Exodus 5-8: Do You Believe In Magic? (LSFAB S13E100)

[TEASER - 0:00]
The tricks they do can seem real.

[INTRO S13E100 - 0:09]
This is the Lifespring Family Audio Bible coming to you from Riverside, California, and podcasting since 2004, I'm your OG Godcaster, Steve Webb. This is the daily podcast where we'll read through the entire Bible in a year. And this is The Law Monday. We'll read Exodus 5 through 8. I'm calling the episode "Do You Believe in Magic?"

And I just noticed that this is episode 100 of season 13. Came up pretty quickly, didn't it? And in just three weeks, we'll be one-third of the way through. How you doing with keeping up? I applaud you for sticking with it. And if you started late or tend to fall behind, that's okay. I found that the best way to get back on track or stay on track is to listen to each episode on the day it's published, and then go back to the first missed episode and listen to it, making it a two-episode day. And do that until you're caught up. But don't try to binge-listen. Two a day, maximum three, and you'll be caught up before you know it. The goal is to read the whole Bible in a year. So there's plenty of time to get caught up. You're doing great. Keep with it. 

Now, before we read today, let's pray.

Our heavenly Father, we thank you for our time together. Lord, thank you for your Word. And please open our eyes and our hearts today as we read, teach us what you want us to know today. I pray this in Jesus' name. Amen.

Okay, let's get started. 

[EXODUS 5 (NIV) - 1:35]
Exodus, chapter 5.

(1) Afterward Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and said, This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: 'Let my people go, so that they may hold a festival to me in the wilderness.'"

(2) Pharaoh said, "Who is the Lord, that I should obey him and let Israel go? I do not know the Lord and I will not let Israel go."

(3) Then they said, "The God of the Hebrews has met with us. Now let us take a three-day journey into the wilderness to offer sacrifices to the Lord our God, or he may strike us with plagues or with the sword."

(4) But the king of Egypt said, "Moses and Aaron, why are you taking the people away from their labor? Get back to your work!" (5) Then Pharaoh said, "Look, the people of the land are now numerous, and you are stopping them from working."

(6) That same day Pharaoh gave this order to the slave drivers and overseers in charge of the people: (7) "You are no longer to supply the people with straw for making bricks; let them go and gather their own straw. (8) But require them to make the same number of bricks as before; don't reduce the quota. They are lazy; that is why they are crying out, 'Let us go and sacrifice to our God.' (9) Make the work harder for the people so that they keep working and pay no attention to lies."

(10) Then the slave drivers and the overseers went out and said to the people, "This is what Pharaoh says: 'I will not give you any more straw. (11) Go and get your own straw wherever you can find it, but your work will not be reduced at all.'" (12) So the people scattered all over Egypt to gather stubble to use for straw. (13) The slave drivers kept pressing them, saying, "Complete the work required of you for each day, just as when you had straw." (14) And Pharaoh's slave drivers beat the Israelite overseers they had appointed, demanding, "Why haven't you met your quota of bricks yesterday or today, as before?"

(15) Then the Israelite overseers went and appealed to Pharaoh: "Why have you treated your servants this way? (16) Your servants are given no straw, yet we are told, 'Make bricks!' Your servants are being beaten, but the fault is with your own people."

(17) Pharaoh said, "Lazy, that's what you are--lazy! That is why you keep saying, 'Let us go and sacrifice to the Lord.' (18) Now get to work. You will not be given any straw, yet you must produce your full quota of bricks."

(19) The Israelite overseers realized they were in trouble when they were told, "You are not to reduce the number of bricks required of you for each day." (20) When they left Pharaoh, they found Moses and Aaron waiting to meet them, (21) and they said, "May the Lord look on you and judge you! You have made us obnoxious to Pharaoh and his officials and have put a sword in their hand to kill us."

(22) Moses returned to the Lord and said, "Why, Lord, why have you brought trouble on this people? Is this why you sent me? (23) Ever since I went to Pharaoh to speak in your name, he has brought trouble on this people, and you have not rescued your people at all." 

[EXODUS 6 (NIV) - 4:26]
Exodus, chapter 6.

(1) Then the Lord said to Moses, "Now you will see what I will do to Pharaoh: Because of my mighty hand he will let them go; because of my mighty hand he will drive them out of his country."

(2) God also said to Moses, "I am the Lord. (3) I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob as God Almighty, but by my name the Lord I did not make myself fully known to them. (4) I also established my covenant with them to give them the land of Canaan, where they resided as foreigners. (5) Moreover, I have heard the groaning of the Israelites, whom the Egyptians are enslaving, and I have remembered my covenant.

(6) "Therefore, say to the Israelites: 'I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians. I will free you from being slaves to them, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with mighty acts of judgment. (7) I will take you as my own people, and I will be your God. Then you will know that I am the Lord your God, who brought you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians. (8) And I will bring you to the land I swore with uplifted hand to give to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob. I will give it to you as a possession. I am the Lord.'"

