Exodus Chapters 5, 6, 7 Commentary by Mark Dunagan

The Book Of Exodus Chapter 5:1-7:13 “Once Moses and Aaron had been accepted as representatives of the nation of Israel, the stage was set for their encounter with the king of Egypt….The scene before us is decidedly a dramatic one. Here two men over eighty years of age stand before one of the greatest kings of the ancient Near East at that time” (Davis pp. 80-81). Clearly, God doesn’t need people who are impressive in the eyes of the world to accomplish His purposes. In fact, at times God chooses to use that which looks incredibly weak to further His will (1 Corinthians 1:27-29; 2:1-5).

I. Chapter 5: 5:1-2 The request here wasn’t unreasonable. “Work-journals belonging to the New Kingdom period (time of Moses) in Egypt have furnished, among other reasons for absenteeism, the offering of sacrifices by workmen to their gods.

Pharaoh’s refusal shows his complete lack of consideration for people, and his lack of fear of God. By refusing a small request, his real heart-nature was exposed and his conduct condemned” (Fields p. 128). Note that Moses refers to the God of Israel. This is one of the earliest references to Israel as a people/nation instead of merely an individual (Jacob). “The Egyptians must have been well used to the sudden exodus of desert Arabs gone for a pilgrimage to some desert shrine. The editors quote such worship as the reason for absenteeism of works in Egyptian records, and Genesis 50 is a good parallel, with the burial of Jacob” (Cole pp. 80-81).

When Pharaoh said, “Who is the Lord?”, it is hard to believe that Pharaoh is claiming that he never had heard of Israel’s God. “In the main, it expresses incredulity at the sheer audacity of the challenge of his absolute authority” (Cole p. 81). Remember, in the minds of the Egyptians, Pharaoh himself was viewed as a god. On official monuments Pharaoh was often referred to as “the perfect god”. There are people today who basically are of the same opinion as Pharaoh, especially atheists and humanists who argue that there is no God who will save us, rather we will save ourselves, or man is the measure of all things.

Even though the Egyptians were worried about such a large slave population (1:9), they had found the Israelites, and especially such a large cheap labor force, to be too valuable, and were unwilling to part with them.

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The Pharaoh at this time was probably Amenhotep II (1448-1422 B.C.). This man left some very boastful writings of his own: “there was no one like him on the field of battle. He was one who knew horses; there was not his like in this numerous army. There was not one therein who could draw his bow. He could not be approached in running” (Fields p. 132) 5:3-4 Note that Moses and Aaron are being very respectful and reasonable, “please”. They even tried to help Pharaoh see this request from the standpoint of the Hebrews, “lest He fall upon us with pestilence or with the sword” (5:3) But Pharaoh demonstrates a hard heart long before any of the plagues. He shows no compassion for the Israelites. He didn’t care if Israel was punished. Pharaoh is like a good number of unbelieving family members or employers who don’t see why the Christian is so dedicated to serving God, and really doesn’t care if they come between a Christian and his or her responsibility in serving God. The attitude, “I don’t see why you have to have the time off the meet with other Christians and worship your God”, is the same attitude that this Pharaoh had.

But Pharaoh would soon regret saying, “Who is the Lord?” He was to become very familiar with the power of God (see 2 Kings 18:35). Beyond this, he even accuses Moses and Aaron of having deceitful and sinister motives. Like evil rulers since, “Pharaoh’s argument seems to be that people in bondage dream of freedom only when they have excessive free time or are allowed to idle away valuable time” (Bible Knowledge Comm. p. 116). Evil men typically assign evil motives to those who oppose them.

5:5 “The people of the land”-probably includes the Israelites as well as all other non-Egyptian workers in the land. The old fear found in 1:9 resurfaces. “echoes the old fear of the indigenous people who see themselves swamped and outnumbered by newcomers” (Cole p. 81).

