CRITICAL NOTES.—
Exodus 7:9. Miracle] A splendid or conspicuous deed: Sept. “sign or wonder;” vulg. “sign.” Serpent] Prob. of a large species; and in Exodus 7:10; Exodus 7:12. called tannin (lit. “extended”); but Exodus 5:15. nâ-châ sh.
II. Sorcerers] Whisperers, mutterers, practisers of magic. Magicians] Sacred scribes, skilled in sacred writings (hieroglyphics).
MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.— Exodus 7:8-13
MAN’S EFFORT TO REPUDIATE THE MESSAGE OF GOD BY AN IMITATION OF ITS MIRACULOUS CREDENTIALS
I. That man has a right to expect that any special revelation from God should be accompanied by infallible and unimpeachable credentials. “When Pharaoh shall speak unto you, saying, Shew a miracle for you; then thou shalt say unto Aaron, Take thy rod, and cast it before Pharaoh, and it shall become a serpent.” When men come and present Divine messages to us, we have a right to expect that they will produce something more than their own mere word for the divinity of their mission; they make great demands upon our conduct, they appeal to us in the supreme realm of our life, and the greatest results are dependant upon the manner in which we welcome them, hence we may expect substantial proof that they are sent from God. God never expects men to credit any mission that is not authenticated by sufficient evidence, he does not require that they should do such violence to their intellectual manhood. Hence when any claims are presented as from heaven, we are justified in demanding sufficient proof of their holy origin.
1. We require these credentials to vindicate the authority of the speaker. Who were Moses and Aaron to Pharaoh? They had no human accidents connected with them to gain his attention and obedience. Socially they were greatly inferior to him. Probably they were almost unknown to him. They had no armies to enforce their request. Their request was great, and of importance to his nation. He might regard these two men as enthusiasts or imposters. It is natural that he should immediately seek to know by what authority they were sent to him. He would have acted the part of a lunatic had he not done so, as no wise man will heed all the claims which are urged upon him by those by whom he may be surrounded. Hence Moses and Aaron wrought a miracle before him, to convince him of the divinity of their remarkable mission. And this was evidence sufficient to the belief required, and the conduct solicited. Now humanity has a Divine message sent to it, not brought in exactly the same method as was that to Pharaoh; it is contained in a remarkable book, the Bible, it asks men, not to give up their slaves, but their sins, and to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. This book has been given to the world, and requires the world’s credence and obedience. We at once require to know by what authority this volume comes, why it makes a greater claim to attention than any other, and what right it has to control our actions These questions are natural, and they are wise. No sensible man would receive the book, as it requires, without making them. We search this book and find that as Moses and Aaron carried their Divine credentials in their hand, so it contains the evidences of its Divine origin on its own pages, for on every page we see the miracle repeated, the rod is turned into a serpent. And the miracles which the book contains, and the miracle which it is in itself, are sufficient token to the honest mind that it comes from God. This evidence is equal to the case It leaves disobedience without excuse. It is adequate to its Divine authority.
2. We require these credentials to vindicate the credibility of the speaker. Pharaoh might even believe that Moses and Aaron were divinely sent to him; but the question would arise in his mind, whether they were uttering their message without falsehood or mistake. Were they not making too great a demand upon him, had not these Israelitish slaves been of great service to his nation, and was it likely that God would require their freedom? No doubt much objection to the statement of these two men would arise to his mental vision, and therefore he required it to be certified that they were speaking the truth. And we conceive that the miracle they wrought would cover the whole case, the entirety of his request. Because God would never give men power to work a miracle to authenticate a lie. The miracle not only demonstrated the authority of these men, but also the unimpeachable honesty and verity of their statements. And so men take the Bible to-day, they perhaps say that in general terms the book has come from God, and has His authority, and yet how many question the verity of much of its contents. They call one part of the message a myth, another part a fable, until, indeed, there is very little remaining as true. We need scarcely say that this method of criticism is contradictory, for if men once admit the Divine authority of the book, they cannot but accept its contents as veritable, for the same miracle that demonstrates its heavenly origin, likewise demonstrates its moral truthfulness, that the Bible is not merely from God, but that it speaks the word of God. Of this the world has sufficient evidence.
