Moses' Credentials and a Final Warning:

Exodus 7:8-13

1. L/W—We discussed the encouragement and assurances God gave to Moses and to Israel—which He has given to us through Christ, through His Word, and through the working of the Holy Spirit in our lives.

For Moses and the Israelites, this encouragement was given b/c God knew

About the affliction and bondage they were living under;

What evil had caused and what it could have ultimately led to.

Of Pharaoh’s hard-hearted response to Moses

God’s assurance and encouragement also served as a foundation for what lie ahead, as

He was about to deliver them from this; their bondage to Egypt and lead them through the wilderness and to the promised land He covenanted to give them—and they would need to rely on His Word, promises, and assurances through all of it.

For you and me, we are given this same encouragement thru God’s Word b/c God

Knows about the affliction and bondage man lives under;

What evil has caused and what sin can ultimately lead to;

It is also serves as a foundation for what lie ahead for believers today, not just for what a person has or is currently walking through, but for this things a believer is sure to walk through.

We know that through the cross of Christ, we have been delivered from the bonds and yoke of sin. Yet in this life we know we will difficulties and circumstances that will test and try us, where will need endurance, strength, and wisdom. We must, as believers live as Paul commanded Timothy in 1 Timothy 6:12, that we “....lay hold on eternal life, to which you were also called and have confessed the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.”

2. This week—we see Moses and Aaron return to Pharaoh, on the heels of God’s encouragement and assurance—to present Pharaoh with their credentials —under Who’s authority they carried and delivered this message...

(READ EXODUS 7:8-13)

God loves the world—He created it, called it good and set it in motion. God loves man—He created man in His image and likeness; He created man so differently unique from the rest of creation (Genesis 2:7 “And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.” ), in that each of us (you and me) are the pinnacle of all that He has created; so much so, that looking back at the creation account, He stated of His creation of man (we) was (is) very good. He then placed man in the Eden and there established with man (Adam and Eve) a perfect relationship, not with the trees, plants, animals, earth and sky—but with man—this is how unique and set apart we are in God’s eyes—in His perspective. Created to be in a relationship of worship of Him and fellowship with Him.

When sin entered the world, through one man—sin then, like a disease-spread to every man since, (Romans 5:12 “Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned—” ); and though heartbroken and forced to drive man from His presence, God has never once diminished or lost His view of how He created each of us (you and I)—and in every account since the fall, God, “did not abandon His creation, but worked to restore it instead.” (David Jeremiah) This is how much He loves the world and loves you.

God’s love and desire to bring about restoration is not limited to only, “certain people,” or a “select group” of people. His love and desire is to see EVERY person saved and restored, to see EVERY person know Him as their Lord and Savior before they perish. Why EVERY person? Because EVERY person, is

Created in His likeness/image, created for the purpose of worship and fellowship of Him

A sinner—a sinner who’s unrestored and unredeemed heart keeps them from their purpose in creation

God’s love and desire to bring about restoration extended to even Pharaoh and the Egyptians—He did not desire that one Egyptian, even Pharaoh himself to perish without knowing him. He knew their hearts though; He knew how hard Pharaoh’s heart was and how that had infected the Egyptian people, who’s hearts were also hardened (save some who left in the Exodus); He knew they had enslaved His people, that they were brutal, vicious, cruel, and savage.

God is a God of longsuffering (He is perfectly patient)—but He cannot and will not stand to see evil and sin go un-judged. There was coming a time in Egypt (and there will come a time for man) where God’s nature as a just judge would and will have its way—where those that reject and refuse His message of deliverance will face His wrath, will face judgment for sin.

Here at the precipice of this time in Exodus—God stands ready to execute His judgment on Pharaoh and Egypt, yet He gives yet one more opportunity for Pharaoh and Egypt:

You can read this section of verses as a story of Aaron’s rod—turned into a serpent that devoured the magician’s “serpent” and see God’s sovereign omnipotence—and you would be right.

You can read this section of verses as a story and example of God’s power over creation—His display of the truth that He alone is One and only True Living God—and you would be right.

