And the LORD spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying,
And the LORD spake unto Moses and unto Aaron is the opening of God's instructions to them as they return to confront Pharaoh to demand Israel's release, leading into the appointed signs He directed them to perform. The first of those signs was Aaron casting down his rod before Pharaoh to become a serpent. The later removal of the frogs, with their deaths and the heaps of bodies that corrupted the air, would give further evidence in that same confrontation.
The signs were given to convince Pharaoh that the great I AM had sent Moses with divine authority and commission, commanding him to let Israel go that they might serve the living God. In this they authenticated Moses' divine mission. They would also display God's power to Israel to make them willing to leave Egypt. This was needed because Israel had been corrupted by bondage amid idolatry, some were content to remain there, and their reluctance made Moses' task harder.
Moses' charge to break Israel's yoke of bondage prefigured Christ's first advent to break Satan's power over the human family and deliver His captives. The miracles that followed came from God's power alone, not from any human influence, skill, or power in Moses. The first sign was Aaron casting down his rod to become a serpent, which then swallowed the serpents produced by Pharaoh's magicians.
Pharaoh's magicians imitated the work by enchantments through the power of Satan, the devil, producing counterfeit signs and wonders such as rods becoming serpents. Satan knew what the signs meant and trembled for his power, consulted with his angels, and worked through the magicians to counterfeit God's true work. He aimed both to destroy the influence of God's work through Moses, to undermine belief and harden Pharaoh's heart, and to reach down through the ages to destroy faith in the mighty miracles Christ would perform at His coming.
God's power proved superior, for Aaron's rod swallowed the magicians' rods. They could imitate only a few of the miracles God wrought through Moses, they failed when they tried to produce lice and were forced to acknowledge the work as God's, showing that God controlled the limits of Satan's deception. The sign of the rod becoming a serpent and the turning of the river to blood did not soften Pharaoh's hard heart. Because the magicians imitated the work he believed the miracles were performed by magic, and his hatred of the Israelites increased.
The later removal of the frogs, with their deaths and heaps of bodies corrupting the air, gave Pharaoh and Egypt evidence that the plagues were judgments from God, not magic. The signs showed Jehovah's supremacy over Egypt's gods. The first sign destroyed serpents that the Egyptians worshiped, demonstrating that their gods could neither protect the people nor save themselves.
And the LORD spake unto Moses and unto Aaron is the opening of God's instructions to them as they return to confront Pharaoh to demand Israel's release, leading into the appointed signs He directed them to perform. The first of those signs was Aaron casting down his rod before Pharaoh to become a serpent. The later removal of the frogs, with their deaths and the heaps of bodies that corrupted the air, would give further evidence in that same confrontation.
The signs were given to convince Pharaoh that the great I AM had sent Moses with divine authority and commission, commanding him to let Israel go that they might serve the living God. In this they authenticated Moses' divine mission. They would also display God's power to Israel to make them willing to leave Egypt. This was needed because Israel had been corrupted by bondage amid idolatry, some were content to remain there, and their reluctance made Moses' task harder.
Moses' charge to break Israel's yoke of bondage prefigured Christ's first advent to break Satan's power over the human family and deliver His captives. The miracles that followed came from God's power alone, not from any human influence, skill, or power in Moses. The first sign was Aaron casting down his rod to become a serpent, which then swallowed the serpents produced by Pharaoh's magicians.
Pharaoh's magicians imitated the work by enchantments through the power of Satan, the devil, producing counterfeit signs and wonders such as rods becoming serpents. Satan knew what the signs meant and trembled for his power, consulted with his angels, and worked through the magicians to counterfeit God's true work. He aimed both to destroy the influence of God's work through Moses, to undermine belief and harden Pharaoh's heart, and to reach down through the ages to destroy faith in the mighty miracles Christ would perform at His coming.
God's power proved superior, for Aaron's rod swallowed the magicians' rods. They could imitate only a few of the miracles God wrought through Moses, they failed when they tried to produce lice and were forced to acknowledge the work as God's, showing that God controlled the limits of Satan's deception. The sign of the rod becoming a serpent and the turning of the river to blood did not soften Pharaoh's hard heart. Because the magicians imitated the work he believed the miracles were performed by magic, and his hatred of the Israelites increased.
The later removal of the frogs, with their deaths and heaps of bodies corrupting the air, gave Pharaoh and Egypt evidence that the plagues were judgments from God, not magic. The signs showed Jehovah's supremacy over Egypt's gods. The first sign destroyed serpents that the Egyptians worshiped, demonstrating that their gods could neither protect the people nor save themselves.