출애굽기 Chapter 7

Translation: ESV

1

And the LORD said to Moses, 'See, I have made you like God to Pharaoh, and your brother Aaron shall be your prophet.'

Key Message

God delegates authority to His servants, and with this delegated authority they confront the powers of the world.

▸Describing Moses as 'like God (Elohim)' to Pharaoh does not mean he became God but that he functions as God's representative in relationship with Pharaoh.

Describing Moses as 'like God (Elohim)' to Pharaoh does not mean he became God but that he functions as God's representative in relationship with Pharaoh. Aaron becoming Moses' 'prophet (navi)' creates the hierarchy of God-Moses-Aaron-Pharaoh. This is the archetype of prophetic ministry where God's word is delivered through human mediation.

Related Verses

Then the LORD put out his hand and touched my mouth. And the LORD said to me, 'Behold, I have put my words in your mouth.'
3

But I will harden Pharaoh's heart, and though I multiply my signs and wonders in the land of Egypt,

Key Message

God's sovereignty and human responsibility operate together; a heart hardened by repeated sin is ultimately within God's judgment.

▸The expression that Pharaoh's heart is 'hardened' appears in two directions in Exodus—Pharaoh hardening it himself (8:15, 8:32) and God hardening it (4:21, 7:3).

5

The Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD, when I stretch out my hand against Egypt and bring out the people of Israel from among them.

Key Message

God's saving acts are not only for Israel but are events of self-revelation to make the whole world know who God is.

▸'The Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD' shows that the purpose of the plagues is not merely Israel's liberation but God's self-revelation.

12

For each man cast down his staff, and they became serpents. But Aaron's staff swallowed up their staffs.

Key Message

Worldly powers can partially imitate God's signs, but God's power ultimately swallows up all opposing forces.

▸Egyptian magicians could also turn their staffs into serpents.

17

Thus says the LORD, 'By this you shall know that I am the LORD: behold, with the staff that is in my hand I will strike the water that is in the Nile, and it shall turn into blood.'

Key Message

The first plague, by judging the sacred life-giving river most revered in Egypt, reveals the futility of worshipping the creature as God.

▸The first plague—turning the Nile to blood—begins.