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Exodus Chapter
Seven
Exodus 7
Chapter Contents
Moses and Aaron encouraged. (1-7) The rods turned into
serpents
Pharaoh's heart is hardened. (8-13) The river is turned into blood
The distress of the Egyptians. (14-25)
Commentary on Exodus 7:1-7
(Read Exodus 7:1-7)
God glorifies himself. He makes people know that he is
Jehovah. Israel is made to know it by the performance of his promises to them
and the Egyptians by the pouring out of his wrath upon them. Moses
as the
ambassador of Jehovah
speaking in his name
laid commands upon Pharaoh
denounced threatenings against him
and called for judgments upon him. Pharaoh
proud and great as he was
could not resist. Moses stood not in awe of Pharaoh
but made him tremble. This seems to be meant in the words
Thou shalt be a god
unto Pharaoh. At length Moses is delivered from his fears. He makes no more
objections
but
being strengthened in faith
goes about his work with courage
and proceeds in it with perseverance.
Commentary on Exodus 7:8-13
(Read Exodus 7:8-13)
What men dislike
because it opposes their pride and
lusts
they will not be convinced of; but it is easy to cause them to believe
things they wish to be true. God always sends with his word full proofs of its
Divine authority; but when men are bent to disobey
and willing to object
he
often permits a snare to be laid wherein they are entangled. The magicians were
cheats
trying to copy the real miracles of Moses by secret sleights or
jugglings
which to a small extent they succeeded in doing
so as to deceive
the bystanders
but they were at length obliged to confess they could not any
longer imitate the effects of Divine power. None assist more in the destruction
of sinners
than such as resist the truth by amusing men with a counterfeit
resemblance of it. Satan is most to be dreaded when transformed into an angel
of light.
Commentary on Exodus 7:14-25
(Read Exodus 7:14-25)
Here is the first of the ten plagues
the turning of the
water into blood. It was a dreadful plague. The sight of such vast rolling
streams of blood could not but strike horror. Nothing is more common than
water: so wisely has Providence ordered it
and so kindly
that what is so
needful and serviceable to the comfort of human life
should be cheap and
almost every where to be had; but now the Egyptians must either drink blood
or
die for thirst. Egypt was a pleasant land
but the dead fish and blood now
rendered it very unpleasant. It was a righteous plague
and justly sent upon
the Egyptians; for Nile
the river of Egypt
was their idol. That creature
which we idolize
God justly takes from us
or makes bitter to us. They had
stained the river with the blood of the Hebrews' children
and now God made
that river all blood. Never any thirsted after blood
but sooner or later they
had enough of it. It was a significant plague; Egypt had great dependence upon
their river
Zechariah 14:18; so that in smiting the river
they were warned of the destruction of all the produce of their country. The
love of Christ to his disciples changes all their common mercies into spiritual
blessings; the anger of God towards his enemies
renders their most valued
advantages a curse and a misery to them. Aaron is to summon the plague by
smiting the river with his rod. It was done in the sight of Pharaoh and his
attendants
for God's true miracles were not performed as Satan's lying
wonders; truth seeks no corners. See the almighty power of God. Every creature
is that to us which he makes it to be water or blood. See what changes we may
meet with in the things of this world; what is always vain
may soon become
vexatious. See what mischievous work sin makes. If the things that have been
our comforts prove our crosses
we must thank ourselves. It is sin that turns
our waters into blood. The plague continued seven days; and in all that time
Pharaoh's proud heart would not let him desire Moses to pray for the removal of
it. Thus the hypocrites in heart heap up wrath. No wonder that God's anger is
not turned away
but that his hand is stretched out still.
── Matthew Henry《Concise Commentary on Exodus》
Exodus 7
Verse 1
[1] And
the LORD said unto Moses
See
I have made thee a god to Pharaoh: and Aaron thy
brother shall be thy prophet.
I have made thee a god to Pharaoh — That is
my representative in this affair
as magistrates are called
gods
because they are God's vicegerents. He was authorized to speak and act in
God's name
and endued with a divine power
to do that which is above the
ordinary course of nature.
And Aaron shall be thy prophet — That is
he shall speak from thee to Pharaoh
as prophets do from God to
the children of men. Thou shalt as a god inflict and remove the plagues
and
Aaron as a prophet shall denounce them.
Verse 7
[7] And Moses was fourscore years old
and Aaron fourscore and three years
old
when they spake unto Pharaoh.
Moses was fourscore years old — Joseph
who was to be only a servant to Pharaoh
was preferred at thirty
years old; but Moses
who was to be a god to Pharaoh
was not so dignified till
he was eighty years old. It is fit he should long wait for such an honour
and
be long in preparing for such a service.
Verse 9
[9] When
Pharaoh shall speak unto you
saying
Shew a miracle for you: then thou shalt
say unto Aaron
Take thy rod
and cast it before Pharaoh
and it shall become a
serpent.
Say unto Aaron
Take thy rod — This Moses ordinarily held in his hand
and delivered it to Aaron upon
occasion
for the execution of his commands.
Verse 10
[10] And
Moses and Aaron went in unto Pharaoh
and they did so as the LORD had commanded:
and Aaron cast down his rod before Pharaoh
and before his servants
and it
became a serpent.
And Aaron cast his rod down
and it became a
serpent — This was proper not only to affect Pharaoh
with wonder
but to strike a terror upon him. This first miracle
though it was
not a plague
yet amounted to the threatening of a plague; if it made not
Pharaoh feel
it made him fear; this is God's method of dealing with sinners he
comes upon them gradually.
Verse 11
[11] Then Pharaoh also called the wise men and the sorcerers: now the magicians
of Egypt
they also did in like manner with their enchantments.
Moses had been originally instructed in the
learning of the Egyptians
and was suspected to have improved in magical arts
in his long retirement. The magicians are therefore sent for to vie with him.
The two chief of them were Jannes and Jambres. Their rods became serpents;
probably by the power of evil angels artfully substituting serpents in the room
of the rods
God permitting the delusion to be wrought for wise and holy ends.
