TRUE OR COUNTERFEIT?
Opening Prayer
Lord God, Your Word is true and altogether trustworthy. In that faith I come to study it today.
Read Exodus 6:28 – 7:13
Aaron to Speak for Moses
28 Now when the Lord spoke to Moses in Egypt, 29 he said to him, “I am the Lord. Tell Pharaoh king of Egypt everything I tell you.”
30 But Moses said to the Lord, “Since I speak with faltering lips, why would Pharaoh listen to me?”
7 Then the Lord said to Moses, “See, I have made you like God to Pharaoh, and your brother Aaron will be your prophet. 2 You are to say everything I command you, and your brother Aaron is to tell Pharaoh to let the Israelites go out of his country. 3 But I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and though I multiply my signs and wonders in Egypt, 4 he will not listen to you. Then I will lay my hand on Egypt and with mighty acts of judgment I will bring out my divisions, my people the Israelites. 5 And the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord when I stretch out my hand against Egypt and bring the Israelites out of it.”
6 Moses and Aaron did just as the Lord commanded them. 7 Moses was eighty years old and Aaron eighty-three when they spoke to Pharaoh.
Aaron’s Staff Becomes a Snake
8 The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, 9 “When Pharaoh says to you, ‘Perform a miracle,’ then say to Aaron, ‘Take your staff and throw it down before Pharaoh,’ and it will become a snake.”
10 So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and did just as the Lord commanded. Aaron threw his staff down in front of Pharaoh and his officials, and it became a snake. 11 Pharaoh then summoned wise men and sorcerers, and the Egyptian magicians also did the same things by their secret arts: 12 Each one threw down his staff and it became a snake. But Aaron’s staff swallowed up their staffs. 13 Yet Pharaoh’s heart became hard and he would not listen to them, just as the Lord had said.
New International Version (NIV)Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Reflect
Call to mind times when you have sensed God calling you to share the gospel. Have you felt afraid about sharing the good news? Reflect on how God has helped you in these situations.Have you seen a pair of counterfeit sneakers or a T-shirt? Some are so good they look like the real deal, except they are not really Nike or Adidas.
Moses had to speak and live out the truth in a culture full of counterfeits. He was called by God and equipped to reach out to Pharaoh (vs 6:28 – 7:2). Like us, he felt weak. Moses struggled to speak clearly (6:30). He was told that his mission would be difficult and that Pharaoh’s heart would be hardened by God (7:2,3). The brothers, Moses and Aaron, were both taken out of their comfort zones (7:4–13). They performed a miracle, the sign given Moses by God (4:2–5). The magicians of the day thought they could match God’s servants by doing the same. But God had different ideas and demonstrated his greater power as Aaron’s staff swallowed up their staffs (v 12).
God will not be defeated. And, in a similar way, despite trials and challenges, death has been swallowed up by Jesus, the great deliverer.
Apply
Father, please help me to see that you are in control. Thank you that Jesus has defeated death on the cross, and, despite opposition, you go before us. Help me share this good news with others today. Amen.
Closing prayer
Heavenly Father, my heart’s desire is to be a follower who says to You, “Your will be done”, not one to whom You say, “Your will be done”!
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