All right, well, beautiful singing. Thank you, Adam and man for leaning to song. So if I've not met you, my name is Aaron and I'm the preaching pastor here and glad that you're with us today. And so as you heard, we have special visitors with us. So Robert and Lindsay and their family.
So Robert was a church planning resident with us. Him and I actually were like good buddies all the way back to seminary. So they were here for four years and now we're starting a church in rural Tennessee. The place place called Cowan. And so they'll be sharing a little bit more about their ministry and a youth mission trip that we took this summer after church at Potluck.
We'd love you to join, but it's not just them that are here. So Kelsey and Sarah are here as well. And so they're a part of Red Village for a long time. Sarah's actually part of our staff helping out with our kids ministry. And they're known for a lot of things, but especially the vbs.
And so we were a little worried this summer how we're going to do VBS without Sarah and Kelson, but we pulled it off somehow and. But we're glad that they're with us with us today as well. So if you have a Bible with you, if you'd open up to the book of Exodus, their texture studies and come From Exodus chapter 7, verses 1 through 13, if you have a Bible, or if you don't have a Bible with you, there are pew Bibles scattered throughout and it's on page 28 if you want to turn there. And so we do a style of preaching here called expository preaching. And so what I'm going to do, I'm going to read the text, going to pray, ask the Lord's blessing on time, and then we're going to work right back through the text.
And I'm going to do my best is to try to explain the text to you in ways that hopefully apply to your life. And so Exodus 7, verses 1 through 13. And I'll be reading out of the ESV, so please to hear the words of our God. Moses wrote this. And the Lord said to Moses, see, I've made you like God to Pharaoh.
And your brother Aaron shall be your prophet. You shall speak that all that I command you. And your brother Aaron shall tell Pharaoh to let the people of Israel go out of his land. But I'll harden Pharaoh's heart. And though I multiply my signs and wonders in the land of Egypt, Pharaoh will not listen to you.
Then I'll lay my hand in Egypt and bring my host, my people, the children of Israel, out of the land of Egypt by great acts of judgment. The Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord when I stretch out my hand against Egypt and bring out my people of Israel from among them. Moses and Aaron did so. They did just as the Lord commanded them. Now, Moses was 80 years old and Aaron 83 years old when they spoke to Pharaoh.
Then the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, when Pharaoh saw says to you, prove yourself by working a miracle. Then you shall say to Aaron, take your staff, cast it down before Pharaoh that it may become a serpent. So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and did just as the Lord commanded. Aaron cast down the staff before Pharaoh and his servants and became a serpent. Then Pharaoh summoned his wise men and the sorcerers, and they, the magicians of Egypt, also did the same by their secret arts.
For each man cast down his staff and they became serpents. But Aaron's staff swallowed up their staffs. Still, Pharaoh's heart was hardened and he would not listen to them, as the Lord had said. So that's God's word for us this morning. Could you please pray with me?
Lord, it's good to be here. And Lord, there's many reasons why we can and should be here this morning. But the main reason why we're here is we want to hear from you, from your word. So we pray that through the power of your holy spirit, you indeed would speak through your word, that you would touch our hearts in ways that you would grow our hearts to be more like Jesus. And you grow our hearts to put our faith in him in deeper ways than when we first walked in.
I pray this all in Jesus name. Amen. So for some, as you remember, as we start out this summer series through the beginning portion of the life of Moses that's found in the book of Exodus, we actually started with the end of Moses life, where I gave you a sermon found in Deuteronomy 34, which detailed the last days of Moses life, where Moses died with God's people who have been wandering in the wilderness for 40 years because of their sin, where they were on the verge of entering into the promised land, where Moses had been leading them for the entire 40 years. And just before that passage, it shares those details of Moses end of his Life in Deuteronomy 29. So a few chapters prior, we read one of Moses final acts as the leader of God's people, where Moses basically sits God's people down and recounted to them some of the past 40 years, starting with them being set free from the bondage of slavery in Egypt, which part of our text today is part of that freeing?
