Tyndale Open Study NotesExodus 7

In this final scene before the rescue begins, the Lord again answered the fear that Moses had about not speaking well. God allowed Moses to speak through Aaron (see 4:16). Even so, Pharaoh would still refuse to listen.

The outcome did not depend on the ability of Moses to speak. It depended on God’s power.

Moses and Aaron obeyed God’s command. They acted in faith and went forward as he directed.

The first crisis had now passed (see study note on 5:22–23) .

The Lord would use miraculous signs and wonders to convince Pharaoh, just as he had promised to use signs to convince the Israelites that they should follow Moses (3:12; 4:5, 8, 9).

My hand: God would show more of his strength during the Israelites' exodus from Egypt. These events revealed that God’s power has no equal.

Although 80 years might seem old to us, it was not especially old in Moses and Aaron’s family line. Their ancestors often lived between 130 and 140 years (see 6:16, 18, 20).

Through the plagues, God showed that the Egyptians’ gods were not true sources of life. People believed these gods gave life and protection, but they could not save anyone.

Instead of bringing life, they were linked with death when compared to the Lord. Only the Lord has the power to give life (see 12:12; 18:11).

This section divides the events of rescue into two parts:

• the plagues (7:8–11:10) and

• the Passover (12:1–30).

God demonstrated that he is the Lord of life and death and nothing has any power against him (see Isaiah 43:13). The God of the patriarchs is also the God of the universe.

serpent: The Hebrew word tannin is different from the word translated "snake" in 4:3. Tannin often refers to a sea monster. The Bible often describes Egypt as a powerless sea monster (Isaiah 30:7; Ezekiel 29:3). The image of a cobra’s head was on the pharaoh’s headdress.

they also did the same things (see also 7:22; 8:7): This could be an example of demonic power, but these men could have used tricks too.

When they failed to reproduce the plague of gnats, they said it was “the finger of God” (8:19). This showed their actions were not from divine power. Although the Egyptian magicians are unnamed here, tradition calls them Jannes and Jambres (see 2 Timothy 3:8).

The first plague was the plague on the Nile, when the whole river turned to blood (7:20). The Egyptians correctly understood that without the Nile there would be no life in Egypt. They worshiped the Nile as the Mother of Egypt, but God showed that life is his to give or withhold.

See Theme Note for "Hardened Hearts."

The Egyptian priests did not do anything as great as Moses and Aaron had done, but Pharaoh did not want to believe, so it took only the smallest thing to justify his unbelief.