Exodus 7:8-13

Exodus 7:8-13

[8] And the LORD  spake  unto Moses  and unto Aaron,  saying,  [9] When Pharaoh  shall speak  unto you, saying,  Shew  a miracle  for you: then thou shalt say  unto Aaron,  Take  thy rod,  and cast  it before  Pharaoh,  and it shall become a serpent.  [10] 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.  [11] Then Pharaoh  also called  the wise men  and the sorcerers:  now the magicians  of Egypt,  they also did  in like manner  with their enchantments.  [12] For they cast down  every man  his rod,  and they became serpents:  but Aaron's  rod  swallowed up  their rods.  [13] And he hardened  Pharaoh's  heart,  that he hearkened  not unto them; as the LORD  had said. 

What does Exodus 7:8-13 Mean?

Contextual Meaning

Pharaoh requested that Moses and Aaron perform a miracle to prove their divine authority since they claimed that God had sent them ( Exodus 7:9-10).
"What we refer to as the ten "plagues" were actually judgments designed to authenticate Moses as God"s messenger and his message as God"s message. Their ultimate purpose was to reveal the greatness of the power and authority of God to the Egyptians ( Exodus 7:10 to Exodus 12:36) in order to bring Pharaoh and the Egyptians into subjection to God." [1]
The Jews preserved the names of the chief magicians even though the Old Testament did not record them. Paul said they were Jannes and Jambres ( 2 Timothy 3:9). These were not sleight-of-hand artists but wise men who were evidently members of the priestly caste (cf. Genesis 41:8). The power of their demonic gods lay in their "secret arts" ( Exodus 7:11). They were able to do miracles in the power of Satan ( 1 Corinthians 10:20; cf. Matthew 24:24; 2 Thessalonians 2:9-10; Revelation 13:13-14). [2] The superiority of the Israelites" God is clear in the superiority of Aaron"s serpent over those of the Egyptian magicians ( Exodus 7:12). The rod again represented regal authority and implied that Yahweh, not Pharaoh, was sovereign (cf. Exodus 4:2-5).
There are at least three possibilities regarding the Egyptian magicians" rods becoming snakes. The magicians may have received power to create life from Satan, with God"s premission. Second, God may have given them this power directly. Third, their rods may have been rigid snakes that, when cast to the ground, were seen to be what they were, serpents.
Aaron"s miracle should have convinced Pharaoh of Yahweh"s sovereignty, but he chose to harden his heart in unbelief and disobedience. Consequently God sent the plagues that followed.
"The point of this brief section is that Yahweh"s proof of his powerful Presence to the Pharaoh and thus to the Pharaoh"s Egypt will be miraculous in nature." [3]