And as Moses counted the past 40 years, where God was good to them, where they were faithful and fail, or a sinful and failed God, Moses then led God's people to renew the covenant, the law that God made with them first at Mount Sinai, recorded in Exodus 24, which is a covenant that the previous generation actually first made, but woefully failed to keep. And in 29, as a covenant, chapter 29, as a covenant renewed, Moses shared some great wisdom with God's people in verse 29, which is a passage that really is a piece of wisdom, that one that I've actually thought about often in my life. So just hear what this says. It's Deuteronomy 29. 29.
It says, the secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children forever that we may do. All the words of this law, and this wisdom from Moses is one, I think meant to help to keep our trust in the Lord by being. Trusting him as his faithful people to his good plan, which is a plan that's actually a secret to him in terms of, like, how this plan will be played out, or like, why he is doing the things he is doing as he's working out his plan. And because this is a secret plan, one that we do not fully know, or maybe even more so fully understand when it's happening, it can be hard for us to trust in him sometimes from our very limited perspective, things just don't always make sense with the plan. For Moses, this is where wisdom is found.
Trusting in God, trusting His plan, trusting to the very things that belong only to the Lord, but also in that plan. While we're trusting in the secret things of the Lord, the things that God does give to us, that he does reveal to us, that have been made known to us, like things like his commands, like wisdom that we can acquire. So these things in life like, that belong to us, like we should walk in them. So in short, we are to trust God, especially when things don't make sense and he's working out the plan that don't make sense, we're to trust in him while still being faithful to God. And the things that we know that he would have us to do.
So that's the wisdom from Moses that he was leaving God's people. As I mentioned, I've actually thought about this passage pretty Often in my own life. Because in my own life, I'm sure many of you here, we know this reality of that the secret things that belong to the Lord, some of those things are really hard for us to understand. And it makes it hard for us actually to live out our faith with things that we do know in ways that honor Him. And that's why I share this with you, because I've wondered how this passage we're about to work through Today in Exodus 7 was perhaps, maybe in part on Moses mind, as he years later wrote Deuteronomy 29:29.
We're in our text today. Moses is like trying to be faithful to the very things God gave him to do. Things that were in line with God's promises. Yet in the secret plan of God, things are not like turning out in ways that Moses perhaps thought they would, at least not right away. We're in the moment as these things are not adding up.
It had to be hard for Moses to trust the Lord. And by the way, it's not just our passage today where this is true for Moses. If you read through the entire book of Exodus, I guess this is actually true for a lot of Moses life. Like he's trying to be faithful to the things that belong to him that God would have him to do, while trying to trust in this plan that only God knows that wasn't really making sense. He's trying to trust indeed, even though it didn't make sense to him, these things would come to fruition, even though in the moment they were not working out the way he hoped.
So now before we get into our text, just a reminder where we left off in our study. So we actually started off in Exodus 2. This is a few weeks back where God's people, the Hebrew people, were in the bondage of slavery in Egypt. And in Exodus 1 and 2, as you may remember, the Pharaoh of Egypt was like on a murderous rampage as he directed like all the baby boys of the Hebrew children to be murdered, which led Moses mother to do that which she knew to do, where she tried to be faithful with that which belonged to her. So she put Moses in a basket and floated him down the Nile, not knowing what would happen from there.
Yet in the secret plan of God, according to his providential hand, the basket where Moses laid floated right into the hands of the daughter of Pharaoh, who took Moses up and actually raised Moses to be her own as a prince of Egypt. Then for 40 years of living as a prince, somehow became known to Moses that not only was he actually A Hebrew. But he had this burden to help free God's people who were slaves in Egypt. However, with this knowledge that was given to Moses, instead of being faithful to trust in God, it appeared that Moses like, started to trust in himself. And so he tried to take matters into his own hand.
And he murdered an Egyptian, burying him in the sand. Which led for Moses to like, flee Egypt, where he would go on his own personal wandering in the wilderness, which he did for a long time, like 40 years. Like he's just kind of wandering out in the wilderness. However, in the secret plan of God, this is what God is using to shape Moses as according to his plan. God is putting Moses through his like, refiner's fire to humble and teach Moses in ways that Moses learned to trust in the Lord and not in himself.
