10. And Moses and Aaron went in. Although they were now fully conscious of their vocation; and knew that they were endued with divine power for working miracles, yet would they never have dared to approach the fierce and cruel tyrant, unless the inward inspiration of the Spirit had armed them to persevere. Hence, then, arose their magnanimity to overcome all terrors; because God raised them by faith above everything that is lofty on earth, and sustained them by this support. Therefore do they come to the conflict with invincible strength, and confirm by a miracle their most hateful mission. But as to the question which is ordinarily raised here, whether the change of the rods was true and substantial, as they call it; with respect to that of Moses, I am confidently persuaded that it was so; for there is no more difficulty with God to change the forms of things, than there was to create heaven and earth out of nothing. Philosophers are not ignorant of the great variety of transmutations which occur in nature, nay, it is patent even to the uninstructed; but, because the rod was changed into a serpent in an extraordinary manner, and contrary to the course of nature, we must form the same judgment of it as of the change of Lot’s wife into a pillar of salt; except that the rod soon after returned into its original nature. (Genesis 19:26.) There is more reason for doubt respecting the rods of the magicians, since it is probable that the eyes of the wicked king were deceived by their illusions. But there would be nothing absurd in our saying, that such liberty was conceded to them by God, not that they should create one body out of another, but that they should set forth the work of God as being their own. For assuredly the potency of error far surpasses the bounds of our comprehension. This Paul affirms to be given to Satan for the punishment of unbelievers, “that they should believe a lie,” because they will not obey the truth. (2 Thessalonians 2:11.) He says, indeed, that the coming of Antichrist shall be with signs and lying wonders, but by adding the word “power,” he shews that the deception or illusion shall not consist so much in the external form of things, as in the perverse abuse of signs. (81) Therefore Christ absolutely pronounces that “false prophets shall shew great signs and wonders.” (Matthew 24:24.) It might be, then, that God in just vengeance might choose the rods of the magicians to be changed into serpents; as we shall hereafter see that the waters were changed by their enchantments into blood, that the earth was covered with frogs and lice, that the fields were smitten with hail, and the atmosphere darkened. (82) Still we must be assured, that not even a fly can be created except by God only; but that Satan lays hold, for the purpose of his impostures, of things which are done by the secret judgment of God.
(81) Calvin’s own comment on 2 Thessalonians 2:9, may explain this somewhat obscure passage, “He gives the names of miracles of falsehood (lying wonders) not merely to such as are falsely and deceptively contrived by cunning men with a view to impose upon the simple — but takes falsehood as consisting in this, that Satan draws to a contrary end works which otherwise are truly works of God, and abuses miracles so as to obscure God’s glory. In the meantime, however, there can be no doubt that he deceives by means of enchantments, an example of which we have in Pharaoh’s magicians. (Exodus 7:11).” Calvin Soc. Edition, p. 337.
(82) It does not appear that the magicians performed the two latter miracles.