Calvary Road Baptist Church

“A SURVEY OF SATANIC & DEMONIC WARFARE IN EXODUS”

Exodus 

Our survey of Satanic and demonic warfare in the Bible brings us to the book of Exodus, the second book of the Hebrew Bible, the second of the five books of Moses identified as the Pentateuch.

Here is what Nahum M. Sarna writes in The JPS Torah Commentary on Exodus: 

The commonly known Hebrew title for the second book of the Torah is Shemot, shortened from the opening words ve’ elleh shemot. This follows an ancient and widespread Near Eastern practice of naming a literary work by its initial word or words. In Genesis Rabba we find the full title: Sefer ’Elleh Shemot, “The Book of ‘These are the Names.’” The Hebrew name was transliterated in Greek as oualesmoth and was used in Latin Bibles in the form of Hebraica veelle semoth.

Another ancient Hebrew name was sefer yetsi’ at mitsrayim, “The Book of the Departure from Egypt,” expressing its central theme. The Jews of Alexandria, Egypt, in pre­Christian times, rendered this title in Greek as Exodos Aigyptou, abbreviated simply as Exodos, which is how it appears in the Septuagint, the Jewish translation of the Torah into Greek. This was adopted for use in the Old Latin version of the Bible (pre-fourth century C.E.) in the form of Exodus and so passed into the Vulgate and through it into numerous European languages. Another Greek rendering of the Hebrew title was Exagoge, “The Leading Out/The Departure [from Egypt].” The Hellenistic Jewish philosopher Philo of Alexandria (ca. 20 B.C.E. to 50 C.E.) used this name and offered his belief that Moses himself had designated the Hebrew title behind it. Exagoge must have been quite well known in Egypt, for the Hellenistic Jewish tragedian Ezekiel (latest date, mid first century B.C.E.) composed a drama by that name.

The Hebrew title sefer yetsi’ at mitsrayim was still current in Palestine in the tenth century C.E., for it is cited in the Dikdukei Ha-Te‘amim (§70) by the Masoretic scholar Aaron ben Moses ben Asher.

Still a third Hebrew name for the book is mentioned in the Talmud: Homesh Sheni, “The Second Fifth [of the Torah].”[1] 

I selected another commentary on Exodus from my library (almost at random) to read from to establish the consensus of opinion about the second book of the Christian Bible from a well-known twentieth-century conservative commentator broadly respected as reliable and true to Scripture. Here is what he wrote: 

“The story of Exodus is repeated in every soul that seeks deliverance from the enmeshing and enervating influences of the world. With this in view the book is human from the first verse to the last. The things that happened were by way of figure or example, and were written for our admonition (I Cor. 10:11).

(1) Man forgets his origin as one made in the image of God, and his destiny as one meant to live in the fear and favour of God. Alas, he turns from the source of blessing and is content to serve the Devil. Pharaoh had no right to Israel’s services. Israel belonged to God, but she forgot her divine call and the divine promises.

(2) God’s first work is to awaken the sinner to the shame and misery of his position. To this end the path of sin is made bitter. Languishing under an intolerable burden, the sinner sighs by reason of his bondage. Thus was it with Israel when conscience awoke under oppression.

(3) After an awakening there follows a time of struggle. The soul tries to free itself. By reformation or religious efforts of the flesh, the sinner strives to plague the Pharaoh within him and escape from his hand. But all the plagues of Egypt were of little avail. Struggles were futile. Israel was thrust back upon God. So the sinner discovers that he cannot save himself.

(4) At last the place of the shedding of blood is reached. At the foot of the Cross the burden rolls away. By the death and resurrection of his Substitute the sinner escapes as a bird out of the snare of the fowler. The blood being sprinkled the old master is defeated. Israel owed everything to the slain lamb. And Moses takes great care to impress upon the minds of his readers that deliverance from beginning to end is all of God.

(5) Then comes separation. The old life is forsaken. Through death and resurrection there comes a new life. Out of Egypt, through the Red Sea, not a hoof is left behind. Then comes a life of dependence and obedience.

