Hello and welcome to today’s Exodus 7 bible study for beginners. In this chapter we will read about Aaron’s miraculous rod and the first plague in Egypt . According to Bible scholars, the events of Exodus 7 took place in 1446 B.C. approximately.
As usual, I encourage you to turn to Exodus 7 in your Bible. Kindly invite the Holy Spirit to guide you as you read and study Exodus 7. I mention this in all the Bible Studies because it is only through the Holy Spirit that we get fresh revelation and knowledge to understand the word of God. No one else can teach you better than the Holy Spirit Himself. I am using the New King James Version (NKJV) of the Bible, just in case you want to know.
In the Bible Study on Exodus 6, we read about God confirming His promises with Israel. Well, today, we will learn about Aaron’s miraculous rod that turned into a serpent on God’s instruction and the first plague in Egypt.
Backstory on Exodus 6
The Lord spoke to Moses and reaffirmed His covenant with Israel, instructing Moses to declare His covenant and promises to the Israelites in Egypt. However, when Moses conveyed this message to the Israelites, they did not listen to him due to their harsh bondage. As a result, Moses expressed his concerns to God, saying that he had uncircumcised lips. He questioned how Pharaoh, who did not know God, would listen to him if the Israelites would not.
Additionally, Exodus 6 also contains the genealogy of the tribe of Levi to which Moses and Aaron belong. The Lord spoke to Moses once more, commanding him to deliver His message to Pharaoh. Yet, Moses replied again that he had uncircumcised lips and worried about how Pharaoh would heed him.
Without any further delay, let us study together and learn what is Exodus 7 about, shall we?
Exodus 7 Summary
The Lord tells Moses that He has made him as a God to Pharaoh and appoints Aaron as his prophet. God instructs Moses to speak God’s commands to Pharaoh, urging him to let the Israelites go. God said that He would harden Pharaoh’s heart and perform many signs and wonders in Egypt. Despite these, Pharaoh will not listen, enabling God to demonstrate His power by bringing the Israelites out of Egypt through His great judgments against the Pharaoh, his officers, and the Egyptians. Moses and Aaron faithfully obeyed God’s command, with Moses being eighty years old and Aaron eighty-three at the time they confronted Pharaoh.
The Lord instructs Moses and Aaron to perform a miracle before Pharaoh (when he demands for a miracle) by turning Aaron’s rod into a serpent. They obey and carry out the miracle in front of Pharaoh, who then calls for his magicians. The magicians replicate the miracle by turning their own rods into serpents by many enchantments. However, Aaron’s serpent ultimately swallows the magicians’ serpents. God’s power is unmatchable. No devil or demon or enchantment could ever match His power. Despite this demonstration, Pharaoh’s heart remains hardened, and he refuses to listen to God.
The Lord instructs Moses to confront Pharaoh, whose heart is hardened against releasing the Israelites. God instructs Moses to meet Pharaoh by the Nile river bank in the morning, carrying Aaron’s rod that had turned into a serpent in Pharaoh’s court. God instructed Moses to deliver His message, demanding that Pharaoh let the Israelites go to serve Him in the wilderness and that until now he had not heeded God’s message. The Lord warns that as a sign of His power, He will turn the waters of the Nile river into blood, causing the fish to die and making the water undrinkable for the Egyptians.
Following God’s command, Moses instructs Aaron to stretch his hand with the rod to turn the waters of Egypt into blood. They carry out this action in front of Pharaoh and his servants, resulting in all the river’s water turning to blood. This caused the fish to die and rendered the water undrinkable for the Egyptians, leading to blood throughout the land of Egypt.
The magicians of Egypt also with their many enchantments turned water to blood, which only hardened Pharaoh’s heart further. He dismissed Moses’s and Aaron’s actions and the ominous warnings, returning to his house hard-hearted against God. Consequently, the Egyptians were forced to dig all around the river for drinking water because the river’s water had become blood. This situation persisted for seven days after God striked the river.
Exodus 7 Commentary
1. Exodus 7:3-4
The Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart to bring about His judgments upon him and the Egyptians for their sins against the Israelites. The Israelites were suffering under oppression from their enemies. If God had not hardened Pharaoh’s heart and demonstrated His might, the Israelites would have not known Him as Lord the Redeemer. They would have thought that they had no one to rescue them. But, the Lord Almighty is their defender because of the active covenant that they have with God until this day. Through His mighty acts, God revealed Himself as the redeemer of Israel and created a separation between His people and the Egyptians.