And part of this refiner's fire from Moses, part of the Lord's secret plan for Moses, life was providentially guiding Moses into a shepherding community, which is where he'd be for 40 years, where he would toil in obscurity, toil among the sheep, where I'm sure for Moses, like, none of this was adding up, none of this was making sense to him and his desire to free his people from slavery. Yet this is part of God's secret plan for Moses, where Moses had to learn how to shepherd sheep as God was preparing him to shepherd his people. Furthermore, you may remember in our summer study, one day when Moses was out with his sheep, he saw a burning bush that caught his attention. And as Moses approached this burning bush, he learned this is like no ordinary burning bush, but this bush, the very presence of God was uniquely there, making even the ground that Moses stood upon holy ground. And at this bush, in the grace of God, Moses met God as Yahweh the Great I am.
And Moses was commissioned by God. As Moses was given instructions how God actually is going to use him to free his people from slavery. As God revealed part of his plan for Moses to know things, that these things now would belong to him. And this plan of God would not be worked out by Moses own strength, you know, to go about like murdering and burying Egyptians. But this plan of God to free his people would come from the very hand of God himself, through his strength.
Also, as you may remember, as this revealed truth came to Moses, for him to now know and have. You remember how like Moses, like, pushed back and he doubted the Lord and this plan, maybe doubting like this control that he had to give up in order to trust God. And as Moses pushed back he did so even though God gave him, like, powerful signs to affirm that, no, this actually is the call that I have on your life. Most ultimately pushed back because his eyes are on himself instead of on God. As Moses focused on himself, he didn't feel himself like qualified for the task because he had this, like, lack of ability to speak in public.
So you may remember an act of God's grace and kindness. God gave to Moses, his brother Aaron, who you're going to see in our text today, who would be like a prophet to Moses, who would go and speak for Moses. So with Aaron there to help him, after 40 years of training as a shepherd in the wilderness, Moses heads back to Egypt. And he goes before, before Pharaoh to do the very thing that he knew that he was to do from the Lord, the thing that belonged to him, the thing the Lord instructed him to do, which was to speak to Pharaoh in ways to command Pharaoh to let God's people go. However, in a study from a few weeks back, as Moses told Pharaoh to let God's people go, things did not go according to how Moses thought they should and would go.
Because in the secret plan of God, God actually hardened Pharaoh's heart, where Pharaoh not only rejected Moses in this call, but he rejected him in ways that he actually, Pharaoh made things even harder for God's people, as they were told to make just as many bricks as they were making before, which is part of their burdens as slaves. But now, in addition, because Pharaoh's annoyed at Moses now, in addition, God's people had more burdens and that they would actually have to, like, get the straw to make the bricks as well. Say it again. For Moses, this made, like, no sense. He did the very thing that.
That God would have him to do. Yet the result, at least in the moment, according to the Lord's secret plan, things did not work out. In fact, things only got worse and harder for God's people, who in turn actually became very angry at Moses, which made things harder for Moses. So really, in that moment, for Moses, things went from bad to worse. Yeah.
Keep saying this is part of the secret plan of God. All part of God's work in Moses. All part of God's work in his people. All part of God's work in Pharaoh. All part of God's work to keep his promise to deliver his people from slavery.
The moment as all this is taking place, Moses is getting frustrated, discouraged, perhaps depressed by where things were in his life. Keep saying they're not making sense. Even though the Lord continued to make known to Moses and to reassure Moses that indeed he was with him and that he was going to use him to deliver his people. Yet even though the Lord continued to do this, continued to give this information and affirmation so things could now belong to Moses. These things Moses continued to struggle with doubt.
Things continued to not add up. Things still felt like they're spiraling out of control. And Moses doubted even more so how great Pharaoh would ever listen to him. So there's really a lot going on in our study this summer. A lot of things that belong to Moses that God made known to Moses, that Moses was to be faithful, to walk.
