The First Plague: Waters Become Blood

Exodus 7:14-25

• “The ten plagues were not just against Pharaoh and his people, but “against all the gods of Egypt” (Exodus 12:12; Numbers 33:3-4).” (Padfield, D.)

¹⁴ So the Lord said to Moses: “Pharaoh’s heart is hard; he refuses to let the people go.

• “Pharaoh’s heart is hard” (כָּבֵד, kāvēd – meaning “heavy, stubborn”).

¹⁵ Go to Pharaoh in the morning, when he goes out to the water, and you shall stand by the river’s bank to meet him; and the rod which was turned to a serpent you shall take in your hand.

• Historically, Egyptian rulers would often perform ritual washing in the Nile. The god of the Nile was Hapi (the god of fertility and the river). To meet him there would be a confrontation with his religious beliefs/practices.
• As per Isaiah 44:6, God would use this to strike down any false gods and prove He alone is the one true God.

¹⁶ And you shall say to him, ‘The Lord God of the Hebrews has sent me to you, saying, “Let My people go, that they may serve Me in the wilderness”; but indeed, until now you would not hear!

• The Lord God of the Hebrews – emphasizes God’s covenant with Israel.
• Because worship is central to Israel’s identity, God called them to the wilderness to worship and fulfill their purpose.

¹⁷ Thus says the Lord: “By this you shall know that I am the Lord. Behold, I will strike the waters which are in the river with the rod that is in my hand, and they shall be turned to blood.

• In Ex. 5:2 Pharaoh question who was the Lord and why should he obey him. Now God intends to show him well who is the Lord.
• The symbolism of the river is not to be lost here because it was vital to Egypt. Their economy depended on the Nile for agriculture and religious life so having it turned to unusable blood was utter devastation.
• Blood (דָּם, dām) – Represents life and judgment (Leviticus 17:11). Here, it signals death and divine wrath.

¹⁸ And the fish that are in the river shall die, the river shall stink, and the Egyptians will loathe to drink the water of the river. “‘”

• If Egypt is fully dependent on the Nile for livelihood, then the river must be teeming with life before it is changed to blood. So this change would be enormously devastating and the stink of decay profound.
• A theme to consider is the resemblance to Romans 6:23 where sin corrupts and defiles causing death. This time in Exodus foreshadows a time when a redeemer will come.

¹⁹ Then the Lord spoke to Moses, “Say to Aaron, ‘Take your rod and stretch out your hand over the waters of Egypt, over their streams, over their rivers, over their ponds, and over all their pools of water, that they may become pools of blood. And there shall be blood throughout all the land of Egypt, both in the buckets of wood and pitchers of stone.’”

• Here, it is expounded upon that much more than just the river Nile has been affected. All bodies of water including buckets and pitchers will suffer the same fate.
• Turning the Nile/all of the water in Egypt into blood was a symbolic judgement of Egypt cutting off their lifeline and demonstrating that God was sovereign over life and death.

²⁰ And Moses and Aaron did so, just as the Lord commanded. So he lifted the rod and struck the waters that were in the river, in the sight of Pharaoh and in the sight of his servants. And all the waters that were in the river were turned to blood. ²¹ The fish that were in the river died, the river stank, and the Egyptians could not drink the water of the river. So there was blood throughout all the land of Egypt.

• Moses and Aaron, commanded by God have obeyed and the first plague is produced before Pharaoh.

²² Then the magicians of Egypt did so with their enchantments; and Pharaoh’s heart grew hard, and he did not heed them, as the Lord had said.

• Despite the magicians enchantments replicating the water to blood, they were not able to reverse it, proving the power of God.

²³ And Pharaoh turned and went into his house. Neither was his heart moved by this.

• While his people suffered the incredible hardship of trying to find water, Pharaoh with his very hardened and stubborn heart, just turned and went inside his house. He was unmoved and let them suffer.

²⁴ So all the Egyptians dug all around the river for water to drink, because they could not drink the water of the river. ²⁵ And seven days passed after the Lord had struck the river.

SECOND PLAGUE: FROGS – COMING MONDAY

REFLECTIONS:

1. How do I respond when I am corrected?
2. Do I give heed to proof of truth instead of being stubbornly holding on to false security?
3. Am I willing to blatantly ignore Gods warnings for me?

Padfield, David. Against All the Gods of Egypt. 2015.