Signs and Wonders

For your search, turn to Exodus 7.

God made Moses a god to the Pharaoh with Aaron as his prophet (Exodus 7:1). God told them, "Thou shalt speak all that I command thee: and Aaron thy brother shall speak unto Pharaoh, that he send the children of Israel out of his land" (Exodus 7:2).

God continued, "And I will harden Pharaoh's heart, and multiply my signs and my wonders in the land of Egypt" (Exodus 7:3).

"But Pharaoh shall not hearken unto you, that I may lay my hand upon Egypt, and bring forth mine armies, and my people the children of Israel, out of the land of Egypt by great judgments" (Exodus 7:4).

"And the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord, when I stretch forth mine hand upon Egypt, and bring out the children of Israel from among them" (Exodus 7:5).

"And Moses and Aaron did as the Lord commanded them, so did they" (Exodus 7:6).

God prepared Moses and Aaron for events to come which included miracles to be performed followed by refusal to let the people go by a Pharaoh with a hardened heart. All will lead to the Lord's hand stretched forth to free the people.

The first miracle revealed in this chapter is that of Aaron casting his rod before the Pharaoh with it turning into a serpent (Exodus 7:10). This miracle seemed to be no big deal to the Pharaoh because he called the magicians of Egypt who did the same thing (Exodus 7:11). In the end, "...Aaron's rods swallowed up their rods" (Exodus 7:12).

For the next miracle, God had Moses to stand by the river as the Pharaoh came by "...and the rod which was turned to a serpent shalt thou take in thine hand" (Exodus 7:15).

"And thou shalt say unto him, The Lord God of the Hebrews hath sent me unto thee, saying, Let my people go, that they may serve me in the wilderness: and, behold, hitherto thou wouldest not hear" (Exodus 7:16).

"Thus saith the Lord, In this thou shalt 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" (Exodus 7:17).

"And the fish that is in the river shall die, and the river shall stink; and the Egyptians shall lothe to drink of the water of the river" (Exodus 7:18).

"And the Lord spake unto Moses, 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 in vessels of stone" (Exodus 7:19).

"And Moses and Aaron did so, as the Lord commanded; and he lifted up the rod, and smote 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 were turned to blood" (Exodus 7:20).

"And the fish that was in the river died; and the river stank, and the Egyptians could not drink of the water of the river; and there was blood throughout all the land of Egypt" (Exodus 7:21).

Again, the magicians did the same thing (Exodus 7:22).

"And Pharaoh turned and went into his house, neither did he set his heart to this also" (Exodus 7:23).

"And all the Egyptians digged round about the river for water to drink; for they could not drink of the water of the river" (Exodus 7:24).

"And seven days were fulfilled after that the Lord had smitten the river" (Exodus 7:25).

God's Hand in the Matter: God's hand is shown at work through His miracles in this chapter. There will be more revealed as He works to let His people free.

Personal note: As with all magicians, there was sleight-of-hand involved with the evil work of the magicians in this chapter. There is no sleight-of-hand by God. When His hand is in the matter, it is real. Real power performed by a real God! We must always steer clear of Satan's deception.