Podcast Introduction

Today our reading is  Exodus 5-8.  I’m calling the episode “I Got Gnats.” 

Comments on Exodus 7 & 8

Ever since I was about six years old, I have been a fan of magic tricks. 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, 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 have been fascinated with “magic”.

I remember there used to be a mail order catalog from a guy named Vick Lawston, out of Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. I used to look through that catalog cover-to-cover, wishing I could order all of these tricks to amaze and astound my friends. I actually did order a few of them. 

And then when I was a little older, on a trip to Disneyland, I discovered that there were two magic shops in the park! One on Main Street, and one in Sleeping Beauty’s castle. That was my favorite one. I bought several tricks there over the years. 

I loved watching magicians on stage. 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. It’s just fun to watch their craftsmanship.

But sometimes, even though I know how many of the tricks are done, every once in a while I will see a trick that defies explanation. There seems to be no way to explain how this illusion could be done.

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

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

Let’s quickly tackle the second possibility. The first miracle was turning the 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 relax and just do what snakes do. Turning the water to blood could just be done with dye. And the plague of frogs might just be explained by asking, “If there were frogs everywhere, how would they know that now there were more frogs everywhere?”

Perhaps.

Now let’s look at the first possibility. The sorcerers really did miracles. Is that possible? Can people really do miracles? Miracles that aren’t from God?

What does scripture say? 

Well, Satan is called the father of lies in John 8:44. And we are 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 “will use all sorts of displays of power through signs and wonders”, and that he will do it through the power of Satan. Jesus says in Matthew 24:24 that in the end times, false prophets will “appear and perform great signs and wonders to deceive”.

So, it is actually possible that the Egyptian sorcerers did to 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. 

Perhaps 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 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 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.”

Today’s Bible Translation

Bible translation used in today’s episode: Ch. 5-6 NIV; Ch. 7 LEB

Today’s Music

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