3. That God anticipates these requests on the part of man, and provides his messengers with the needed credentials. The Divine. Being did not send Moses and Aaron to Pharaoh without the credentials necessary to sustain their authority, and their veracity. We may reverently say that He could not rightfully have done so, as it would have left unbelief on the part of the king quite excusable, and it would have exposed these men of God to certain and needless scorn. And so in reference to the Bible, which is God’s message to the race, its Divine Author has condescendingly anticipated the mental and moral requirements of man in accepting it. He did not send it forth without sufficient credentials to commend itself to human reason. He did not permit it to appeal to men as other books have done; it differed from them in contents and claims, and therefore needed a correspondingly higher vindication. Had any man gone to Pharaoh on the ordinary business of life, he would have needed no miracle to commend him to that monarch. But when Moses and Aaron go to him with a Divine command, their different and higher position requires the higher credential. And so with the Bible, it does not merely come to men with a message about the common affairs of human life, it speaks about the duties and destinies of their soul, and needs a vindication equal to its dignified claims. The revelations of God do not do violence to the mental habitudes of man. The Being who has made man, conforms to the mental laws under which He has placed him, one of which is that he cannot believe a statement without sufficient evidence. Hence, prior to any cry on the part of man for evidence of the Divine origin of the Bible, God provided and made it clear to all who sought it. They were there in all their possibility, only awaiting the interrogation of the human mind, upon which the rod would be transformed into a serpent, and demonstrate beyond doubt the divinity of the book. Hence it is the way of God to win the credence of men to his book by convincing evidence, not by arbitrary command, and any man who rejects the claims of the Bible rejects the highest proof, the most reliable evidence, hence his condemnation will be awful as that of the rebellious king.
4. The spirit in which these credentials should be investigated and received How did Pharaoh receive the credentials which were presented to him by Moses and Aaron in reference to the divinity of their mission; he received them with unbelieving heart. He was antecedently prepared to denounce them as untrue, and to reject them. He did not come to the investigation of them with unprejudiced mind, but with a bias against them. And no doubt his moral conduct induced within him this mental bias; he did not wish to give up his profitable slaves, hence he tried to disprove the credentials of these holy men. And in this we have a pattern of the way in which multitudes approach the investigation of the Divine credentials of the Bible, they have no wish to find them true, rather, the moral character and habit of their life awaken within them a desire to find them false. Hence we believe that much of the scepticism of men in reference to the Bible as a divine revelation arises from moral considerations rather than mental. The probabilities are that if Pharaoh had had no slaves, supposing Moses and Aaron to have been sent to him, he would have believed their miracle. And if men had no sins to charm them they would welcome the Bible as the Word of God. They are not disposed to give up their sins, and so they are not inclined to receive the truth sent to them.
(1) These credentials should be thoughtfully received.
(2) These credentials should be devoutly received.
(3) Never receive them in sceptical mood. 4 We must remember that the messengers of God can only offer the credentials divinely permitted to them. Moses and Aaron could not work any miracle they liked to the astonished gaze of the Egyptian king; they could only cast down the rod as God had told them to do. Men cannot decide upon, nor can they make of their own device or ingenuity, the credentials of their heaven-given mission. Nor does the Bible, in its credentials, conform to all the arbitrary and vain requests of the sceptical mind, it does not work one miracle after another only to awaken yet further demands, and continued incredulity. Its credentials are divinely arranged. They are the outcome of the will and permission of God. They are clear as a fact. They are emphatic as a claim. They can be investigated by men. The credentials of the Bible are such as God has permitted. The minister of the gospel has no right to present or enforce any other in his sacred embassy. If the legitimate credentials of truth will not gain the credence of men, we may rely upon it that no others will.
II. That men have recourse to many devices to weaken and nullify the credentials which are presented to them in token and support of a Divine message and claim. “Then Pharaoh also called the wise men and the sorcerers: now the magicians of Egypt, they also did in like manner with their enchantments.”
1. We find that men in the investigation of a Divine message are not satisfied with the evidence they themselves propose. It would appear from the Divine statement and prediction made to Moses and Aaron, although we do not find the definite words used by Pharaoh, that the king wanted a miracle to confirm their request; and yet when it was wrought he rejected and refused to believe it. And this is just what men do in reference to the Divine credentials of the Bible; they enquire for certain evidences of its Divine authority, and when presented, they disbelieve and reject them. Men ask us to show them the internal harmony of the Bible, although it is written by so many men of varied mental type, and when we shew it them in incident after incident, they commence at once to weaken our evidence by suppositions of collusion between the authors, or of plagiarism. It is little use complying with their request for credentials, they seek them not to believe, but to cavil. A sceptical mind will not yield even when it has attained evidence for the truth of its own seeking. It is most criminal in its unbelief.