5:6-9 It appears that the Egyptian court was very close to the land of Goshen, for Pharaoh was able to meet with the Egyptian taskmasters on that very day (see 5:10; 12:31). Note how the world often looks upon worship and spiritual activity as laziness or something that is completely unproductive (5:8). “It is quite clear from ancient Egyptian records that great concern was expressed over continued idleness” (Davis p. 82). In addition, Pharaoh is deliberately trying to drive a wedge between the Israelite slaves and their would-be deliverer.

“Without sufficient straw or with poor-quality stubble, the bricks would not form as easily and a higher proportion would fall apart, thus making the quota harder to achieve” (Walton & Matthews p. 90). “Bricks of all sorts have been found in Egypt, some with regularly chopped straw, some with rough roots and oddments, some without straw at all” (Cole p. 82). Straw would no longer be given to the Israelites at government expense. “The people had to gather their own supplies. This probably resulted in many more people working and perhaps to a much harder degree…The straw itself is not so much a binding agent, but its chemical decay in the clay released an acid which gave the clay greater 2

plasticity for brick making” (Davis p. 83). “They had to go out and pull up stubby ends of wheat stems attached to the roots still in the ground. Along with wheat and barley stubble would be all kinds of field rubbish, weeds, twigs, etc. These had to be uprooted, carried home, cleaned, sorted, and chopped. The presence of stubble indicates this occurred after the barley and wheat harvest, near the end of April, or early May” (Fields p. 133). Carefully note 5:9. How often does the devil try to keep us so busy that we don’t have time to listen to God? 5:10-14 Pharaoh obviously knew what he was asking was impossible, but people like Pharaoh often exploit others as much as they can. Once again, note how evil men are making it look like the Israelites are the people with the problem.

5:15-19 The Israelite foremen took matters into their own hands. They complain that they are being treated unfairly—but why did this surprise them?

The Egyptians had been abusing the Israelites in excess of 400 years. Is it possible that such men had been given “soft” jobs? “Perhaps in their desperation they had believed what they wanted to believe, that surely Pharaoh would help them when he knew the truth about them” (Fields p. 134). Such men appear to be very slow in realizing that they were dealing with a man who didn’t believe in fairness or justice.

5:20-21 Instead of turning to God and prayer, these men turned to resentment and bitterness. These men try to play the role of the “innocent sufferer”. “They called on the Lord to be judge and avenger, since Moses and Aaron had made the Israelites ‘a stench’, i.e. had given them a bad name before Pharaoh and his officials and slave drivers” (Gispen p. 70). And this will be just the beginning of the complaints! “These first accusations of the Israelites against Moses were only the beginning of a torrent of such objections to his leadership that would later grieve Moses (see Exodus 14:11; 15:24; 16:2, etc..)” (Fields p. 135). The expression, “to put a sword in their hand to kill us”, means that Moses and Aaron had only succeeded in giving Pharaoh a good reason or excuse to punish the Israelites. We should apply these verses to our own lives: How do we handle adversity, setbacks and persecution? Even in our time, we often tend to blame God’s people when a friend or relative is offended by comments in a bible class or sermon, and threatens to never visit our church again. We always seem to concentrate on the propriety of the words spoken by God’s people, and not upon the hard heart of the listener.

5:22-23 Moses very clearly was a human being. Even though God had already told him that Pharaoh wouldn’t listen (3:19), he seems to have anticipated better results. All Moses’ forebodings about his own lack of success seem to be confirmed by these events, the Israelites appear to be even worse off than before. Moses’ prayer here is the first of many prayers he uttered after the 3

times when the people challenged his leadership (Exodus 32:1,11; Numbers 11:11). How often do we make the same complaint? How often do we express to God our frustration as to why the church doesn’t grow at a faster rate, why the gospel doesn’t appeal to more people, or why preaching the truth seems to trim the membership rather than increasing it?

As noted many times before, the Old Testament isn’t a laundered Jewish history.

