Aaron’s Staff Becomes a Serpent
7 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Pay close attention to this. I will make you seem like God to Pharaoh, and your brother, Aaron, will be your prophet. 2 Tell Aaron everything I command you, and Aaron must command Pharaoh to let the people of Israel leave his country. 3 But I will make Pharaoh’s heart stubborn so I can multiply my miraculous signs and wonders in the land of Egypt. 4 Even then Pharaoh will refuse to listen to you. So I will bring down my fist on Egypt. Then I will rescue my forces—my people, the Israelites—from the land of Egypt with great acts of judgment. 5 When I raise my powerful hand and bring out the Israelites, the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord.”
6 So Moses and Aaron did just as the Lord had commanded them. 7 Moses was eighty years old, and Aaron was eighty-three when they made their demands to Pharaoh.
8 Then the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, 9 “Pharaoh will demand, ‘Show me a miracle.’ When he does this, say to Aaron, ‘Take your staff and throw it down in front of Pharaoh, and it will become a serpent.[a]’”
10 So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and did what the Lord had commanded them. Aaron threw down his staff before Pharaoh and his officials, and it became a serpent! 11 Then Pharaoh called in his own wise men and sorcerers, and these Egyptian magicians did the same thing with their magic. 12 They threw down their staffs, which also became serpents! But then Aaron’s staff swallowed up their staffs. 13 Pharaoh’s heart, however, remained hard. He still refused to listen, just as the Lord had predicted.
A Plague of Blood
14 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Pharaoh’s heart is stubborn,[b] and he still refuses to let the people go.
Footnotes:
7:9 Hebrew tannin, which elsewhere refers to a sea monster. Greek version translates it “dragon.”
7:14 Hebrew heavy.
I've always struggled with this part of the story. I get the whole "let's freak out Pharaoh" thing and make him think you are God and Aaron is your prophet thing. But I don't understand the whole "I will harden Pharaoh's heart" thing.
I want to reason it away with saying things like "God knew Pharaoh was going to be hard hearted anyway, so he just meant that he would use it to his favor" or "God can use all people in his favor, so if he knew Pharaoh was a jerk anyway, then use him here." But these are not in the text. Yes, Pharaoh had already shown a hardened heart and was a ruthless slave driver. Yes, Pharaoh had opportunities to let God's people go and he had not chose to do so up to this point. But this still doesn't explain the fact that God chose to harden someone's heart in order to get the outcome God wants.
Is God using Pharaoh to get the greater point across to all Egyptians that he is the Lord God Almighty? That is all I can find in the text that helps me with this quandary... Your thoughts??
*History* is written by victors.
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