After strengthening His servant against the discouragements which had almost broken his spirit, and assuring him of His presence and power in the long road ahead, the LORD then told Mo'ses to appear before Pha'raoh again. On this appearance Mo'ses was instructed by the LORD to show that Divine Power was aiding him. Mo'ses therefore, told Aa'ron to cast down his staff before Pha'raoh, and the staff was turnt into a serpent; when Aa'ron picked it up again, however, it was changed back into a staff.
Pha'raoh then called upon his sorcerers and magicians to imitate what Aa'ron had done. The sorcerers and magicians were men who practiced artful tricks of magic in the name of religion. They were able to give the appearance of turning a staff into a serpent, perhaps by concealing snakes which they had tamed in their clothes, and then releasing them by some sleight of hand trick. But the serpent formed by Aa'ron's staff ran after the E'gyp-tian snakes, and ate them all up.
This miracle should have convinced Pha'raoh that Mo'ses and Aa'ron were truly messengers from God, and that they spoke with Divine Authority, but his skeptical mind refused to yield. He rejected the message from God, denied the request of Mo'ses and Aa'ron that Is'ra-el be allowed to go three days journey into the wilderness to worship their God. His effort
"To steal the livery of the court of Heaven
To serve the devil in"
had failed, but his proud, stubborn spirit would not give into God. The plagues which followed were brought upon Pha'raoh and the E'gyp-tians because the king would not yield to the reasonable request of Mo'ses and Aa'ron. We shall learn of the plagues in stories which follow.