(6) The next stage is guidance and instruction by the Spirit. Instruction is ever the necessary sequence of obedience. Life is lived within the holiest, and reflects the holiness and glory of the inner shrine. The soul is His peculiar possession.[2] 

That author’s comments broadly and accurately represent the consensus of conservative Christian thought in the twentieth century and into the twenty-first century. The problem, of course, is that the highly respected and representative Bible teacher completely misrepresents the book of Exodus by all but ignoring the context so that he can make anemic application of the material contained in Exodus to a contemporary audience’s legitimate need to be saved from their sins.

I am not suggesting the author intentionally misled his readers. Not at all. Instead, I suspect the author was honestly doing his best to communicate what he perceived to be vital Bible truth to his readers while completely ignoring the backdrop no one who studies Exodus can ignore without harming the intent of the book. But he explicitly mentioned the Devil only in passing and not with any serious intention to warn of the danger the Israelites faced in Egypt.

So that we can better understand the spiritual warfare existing in Egypt, a review of how God’s people came to live in Egypt is in order. Genesis chapters thirty through fifty contain Joseph’s birth, life, and death, the eleventh son of Jacob, Abraham’s grandson. In those chapters, we learn of Joseph’s betrayal by his older brothers, his slavery in Egypt, his elevation to high office in Egypt, and God’s purpose in providentially moving him there. Speaking to his brothers (who had later moved to Egypt with their father, Jacob) after their father’s death and before his death, Joseph summed up God’s purpose in Genesis 50.20: 

“But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive.” 

Joseph arrived in Egypt during the Twelfth Dynasty, scholars tell us from external sources.[3] As with all other nations of that era, that nation was completely given over to idolatry, with the Nile River, various animals, and even their Pharaohs worshiped as gods. As far back as Genesis 15.13-14, in connection with the Abrahamic Covenant, Joseph’s great-grandfather Abram was informed that the Lord GOD 

13 said unto Abram, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years;

14 And also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge: and afterward shall they come out with great substance.

Moses wrote, in Exodus 12.40, 

“Now the sojourning of the children of Israel, who dwelt in Egypt, was four hundred and thirty years.” 

Luke records in Acts chapter 7 what is the best concise history of the nation of Israel, uttered by the first Christian martyr, Stephen. And in Acts 7.6, we find Stephen’s account of Israel’s sojourn in Egypt: 

“And God spake on this wise, That his seed should sojourn in a strange land; and that they should bring them into bondage, and entreat them evil four hundred years.” 

Thus, the family of Jacob, numbering seventy-five people, moved to Egypt.[4] They lived in the land of Goshen, geographically segregated from the Egyptians because of their lifestyle.[5] A bit more than four centuries later, when a new dynasty ruled Egypt, and the favor toward Joseph was long forgotten, the oppression of the Israelites commenced, Exodus 1.8-11: 

8  Now there arose up a new king over Egypt, which knew not Joseph.

9  And he said unto his people, Behold, the people of the children of Israel are more and mightier than we:

10 Come on, let us deal wisely with them; lest they multiply, and it come to pass, that, when there falleth out any war, they join also unto our enemies, and fight against us, and so get them up out of the land.

11 Therefore they did set over them taskmasters to afflict them with their burdens. And they built for Pharaoh treasure cities, Pithom and Raamses. 

The physical descendants and beneficiaries of the covenant God made with Abraham were in Egypt, a powerful, wealthy, and profoundly idolatrous nation, where they had grown from a clan to a nation in four centuries, just as God had predicted. Now it is time for them to return to the land promised to them. The question is why. Why would God want to remove the Israelites from Egypt to Canaan?

That question can be answered in two ways, concerning the long term and concerning the short term. Concerning the long term, God would remove the Israelites to Canaan because Canaan was the Promised Land, associated with the Abrahamic Covenant. For God to fulfill His unconditional promise to Abraham, three additional covenants were established.

