The Story Through the Bible Exod 7

The first challenge

Moses and Aaron stand before Pharaoh for the first real showdown. Now we have a public confrontation before the most powerful man in the world. This is where the long awaited plan of deliverance begins to unfold.

Exodus 7:8–10 ESV

Then the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “When Pharaoh says to you, ‘Prove yourselves by working a miracle,’ then you shall say to Aaron, ‘Take your staff and cast it down before Pharaoh, that it may become a serpent.’ ” So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and did just as the Lord commanded. Aaron cast down his staff before Pharaoh and his servants, and it became a serpent.

This is not Moses showing off. This is God’s authority being displayed. Pharaoh demanded a sign he got one. But the sign wasn’t random; it was chosen precisely because it would speak Pharaoh’s language.

2. The Symbol: In Egypt, the serpent (particularly the cobra) symbolized divine kingship and power, Pharaoh wore it on his crown as the uraeus, the mark of his supposed sovereignty and protection. So when Aaron’s staff becomes a serpent, and later swallows the serpents of Egypt’s magicians, the message couldn’t be clearer: Yahweh consumes Egypt’s power. The one who truly rules is not Pharaoh but the Lord.

Someone i’m sure asked this earlier about the word used for serpent. Back in Exodus 4:3 “And he said, “Throw it on the ground.” So he threw it on the ground, and it became a serpent, and Moses ran from it.” Now when we read the same word serpent there and here as English readers it would be reasonable to assume it’s the same Hebrew word… but it isn’t. Back there it was nachash the same word for serpent we get in the garden of eden - a snake or more specifically a cunning hissing creature. As much sociological as zoological for what the creature represents. I think the reason for asking was possibly because they remembered something about the “serpent” being something special and not just a snake. Well here the word used for snake isn’t nachash it’s tannin. This word could include nachash but it’s a stronger word that could also include sea monster, dragon, or a crocodile.. or the powerful serpent Pharoah’s represent themselves as. Nachash wouldn’t encompass those. Just out of curiosity I looked up all the references in exodus and found all the serpents mentioned are only 5. Curiously the first and last are nachash and the middle 3 are tannin. A form of chiastic structure if you will. We’ve moved from the earthly contest of nachash and man to the cosmic Yahweh and tannin. Let’s see what happens.

Exodus 7:11–12 ESV

Then Pharaoh summoned the wise men and the sorcerers, and they, the magicians of Egypt, also did the same by their secret arts. For each man cast down his staff, and they became serpents. But Aaron’s staff swallowed up their staffs.

Here we meet Egypt’s ḥakamim (wise men), mekashshephim (sorcerers), and ḥartummim (magicians). The “wise men” are Egypt’s court scholars and priests — those claiming wisdom and interpretation. The “sorcerers” practice occult rituals. The “magicians” are ritual specialists who imitate divine acts through enchantments. Together they represent the totality of Egypt’s supposed divine system. They are the intellectual, occultic, and ritualistic powers of the country. And all of it is literally eaten up in one motion.

A side note that this sort of trick is still performed in Egypt to this day with Cobras. They do it by holding tightly on a nerve near the cobra’s head and then holding them a certain way so they become stiff. Then when tossed on the ground they are shaken out of the stupor and move around. So interesting note that Moses was told to grab it by the tale where it become a staff again. In some sense showing he wasn’t using this trick but it was a real miracle.

3. The Heart: Exodus 7:13

Exodus 7:13 ESV

Still Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, and he would not listen to them, as the Lord had said.

The battle has begun, and it’s not between Moses and Pharaoh — it’s between Yahweh and Egypt’s gods. Pharaoh’s heart is “strengthened,” not just “stubborn.” This word hardened is the word for making something grow strong. I think I’ve often thought of this as the callousness of Pharaoh becoming harder but it’s really that the heart of Pharaoh is becoming more determined at resisting God. Another fun cultural connection here is the afterlife beliefs of Egyptians. In the ancient Egyptian life when you die you heart is weighed on the scales against the feather of ma’at which represents truth, order, and righteousness. So a light heart would be one of moral purity and a heavy heart would bring condemnation. As God and Pharaoh continue to work his heart is hardened/strengthened and by implication is heavier. So I think there is a subtle subversion of the Egyptian mythology that people of the time would have picked up on. Before we move on I want to point out lastly that we’ve now set up a pattern that we need to pay attention to. 1)God commands 2)Moses/Aaron obey 3)Pharaoh’s magician’s imitate 4)Pharaoh’s heart hardens

This continues to expose Egypt’s lack of true power while showing the Glory of Yahweh - one of the points of emphasis for Exodus.

Now we get to the first plague!

Exodus 7:14–17 ESV

Then the Lord said to Moses, “Pharaoh’s heart is hardened; he refuses to let the people go. Go to Pharaoh in the morning, as he is going out to the water. Stand on the bank of the Nile to meet him, and take in your hand the staff that turned into a serpent. And you shall say to him, ‘The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, sent me to you, saying, “Let my people go, that they may serve me in the wilderness.” But so far, you have not obeyed. Thus says the Lord, “By this you shall know that I am the Lord: behold, with the staff that is in my hand I will strike the water that is in the Nile, and it shall turn into blood.

Okay now we have the time, place, and first plague.

Notice again this phrase “By this you shall know that I am Yahweh” as all is always pointed back to God in his Sovereign GAS (Glory that is Active in Saving)

It doesn’t just end there it does get bad.

Exodus 7:18–19 ESV

The fish in the Nile shall die, and the Nile will stink, and the Egyptians will grow weary of drinking water from the Nile.” ’ ” And the Lord said to Moses, “Say to Aaron, ‘Take your staff and stretch out your hand over the waters of Egypt, over their rivers, their canals, and their ponds, and all their pools of water, so that they may become blood, and there shall be blood throughout all the land of Egypt, even in vessels of wood and in vessels of stone.’ ”

Exodus 7:20 “Moses and Aaron did as the Lord commanded. In the sight of Pharaoh and in the sight of his servants he lifted up the staff and struck the water in the Nile, and all the water in the Nile turned into blood.”

And everything else mentioned above does happen.

However like our pattern predicted…

Exodus 7:22–24 ESV

But the magicians of Egypt did the same by their secret arts. So Pharaoh’s heart remained hardened, and he would not listen to them, as the Lord had said. Pharaoh turned and went into his house, and he did not take even this to heart. And all the Egyptians dug along the Nile for water to drink, for they could not drink the water of the Nile.

This is a bit of a big deal - no water is essentially drinkable for a week. They would certainly have other things to drink, wine, possibly water in other cisterns - rainwater but the logistic reality is not particularly in view here. It’s God’s sovereignty over his creation and certainly over it’s specific life sustaining properties that the Nile was relied upon for.

4. Application: The story is about a contest of lords and that question is still alive today. Who is the Lord that we should obey His voice? Every heart answers that question daily. Pharaoh’s problem wasn’t lack of evidence but lack of submission. God’s miracles don’t just display power they demand allegiance.

When God acts in your life, He’s not merely proving He can — He’s revealing who He is. The question isn’t “Can He?” but “Will we bow when He does?”