When Pharaoh shall speak to you, saying, Do a miracle for yourselves, -- then thou shalt say unto Aaron, Take thy staff and cast [it] before Pharaoh -- it will become a serpent.
God speaks to Moses before Pharaoh speaks a word, telling him what the king will demand and what to do about it. The sign is not random: a rod thrown down in a palace whose gods wore the serpent.
Unbelief always asks for proof. God had His answer ready before the question came.
Pharaoh, who had no faith, was sure to demand some visible and miraculous sign to accredit Moses, so God gave the sign of Moses' rod becoming a serpent. Aaron performed this, but the magicians of Egypt showed that they also could bring this wonder to pass.
Moses had already seen this miracle at the burning bush. There he had to pick the snake up; here that step is missing.
To silence every hesitation and sense of unfitness, God clothes him with power. The Lord says to him, "See, I have made you a god to Pharaoh." More than that, He tells him to repeat before Pharaoh the miracle that had already reassured his own soul at the burning bush — turning his rod into a serpent. At the bush he had to take the serpent in his hand, so that his own faith might be settled. Here the aim is rather to show Moses before Pharaoh as clothed with the power of God. So this part of the miracle is not repeated.
The Hebrew word behind "serpent" here is broader than the snake we picture.
The word is not exact, and probably has a wider meaning than serpent. It is the same word used for sea monsters in general... The point of this wonder was the change of power (which a "rod" means in Scripture) into something satanic. The rod is the symbol of authority; it may also represent chastening. But no chastening is right unless it flows from just authority. That is what ties the two ideas together in this emblem. The sign first given to Moses seems to mean the rod of power taking satanic form. That was the state of things in the land of Egypt.
Writers describe the rod differently. One says it was Aaron's rod, not Moses' own, that was cast down; he also marks a change of Hebrew word between chapter 4 and chapter 7, and looks ahead from the rod to Christ:
Moses did not use his rod, as he had before the elders of Israel; it was Aaron's rod that was cast down and became a serpent. Another word is also used for serpent. In chapter 4:3 it is nachash, the same word as in Genesis 3. But the word used in chapter 7 is thanin, which the Septuagint, the early Greek translation of the Old Testament, translates as dragon... Aaron's rod, which later blossomed, is a picture of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, the mighty victor over Satan, sin and death.
The rod lying on the ground raises a question: has God lost His grip on the world? How it got there answers it.
The rod seems not in the hand of Him to whom it belongs, but on the ground, and satanic. But notice how exact this picture is, and the comfort it has ready for us. The rod was cast out of Moses' hand; it did not slip out. God has not lost control of the world, after all. Of His own will, and for His own wise purposes, He has put man under the rule of the prince man chose for himself.
Of every possible wonder, God picked the one image Pharaoh could not miss.
The serpent itself formed part of what we might describe as the royal arms of Egypt, which decorated the entrances to the temples. On the crowns of the gods of heaven, of earth, of hell, the serpent is still there... And now one man gripped Egypt's own sign in his firm hand: its picture of life and majesty, the emblem on the crowns of its kings, its own proud boast. He stood before Pharaoh in the name of Jehovah his God and demanded Israel's release.
The magicians copied the sign. The copy is where their limit shows.
Even if the magicians imitated it, Aaron's rod swallowing up their rods shows how weak the imitation was. Of course they could not truly copy so great a miracle, one that proved Jehovah, the God of the Hebrews, to be the Creator. All the power of Satan could not bring into being the smallest creature.
The scene has a lasting lesson for anyone who feels outnumbered.
God's people and His representatives were a despised minority. But the power with them was greater than the power with their opponents, who wanted to keep them in Egypt. It is the same today.
- Rod promised — God names the sign before Pharaoh ever asks for one. Unbelief never catches Him unprepared.
- Rod given — the rod stands for authority, and God clothes Moses with His own power, with Aaron acting for him.
- Rod cast down — on the ground, authority takes satanic form. But Moses cast it down; it did not slip out of his hand. God has not lost control of the world.
- Rod aimed — the serpent was Egypt's own royal and religious emblem. The sign struck at what Pharaoh trusted.
