Exodus 7:1 says, And the LORD said unto Moses, See, I have made thee a god to Pharaoh: and Aaron thy brother shall be thy prophet.  God said He had empowered Moses.  I don't believe that God meant that Moses was a literal god, but that Moses had the power of God behind him.  We will never be gods as followers of Christ, but we will have the power of God behind us when we proclaim His word to the world.  Verse two states, Thou shalt speak all that I command thee: and Aaron thy brother shall speak unto Pharaoh, that he send the children of Israel out of his land.  Through Aaron speaking, Moses was to tell Pharaoh everything that God told Moses to tell him.  Moses really didn't need Aaron to speak for him, and we don't need someone else to speak for us today to share God's word with the world.  The purpose of God then was to set the people of Israel free from slavery in Egypt, and the purpose of the gospel today is to set people free from the bondage of sin, no matter where we are in the world.  Verse three adds,  And I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and multiply my signs and my wonders in the land of Egypt.  As I have said before, I don't believe that God caused Pharaoh's heart to be hardened so that God could show His power, but He knew that Pharaoh would not accept God's authority easily.  I don't believe that God is ever the cause of sin.  Today, many people will not accept Christ because they see no physical proof of His being Who He says He is, but that is not because God causes them to not believe.  Verse four continues, But Pharaoh shall not hearken unto you, that I may lay my hand upon Egypt, and bring forth mine armies, and my people the children of Israel, out of the land of Egypt by great judgments.  Moses didn't want to go and God told him Pharaoh would not listen to him, but that did not relieve Moses of the responsibility of going.  We may go to people today and share the gospel and they will never believe us, but that does not relieve us of the responsibility of going and sharing the gospel.  Verse five concludes, And the Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD, when I stretch forth mine hand upon Egypt, and bring out the children of Israel from among them.  Just like the Egyptians, there is coming a day when everyone will know that God is indeed God, even those who harden their heart against Him today.  Verse six says, And Moses and Aaron did as the LORD commanded them, so did they.  Moses and Aaron did what God had commanded, just as we must today as followers of Christ.  Verse seven adds, And Moses was fourscore years old, and Aaron fourscore and three years old, when they spake unto Pharaoh.  Moses was eighty and Aaron was eighty-three at this time, but they were not too old to do what God called them to do.  When God calls us to do something for Him, we are neither too old nor to young to do whatever He calls us to do.  Age should not limit us in doing what God calls us to do.  Verse eight declares, And the LORD spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying,  Then verse nine adds, 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.  God knew Pharaoh was going to demand a sign to prove that Aaron and Moses represented God, and God told them to show Pharaoh the sign of the rod becoming a serpent.  People today may demand a sign that God is God when we present the gospel to them, but the only sign we can offer them is the change that Christ has made in our life.  Verse ten states, And Moses and Aaron went in unto Pharaoh, and they did so as the LORD had commanded: and Aaron cast down his rod before Pharaoh, and before his servants, and it became a serpent.  Moses and Aaron did what God had commanded them to do, just as we must today.  The rod became a serpent when Aaron cast it down.  Verse eleven declares, Then Pharaoh also called the wise men and the sorcerers: now the magicians of Egypt, they also did in like manner with their enchantments.  Pharaoh called his wise men and sorcerers and they were able to do the same thing with their rod.  Satan does have a certain amount of power in the world today, and there are those who believe that they can do anything God can do.  I believe this is even more so in the world today.  We are caught up in the new things that man is able to do that seem to be almost as powerful as what God can do.  I believe this is why salvation doesn't come from signs, but from simple faith.  Verse twelve adds, For they cast down every man his rod, and they became serpents: but Aaron’s rod swallowed up their rods.  There was one difference, and that was that Aaron's rod swallowed all the others.  God's word and power today will swallow up all other claims of power on the part of people, but we must believe it for it to do us any good.  Verse thirteen concludes, And he hardened Pharaoh’s heart, that he hearkened not unto them; as the LORD had said.  Pharaoh still would not believe what God said through Aaron and Moses, even when he saw the superiority of God's sign to him.  We should not be surprised when people do not believe the sign off the cross today.