Exodus 7 reminds me how hard hearts can divide even blood relatives. Sometimes disputes grow into irreconcilable divisions that seem to entrench over time. The original dispute can get exaggerated through poor communication and personal insults. Today’s lesson is a warning that hard hearts often lead to destruction. The chapter begins with a reminder that when we follow God’s commands people perceive us as His representative. The Lord said to Moses: “I have made you like God to Pharaoh… say everything I command you.” I think this means Moses should not misrepresent God. One of my biggest fears is that I might be unclear about what God says, versus what I interpret it to mean. God is perfect, I am not. The Lord continues: “Aaron is to tell Pharaoh to let the Israelites go out of his country… I will harden Pharaoh’s heart”. Here is another reality; hard hearts become brittle. The Lord explains: “he will not listen to you. Then I will lay My hand on Egypt… with mighty acts of judgment”. Seismic change requires seismic pressure. There must be a permanent separation from Egypt. The Lord adds: “the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord when I stretch out My hand against Egypt and bring the Israelites out of it.” Here we see the first miracle: “Moses and Aaron did just as the Lord commanded them.” We can be so stubborn that we refuse to change even when we know we should. Life will never be perfect on this side of eternity, but ignoring God’s will and God’s Word can make life harder. The chapter mentions that Moses was 80 and Aaron was 83 when they spoke to Pharaoh. That might be encouraging to anyone that has been slow to respond to God’s instruction.
The chapter continues with the Lord’s instruction for when they meet Pharaoh: “Say to Aaron, ‘Take your staff and throw it down before Pharaoh,’ and it will become a snake.’” What happens when rivals face each other? The king’s scepter was an ornate symbol of his authority, and the cobra was a symbol of Pharaoh himself. This was a clear challenge. We read: “Pharaoh then summoned wise men and sorcerers, and the Egyptian magicians also did the same things by their secret arts.” I get creeped out when people tell me they are “spiritual”. There is a spiritual battle happening around us between good and evil. Satan is a deceiver, he imitates the miracles of God in order to appear like God. “But Aaron’s staff swallowed up their staffs“. Satan is not equal to God. Beware of anyone, no matter how holy they appear, if their words do not line up with scripture. The Holy Spirit of God points us to faith in Christ. Notice how Pharaoh reacted: “Pharaoh’s heart became hard and he would not listen to them, just as the Lord had said.” Bruised egos often prevent reconciliation.
God then told Moses: “Pharaoh’s heart is unyielding; he refuses to let the people go. Go to Pharaoh in the morning as he goes out to the water.” It says to “Confront him on the bank of the Nile.” The Nile was the lifeblood of Egypt, associated with fertility, renewal and sustaining life. Multiple Egyptian gods were interconnected with the river. Moses and Aaron were instructed to tell Pharaoh: “By this you will know that I am the Lord: With the staff that is in my hand I will strike the water of the Nile, and it will be changed into blood. The fish in the Nile will die, and the river will stink; the Egyptians will not be able to drink its water.’” Aaron did as God commanded: “Blood will be everywhere in Egypt, even in vessels of wood and stone.” Interestingly we read: “the Egyptian magicians did the same things by their secret arts, and Pharaoh’s heart became hard; he would not listen.” Notice, the magicians could not make the river clean. God is the only one that can turn the polluted things in our life into spotless perfection. We read Pharaoh “turned and went into his palace, and did not take even this to heart.” Mercy and forgiveness will not come from spirituality, nor intellect, retaliation or cancelling someone. A stiff heart can only be softened through repentance. In my life, that came when I read Romans 8:5 “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” In the midst of the bloody mess I made for myself, the understanding that Jesus loved me enough to die in my place even while I was in full rebellion broke me. Friend, is it time to be reconciled?