And in many ways he was. Yet. And how these things are being worked out, the timing of when things would work out, they were secret only for the Lord to know that this did not make sense to Moses where he was frustrated and confused, having his doubts. And that actually brings us back to our text today in chapter seven, we're going to see continue to see like more things that belong to Moses. As God continues to give Moses instruction and wisdom.
Things that he was to do, even some understanding on why he was going to do what he's going to do. Yet we also see these instructions, these wisdom are going to be used by the Lord in ways that were really a secret to him. Still hard for Moses to understand. Hard for Moses to trust in the Lord. What he's doing this morning is work through this passage where we can.
I do want us to identify ourselves where we can with Moses, particularly with however God is at work in your own life, how he's leading and guiding your own life, to trust in him and the secret plan, whatever that is that he has for you, that belongs just to him, to trust him, even if things are not adding up for you. And how I hope that we trust in him and his secret plan. So I also identify Moses in the text where we're faithful to do the things that do belong to us. To faithfully humbly walk in the commands of God and friends. That's really what our faith is about.
That's really where wisdom is found. We just simply trust in God with the things that belong to him, even though they don't make sense to us. And we're to trust in him by faithfully walking in the things that we do know belong to us. Okay, so back to our text. Verse 1.
After Moses continued to express his doubts at the end of chapter six, in the grace of God, at the start of the passage today, Moses, our Lord came to Moses yet again to yet again Reassure him and how the Lord's hand was on him to reassure Moses that, you know, I did not leave you, I did not forsake you. Even though the continued stress, things are not working out for Moses the way he hoped and for us already we do need to see how this is part of God's graciousness towards Moses. Moses is struggling with doubts really through much of his life and ministry where he had times where he's struggling to trust in the Lord when things are not adding up yet over and over again in his grace, the Lord would come to Moses to comfort him, to reassure him, to be a present help in his times of need. You know, as great as Moses was, and he really was great, Moses still desperately needed the grace of God, the mercy of God in his life, which I'm sure is a graciousness that God had on him, that he knew that he could see that probably was on his heart when he wrote. Exodus 34 says the Lord the Lord, a God, merciful and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping his steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgressions and sin.
Text Today this is the grace of God. The Lord coming to Moses as he comes to Moses. Moses, say what I want you to understand. The information that I'm giving for you to have is I actually have made you like God to Pharaoh or in the text, your brother Aaron is like your prophet who speaks on your behalf. So Moses, this is the plan that I have.
This is the part of the plan I'm working out. Sure, maybe not this is not your plan, but this is my plan. Not what you do, but the wisdom of my plan. How I will free my people, I will do it by you being my representative. Almost like a godlike figure to Pharaoh.
With Aaron almost being like a prophet to you. Who is your mouthpiece and why was this God's plan? And why is he choosing to operate in this way? To use Moses Aaron as his prophet? That's part of the secrets belong to the Lord.
God could have done countless different things to free his people. But making Moses like a God to Pharaoh, making Aaron almost like a prophet to Moses, that's his plan. Plan according to his wisdom, it's a plan by which God knows what's best. Verse two, if you get Isaiah. So Moses, with this plan that I'm giving to you, you're going to speak all that I command you to say.
Meaning Moses, I'm not going to require you to have to come up some things to say on your own. You don't need to figure this all out, brother. Just be humble here and do the things I'm revealing to you. Just be obedient with this information. And from there, Moses, you, Aaron, your prophet, will take that information and declare that truth.
My truth to Pharaoh, telling it to him that he, Pharaoh, is to let the people of Israel go out of the land. Now, just a couple things here. First, this humility piece is to simply walk in what God has revealed to us that's so important, right? We just need to be humble to do the things that God would have us to do. Whatever he tells us to do, we just walk in that gut.
So Scripture tells us God opposes the proud, those who reject that which he reveals to or things to, who try to control and manipulate things on their own as if they know better than God. But Scripture tells us God gives grace to the humble who humble themselves before the Lord, before His word, before his plan, who humbly do the things that he would have us to do, even if we don't always understand it. Second, just notice that this information that God gave to Moses, which in turn Aaron would give to Pharaoh, this is like the same consistent message that the Lord has been telling to Moses. Really all the way back to Exodus 3 and the burning bush. Moses, this is what you're to do.
