Moses’ Rod Becomes a Serpent
Key Passage: Exodus 7:10-13
Date: June 7, 2024
Exodus chapter number seven, if you would please. Exodus chapter number seven. We have been on the life of Moses now for months and months. We are to the point where Moses has already gone into Pharaoh and he said, “Hey, bud, Jehovah said let his people go so they can go into the wilderness and worship.” And Pharaoh said, “Who’s this, Jehovah? I’m not letting anybody go.” And that did not go very well at all.
In fact, they left, and Pharaoh went to his leaders and said, “Stop giving them straw. Make the same amount of bricks, but no raw material for them.” Of course, Israel could not keep up. Their foremen were getting beat. They weren’t happy with Moses. Moses went to the Lord in a prayer meeting at the end of chapter 5. In chapter 6, God kind of reassured him, “Hey, I’ve called you, I’ve given you a charge, and I’ve already arranged this, even from your lineage. You’re the man for the job; you’re going to deliver them.” We’re going to pick it up where Moses is going back into Pharaoh for the second time. This is it. The first time was not good. He is going back into Pharaoh, “Let my people go, God’s people go.” Let’s see what happens this time. Would you please? We’re in Exodus 7, and we’re going to pick it up in verse number 10. And would you please stand just to show the word of God respect? We try to do that. By the way, I appreciate you being in church on a Wednesday night. I know you’re busy, many of you, you’re tired, but you’re here, amen.
You may be hiding behind the person in front of you. We won’t mention any names on that one there, but you hear, amen, nonetheless. I appreciate that. That’s awesome. Amen. We’re in verse number 10, Exodus 7, verse number 10. And Moses and Aaron went in unto Pharaoh, and they did so as the Lord had commanded. Aaron cast down his rod before Pharaoh, before his servants, and it became a serpent. Then Pharaoh also called the wise men and the sorcerers—the magicians of Egypt. They also did in like manner with their enchantments. They cast down every man his rod, and they became serpents. But Aaron’s rod swallowed up their rods. And Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, so he hearkened not unto them, as the Lord had said.
Would you pray that the Lord would just give us what we need tonight? Would you do that? Lord, we come to you. Father, I believe there are many people tonight who need our battery charged. Lord, it’s already been good to be in your house. Lord, we come to get nourishment from your word. So, Lord, would you do that? Would you give us what we need? Would you speak to our hearts? Lord, I yield to you. Say every word you want said, but nothing you don’t want said, Lord. And Father, make it fresh. Some of these people are just tired. Give them energy for you and desire for you and your word. Lord, we will praise you, brag on you for what you do. In Jesus’ name we ask. Amen.
Thank you so much for standing. You may be seated. Why a serpent? Why was it when he went in there and Aaron cast down the rod? We’ve talked about the rod. Why a serpent? We’re going to look at some pictures. Brother Josh, if you can get them forced, and I think it may give us a little bit of light on some of this. I’ve said this in the past, and really, it was a battle between the gods.
Of course, Egypt’s gods are not real gods, but they had many, many gods. I want you to know this: notice Pharaoh. He typically has this snake or cobra on his headdress. Would you go to the next one, please?
Kind of the same thing, maybe just a little side view, but you see the snake there, the serpent. I remember we talked about the rod there and the symbol that was—we talked about that weeks ago. Would you go one more? I think this is just a really carved-out statue they’ve dug out. You notice the snake there, or the serpent there. It is amazing when God begins to bring these plagues. Thank you, Brother Josh. It’s not just, “Well, I think I’ll bring, you know, I’ll turn water to blood, or I’ll bring some frogs out.” Every one of them, if you study it out, there’s a purpose to it. The Egyptians had so many false gods, and the serpent was one of those. The pharaohs would wear that and always had that snake there. They would typically call that snake—I’m going to spell it for you, all right. You’re waiting for me to pronounce it right, and you may be waiting a long time for me to pronounce it right. Uraeus. Uraeus. That’s what they’re called. It was the symbol of a goddess, Wadjet. She was a goddess very early, actually before Egypt became officially a nation, in the lower part of Egypt, and it was supposed to control and protect the land. It really became an imagery to symbolize Pharaoh’s sovereignty, royalty, his deity. You realize pharaohs were supposed to be gods. They were.
