And the LORD said unto Moses, See, I have made thee a god to Pharaoh: and Aaron thy brother shall be thy prophet. Ver. 1. _And the Lord said unto Moses._] In answer to his last exception, which yet he had answered before. Exo 4:16 God bears with our infirmities. _ A god to Pharaoh._] Armed with mi... [ Continue Reading ]
Thou shalt speak all that I command thee: and Aaron thy brother shall speak unto Pharaoh, that he send the children of Israel out of his land. Ver. 2. _Thou shalt speak._] God's word must be spoken, however it be taken.... [ Continue Reading ]
And I will harden Pharaoh's heart, and multiply my signs and my wonders in the land of Egypt. Ver. 3. _And I will harden._] _See Trapp on "_ Exo 4:21 _"_ The Dutch have a proverb, _Quem Deus excaecaturus est, huic primum oculos claudit._ When God will blind a man, he first closeth up his eyes.... [ Continue Reading ]
But Pharaoh shall not hearken unto you, that I may lay my hand upon Egypt, and bring forth mine armies, [and] my people the children of Israel, out of the land of Egypt by great judgments. Ver. 4. _And Pharaoh shall not hearken._] This judgment God layeth upon many of our hearers at this day of who... [ Continue Reading ]
And the Egyptians shall know that I [am] the LORD, when I stretch forth mine hand upon Egypt, and bring out the children of Israel from among them. Ver. 5. _And the Egyptians shall know._] To their cost, when the Lord's hand, that is lifted up in threatening, shall fall down in punishing. "Lord," s... [ Continue Reading ]
And Moses and Aaron did as the LORD commanded them, so did they. Ver. 6. _Did as the Lord commanded them._] _Mallem obedire, quam miracula facere,_ saith Luther. Their obedience yielded them more comfort than their working of wonders.... [ Continue Reading ]
And Moses [was] fourscore years old, and Aaron fourscore and three years old, when they spake unto Pharaoh. Ver. 7. _Fourscore years old._] And so might say to his countrymen and others, as old Augustus did to his mutinous soldiers, _Audite senem iuvenes, quem iuvenem senes audierunt._... [ Continue Reading ]
_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._ Ver. 9. _Show a miracle for you._] A persuading wonder, an admirable work, above the power of nature, as being a kind of... [ Continue Reading ]
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. Ver. 10. _And it became a serpent._] Or a dragon, in token of desolation, if they disobeyed; and that their country shou... [ Continue Reading ]
Then Pharaoh also called the wise men and the sorcerers: now the magicians of Egypt, they also did in like manner with their enchantments. Ver. 11. _The wise men and the sorcerers._] Magic is either pure and natural, or impure and diabolical, which implieth a compact with the devil; either overt or... [ Continue Reading ]
For they cast down every man his rod, and they became serpents: but Aaron's rod swallowed up their rods. Ver. 12. _And they became serpents._] Not really such, but in appearance only. The devil's miracles are mere impostures, phantasms, delusions. And this was the first plague that God inflicted up... [ Continue Reading ]
And he hardened Pharaoh's heart, that he hearkened not unto them; as the LORD had said. Ver. 13. And he hardened Pharaoh's heart.] Not by bare prescience, or permission only, but by withdrawing his grace, directing the tyrant's actions to his own glory, irritating his corruptions by oracles and mir... [ Continue Reading ]
And the LORD said unto Moses, Pharaoh's heart [is] hardened, he refuseth to let the people go. Ver. 14. Pharaoh's heart is hardened.] Heb., Heavy; clogged with corruption, and held down by the devil: as, on the contrary, Jehoshaphat's "heart was light, and lifted up in the ways of the Lord." 2Ch 17... [ Continue Reading ]
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. Ver. 15. _In the morning._] It was in the night then that God appeared to Moses. But afterwards... [ Continue Reading ]
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 wouldest not hear. Ver. 16. _Hitherto thou wouldest not hear._] Indeed, he could not hear; as little as those Jews could be... [ Continue Reading ]
Thus saith the LORD, In this thou shalt know that I [am] the LORD: behold, I will smite with the rod that [is] in mine hand upon the waters which [are] in the river, and they shall be turned to blood. Ver. 17. _In this thou shalt know,_] q.d., I shall really answer thee to that stomachful question... [ Continue Reading ]
And the fish that [is] in the river shall die, and the river shall stink; and the Egyptians shall lothe to drink of the water of the river. Ver. 18. _Shall loathe to drink of the river._] Nile. God will confute them in their confidences. The Egyptians used to brag of their river, and in mockery to... [ Continue Reading ]
And the LORD spake unto Moses, Say unto Aaron, Take thy rod, and stretch out thine hand upon the waters of Egypt, upon their streams, upon their rivers, and upon their ponds, and upon all their pools of water, that they may become blood; and [that] there may be blood throughout all the land of Egypt... [ Continue Reading ]
And Moses and Aaron did so, as the LORD commanded; and he lifted up the rod, and smote the waters that [were] in the river, in the sight of Pharaoh, and in the sight of his servants; and all the waters that [were] in the river were turned to blood. Ver. 20. _Were turned into blood._] To show them,... [ Continue Reading ]
And the fish that [was] in the river died; and the river stank, and the Egyptians could not drink of the water of the river; and there was blood throughout all the land of Egypt. Ver. 21. _And the fish._] That was their common food. Num 11:5 The flesh of many beasts, they, through superstition, wou... [ Continue Reading ]
And the magicians of Egypt did so with their enchantments: and Pharaoh's heart was hardened, neither did he hearken unto them; as the LORD had said. Ver. 22. _Did so with their enchantments._] With their secret sleights and magic, they seemed to do so. See Exodus 7:12, for Pharaoh's hardening.... [ Continue Reading ]
And Pharaoh turned and went into his house, neither did he set his heart to this also. Ver. 23. _Neither did he set his heart._] But to his "iron sinews" he added "brows of brass." Isa 48:4 To his natural and hereditary hardness, adventitious and habitual.... [ Continue Reading ]
And all the Egyptians digged round about the river for water to drink; for they could not drink of the water of the river. Ver. 24. _Digged round about._] If by drawing the waters they might purify them. But "they looked not to the Maker thereof"; they "returned not to him that smote them." Isaiah... [ Continue Reading ]
And seven days were fulfilled, after that the LORD had smitten the river. Ver. 25. _And seven days were fulfilled._] So long the plague continued; that they might be sensible of it; and not do as the dog, who getting out of the water, shakes his ears, and there is an end. Surely if these Egyptians... [ Continue Reading ]