(9) Moses reported this to the Israelites, but they did not listen to him because of their discouragement and harsh labor.

(10) Then the Lord said to Moses, (11) "Go, tell Pharaoh king of Egypt to let the Israelites go out of his country."

(12) But Moses said to the Lord, "If the Israelites will not listen to me, why would Pharaoh listen to me, since I speak with faltering lips?"

(13) Now the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron about the Israelites and Pharaoh king of Egypt, and he commanded them to bring the Israelites out of Egypt.

(14) These were the heads of their families:

The sons of Reuben the firstborn son of Israel were Hanok and Pallu, Hezron and Karmi. These were the clans of Reuben.
(15) The sons of Simeon were Jemuel, Jamin, Ohad, Jakin, Zohar and Shaul the son of a Canaanite woman. These were the clans of Simeon.
(16) These were the names of the sons of Levi according to their records: Gershon, Kohath and Merari. Levi lived 137 years.
(17) The sons of Gershon, by clans, were Libni and Shimei.
(18) The sons of Kohath were Amram, Izhar, Hebron and Uzziel. Kohath lived 133 years.
(19) The sons of Merari were Mahli and Mushi.

These were the clans of Levi according to their records.

(20) Amram married his father's sister Jochebed, who bore him Aaron and Moses. Amram lived 137 years.
(21) The sons of Izhar were Korah, Nepheg and Zikri.
(22) The sons of Uzziel were Mishael, Elzaphan and Sithri.
(23) Aaron married Elisheba, daughter of Amminadab and sister of Nahshon, and she bore him Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar.
(24) The sons of Korah were: Assir, Elkanah and Abiasaph. These were the Korahite clans.
(25) Eleazar son of Aaron married one of the daughters of Putiel, and she bore him Phinehas.

These were the heads of the Levite families, clan by clan.

(26) It was this Aaron and Moses to whom the Lord said, "Bring the Israelites out of Egypt by their divisions." (27) They were the ones who spoke to Pharaoh king of Egypt about bringing the Israelites out of Egypt--this same Moses and Aaron.

(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?" 

[EXODUS 7 (LEB) - 8:18]
Exodus, chapter 7.

(1) And Yahweh said to Moses, "See, I have made you as a god to Pharaoh, and Aaron your brother will be your prophet. (2) You will speak all that I will command you, and Aaron your brother will speak to Pharaoh, and he will release the Israelites from his land. (3) And I myself will harden the heart of Pharaoh, and I will make my signs and my wonders numerous in the land of Egypt. (4) And Pharaoh will not listen to you, and I will put my hand into Egypt and bring out my divisions, my people, the Israelites, from the land of Egypt with great punishments. (5) And the Egyptians will know that I am Yahweh when I stretch out my hand over Egypt and bring the Israelites out from their midst."

(6) And Moses and Aaron did it; as Yahweh commanded them, so they did. (7) (And Moses was eighty years old, and Aaron was eighty-three years old when they spoke to Pharaoh.)

(8) And Yahweh said to Moses and to Aaron, saying, (9) "When Pharaoh speaks to you, saying, 'Do a wonder for yourselves,' you will say to Aaron, 'Take your staff and throw it before Pharaoh, and it will become a snake.'" (10) And Moses and Aaron came to Pharaoh, and they did so, as Yahweh had commanded. And Aaron threw his staff before Pharaoh and before his servants, and it became a snake.

(11) And Pharaoh also called the wise men and the sorcerers, and they also, the magicians of Egypt, did likewise with their secret arts. (12) Each threw down his staff, and they became snakes, and Aaron's staff swallowed up their staffs. (13) And Pharaoh's heart was hard, and he did not listen to them, as Yahweh had said.

(14) And Yahweh said to Moses, "Pharaoh's heart is insensitive; he refuses to release the people. (15) Go to Pharaoh in the morning. Look, he is going out to the water, and you must wait to meet him on the bank of the Nile, and you must take in your hand the staff that was changed into a snake. (16) And you must say to him, 'Yahweh, the God of the Hebrews, has sent me to you, saying, "Release my people that they may serve me in the desert, and, look, you have not listened until now." (17) Thus says Yahweh, "By this you will know that I am Yahweh. Look, I am about to strike with the staff that is in my hand the water that is in the Nile, and it will be changed to blood. (18) And the fish that are in the Nile will die, and the Nile will stink, and the Egyptians will be unable to drink water from the Nile."'"

(19) And Yahweh said to Moses, "Say to Aaron, 'Take your staff and stretch your hand out over the waters of Egypt and over their rivers, over their canals, and over their pools and over all of their reservoirs of water, so that they become blood,' and blood will be in all the land of Egypt and in vessels of wood and of stone."