Deity, sovereignty, royalty, deity, and divine authority in ancient Egypt. So you understand Pharaoh, “Who is this Jehovah? I’m the top dog, if you will, and I’m the one, I’m the divine one here, and my gods and all these goddesses they have.” God says, “All right, all right, we’ll see what happens.” Put that staff, that rod there, and it becomes a serpent, pitching their gods. In every one of these, this battle between the gods—we’ll watch this—actually isn’t the first judgment yet; we’re about to get that minute here. But every one of them was strategically placed. The Lord was wiping out their gods and showing them who Jehovah really was. It starts with this serpent here.
But watch what happens. Look at the bottom of verse number 12 right there. “But Aaron’s rod swallowed up their rods.” Hey, Satan’s got power, but Satan is not even close to being a match to the power and the majesty and the glory and the righteousness and the justice of our Savior, Jesus Christ. Satan can’t come close to him, and if you’re standing in the Lord and you’re doing right, old Satan cannot touch you. The Lord may give him a little bit of a long leash, but he’s going to be like that old bulldog that runs out there pretty soon; that chain runs out and chokes him, you know. All I got to do is keep right, walk with the Lord, that the Lord’s rod swallowed up Pharaoh’s rod, God’s magician’s rod. By the way, man, never make a deal with the devil. Don’t make a deal with a liar.
John 8:44, the Lord said so clearly he’s the father of it. John 10:10, the Lord tells us any time the devil’s around, he’s working. He’s trying to do three things always, always, always. If Satan is working, he’s trying to do three things: steal, kill, and destroy. That’s always what he’s trying to do. The Lord told us that.
If we could somehow talk to Pharaoh—3,000, 3,500 years later—Pharaoh, did it pay to make a deal with the devil? If we could somehow just maybe pull him up a little bit amongst all the weeping and gnashing and the screams down there, the wailing and the pain and the screaming, they’re burning in hell—if somehow we could get Pharaoh where he comes up at the top of the lava and he’s burning all over and say, “Hey, Pharaoh, can we talk to you for a second?” While he’s there screaming and yelling, “Pharaoh, did it pay off making a deal with the devil?” Never does.
If we could pull up Moses thousands of years later and say, “Hey, Moses, man, you had a little rough time here and there. You’re right in the thick of it. You’re battling. You probably had demons attacking you and your mind and everything else going on. The children of Israel were mad at you, and Pharaoh was mad at you, and you’re stuck in the middle. Your family seemed like struggling there.” Did it pay off all these years later? Oh, he would say, “Man, I’ve been with Jesus for thousands of years. I’ve been seeing people…” Somebody, Ms. Donna, just said she is having some issues with someone. She told me Sunday night when we were shaking hands. She said, “Man, I went to my Bible app, and it pulled up a verse right there,” and she said it was just what I needed, and she said it was about the life of Moses. Moses, all these thousands of years, has been able to see other people helped from his life. I think he would say, “Man, it’s so worth it.” You’ll never find a better Master than Jesus Christ. He is always wonderful. God’s rod swallowed up—just swallowed up the devil’s snakes. God always wins. Let’s stay on this side. Let’s keep going. We’re in verse number 14. Let’s try to get the first plague in here tonight. That’s really just the miracle, and he’s about to do 10 plagues. We’re in verse number 14. I’m sorry; I’m going to take just a sip. I have to drive tonight.
