Let us now consider the second conflict between Jehovah and Pharaoh (7:8-14). Exodus 7:10 says, “And Moses and Aaron went in unto Pharaoh, and they did so as Jehovah had commanded: and Aaron cast down his rod before Pharaoh, and before his servants, and it became a serpent” (Heb.). I doubt that Pharaoh and his servants realized that the significance of this miracle was to expose the fact that their life was a life under Satan’s usurping hand, that their living in Egypt was under the Devil’s usurpation and possession. Pharaoh and his people relied on the natural resources of Egypt, especially on the rich supply of the Nile. This supply was their “rod,” a rod which was actually a serpent, the Devil. In God’s eyes Pharaoh and the Egyptians were relying on Satan and were living under Satan’s usurping hand.
This exposure was not a punishment, but an expression of God’s mercy. In His mercy God exposed the true nature of Egyptian living. He wanted the Egyptians to know that everything they relied on was of the Devil. God’s intention in this exposure was to cause them to forsake that kind of living. The principle is the same today. When God comes to us, He does not firstly punish the self, the flesh, or the old man. In His mercy He firstly exposes the satanic nature of our fallen life.
Pharaoh called upon the magicians to do the same thing with their rods as Aaron had done with his (7:11). Verse 12 says, “For they cast down every man his rod, and they became serpents: but Aaron’s rod swallowed up their rods.” Years ago, I wondered why the Egyptian magicians were able to do the same thing Aaron had done. I asked the Lord concerning this and told Him that I did not see how such a thing could happen. We may encounter a similar situation in the preaching of the gospel. We may compare the philosophers of the world today to those magicians. These philosophers may teach things similar to what we preach in the gospel. We may expose the nature of the fallen human life, and they may do the same. We may speak about the preoccupations of life in the world, and they may do this also. Nevertheless, just as Aaron’s rod swallowed up the rods of the Egyptian magicians, so the preaching of the gospel swallows up today’s philosophical teachings.
We experienced this many times in our gospel preaching in China, where there were many “magicians,” or philosophical teachers. Certain teachings of these philosophers were nearly the same as some of the teachings in the Bible. For example, the Bible teaches that we should not love the world. Some Chinese philosophers taught the same thing. However, in our preaching of the gospel Aaron’s rod swallowed up the rods of the “magicians.” Philosophers from colleges and universities sometimes attended our gospel meetings. Instead of being threatened by their presence, we called on the Lord and asked Him to deal with these people. He showed forth His wisdom, and we saw the gospel swallow up the teaching of the philosophers.
The gospel swallows up all the philosophies of the world. Do not be threatened or discouraged in your preaching of the gospel. Rather, believe that your rod will swallow up the philosophical rods. Nothing can overcome the gospel. Although the gospel is not philosophy, nothing is more philosophical than the gospel. For this reason the gospel is able to swallow up the rods of the world’s philosophers.
In verses 13 and 14 we see the issue of the second conflict. Verse 13 says, “And Pharaoh’s heart was hard, that he hearkened not unto them” (Heb.). Most versions of the Bible say that Pharaoh’s heart was hardened. This, however, is not the meaning here. Such a rendering implies that Pharaoh’s heart may have been soft but that it became hard. But Pharaoh’s heart was hard from the very beginning. Darby says that the Hebrew word for hard in this verse means stubborn. Because Pharaoh’s heart was stubborn, it could not be changed. The second conflict exposed the hardness of Pharaoh’s heart.
A further issue of this conflict was Pharaoh’s refusal to let the children of Israel go (v. 14). The first time God came in, Pharaoh refused to hearken to His word. This time Pharaoh refused to hearken to God’s demand, even after God had exposed the nature of life in the world under Satan. This forced God to deal with Pharaoh more severely in the third conflict.