But the serpent which Aaron's rod was turned into
swallowed up the others
which was sufficient to have convinced Pharaoh on which side the right lay.
Verse 13
[13] And
he hardened Pharaoh's heart
that he hearkened not unto them; as the LORD had
said.
And he harden'd Pharaoh's heart — That is
permitted it to be hardened.
Verse 20
[20] And
Moses and Aaron did so
as the LORD commanded; and he lifted up the rod
and
smote the waters that were in the river
in the sight of Pharaoh
and in the
sight of his servants; and all the waters that were in the river were turned to
blood.
The waters that were in the river were turned
into blood — This was a plague justly inflicted upon
the Egyptians; for Nilus the river of Egypt was their idol; they and their land
had so much benefit by that creature
that they served and worshipped it more
than the creator. Also they had stained the river with the blood of the Hebrew
children
and now God made that river all bloody; thus he gave them blood to
drink
for they were worthy
Revelation 16:6. See the power of God. Every
creature is that to us which he makes it to be
water or blood. See the
mutability of all things under the sun
and what changes we may meet with in
them. That which is water to day may be blood to morrow; what is always vain
may soon become vexatious. And see what mischievous work sin makes! It is sin
that turns our waters into blood.
Verse 22
[22] And
the magicians of Egypt did so with their enchantments: and Pharaoh's heart was
hardened
neither did he hearken unto them; as the LORD had said.
And the magicians did so — By God's permission with their enchantments; and this served Pharaoh for
an excuse not to set his heart to this also
( Exodus 7:23
) and a poor excuse it was. Could
they have turned the river of blood into water again
it had been something;
then they had proved their power
and Pharaoh had been obliged to them as his
benefactors.
Verse 25
[25] And
seven days were fulfilled
after that the LORD had smitten the river.
Seven days were fulfilled — Before this plague was removed.
──
John Wesley《Explanatory Notes on Exodus》
07 Chapter 7
Verse 1-2
I have made thee a god to Pharaoh.
The moral position in which some men stand to others
God made Moses to be a god to Pharaoh
and Aaron to be a
prophet. There are many good and noble men in the world to-day
who are gods
the instructors and rulers
of their fellow-creatures.
I. This exalted
moral position is the result of divine allotment. “And the Lord said unto
Moses
see
I have made thee a god to Pharaoh.”
II. This exalted
moral position involves arduous work and terrible responsibility.
1. The true gods of society have something more to do than to amuse
it. The bearing of their efforts has reference to souls
to man’s life in its
relation to the Infinite. A man whose highest aim is to excite the merriment of
society
is too far removed from divinity to be mistaken for a god.
2. The true gods of society find their employment in communicating to
men the messages of God. They come to teach us; to awaken us; to enable us to
fulfil the will of God. Hence their work is arduous and responsible.
III. This exalted
moral position is most efficiently employed in seeking the freedom of men. But for the
slavery of Israel Moses would not have been a god unto Pharaoh. The position is
the outcome of a condition of things it ought to remove. It is not for
self-aggrandizement. It is to give men the freedom of a Divine salvation. (J.
S. Exell
M. A.)
Verse 3-4
I will harden Pharaoh’s heart
and multiply My signs and My
wonders.
The struggle between God’s will and Pharaoh’s
The text brings before us the two great results which God
forewarned Moses would rise from the struggle between His will and Pharaoh’s.
On the one hand
the tyranny was to be gradually overthrown by the sublime
manifestations of the power of the Lord; on the other
the heart of Pharaoh himself
was to be gradually hardened in the conflict with the Lord.
I. Why was the
overthrow of Pharaoh’s tyranny through the miracles of Moses so gradual? Why
did not God
by one overwhelming miracle
crush for ever the power of the king?
1. It was not God’s purpose to terrify Pharaoh into submission. He
treats men as voluntary creatures
and endeavours
by appealing to all that is highest in their
natures
to lead them into submission.
2. In his determination to keep Israel in slavery
Pharaoh had two
supports--his confidence in his own power
and the flatteries of the magicians.
Through both these sources the miracles appealed to the very heart of the man.
3. The miracles appealed to Pharaoh through the noblest thing he had
left--his own sense of religion. When the sacred river became blood
and the
light turned to darkness
and the lightning gleamed before him
he must have
felt that the hidden God of nature was speaking to him. Not until he had been
warned and appealed to in the most powerful manner did the final judgment come.
II. We are told
that the heart of Pharaoh was hardened by the miracles which overthrew his
purpose. What does this mean? One of the most terrible facts in the world is
the battle between God’s will and man’s. In Pharaoh we see an iron will
manifesting itself in tremendous resistance
the results of which were the
hardening and the overthrow. There are three possible explanations of the
hardening of Pharaoh’s heart.
1. It may be attributed entirely to the Divine sovereignty. But this explanation
is opposed to the letter of Scripture. We read that Pharaoh hardened his heart.
2. We may attribute it wholly to Pharaoh himself. But the Bible says
distinctly
“The Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart.”
3. We may combine the two statements
and thus we shall get at the
truth. It is true that the Lord hardened Pharaoh
and true also that Pharaoh
hardened himself. (E. L. Hull
B. A.)
Hardening of conscience
It is a very terrible thing to let conscience begin to grow hard
for it soon chills into northern iron and steel. It is like the freezing of a
pond. The first film of ice is scarcely perceptible; keep the water stirring
and you will prevent the frost from hardening it; but once let it film over and
remain quiet
the glaze thickens over the surface
and it thickens still
and
at last it is so
firm that a waggon might be drawn over the solid ice. So with conscience
it
films over gradually
until at last it becomes hard and unfeeling
and is not
crushed even with ponderous loads of iniquity. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
Seven characteristics of Pharaoh
I. Ignorant (Exodus 5:2).
II. Disobedient (Exodus 5:2).
III. Unbelieving (Exodus 5:9).
IV. Foolish (Exodus 8:10).
V. Hardened (Exodus 8:15).
VI. Privileged (Exodus 9:1).
VII. Lost (Exodus 14:26-28). (C. Inglis.)
Judicial hardness of heart inflicted by God
I. I shall give
some general observations from the story; for in the story of Pharaoh we have
the exact platform of a hard heart.
