Welcome to Time in the Word. If you missed last week’s devotional, you can catch it here, https://www.mandyandmichele.com/moses-and-aaron-to-the-rescue/. Moses and Aaron presented God’s terms and conditions to Pharaoh. Pharaoh, as predicted, said no. Now God has Moses and Aaron perfected positioned. Moses will be like a God to Pharaoh (See how God uses this? We have to meet people where they are!), and Aaron will be like Moses’s prophet. Show Time! Staff to snakes and other scary stuff are about to take place.
Grab your bible and turn to Exodus 7. If you are reading digitally, you can catch it here. Hopefully, we will get through Exodus 8 as well… we shall see! Go ahead and read both chapters!
Snakes, blood, and mud
Does that title sound like Garth Brook’s song, Rodeo? Pharaoh is one tough man, and Moses and Aaron embark on a spiritual rodeo that will bring about freedom and brokenness.
God gives Moses and Aaron their instructions. As you read Exodus 7:1-8 you can almost see God, Moses, and Aaron in a locker room of sorts:
- Moses, you are to say EVERYTHING I (God) command.
- Aaron, you are to say and do whatever Moses tells you.
Got it, boys? Then you hear God lean in and give them the score. “I, God, am going to harden Pharaoh’s heart. I will increase my signs and wonders so all of Egypt and Pharaoh will see who is the REAL G O D. But Pharaoh still won’t listen. So then, I can use that to bring judgment on them, giving you, my Israelites, freedom! Heads up Aaron. When Pharaoh asks to ‘perform a miracle’, you drop your staff to the ground, and it will turn into a snake. You boys might be 80 and 83, but you’ve got this!”
Oh please…
Moses and Aaron arrive in Pharaoh’s court. The request to leave is given once again. Just as God had said, Pharaoh asks for them to perform a miracle, and Aaron throws down his staff. Not to be outdone, Pharaoh asks his court of wise men, magicians, and sorcerers (WHO PRACTICE THEIR SECRET ARTS) to throw down their staffs, and their staffs turn into snakes.
Did you catch the phrase, ‘secret arts’? Why do you think it’s such a secret? Who is revealing these secrets?
Satan plays for keeps. He plays for your eternal soul. EVERYTHING has a price with Satan. Hold onto that thought as we will come back to this after we finish the plagues!
Aaron’s snake swallows up the Egyptian court’s snakes. Pharaoh is used to winning, but not this time. Pharaoh pouts, and as predicted by God, hardens his heart.
Join me next week as Moses pops in on Pharaoh taking a bath. What better way to get someone’s attention? Thanks for joining me here today in Time in the Word.
Michele Bruxvoort is sure to draw you in with her delightful sense of humor and love for living life. She enjoys reading, repurposing, as well as remodeling the family home with her husband. Drawing from her life experience as wife, mom, and follower of Jesus, Michele brings you a very honest and real perspective on life. When you don’t find her writing, you can find her mowing lawns, stocking shelves, taking care of her grandbaby and tackling her latest life adventure.
Wisconsin native and empty-nester, she now makes her home with her husband of 27 years in the South West Prairie plains of Minnesota.