Exodus 7:14-25 Click here for Bible Verses
Hi GAMErs!
Today’s passage is Exodus 7:14-25. Let’s go!
Exodus 7:14-21 (NIV)
14 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Pharaoh’s heart is unyielding; he refuses to let the people go.
15 Go to Pharaoh in the morning as he goes out to the water. Wait on the bank of the Nile to meet him, and take in your hand the staff that was changed into a snake.
16 Then say to him, ‘The LORD, the God of the Hebrews, has sent me to say to you: Let my people go, so that they may worship me in the desert. But until now you have not listened.
17 This is what the LORD says: By this you will know that I am the LORD: With the staff that is in my hand I will strike the water of the Nile, and it will be changed into blood.
18 The fish in the Nile will die, and the river will stink; the Egyptians will not be able to drink its water.'”
19 The LORD said to Moses, “Tell Aaron, ‘Take your staff and stretch out your hand over the waters of Egypt–over the streams and canals, over the ponds and all the reservoirs’–and they will turn to blood. Blood will be everywhere in Egypt, even in the wooden buckets and stone jars.”
20 Moses and Aaron did just as the LORD had commanded. He raised his staff in the presence of Pharaoh and his officials and struck the water of the Nile, and all the water was changed into blood.
21 The fish in the Nile died, and the river smelled so bad that the Egyptians could not drink its water. Blood was everywhere in Egypt.
On verses 14-21: The Egyptians worshiped the god Hapy as the god who had power over the Nile. By turning the Nile River into blood, God was communicating that He had power over the Nile, that He alone was the one true God, and that life ultimately comes from Him, not the Nile.
Also, I find it interesting that the first miracle God enables Moses to perform in the sight of all the Egyptians (and not just in Pharaoh’s court) is turning water into blood. It was a message of warning and judgment that God was sending to Pharaoh and all of Egypt. Fast forward to the New Testament and you’ll find that the first miracle Jesus performs is turning water into wine. It’s a message of joy, life and restoration, where God is not taking away the water supply but enhancing it. Why the difference? Didn’t the same God send both Moses and Jesus? It’s because in the grand scheme of things, God would use His servant Moses and His Son Jesus for different purposes. God would use His servant Moses to give us God’s law, which in turn brought death in that it helped us realize that no matter how hard we try we are essentially sinners who are from God and who need a Saviour (Romans 7:10). In contrast, God would later send His Son Jesus to show us grace (God’s undeserved kindness) and truth (John 1:17) and to be the Saviour who brings us back to the God we were separated from.
Exodus 7:22-25 (NIV)
22 But the Egyptian magicians did the same things by their secret arts, and Pharaoh’s heart became hard; he would not listen to Moses and Aaron, just as the LORD had said.
23 Instead, he turned and went into his palace, and did not take even this to heart.
24 And all the Egyptians dug along the Nile to get drinking water, because they could not drink the water of the river.
25 Seven days passed after the LORD struck the Nile.
On verses 22-25: Why would God perform miracles that the Egyptian magicians could seemingly duplicate (7:11, 22), like turning staffs into snakes and water into blood? Why would God bother to perform miracles if He knew that they would not convince Pharaoh (7:4?)
Compared to some of the later plagues, the earlier miracles of turning staffs into snakes and water into blood were relatively gentle signs (and thus perhaps easier for the Egyptian magicians to try to duplicate using their secret arts). I believe God started with the gentler miracles because God is gentle and wants to give as many people as possible a chance to believe in Him before it was too late.
God already knew that Pharaoh would not turn to Him based on the first few miracles, but God also knew that others – both Egyptians and Israelites alike – were watching and could turn to faith in Him. So rather than immediately resorting to a miracle so severe that it would kill those who might not yet have believed, God chose to go with something gentler, such as turning all surface water into blood but not touching the underground water, so as to reach those who had a softer heart than Pharaoh. By starting with gentler miracles, God was knocking on the door of the people’s hearts, instead of barging in by force.
It goes to show that God is patient and gentle with us. He gives us time to get on His side. He gives us second chances. So when you experience a miracle from God, don’t harden your heart like Pharaoh or rely on people’s rationalizations about what happened. Instead thank God and give your heart to Him. The sooner you do so, the better off you and those in your care will be.
Heavenly Father, thank You for being patient and gentle with us. You would rather lose face Yourself if it means You can save more people. Thank You for being both a God of law and a God of grace. In Jesus’ name, AMEN!
