Yahweh instructs Moses to tell Pharaoh all that He commands, and Aaron is Moses’s prophet—or mouth piece. Here, we see the job of a prophet. A prophet is the mouth piece of God. What the prophet says as a prophet is the word of God, not his own words. That is why the Old Testament issued the death penalty to Old Testament prophets who were incorrect in their predictions (Deuteronomy 18:20-22). In our day, Christ is the prophet, priest, and king of His people. There is no need for a prophet in the likeness of the Old Testament because Jesus Christ has accomplished His work and fulfilled the whole Law and the Prophets. But, if anyone in our day claims to be an Old Testament type of prophet, he or she should bear the warning of Deuteronomy in mind. If he is speaking of his own accord but claiming his words as the words of God, or even merely speaking presumptuously and calling it God’s words, God is against him.

Moses and Aaron are in their 80s. They did their best work in the last quarter of their lives on this earth. Before he went before Pharaoh, Moses’s life was not noteworthy. Because he obeys God, albeit reservedly, Moses accomplishes great things in the final stretch, the last inning. As we age, we should take great comfort in the fact that God does not discriminate according to  people’s age. In the last inning of our lives, we can also accomplish great things. May we never grow lazy or complacent in doing the work of the Lord.

God takes credit, here, for hardening Pharaoh’s heart. He takes credit for doing so before the plagues and before Pharaoh’s heart is hardened again with each call to release Israel. God is hardening Pharaoh’s heart in order to perform more wonders so that Egypt will know that He is the Lord. Egypt has a plethora of gods and goddesses. Yahweh wants the nation to know that they are nothing. Yahweh alone is God. So, each plague will put to shame one of Egypt’s many supposed gods. God is putting their ways to shame and glorifying Himself—making Himself known where He is not known to a prideful and entitled people.