You are probably familiar with the recording of Moses and the plagues on Egypt. God sent Moses to confront Pharaoh and bring Israel out of Egypt. Aaron was sent as Moses’ spokesman. In Exodus 7, God told Moses and Aaron that Aaron would perform a miracle in front of Pharaoh to prove that they were sent by God. Aaron was to throw his rod down and it was to become a serpent. When the time came, indeed, Aaron threw his rod on the ground and it became a serpent. Pharaoh called his wise men and sorcerers, and they did the same thing with their rods. Their rods became serpents. However, then, something marvelous happened. Aaron’s serpent ate up all of the Egyptians’ serpents. The Egyptian sorcerers were known for doing magic tricks with serpents. They could make serpents stiffen up and become like rods. It was not unusual for them to do such tricks as making a rod turn into a serpent. God knew this. Moses knew this because he had been reared as a Pharaoh’s grandson. Yet, it was not normal for a foreigner’s serpent to swallow up the Egyptian sorcerers’ serpents.
It should be understood that the serpent was a sacred symbol to the Egyptians. Pharaoh had a serpent on his crown. The Hebrew word used in Exodus 7:9-10, tannin, was the word for this serpent. This Hebrew word was not used in Exodus 7:15, in reference to when Moses threw his rod down in front of the burning bush, and it was turned into a serpent, nachash (Exodus 4:3). The fact that different Hebrew words were used for the two instances shows that God intended for us to know that the miracle in front of Pharaoh was expected to make a point against Egypt’s religious beliefs. God is the only God.
I am glad that God gave us the Bible so that we can read and study about His creation and His will for man. I know you want to learn all you can about our wonderful God. Keep reading and studying. Obey Him. If any of this is hard to understand, ask an adult to help you.