Verse number 14. I’m looking for my glasses; they’re on my head. What about that? Verse 14: “And the Lord said unto Moses, ‘Pharaoh’s heart is hardened; he refuses to let the people go. Get thee unto Pharaoh in the morning; lo, he goeth out unto the river. And thou shalt stand by the river’s brink against he come. And the rod which was turned to a serpent shalt thou take in thine hand. And thou shalt send him, the Lord God of the Hebrews…’” Notice how he clarifies: this is Jehovah God. They had thousands of false gods. “The Lord God of the Hebrews has sent me unto thee, saying, ‘Let my people go, that they may serve me in the wilderness. And behold, hitherto thou wouldest not hear.’” By the way, when you go out soul-winning, we’re not going in our own name, we’re not even going to Rutherford County Baptist’s name; we’re going in the Lord’s name. That is Jehovah, the Lord God of the Hebrews. Verse number 17: “Thus saith the Lord, ‘In this shalt thou know that I am the Lord: behold, I will smite with the rod that is in mine hand upon the waters which are in the river, and they shall be turned to blood. And the fish that is in the river shall die, and the river shall stink, and the Egyptians shall loathe to drink of the water of the river.’”
And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, “Say unto Aaron, Take thy rod, and stretch out thine hand upon the waters of Egypt, upon their streams, upon their rivers, and upon their ponds, and upon all their pools of water, that they may become blood, and that there may be blood throughout all the land of Egypt, both in vessels of wood and vessels of stone.”
Moses and Aaron did so. Boy, it seemed like verse number six last week—just obey. They just sat. They’re just starting to obey. Moses and Aaron did so as the Lord commanded, and he lifted up the rod and smoked the waters that were in the river in the sight of Pharaoh and in the sight of his servants, and all the waters that were in the river turned to blood.
Now let me just stop for a second here and just talk about their false gods. They had a goddess of the Nile: Anuket (A-N-U-K-E-T). God’s going right against that goddess right there. They had a goddess of the flooding of the Nile: Hapi (H-A-P-I). They had a god—the god of the Nile is N-M-K-N-U-M. They had a god of the rivers: Neph. Nephthys. The goddess of water: Tefnut. I’m just saying, when God is pouring out these plagues, he’s doing it strategically. He’s going after their gods, and these gods they are worshipping and bowing down to, thinking they’re going to protect them. God says, “They’re going to wipe them out, every one.” Man, he’s just wiping them out. How’s your God of the Nile doing now, in the Nile’s blood? How’s your God of the waters doing now with all the water turned to blood? How’s your God of the rivers doing now with all the rivers turned to blood? God’s just, boom, boom, boom, he’s shooting them down. There’s a plan here. God’s not just, “Well, okay, we’ll do this.” No, he’s wiping out their gods left and right. Verse number 21: “And the fish that was in the river died.” Hatmehit was their goddess of fish. I’m just telling you, every one of them, boom, boom, boom, he’s getting them all. The little goddess of the fish—well, let’s see how the fish is doing. They’re stinking, is what they’re doing. “And the fish that was in the river died, and the river stank, and the Egyptians could not drink of the water in the river; and there was blood throughout all the land of Egypt.” They just wiped them out one after another. Verse number 22: “And the magicians of Egypt did so with their enchantments.” Satan still has power. And Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, neither did he hearken unto them, as the Lord had said.
Now look at verse number 23. We’re going to spend a minute or two there; we’ll be done just a bit after that. “And Pharaoh turned and went into his house, neither did he set his heart to this also.” Now that’s an interesting statement: “Neither did he set his heart to this also.” When God—sometimes when God chastens you—by the way, according to Hebrews 12, if you’re a born-again Christian, you’re going to get chastening sometimes. If you never have chastening, whoo! Better check up on your salvation, according to Hebrews 12:6, 7, and 8 on down.
But here’s the temptation: when I’m getting chastened, the temptation sometimes is just to never set your heart on it, just to kind of ignore it. I remember talking to a man in La Verne, near where we were sold on Saturday. He was a neighbor, a good man. I remember going to his house one time, and he said, “Man, this has happened, this has happened, this is up.” I was like, “Wow, man, he has had a lot.” And he said it—I didn’t say it—he said, “Maybe God’s chastening me.” This is always significant to me. He said, “But I don’t want to think about that because that may be true.”
