For most of my younger years,
every year I would watch the movie The Ten Commandments. I
know that Hollywood put a lot of its spin on God's story, and
that's probably never good. But as a young boy, I was greatly
intrigued with the plagues that God inflicted on Egypt and on
Pharaoh. But I was very infatuated with
the sign and the miracle that God displayed with Aaron's rod
that happened before all the plagues began. Then I had no
idea what Aaron's rod and the story pictured and what it symbolized,
but I hope to show you that tonight, if God enabled me. And that's
the story that we have before us here in Exodus chapter seven,
beginning in verse eight. Look at it with me, if you would.
And the Lord spake unto Moses and unto Aaron saying, when Pharaoh
shall speak unto you saying, show a miracle for you, then
thou shalt say unto Aaron, take thy rod and cast it before Pharaoh
and it shall become a serpent. And Moses and Aaron went in unto
Pharaoh, and they did so as the Lord had commanded. And Aaron
cast down his rod before Pharaoh and before his servants, and
it became a serpent. And then Pharaoh also called
the wise men and the sorcerers, now the magicians of Egypt. They
also did in like manner with their enchantments. For they
cast down every man his rod, and they became serpents. But
Aaron's rod swallowed up their rods, and he hardened Pharaoh's
heart, that he hearkened not unto them as the Lord had said."
Now, it's very important to understand that this story that we just
read, it's not about Pharaoh, and it's not about Moses, and
it's certainly not about snakes. It's a story about redemption. It's a story about God saving
sinners. And I'm interested in that. Redemption
is the theme all through the scriptures. How Christ died for
his elect people to reconcile them to God. Salvation is by
the divine intervention of God. If God doesn't divinely interrupt
in a sinner's life, They'll never be saved. It's obvious Israel
couldn't save themselves. They'd been in bondage for 400
years now. And Moses couldn't save Israel. He couldn't even save himself
from the clutches of Pharaoh. You remember when he murdered
that fellow? Well, he had to flee to the backside
of the desert for 40 years to prevent the judgment of the wicked
king. So when did any hope of salvation,
any hope for deliverance come to Israel? When God divinely
intervened. And that's the case in your life,
and that's the case in mine. When God appeared to Moses in
the burning bush, when the great I Am said, I've seen the affliction
of my people, which are in Egypt. When God Almighty said, I have
heard their cry by the reason of their taskmaster. When God
said, and I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians
and to bring them up out of the land and to a good land flowing
with milk and honey. And that's how salvation comes
to sinners, to chosen sinners. When I am came down. to deliver them. When I am determined
to bring them into a land that he had promised Abraham, Isaac,
and Jacob, Exodus 3a. And that's why Moses is now standing
in front of Pharaoh. God reveals the truth through
his servants. That's just God's ordained means.
Moses didn't want to go. Moses didn't want the task. Moses
didn't know much, but he knew he wasn't qualified. You see,
none of us are qualified first to save ourselves, and none of
us can deliver ourselves or anyone else. Salvation and deliverance
is the work of God. Now, you know that, and I know
that, and we rejoice in that, don't we? God does the saving. What we do is we do the sinning,
but God does the saving. Now I'd have you notice that
God again forewarns his servants, Aaron and Moses, as to what to
expect. God always equips his servants
with what they need in order to do the task that he sends
them to do. Hebrews 13 21 tells us that the
God of peace will make you perfect in every good work to do his
will working in you that which is well pleasing in his sight
through Jesus Christ to whom be glory forever and ever amen
and we also know for it is God which worketh in you both the
will and to do his good pleasure." Philippians 2.13. Now God tells
Moses and Aaron in verse nine, when Pharaoh shall speak unto
you saying, show a miracle for you. What Pharaoh is asking them
to do is to prove that your God sent you. Show me a miracle.