2. We find that men in the investigation of a Divine message often seek others to supply them with sceptical arguments they are not clever enough to produce themselves. It would appear that Pharaoh was not able of himself to refute the miraculous logic and credential of Moses and Aaron. Kings are not always gifted with the logical faculty, they are not generally remarkable for brain-power; nor are they in need of much, as the abilities of others are readily at their command. If a king wants an argument to disprove a divine message, there are always plenty of logicians in the realm ready to furnish him with it. And some men have the happy art of making logic prove anything to suit the craving of regal desires. Hence as Pharaoh could not refute the miraculous evidence of these two holy men, he sent for the “wise men and sorcerers,” and it would seem that the magicians of Egypt in some way imitated the miracle of the transformed rod. And so it is in reference to the credentials of the Bible; when one man cannot disprove them, he will get some one else to help him, and perhaps the two together may succeed in hardening each other in their sin. How one man may confirm another in scepticism to the rejection of the plain message of God. But though hand join in hand, he wicked shall not go unpunished. It is a pity that men of good mental ability should aid men of inferior brain in their sceptical effort; they might find better employment for their genius
3. We find that men endeavour to confirm their comrades in scepticism by imitating the credentials of the messengers of God. Moses and Aaron had turned their rods into serpents; when the magicians of Egypt were called they to all appearances did the same. Very likely they did it by cunning trickery with their enchantments, and they may have been assisted by the devil. He is a willing ally to all who wish to refute the credentials of heavenly messengers. And has it not been so with the Bible? Men have cast down their own rods, and they have produced their own books, and apparently there has been but little difference between the human production and the divine. The Bible is very much like all other books, is printed with the same type, on like paper, in the same language, and is bound in the same material, and it is only on looking inside and reading the contents that we can announce the difference. Man’s genius endeavours to rival God’s power. But in vain. The truth-seeker can distinguish between the productions of the two; he never mistakes the enchantment of the Egyptian for the miracle of Moses.
4. That the men who endeavour to confirm their comrades in scepticism respecting the Divine credentials are subject to the truth. The rods of the Egyptian magicians were swallowed up by Aaron’s rod. And so in reference to the Bible. All who reject its claims will one day be swallowed up by the retribution it proclaims. Truth has power over error. Pharaoh would not attach much significance to the fact that Aaron’s rod swallowed up the rest; he would merely attach importance to the fact that his own conjurors had done the same as had Moses and Aaron. In the arguments of life men will only allow their minds to be impressed by those the most favourable to their case.
III. That the men who reject the credentials of Divine messengers commence a conflict which will be productive of great woe and of final overthrow to them. “And he hardened Pharaoh’s heart that he hearkened not unto them; as the Lord had said.” This was notably the case with the king of Egypt. The plagues which follow are but the outcome of this rejection of the Divine message; and the destruction of Pharaoh and his hosts in the Red Sea was but the end of the struggle, the victory of an alarming Providence. And men who oppose the credentials of the Bible, who cultivate a sceptical habit of mind in reference thereto, and who seek others to confirm them in their rejection of the truth of God, commence a conflict which will be most destructive in its issue. The. truth must conquer, and if men will not accept its credentials, they must fall beneath its power. It is vain for man, however he may be aided by human art or cunning, to contend with the messenger of heaven. LESSONS:
1. That the messengers of God can always produce Divine credentials.
2. That Divine credentials are often rejected by men of high social position.
3. That a continued rejection of Divine credentials will end in destruction.
4. That the servants of God are often perplexed by the conduct of men in rejecting Divine claims.
SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS ON THE VERSES
Exodus 7:8-9. After God has won His servants to willing obedience, He commands them to duty.
God forewarned His servants that worldly men would investigate their authority.
Wicked men generally expect the ministers of God to work miracles before they believe the truth.
One instrument may God set over another to do his purpose.
A miracle has always been regarded as the evidence of a revelation from on high. It is not itself the revelation, but the evidence of it. The wax upon the deed, and the seal of one of the parties, is not the deed; but it is the evidence that that deed is accepted and identified by the party whose seal is attached to it.—Dr. Cumming.
Exodus 7:10. When God enjoineth his servants to work wonders, He is sure to effect them.
Dead sticks become dragons at the word of God, to awaken sinners.