The chronological first of these additional covenants was the so-called Palestinian Covenant, guaranteeing the future Theocratic Kingdom a territory. The chronological second of these additional covenants was the Davidic Covenant, ensuring the future ruler over the Theocratic Kingdom, that ruler being none other than the Lord Jesus Christ. The chronological third of these additional covenants is known as the New Covenant.

The Theocratic Kingdom must have a king, dealt with by the Davidic Covenant. The Theocratic Kingdom must have territory dealt with by the Palestinian Covenant. The Theocratic Kingdom must have a citizenry, provided through the terms of the New Covenant. Though there is rarely a straight line connecting what God begins with and where His final goal is shown to be, the long-term reason for removing the Israelites from Egypt and the Promised Land is the connection between the Promised Land and the future Theocratic Kingdom.

Concerning the short term, God would remove the Israelites to Canaan because their numbers have grown over four centuries to a nation, and because the wickedness of the idolaters in Canaan has made the idolaters of that region ripe for judgment, with the Israelites being the tools used by God to judge the Canaanites, displacing them for the Israelites to possess the land.

Thus, if you take a step back, you recognize that there is idolatry everywhere, most importantly idolatry in Egypt and the Promised Land. And since we already understand that associated with all idolatry are demons, First Corinthians 10.20, would anyone be so naive as to suggest that the Israelites living in Egypt were unaffected by Egyptian idolatry, or that severe spiritual oppression and enslavement of the subject populations was not the rule of the day?

Beloved, to ignore the spiritual warfare dimensions of Israel’s birth in the Promised Land, their sojourn in Egypt, and their subsequent removal back to the Promised Land, has implications concerning the Savior’s birth in the Promised Land, His subsequent flight to Egypt, and His later removal back to the Promised Land. Thus, did He completely identify with the experience of His people. But our purpose at present is to focus on the Satanic and demonic warfare that is found in Exodus. Would anyone deny that Egypt was enslaved to idols, and therefore to demons? Would anyone suggest the Israelites were not adversely affected by their exposure to and their surrender to idolatry, even being a people generally segregated from the Gentile population of Egypt?

With that recognition, we begin our consideration of spiritual warfare in connection with the book of Exodus. 

Let Us Begin With THE PREPARATION OF ISRAEL 

How does God prepare Israel for removal from Egypt and a return to the Promised Land? There should be no expectation that the Jewish people living in Egypt were faithful to God, had a concern for the will of God, or considered the plan of God for their lives. For four centuries, life had been pretty good. How, then, does God create in the hearts and minds of His chosen people a desire to leave Egypt and return to the Promised Land?

The idolatry of Egypt was of no great concern to any Israelite. Read through the first chapters of the book of Exodus and you will find no indication that any Israelite has any issue with idolatry. Even if the Israelites were not as wholly given over to idolatry as the Egyptians, owing to their knowledge of their history and God’s promise made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, there is little doubt that they employed a live and let live philosophy, with no desire to leave Egypt.

Therefore, to create in His people a desire to leave Egypt, which would be very good for them, God replaced one Egyptian dynasty with another Egyptian dynasty. The former dynasty had been favorably inclined to the Israelites because of the benefit to them of Joseph. The current dynasty was not favorably inclined to the Israelites and had no institutional memory of Joseph. Instead, they were afraid of the ethnically different Israelites and began to oppress them.

What did this oppression by the Egyptians accomplish in the lives of the Israelites? And do not imagine the suffering of the Israelites was not instigated by the demonic influences upon the decision makers of that nation. Such is always the case with idolatry. In their misery and suffering, the Israelites cried out to God for deliverance. Understand, they had no interest in spiritual deliverance from sins, from idolatry, or from demonic oppression and enslavement. No. Their concern was only their physical suffering, which caused them to cry out to God for relief.

How wise God is, how merciful God is, how gracious God is, to so work in the lives of those He is well disposed toward to bring about the circumstances that will create in them a desire to do what they should have done anyway. Had the Israelites not been sinful people, as all people are sinful people, they would have sought God, communed with Him, and inquired about His will for their lives. But they were a sinful people, as are all people. Therefore, God created the circumstances that prompted them to cry out to Him for deliverance. Is it not interesting how God creates the pain and suffering of people He is particularly interested in, so they will turn to Him in prayer, crying out for relief and deliverance? Therefore, those who are not brought to a place of pain and suffering by circumstances, so they will cry out to God for relief and deliverance, are not in a better place. They are in a far worse place.