1. Between the hard heart and God there is an actual contest who
shall have the better. The parties contesting are God and Pharaoh.
2. The sin that hardened Pharaoh
and put him upon this contest
was
covetousness and interest of State.
3. This contest on Pharaoh’s part is managed with slightings and
contempt of God; on God’s part
with mercy and condescension.
4. The first plague on Pharaoh’s heart is delusion. Moses worketh
miracles
turneth Aaron’s rod into a serpent
rivers into blood
bringeth
frogs
and the magicians still do the same; God permitteth these magical
impostures
to leave Pharaoh in his wilful error.
5. God was not wanting to give Pharaoh sufficient means of
conviction. The magicians turned their rods into serpents
but “Aaron’s rod
swallowed up their rods” (Exodus 7:12); which showeth God’s
super-eminent power.
6. Observe
in one of the plagues Israel might have stolen away
whether Pharaoh would or no (Exodus 10:22-23): but God had more
miracles to be done. When He hath to do with a hard heart
He will not steal
out of the field
but go away with honour and triumph. This was to be a public
instance
and for intimation to the world (1 Samuel 6:6). The Philistines took
warning by it
and it will be our condemnation if we do not.
7. In all these plagues I observe that Pharaoh now and then had his
devout pangs. In a hard heart there may be some relentings
but no true repentance.
8. In process of time his hardness turns into rage and downright
malice (Exodus 10:28). Men first slight the
truth
and then are hardened against it
and then come to persecute it. A
river
when it hath been long kept up
swelleth and beareth down the bank and
rampire; so do wicked men rage when their consciences cannot withstand the
light
and their hearts will not yield to it.
9. At length Pharaoh is willing to let them go. After much ado God
may get something from a hard heart; but it is no sooner given but retracted;
like fire struck out of a flint
it is hardly got
and quickly gone (Hosea 6:4).
10. The last news that we hear of hardening Pharaoh’s heart was a
little before his destruction (Exodus 14:8). Hardness of heart will not
leave us till it hath wrought our full and final destruction. Never any were
hardened but to their own ruin.
II. How God
hardens.
1. Negatively.
2. Affirmatively.
A hardened heart
God hardened Pharaoh’s heart by submitting to him those truths
arguments
and evidences which he ought to have accepted
but the rejection of
which recoiled upon himself
and hardened the heart they did not convince.
Everybody knows
in the present day
that if you listen
Sunday after Sunday
to great truths
and
Sunday after Sunday
reject them
you grow in your
capacity of repulsion and ability to reject them
and the more hardened you
become; and thus
the preaching of the gospel that was meant to melt
will be
the occasion of hardening your heart--not because God hates you
but because
you reject the gospel. The sun itself melts some substances
whilst
from the
nature of the substances
it hardens others. You must not think that God stands
in the way of your salvation. There is nothing between the greatest sinner and
instant salvation
but his own unwillingness to lean on the Saviour
and be
saved. (J. Cumming
D. D.)
The punishment of unbelief
The gospel is “the savour of life unto life
and of death
unto death
” as one and the same savour is to some creatures refreshing
to
others poisonous. But that the gospel is unto death
is not a part of its
original intention
but a consequence of perverse unbelief; but when this takes
place
that it is unto death comes as a punishment from God. Thus the
expression “hardening” presupposes an earlier condition
when the heart was
susceptible
but which ceased in consequence of the misuse
of Divine
revelations and gifts. As Pharaoh hardens himself
so God hardens him at the
same time. (Otto Von Gerlach
D. D.)
Heart-hardening
1. Both the expressions employed and the facts themselves lead to the
conclusion
that hardening can only take place where there is a conflict
between human freedom and Divine grace.
2. Again
it follows from the notion of hardening
that it can only
result from a conscious and obstinate resistance to the will of God. It cannot
take place where there is either ignorance or error. So long as a man has not
been fully convinced that he is resisting the power and will of God
there
remains a possibility that as soon as the conviction of this is brought home to
his mind
his heart may be changed
and so long as there is still a possibility
of his conversion
he cannot be said to be really hardened. The commencement of
hardening is really hardening itself
for it contains the whole process of
hardening potentially within itself. This furnishes us with two new criteria of
hardening;
Lessons
1. First and foremost
we learn the insufficiency of even the most
astounding miracles to subdue the rebellious will
to change the heart
or to
subject a man unto God. Our blessed Lord Himself has said of a somewhat
analogous case
that men would not believe even though one rose from the dead.
And His statement has been only too amply verified in the history of the world
since His own resurrection. Religion is matter of the heart
and no intellectual
conviction
without the agency of the Holy Spirit
affects the inmost springs
of our lives.
2. A more terrible exhibition of the daring of human pride
the
confidence of worldly power
and the deceitfulness of sin
than that presented
by the history of this Pharaoh can scarcely be conceived. And yet the lesson
seems to have been overlooked by too many! Not only sacred history
but
possibly our own experience
may furnish instances of similar tendencies; and
in the depths of his own soul each believer must have felt his danger in this
respect
for “the heart is deceitful above all things
and desperately wicked.”
3. Lastly
resistance to God must assuredly end in fearful judgment.
Each conviction suppressed
each admonition stifled
each loving offer
rejected
tends towards increasing spiritual insensibility
and that in which
it ends. It is wisdom and safety to watch for the blessed influences of God’s
Spirit
and to throw open our hearts to the sunlight of His grace. (A.