If your God is who he says he is, and if I should obey your
God, whom by the way, I know not your God, I know not the
Lord and neither will I obey him, If you expect me to obey
him, prove to me that he's worthy of being worshiped. Then thou
shalt say unto Aaron, take thy rod and cast it before Pharaoh
and it shall become a serpent." And that's exactly what happened. And as I said, the reason Pharaoh
asked Moses and Aaron to perform a miracle was to test them and
to prove whether or not the God of the Hebrews had any power. Had he sent them, would he be
a formable opponent, so to say, for the mighty Pharaoh? Well,
Pharaoh would soon find out. And like many, he found out the
hard way. He got much, much more than he
bargained for. Now, this would set off a chain
of events that proved to Israel, proved to Egypt, proved to Pharaoh
that God was the true and living God. When God got through with
Pharaoh in Egypt, I don't think there was any doubt that he was
the sovereign potentate, the king of kings with whom every
man, woman, and sinner must give an account. This is the God with
whom we have to do. And throughout time, multitudes
have said things like, well, I'll believe and worship God
if you can prove that I should. And during the time that our
Lord lived on earth, the unbelieving were always seeking a miracle
saying, show us a sign from heaven, show us a sign from heaven. And
the Lord said, why does this generation seek after a sign? It's an evil and adulterous generation
that seeks after a sign. And then the Lord said this,
he said, there shall no sign be given, but the sign of the
prophet Jonah. For as Jonah was three days and
three nights in the whale's belly, so shall the Son of Man be three
days and three nights in the heart of the earth. And the men
of Nineveh shall rise up in judgment with this generation, and shall
condemn it, because they repented at the preaching of Jonas, and
behold, a greater than Jonas is here." You see, the only sign
that men and women would have, would be given, is Christ and
Him crucified. That's it. The only sign would
be the death, the burial, and the resurrection of the Lord
Jesus. And that's every saved sinner's hope, that He lived
for me, that He died for me, that I was buried with Him and
that I rose with Him. Our union with Christ, we talk
about it all the time. But the thing I want you to think
about tonight is have you ever thought about why God turned
Aaron's rod into a serpent? Why not something else? And by
all indications from what I've been able to read and what I've
been able to research, this isn't just a little old garden snake.
This is one of those big headed cobras. And if you were to look
in a pictorial dictionary, or with modern day technology, Google
Pharaoh, you would find that Pharaoh's headdress that he wore
had a big old cobra right in the front of it. What does this
miracle, this sign, have to do with a snake? Why did Aaron's
rod turn into a snake? Why a serpent? Because it symbolizes
something. It pictures something. What does
this serpent symbolize and picture? First, it symbolizes and pictures
Satan. Remember, he first appeared in
the garden as a serpent. He was subtle and deceitful. You know, Satan can make himself
beautiful and make himself fascinating, all the while being deadly and
fatal with his bite. The serpent called into question
the word of God. As he stood before the woman,
Eve, he called into question the word of God. And he said,
hath God surely said? And isn't that how Satan works?
He calls into question and puts a doubt on the word of God. He
said, if you eat from the tree, you'll be just like God. Oh,
you'll know good from evil. And that's why God doesn't want
you to eat of it. You'll be as God's. Satan always,
always questions God's word. Satan always calls into question
God's judgment. The judgment of God was, if you
eat of this tree that I command you not to, you're going to die.
That's the judgment of God. And what did the serpent say?
Well, you shall not surely die. calling into question the judgment
of God. When men and women begin to make
little of sin, you can be assured that the old serpent has been
at work. He always makes light of the divine judgment of God.