This is my plan. This is how I'm going to redeem my people. It is going to be through you, through the message that I give to you. Over and over again, the Lord told Moses the same basic idea for us. Even though the Lord is infinite, has all wisdom, and has all understanding, where he sees all possibilities of all things, the Lord is still steadfast.
He's very clear with his intentions. His plans meaning his message, his plan, like it doesn't change now for us. Yes, we might not understand how this plan will work out, but what the Lord has revealed to us in His Word is that he's steadfast. He's consistent, he's constant in his nature. Scripture tells us the Lord is the same yesterday, today, and forever.
So are his plans, his intentions, his plans and intentions that he promises to us that he will see through, they do not change. So, yes, we may not understand all the workings of the plan, but as we see the steadfast nature of our God in Scripture, friends, that's enough.
That's enough for us to trust him with the things that we don't know or do not understand. So in the text, with the same consistent Message from the Lord that Moses was to be faithful with. In verse three, we see Moses trust was about to be tested again, because for reasons that were secret to the Lord, even though Moses would do the very thing that God would have him to do in the text, as Moses declared God's message to Pharaoh, yet again, God made it known to Moses that he, the Lord would continue to actively harden the heart of Pharaoh, to harden in ways that he would not respond in faith to the message of Moses. And Lord would do this, even though in verse three, the text tells us the Lord also would like, multiply signs and wonders in Egypt for all to see, including Pharaoh. Now, just for us for a few moments, let's just kind of just sit on this just for a bit, just to try to further identify ourselves with Moses here in this passage.
So these things just happened. The Lord to Moses, Moses, I'm going to use you. I'm going to use you to free my people from bondage. You are my chosen deliverer. And as I send you back to Egypt to go before Pharaoh, I'm actually going to give you my powerful word to communicate to the Pharaoh.
And not only that, Moses, I'm going to perform incredible powerful signs and wonders for all to see, including Pharaoh. So, Moses, trust me, my word, my. My power. These things are going to be undeniable yet. However, as you do all this, as you're faithful to walk in these things, just know Pharaoh's not going to listen to you.
And the reason why he won't listen is I'm actually going to harden his heart so he doesn't free my people from bondage. At least not yet. Now, if we were in Moses sandals here, think how hard this would be to grasp. This seems like it should be a pretty easy formula here that should result in the right results, the ones that we want. Okay, God, this is your will.
This is your promise. I'm being faithful to do the things you would have me to do. So we would think, like, things should work out. But in this moment, at least from Moses's vantage point, he's informed. At least for now, things are not going to work out like, like at all.
Keep saying, if we're Moses here, this would be hard to understand, maybe even harder to accept. I mean, to backtrack. So Moses literally left everything behind to follow the call of God. And even though there's a struggle, Moses in many ways was faithful to the Lord. He's trying to trust in the Lord, and he is going before Pharaoh.
Even though earlier, as mentioned, he had serious doubts about it, that he would do it. And now he's informed this. That according to the secret plan of God, Pharaoh would not harden or would not listen, because the Lord actually would harden his heart. At least for me. This plan of God, the secret plan here, if I was Moses, this would feel like either mean or cruel.
Like, why follow God? Why do all of this if this is results that are going to happen. Keep going. Verse 4. To underscore the reality that God himself would harden the heart of Pharaoh.
Moses informed that. Yeah, Moses, be prepared. Pharaoh's not going to listen to you. He's not going to listen. No matter how insistent you are, no matter how good of an argument you may make, how persuasive you may be.
He's not going to listen. No matter how much evidence you may produce and why he should heed to your command.
He's not going to listen no matter how well, like you approach him to have this conversation. Moses, listen. You can talk until you're blue in the face. I'm telling you, he's not gonna listen. But then, Moses, well, you don't fully understand, at least from your vantage point.
But I want you to trust me with here, what I'm going to do. According to my timing and my perfect plan. At the right time. Just know. Just trust.
