John Calvin Commentary Exodus 7:10

"And Moses and Aaron went in unto Pharaoh, and they did so, as Jehovah had commanded: and Aaron cast down his rod before Pharaoh and before his servants, and it became a serpent." — Exodus 7:10 (ASV)

And Moses and Aaron went in. Although they were now fully conscious of their vocation and knew that they were endowed with divine power for working miracles, they would never have dared to approach the fierce and cruel tyrant unless the inward inspiration of the Spirit had armed them to persevere. From this, 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, they come to the conflict with invincible strength and confirm by a miracle their most odious mission.

But as for the question that is ordinarily raised here—whether the change of the rods was true and substantial, as they call it—I am confidently persuaded, with respect to Moses’ rod, that it was so. For there is no more difficulty for 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 that occur in nature; indeed, it is evident 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 we do of the change of Lot’s wife into a pillar of salt (Genesis 19:26), except that the rod soon after returned to its original nature.

There is more reason for doubt regarding the rods of the magicians, since it is probable that the eyes of the wicked king were deceived by their illusions. But it would not be absurd for us to say that such liberty was granted to them by God—not that they could create one body out of another, but that they might present a work of God as if it were their own.

For certainly, the power of error far surpasses the limits of our comprehension. Paul affirms this is 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 will be with signs and lying wonders, but by adding the word “power,” he shows that the deception or illusion will not consist so much in the external form of things as in the perverse abuse of signs.⁸¹

Therefore, Christ absolutely declares that false prophets shall shew great signs and wonders (Matthew 24:24). It might be, then, that God in just vengeance might permit the rods of the magicians to be changed into serpents, just as we will later see that the waters were changed by their enchantments into blood, the earth was covered with frogs and lice, the fields were struck with hail, and the atmosphere darkened.⁸² Still, we must be assured that not even a fly can be created except by God alone, but that Satan seizes, for the purpose of his deceptions, things that are done by the secret judgment of God.

⁸¹ Calvin’s own comment on on 2 Thessalonians 2:9, may explain this somewhat obscure passage, “He gives the names of , 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. ((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.