Edersheim
D. D.)
Providence penal
In accordance with a vow a Hindu once bandaged up his eyes so
tightly that not a single ray of light could enter them. So he continued for years. At last
when his vow was completed
he threw off his bandage
but only to find that
through disuse he had completely lost his sight. In one sense
he had deprived
himself of sight; in another
God had deprived him of it. So it was with
Pharaoh’s spiritual sight. Then comes the warning of consequences. It is very
pleasant to go floating down the river toward the rapids. The current is so
gentle that one can easily regain the bank. But remain in that current
in
spite of all warnings
just one moment too long
and you and your boat will go
over the falls. (S. S. Times.)
Verse 5
The Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord.
A knowledge of God
I. That the worst
of men will one day have to recognize the reality of the Divine existence. “And
the Egyptians shall know
” etc.
1. Men of bad moral character shall know this.
2. Men of sceptical dispositions shall know this.
II. That they will
be brought to a recognition of the Divine existence by severe judgments.
1. Some men will listen to the voice of reason. The Egyptians would
not.
2. Such will learn the existence of God by judgment.
III. That the
existence of God is a guarantee for the safety of the good. “And bring out
”
etc.
from moral and temporal bondage into Canaan
of peace and quiet. (J.
S. Exell
M. A.)
The plagues
1. These plagues are arranged in regular order
and gradually advance from
the external to the internal
and from the mediate to the immediate hand of
God. They are in number ten
which is one of the numbers denoting perfection.
They are divided first into nine and one
the last one standing clearly apart
from all the others in the awful shriek of woe which it draws forth from every
Egyptian home. The nine are arranged in threes. In the first of each three the
warning is given to Pharaoh in the morning (Exodus 7:15; Exodus 8:20; Exodus 9:13). In the first and second of
each three the plague is announced beforehand (Exodus 8:1; Exodus 9:1; Exodus 10:1); in the third not (Exodus 8:16; Exodus 9:8; Exodus 10:21). At the third the magicians
of Pharaoh acknowledge the finger of God (Exodus 8:19)
at the sixth they cannot stand
before Moses (Exodus 9:11)
and at the ninth Pharaoh
refuses to see the face of Moses any more (Exodus 10:28). In the first three Aaron
uses the rod
in the second three it is not mentioned
in the third three Moses
uses it
though in the last of them only his hand is mentioned. All these marks
of order lie on the face of the narrative
and point to a deeper order of
nature and reason out of which they spring.
2. The plagues were characterized by increasing severity
a method of
procedure to which we see an analogy in the warnings which the providential
government of the world often puts before the sinner.
3. These plagues were of a miraculous character. As such the
historian obviously intends us to regard them
and they are elsewhere spoken of
as the “wonders” which God wrought in the land of Ham (Psalms 105:27)
as His miracles in Egypt
(Psalms 106:7)
and as His signs and
prodigies which He sent into the midst of Egypt (Psalms 135:9). It is only under this
aspect that we can accept the narrative as historical.
4. That the immediate design of these inflictions was the delivering
of the Israelites from their cruel bondage lies on the surface of the
narrative
but with this other ends were contemplated. The manifestation of
God’s own glory was here
as in all His works
the highest object in view
and
this required that the powers of Egyptian idolatry
with which the interest of
Satan was at that time peculiarly identified
should be brought into the
conflict and manifestly confounded. For this reason it was that nearly every
miracle performed by Moses had relation to some object of idolatrous worship
among the Egyptians (see Exodus 12:12). For this reason
also
it
was that the first wonders wrought had such distinct reference to the exploits
of the magicians
who were the wonder-workers connected with that gigantic
system of idolatry
and the main instruments of its support and credit in the
world. They were thus naturally drawn
as well as Pharaoh
into the contest
and became
along with him
the visible heads and representatives of the
“spiritual wickedness” of Egypt. And since they refused to own the supremacy
and accede to the demands of Jehovah
or witnessing that first
and as it may
be called harmless
triumph of His power over theirs--since they resolved
as
the adversaries of God’s and the instruments of Satan’s interest in the
world
to prolong the contest
there remained no alternative but to visit the
land with a series of judgments
such as might clearly prove the utter
impotence of its fancied deities to protect their votaries from the might and
vengeance of the living God. (A. Nevin
D. D.)
The variety of the plagues
The diversity and various sorts of those plagues--each sorer than
other. The first and second were upon the water
the third and fourth were upon
the earth
the five next were upon the air
and the tenth falls upon the
firstborn of men
insomuch that their punishment was absolute
not only as to
the number of the plagues
which was a number of perfection
but more
especially in respect of their nature
matter
and manner
all various and
exquisite. For--
I. They were
plagued by all kind of creatures.
1. By all the elements; as water
earth
air and fire.
2. By sundry animals; as frogs
lice
caterpillars
flies
and
locusts.
3. By men; as Moses and Aaron were instruments in God’s hand.
4. By the angels who ministered those plagues
both the evil angels (Psalms 78:44)
whom He sent among them
and the good that were employed in destroying their firstborn (Exodus 12:3
etc.)
yea
by the very
stars
who all combined against them--with the sun and moon--in suspending
their light from that land--during the three days darkness--as all ashamed to
look upon such sinful inhabitants thereof
etc.
II. They were
plagued in all things wherein they most delighted.
1. In all manner of their luscious and delicious fruit
by its being
universally blasted or devoured
etc.
2. In their goodliest cattle--some of which they worshipped--all
destroyed by murrain
etc.
3. In their River Nilus
which they adored
and for which end
it is
supposed
Pharaoh was going down to pay his homage to that idol
when God bade
Moses go meet him in the morning (Exodus 7:15). This is intimated in Ezekiel 29:3; Ezekiel 29:9
where they are twitted
twice for idolizing it
but God made it loathsome to them (verse 18).
4. In the fish
which was their daily and delicate diet (Numbers 11:5)
for the flesh of many
beasts they
out of superstition
would not eat of
as abominable (Exodus 8:26). All the fish died when
their water was turned into blood (verse 21).
5. In their bodies
wherein they greatly prided themselves
but the
boils God smote them which spoiled all their beauties in their wellbuilt
bodies.
6. In their children
when in every house there was a dead corpse
and that not of a slave or servant
but of their firstborn. All these were the
idols of Egypt (Exodus 12:12; Zephaniah 2:11).