God by His word and work leave sinners without excuse.
The poorest workers animated by God, dare face oppressing kings.
It is only safe for the servants of God to do as he commands them.
Small actions in obedience are ordered by God to great issues, though despicable to men.
Not a word of God shall fail, but the very nature of creatures shall change to verify the same.
God’s miracles are in truth, to confirm His authority among men.
Exodus 7:11-13. Miracles from God will not persuade wicked hearts to believe.
Unbelieving sinners are apt to call in all instruments of Satan to gainsay God.
Providence has of old suffered wisdom to be abased to pernicious acts.
Under God’s permission Satan may work strange changes in creatures; but not miracles.
God’s true miracles devour all the lying wonders of Satan.
Christ hath swallowed up death in victory.
UNWORTHY IMITATIONS OF THE GOOD
Exodus 7:11. “They also did in like manner with their enchantments.” There is a great deal of imitation in the world. It is found in all spheres of life and employment. It especially obtains in the moral realm of life. And in some cases it may be commendable, the effort of a true soul to emulate the character and zeal of some godly neighbour whose life inspires with holy aspirations after something better. But in many cases it is a mockery, sometimes the homage which vice pays to virtue, and not unfrequently the daring effort of the natural mind to rival its divine results. In the incident before us the imitation of the work of Moses and Aaron by these Egyptian magicians was inspired by this latter motive.
I. This imitation of the good was by men of high social rank. The miracle wrought by Moses and Aaron was not imitated by the lower orders of Egyptian society, but by men in the highest rank of the nation, and in the presence of their king. And so it sometimes happens that men of intellect and learning, that men of high social standing, that men in important occupations, find it necessary and remunerative to imitate the actions of the good to serve their own impious purpose. It is probable that had those magicians refused, or had they announced themselves unable to imitate the miracle of the two servants of God, they would have been displaced in their art, and banished from the presence of the king. It is ill to be employed in a bad occupation. A man who is a sorcerer by profession, may at any moment be called to compete with divine phenomena, and to involve himself in conflict with God. A man’s known character has much to do with his temptations. Some men are too pure to be asked to do an unholy deed.
II. This imitation of the good occurred at a most solemn crisis. It occurred at a crisis in the life of Pharaoh. If he had now felt the reality of the appeal of Moses and Aaron, had he recognized it as from God, and yielded to it, his life and futurity might have been very different from what it was, And men who give themselves up to an unworthy imitation of the good, often cause those who trust to them to miss the most favourable opportunity of moral welfare. It was also a crisis of great importance to the entire nation as the after history abundantly demonstrates.
III. This imitation of the good was productive of dire result. It caused Pharaoh to discredit the message of Moses and Aaron; still to retain his slaves; and it was instrumental in the hardening of his heart. And so those who seek to imitate the good in order to nullify the claims of God upon men, bring woe upon all who credit their agency.
IV. The imitation of the good is always discernable. The rods of the magicians were swallowed up by the rod of Moses and Aaron. The imitation is not so good, so true, so beautiful, so spontaneous as the reality, hence all intelligent and conscientious men are able to detect it, and need not be deceived by it. If men are deceived by it, it is because they wish to be.
ILLUSTRATIONS
BY THE
REV. WM. ADAMSON
Serpents! Exodus 7:9. Among the Egyptians and also the Phœnicians, the serpent was an emblem of Divine wisdom and power, and as such it was reverenced. The asp was sacred to Neph, and is often represented upon the head of that deity. The asp is represented in the tombs of Thebes guarding the winepresses and granaries of Egypt. Herodotus speaks of a species of snake in the same neighbourhood with two horns upon its head, and says, when it dies it is buried in the temple of Jupiter, to whom it is said to belong. The transformation of Aaron’s rod into a serpent, and the swallowing up of all the other serpents by it was therefore calculated to impress the Egyptians with the greatness and supremacy of the God of Israel. But Pharaoh did not concern himself about the Rod of Moses, and it was enough for him that his sorcerers had been able to imitate the miracle.
“To steal the livery of the court of heaven
To serve the devil in.”
—Pollok.
