Study Notes

Exodus 6:1-10:29

6:1 Now you shall see

Moses had begun to despair when things didn't click with Pharaoh immediately. He had said,

Exod. 5:23 "Ever since I came to Pharaoh to speak in Thy name, he has done harm to this people; and Thou hast not delivered Thy people at all."

But now God reminds Moses of what He had told him previously - that it would only be under compulsion that Pharaoh would let them go. He tells him, "Now you're going to see that 'compulsion' begin."

6:2-8 Reminders And Promises

God reminds Moses of His faithfulness in the past. And He tells him that He has been mindful of the Israelites. He will surely deliver them. And He tells Moses to tell the people that He has promised to deliver them and that He will take them to the land promised to them so long ago.

6:9-12 They Did Not Listen

Because of their despondency and cruel bondage, they would not listen to what Moses said.

Very often, our circumstances prevent us from trusting the Word of God. Affliction, discomfort, trials and tribulations cause us to lose faith. But we are told to,

2Cor. 5:7 ...walk by faith, not by sight

Real, true, and mature faith is not dependent on circumstances. If God has promised to deliver, then He will deliver. If God has promised to work all things together for good, then He will work all things together for good. If He has promised to provide for all your needs, then He will provide for all your needs. No matter how bad the storm is raging around you. No matter how bad your state of mind is. No matter how impossible the situation seems. God has not changed. He has not broken His Word.

6:13-30 Heads Of Households

Moses stops the story here to insert this genealogy. He is not reviewing all of Israel's descendants, but is giving Aaron's and his family tree, to just establish who exactly he and Aaron are.

7:1-7 I Make You As God

It is obvious to most as they read this that God isn't making Moses all-powerful and all-knowing. He is simply saying that Moses will be speaking for God to Pharaoh. This is just like earlier in the book when God told Moses regarding Aaron,

Exod. 4:16 "...He shall be as a mouth for you, and you shall be as God to him."

But in seeking to confuse you into believing their false doctrine, the Mormons will come to your door and justify their belief that men go from this life on to become gods of their own universes. They quote you Bible verses like Psalm 82, which says,

Ps. 82:6 I said, "You are gods, and all of you are sons of the Most High.

God is simply saying to the judges of the people of Israel, "I put you in the place of God. You were to make righteous judgments. You had the power of a man's life or death in your hands." He goes on to rebuke them for misusing their power, for judging unjustly, for showing partiality to the wicked. That is the context in which God told them, "You are gods, and all of you are sons of the Most High."

But the Mormons twist and turn it to justify their abberant teachings. Of course they neglect the very next verse, which continues,

Ps. 82:7 "Nevertheless you will die like men, and fall like any one of the princes."

So God is not telling Moses that he is going to be a Mormon, a god, or anything besides just being a mouthpiece for Him to Pharaoh.

7:8-13 Satan's Counterfeits

When Aaron's staff becomes a serpent, the magicians of Egypt did the same thing. Paul tells us in 2Timothy that these magicians were named Jannes and Jambres.

It is quite shocking to learn that they were also able to perform this miracle of turning their staffs into serpents. Remember as you go through the Bible, and you go through life, that satan is not an original guy. Everything he does, he's copied from God in some way, shape, or form. Satan has power, but no originality.

The mark of the beast, on the right hand or the forehead, was an idea stolen from God, as He promised to seal His people in the same place. The prophets of God have been counterfeited with false prophets. The signs in the heavens that God placed, satan has perverted into astrology.

So Jannes and Jambres are opposing Moses with the same signs and wonders.

7:14-25 Water To Blood

The first plague to hit Egypt is that the water turned to blood. The first miracle that Jesus performed in the gospel of John was that he turned water into wine. I think that's intriguing, because blood in the Bible speaks of judgment, while wine generally speaks of joy. Moses brought judgment, but Jesus brought joy.

John 1:17 For the Law was given through Moses; grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ.

8:1-15 Pharaoh's Hardened Heart

See in verse 15 that Pharaoh hardened his heart. Yet we've also read numerous time that God hardened Pharaoh's heart. Which is true? They're both true. You see, when a person hears the Word of God, and is exposed to the truth of God, and then rejects it, he is hardening his heart to it. When a person hardens their heart, God gives them over to their own reprobate minds, therefore hardening the person's heart.