(20) And Moses and Aaron did so, as Yahweh had commanded, and he raised the staff and struck the water that was in the Nile before the eyes of Pharaoh and before the eyes of his servants, and all of the water that was in the Nile was changed to blood. (21) And the fish that were in the Nile died, and the Nile stank, and the Egyptians were not able to drink water from the Nile, and the blood was in all the land of Egypt.

(22) And the magicians of Egypt did likewise with their secret arts, and Pharaoh's heart was hard, and he did not listen to them, as Yahweh had spoken. (23) And Pharaoh turned and went to his house, and he did not take also this to heart. (24) And all of the Egyptians dug around the Nile for water to drink, because they were unable to drink from the water of the Nile.

(25) And seven days passed after Yahweh struck the Nile.  

[EXODUS 8 (LEB) - 11:54]  
Exodus, chapter 8.

(1) And Yahweh said to Moses, "Go to Pharaoh, and say to him, 'Thus says Yahweh, "Release my people so that they may serve me." (2) And if you are refusing to release, look, I am going to plague all of your territory with frogs. (3) And the Nile will swarm with frogs, and they will go up and come into your house and into your bedroom and onto your bed and into the house of your servants and among your people and into your ovens and into your kneading troughs. (4) And the frogs will go up against you and against your people and against all of your servants.'"

(5) And Yahweh said to Moses, "Say to Aaron, 'Stretch out your hand with your staff over the rivers, over the canals, and over the pools, and bring up the frogs on the land of Egypt.'" (6) And Aaron stretched out his hand over the waters of Egypt, and the frogs went up and covered the land of Egypt. (7) And the magicians did likewise with their secret arts, and they brought up frogs over the land of Egypt.

(8) And Pharaoh called Moses and Aaron and said, "Pray to Yahweh, and let him remove the frogs from me and from my people, and let me release the people so that they can sacrifice to Yahweh." (9) And Moses said to Pharaoh, "I leave to you the honor over me. When shall I pray for you and for your servants and for your people to cut off the frogs from you and from your houses? They will be left only in the Nile." (10) And he said, "Tomorrow." And he said, "Let it be according to your word so that you will know that there is no one like Yahweh our God. (11) And the frogs will depart from you and from your house and from your servants. They will be left only in the Nile."

(12) And Moses and Aaron went out from Pharaoh, and Moses cried out to Yahweh over the matter of the frogs that he had brought on Pharaoh. (13) And Yahweh did according to the word of Moses, and the frogs died from the houses, from the courtyards, and from the fields. (14) And they piled them in countless heaps, and the land stank. (15) And Pharaoh saw that there was relief, and he made his heart insensitive, and he did not listen to them, as Yahweh had spoken.

(16) And Yahweh said to Moses, "Say to Aaron, 'Stretch out your staff and strike the dust of the land, and it will become gnats in all the land of Egypt.'" (17) And he did so, and Aaron stretched out his hand with his staff, and he struck the dust of the land, and it became gnats on the humans and on the animals; all of the dust of the land became gnats in all the land of Egypt. (18) And the magicians did so with their secret arts to bring out the gnats, but they were not able, and the gnats were on the humans and on the animals. (19) And the magicians said to Pharaoh, "It is the finger of God." But the heart of Pharaoh was hard, and he did not listen to them, as Yahweh had spoken.

(20) And Yahweh said to Moses, "Start early in the morning and stand before Pharaoh. Look, he is going out to the water, and you must say to him, 'Thus says Yahweh, "Release my people so that they may serve me." (21) But if you are not about to release my people, look, I am about to send out flies among you and among your servants and among your people and in your houses; and the houses of Egypt will fill up with the flies and also the ground that they are on. (22) But on that day I will distinguish the land of Goshen, where my people are staying, by there not being flies there, so that you will know that I am Yahweh in the midst of the land. (23) And I will put a distinction between my people and your people; this sign will be tomorrow.'"

(24) And Yahweh did so, and a severe swarm of flies came to the house of Pharaoh and the house of his servants and in all the land of Egypt; the land was ruined because of the flies. (25) And Pharaoh called Moses and Aaron, and he said, "Go, sacrifice to your God in the land." (26) And Moses said, "To do so is not right, because we will sacrifice to Yahweh our God a thing detestable to the Egyptians. Look, if we sacrifice before their eyes the thing detestable to the Egyptians, will they not stone us? (27) We will go a journey of three days into the desert, and we will sacrifice to Yahweh our God according to what he says to us."

(28) And Pharaoh said, "I myself will release you, and you will sacrifice to Yahweh your God in the desert. Only surely you must not go far. Pray for me." (29) And Moses said, "Look, I am going out from you, and I will pray to Yahweh so that the flies depart from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people tomorrow. Only let not Pharaoh again deceive us by not releasing the people to sacrifice to Yahweh."