- Rod victorious — the magicians could copy the shape but could not create the smallest creature. God's rod swallowed all the rest.
And Moses and Aaron went in to Pharaoh, and did so, as Jehovah had commanded; and Aaron cast down his staff before Pharaoh, and before his bondmen, and it became a serpent.
In the palace, Moses and Aaron do what God told them: a shepherd's rod hits the floor and becomes a serpent in front of the king. Two questions follow: why this sign for Egypt, and why did God let Pharaoh's magicians copy it?
The sign was not a show. It proved that these two men came with a commission from God. It was the same sign God had taught Moses earlier at Horeb.
Moses and Aaron go in to Pharaoh and present their credentials. A miraculous sign backs them up — the sign which the Lord had taught Moses at Horeb… The wise men of Egypt, the magicians, did the same with their rods. But "Aaron's rod swallowed up their rods." In this way the Lord vindicated the mission of His servants. But, as He had foretold, Pharaoh was not convinced.
Of all possible signs, God picked the one image Pharaoh could not misread. The serpent was stamped on Egypt's crowns, temples and gods.
The serpent was common in some form or other to the gods. As an infant, Pharaoh had been placed under the protection of Rannu, the serpent-headed god. The serpent itself formed part of what we might call the royal arms of Egypt, which decorated the entrances to the temples… And now the man who stood before Pharaoh and demanded the release of Israel gripped Egypt's own special sign in his firm hand. He held it in the name of Jehovah his God. That sign was Egypt's own idea of life and majesty, its emblem on the crowns of its kings, and its own proud boast.
Scripture also gives the serpent a name.
Satan is called that old serpent who deceives the whole world (Revelation 12:9). By deception he brings about the fall of men and nations, as he did with Adam and Eve at the beginning. It is striking that God should give this serpent sign to Pharaoh.
A rod in a man's hand stands for power. One writer looks at that rod on the ground and sees what was holding Israel captive.
Pharaoh demanded proof of their divine mission. So Aaron cast down his rod, and it became a serpent. The rod (the sign of power) had become satanic, and this was the power holding the people captive. It is just the same in the profession of Christianity. There the form of godliness had all its power from the enemy, and no power of life from the truth.
The same picture carries a message aimed straight at Pharaoh's throne.
The first sign… was Aaron's rod being thrown on the ground and turning into a serpent. This is typical of God's using even Satan as a rod of His authority to carry out His purposes. It would tell Pharaoh that even his power (moved by Satan) was under the control of God.
The court sorcerers never argued that Moses was a fraud. They did something cleverer. Commentators see in it the pattern of how people still resist the truth.
The way "Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses" was simply by imitating, as far as they were able, whatever he did. We do not find that they said his actions came from a false or evil energy. Instead, they tried to cancel their power on the conscience by doing the same things. What Moses did, they could do. One was as good as the other. A miracle is a miracle. If Moses worked miracles to get the people out of Egypt, they could work miracles to keep them in.
Then the copy collapses. One writer notes what the magicians could never do, however convincing the show looked.
The rod turned into a serpent showed the whole power of Egypt handed over into Moses' hand. For Pharaoh, it was a challenge of the completest kind. Even when the magicians imitated it, the weakness of their copy was clear: Aaron's rod swallowed up their rods. Of course they could not truly copy so enormous a miracle. That miracle showed Jehovah, the God of the Hebrews, to be the Creator. All the power of Satan was unable to bring into being the smallest creature.
The same outcome speaks to anyone who feels outnumbered.
God's people and His representatives were a despised minority. But the power with them was greater than the power with their opponents, who wanted to keep them in Egypt. It is the same today… "Greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world." Aaron's rod swallowed up their rods!
- Credentials — the sign was not a show. By it the Lord backed the mission of His servants before the king.
- Chosen ground — God picked Egypt's own royal emblem. Its proud boast ended up in the hand of the man who demanded Israel's release.
- Captive power — a rod stands for power. Cast down, it became satanic, and that power held the people — as a form of godliness without life still does.
- Counterfeit — the magicians never denied Moses. They copied him, so one thing looked as good as the other, and the conscience felt no weight.
- Swallowed — Satan could not create the smallest creature. The one rod on God's side ate up the many: greater is He who is in you.
