SNAKES ALIVE IN EGYPT
By Harold Smithinchrist@ca.inter.net
QUESTION: How could the magicians of Egypt do the same miracles that Moses did? (Exodus 7:22)
They did not do the same miracles. They only did two out of the ten.
A curious question many of us have is how could Egypt’s pharaoh and his evil magic men replicate some of God’s miracles displayed by Moses when he battled for the freedom of the Israelite slaves.
Exodus 7:22 tells us, “But again the magicians of Egypt used their magic, and they, too, turned water into blood. So Pharaoh's heart remained hard. He refused to listen to Moses and Aaron, just as the LORD had predicted.”
The demonic magicians turned the Nile River to blood and, with pharaoh and Moses watching, were also able to copy the miracle of snakes eating snakes in the palace.
We shouldn’t be alarmed to read of Satan’s very real power. Satan had almost as much matching power as God back then when Moses was allowed to herd the children of Israel to freedom from 400 years of slavery in Egypt. Satan still has the same evil abilities today.
Satan’s power is especially vivid to those who are into Satan worship or occult practices. Avoid Satanic stuff like a deadly snake. Satan and his demons devour. Jesus and His angels are also very real. They assist us if we ask Jesus to help.
Pharaoh and the Egyptians were very wicked and set against the Lord God. They had their own demonic gods and goddesses; Hathor, Isis, Osiris, and Ra to name a few.
The one and only true God of the universe, Jehovah God, rained 10 plagues upon pharaoh until he freed His enslaved people, the Israelites.
God prevented Satan’s magicians from copying eight of the 10 plagues. The evildoers realized, “this is the finger of God.” They no longer had God’s permission to do more.
These 10 plagues are one of the greatest displays of God’s sovereignty over the entire universe. He even uses the demons for His purposes.1 Samuel 16:14, “But the Spirit of the LORD departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the LORD troubled him.”
The verse means that God allowed that spirit to trouble Saul. This is similar to what we read in Job 1:12, where God allowed Satan to afflict Job.
The same sovereign power was displayed when He had ravens feed a prophet twice a day. 1 Kings 17:4 says, “And it shall be, that thou shalt drink of the brook; and I have commanded the ravens to feed thee there.”
God used a donkey to speak to a prophet when there was nobody else available. Numbers 22:28 says, “And the LORD opened the mouth of the ass, and she said unto Balaam, ‘What have I done unto thee, that thou hast smitten me these three times’?”
So, when God wanted to judge Egypt and deliver Israel He used Moses and the 10 plagues and allowed the magicians to use a little bit of their power to show that He was the all-powerful God. Jeremiah 32:27 says, “Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh: Is there any thing too hard for me?”
There are some things God cannot do. He gave man a free will and when it comes to salvation, He cannot save a sinner that will not repent and trust His Son who died on the cross to provide salvation for Him.
Would we rather repent or perish? The issue is whether we want to live forever in Heaven or in Hell. There is no decision in life more important than this.
Deut. 30:19 says, “I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: Therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live.”
God gives us the choice. The onus in not on Him, but on us. We can never blame God if we end up in Hell. He has place the Cross of Christ between Hell and us. It is time we all accept Him.