Exodus 2.23-25: 

23 And it came to pass in process of time, that the king of Egypt died: and the children of Israel sighed by reason of the bondage, and they cried, and their cry came up unto God by reason of the bondage.

24 And God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob.

25 And God looked upon the children of Israel, and God had respect unto them. 

We Now Come To THE PREPARATION OF MOSES 

Do you find the chronology of Exodus chapter 2 as interesting as I do? In particular, I am blessed to notice that God’s preparation of Moses, the man He will use to deliver the Israelites from Egyptian bondage in the Exodus, begins before the Israelites cried out to God. How often God’s people cry out to God in prayer for some type of relief, only to discover after their prayers have been answered that God began to answer their prayers before they began to pray. God is so good that way. What a comfort to His people He is. How sad it is to be a man or a woman who has no relationship with God, and therefore has no basis to cry out to Him to fulfill His promises. Thankfully, He is gracious and merciful, so cry out to Him anyway. Amen?

Reflect with me on Moses’ early life. In the face of efforts to kill all newborn Jewish boys, Moses’ birth and survival was no accident. From the ark of bulrushes he was placed in, God’s providence can be seen throughout, to his discovery by Pharaoh’s daughter, to the employment of his mother to be his nurse, to his rearing in Pharaoh’s household. Would you imagine Moses to have been a godly young man, devoted to the LORD while receiving the best of Egyptian education and spiritual propaganda available? Think again. He adopted the mantle of an oppressed minority and murdered an Egyptian he saw mistreating one of his countrymen, Exodus 2.11-12, burying his body to avoid discovery. He was in his fortieth year when he took that man’s life. What Moses did was profoundly sinful. He killed a man. Confronted by witnesses, Moses fled to the Midian desert to escape accountability for his crime, Exodus 2.15. He remained there for forty years. Half of his life lived in Egypt, and half of his life lived in the Midian desert. Half of his life lived in civilization, and half of his life lived as a relatively primitive nomad.

Sometime around his 80th year, Moses was confronted by the one true and living God, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. This life-changing interaction began when Moses turned aside upon seeing a bush that burned without being consumed by the fire, Exodus 3.2-3. When “God called unto him out of the midst of the bush,” a relationship with God began that would continue for the forty years that remained of Moses’ natural life. As Moses approached the burning bush, God said, 

“Draw not nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground.”[6] 

This may have been the first time in Moses’ life he had been confronted with a reason to consider moral absolutes, rather than what he liked and did not like. This One to whom he spoke was holy. Quite a revelation to an eighty year-old man raised in an idolatrous culture.[7]

Without delay, God told Moses of His plan to use him to deliver his people from Egyptian bondage, Exodus 3.9-10: 

9  Now therefore, behold, the cry of the children of Israel is come unto me: and I have also seen the oppression wherewith the Egyptians oppress them.

10 Come now therefore, and I will send thee unto Pharaoh, that thou mayest bring forth my people the children of Israel out of Egypt. 

In Exodus chapter four, we see God preparing Moses for the task that lies ahead, though we can be confident that to this point, Moses’ entire life had been a process of God preparing him for his upcoming forty years of useful service. God provided Moses with signs to use in Pharaoh’s presence, demonstrations of superior spiritual power designed to impress that idolater who ruled Egypt. Does that not enhance your conviction that what Moses is being prepared to do is engage a spiritual adversary who maneuvers the Pharaoh of Egypt as a pawn? A rod that turns into a serpent, Exodus 4.3. Turning the skin on his hand to leprosy and back again, Exodus 4.6-7. Turning river water into blood, Exodus 4.9. Any doubts about this being supernatural? Any question that Moses is being outfitted for spiritual conflict? And when Moses protested to God that he was not a good talker, God, in essence, said, “Fine. Use your older brother, Aaron, to do your talking for you. Now, go to Egypt.” 