And Pharaoh also called the sages and the sorcerers; and they too, the scribes of Egypt, did so with their enchantments
Pharaoh has just seen Aaron's rod become a serpent, and instead of bowing to the sign he calls for men of his own. What follows is not a denial of God's power but a copy of it. That copy sets the pattern for how the enemy has fought God's truth ever since.
The verse names three groups of men, and each had a place in Egypt's religion. One writer explains what their titles meant:
The priests were among the greatest of the Egyptian nobles, and many were of royal blood. Moses knew their wisdom well, for he had been raised as the son of Pharaoh's daughter and had been let into some of their mysteries. The wise men were priests who knew the dark secrets of their religion, and that knowledge armed them with hidden powers. The sorcerers were priests whose special powers let them drive away evils by muttering magic formulas. These formulas often had to do with charming snakes or driving them away. The "scribes of the sacred house" stored them in their secret books.
Some translations call the third group "the scribes of Egypt." Moses faced men trained in the court that had once trained him.
The New Testament names two of these men: Jannes and Jambres (2 Timothy 3:8). They never argued that Moses was a fraud.
Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses in one way only: they imitated whatever he did, as far as they were able. We do not find that they said his actions came from a false or evil energy. Instead, they tried to cancel the effect of his works on the conscience by doing the same things. What Moses did they could do, so that after all there was no great difference. One was as good as the other. A miracle is a miracle.
This tactic came second. Force had been tried first:
Look at the forms of Satan's opposition to the truth of God. His method has always been the same. First he opposes the truth by open violence. Then, if that does not succeed, he corrupts it by producing a counterfeit. So he first tried to kill Moses, and when he failed at that, he tried to imitate his works.
How much of this was real power? One writer sets careful limits:
We may ask how far the devil can work miracles. I know of no limit, if God allows it (as in Egypt), to his use of natural laws or to his producing of appearances. On people who cannot explain them, these have the same first effect as miracles... God alone can create, or by His own will produce what accomplishes His purpose. He disposes of nature as its Master and does what He pleases. Satan uses power, but it is an inferior power, and it works only inside the created world. He cannot go beyond modifying that world, and he cannot even do that whenever he wants.
God fixed how far the copy could go:
God allowed them to keep pace with each step of Moses. Then the very simplest fact showed that their power had come to the end of its rope. They could go no further. They could no more get life-giving power than Simon Magus could buy the power of the blessed Spirit.
One thing lies beyond every counterfeit:
The imitation might be so good that no one could match it. The counterfeit might come so near the truth, so alike, that it deceived everyone. But there is the life of Christ, to be lived out on earth. Christ lives in His own and produces the deep reality that no imitation can ever reach. That makes the folly of all plain, as it made theirs plain.
The rods matched; the outcome did not.
God's people and their representatives were a despised minority. But the power with them was greater than the power with their opponents, who wanted to keep them in Egypt. It is the same today... "He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world." Aaron's rod swallowed up their rods! Their imitations still kept up with Moses and Aaron, and hardened the king against Israel, until Aaron brought life out of the dust of the earth. Then the magicians said to Pharaoh, "This is the finger of God."
The shape of the attack has changed since. The danger is no longer the sword but the disguise:
Again and again, violence has given way to something far more cunning and dangerous: a powerless form, an empty profession, a human counterfeit. The enemy, instead of appearing with the sword of persecution in his hand, walks about with the cloak of profession on his shoulders. He professes and imitates what he once opposed and persecuted.
- Copy, not contradiction. The magicians never called Moses a liar; they matched him, so that "one was as good as the other."
- Copy has a source. They borrowed their power, and it had limits — it could modify what already existed, never create.
- Copy has a ceiling. They kept step until the sign called for life. Then they confessed, "This is the finger of God."
- Copy gets swallowed. Aaron's rod ate theirs in front of the king.
- Copy is today's danger. The enemy has traded the sword of persecution for the cloak of profession, imitating now what he once attacked.
they cast down every man his staff, and they became serpents; but Aaron's staff swallowed up their staves.