That is exactly what Pharaoh did. He did not want to set his heart to it. I don’t want to dwell on that. I want to ignore it. I don’t want to let my mind, my heart—a little bit deeper than the mind—I don’t want to let my heart go there. I just want to avoid it. I want to pass by it. I don’t want the conviction. Okay, problems are coming. My life is falling apart, but I just want the music turned up louder. I want to stay so busy. I want to self-medicate myself on everything else. I just don’t want to think about it: maybe God is chastening me. You ever see that? Society is there somewhat for it: “Give me another fix, give me another bottle, give me a new song, give me another new cell phone, give me more friends on the social network.” Give me, give me all this stuff, but I just don’t want to deal with the fact that God might be convicting and chastening me. That’s a sad thing. We’re all tempted so much sometimes just… I don’t want to go there. Maybe God’s chastening me.
It’s all right when problems come in your life. The proper way to go to God is to say, “God, why?” That’s all right. Sometimes you’ll ask God why. No, Jesus, our perfect example, said, “My God, my God, why? Why?” That’s all right. Go with the proper attitude and say, “Lord, is this chastening? Are you trying to tell me something here? Is this conviction? Lord, why is this thing going on in my life? I just want to learn. I want to get the wisdom out of it. I want to become perfect in time, wanting nothing. Lord, why is this thing going on in my life?” That’s all right to do. I’m not talking about you demanding God and thinking you’re all that.
Isn’t God amazing? This is really amazing to me. Isaiah 1:18: “Come, let us reason together, saith the Lord.” God says, “Come, let us reason together.” It’s not when everything’s wonderful, but when your sins be as scarlet. When I messed up, he said, “Come on, let’s reason.” God would reason with me, with us. It’s amazing. But he would not set his heart to it; he just wanted to avoid it. We’ve been there; I’ve been there. It would have been so much better if he had just gotten right. Pharaoh could have.
God, listen to me, God likes to bless you. When I say that, I don’t mean God wants you to be a millionaire. I don’t know what God’s will for your life is, but God likes to bless you. I know that. Look over, if you will, in Psalm 35, I believe, Psalm 35:27. Why do you turn over there? Listen to this verse. Why you turn to Psalm 35:27? There’s a verse, Luke 12:32, that says, “Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.” It’s His good pleasure to give you the kingdom. That doesn’t necessarily mean money. It may be souls. It may be peace. It may be answers to prayer, but God likes to bless His children in His unique ways. It could be money; money can be a blessing for God, but in His own way. But look at this, Psalm 35. Look at verse number 27, would you please? Psalm 35:27: “Let them shout for joy and be glad that favor my righteous cause.” That’s God’s people trying to do right. “Yea, let them say continually”—that is continually, good and bad times—“Let the Lord be magnified, which hath pleasure in the prosperity of his servant.” God has pleasure when His servants prosper. If Pharaoh could have gotten right with God…
Pharaoh could have just said, “Hey, Lord, I understand all this is happening. You’ve turned all the water to blood. I mean, I’ve seen enough. Your serpent swallowed up our serpents. You’ve turned the water, the blood of the Nile River. We worship the Nile. We thought our goddess and our God of the Nile would take care of us. We thought the fish god would take care of us, and all these gods, and they’re not. You’re so mighty.” If he had just gone to the Lord, God could have blessed Pharaoh. That’s what God would rather. He had no pleasure in the death of the wicked. Pharaoh chose not to, and he already made his decision. God hardened him in it, but he had a decision to make. He had a decision made.
By the way, that little phrase back over in Exodus 7:23, “neither did he set his heart to this also,” is interesting. It’s like God had already been convicting him; He had already been working on him. Just like He did back then, He does the same thing here. Remember chapter 5 when he first made his decision? There was no hardening there. God had been working on him for a while; they just wouldn’t listen. Pharaoh had his chance to get right. Would you go back over there? We’ve kind of passed over that first part of 23. Would you go back over to Exodus 7:23? Exodus 7. I know we’re kind of jumping around a little bit tonight in the Bible, but that’s all right. It’s good to jump around the Bible. Look in chapter 7. Look in verse number 24. Verse number 23: “And Pharaoh turned and went into his house; neither did he set his heart to this also.” That’s where he didn’t want to set his heart on these things.