I will lay my hand on Egypt, and I will bring my host, my people, the children of Israel, out of the bonds of slavery, as I promised to do. Moses, sure, I know you don't see it now, but I'm gonna do something that you could never imagine. Far more than you could ever ask or think. According to the secret things that belong to me. Moses, I know you don't see it now.
And really, for Moses, he's not gonna see this for some time.
Because the plan of God is one that's worked out with patience, where the Lord is doing a million different things at all times. Like in your own life, the life of those around you. For Moses, in his life, for Pharaoh's life, throughout all Egypt, doing all these things to work out his perfect, patient plan. It's on his text. Yes.
Moses, you don't understand. This is going to take time. But you got to trust me. I'm going to deliver my people out of the land of Egypt. I will do it through you, just as I promised.
But be humble, be patient. Continue to do the things I'm telling you to do, Things that belong to you. And patiently wait for me. Moses. I promise I will not fail you.
I will not fail my people. I will not break my. My promise or in the text. Moses. I'm going to do all that I promise to do with great acts of judgment that are going to be undeniable as my salvation will come through judgment.
In the text, Moses is then according to my plan, according to my timing, the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord. So yes, Moses, today and for many more days to come. You're not gonna get it. At least not fully. You're not fully gonna understand.
It's not gonna make sense to you. Things are not gonna add up. It's gonna be very humbling for you, yet keep saying it. Trust me, I know what I'm doing. Trust me.
I'm not leaving you nor forsaking you. Trust me, I'm not being cruel. Trust me in ways that you're being humbly faithful to do. The things that have been made known to you that now belong to you. In verse five, our text.
Moses, in time, you and all others will see this when I stretch out my hand against Egypt and bring out the people of Israel from among them.
Moses, trust me. Take heart, Find hope. My will will be done. My salvation, my deliverance, it will go forward. As the Lord yet again spoke this to Moses, Even though Moses still, I'm sure, is still trying to wrap his mind about all this was about to take place.
Verse 6, we see by faith, he humbly obeyed. And he and his brother Aaron took God at his word. And they did just as the Lord commanded them to do, to do the things that were given to them. And they did this in verse seven, with Moses being 80 years old and his brother Aaron 83 years old when they went to speak to Pharaoh. Now sit.
Pause again. It's a couple things here. First, this is kind of a continuing reminder for us that we like, never age out of serving the Lord. So no doubt at some point we might age into like retirement from our vocational jobs. And no doubt, you know, with age, things may be able to adjust how we serve.
But that being said, however long the Lord gives us life, 80, 83 older friends, we'll never age out of serving him. And others, we never age out in ways that God can't use us. Second, something we've been circle on kind of throughout the summer, something I mentioned at the start of the first sermon, I want to mention again here. It's just the patience of God. We're in his patience according to his plan.
The Lord is Preparing Moses for 80 long years for this task where, yes, at age 40, melt. Moses felt he was like up to the task when he murdered the Egyptian and buried him in sand. But the Lord knew better. So for the next 40 years, through his refiner's fire, the Lord patiently was at work in Moses life to prepare him for this task he was calling him to do. Which by the way, for us, particularly when things are not working out the way we hope.
Who knows in those moments how the Lord is patiently at work in your life to put you through a refiner's fire for whatever he is calling to you, calling you to next. Keep going. Verse 8 and 9 with Moses and Aaron trusting God and his task set before him, or for them to go to Pharaoh, which this actually be the second time they go to Pharaoh. The first time resulted in God's people having to collect their own straw for the bricks. Lord said to Moses, Aaron, guys, so.
So I want you to go before Pharaoh for the second time. And this time when you go before him, I want you to tell him the same message, right? The message of salvation for my people. But as I harden his heart, what Pharaoh's gonna say back to you in verse nine is like, okay, Moses, Aaron, you're back a second time. How about this guys, talk is cheap.