We Next Deal With THE CONFRONTATION IN EGYPT 

This involved the audiences Moses had with Pharaoh, a man he might very well have grown up with for all we know. There are two aspects of this confrontation I want you to keep in mind:

First, the events in the foreground (the seen world) are the ten plagues visited upon the Egyptians: 

THE PLAGUES OF EGYPT 

As many are not aware of the significance of the plagues it may be found helpful to consider briefly these divine visitations upon Egypt. Ten plagues in all befell the Egyptians. Ten is a number suggesting the perfection of divine order. The whole cycle is complete; nothing is wanting. In the ten plagues we have the perfection of God’s judgments against the gods of Egypt (Exod. 12:12; Acts 7:43). Egypt was a land polluted by idolatry, and the plagues were remarkably adapted as punishment for stupid idolatries, monstrous wickednesses, and wanton cruelties.

Plague One - The Waters Turned to Blood (7:14-25).

The Priests of Egypt held blood in abhorrence, yet they cruelly sported with the blood of the captive Israelites, whose children they caused to be cast into the river. The Egyptians worshipped the river Nile as a god, partly because of its delicious waters, but chiefly because of the extraordinary fertility of the land by its annual overflow. They called it “The Ocean or Sacred Nile.” Yet its sacred waters were turned to blood. An object of worship was turned into an object of abhorrence.

Plague Two -The Frogs (8:1-15).

Frogs were consecrated to the deity of “Osiris,” the greatest of the Egyptian gods. The swelling of frogs was regarded by the priests as an emblem of divine inspiration. This gross superstition was severely rebuked when swarms of these creatures filled the river and the land. Houses, beds, vessels of food, containing these objects of veneration, quickly made the whole country offensive.

Plague Three - The Lice (8:16-19).

The idolatries of Egypt were accompanied by the most unclean, foul, and abominable rites imaginable. Scrupulous, external cleanliness, however, was observed by the priests. As no priest dared officiate with lice upon his garments, extreme cautiousness was constantly observed. Cleanliness was worshipped. This is why the plague of lice shocked and disgraced the priests, and led the magicians to see in it the finger of God.

Plague Four - The Flies (8:20-32).

The Egyptians worshipped several deities, whose province it was to drive away the flies, which swarmed over the country during the summer season. The God of Ekrom, mentioned in II Kings 1:2, was a fly deity, and was known as Zebub or Beel-zebub, prince, lord, or God of flies. Strange, is it not, that this is the name given by our Lord to Satan? (Matt. 12:24-27).

Plague Five - The Murrain of the Cattle (9:1-7).

Egypt also held many beasts in idolatrous veneration. The most outstanding beast deity was the sacred bull­Apis. The soul of their God, Osiris, was believed to reside in the body of this bull. Yet neither Osiris or Apis could save the beasts of Egypt. The smiting of all the cattle was all the more grievous, when it was realized that no injury had befallen the cattle of Israel.

Plague Six - The Boils (9:8-12).

Several medical deities, to whom on particular occasions living men were sacrificed, likewise held sway in the realm of worship. We read of Moloch (Acts 7:43) which was one of these gods. Those sacrificed to such a god were burnt alive upon the high altar, their ashes being cast into the air, so that with every scattered atom a blessing might descend. It has been suggested that Moses took ashes from the altar, ashes of human bodies offered to a medical deity, and cast them into the air; but the dust descended upon the priests and people, afflicting them with tormenting boils. By this plague all honored deities were shamed.

Plague Seven - Hail, Rain, Fire (9:13-35).

Isis and Osiris were the gods of water and fire, and were worshipped as protectors. At the season when this seventh plague came, it never hailed or rained. With the destruction of barley, the supply of food was diminished. Yet such a judgment was mixed with grace. (See chapter 9:32.) By the loss of flax, Egypt’s extensive trade in fine linens was greatly spoiled. The gods of the weather were powerless to resist this devastating plague.

Plague Eight - The Locusts (10:1-20).