Truth-Light! Exodus 7:9. When Alexander the Great visited Diogenes the cynic, he asked whether there was any favour or gift, which the Grecian philosopher would wish to receive at his hands. To this, the philosopher curtly responded that he wished for nothing, but that the monarch should stand from between him and the sun. A very similar answer might with more justice and propriety be given by devout Christians to the sceptic—placing himself between the Bible and man, and seeking to hide the truth behind error: “Let me see the Sun of Revelation, for his beams alone have given light and life and warmth. The credentials of the Divinity of the Bible are as full of moral and spiritual light and life and warmth as
“Yon dazzling sun, at noontide hour,
Forth from his flaming vase,
Flinging o’er earth the golden shower,
Till vale and mountain blaze.”—
Moses and Aaron! Exodus 7:10. The history of Moses and Aaron, appearing thus together at the Court of Pharaoh, may have given rise to the traditions of the Greeks and Romans, in which Jupiter and Mercury—both of them Egyptian deities worshipped as Hammon and Thoth—are described visiting the earth in a similar relationship. The latter was repreented with the caduceus, a rod twisted abouts with serpents, and was the god of speech or eloquence
“That with the strong rein of commanding words,
Doth manage, guide, and master th’eminence
Of men’s affections, more than all their swords.”
—Daniel.
Bible! Exodus 7:10. Suppose that you have been sick for years and years, and all medical treatment had failed in your case, and some skilful one should come along and examine the symptoms of your disease, and write a prescription, saying: “I am going into a far country, and you will never see me again. But do not lose this prescription; for if you take the medicine which it prescribes all will be well.” Would you not preserve the document? Would you not be careful to have it made up in the right shape, and to take it as ordered? But suppose you had misgivings; and at the time of receiving the prescription inquired as to the physician’s credentials. He would take you to one patient after another—all of whom were in the enjoyment of good health—and all of whom acknowledged their indebtedness to the prescription and its prescriber. When we question the efficiency of God’s remedy for sin, He takes us to the crowd of credentials in the Word of God. You may be justified in demanding the proofs, but not in refusing to accept the evidence, which is adequate to the Divine authority. Here
Thy goodness, glory, wisdom, strength and power
Shine clear as stars in frosty skies.
Prejudgment! Exodus 7:11. A gentleman was one day stoutly asserting that there were no goldfields except in Mexico and Peru. A nugget dug up in California was presented to him as evidence against his positive assertion. He was not in the least disconcerted, but persisted that the metal was not gold. “It cannot be gold, because gold comes only from Mexico and Peru.” He had fixed in his mind that gold existed only in those countries; and from it, he would not swerve. So with a certain class of sceptics. They have, to borrow Newton’s figure, placed an extinguisher upon the candle of their judgment; so that when the light of convincing evidence is placed before them, all is in vain. They are not honest doubters, like Lord Lyttleton, the historian, and his friend Gilbert West. Agreeing to write something in favour of infidelity, they determined to study through the sacred records. Being honest in their studies, these ended in conviction. Both took up their pens and became its champions. How different the malevolent spirit of Strauss—the mocking tone of Darwin and Spencer. These act the part of the owlet atheism, who
“Sailing on obscure wings across the moon,
Drops his blue-fringed lids and shuts them close,
And, hooting at the glorious sun in heaven,
Cries out: “Where is it?”
—Coleridge.
Adaptability! Exodus 7:11. We say: “If the cap fits, wear it. Hence admirably does the Bible fit our case! It is so framed as to be adapted to us entirely. Thus when a Dutch farmer in South Africa told a poor Hottentot that the Bible was not meant for such creatures as blacks, the simple minded native replied that he was sure that it was. “Why are you sure,” jeeringly inquired the selfish white man? “Because it fits me exactly.” “And how so?” Opening his Bible the humble soul placed his finger on the description of what a sinner is, and exclaimed: “There! sinners! that’s my name.” A similar illustration of the perfect adaptation of the Bible to all cases is furnished of a missionary, who records that, after reading the first chapter of Romans to a heathen congregation, they gathered round him saying that he himself had written that part for them. And from Dr. Dean of China we learn that, after conversing with a very intelligent Chinaman upon our Bible as being of great antiquity, he gave his listener a copy to take away for perusal. But not long after the inquirer returned, and with a look of triumph and accusation exclaimed, “You told me that your book was very ancient, but that chapter (pointing to Romans 1) you have written with your own hand since you lived among us Chinese.” Thus conscience does her work
“And to the mind holds up reflection’s glass—
The mind, which starting, heaves the heartfelt groan,
And hates that form she knows to be her own.”
—Churchill.