II. Chapter 6: 6:1 God is very patient with Moses (and He is very patient with us). Once again Moses is reminded that Pharaoh isn’t going to give up without a fight. Only as a result of God’s mighty hand (the ten plagues) would Pharaoh concede. In fact, Pharaoh would drive them out in the end. In addition, there is no excuse for us becoming discouraged at the growth of false religions (God already told us they would grow-2 Timothy 4:3; 2 Peter 2:1-3); apostasy among God’s own people (He told us that too); problems in the church (that too-1 Corinthians 11:18-19); or many people rejecting the gospel message (that too-parable of the Sower: Luke 8). How often do we complain about something that God already told us would happen, a fact that we should have already accepted before we choose to serve Him! 6:2-3 “A casual reading of verse 3 might lead one to conclude that the name Yahweh (Lord, Jehovah) was unfamiliar to the patriarchs, though Genesis 15:7 and 28:13 clearly suggest otherwise. It is true that El-Shaddai (God Almighty) was known to the patriarchs…(Genesis 17:1; 35:11)….The patriarchs probably did not worship God by the name Yahweh, but the text does not require the conclusion that the name was foreign to them” (Walton & Matthews pp. 90-91).

“Now he was revealing himself as Yahweh, the eternal, self-existing, selfconsistent God. This name he had not made known, i.e. explained, clarified, in the days of the patriarchs” (Smith p. 260). “The meaning is, not that the name Jehovah was never used by them or given of God to them: but that its special significance had not been manifested to them as He was now about to make it manifest” (Davis p. 85). Abraham clearly knew that Yahweh (Jehovah) was a title for God, he had called the place where he almost sacrificed his son Isaac, “Jehovah-Jireh” (Genesis 22:14). See also (12:8; 14:22; 15:8; 21:33; 24:3; 26:22; 27:27; 28:16; 49:18).

Point To Note: From the above verse liberal critics have argued that in the early patriarchal period the tribal name of God was el sadday, but Moses was now about to reveal 4

for the first time the name yahweh as the God of Israel. It is then generally argued by such critics that Moses got the name yahweh from the Kenites and Midianites with whom he had stayed for a long period of time. Of course, we must reject this for it argues that God never really appeared to Moses in the first place, and argues that the Scriptures are in error concerning the true origin of this name (3:13-15). Like Pharaoh, liberal critics in their actions are saying, “Who is the Lord that we should take His word as having any authority?”

6:4-8 These words are an empathic reminder to Moses that God had not forgotten the covenant which he had made with the Patriarchs. A covenant that included inheriting the land of Canaan and being released from bondage (Genesis 15:13-21). But how often, when things aren’t going well, do we feel that God has forgotten about us, or that God has been less than faithful with His promises? In addition, God isn’t insensitive to the suffering of His people (6:5), but how often do we virtually accuse God of being insensitive to our needs and trials?

Points To Note: 1.

“Discouragement festers in inaction. God directed Moses to get back to work. He was to speak again to the Israelites” (Smith p. 260). And He was to tell them: A. The Lord, the eternal and self-existent God would deliver them.

Moses wasn’t attempting to deliver them by his own power, wisdom or speaking ability. B. The Israelites would become His particular people and without a shadow of doubt, they would know that He was on their side. They were in trouble, Egypt was in trouble, for the Egyptians had made the children of God into slaves! They may have stunk in the eyes of the Egyptians, but the Egyptians stunk in the eyes of God! C. They would be brought to the land of promise. Their deliverance would result in being free men, in their own land, no longer a nation of slaves. “God then told Moses to put aside his broken spirit and feelings of inadequacy and return to the people. Seven times in these three verses God said I will, thus emphasizing that He is the promise-keeping God” (Bible Knowledge Comm. p. 117) The expression, “with an outstretched arm”, meant that His power would be clearly manifested and evident.