You can read this section of verses as an account of how Pharaoh (full of evil, pride, and sin) continued to harden his heart towards God and His people—and you would be right.

But today I want to ask you to look a little deeper, look a little closer as we discuss these verses today—at what the real subject behind this part of God’s Word is teaching and telling us:

(1) God wanted to give Pharaoh and Egypt one last chance to repent and free God’s people; one last warning before He launched His judgment (plagues) upon the nation,

What did He do to warn them and give them a last chance to repent? He sent them Moses

This account is the 2nd meeting b/t Moses and Pharaoh—but this time Moses doesn’t present the message—he presented his credentials: he proved that God has sent him…Like a license provides credentials that a person can drive, like the badge a police officer wears provides credentials of the law they enforce, Moses was providing proof of Who he was speaking for.

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I. (v.8-9; First credential)—Knowledge of God, His Word, and His instructions

Exodus 7:8-9 “Then the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, “When Pharaoh speaks to you, saying, ‘Show a miracle for yourselves,’ then you shall say to Aaron, ‘Take your rod and cast it before Pharaoh, and let it become a serpent.’ ””

Simply stated, Moses and Aaron were men who:

Knew God

Know God’s Word

Was commissioned by God

(Context and Culture)

Moses and Aaron knew and were known by God

Moses and Aaron were men who knew God’s Word

God spoke to Moses and Aaron—

God gave them His Word

God gave them His message of deliverance to take to Pharaoh and Egypt—the message of liberty and freedom

Moses and Aaron didn’t come up with what to say on their own

Moses and Aaron didn’t take it upon themselves to speak contrary to what God had told them

Moses and Aaron were commissioned by God

Moses and Aaron were more than just commissioned; they were given instructions, guidelines, the “how-to” so-to-speak of

Delivering God’s message of freedom and liberty

Dealing with the skepticism/mockery/rejection of His message

(COMPARISON)—Any person who claims God has called Him, at the core (at the foundation) must possess the following truths: In those who preach and teach God’s Word today—or who God will call to; there is the truth and understanding they must:

Know God (be in a surrendered, sanctified and sanctifying relationship with Him)—this may sound like a no-brainer, but it is an ABSOLUTE NECESSITY and BIBLICAL REQUIREMENT

Know God’s Word

(First) God’s Word is (has been) given—it is God who saves and implants His word in man (in us)

Like Moses and Aaron, we don’t come up with what to say on our own

Like Moses and Aaron, we don’t take it upon ourselves to speak contrary to God’s Word

To take away from it

To add to it

To adjust it to fit our circumstances

(Second) This is not a graduated thing—it’s a continual, active, intentional, and purposeful aim/goal to spend time every day learning, growing, and applying God’s Word.

There is no such thing as, “graduating the gospel;” if you think you have—you’ve proven you’ve never known it

Know they are commissioned by God

Preaching/teaching is a commissioning by and from God and God alone:

It’s not something someone “falls into,”

It’s not something someone does b/c someone told them, “they’d be good at it, or they speak well”

It’s not something someone does b/c they found it in the “want ads,” or “a job-search engine”

Preaching/teaching is a commissioning by and from God and God alone—rooted in His mercy

Know they are more than commissioned by God—they are given instructions, guidelines, the “how-to,” in

What the message is

1 Corinthian 2:1-2 “And I, brethren, when I came to you, did not come with excellence of speech or of wisdom declaring to you the testimony of God. For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.”

What the message is capable to do:

2 Timothy 3:14-15 “But you must continue in the things which you have learned and been assured of, knowing from whom you have learned them, and that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.”

Delivering the message of deliverance and freedom in the midst of false teaching/religion/doctrine

2 Timothy 4:1-5 “I charge you therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who will judge the living and the dead at His appearing and His kingdom: Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables. But you be watchful in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.”

Before we move on, I want to speak on the familiarity of this part of Scripture for a moment (Exodus 7:9 ““When Pharaoh speaks to you, saying, ‘Show a miracle for yourselves,’ then you shall say to Aaron, ‘Take your rod and cast it before Pharaoh, and let it become a serpent.’ ””).