III. They were
plagued in all their senses.
1. In their seeing; for they lost all sight when the plague of
darkness took away their light for three days
unless it were horrible sights
mentioned in Apocrypha (Wisdom of Solomon 17:6-7). However
their
comfort of seeing they lost.
2. In their hearing. Oh
what a consternation! Dread and terror
seized upon them when God uttered His terrible voice in those frightful
thunders in the plague of hail
when fire ran along upon the ground
yet did
not melt the hailstones (Exodus 9:23). This must be supernatural
and therefore the more dreadful
which might make them think that God was come
to rain hell-fire out of heaven upon them as He had done
before this
upon
wicked Sodom (Genesis 19:1-38.). How did this voice of
the Lord break the cedars
etc. (Psalms 29:5-6
etc.)
yea
every tree of
the field (Exodus 9:25).
3. In their smelling
both by the stench of the frogs (Exodus 8:14)
which might mind them of
their sin that made them stink before God
and likewise by the stinking rotten
matter that ran out of those ulcers wherewith they were smitten (Exodus 9:9-11). As they had oppressed
God’s people with furnace work in making brick
so the ashes of that furnace
became burning boils that break forth into putrid running sores
etc.
4. In their tasting
both by the waters turned into blood
because in
them they had shed the blood of the male Hebrew children. These bloody men had
blood to drink
for they were worthy (Revelation 16:6). Their River Nilus they
used to boast of to the Grecians
saying
in mockery to them
“If God should
forget to rain
they might chance to perish for it.” The rain
they thought
was of God
but not their river (Ezekiel 29:3; Ezekiel 29:9)
therefore
to confute them
in their confidence
as God threatens to dry it up (Isaiah 19:5-6)
so here to bereave them
of all the comfortable use of it; they now loathed to drink of it (verses
18-20). God cursed their blessings (Malachi 2:2)
and also by their thirst
thereby procured. Drinking such bloody water did rather torture their taste
than please their palate
or quench their thirst.
5. In their touching or feeling
by their dolorous shooting pangs in
their body
when the sin of their souls broke forth into sores of their bodies
which pained them so
that
as they could not now sleep in a whole skin
so
they gnawed their own tongues for pain. This was superadded to the bitings of
flies
wasps
flying-serpents
etc.
whereby some might be stung to death (Psalms 78:45)
and the magicians
themselves
who had so insolently imitated Moses
the devil being God’s ape
were branded with those boils to detect their contumacy. Besides
also
the
frogs ravaging upon their bodies so irresistibly
etc.
must needs be very
offensive to their sense of touching.
IV. Lastly
as if
all this had been too little to fill up the measure of their plagues and
punishments
Pharaoh and all his forces
that hitherto had escaped
were all
drawn blindfold into the noose
by fair way
weather
etc.
and then were
drowned in the Red Sea (Exodus 14:8-9; Exodus 14:21; Exodus 14:24; Exodus 14:28). (C. Ness.)
Verse 6
So did they.
Obedience to God
I. It must be
rendered by the servants of God. “Moses and Aaron.” All men who are called to
moral service by God must obey Him.
1. Because He gives them their commands.
2. Because He gives them the power to do so.
3. Because He rewards obedience.
II. It must be
co-extensive with their mission.
1. It must be entire.
2. It must be cheerful.
3. It must be holy.
III. It will render
their mission effective--
1. Because it will lead to the best mode of service.
2. Because God will delight to honour it. The Divine commands:
Verse 7
Fourscore years old.
Age of Moses and Aaron
Their ages would have an important bearing toward the work of
these two men.
I. Their ages
would indicate that they were not likely to be misled by the enthusiasm of
youth. The world is slow to take young men into its confidence. It soon smiles
at their visions
and laughs at their enthusiastic hopes.
II. Their ages
would be likely to command the respect of those with whom they had to do. The
world wants men of tried energy and long experience to achieve its moral
emancipation; men in whom hot passion has calmed into a settled force.
III. Their ages
would be an incentive to fidelity
as they had spent the younger part of life
and would be
forcefully reminded of the future. (J. S. Exell
M. A.)
Delay in entering upon work of life
Let us learn not to be impatient for the discovery of our true
lifework. Moses was eighty years old before he entered upon that noble career
by which he became the emancipator and educator of his nation. Two-thirds of
his days were gone before he really touched that which was his great
distinctive
and peculiar labour
and his enterprise was all the more
gloriously accomplished by reason of the delay. Nor is this a solitary
instance. The Lord Jesus Himself lived thirty years
during most of which He
was in training for a public ministry
which lasted only two-and-forty months.
John Knox never entered a pulpit until he was over forty years of age; and much
of the fire and energy of his preaching was owing to the fact that the flame
had been so long pent up within his breast. Havelock was a dreary while a mere
lieutenant
held back by the iniquitous system of purchase
which was so long
in vogue in the English army; but
as it happened
that was only a life-long
apprenticeship
by which he was enabled all the more efficiently to become
at length
the
saviour of the Indian Empire. So let no one chafe and fret over the delay which
seems evermore to keep him from doing anything to purpose for the world and his
Lord. The opportunity will come in its own season. It does come
sooner or
later
to every man; and it is well if
when at length he hears the voice
calling
“Moses! Moses!” he is ready with the answer
“Here am I.” For while I
would comfort you with the assurance that the hour will come
I do not mean
that you should be idle until it strikes. No; for if you adopt such a plan
the
certainty is that you will not hear its stroke
or that you will not be ready
to begin at its call. The true principle is to do with your might that which is
lying at your
hand day by day
in the firm conviction that you are thereby training yourself
into fitness for your future vocation. (W. H. Taylor
D. D.)
Verse 11-12
They also did in like manner with their enchantments.
Moses and the magicians
I. Moses divinely
warned of Pharaoh’s demand for a supernatural credential. When men profess to
bring a message from God
they should be prepared to substantiate it by
satisfactory evidence.