6:9 “This is very true to life. Moses’ confidence was apparently restored by this recommissioning, but Israel (once bitten, twice shy) will no longer listen to him” (Cole p. 86). The word “despondency”, can mean “impatience”, literally, shortness of spirit. “better ‘impatience, anger’ over what they must have considered a betrayal of trust” (Cole p. 86).

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6:10-11 But note, God doesn’t let the lack or depth of faith on the part of the people discourage Him or Moses. God doesn’t dwell on superficial setbacks, Moses is sent right back to Pharaoh. Sometimes we make the mistake of insisting that everyone be faithful and active before we will do something ourselves. How many Christians have fallen into the trap of refusing to be really involved until everyone manifests some zeal and enthusiasm. How many Christians “go on strike” when they become convinced that others aren’t pulling their fair share? Moses is to obey God, regardless of whether or not Israel is willing to follow. Instead of letting the inactivity or faithlessness of another individual discourage us, let’s give God the service that He deserves. The work of God suffers when we slack off.

6:12-13 Once again Moses starts to give some excuses, but God doesn’t bend.

God gave him the same command or charge which had been given to him previously. Nothing has changed, nothing is to be altered or toned down. God makes no concessions, all the compromising must be on the part of Pharaoh.

Let us remember this principle when preaching the gospel. Instead of watering down the gospel to attract sinners, let us make it clear that the one doing all the changing must the sinner and not the church.

Points To Note: 1. Neither has God changed in our time. The command to spread the gospel (Mark 16:15) and preach the truth (2 Tim. 4:2) is still in effect. Let’s be more impressed with the power of God and His faithfulness then whatever the opposition might be. 2. Moses made the mistake of thinking if God’s own people won’t listen to me, what hope do I have in changing Pharaoh’s mind?

But such an excuse forgets the power of God, and unbelievers at times are more receptive to the truth, then those who profess to be His people.

Remember, the publicans and harlots heard Jesus eagerly, while the Pharisees rejected Him (Luke 15:1-2).

6:14-25 The ancestry of Moses and Aaron is given in this section. They were both Levites from the clan of Korah. The name of their father was Amram (AM ram) and the name of their mother was Jochebed (JAH kuh bed). The genealogy of Reuben and Simeon are mentioned, because Levi, the tribe from which Moses and Aaron are descended were before Levi in the birth order. The reader should note that the Amram of verse 18, is probably not the same man named Amram in verse 20. The Kohathites were divided into four groups named after Kohath’s four sons, including his son Amram. Only two years after the Exodus this family included around 2147 men (Numbers 3:28ff), and yet we know that Amram, the father of Moses had only two sons (Moses and Aaron). Thus, 6

Amram (Moses’ father) is to be viewed as a generation or so removed from Amram the immediate son of Kohath.

Points To Note: 1. Gershon, Kohath and Merari (meh RAY eye), were the fathers of large families or clans that later had specific assignments in transporting and caring for the tabernacle in the wilderness (Numbers 3:14ff). 2. The wife of Aaron, Elishaba, was from the tribe of Judah (1 Chron. 2:10). 3. Aaron’s sons later became the priests in Israel (Ex. 28:1). Nadad and Abihu were burned to death for offering unauthorized fire (Lev. 10:1-2). Eleazar became high priest after Aaron died (Num. 20:25-28). In later generations the high priesthood passed to the house of Aaron’s son Ithamar (ITH uh mahr) in the person of Eli (1 Chron.

24:3; 1 Samuel 1:9). Still later the high priesthood reverted to the house of Eleazar through Zadok (1 Kings 2:26-27,35). 3. Phinehas is renowned for spearing an adulterous couple, and thereby averting God’s judgment upon Israel (Numbers 25:7-11; Psalm 106:30).

6:26-27 These verses tell us the reason for the above genealogy. Note, Moses and Aaron are here viewed as real historical figures, “Yes, it was this same Aaron and Moses”, the actual, physical descendants of Levi.