Moses, Aaron, how about you prove yourself in your so called God by working a miracle somehow? Show me how great your God is and perhaps I will consider your requests. Attacks Aaron, because you're a Moses prophet, as Pharaoh is about to say this to you when you go into his presence, what then I want you to do is I want you to take your staff and I want you to cast it down before Pharaoh that it may become a serpent. Notice a couple things on this here. So first, this word serpent can also be translated to something like a great serpent here, perhaps like a great cobra, which was one of the symbols of Egypt.
Although some actually translate this word serpent into something like a dragon, or like a sea monster, or even like something like a crocodile. Second, as you may remember, this sign of a staff becoming a serpent. This is actually a sign that God already performed for Moses in Exodus 4 to help Moses to trust in him. However, let me mention, scholars point out the word Serpent in Exodus 4 is different than the word for serpent here in Exodus 7. So in Exodus 4, the word serpent is actually a word meant to describe more like a common snake, where here this is like some type of great snake.
So it appears that before Pharaoh, God would do something even more spectacular than he has previously done. Verse 10 as this command was given to Moses and to Aaron, by faith they obeyed. They Humbly went before Pharaoh to do just as the Lord commanded, where Aaron did the very thing that he was told to do, and he cast down the staff before Pharaoh and his servants. And as Aaron faithfully did, which the Lord commanded him to do, the Lord promised or fulfilled what he promised to do, and the staff became a serpent working the very miracle Pharaoh dared them to do. Harvest took place in the text.
So Pharaoh was not convinced or even impressed. Basically, he summoned up his wise men and sorcerers, the magicians of the land of Egypt, and he summoned them to enter into the chamber as well. And as they enter in no doubt Pharaoh had explained to them what just happened. You know, why is there's this great serpent in the chamber to which our text tells us that the magicians end up doing the same thing by their secret arts, where somehow they're able to summon up a serpent into the chamber. Now, for me, I'm not sure how they did this, and perhaps this is some type of magician's sleight of hand trick.
And actually some like ancient writings where Egyptian magicians were able to like, basically like stun snakes, to almost give them like a staff, like appearance. So it's possible that maybe that's what happened here. For me, I actually do tend to wonder if this is actually through some type of occultic or demonic power, they're able to do this, to create some type of false sign meant to deceive for me, I don't know. But whatever took place here, however it took place, we're gonna end our text today. In verse 12 is a more important thing for us to see, which is God proving himself to be greater and more powerful than that of Pharaoh.
In the text, as each man cast down his staff, with each staff becoming a serpent, we read that it's Aaron's staff, he his servant, the one who came by the hand of very God himself, who swallowed up in victory the other staffs, which was a further proof, a further sign, a further evidence of the power of the God of Moses and Aaron. However, according to the secret plan of God, even though this miracle just took place before Pharaoh, as God's power was made clear in verse 13, still Pharaoh's heart was hardened and he would not listen to Moses and Aaron, and he did not free God's people, just as the Lord had said. And for us, that's written in our text today. But as I end, I do want to circle back to where we started. And these secret things belong to the Lord and the things belong to us.
And I just want to really speak briefly to both of these realities. So first, let me just speak the reality of the secret things belong to the Lord. Now, obviously there's a lot of things that could be said here, but for us, let me just encourage us with this reality that while in the moment it could be hard for us to understand, maybe accept the secret hand of God, in time we will. And if you keep reading the storyline of Moses, this is true for him in the moment, over and over and over again throughout his life. In the moment, things did not make sense.
They did not add up. They're hard for him to understand. But in time, Moses could better see, better understand all that the Lord is doing, how this is all part of his secret, glorious plan for us in our own lives. I'm sure there has been and it will continue to be true for us that there's gonna be things in life that are just not gonna make sense. Like Moses, they're just not going to add up.
We're going to be confused, frustrated, perhaps doubting God. But friends, we must have faith in time. According to God's perfect plan, his perfect timing, things will make sense. We're in time, we'll have a better understanding on why the Lord was doing what he was doing, which not only will prove to be for our good, as mentioned, he uses difficult, confusing times to be like a refiner's fire. But even more so, in time we'll see how all those hard and confusing times were used by the Lord to put his glory on display in ways that we could never imagine or think as those hard for us to understand moments through them, that is how the Lord is extending his salvation through judgment.
