Scripture: Then the LORD said to Moses, “Pharaoh’s heart is hardened; he refuses to let the people go. Go to Pharaoh in the morning, as he is going out to the water. Stand on the bank of the Nile to meet him, and take in your hand the staff that turned into a serpent. And you shall say to him, ‘The LORD, the God of the Hebrews, sent me to you, saying, “Let my people go, that they may serve me in the wilderness.” But so far, you have not obeyed. Thus says the LORD, “By this you shall know that I am the LORD: behold, with the staff in my hand I will strike the water in the Nile, and it shall turn into blood. The fish in the Nile shall die, and the Nile will stink, and the Egyptians will grow weary of drinking water from the Nile.”‘” And the LORD said to Moses, “Say to Aaron, ‘Take your staff and stretch out your hand over the waters of Egypt, over their rivers, their canals, and their ponds, and all their pools of water, so that they may become blood, and there shall be blood throughout all the land of Egypt, even in vessels of wood and in vessels of stone.'”
Moses and Aaron did as the LORD commanded. In the sight of Pharaoh and in the sight of his servants he lifted up the staff and struck the water in the Nile, and all the water in the Nile turned into blood. And the fish in the Nile died, and the Nile stank, so that the Egyptians could not drink water from the Nile. There was blood throughout all the land of Egypt. But the magicians of Egypt did the same by their secret arts. So Pharaoh’s heart remained hardened, and he would not listen to them, as the LORD had said. Pharaoh turned and went into his house, and he did not take even this to heart. And all the Egyptians dug along the Nile for water to drink, for they could not drink the water of the Nile.
Exodus 7:14-24 ESV [Click here to read the entire chapter.]
Observation: Recapping Yesterday’s Daily Focus, Yahweh informs Moses and Aaron that Pharaoh will demand a miraculous sign to prove themselves when confronted. As evidence, Moses must command Aaron to cast his staff to the ground before Pharaoh so that it may become a serpent. And as the Lord predicted, each element of this first confrontation occurs as indicated. But God did not share with Moses and Aaron what would follow: Pharaoh’s magicians would duplicate the miracle, only to have Aaron’s staff swallow up their serpent-like staffs. Still, as the Lord foretold, Pharaoh would not listen to them because God hardened his heart.
Today’s reading covers the first plague. Commanding Moses to return to Pharaoh (who will be by the Nile), Yahweh reminds him of Pharaoh’s hardened mindset. The Lord further directs Moses to take his staff and say to Pharaoh:
- The God of the Hebrews demands that you let God’s people go and serve him in the wilderness.
- You have disobeyed God. Consequently, I will strike the Nile’s water with my staff and turn it into blood.
- Fish will die, and the Nile will stink, causing your people to grow weary of searching for drinking water along the Nile.
The Lord then directs Moses to say to Aaron:
- Take your staff and stretch out your hand over all the waters of Egypt so that all become blood—even that found in vessels of wood and stone.
So Moses and Aaron did as commanded, but Pharoah’s magicians employed their magic arts to do the same but on a smaller scale. Thus, Pharaoh remained hardened and refused to listen to Moses and Aaron. Meanwhile, all the Egyptians frantically dug along the Nile for clean water to drink.
Takeaway: It is no coincidence that this first plague features a vital waterway of Egyptian life that entailed idol worship of a pagan god. Moreover, it ties together the overarching story of the Exodus. Beginning with the present Pharaoh’s father ordering the Hebrew midwives to cast newborn Hebrew boys into the Nile, the story ends with the son meeting his fate in the Red Sea. As for the miraculous transformation of water into blood, scholars debate whether the miracle entailed a metabolic change or the flooding of the Nile. When flooded, the Nile’s waters appeared red as blood due to its soil composition (predominately reddish clay). Further deepening the Nile’s reddish hue, the overflow enriched by soil minerals would spur an overgrowth of flagellate algae that depleted oxygen, thereby suffocating marine life (similar to “red tide” here in my home state of Florida).
However, the magicians seemingly duplicated the miracle, which raises two intriguing questions. Where did they find water unaffected by Moses and Aaron’s miraculous act? And how did they perform this supposed miracle? If we assume that this supernatural event entailed flash flooding, the magicians likely drew water from underground wells unaffected by flooding. They then merely added clay and or algae-contaminated water from the Nile. Regardless of the specifics, it’s clear that this event, whether a genuine miracle (see yesterday’s Daily Focus for further discussion) or a clever deception, served God’s purposes. Pharaoh, unmoved by the miraculous sign, remained steadfast in his refusal to heed God’s command, thereby escalating the conflict and sealing his fate.
Our takeaway? The text underscores the role of faith in perceiving the miraculous. There are moments in our lives when events seem to defy the laws of nature. Whether these occurrences find a basis in the supernatural or natural sciences, the timing and outcome are miraculous and reveal the glory of God—but only to those who see beyond the apparent, who walk by faith, not by sight. The Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus illustrates this point. Even if Lazarus appeared to the rich man’s earth-oriented brothers, they would not believe his resurrected state nor his message to repent (Luke 16:19-31)—highlighting the need for our faith to perceive the miraculous in our lives.
Our part? We must check our pride, which otherwise quenches the Holy Spirit’s revelations that reveal the handiwork of God. Our pride closes our minds to the evidence pointing us beyond our small, self-idolized world to our Lord’s eternal and endless realm and his power and majesty. And tragically, when we fail to see beyond the evidence and deny the glory of God at work in our midst, like Pharaoh, we remain unmoved and set on a path to self-destruction. But when we see beyond the apparent and believe in our hearts that God raised his Son from the dead, our exodus, our deliverance, awaits us (Romans 10:9). As we walk by faith guided by the Holy Spirit, we will behold even greater miracles than that of the Exodus story: hardened hearts transformed into hearts of flesh—starting with ours!
Prayer: Father God, thank you for revealing yourself through your incarnate Son. Please help us embrace the reality of the resurrected Christ and walk by faith, looking beyond the apparent events of our temporal world to your glory and your miraculous work in our midst. Amen.
Rev. Gordon Green, M.Div., M.A. Counseling
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