6:28-30 These verses bring us back to 6:12-13. Notice how God begins His conversation with Moses, “I am the Lord” (6:29). And this is all the motivation or reason that we need as to why we are morally obligated to obey Him!

III. Chapter 7:1-13: 7:1-2 Once again we are given a wonderful illustration concerning the mechanics behind “inspiration”. In what sense is the Bible inspired of God? (2 Timothy 3:16-17), how does God speak through prophets? Does He give them vague concepts to express using their own limited wisdom and ignorance? No, God gives to His prophets the precise words which He wants spoken and/or recorded (1 Corinthians 2:13).

Note how God seeks to reassure Moses! God certainly isn’t insensitive to our fears, concerns or worries (1 Peter 5:7). Moses had been fearful of confronting Pharaoh (6:30), but he had no cause for fear. He had felt himself inadequate, but he is more than adequate! (7:1-2) And how often do we feel that we are inadequate in spreading the gospel or saving the lost! But remember, we aren’t preaching a message which we have invented, we have the Word of God, which

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has tremendous power (Romans 1:16; Hebrews 4:12-13), and makes us completely qualified (2 Timothy 3:16-17). All we have to do is simply present the message, the message itself will do the rest (1 Corinthians 3:6). Moses would be like God to Pharaoh: “He could barge into Pharaoh’s throne room without an appointment and not be arrested. He would work miracles, like God. He would speak the divine message, he would exercise divine authority and power over the king of Egypt.

7:3 “I will harden Pharaoh’s heart” Points To Note: 1.

We have already noted that Pharaoh’s heart is very hard even before any of the plagues arrive on the scene (5:4). This man is very arrogant—long before God ever demands anything of him. 2. Since God is not wishing for any to perish, it is obvious that God didn’t miraculously prevent Pharaoh from doing the right thing (2 Peter 3:9). Neither did God prevent Pharaoh from repenting (Ezekiel 18:32; Acts 17:30). 3. The text will also note that Pharaoh hardened his own heart. In fact, what that means is that he only became more stubborn and determined to resist the will of God (8:15). 4. What God said that hardened his heart, has opened and convicted the hearts of other individuals. God commanded Pharaoh to do something that he didn’t want to do (let the Hebrews go). Others have heard strong and convicting teaching from God and obeyed (Acts 2:36-38). Someone has noted that the same sunshine can both soften butter and harden clay. The problem isn’t in the message, rather all the difference is in the condition/attitude of the person listening to the message. 5. Far from viewing God as being unmerciful or unfair with Pharaoh, the Bible presents God as showing a tremendous amount of patience and mercy to this stubborn man (Romans 9:22-23). God will give Pharaoh many chances to repent, make good choices where Egypt could be spared from future devastation, but this man will simply abuse all such choices. Not only will this man refuse to listen to God, he will refuse even to listen to his own people and advisors! (8:19).

7:3 Pharaoh’s stubbornness can be used to the glory of God, “that I may multiply My signs and My wonders”. If Pharaoh is going to choose a selfish course of action, then God can use such stubbornness to “rub it in” and demonstrate a broad range of power of this creation.

In addition, such stubbornness allowed God to magnify His name beyond the borders of Egypt (9:16), and to prove decisively that all the gods in Egypt, including Pharaoh himself were absolutely nothing and impotent (Exodus 12:12).

Far from being a god, Pharaoh is a mere mortal.

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7:4 The plagues are spoken of as judgments, the nation of Egypt was being punished for its idolatry, defiance, evil treatment of the Israelites, etc…

7:5 Pharaoh had arrogantly said, “Who is the Lord and that I should obey His voice” (5:2). By the end of these judgments, not only Pharaoh, but the entire Egyptian nation will have had a ten lesson correspondence course in “Who is the Lord”! This same thought is repeated (Exo. 7:17; 8:19,22; 10:7; 14:4).