In Pharaoh's court Aaron's staff becomes a serpent, and the king's wise men copy the wonder — until Aaron's staff swallows theirs. How far can God's enemy copy His work, and why did Pharaoh still refuse to bend?
A rod in Scripture stands for authority. The first sign given to Moses turned that authority into something satanic.
The point of this wonder was the change of power (which a "rod" means in Scripture) into something satanic. The rod is the symbol of authority… The rod of power taking satanic form seems to be what the first sign committed to Moses means. That was exactly the state of things in the land of Egypt.
The sign struck Egypt where it was proudest.
Egypt's own emblem — its idea of life and majesty, the sign on the crowns of its kings, its own proud boast — was now gripped in the firm hand of the man who wielded it. In the name of the Lord his God he stood before Pharaoh and demanded the release of Israel.
The magicians did not argue with Moses. They copied him — and the New Testament names two of them.
The New Testament names the chief of these. We read, "Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so these men also oppose the truth" (2 Tim. 3:8). This reference is very important. It shows that what the magicians did embodies a principle of how Satan works. What, then, was its special character? It was, in one word, IMITATION… In Timothy those who resist the truth are described as "having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power" (2 Tim. 3:5). This is one of Satan's most dangerous subtleties. If he can succeed in open opposition to the truth, he will not hide himself. But if that door is shut, he will disguise himself as an angel of light.
The tactic outlived Egypt. It no longer needs miracles.
The way these opponents worked was by imitating Moses as far as they could. They could only do it within limits, until the power of God rose in such display that it was hopeless for them to follow. In Christendom imitation is easier, since it is not a question of miracle but of the semblance of truth. Strikingly, the new and withering seductions of the enemy are typically imitations of truth. They come so close that they would deceive even the elect, if that were possible.
One writer sets the limit of the enemy's power at creation itself.
We may ask how far the devil can work miracles. I know of no limit, if God allows it (as in Egypt), in the use of natural laws or in producing appearances… But beyond nature or deception they cannot go. Ask them to create a louse, and Satan's instruments are at their wits' end (Exodus 8:16-18). God alone can create… Jannes and Jambres helped to harden Pharaoh's heart. But it only brought out the display of God's own power and government in judgment.
The record shows where the copying stopped.
The magicians of Egypt could imitate the servants of the true and living God in only three things. They turned their rods into serpents (Ex. 7:12), turned the water into blood (Ex. 7:21), and brought up the frogs (Ex. 8:7). But the fourth sign involved the display of life. It left them totally confounded, and they had to admit, "This is the finger of God" (Ex. 8:16-19).
The odds in that court were against Moses. The outcome showed whether Egypt's serpent was a god at all.
There was but one rod on the side of God; there were many on Satan's side. "But Aaron's staff swallowed up their staffs." How conclusive this should have been to Pharaoh, that the serpent he worshipped was no god!… This first miracle stands by itself, in that it was not a plague. It was simply the Lord executing judgment on the gods of Egypt.
The magicians lost more than a contest; they lost the emblem of their standing.
But look — Aaron's rod devoured theirs, and he took the serpent by its tail and so took up his rod again. The magicians were empty-handed. Their token of authority was gone. They could only look at one another.
The sign was decisive. Pharaoh still would not bend.
The next move they did not expect, and it was beyond them. Aaron's rod swallowed up their rods. Divine power, even when cast down, proved itself stronger than the power of the foe. But in spite of this there was no softening in the heart of Pharaoh.
The margin between the two sides has not changed.
God's people and representatives were a despised minority. But the power with them was greater than the power with their opponents who sought to keep them in Egypt. It is the same today… "He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world." Aaron's rod swallowed up their rods!
- Challenge. The rod stands for authority. Cast down before Pharaoh, it took satanic form — God's challenge to the serpent on Egypt's crowns.
- Counterfeit. Satan's method here is not denial but imitation. It returns later as the appearance of godliness without its power.
- Limit. Copying stops where creation begins. Satan may use appearances and natural forces, but he cannot give life — and the magicians said so themselves.
- Swallowed. One rod stood against many, and theirs were gone. The serpent Egypt worshipped proved to be no god.
- Confidence. Divine power, even when cast down, is stronger than the enemy's. The same margin guards a despised people today, for He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.