The Meaning of Exodus 7:1, 7: God's Power, Man's Obedience

Moses Appointed as God's Representative to Pharaoh

This moment marks the official start of Moses’ mission to confront Pharaoh, not as a lone leader, but as God’s appointed representative, speaking with divine authority.

After decades as a shepherd in Midian, Moses - now eighty years old - is sent back to Egypt to stand before the most powerful ruler of the ancient world. God tells him, 'I have made you like God to Pharaoh, and your brother Aaron shall be your prophet,' meaning Moses will speak for God while Aaron will speak to Pharaoh. Though Moses once doubted his ability, God is now commissioning him with a role that flips the world’s expectations: an elderly shepherd elevated above a divine king.

This setup begins the dramatic showdown between God’s power and Egypt’s throne, leading directly into the first plague and the hardening of Pharaoh’s heart as foretold.

Moses as God's Representative and the Shadow of Christ

Moses’s role as God’s mouthpiece to Pharaoh is a temporary assignment that foreshadows Jesus Christ.

God tells Moses, 'I have made you like God to Pharaoh, and your brother Aaron shall be your prophet,' setting up a divine-human chain where God speaks through Moses, who speaks through Aaron. In the ancient world, kings often claimed to be gods or divine representatives, but here an elderly shepherd is elevated as the true representative of the one true God, confronting a ruler who claimed divine status. This reversal shows that God’s authority overrules human power, and it also establishes a pattern of God sending a chosen mediator - someone who stands between God and people to deliver His word. This pattern reaches its peak in Jesus, whom God raises up as the ultimate Prophet, as foretold in Deuteronomy 18:15-19: 'The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your brothers - it is to him you shall listen.'

The New Testament confirms this in Acts 3:22-23, where Peter declares, 'Moses said, “The Lord God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your brothers. You shall listen to him in whatever he tells you. This shows that Moses was more than a leader; he was a type, a preview of Christ, through whom God would deliver His final message. Just as Pharaoh rejected Moses, the leaders of Israel would later reject Jesus, but both rejections served God’s greater plan: to bring judgment and deliverance. In both cases, the true test is whether people listen to God’s appointed messenger.

Moses’s role is about more than authority; it is about revelation. He speaks God’s words, performs signs, and calls for obedience, just as Jesus does. And like Moses, Jesus confronts powers that oppose God, not with sword or army, but with divine word and miraculous signs.

Moses, an aging shepherd, stands before Pharaoh not in his own strength but as a living sign of God’s presence - pointing forward to the one true Prophet who would speak God’s very words.

This connection helps us see that God’s plan has been unfolding all along. Moses’s mission was not only to free Israel from Egypt; it also pointed to the one who would free all people from sin and death.

God Uses the Unlikely When They Say Yes

Moses’ story shows that God doesn’t choose people because they’re powerful or perfect, but because they’re willing to obey.

At eighty years old, Moses was far past the typical age for leadership, yet God used him to confront Pharaoh and lead a nation. This echoes God’s pattern throughout Scripture - like when He chose David, a young shepherd, to face Goliath, or when He called Jeremiah, saying, 'Do not say, “I am only a youth,” for to all to whom I send you, you shall go, and whatever I command you, you shall speak' (Jeremiah 1:7).

It’s not about age, status, or skill - God equips the ones He calls.

The lesson is clear: God’s strength works best through human weakness. When we say yes to Him, He provides what we lack - whether it’s courage, voice, or timing - and uses our obedience to do something far bigger than we imagined.

Moses and Aaron: A Glimpse of the Greater Prophet and Priest

Just as Moses stood as God’s voice and Aaron served as His priest before Pharaoh, these roles point forward to the one person who would perfectly combine both missions in Himself.

Jesus is the greater Moses foretold in Deuteronomy 18:15: 'The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your brothers - him you shall listen to.' When Jesus taught with authority and performed signs, He was more than another leader; He was the Prophet who delivers God’s final word. And unlike Aaron, whose priesthood was temporary and flawed, Hebrews 4:14-15 reveals Jesus as 'a great high priest who has passed through the heavens,' one who represents us perfectly because He is both fully God and fully human.

God’s plan has always been to send a Prophet to speak His words and a Priest to represent His people - roles finally fulfilled in Jesus.

So this moment with Moses and Aaron is more than ancient history; it previews the Gospel, where God sends His Son to speak truth and offer His life, fulfilling what the brothers began.

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