Therefore, the ten plagues were also God’s attempt at trying to save the Egyptians from their idolatry and evil ways. God was also trying to convert some of these people.

7:7 God will use two older men to deliver His people. Moses and Aaron will both die some 40 years later (Deut. 31:2; 34:7; Num. 33:38-39).

7:8-9 God anticipates that Pharaoh will demand “proof” of God’s existence or that He has indeed spoken to Aaron and Moses.

7:11-13 Points To Note: 1. Initially the Egyptian magicians will be able on a small scale to appear to match what Moses will do. For example, it would have been easy for them to duplicate the water turning into blood, seeing that all the significant sources of water in Egypt were already turned into blood by the power of God! (7:22) Obviously, they appeared to turn a very small portion of water into blood, seeing that all the major bodies of water had already been affected (7:19). If they really had some power, they would have turned all the water back into fresh water!

Compare also with 8:7 and 8:18. 2. Please note that these magicians were experts. “We know from ancient documents that magic and sorcery were not only common throughout the land of Egypt, but played a significant role in the lives of the pharaohs” (Davis p. 89). As with Joseph and Daniel, where God deliberately reveals truth by dreams in regions that claimed to be the experts in dream interpretation, likewise God challenges the Egyptians at what they viewed as their strongest skill. 3. Some feel that the magicians really did perform a miracle by the power of Satan or evil spirits. But I don’t find Satan having that kind of power, rather, he deals in the counterfeit (2 Thess. 2:10). Such would also seem to put Satan dangerously close on a level with God, for what God did was to create life from something that was no longer alive (i.e. a snake from a dead stick). In addition, if Satan really had such power, then why couldn’t he duplicate in some degree the entire range of plagues? I am personally more persuaded that the magicians performed a trick. Some writers report that Egyptian magicians were able to charm serpents to become rigid like sticks. “It is certain that the charming of serpents has long been practiced in Egypt and adjacent countries. The serpent called hage by the Arabs, apparently the asp, can be made to appear as dead or rigid as a stick, and of course, restored to its 9

natural state again” (Davis p. 91). Davis notes, “If, however, it can be argued effectively that evil men and evil spirits do not possess such powers, then the conclusion must necessarily be that the magicians through sleight of hand and deception were able to satisfy the desires of Pharaoh even though what they performed was not an exact duplicate of that which Moses and Aaron had done” (p. 92). From 7:22 it is clear that the statement, “did the same” is not to be taken as meaning, “they exactly matched what Moses did”. Because in this verse, they couldn’t have done “the same exact thing”, seeing that most of the water in Egypt was already turned into blood. The only appeared to do the “same” and that on a very small and limited scale. And more importantly, in the mind of Pharaoh, they did the exact same thing. In addition, it just seems to me that Pharaoh knew that the magicians could only perform tricks. For if they actually did work miracles, then He would believe that the God Moses served did have the power to seriously hurt Him or destroy Him. 4. We are told in 2 Timothy 3:8 the names of at least two of these magicians, “Jannes” (JAN iz) and “Jambres” (jam BREZ). 5. “When Aaron’s serpent swallowed the magicians’ serpents, the symbolism would clearly imply an Israelite triumph over Egypt” (Walton & Matthews p. 91). 6. Also remember that Pharaoh isn’t an honest man. He was the type of person who will accept extremely poor evidence, or a very poor argument or excuse, if such will excuse his unfaithfulness. 7. Note that God will allow the magicians to be viewed as credible for a while, He is giving them enough rope to hang themselves. We shouldn’t be discouraged when evil men “appear” to have some sort of argument against the truth, for eventually they won’t be able to keep up with the truth, eventually they will reach a point in which they don’t have anymore arguments to what the truth is saying, and at that point the truth only looks that much stronger and convicting. So let the critics and scoffers present their best arguments, let them have their little moment in the sun, let them attack the Bible with their best wisdom and sift it with a fine tooth comb, because their entire line of argumentation will eventually crumble.

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