Isis and Serapis were supposed to protect the country from locusts. West winds might bring these enemies, but an east wind the Egyptians never feared, seeing they had the protection of the Red Sea. But Egypt’s gods failed, for the very east wind they revered became their destruction.

Plague Nine - The Darkness (10:21-29).

Egypt also worshipped Ra - the Sun God. This monarch was called Pharaoh-Child of the Sun. (See references in Amos 5:26 and Acts 7:43 to heavenly objects of adoration.) Yet such gods were shown to be under control, for darkness plagued the earth, except in the dwellings of Israel where light prevailed.

Plague Ten - The Death of the Firstborn (11:12-36).

This last, terrible plague was directed against all the heathen deities at one time. “Now I know that the LORD is greater than all gods: for in the thing wherein they dealt proudly he was above them” (18:11).

The principal reason of this final and heaviest calamity was to avenge their unlamented cruelties upon Israel. As God’s firstborn, Egypt had oppressed her; now all the firstborn of Egypt are destroyed. Pharaoh wielded the absolute power of death, but judgment overtakes this autocrat, for “from the firstborn of Pharaoh that sitteth upon his throne, even unto the firstborn of the maidservant that was behind the mill; and all the firstborn of beasts” suffered in this righteous retribution (11:5). And this last judgment humbled the proud spirit of Pharaoh, causing him to release hastily the people of God.

The first two plagues were foretold by Moses and were imitated by the magicians. The rest they failed to copy and confessed that they were wrought by the finger or power of God.

The idol-worship of Egypt had its influence on Israel (32:23; Acts 7:42). Egypt had her sacred Bull - Israel had her Molten Calf. In this generation we have great need to obey the injunction of the aged apostle John: ­ “Little children, keep yourselves from idols” (I John 5:21).[8] 

Next, the events in the background (the unseen world) are the overwhelming of the false gods worshiped by the Egyptians, hence, the superiority of God’s power over the power of the demons back of the idols: “Numbers 33:4 suggests that these plagues were also intentionally directed against Egypt’s gods when it says, “and the LORD executed judgments upon their gods.”[9] Ponder the reaction to these events by Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, the priest of Midian: 

8 And Moses told his father in law all that the LORD had done unto Pharaoh and to the Egyptians for Israel’s sake, and all the travail that had come upon them by the way, and how the LORD delivered them.

9 And Jethro rejoiced for all the goodness which the LORD had done to Israel, whom he had delivered out of the hand of the Egyptians.

10 And Jethro said, Blessed be the LORD, who hath delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians, and out of the hand of Pharaoh, who hath delivered the people from under the hand of the Egyptians.

11 Now I know that the LORD is greater than all gods: for in the thing wherein they dealt proudly he was above them.

12 And Jethro, Moses’ father in law, took a burnt offering and sacrifices for God: and Aaron came, and all the elders of Israel, to eat bread with Moses’ father in law before God. 

Jethro recognized that the plagues demonstrated the LORD’s superiority over any false god. No doubt, the Israelites that witnessed the events as they unfolded made the connection between the actions of the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the one true and living God of Israel, and the demons behind the false gods of those who enslaved them. Do you wonder at the severity of God’s dealings with the Egyptians, the intensity of the plagues? It partly had to do with how difficult it is to dislodge someone from the mindset that results from the doctrines of demons impregnating their thought processes. God intended to tear His people away from the idolatry and the influence of demons over their lives. 

We Now Come To THE EXODUS FROM EGYPT 

Of course, after Pharaoh capitulated to the demands of Moses and granted permission for the Israelites to leave, he changed his mind and recanted.[10] He then dispatched his army and chariots to pursue the Israelites, who numbered as many as 2 million.[11]

Make no mistake about the Exodus being a profoundly spiritual event and later represent the redemption sinners have in Christ. Pharaoh’s capitulation to Moses's demands signaled a loosing of the grip demons had on his thought processes and his temporary association with reality. But then spiritual control over his thoughts was once more reestablished by demonic forces, and he once again entertained the insane notion that he could achieve victory against the Creator of all things.