(30) And Moses went out from Pharaoh and prayed to Yahweh. (31) And Yahweh did according to the word of Moses and removed the flies from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people; not one was left. (32) And Pharaoh made his heart insensitive also this time, and he did not release the people.

[COMMENTARY - 16:56]
Do you like magic tricks? Ever since I was about six years old, I've been a fan. The first time I remember seeing a magic trick was when I was with my parents somewhere and an old guy on the street showed me a quarter in his hand. He put the quarter in the pocket of his trousers and then pulled the quarter out from the bottom of his pocket right through the material of his pants without making a hole. From that moment on. I've been fascinated with magic tricks.

I remember there used to be a mail-order catalog from a guy named Vic Lawston out of Fort Lauderdale, Florida. I subscribed to that catalog. And when it came, I would just look through that thing cover to cover wishing I could order all of those tricks to amaze and astound my friends. I actually did order a few of them.

And then when I got a little older on a trip to Disneyland, I discovered that there were two magic shops in the park. There's one on Main Street and there used to be one in Sleeping Beauty's castle. That was my favorite one. And by the way, did you know that Steve Martin used to work in one of those magic shops? Yeah.

And I loved watching magicians on stage too. I remember seeing several big names perform in person, Harry Blackstone, Jr, David Copperfield, and others.

It's amazing how if you suspend disbelief, the tricks they do can seem real. But once you know how the tricks are done, the magic is over. That's okay though because it's fun to watch their craftsmanship to see how they do it.

But still, sometimes, even though I know how many of the tricks are done every once in a while I'll see a trick that I just can't explain. There seems to be no way that this illusion could be done without some sort of black magic, which of course, I don't condone. 

Now today in chapters 7 and 8, we read that the Egyptian sorcerers were able to duplicate the miracles that God did through Moses and Aaron. How could they do that?

Well, scholars differ in their answers. Can you guess what their answers are? There's basically two possibilities. The first possibility is that they actually did miracles. And the second possibility is that they faked them, that they did magic tricks or illusions.

So let's quickly tackle the second possibility. The first miracle that we read about was turning Moses' staff into a snake. Some have said that this could have been some sort of snake charming trick where the snake was somehow trained to appear to be a rigid staff. And then at some command, the snake would relax and just do what snakes do. Turning the water to blood could have just been done with dye. And the plague of frogs might just be explained by saying, "Well, there was a plague of frogs everywhere that God had miraculously caused. So how would they know now that they were more frogs everywhere?"

Nah, I don't know.

So now let's look at the first possibility. The sorcerors really did miracles. Is that possible? Can people really do miracles, miracles that aren't from God?

Well, let's look at what the scripture says.

Satan is called the father of lies in John 8;44. And we're told in 2 Corinthians 11:14, that he can make himself appear as an angel of light.

2 Thessalonians 2:9 says that the Antichrist, quote, will use all sorts of displays of power through signs and wonders, unquote, and that he'll do it through the power of Satan. Jesus says in Matthew 24:24, that in the end times, false prophets will, quote, appear and perform great signs and wonders to deceive, unquote.

So it turns out that it actually is possible that the Egyptian sorcerers did do miracles as they were enabled by Satan. But we must also understand that even though the enemy is powerful, his power is limited. There are things that he cannot do. What limits him? God does. Just as we read in the book of Job, God limited Satan in what he could do to Job. 

Maybe God allowed the miracles to be performed by the Egyptian sorcerers for the hardening of Pharaoh's heart. But remember, when the miracle of the gnats happened, the sorcerers were not able to duplicate it. And they told Pharaoh that, "It is the finger of God."

So I don't think that we can be dogmatic and declare that one explanation of how they did the miracles is definitely the answer. I tend to lean toward the thought that they actually did do the miracles because we do know that as Ephesians 6:12 says, "For we are not fighting against flesh and blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places."

[LIFESPRING FAMILY HOTLINE - 21:41]
So what do you think? Do you think they did miracles or merely magic tricks? Let me know. Call the Lifespring Family Hotline at +1-951-732-8511. You can also comment at comment.lifespringmedia.com. And of course, my inbox is always open to you, steve@lifespringmedia.com. I do read every comment and there's a great chance I'll play your audio comment or read your comment on the show.

Tomorrow is History Tuesday, and we'll read 1 Samuel 21 through 25.

[SUPPORT THE SHOW - 22:18]
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[OUTRO S13E100 - 23:59]
And that's gonna do it for today's episode. My thanks to the team Kirsty, Denise, Michael Haner, and Scott Snider. God bless you guys. I appreciate you. Until tomorrow may God bless you richly. Thank you for inviting me to be a part of your day. I can't wait to see you again tomorrow. My name is Steve Webb. Bye.

[LIFESPRING MEDIA PROMO WITH JAMES COOPER - 24:20]
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Transcribed by https://otter.ai