And when he's done with you, he'll leave you alone to face
God as he slithers off to find his next victim. So Pharaoh very
well pictures and represents Satan in our story. He proudly
wears the emblem of the serpent on his forehead. So why did Aaron's
rod become a serpent? Well, it's, It pictures Christ
and what Christ became in order to save his people from their
sin. What was that? He became sin. He was made sin
that we might be made the righteousness of God. Aaron's rod became a
serpent and what a picture of the Lord and his substitutionary
work. Now you think about this. Christ,
the one who knew no sin, as I said, was made to be sin, that we might
be made perfectly righteous in Him. Do you remember when the
fiery serpents bit Israel in the wilderness? Oh, that's a
picture of sin biting and injecting its poison into all mankind. And all who were bitten by those
fiery serpents died. Why? Because the wages of sin
is death. That's what that picture's. But
we see the redemptive glory of the Lord Jesus Christ in that
brass serpent that Moses lifted high. And what happened to those
that looked at that serpent? They lived, they lived. They
looked at that brass serpent and lived, and all that look
to Christ shall live. That's why our gospel message
is just that, look and live. Look to Jesus Christ and live. That's the gospel. That's what's
going on here in Exodus 7. When you look at the rod of Aaron,
you can see Christ. Look at verse 10 again. And Moses
and Aaron went in unto Pharaoh, and they did so as the Lord had
commanded. And Aaron cast down his rod before
Pharaoh and before his servants, and it became a serpent. And
then Pharaoh also called the wise men and the sorcerers, now
the magicians of Egypt, and they also did in like manner with
their enchantments. For they cast down every man
as rod and they became serpents, but Aaron's rod swallowed up
their rot. Now, let me first say that Pharaoh's
magicians did not actually turn their rods into serpents. And
I'll tell you why I believe that. I believe these were real serpents,
but their rods only seem to be changed to serpents. And the
reason that I believe that is because of that word there in
verse 11, enchantments. That word enchantment means magic,
the art of producing illusions. the use of sleight of hand. The use of deceptive devices. You know, those that do magic
are really deceptive. They try to make us think that
what they did was real. I like to watch that show, America's
Got Talent. They have a lot of magicians
on that show that are really good, and some are really scary.
Some of the things they do by slight of hand are just mesmerizing. And you sit there, you're scratching
your head, and you go, how did he do that? I look at Teresa
and she's like, how did he do that? But it's a sleight of hand. It's a deceptive method. Deceptive
illusions. That's what Pharaoh's magicians
did. Enchantment. Magic. Sleight of
hand. May we never forget that Satan
is able to transform himself into an angel of light. And that
word transform in 2 Corinthians 11 means disguise. He's able
to disguise. Satan is a liar and a deceiver. He's able to transform, disguise
himself. That's what Pharaoh's magicians
did here. They disguised themselves by
magic. Satan is a master counterfeiter. but God will expose him to his
elect. Do you remember what the Lord
Jesus said? He said, for there shall arise
false Christ and false prophets and shall show great signs and
wonders in so much that if it were possible, they shall deceive
the very elect. That's very concerning to me,
but it's not possible. It's not possible to deceive
God's elect. God will expose all the deceptive
lies and works of our great adversary. So we must, as Peter said, be
sober, be vigilant because our adversary, the devil, as a roaring
lion, walketh about seeking whom he may devour. And Paul told
Timothy, but evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving
and being deceived, but continue thou in the things which thou
hast learned and has been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast
learned them. Now the way of Satan, as it was
with Eve in the beginning, is to deceive and make things appear
to be as though they really are. Satan's a liar and the father
of it. That's what our Lord said. And Pharaoh's sorcerers and magicians
attempted to demonstrate a power that they did not possess. Follow
me? That has been Satan's life from
the beginning. Did you notice what I just read
a minute ago? He walks about as a roaring lion seeking whom
he may devour. But he can do nothing more than
what God allows him to do. I don't understand why people
go about rebuking the devil when Christ has already defeated him.
He's God's devil and he's on God's chain. Now the gospel of
Christ, now listen to me, the gospel of Christ swallows up
all the lying wonders of Satan and his ministers and makes them
disappear in the preaching of Christ crucified. It's here that
we see the sovereign supremacy of God over Pharaoh, over Satan
and all who would oppose God, oppose his will, oppose his purpose
of redemption to the chosen of God. No match for God. Moses was no match for Pharaoh,
but Pharaoh was no match for God. Aaron's rod swallowed up
their rods. Now you think about that. Was
that not the case with the awakened sinner? You and I, by nature,
had no concerns or thoughts before we knew God, other than what
we would eat, what we would drink, what we'd be clothed with. We
thought only of ourselves. Let's just be honest. Our God
was our belly. Our concern was only with those
things that we could consume upon our own lust. I was reading
Spurgeon this week and he wrote that the natural man's heart
is buried in the grave of cares, mainly the cares of himself.