By the way, this is a truth not only that we see in the life of Moses, including this passage today, but ultimately this is true. But when we set our eyes to the cross of Christ, which ultimately where God keeps all of his promises in Jesus, where we know that indeed God is merciful and gracious and slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness. As you look to Jesus, we see that indeed he is a God who's steadfast in his love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgressions and sin. Because it is through Jesus, according to God's secret plan, where he would send Jesus, his only begotten Son, to die on a cross, which at the time made no sense for his followers, perhaps even for some of us here today, still makes no sense to you. Maybe it's confusing, yet it was on the cross that's where God's glory would be put on display in incredible ways as the judgment of God that burns over sin, our sin, it fell on Jesus instead of his people.
So that through Jesus taking on God's judgment in our place, friends, that's where we would find salvation as we put our hope in Him. While Jesus died on that day, I'm sure it made no sense, hard for his people to understand and accept. Friends, in time, three days later, we see indeed how powerful God is.
But he's even more powerful than the ancient serpent, the devil, even more powerful than death itself. Because in time, on the third day, according to God's plan, His word, his timing, the Lord Jesus Christ rose again from the dead, so that through his resurrection, even death is swallowed up in victory. Friends. Yes, Many things in life keep saying in the moment do not make sense to us. There are many things that are hard for us to understand.
How God is working out his secret plan Today, by faith, may we look to Jesus so that things can become more clear.
We're things that when he returns, all things will be revealed and be made to us. Will it be even more gloriously clear how God has been at work in our life? So for us, here and now, we just have to trust in the Lord. We just have to trust in his plan, not ourselves, not our own plan. Trust in the Lord, knowing that in Jesus, God will keep his promises to his people.
And in Jesus, he is working all things together for our good. So in the end, we will see his glory on display. Lead to second things I'm going to leave us with. So the secret plan of God which is mentioned is a plan by which he's working all things for the good of his people. A plan by which he's extending his salvation through judgment.
A plan that is glorious and will be made known to us. A plan that the Lord is doing a million different things unit all things together to Christ. And because of this secret plan that belongs to the Lord and Lord alone for us, it actually should give us hope in this life that he has a plan. And it should give us hope in ways that we're humbly faithful to walk in whatever it is that he's given to you, the things that belong to us, whatever they may be, to by faith humbly walk in his commands. To by faith humbly put off sin.
The secret plan of God gives us so much hope to walk in that which has been made known to us, the church with that which is made known to us. Things in God's Word and his wisdom, things that we may learn in life. May we walk with him all of our days, no matter how old we may be. May we walk with him even in the days when things don't add up or make sense. May we be faithful to give up control and trust in the one who is in control.
And to use our language, May we spend our life worshiping our God, which by the way, is the intended purpose of the salvation found in the Exodus, that God's people might worship him. May we spend our life connecting with others where we know that the Lord has not designed us to live in isolation, but in community. So maybe we be faithful to walk in that which we know. May we spend our life seeking to grow in our faith. Trusting indeed.
That's actually what the refiner's fire is doing for us and in us, that the Lord is chipping away that which is not healthy so that which is healthy might grow. And for us. May we spend our life like Moses in the text, going to others to declare to others the message of salvation through judgment that is found in Jesus Christ. And may we go in ways that we trust that even in the moment, if others hear the message of Christ, if in that moment their hearts are hard, may we trust, may we believe, may we pray that at the right time, by the grace of God, indeed others will know the Lord. So, church, yes, trust, find rest, find peace in the secret plan of God doing so in ways that you are faithful to walk in that which has been made known to you.
Let's pray.
Lord, it's really hard for us in life when things just don't make sense to us. Lord, we confess it's really hard to trust in you, even though we should. So God, by your grace, I pray that this morning all of us would trust in you. Trust in whatever plan that you're working out in our life and help us to trust in ways that we are faithful to walk in that which has been made known to us. Knowing that you're good and knowing that in Jesus that you love us.
So God, please bless our little church family. May we see your glory. It's in Jesus name we pray. Amen.