When Pharaoh dispatched his soldiers, God responded with His Shekinah glory, a pillar of smoke by day and a pillar of fire by night, to protect his people.[12] He also parted the waters of the Red Sea, thereby demonstrating that He was not only God of the unseen but also God of the seen.[13] He delivered his people with a strong right arm, demonstrating to the natural and the supernatural world who is God and who are merely pretenders.

Lest anyone imagine the Exodus was not primarily a spiritual conflict, consider these words of praise and rejoicing from the Song of Moses, Exodus 15.11: 

“Who is like unto thee, O LORD, among the gods? who is like thee, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders?” 

I Conclude With Some Comments About THE GIVING OF THE LAW 

Of course, their flight from Egypt took them to Mount Sinai’s foot, the place where God summoned Moses to give him the two tablets of stone on which were engraved the Ten Commandments and established with the nation the Mosaic Covenant and the Law of Moses.[14]

The Ten Commandments are first recorded for us in Exodus 20.1-17 and are rehearsed several times. However, for our purposes, I want to focus your attention on only one of the ten commands, the second command, Exodus 20.4-6: 

4 Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth:

5 Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me;

6 And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments. 

Could a stronger prohibition of idolatry be made? Pay attention to God’s declaration of His jealousy, verse 5, as well as the indication that His attitude toward those who engage in idolatry is to label such as hatred toward Him. Under the Mosaic Law in Israel, idolatry was a capital offense, a crime punishable by death by stoning.

Though the Law was not given to Gentiles, does the Law not indicate to us the hostility God possesses toward an activity prompted by foul spirits for the precise purpose of persuading people to glorify them instead of God? I am so persuaded. 

This concludes our survey of Satanic and demonic warfare in Exodus. The lengths to which God was willing to go to dislodge His covenant people from their idolatrous situation, to persuade them of both His opposition to the false gods of the Egyptians and His superiority to them, should firm up our convictions regarding idolatry and the wicked nature of Satan and the demons.

Recognize, also, that the Exodus from Egypt was not the end of the influence demons had over the Israelites, as evidenced by the Second Commandment. Had I the time, I would have dealt with the golden calf that was fashioned by Moses’ brother Aaron while God was giving Moses the Ten Commandments.

Think of the insidious nature of idolatry, that while God was carving tablets of stone prohibiting idolatry, the people were fashioning an idol! And when confronted by Moses, what did Aaron say? 

“I said unto them, Whosoever hath any gold, let them break it off. So they gave it me: then I cast it into the fire, and there came out this calf.”[15] 

Let us remember that these are surveys and not in-depth considerations of Satanic and demonic warfare. However, we see in the people (and especially in Aaron) a possible susceptibility. Once dominated by demonic doctrine, it may be that someone is forever susceptible to being seduced by foul spirits.

Therefore, I would urge great caution if you are someone who has ever been enticed to the sin of idolatry. You must ever focus your attention on the Savior.

__________

[1] Nahum M. Sarna, Exodus - The JPS Torah Commentary, (Philadelphia, PA: The Jewish Publication Society, 1991), page xi.

[2] Herbert Lockyer, The Gospel In The Pentateuch, (Chicago: The Bible Institute Colportage Association, 1939), pages 56-57.

[3] Walter C. Kaiser, Jr. And Paul D. Wegner, A History Of Israel From The Bronze Age Through The Jewish Wars, (Nashville, TN: B & H Academic, Revised Edition, 2016), pages 108, 114-124.

[4] Acts 7.14-15

[5] Genesis 46.34

[6] Genesis 3.5

[7] Exodus 7.7

[8] Lockyer, pages 59-63 and Kaiser & Wegner, pages 163-164, 168.

[9] Kaiser & Wegner, page 167.

[10] Exodus 13.17; 14.3-6

[11] Exodus 14.7-10 and Kaiser & Wegner, page 172.

[12] Exodus 13.21-22; 14.20

[13] Exodus 14.21-31

[14] Exodus 19.1-8

[15] Exodus 32.24

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