This act of God was to include no judgment—it was merely a demonstration of God’s power

This act of God was to carry the intention of giving Pharaoh one last chance to repent and let Israel go, before God unleashed His judgment upon them

This act of God was to be in response to Pharaoh’s sarcastic and ridicule-driven inquiry as to Moses’ credentials; to which God gave

This act of God—turning Aaron’s Rod into a snake, then devouring the sorcerer’s snake—was God showing His power and authority as the One True God—while at the same time an attempt to see Pharaoh and Egypt repent and relent.

II.(v.10; Second credential)-Obedience to God

Exodus 7:10 “So Moses and Aaron went in to Pharaoh, and they did so, just as the Lord commanded. And Aaron cast down his rod before Pharaoh and before his servants, and it became a serpent.”

(CONTEXT)

Moses and Aaron obeyed God and did exactly what God has said to do;

They went to Pharaoh and did exactly/specifically what God had instructed

Moses and Aaron were commissioned and instructed to take the message of God’s deliverance to Pharaoh and Egypt

(COMPARISON)-There’s no deep drawn out, theological discussion on this:

Simple and straightforward stated, when God gives His Word, He expects obedience

In our application of the context of God’s Word this morning, we must understand that God has commissioned us (as believers) to go and proclaim His Word to a world lost in sin and darkness. It’s what He told Moses to do and it’s what He’s to us do—what He’s commissioned us to:

Matthew 28:19-20 “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.”

Mark 16:15 “And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.”

Acts 1:8 “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.””

Further, in the application of our understanding of Biblical obedience, God expects to us obey Him—to do exactly what He commands and says—in any and all ways: For the believer, we know God’s will for our lives is sanctification, that as we sojourn through this world, we submit and surrender to the Holy Spirit’s working to conform us more and more in to the image of Christ. This is experienced and accomplished in the believers’s Biblical obedience to God’s Word and what He has commanded. The Biblical fruit produced from Biblical obedience is experiencing the Holy Spirit progressively conform us into the image of Christ

We are to allow the Holy Spirit to develop the characteristics of Christ in us: what are they

To begin, look at Galatians 5:22-23 “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.”

It’s no coincidence that Paul lists, “love, joy, and peace,” first—these are divinely given characteristics which provide the spiritual roots, which which help grow and yield the remaining six (6) fruits

It’s no coincidence that Paul lists, “love” first—without any of us experiencing God’s love towards us, we would not know the joy of salvation and we would not be at peace with God.

However, another characteristic of Christ that can be often ignored/overlooked/not taken seriously, is the characteristic if hating/abhorring our sin

The conforming of our lives into the image of Christ cannot exist as it should—if we do not, cannot, refuse to, see our sin the way God views/sees sin

A primary characteristic of Jesus Christ is that He despised/hated/abhorred/and died to see sin put the death; why did He hate it so much

“He hates sin because it has filled the world with pain and sorrow, but more importantly, because it has robbed man of his purpose in life of worshipping God.” (A.W. Tozer)

We are to develop the spiritual disciplines of a believer’s life in looking at Christ and what God’s Word lays out for us

Devotion to God’s Word

Devotion to prayer

Devotion to fellowship/worship

Devotion to service

Further still, in our application of Biblical obedience, we must know not to hesitate in our obedience, rather our obedience is to be immediate, putting “our Yes, Lord,” on the altar. is to be immediate (the commissioning of Joshua--Joshua 1:10 “Then Joshua commanded the officers of the people, saying,”

We have examples from those who have gone before us—in how they obeyed the Lord

Noah obeyed the Lord—Genesis 6:22 “Thus Noah did; according to all that God commanded him, so he did.”

Joshua obeyed the Lord—Joshua 11:15 “As the Lord had commanded Moses his servant, so Moses commanded Joshua, and so Joshua did. He left nothing undone of all that the Lord had commanded Moses.”

Hezekiah obeyed the Lord—2 Kings 18:6 “For he held fast to the Lord; he did not depart from following Him, but kept His commandments, which the Lord had commanded Moses.”

