The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron: 9 When Pharaoh demands of you, “Produce a sign or wonder,” you will say to Aaron: “Take your staff and throw it down before Pharaoh, and it will turn into a serpent.” 10 Then Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and did just as the Lord had commanded. Aaron threw his staff down before Pharaoh and his servants, and it turned into a serpent. 11 Pharaoh, in turn, summoned the wise men and the sorcerers, and they also, the magicians of Egypt, did the same thing by their magic arts. 12 Each one threw down his staff, and they turned into serpents. But Aaron’s staff swallowed their staffs. 13 Pharaoh, however, hardened his heart and would not listen to them, just as the Lord had foretold.
Exodus 3–6 sets the stage for God’s deliverance of Israel. In Exodus 3, God appears to Moses in the burning bush, revealing His name, "I AM," and calling Moses to lead Israel out of Egypt. In Exodus 4, Moses expresses reluctance, but God provides signs, including the staff turning into a serpent, to confirm His authority. In Exodus 5, Moses and Aaron confront Pharaoh, demanding Israel’s release, but Pharaoh increases the Israelites' labor, leading to despair among the people. In Exodus 6, God reassures Moses of His covenant with Abraham, promising to deliver Israel through His mighty hand and establish them as His people. This sets the stage for the dramatic confrontation between God and Pharaoh in Exodus 7.
In Exodus 7:1–7, God reaffirms Moses’ role as His prophet and Aaron’s role as his spokesperson. God warns that Pharaoh will harden his heart, but through signs and wonders, He will demonstrate His power and compel Pharaoh to release the Israelites. The hardening of Pharaoh’s heart illustrates not only God’s foreknowledge but also the human tendency to resist grace, highlighting the contrast with the openness to God required for salvation in Christ (cf. John 3:19–21).
In Exodus 7:8–10, God instructs Moses and Aaron to perform a sign before Pharaoh to prove His authority. The staff turning into a serpent is a demonstration of divine power. In the Egyptian religion, the serpent was a symbol of power and divinity. By transforming the staff into a serpent, God directly challenges Pharaoh's claim to divine status.
Pharaoh’s magicians replicate the miracle using "magic arts," likely referring to occult practices or demonic influence. Aaron’s staff swallowing the magicians’ staffs symbolizes God’s ultimate triumph over Egypt’s gods and Pharaoh’s resistance. This foreshadows the plagues and the Exodus itself, where God’s sovereignty will be fully displayed. Human or demonic powers may imitate divine signs but they cannot stand against the power of God. Despite witnessing this wonder, Pharaoh hardens his heart, fulfilling God’s earlier warning (Ex. 4:21). This persistent rejection of God’s signs serves as a warning against the dangers of pride and spiritual blindness, which the New Testament describes as obstacles to repentance and faith (cf. 2 Cor. 4:4).
This passage marks the beginning of the confrontation between God and Pharaoh, symbolizing the struggle between divine sovereignty and human resistance. The conflict between Moses and Pharaoh prefigures Christ’s mission to confront and triumph over the powers of sin, Satan, and death. It sets the stage for the plagues and Israel's ultimate liberation, serving as a foreshadowing of Christ’s redemptive work. As 1 Corinthians 15:54–57 reminds us, Christ’s victory on the cross definitively "swallows up death" and triumphs over evil, fulfilling the symbolism of Aaron’s staff swallowing the magicians’ staffs. The staff’s symbolic power and God’s decisive victory over evil reach their ultimate fulfillment in Jesus Christ.
Almighty God, You revealed Your power and sovereignty in the signs You performed before Pharaoh. Help us to trust in Your might and stand firm in faith, knowing that You triumph over all falsehood and evil. This we pray through Christ our Lord. Amen!
Sources
- McSorley, Joseph. An Outline History of the Church by Centuries (From St. Peter to Pius XII). 2nd ed., B. Herder Book Co., 1944.
- Orchard, Bernard, et al. A Catholic Commentary on Holy Scripture. Feb. 1953.
- Chiu, José Enrique Aguilar, et al. The Paulist Biblical Commentary. Paulist Press, 2018.
- Faculty of the University of Navarre. The Navarre Bible: New Testament Expanded Edition. Four Courts / Scepter, 2008.
- Brown, Raymond Edward, et al. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Prentice Hall, 1990.
- Charpentier, Etienne. How to Read the Old Testament. Translated by John Bowden, 1981.
- Komonchak, Joseph, et al., editors. The New Dictionary of Theology.
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