Context No. 3901 of 4322 · Exodus

Exodus 7:6-13: in context

6Moses and Aaron did so. As the LORD commanded them, so they did. 7Moses was eighty years old, and Aaron eighty-three years old, when they spoke to Pharaoh. 8The LORD spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying, 9“When Pharaoh speaks to you, saying, ‘Perform a miracle!’ then you shall tell Aaron, ‘Take your rod, and cast it down before Pharaoh, and it will become a serpent.’” 10Moses and Aaron went in to Pharaoh, and they did so, as the LORD had commanded. Aaron cast down his rod before Pharaoh and before his servants, and it became a serpent. 11Then Pharaoh also called for the wise men and the sorcerers. They also, the magicians of Egypt, did the same thing with their enchantments. 12For they each cast down their rods, and they became serpents; but Aaron’s rod swallowed up their rods. 13Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, and he didn’t listen to them, as the LORD had spoken.

At God's command, Aaron throws down his staff before Pharaoh, and it becomes a serpent. Pharaoh's magicians do the same, seeming to match the sign by their own arts, their staffs also becoming serpents. But then comes the decisive detail: Aaron's staff swallowed up their staffs. The counterfeit could imitate the sign, but it was overpowered and consumed by the true work of God.

There is a lesson in this small moment. The powers arrayed against God can produce impressive imitations; they can seem, for a time, to match his work. But God's power is not merely greater by degrees; it swallows up the rivals entirely. The magicians' serpents were real enough, yet they ended inside Aaron's. Whatever counterfeits and rival powers seem to compete with God, they cannot finally stand; his power surpasses and consumes them. And yet the passage ends soberly: Pharaoh's heart was hardened, and he would not listen. Even a plain demonstration of God's surpassing power does not move a heart determined against him. God's power outmatches every rival, but only a willing heart is moved by it.

Do I recognize that God's power surpasses and consumes every counterfeit and rival that seems to compete with him, and is my own heart willing to be moved by him rather than hardened against the truth?

Sources

Exodus 7:12: "For they each cast down their rods, and they became serpents; but Aaron's rod swallowed up their rods."
Exodus 7:11: "They also, the magicians of Egypt, did the same thing with their enchantments."
Exodus 7:13: "Pharaoh's heart was hardened, and he didn't listen to them, as the LORD had spoken."