Paul obeyed the Lord—Acts 26:19 ““Therefore, King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision,”

Christ obeyed the Father—

John 14:31 “But that the world may know that I love the Father, and as the Father gave Me commandment, so I do. Arise, let us go from here.”

Hebrews 5:8 “though He was a Son, yet He learned obedience by the things which He suffered.”

Moses obeyed the Lord:

Hebrews 11:24-26 “By faith Moses, when he became of age, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin, esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt; for he looked to the reward.”

Moses obeyed and lived for the Lord, to the point most of us withdrawal from in that he preferred affliction over comfort, God’s chastening verses the comforts of this world

We have a promised blessing that comes from Biblical obedience:

Exodus 19:5 “Now therefore, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to Me above all people; for all the earth is Mine.”

Remember God’s chief commandment: 1 John 3:23 “And this is His commandment: that we should believe on the name of His Son Jesus Christ and love one another, as He gave us commandment.”

Our first act of Biblical obedience, which is the foundation for rest of our obedience—to believe on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation

Romans 10:9-10 “that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”

Any act of Biblical obedience that follows MUST be from the root of the first—other wise all we are obedient to is the worship of religious activity and religiosity.

III.(v.10-13; Third credential)—God’s supreme power—the messenger must remember that he is just that—the messenger—it is God who does the redeeming and it is God who does the judging.

Exodus 7:10-13 “So Moses and Aaron went in to Pharaoh, and they did so, just as the Lord commanded. And Aaron cast down his rod before Pharaoh and before his servants, and it became a serpent. But Pharaoh also called the wise men and the sorcerers; so the magicians of Egypt, they also did in like manner with their enchantments. For every man threw down his rod, and they became serpents. But Aaron’s rod swallowed up their rods. And Pharaoh’s heart grew hard, and he did not heed them, as the Lord had said.”

(CONTEXT)—Note what happened

God’s power was demonstrated right before Pharaoh and his officials (v.10b)

God turned the rod of Moses into a snake

Pharaoh countered with his own display of power; his goal was to prove Moses was nothing more than a magician—that there was in fact no real, true, living God empowering Moses.

This is seen in Pharaoh summoning three types of people

Wise men (hakamim):

Educated and trained politicians of the day

Sorcerers (kashshap):

Those that practiced witchcraft, the occult, and the casting of spells upon people

Magicians (hartummim):

Those that used trickery and the occult to perform feats—this is the O/T word for sorcery

Who were these men? Paul tells us who they were and what their bent was (2 Timothy 3:8 “Now as Jannes and Jambres resisted Moses, so do these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, disapproved concerning the faith;”

Who-

”Jannes and Jambres”

Men of corrupt minds

Men who were disapproved

What their purpose was-

Resist Moses and

Resist the truth

Did what they did actually happen? (Two things to think on)

Was there illusion, slight of hand, or some kind of deceptive appearance?

It is possible to immobilize snakes; the term is catalepsy and it refers to putting pressure on a nerve in the snakes head;

Was it possible they were holding stiff, immobilized snakes, “acting” as if they had turned them back into rods?

Some commentators think so

Did these men actually perform this feat through demonic power?

Some commentators feel there is a real conflict b/t the power of God and the power of Satan

Jesus teaches us in Matthew 24:24 that it’s possible that Satan can seemingly duplicate miracles and signs—works that come close to deceiving others, including those that truly follow God

“For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect.”

God’s power proved supreme: Aaron’s rod swallowed up the rods of the magician’s and this act showed Pharaoh two things:

God’s power was supreme:

With Pharaoh

The snake was a symbol of power in Egypt—it was the very symbol of Pharaoh’s power as he wore the insignia of a metal snake on his crown

When Pharaoh’s snake was swallowed up, God demonstrated that beyond question and without a doubt-He was supreme and His power is supreme

What this reveals about Pharaoh;

Pharaoh was attacking God’s truth and God’s people

Pharaoh was a counterfeit and a fraud

God had truly sent Moses

Pharaoh should have gotten the hint-gotten the message that Moses did possess the credentials of Jehovah;

That God’s powers infinitely surpassed his or the religious leaders of Egypt

Pharaoh needed to heed this—to surrender to it

Sadly though, he did not and his heart he continued to harden towards God and His truth and message

(CONTRAST)

The lesson we must learn in all of this is that:

Satan has always and will always attack God’s truth and God’s people by, “imitating the works of God” (Warren Wiersbe)

2 Thessalonians 2:9-10 “The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved.”

Matthew 24:24 “For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect.”

