Then the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, âWhen Pharaoh says to you, âProve yourselves by working a miracle,â then you shall say to Aaron, âTake your staff and cast it down before Pharaoh, that it may become a serpent.ââ So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and did just as the Lord commanded. Aaron cast down his staff before Pharaoh and his servants, and it became a serpent. Then Pharaoh summoned the wise men and the sorcerers, and they, the magicians of Egypt, also did the same by their secret arts. For each man cast down his staff, and they became serpents. But Aaronâs staff swallowed up their staffs (Exodus 7:8-12).

It started long before staffs became slithering snakes in Pharaohâs palace parlour. The clash between two kingdoms playing out in Pharaohâs palace started the moment Adam and Eve took the devilâs âdid God actually sayâ question in Genesis 3:1 seriously. At the fall into sin Satan established his kingdom on earth. His kingdomâs mission statement was and is very simple: oppose, with all effort and at all costs, Godâs kingdom. Ever since then the battle has been raging.
The intensity of the battle is described graphically by Paul in Ephesians 6 beginning in verse 10. You recall the passage, âFor we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulersâŚâ And make no mistake, the devil will use every opportunity possible to increase his attack on Godâs church.
He was working overtime in the days of Israelâs slavery in Egypt. That new Pharaoh âwho did not know Josephâ (Exodus 1:8) was his puppet to destroy Godâs people. This was a time of intense effort on the devilâs part. He pulled out all stops to use Israelâs sojourn in Egypt as an opportunity to disable Godâs kingdomâs progress.
On the basis of Scripture we all know that today, too, the kingdom of darkness will make the most of every situation to hamper the spread of the light of Godâs kingdom. The devil hates truth and light and will smother it with falsehood and darkness whenever he can. Thatâs what he tried there in Pharaohâs palace.
God confronts Pharaoh with the reality of His absolute power and authority. Pharaoh (verse 9) demanded that Moses and Aaron produce a miracle to prove their credentials. They perform the miracle God had told them to perform, a miracle that took the symbol of Pharaohâs authority, the snake, and sent it slithering around on the floor. But what did the devil have Pharaoh and his magicians do? The same thing! Says the kingdom of darkness: âWhatâs the big deal? I can do that too!â The miracle didnât look so miraculous anymore, did it?
We need to ask ourselves, is the devil using the current pandemic as an opportunity to attack Godâs kingdom? Itâs a good question and one that we shouldnât dismiss too quickly. We know at least this much: if he can he will! 1 Peter 5:8 makes the point: âBe sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.â
You can imagine Moses and Aaron there in Pharaohâs palace waiting and watching to see what Pharaohâs magicians would pull off. We need to be on high alert now too. The kingdom of darkness isnât allowing the current pandemic to go to waste in terms of seeking to use it to oppose Godâs kingdom. It comes out very graphically sometimes. Like when Samaritans Purse, an evangelical charity which sets up a field hospital in New Yorkâs central park to help deal with the COVID-19 victims, gets attacked for not being LGBTQ friendly. Or like when the governor of New York says in front of the cameras, as heâs describing the flattening of the curve, âGod didnât do this. We did it!â
Satanâs attack in Pharaohâs palace was very upfront and in-your-face too. But at other times heâll work more subtly. After all, he is the father of lies and deception (John 8:44). That means that we need to have our eyes open during this current pandemic for where the devil is at work seeking to undermine Godâs kingdom. We canât take at face value everything weâre being told. As Christians, knowing not only Godâs absolute power but also being fully aware of the devilâs hatred of Godâs truth, we need to consider all thatâs happening and assume that Satan and his demons are busy. You can be certain that theyâre not sitting idly by twiddling their thumbs, just like they werenât prepared to do that in Pharaohâs palace.
At the same time, weâre not to despair. We never have to. We never need to! Because (verse 12) âAaronâs staff swallowed up their staffs.â Hereâs gospel, glorious gospel also for the here and now! Reading the text suggests that Aaronâs one staff-snake was outnumbered by the staff-snakes of the magicians. At face value the kingdom of darkness trumped the kingdom of light there on the palace floor. But then, a few quick gulps and the kingdom of light has swallowed up the kingdom of darkness.
Yes, in our present circumstances the devil is busy. But it doesnât matter how many lying âsnakesâ he manages to magically produce; heâs already done for. Donât forget that weâve just celebrated Resurrection Sunday! The dazzling glory emanating from the empty tomb incinerates the darkness of the devilâs kingdom and sends him and all his âsnakesâ into the incinerator of Godâs wrath.
Does that certain victory mean that we can then just ride this thing out, holding our breath, until we can breathe a huge sigh of relief when itâs all over? No! Moses and Aaron had just had wonderful confirmation of the certain victory of Godâs kingdom. But as we read on in Exodus, we see they had plenty more battles to fight. So do we! Keep your eyes open to where the devil is busy so that you donât get deceived or surprised when he shows up unexpectedly. But even more important, keep in your mindâs eye that picture of Aaronâs staff-snake swallowing those other snakes. More, keep in your mindâs eye the dazzling glory of the empty tomb!