2. Exodus 7:7
Moses was 80 years old, and his older brother Aaron was 83 when the Lord sent them to speak to Pharaoh. God can use anyone, regardless of their age, to deliver His people and carry out His plans on Earth. He looks at a person’s heart rather than their age or outward appearance. What matters is whether a person’s heart is soft, willing, and obedient towards Him.
3. Exodus 7:9
The Lord instructed Aaron to cast his rod before Pharaoh, causing it to turn into a serpent. Interestingly, the crowns of the Egyptian Pharaohs featured a serpent as well. This symbolism served to demonstrate that God would tame Pharaoh and ultimately serve His judgment if he did not release His people.
4. Exodus 7:11-12
The enemy attempted to imitate God’s power. Pharaoh’s wise men, sorcerers, and magicians performed enchantments with their rods, turning them into serpents and they turned water to blood to prove that it was not a big deal and they were able to do what God Almighty did. However, they were no match for God’s power and they never will be. Aaron’s rod swallowed all the other serpents. You cannot play with God, nor can you pretend to be God. He is supreme and the source of all power; everything else is merely a counterfeit.
5. Exodus 7:19-25
The Nile river was turned to blood and the water in Egypt was turned to blood and no one could drink or use it and it stinked. God exhibits His might to the wicked as judgment by turning water into blood making it inconsumable. On the contrary, in the wedding of Cana, Jesus turned water to wine as a sign to His people so that they could drink it and know (as it was the best wine) that He is God among us and with us so that people repent and are saved. The magicians who replicated God’s judgment till a certain point were foolish and they were inflicting judgment on themselves and creating harm for themselves.
Exodus 7 Lessons
What can we learn from Exodus 7?
1. God always warns before judgment
He warned the Pharaoh repeatedly through Moses, but he did not heed the warnings. God gave them many chances to repent, and let His people go. God is the same yesterday, today, and forever. He continues to warn the wicked, even today, to repent and let His people go. However, when they persist in their wickedness, God’s judgment will inevitably come when the grace period comes to an end.
2. The enemy is stubborn and tries to copy God
Pharaoh believed that the Israelites, as his slaves, belonged to him. However, they actually belonged to God, having a covenant with Him. Pharaoh attempted to use his magicians to replicate God’s signs and wonders, hoping to demonstrate that God’s power was insignificant. However, the magicians had to use numerous enchantments to imitate God’s miracles. The enemy, Satan, was exploiting weak and willing vessels like Pharaoh and the Egyptians for their own destruction. Ultimately, Pharaoh’s approach led to a disastrous end for him and his officers.
3. God does what He says
Pharaoh did not believe that God would truly bring destruction, assuming that any repercussions would only affect the Egyptians and not himself. He underestimated God and His power. Likely, he was worshipping pagan gods and, he was consumed by a lust for power, leading him to believe he was invincible. This is why he did not fear God; he viewed the God of Israel as merely one of many gods, similar to the deities worshipped by the Egyptians and other nearby regions. However, this was his critical mistake, as the God of Israel is also the God of the entire heavens and earth and holds Supreme authority.
God gave Pharaoh many opportunities to change his mind. If he had allowed the people to go free even after the first plague, it is possible that the subsequent plagues would not have occurred. However, God does not warn as joke. God intends every word He says and He did bring judgment eventually just as He had warned Pharaoh through Moses and Aaron.
4. God will intervene and rescue His people
God has an active covenant with the Israelites, which is the foundation of His defense of them. We must remember that God seeks a covenant with His people. He chose Abraham and entered into a covenant with him. Just as He came to the Israelites’ defense when they were in bondage and trouble, He also came to our rescue to set us free from our struggles and challenges through His Son, Jesus Christ. He continues to help His people even today. When you have an active covenant with Him through the blood of Jesus Christ, He will help you too. You enter into this covenant with God when you repent of your sins and accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior.
Conclusion
This concludes the bible study on Exodus 7. I hope you enjoyed this free bible study and found it helpful in your Bible study journey. Feel free to share it with your friends and family. Also, share your thoughts and what the Holy Spirit has revealed to you about Exodus 7. If you have any questions or comments, please leave them below. I will get back to you as soon as I can.
Until next time!