Magicians! Exodus 7:11. Pliny the historian speaks of the magicians of Egypt, and numbers Moses among them. In one of Lucian’s stories he introduces a man of Memphis—a person of amazing wisdom—and a real adept in all the learning of the Egyptians. It was reputed that he had lived no less than three and twenty years in a cave underground, and during that time was instructed by Isis herself in magic. There were jugglers in those days, as there are now. It is a common trick with them to produce living serpents from the cornices, or other parts of the rooms, which by handling they cause to become stiff and lifeless—restoring them again to animation at their pleasure. Witchcraft and sorcery were, however, possible crimes, and prevailed among the Gentiles, so that it is possible that these wizards looked upon Moses as an adept in the black art greater and more skilful than themselves:—-
“You have by Fortune and your own skill’s favours,
Gone slightly o’er low steps, and now are mounted,
Where powers are your retainers more than us.”
—Shakspeare.
Imitation! Exodus 7:11. Folly is as living as wisdom, and the human mind produces its fantasies from age to age as naturally and rifely as the earth produces its thistles. So that we find ourselves often perplexed with fragments of exploded notions, which keep buzzing in our ears like the sounds of insects on a summer’s evening, and it is hard to get rid of them. Yet just as Aaron’s rod swallowed up the rods of the Egptian magicians, so does wisdom in the end devour the multiform and multiplied developments of folly, as imitations of Divine truth. Lo¡ they are no more:
They pass away, like wax in the fierce flame,
Or to the thick mists that frown upon the sun,
Which he but glances at, and they are gone.
—Borov.
Human Theories! Exodus 7:12. The wizards of Pharaoh’s court produced what to all appearance were serpents—as grand and graceful as that of Moses. The speculations of Tyndal are in a sense grand and graceful—grand and graceful as those cumulous clouds that are piled above a mountain range in the far West. There is hardly anything in nature, art, or imagination, that may not be found among them. They assume the appearance of mountains and rocks—peaks and precipices. Castles and cities spring up as if by magic on the aerial plains—torrents and waterfalls pour down their sublime heights—far perspectives of unknown shores open up through vistas within the withdrawing portals. The Genesis and apocalypse of scepticism resemble—and at first sight appear to be as real as the Genesis and Apocalypse of Revelation. Even the very bodies seems to have the same brilliant and varied hues and stripes. Thus man’s genius has endeavoured to rival God’s power; but in vain. The magnificent spectacle melts before the mighty influence of the sun. The gorgeous day-dreams of the students of scepticism vanish like the rods of the soothsayers before that of Aaron. Of that apparently solid mass of gorgeous splendour not a vestige remains; and the Word of God stands alone as the rod of Moses stood.
“It standeth, and will stand,
Without e’er change or age,
The Word of Majesty and Light,
The Church’s heritage.”
—Bonar.
Biblical Evidences! Exodus 7:12. On board the ship which carried the great Napoleon to his campaign in Egypt there were French savants, who had convinced themselves, and thought they could convince others that there is no God. The great commander found them discoursing boastfully on their favourite theme, and, calling them upon deck, while the heavens above were bright with innumerable stars, he said to them: “Tell me who made these?” Napoleon was no philosopher, and it may be said, no metaphysician, no theologian. But he was a man of great common sense. He knew well enough that none of the boasters, whom he was so effectually rebuking, could place those stars in the firmament. They might send up rockets to imitate the stars, but the mimic pageant would fade, leaving the stars still to shine. Just so with the firmament of the Bible. It is crowded with the stars of truth—miracles—credentials of Divine creation. Atheists may send up rockets and Roman candles, as if to rival and outshine them, but in vain. All human miraculous imitations explode and disappear; while the stars of Truth abide. O ever stedfast stars!
“Unchanging in their light,
Unfaltering in their race,
Unswerving in their round.”—
Calls! Exodus 7:13. Did you ever try to awaken a sleeper? At first perhaps you spoke softly—then as you failed to arouse him, you called louder—and when calling was all in vain, you seized and shook the sleeper to attain your object. God calls many times to men. At first His voice is gentle, but when they refuse to listen His appeals becomes more startling painful. Pharaoh had thus been urged by Jehovah softly and gently; now He is speak-in louder and more urgent tones. So that the ruin, which advanced upon him with successive strokes, and which finally destroyed him, was nothing more than he had merited a thousand times over before God hardened him, and he himself became
“The man whom Fortune and the Fates betray,
Predestined to precipitate decay.”
—Theognis.