of judgment. 5 When I raise my powerful hand and bring out the Israelites, the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord.”
6 So Moses and Aaron did just as the Lord had commanded them. 7 Moses was eighty years old, and Aaron was eighty-three when they made their demands to Pharaoh.
Just in case you thought old age means you can kick back and take it easy, FORGET ABOUT IT!!! At an age when many people would want nothing more than to sit quietly under a shade tree, eighty-year-old Moses and eighty-three-year-old Aaron must confront Pharaoh and all his court, including evil magicians. If we want peace in our old age, we must continue to do God’s work, no excuses.
8 Then the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, 9 “Pharaoh will demand, ‘Show me a miracle.’ When he does this, say to Aaron, ‘Take your staff and throw it down in front of Pharaoh, and it will become a serpent.’”
10 So 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! 11 Then Pharaoh called in his own wise men and sorcerers, and these Egyptian magicians did the same thing with their magic. 12 They threw down their staffs, which also became serpents! But then Aaron’s staff swallowed up their staffs. 13 Pharaoh’s heart, however, remained hard. He still refused to listen, just as the Lord had predicted.
Well, Pharaoh might not be impressed, but when Aaron’s serpent/staff gobbles up the staffs of the magicians, the magicians are shocked! These guys have been pulling that trick for years and it’s never failed to impress. Now God has demonstrated that His power is much greater than that of these magicians or of any of the Egyptian deities on which they are relying.
Where were these magicians getting their power? An internet search reveals the following: Pharaoh’s magicians in ancient Egypt would have primarily worshiped Heka, the god of magic. Heka personified magic and was believed to empower both the gods and humans, playing a crucial role in maintaining the divine order (ma’at) and preventing chaos (isfet).
Other deities associated with magic and protection that magicians might have revered include:
- Isis: Known for her magical skills and healing abilities.
- Thoth: The god of wisdom and writing, often linked to magic and knowledge.
- Bes: A protective deity often invoked for safeguarding against evil.
These gods were integral to the practice of magic, which was fundamental to Egyptian life and spirituality.
Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(11) The magicians of Egypt.—These persons are called indifferently khàkâmim, “wise men,” më-kashshëphim, “mutterers of charms,” and khartum-mim, “scribes,” perhaps “writers of charms.” Magic was very widely practised in Egypt, and consisted mainly in the composition and employment of charms, which were believed to exert a powerful effect, both over man and over the brute creation. A large part of the “Ritual of the Dead” consists of charms, which were to be uttered by the soul in Hades, in order to enable it to pass the various monsters which it would encounter there. Charms were also regarded as potent in this life to produce or remove disease, and avert the attacks of noxious animals. Some Egyptian works are mere collections of magical receipts, and supply strange prescriptions which are to be used, and mystic words which are to be uttered. A Jewish tradition, accepted by the Apostle Paul (2Timothy 3:6), spoke of two magicians as the special opponents of Moses, and called them “Jannes and Jambres.” (See the Tar-gums of Jerusalem and of Jonathan, and comp. Numen, ap. Euseb. Prœp. eν. ix. 8.) The former of these, Jannes, obtained fame as a magician among the classical writers, and is mentioned by Pliny (H. N. xxx. 1) and Apuleius (Apolog. p. 108). It has been supposed by some that the magicians were really in possession of supernatural powers, obtained by a connection with evil spirits; but, on the whole, it is perhaps most probable that they were merely persons acquainted with many secrets of nature not generally known, and trained in tricks of sleight-of-hand and conjuring.
They also did in like manner.—The magicians had entered into the royal presence with, apparently, rods in their hands, such as almost all Egyptians carried. These they cast down upon the ground, when they were seen to be serpents. This was, perhaps, the mere exhibition of a trick, well known to Egyptian serpent-charmers in all ages (Description de l’Egypte, vol. i. p. 159), by which a charmed serpent is made to look like a stick for a time, and then disenchanted. Or it may have been effected by sleight-of-hand, which seems to be the true meaning of the word lĕhâtim, translated “enchantments.” (Rosenmüller, Scholia in Exodum, p. 110.)
Although this confrontation is not one of the ten plagues God will send on Egypt, God is serving notice that He is Lord over Egypt, just as He is over all the earth. The magicians probably go back to their quarters befuddled and anxious. The serpent trick has never failed to impress, and suddenly, their serpent/staffs are gone. If they have been using charmed serpents, now they’ll have to train some more serpents before they can use that trick again. While Aaron and Moses continue to confront Pharaoh, the magicians are feverishly casting lots, slaughtering white cocks, and engaging in any other rituals they use to gain guidance. Meanwhile, Moses and Aaron are shocked and thrilled; they certainly weren’t expecting what happened either. Now the brothers have peace and encouragement that God is truly with them.
Sometimes what we see and what others see is quite different. My husband accompanied a pastor friend to the Central Prison in Kumasi, Ghana. Our friend was preaching in Twi and my husband was simply praying; yet, a ten-year-old boy in the prison later said that he wanted to accept the Jesus the white man had preached about. What did that boy see and hear?
The story of Moses and Aaron and the magicians reminds us that God can give us peace and encouragement even when we are facing evil opposition. May we go forward, trusting that God will lead and guide us, even when staffs are turning into vipers.
PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and caring for us. Lord, help us to remember that when we are caught in confrontations, You are still the Peace-giver. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.
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