He rises up early and he stays up late to eat the bread of carefulness. And he also said in the old ancient
times, those stone walls of Israel, that the cement in those had
become so strong and had bound so those stones that the stone
was no longer a separate piece, was no longer a stone, but it
had become a part of the wall itself. And that's what men and
women who don't know God are. They're so glued and cemented
to the world that they're no longer separate from the world,
but a part of it. And that's what I was. And that's
what you were. They cannot be separated from
the world and the things of it unless they're broken in pieces
with the hammer of God. That's the only way any natural
man or woman can be separated from the cares of this life.
Aaron's rod shall swallow it up. A man, woman listens to the
word of God. God sends the truth, sends his
spirit and the power to his or her soul. The spirit of God comes
and resides within. God does a work of grace in a
sinner's heart and breaks him. They still have to go on with
life and their business. They've got to still make a living
in this world, but now there's a different craving within, not
a craving for the things of the world, but a craving that pants
after the living God. There's a hunger within that
wasn't there before, and there's a thirst that's unquenchable. There's a voice that now can
be heard loudly above all the clamor of this world's busy traffic. Seek ye first the kingdom of
God and his righteousness. And by the power of God within
the spirit of the believing sinner, they confess their need to God
and they confess their need of God. You know why? Because Aaron's rod has swallowed
it up. We no longer seek this world,
but the world to come. and Aaron's rod has swallowed
up their craving for this world. The faith of the believer in
Christ destroys all other confidences. I used to put my confidence in
a lot of different things. Men and women boast in and of
their integrity, their morality. They claim to be kind and charitable,
and they are. They profess to be tenderhearted
toward the poor, and they are. They trust that if anyone can
obtain heaven by their merits, they certainly can. But with
the believer, Aaron's rod has swallowed up such thinking. Now
that sinner can say with Paul, but what things were gained to
me, those I counted loss for Christ. The people of God now
count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge
of Christ the Lord. They now count all their self-righteousness,
all their so-called integrity, all their morality, but dung,
Paul said. Why? That they may win Christ
and be found in Him, not having their own righteousness, which
is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ,
the righteousness which is of God by faith. Now, salvation
is not to trust in Christ and also trust in self. It's not. A lot of folks think that's it,
but it's not. It's not to somewhat trust in
Christ and also trust in our work, something that we do. You
and I have heard it for years. You know, God cast his vote for
us, Satan cast his vote against us, but the deciding vote's up
to us. That's the biggest hogwash that's
ever been said. God cast his choice and his love
upon the sinner before the foundation of the world, before that sinner
had ever done any good or evil, that the purpose of God, according
to election, might stand. It's God who saves. Christ will never have a partner
in redemption. No, sir. He has trodden the winepress
alone. And it's Christ alone that saves.
The rod of the one and only high priest must swallow up all other
rods, and it does. Satan, while he's thrown our
past sins down before us and they've turned to serpents, he
throws them down all the time and reminds us of them. But Christ
in him crucified has swallowed them up. The blood of Jesus Christ, God's
son, cleanses us from all sin. How much? All of it, all of it. But what about our corruption?
What about our neglect of obedience? What about our unbelief? What
about our wonderings of heart? The serpents of sin are many,
but Aaron's rod has swallowed them up. And Christ has paid
and put away all our sin on Calvary's tree. Do you believe that? Oh,
I believe that. I believe that. Though our sins
were poisonous as the cobra, though they were as fierce as
a rattlesnake, and though they were as huge as a python, throw
down Aaron's rod and it'll swallow him up. We overcome by the blood
of the Lamb. Christ is able to save to the
uttermost those that come unto God by Him. But what about the
serpents of this world's trials? My, we often tried. What about worldly lust? What
about dissatisfaction with God's providence? We're all guilty
of that. We grumble and complain about the smallest things. God sent them, and yet we grumble
and complain about them. Dissatisfaction with God's providence. What about our unbelief of God's
promises? They're serpents that afflict
us greatly. Let's throw down Aaron's rod
and watch him be swallowed up and disappear. The sinner who
makes his delight, now listen, who makes his delight in the
Lord Jesus will soon find that all other delights have been
swallowed up. I don't know if it's physical
age or maybe some maturity in faith, maybe both, I hope so. But I don't find much delight
in the things of the world anymore, just none. I'm rapidly approaching
being able to honestly sing All that thrills my soul is Jesus.