Think about Pharaoh’s house. Probably the most beautiful house around, the biggest house around. They had surround sound, they had the theater room. They had the chairs you can sit in, you know, where you push a button, you know, and they bring sweet tea out to you. He had everything the world had to offer. He just had it all in his house. If you read between the lines, he went to the charms of this world and tried to ignore God and the conviction. He was just trying to focus on the world. He had a family, I imagine, but he was just trying to self-medicate himself with all that the world has to offer. Friend, that never brings you what you really need. At the end of the day, it’s so empty. It will always leave you needing and wanting more. Typically, it creates a big appetite in you, and it becomes just a monster inside of you for more of the world. That’s just corruption. You sow to the flesh; you have the flesh reap corruption.
Sad thing. Look at verse number 24. We’re going to finish it out. Verse number 24 here, in Exodus: “And all the Egyptians digged round about the river for water to drink; for they could not drink of the water of the river.” Pharaoh’s stubbornness, sinfulness, kept ignoring the chastening of God. Pharaoh is not the only one that suffers; thousands of Egyptians suffer also. Thousands, probably over a million, are suffering because of Pharaoh’s sin. You remember Romans over there? “For none of us live and dieth to himself” (Romans 14). When I sin, I’m not just only affecting me. I’m affecting my wife, my daughter, my son, our church. I’m affecting those around me. I’m affecting those in the Sunday school class that I teach. Pharaoh is sinning, and all these probably over a million people are suffering because of his selfish sinfulness. That’s always such a sad thing. One man sinned in Israel, and God said, “Israel hath sinned.” Just one man. This is a sad statement—I make it every once in a while, and I think for the most part it’s true, not always, but many times: Those who follow into sin often pay a greater price than those who lead in sin. That’s a sad statement. Check that out with families; usually that’s true in families. Pharaoh just won’t listen, and the Egyptians are suffering. Verse number 25, we’ll be done for the night. Verse number 25:
“And seven days were fulfilled after that the Lord had smote the river.” Seven is the number of completion. He left this plague, the water turned to blood, for seven days—a number of completion. Pharaoh had seven days to get right. He could have. The Lord had it in His heart, but Pharaoh had a decision to make. He made it in the beginning, chapter 5. They never did. Millions…
Would you bow your heads and close your eyes tonight? Let’s just come tell the Lord, “I want to be all the way on Your side at work, at school, my neighborhood, whatever’s going on around me. I don’t want to be associated with the devil’s side. I want to be all the way in on the Lord’s side. I want to follow the Lord. I want to stay all the way away from Satan and his maneuvers and his techniques.” I just want to be on the Lord’s side. Would you let Him know that tonight?
Maybe there are some areas where the devil’s kind of got you, some of his tools he’s using. I want to get rid of all that. I want to get all the way over on the Lord’s side. I want to avoid all appearance of evil, the Bible says. I just want to get all in on the Lord’s side. Would you let the Lord know that tonight?
Would you please stand? Let’s stand. We’re going to have a word of prayer. Let’s spend some time telling the Lord, “I want to stay on Your side. I want to stay on Your side. I want to get over there all the way on Your side.” Would you do that?
Father, thank you for how You defeat the devil every time, in Your time. It helps us to stay on Your side and walk in Your steps, yielding to You until that time when You swallow up all false gods, as You would. Bless our people tonight; help us to wholly surrender to You and separate from the devil and his world system. Lord, we thank You for what You do. In Jesus’ name we ask. Amen.
Would you spend some time with the Lord tonight, just surrendering fully, separating all the way from the devil and his crowd? Would you do that?
It’s all right to have a good hatred toward the devil. You see a messed-up family, you see boys and girls getting abused, you see somebody going hungry, you see death and murder and killing—hate the devil. He’s behind it all. That’s all right to hate the devil. Pray the Lord puts the blame right where it belongs: the devil. Yes, sometimes he uses people, but the devil’s behind it all. It’s a good thing to have a good hatred towards the devil. He’s our adversary, amen. But praise the Lord, just maybe go home thinking about the rod of Aaron, God’s rod, swallowed up. All those cobras, boom, put them out of there, amen. I like that thought. That’s a good thing right there. Praise the Lord for it.
Original File: Pastor Paul Chisgar - Moses Did - Wedenesday PM 382023