Revelation 13:11-15 (speaks about the dragon and all the dragon (Satan) will try and do

Satan, according to Jesus Himself, is a counterfeit and a fraud (see Matthew 13:24-30; 36-43)

He has an imitation gospel, and

He has a counterfeit gospel

Satan will stop at nothing and he will use whatever he can to deceive you, lie to you, manipulate you, ensnare you, bind you--into thinking that whatever power he has (thinks he has or does have) is greater and cannot be overcome:

Maybe you’ve been or you know someone who’s been

Two things to know and be encouraged and assured by:

God’s power is supreme over Satan and the powers of darkness and sin

God demonstrates His power in the lives of those who follow Him

The power to conquer all the terrible and horrific trials and evils of this earth; the power to conquer the sin/brokenness found in

The broken home

The struggling marriage

The wayward son/daughter

The addiction

Prodigal living

Whatever power the enemy thinks he as over you, God is bigger and His power to deliver from the enemy is supreme—there is nothing our God cannot overcome or defeat—the proof is in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ

In His death ALL our sins are atoned

In HIs resurrection we are given victory over deeath

What must you response be then

When God proclaims His message of deliverance to you; when He proclaims His assurances and encouragement to you; when He promises and displays that He has power over even the darkest of sin:

We must not be like Pharaoh: hard-hearted/stubborn/self-sufficiently relying on other things, on “lying wonder’s,” of the enemy

Pharaoh’s heart is an example of the “wayside,” (Parable of the Sower, Mark 4)

We MUST be soft-hearted, tender, and receptive to God’s Word

We MUST be possess repentant hearts

(WORSHIP TEAM)

God provided Moses to both the Israelites and Pharaoh and Egypt…to give the message of His deliverance and freedom from bondage.

God has also given to us today, faithful men who (1) know God, His Word, and His instructions, (2) are obedient to follow/trust/depend on God, and (3) rely on God’s strength and power to do the delivering

And while we should entrust ourselves to their leadership…we MUST always remember and cling to God’s ultimate message of deliverance:

God’s ultimate message, His ultimate statement that (1) man needs deliverance and (2) that He’s provided deliverance, is in God providing us His Son, Jesus Christ with the express purpose of delivering us from sin (Matthew 1:21 “And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.”” )

The message of the cross and the totality of the cross stand as redemption for those who would surrender but as judgment for those who would reject it.

Jesus, as the author of Hebrews states is message Who has been given in these, “the last days.” (Hebrews 1:1 “God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds;” ). There is no other message or means of deliverance that will come after Him. God’s means of deliverance, the death and resurrection of His only Begotten Son—Jesus Christ—is the ONLY way by which man can be reconciled and redeemed—the ONLY means by which man can be liberated from the bonds and wages of sin.

God is longsuffering (2 Peter 3:8-9 “But, beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.”), but there will come a day when Christ will return in the fullness of Who He—the Just Justifier, the Just Judge, and the Righteous hand of the Father. To those who’s response to the cross has led to their redemption, the promised living and blessed hope of living in eternal fellowship with God will be fulfilled. To those who’s response to the cross has been rejection and rebellion—the promise of judgment, the promise of living eternally apart from Christ will also be fulfilled.

Going back to the beginning, God doesn’t desire ONE soul to perish without knowing Him. He desired even for Pharaoh and Egypt to know Him. And He provided Moses as His messenger. God still exists with that same desire---and He’s provided and commissioned faithful men who have (1) accepted that message and (2) are delivering this message to ALL who would hear it;

A person’s response (again) MUST NOT be like Pharaoh’s

His hope---that those—ANY of those, who might hear this message, might respond in faith to Jesus Christ—so that before they perish, they may know Him as their Lord and Savior—b/c there will come a time when it will be too late