Exodus 7:8-13

I.   Introduction

As we serve God, it is vital to know that he does not remove us from the opposition.  What he does do is provide spiritual protection and ultimate physical deliverance. Conversely, he does the opposite for the opposition.

II. God provides Moses and Aaron with a glimpse of their triumph.

1.  We are beginning a new section of our study; specifically, the execution of the call of God.  This is the prologue.  As such, it is a forward looking abbreviation of triumph.  It gives us a glimpse about our lives as well.

2.  There are two major movements.  Moses and Aaron do as God tells them and triumph (8-12).  Pharaoh suffers defeat as God said he would (13).

3.  God tells Moses and Aaron to present themselves as court.  He tells them that Pharaoh will ask for a form of credentials; a sign that they represent deity.  Aaron is to throw down his staff, and it becomes a serpent.  In 4:3, Moses is given a similar sign.  It serves as a polemic against Pharaoh whose headdress contained a cobra.  It symbolized a goddess to protect him.  But Moses has dominion over it symbolizing that there is no protection for Pharaoh.  But the key is in vs. 10.  They did just as the Lord had commanded.  It is the signal event about how to triumph in life.  If you follow the divine word, you will eventually win.  If you do not, you will not.  It is a simple yet profound formula.  Appl: 

4.  Pharaoh resists the divine word for his own word.  He summons (11) his wise men, sorcerers, and magicians.  You can see the contest:  God and his servants versus the god Pharaoh and his servants.  And in some way, they counterfeit and expand upon the miracle of God (one versus many).  I do not know how this occurred.  I just affirm that it did.  But the larger point is that they copy the miracle of God to counter it.  Here again is a signal lesson about life.  You will encounter counterfeit deities, their words, and their miracles all of your life.  You must not take the bait.  Illus:  fishing tackle (lures) is designed to trick the fish into thinking it is going to get a meal when in reality it will become one if it takes the bait.  Appl:  Even Church.

5.  At this point, Moses and Aaron are outnumbered.  It makes no difference.  God is the majority.  Too, the word serpent is different from chapter four.  It can be translated serpent, but it is also used as the word for dragon or sea monster.  Cassuto translates it as crocodile.  The interesting thing about our word sea monster is that it is used symbolically of the opponents and oppressors of God people.  See Isaiah 51:9-11 (dragon), Jeremiah 51:34 (Babylon), Ezekiel 29:3 (Pharaoh) 5-6.  See Genesis 1:21.  God creates the monsters and is therefore sovereign over them.  The LXX uses the word dragon.  This is very significant because this same imagery plays out in the New Testament.  See Revelation 12:3, 13. 

6.  So in doing that God told them to do, Moses and Aaron are ambushed and outnumbered.  But God intervenes yet again.  Appl:  you will be; he will help.  See 7:12:b.  God swallows the oppressor and the opponent.  In a moment, before the contest has begun, Pharaoh has lost.  The word of God is true.  The words of the priests of Pharaoh are false and cannot deliver him.

7.  The word swallow is what is going to happen to Pharaoh the dragon.  See Exodus 15:12.  And it is important that you see this event as an overview of deliverance.  This is but a small scale of what will happen on a national level.  The Dragon Serpent will come after the people of God to swallow them.  God intervenes and swallows the Dragon.  The word in the LXX is found in the New Testament.  See Hebrews 11:29. 

8.  On a cosmic scale, we too face the dragon.  Revelation 12 is a picture of the Messianic community or the people of God.  The Dragon waits to devour the Christ child (4-5).  And John relies on the imagery of Exodus to recount our own deliverance.  Like Israel of old, we flee into the wilderness on our way to the land of heaven.  The Dragon pursues and persecutes us (13).  God helps us (14).  See Deuteronomy 32:10-12.  There are two realities at play here.  In the physical realm, the Dragon oppresses the people of God.  In the spiritual realm, God protects them.  This is beautifully portrayed in 12:15.  The Dragon pours water like a river to “drown her” much like Pharaoh was driving Israel into the sea.  I take this as a reference to the deceptions, false teaching, and counterfeits that come out of his mouth to spiritually destroy the Church.  In 12:16, the earth opens up its mouth and swallows the river.  See I Peter 5:8-10.  God does not remove us; he does protect and deliver us.

9.  On an even greater scale, we have the grave that swallows us.  It is like a hideous monster that feeds upon the people of God.  Seemingly, all are caught and devoured.  But the Bible tells us that God made the sea monster regurgitate the prophet Jonah.  The grave gives up Christ.  See Matthew 28:6 (he is not here).  It could not hold him.  And therefore, neither can it hold us.  The prophet Isaiah speaks of this in Isaiah 25:8-9.  As you know, Paul cites this text in I Corinthians 15.  Read I Corinthians 15:51-58.  It is here that the protection of the spiritual realm merges with physical reality meaning that death and sin are conquered.  See 2 Corinthians 5:4, Matthew 16:18.

10. Yet, Pharaoh is unmoved.  His heart is hardened.  He rejects the word and the sign.  But even in this, God is sovereign for the text reads (it happened) as the Lord had said.  The word prevails.  He suffers defeat.

11.  Thus, the abbreviated form of the prologue tells us which side will win in the contest with Pharaoh, the Dragon, and death itself.