II. Moses divinely
sustained in meeting the demand.
1. God will never forsake those who go forth to implicitly work His
will.
2. God often permits His enemies to temporarily triumph.
III. Moses commanded
to appeal again to Pharaoh (Exodus 7:14-17).
1. God’s knowledge of the human heart.
2. God’s knowledge of the purposes and plans of men.
3. God’s recognition of free agency
and its correlative
responsibility.
4. God deals with men on the basis of their moral freedom
and
according to their constitutional nature.
Lessons:
1. Here we have a type of the conflict of ages.
2. The side to which we lean
and for which we fight
shows the party
to which we really belong. (D. C. Hughes
M. A.)
Lessons
1. Miracles from God will not persuade wicked hearts to believe.
2. Unbelieving sinners are apt to call in all instruments of Satan to
gainsay God.
3. Providence hath of old suffered wisdom to be abused to sorcery and
pernicious acts (Exodus 7:11).
4. God hath suffered creatures by Satan’s help to do some like things
to His miracles.
5. Under God’s permission Satan may work strange changes in
creatures
but no miracles.
6. God’s true miracles devour all lying wonders of Satan (Exodus 7:12).
7. Wicked hearts harden themselves by lying wonders against God
and
therefore are hardened by Him.
8. The fruit of such hardening is rebellion against God’s word and
will.
9. God’s word is made good in all the disobedience of the wicked
foretold (Exodus 7:13). (G. Hughes
B. D.)
Man’s effort to repudiate the message of God by an imitation of
its miraculous credentials
I. That man has a
right to expect that any special revelation from God should be accompanied by
infallible and unimpeachable credentials. (Exodus 7:9).
1. We require these credentials to vindicate the authority of the
speaker. The Bible contains the evidences of its Divine origin on its own
pages
for on every page we see the miracle repeated
the rod is turned into a
serpent. And the miracles which the book contains
and the miracle which it is
in itself
are sufficient token to the honest mind that it comes from God. This
evidence is equal to the case. It leaves disobedience without excuse.
2. We require these credentials to vindicate the credibility of the
speaker. God would never give men power to work a miracle to authenticate a
lie. The miracle not only demonstrated the authority of these men
but also the
unimpeachable honesty and verity of their statements. And so men take the Bible
to-day; they perhaps say that in general terms the hook has come from God
and
has His authority
and yet how many question the verity of its corn tents. They
call one part of the message a myth
another part a fable
until
indeed
there
is very little remaining as true.
3. That God anticipates these requests on the part of man
and
provides His messengers with the needed credentials. Any one who rejects the
claims of the Bible
rejects the highest proof
the most reliable evidence;
hence his condemnation will be awful as that of the rebellious king.
4. The spirit in which these credentials should be investigated and
received--
II. That men have
recourse to many devices to weaken and nullify the credentials which are
presented to them in token and support of a Divine message and claim. “Then Pharaoh
also called the wise men and the sorcerers: now the magicians of Egypt
they
also did in like manner with their enchantments.”
1. We find that men in the investigation of a Divine message are not
satisfied with the evidence they themselves propose. A sceptical mind will not
yield even when it has attained evidence for the truth of its own seeking. It
is most criminal in its unbelief.
2. We find that men in the investigation of a Divine message often
seek others to supply them with sceptical arguments they are not clever enough
to produce themselves.
3. We find that men endeavour to confirm their comrades in scepticism
by imitating the credentials of the messengers of God. But in vain. The
truth-seeker can distinguish between the productions of the two; he never
mistakes the enchantment of the Egyptian for the miracle of Moses.
4. That the men who endeavour to confirm their comrades in scepticism
respecting the Divine credentials are subject to the truth. The rods of the
Egyptian magicians were swallowed up by Aaron’s rod.
III. That the men
who reject the credentials of Divine messengers commence a conflict which will
be productive of great woe and of final overthrow to them. “And He hardened
Pharaoh’s heart that he hearkened not unto them; as the Lord had said.”
Lessons:
1. That the messengers of God can always produce Divine credentials.
2. That Divine credentials are often rejected by men of high social
position.
3. That a continued rejection of Divine credentials will end in
destruction.
4. That the servants of God are often perplexed by the conduct of men
in rejecting Divine claims. (J. S. Exell
M. A.)
Imitation of the good
The mode in which the magicians “withstood Moses” (see 2 Timothy 3:1-9) was simply by
imitating
so far as they were able
whatever he did. From this we learn the
solemn truth that the most Satanic resistance to God’s testimony in the world
is offered by those who
though they imitate the effects of the truth
have but
“the form of godliness
” and “deny the power thereof.” Persons of this class
can do the same things
adopt the same habits and forms
use the same
phraseology
profess the same opinions
as others. How needful to understand
this! How important to remember that “as Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses
”
