Exodus 7:6 records that Moses and Aaron obeyed God exactly as he had told them. The verse is a short report, not a promise or a command, and its point is that the two brothers did what the LORD asked, in the order and manner he asked. Moses and Aaron are the speakers here, standing before Pharaoh in Egypt as God’s chosen messengers, and this verse reports their response to God’s instructions just before the confrontation with the king begins.
Moses and Aaron did so. As the LORD commanded them, so they did.
Exodus 7:6 (WEB)
What Exodus 7:6 Means
The verse has two halves that mirror each other. “Moses and Aaron did so” tells us the brothers acted, and “As the LORD commanded them, so they did” tells us what they acted on. The repetition is deliberate. The writer wants us to see that their obedience was complete, with nothing added and nothing left out. Their own judgment about how best to approach Pharaoh does not appear in the text.
What the verse does not promise is success. Moses and Aaron are not told that Pharaoh will agree, that the plagues will end quickly, or that the journey out of Egypt will be easy. The verse simply records faithfulness in the present step. Readers sometimes expect a verse like this to explain the outcome, but Exodus 7:6 is about the obedience itself, and the wider story in the chapters that follow deals with the results.
The Context of Exodus 7:6
Exodus is traditionally attributed to Moses and was written for the people of Israel as they came out of slavery and began to understand who their God was. In the verses just before this one, God tells Moses that Pharaoh will not listen at first, that he will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and that the Egyptians will come to know that he is the LORD. So the reader already knows that the confrontation will be long and difficult. Verse 6 sits in the middle of that setup, and it shows the human side of the plan: two aging men, Moses at eighty and Aaron at eighty-three, simply doing what they were told.
The verses that follow move directly into the sign of the rod turning into a serpent, which Moses and Aaron perform on command. Seen this way, verse 6 is a bridge. It reminds the reader that the miracles to come are not the brothers’ own display of power but the working out of God’s stated purpose, and that their role was to carry out his words faithfully.
Key Phrases in Exodus 7:6
Joshua 1:9
Haven’t I commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Don’t be afraid. Don’t be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.”
(WEB)
Joshua receives a similar charge to lead Israel after Moses has died. God tells him to be strong and courageous because the LORD his God is with him wherever he goes, which pairs well with Exodus 7:6 by showing that obedience rests on God’s presence rather than on the messenger’s confidence.
Hebrews 11:8
By faith, Abraham, when he was called, obeyed to go out to the place which he was to receive for an inheritance. He went out, not knowing where he went.
(WEB)
The writer of Hebrews describes Abraham going out to a place he did not know because he was called. Like Moses and Aaron, Abraham acted on God’s word without a full map ahead, which helps readers see faith as steady obedience in the present step.
A Short Prayer From Exodus 7:6
Lord, you have given me instructions, some clear and some that feel hard to carry out. Help me to act on what you have shown me, as Moses and Aaron did, without adding my own doubts or rewriting your words to suit my comfort. I do not ask you to show me the end of every road before I take the first step. Give me steady trust in your character and quiet courage for the next faithful action. Amen.