Rom. 1:28 And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper

So God is not violating anyone's freedom of choice. He is just confirming the decision that the person has made.

8:16-19 The Finger of God

This time, Jannes and Jambres were not able to duplicate God's miracle. They told Pharaoh, "this is the finger of God." And we don't hear them speak or resist again. The finger of God silencing His enemies.

There is another instance where the finger of God silenced His enemies:

John 8:3-11 And the scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman caught in adultery, and having set her in the midst, they said to Him, "Teacher, this woman has been caught in adultery, in the very act. Now in the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women; what then do You say?" And they were saying this, testing Him, in order that they might have grounds for accusing Him. But Jesus stooped down, and with His finger wrote on the ground. But when they persisted in asking Him, He straightened up, and said to them, "He who is without sin among you, let him {be the} first to throw a stone at her." And again He stooped down, and wrote on the ground. And when they heard it, they {began} to go out one by one, beginning with the older ones, and He was left alone, and the woman, where she was, in the midst. And straightening up, Jesus said to her, "Woman, where are they? Did no one condemn you?" And she said, "No one, Lord." And Jesus said, "Neither do I condemn you; go your way. From now on sin no more."

The finger of God silences the whole world. In Exodus 31, we'll read that God...

Exod. 31:18 ...gave Moses the two tablets of the testimony, tablets of stone, written by the finger of God.

The 10 Commandments were written by the finger of God. And they have silenced all who are in enmity with God.

Rom. 3:19 Now we know that whatever the Law says, it speaks to those who are under the Law, that every mouth may be closed, and all the world may become accountable to God;

God can silence His enemies with one finger.

8:20-32 A Division

In verse 23, God says that He will put a division between His people and the Egyptians. That is a basic principle of God. There will always be a division between the world and His people. We try so hard to be like the world, but we are called to be different, to be set apart.

1John 2:15-17 Do not love the world, nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. And the world is passing away, and {also} its lusts; but the one who does the will of God abides forever.

There must be a division between us and the world. That is a big evidence that we are children of God.

Phil. 2:15 ...Prove yourselves to be blameless and innocent, children of God above reproach in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you appear as lights in the world

Live as light in a dark world.

9:1-7 Pestilence On The Livestock

"Pestilence" is a good Bible word. Something that just doesn't come up in everyday conversation around the water cooler or the fax machine. It means a devastating epidemic.

9:8-12 Boils On Man And Beast

This is now the sixth plague on the Egyptians, and still pharaoh's heart is too hard to listen to them. We think, "This is ridiculous - by now, anyone would have turned to the Lord and repented." Not so. How long have you held on to your favorite sins? Stubbornly refusing to let go, even when the heat has been turned up to a furnace. May Pharaoh's hardened heart open our eyes to the sins that we refuse to repent of.

9:13-35 Obeying The Word But Not The Lord

By this time, some of the Egyptians did fear the word of the Lord. They had seen it come true six times before. They brought their servants and livestock indoors before the hail began. But although they listened to the Word of the Lord, they didn't turn to the Lord.

We see the same situation happen today. People in the world hear the word of the Lord prophesying of the end times. They hear how devastating the world situation will be in the book of Revelation. And they act on it in preparation, but not repentance. They build bomb shelters and stockpile food and weapons. But they don't repent and turn to God.

10:1-20 An Ace Up His Sleeve

Pharaoh tried to cut a deal. Just the men could go, but not the women and children. This would be Pharaoh's surety that they would come back. The world is always trying to keep an ace up its sleeve, to have a guarantee. That's not faith, and that's not how we're to live.

Hebr. 11:6 And without faith it is impossible to please Him...

If you live with an ace up your sleeve, with a comfortable plan to fall back on. If you only step out when you know where you're going, and how you can recover if it doesn't work, then that's not faith. God wants you to walk by faith. Trusting not in your own understanding, but in His power to save.

10:21-29 Thick Darkness

Moses' conflict with Pharaoh has reached a climax. Pharaoh will not endure Moses any longer, and threatens to kill him. Next week, we will see the final plague that will convince Pharaoh, at least for a time, to let the people go.

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