so do those self-loving
world-seeking
pleasure-hunting professors “resist the
truth!” They would not be without “a form of godliness”; but while adopting
“the form
” because it is customary
they hate “the power
” because it involves
self-denial. “The power” of godliness involves the recognition of God’s claims
the implanting of His kingdom in the heart
and the consequent exhibition
thereof in the whole life and character; but the formalist knows nothing of
this
nor does he desire to know it. He does not want his lusts subdued
his
pleasures interfered with
his passions curbed
his affections governed
his
heart purified. He wants just as much religion as will enable him “ to make the
best of both worlds.” (A. Nevin
D. D.)
Egyptian magicians
They must have possessed a knowledge of nature beyond that of
their countrymen
who had sufficient experience of the utility of such
knowledge to reverence teachers endued with any rare portion of it. The magicians
must have considered this knowledge as Divine; and have come more and more to
regard the different powers of nature and the different objects in which these
powers were exhibited
as themselves Divine. They will have been politicians as
well as naturalists
ready to employ their lore and the mastery which it gave
them over the things of the earth
to uphold the authority of the monarch
or
to promote his plans. They will therefore have fallen into a scheme of trick
and dissimulation
which would have been ineffectual and impossible if there
had not been some truths lying at the root of it; and some real assurance in
their own minds both of those truths and of their own capacities. It is this
mixture of faith with insincerity--of actual knowledge with the assumption of
knowledge
of genuine power with the desire to make the power felt and
worshipped
a readiness therefore to abuse it to low grovelling purposes--which
we have to recognize in the impostures of all subsequent ages
and to which we
are here introduced in one of its primitive manifestations. It was most natural
for a politic monarch to wish that a body of strangers
who were doing little
good in a certain portion of his land
should be made slaves
and so become
agents in carrying out what seemed to him magnificent projects. It was most
natural that a body of politic priests--disliking these strangers
for the
traditions and customs which separated them from their influence--should
readily co-operate with him in that plan
or should be the first suggesters of
it. It is equally natural that his Egyptian subjects should sympathize with the design
and
should feel that they were raised in the degradation of another race. But it
was impossible that king
priests
and people
should effect this seemingly
sage and national purpose
without forging new chains for themselves
without
losing some perceptions of a moral order in the world and a moral Ruler of it
which had been implied in their government and worship
and which Joseph’s
arrangements had drawn out; it was impossible but that with the loss of this
feeling
they should sink further and further into natural and animal worship.
(F. D. Maurice
M. A.)
Aaron’s rod swallowed up
their rods.
The power of Aaron’s rod
I. Let us turn
aside to see this great sight--the Divine triumphant over the diabolical: the
spiritual subduing the natural--Aaron’s rod swallowing all its rivals.
1. Let us take the case of the awakened sinner. That man was
a few
days ago
as worldly
as carnal
as stolid
as he well could be. If any one
should propose to make that man heavenly-minded
the common observer would say
“Impossible! As in old Roman walls
the cement has become so strong
that the
stone is no longer a separate piece
but has become a part of the wall itself--so
this man is cemented to the world
he cannot lie separated from it. You must
break him in pieces with the hammer of death; you cannot separate him in any
other way from the cares of life.” Ah
but Aaron’s rod shall swallow up this
rod. The man listens to the Word; the truth comes with power into his soul; the
Holy Ghost has entered him; and the next day
though he goes to his business
he finds no true contentment in it
for he pants after the living God. Now
his
spirit pleads its needs
and outstrips the body in the contest for its warmest
love. He spurns the trifles of a day: he seeks the jewels of eternity. Grace
has won the day
and the worldling seeks the world to come.
2. The same fact
with equal distinctness
is to be observed in the
individual when he becomes a believer in Jesus Christ; his faith destroys all
other confidences.
3. The same fact is very manifest after faith in all who truly love
the Saviour. They who love Christ aright
love no one in comparison with Him.
4. You will notice this in the man who makes his delight in the Lord
Jesus. He who makes his delight in Christ after a true sort
will discover that
this delight swallows up all other delights.
5. Yet more is it so in a man who is devoted to God’s service. The
service of God swallows up everything else when the man is truly God’s servant.
When a man gets fully possessed with an enthusiastic love for Jesus
difficulties to him become only things to be surmounted
dangers become
honours
sacrifices pleasures
sufferings delights
weariness rest.
II. We now draw an
inference. If it be so
that wherever true religion--the finger of God--comes
into a man
it becomes a consuming passion
till the zeal of God’s house eats
the man up. Then there are many persons who profess religion
who cannot have
found the right thing. Those who are mean
miserly
and miserable in the cause
of Christ
whose only expenditure is upon self
and whose main object is gain
what can we say of them? Why
that they look upon religion as some great
farmers do upon their little off-hand farms. They think it is well to have a
little religion; they can turn to it for amusement sometimes
just to ease them
a little of their cares; besides
it may be very well
after having had all in
this world
to try to get something in the next. They are moral and decent in
all ways; they can pray very nicely in prayer-meetings
yet they never dream of
consecrating their secular employments unto God. Aaron’s rod
in their case
has never swallowed up their rods.
III. Now
I will
give some reasons why i put the service of God so prominent
and think that
Aaron’s rod ought to swallow up all other rods. What does the great gospel
revelation discover to us? Does it not show us an awful danger
and one only
way of escape from it? Does not our religion also reveal to us the joyous
reward of another world? It opens to us yonder pearly gates
and bids us gaze
on angels and glorified spirits. By hell
and by heaven
therefore
I do
entreat you
let Aaron’s rod swallow up all other rods; and let love and faith
in Jesus be the master passion of your soul. Moreover
do we not learn in our
holy faith of a love unexampled? Where was there love such as that which
brought the Prince of Glory down to the gates of death
and made Him pass the
portals amid shame and scoffing? Shall such love as this have half our hearts?
(C. H. Spurgeon.)
Verses 14-25
They shall be turned to blood.
The river which was turned into blood
I. The river. Has
received various names. “The river of Egypt” (Genesis 15:18); Sihor (Job 13:3); Shihor (1 Chronicles 13:5). Diodorus Siculus
says: The Nile was first called Egypt. Best and longest known by the term Nile
which is derived from the Arabic words Nil
which means “blue
” and Nileh
which means “indigo.” Designated
therefore
“the dark blue river
” on
account of its waters assuming at times that appearance.
1. Its sources. These are three “branches.” The White River
which is
the western branch
and takes its rise in the Mountains of the Moon; the Blue
River
which is the central branch
and rises in the highlands of the Galla
country
south of Abyssinia; the Black River
which is the eastern branch
and
rises in the Mountains of Laska. These three required to make the Nile what it
is. Owes its abundance and majesty to each of them. Learn the necessity and the
advantage of combined efforts in doing good.
2. Its course.
Referring here not to the flow of the three rivers just named and their various
tributaries; but coming down to the confluence of the last of these
the Nile
runs in a directly northern course to a distance of 1
150 miles. During all
this way it receives no permanent streams
although in the rainy season it is
often swollen by torrents from the mountains which lie between it and the Red
Sea Fifteen miles below Cairo it divides into two arms. One of these runs into
the Mediterranean Sea below Rosetta
the other flows into it near Damietta. The
whole extent of the river from its farthest source is 3
300 miles. Has been
pursuing this course for the last 6
000 years. As deep and broad as ever. Why?
