Day 40

In Exodus 7 we begin reading of all the miracles that Moses and Aaron are doing before the pharaoh.  The Lord talks to Moses again at the beginning of this chapter and gives him more advice as to what to say.  We then see the first meeting of Moses and the pharaoh.  Moses directs Aaron to throw down his staff and it becomes a snake.  The pharaoh's magicians are able to do this miracle as well, as to what form of magic they use to do this it is unknown.  I think it is an interesting note to remember that Aaron's snake/staff eats the other snakes.  I am puzzled as to why the Lord is using a snake as the first sign?  I mean I thought the snake was one of the lowest creatures.  The next miracle they do the pharaoh's magicians are capable of doing as well.  Moses has all the waters of Egypt turned to blood.  The stench that must have come from this is unimaginable.  Neither of these miracles were able to persuade the pharaoh to let the Israelites go.  My Bible has a very interesting little side note on this chapter that I would love to post. 

The Egyptian Priests and Their Snakes

     Exodus 7  The Bible frequently records particular events without explaining how they happened.  Exodus 7, for example, reveals that Egyptian magicians mimicked Moses' changing of his staff into a snake "by their secret arts" (v. 11).  This could mean that they employed supernatural power and actually changed staffs into snakes.  The Bible, however does not explicitly state whether or not supernatural agents, either divine (Nu 22:21ff.) or demonic (Dt 18:10 - 11; Job 2:7), were involved.

     The majority of scholars believe that the Egyptians used mere trickery on this occasion.  Throughout the ancient world pagan priests regularly deceived gullible people (e.g., a priest would hide in a large, hollowed-out idol and speak for the god).  so the Egyptians could have used sleight of hand (analogous to modern stage magicians performing tricks with animals).  Evidence also reveals that Egyptians regularly practiced a method of snake charming that allowed them to put snakes into a kind of catalepsy, whereby they would remain as stiff as a rod until awakened.  This trick is still practiced in Egypt today.

     It is helpful to recognize that the purpose of this Biblical text was not to debunk Egyptian magic but to t show that the power of Israel's God was greater than any power Egypt possessed.  When Moses snake swallowed the Egyptians" snakes, the event predicted disaster for the pharaoh.  A representative snake from Israel's God had defeated one of Egypt's national symbols--the serpent--an animal considered sacred in Lower Egypt where Moses' confrontation with the pharaoh was taking place.

NIV Archaeological Study Bible. China: Zondervan, 2005.

The plagues begin in Exodus 8.  The first plague is of frogs, the second plague was of gnats, the third plague was one of flies.  Now the first plague the magicians were able to produce as well.  The second however the magicians could not reproduce and they began to believe that it is from God.  The third plague really shows the power of God and only affects the Egyptians.  Through all of these plagues the pharaoh's heart remains hard.

Matthew 25 begins with a very important parable.  We need to learn from this parable that we are to be ready at all times to meet the Lord.  We do not know when He will be returning.  Since we do not know we are to live a pure life and be ready at all times.  The next parable is about using and increasing what the Lord has given you.  The Lord gives each and every person a talent and we should not hide it.  We should use it and increase what He has given us.  Just to make things interesting here is a little tidbit.  A talent in their time is a form of money, it is worth more then a thousand dollars.  So, just imagine this master gave out over 8,000 dollars to his servants to see what they will do for him.

Tomorrow's reading is:

Exodus 9, 10, 11 and Matthew 25:31 - 46