He's more than life to me. You see, every need His hands
supply. Every good in Him I see. On His
strength divine relying, He is all in all to me. Oh, how blessed
to call Him mine, that song says. And it is, isn't it? You know,
I've now eaten sweet manna, no longer the stale bread of this
world. Jesus Christ is the bread of
life, and I've experienced God's sovereign providence. I see His
tender care always working on my behalf. I've experienced some
success and prosperity, but I'm telling you, they're just mere
ashes to what I find in Christ. The believer's delight in Christ
can't be extinguished. It just can't be. In disease,
we still rejoice in God, knowing that He sent it. In suffering,
we cry, His grace is sufficient. In death, the believer makes
their boast in Christ. To live is Christ and to die
is gain. There's little to delight in
besides Him. Why? Because Aaron's rod has
swallowed up the world's delight and made Jesus Christ all in
all to His people. One old writer said that life
is but a loan that we give back to Christ. Everywhere the gospel
is preached, like Aaron's rod, the serpents of sin are swallowed
up. Oh, do you see the picture here?
Wherever lies and deceit have abounded, grace has much more
abounded. What a picture we see in Aaron's
rod, swallowing up the serpents of Pharaoh's servants. That word
swallowed means to devour. It means to destroy. It means
to do away with. The lies and deceit that abound
in religion are swallowed up when the gospel of Christ is
thrown down in truth. You know, I got to thinking about
that. That's really what gospel preaching is, isn't it? It's
throwing down the truth. That's what I'm doing right now.
I'm throwing down the truth. Oh Lord, enable us to believe
it. The throwing down of Aaron's
rod revealed a great truth to Pharaoh. Whether he admitted
it or not, whether he bowed to it or not, it revealed a great
truth. It showed him something. What
truth was that? The truth that God is sovereign
and supreme over all and the deliverance of his people, even
their sins. What did Pharaoh do with this
truth? Well, maybe a good question would be to ask, what will you
and I do with this truth that Aaron's rod has revealed? I know
this much, it's a matter of life and death. Pharaoh in Egypt perished. Pharaoh refused to bow to what
he had witnessed. And there are many, sadly many,
who are just like Pharaoh, They will not bow to God in obedience
to Christ. Now look at verse 14, I'll finish
this up. And the Lord said unto Moses,
Pharaoh's heart is hardened. He refuses to let the people
go. I know we say this all the time,
but I want to say it in light of last week's message and in
this verse, is that all that God has to do to harden the heart
is just to leave that heart to itself. Just leave it alone. 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 water. 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 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 would
not hear." As we'll see next time and in
the weeks to come, this is the start of God's wrath and God's
judgment against the rebellious nation and their rebellious king. Pharaoh would not obey. Pharaoh
would not hear. Aaron's rod had proclaimed the
truth. If you don't bow to Christ, you'll
die in your sin. The almighty God, sovereign and
supreme will show and pour out eternal judgment on the vessels
of wrath fitted to destruction. But to those that he loved, chose
and called and saved, Christ has enabled them to put on incorruption. Corruption was what I was in
Christ. I put on incorruption. And mortality
is where I lived. But now in Christ, I've put on
immortality. All who trust in Christ have.
And you know what the scripture says? And death is swallowed
up in victory. Jesus Christ, pictured here by
Aaron's rod, has swallowed up even death for God's elect. And
with the rod of the good shepherd, We have no need to even fear
death. May God enable us to believe. I do, but Lord help my unbelief. Give me faith, Lord. Give me
faith. Well, we know how faith comes by doing what we've done
tonight here in the word of God.