For the same reason that the rays of the sun are as numerous and powerful as at
first. He who has supplied the sun with light has supplied the Nile with water.
How thankful we should be to Him.
3. Its uses. It has helped to form the clouds. The sun has visited it
every day; has received from it some of the human family in various forms.
Above all it has been
and continues to be
the life of Egypt.
II. The river
changed. As at the marriage-feast of Cana in Galilee
the waters in the
water-pots blushed into wine
because the Lord willed the transformation; so
the waters of the Nile blushed into blood for the same reason. The locomotive
in the hands of the driver
the ship and the pilot
the horse and the rider;
all the elements of nature much more under God. He can do with every one of
them just as He pleases. This
great comfort to all that love Him. They are
safe
for nothing can harm them
contrary to His mind respecting them. This
should deeply impress those who do not love Him. May be conquered at any moment
by the lightning
the wind
or the water.
III. The river
changed for three reasons.
1. It was changed on account of idolatry. The Egyptians reverenced
the Nile; boasted that it made them independent of the rain; believed that all
their gods
particularly Vulcan
were born on its banks. In honour of it
observed rites
ceremonies
and celebrated festivals.
2. It was changed that the priests of Egypt might be deeply
impressed. Nothing which the priests more abhorred than blood. If the slightest
stain of blood had been on their persons
even on their sandals or garments
they would have thought themselves deeply polluted. How terrified they must
have been when they saw that “there was blood throughout all the land of
Egypt.” God meant this
that they might begin to think of Him
and turn from
their dumb idols to Him. Events
as well as words
are teachers. May we listen
at all times to truth.
3. It was changed to show that God is all-powerful. (A. McAuslane
D. D.)
The river turned into blood; or
man’s chief pleasure and pride
made the medium of Divine retribution
I. That Divine
retributions are sent when other and merciful measures have failed to
accomplish the purpose of God in man.
II. Divine
retributions often consist in making the source of man’s truest pleasure the
cause of his greatest misery.
1. Sometimes the religious notions of men are made the medium of
retributive pain.
2. Sometimes the commercial enterprises of men are made the medium of
retributive pain. He who might have been prosperous
had he obeyed the behest
of God
is ruined by his folly.
3. Sometimes all the spheres of a man’s life are made the medium of
retributive pain. If a man gets wrong with God
it affects the entirety of his
life. Moral questions penetrate into every realm and department of being
and
affect the whole of them
either gladly or wofully
all being dependant upon
the attitude of the soul toward the Eternal. Hence it is wise for men to obey the
command of God if they would be prosperous.
4. Thus we see how easily and completely God can make human life a
retribution to the evil doer. He can turn our glory into shame.
III. That the Divine
retributions are extensive in their effect
and are operative before the
impotent presence of the socially great. “And Moses and Aaron did
” etc.
1. This Divine retribution extended throughout all the land of Egypt.
2. This Divine retribution
in the act of infliction
was witnessed
by Pharaoh
and he was unable to prevent it.
IV. That the Divine
retributions are not always effectual to the subjugation of the wicked heart. “And the
magicians of Egypt did so with their enchantments
” etc. “And Pharaoh turned
”
etc.
1. The hardihood of a.disobedient soul.
2. The resistance of a tyrannic will.
3. The effort of men to mitigate the retribution of God. “All the
Egyptians digged
” etc. Vain effort.
V. That the Divine
retribution sometimes evokes presumptive conduct on the part of the wicked.
Lessons:
1. That Divine retributions are often merited by men.
2. That God can soon turn our joy into pain.
3. That obedience is the wisdom of man. (J. S. Exell
M. A.)
Opportunity in Christian service
I. That there are
favourable times at which to approach men with the messages of God. “Get thee
unto Pharaoh in the morning.”
II. That there are
favourable places in which to approach men with the messages of God. “And thou
shalt stand
” etc.
III. That the
servants of God are often Divinely instructed as to the best opportunity of
christian service. “Get thee unto Pharaoh in the morning.” By a deep
conviction
by a holy impression
and by keen moral vision
God unfolds to good
men the most favourable opportunity in which to declare His message to the
wicked. (J. S. Exell
M. A.)
The river changed into blood
I. That God can
change the scene of life into death.
II. That God can
change useful things into useless. All life dependent on His will.
III. That God can
change beautiful things into loathsome. (J. S. Exell
M. A.)
Superstitions respecting the Nile
One of its names was Hapi
or Apis
which is the same as
the sacred bull. There is extant a hymn to the Nile
written about the time of
the Exodus
beginning thus--“Hail
O Nile
thou comest forth over this ]and
thou comest in peace
giving life to Egypt
O hidden God!” Plutarch
following
the jargon of the priests
calls the Nile “the Father and Saviour of Egypt”
(Symp. 8
8); and affirms
“There is nothing so much honoured among the
Egyptians as the river Nile.” Even the fish and reptiles which it nourished
and the very reeds and flowers which grew in it
were held sacred. About
midsummer every year a great festival was celebrated throughout the country in
honour of the Nile. Men and women assembled from all parts of the country in
the towns of their respective Nomes; grand festivities were proclaimed
and the
religious solemnities which then took place were accompanied with feasting
dancing
and a general rejoicing. A wooden image of the river god was carried
by the priests through the villages in solemn procession
appropriate hymns
were sung
and the blessings
of the anticipated inundation were invoked. By the miraculous change of the
waters into blood
a practical rebuke was given to these superstitions. This
sacred and beautiful river
the benefactor and preserver of their country
this
birthplace of their chief gods
this abode of their lesser deities
this source
of all their prosperity
this centre of all their devotion
is turned to blood:
the waters stink; the canals and pools
the vessels of wood and vessels of
stone
which were replenished from the river
all are alike polluted. (T. S.
Millington.)
──《The Biblical Illustrator》