#16 – Exodus 7:8-25
The Power Encounter Begins
G-d has already stated to Moses that He is going to manifest His signs and wonders such that both Israel and the Egyptians “will know that I am the L-RD.” But He has one more particular audience in mind as He displays His power.
Snakes alive!
The L-RD has already established the pattern that will be followed as our story unfolds. He tells Moses what to do and say.
Often included in G-d’s instruction is insight into how Pharaoh will respond. He even anticipates what the Egyptian king will say. “When Pharaoh speaks to you, saying, ‘Work a miracle’ . . . .”[1] (Exodus 7:8-9 NASB)
Moses and Aaron make their second visit to Pharaoh who sees a demonstration of G-d’s power for the first time. Apparently, Pharaoh has been entertained by magic tricks previously. He summons his wise men, sorcerers, and magicians who duplicate the “stick into serpent” routine with their “secret arts.” But Aaron’s serpent devours theirs! (Exodus 7:10-12 NASB.)
“Yet Pharaoh’s heart was hardened,[2] and he did not listen to them, as the L-RD had said.”[3] (Exodus 7:13 NASB)
Plague 1: Water to blood
We don’t have a record of what Moses and Aaron discussed upon exiting Pharaoh’s office. Perhaps it sounded like, “Well, that didn’t work.”
But G-d’s plan is only in its beginning stages. He acknowledges the reality that “Pharaoh’s heart is stubborn”[4] but instructs Moses to intercept the king at the Nile River in the morning.
“You shall say to him, ‘The L-RD, the G-d of the Hebrews, sent me to you, saying,
“Let My people go, that they may serve Me in the wilderness.
But behold, you have not listened until now.”
Thus says the L-RD, “By this you shall know that I am the L-RD:
behold, I will strike the water that is in the Nile with the staff that is in my hand, and it will be turned to blood.
The fish that are in the Nile will die, and the Nile will become foul,
and the Egyptians will find difficulty in drinking water from the Nile.”’”
(Exodus 7:16-18 NASB)
Remember Pharaoh’s response when Moses and Aaron first showed up as G-d’s spokesmen? Pharaoh’s first response was, “Who is the L-RD that I should obey His voice . . . ? I do not know the L-RD.” (Exodus 5:2 NASB)
Pharaoh still isn’t listening. But G-d has more in mind than dialogue. What He had been intending to do all along He now explicitly states: “By this you [Pharaoh][5] shall know that I am the L-RD.”[6] (Exodus 7:17 NASB) The Nile will be turned to blood.
Moses passes along G-d’s detailed instructions to Aaron, who raises his staff over the waters of Egypt. Rivers, streams, pools, and reservoirs (including the water in stone and wood storage containers) were turned to blood throughout all the land of Egypt. The fish all died; no water fit to drink remained. (Exodus 7:19-21 NASB)
Hard hearts don’t easily move
Pharaoh’s magicians use their secret arts to change water into blood. But what does that avail? The blood remains, and the Egyptians now are forced to perform their own labor: digging wells to find water to drink.
A second time we read, “Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, and he didn’t listen to them, as the L-RD had said.” (Exodus 7:22.) He heads back to his house, unmoved and unconcerned about the devastating effects of this first plague.
Fear factor/Misery Index
Until now, the situation has been intolerable for the suffering Hebrew slaves. Though Pharaoh shrugs off this first blow from G-d’s hand, he is about to experience increasing discomfort.
Where is G-d?
For Moses, the L-RD is both present and active, first person. Pharaoh is hearing G-d’s words second hand but he and everyone in Egypt is experiencing His judgment up close and personal.
And G-d? He takes a week’s break. (Exodus 7:25.)
[1] The L-RD has already prepared Moses for this eventuality in giving him the authenticating signs in Exodus 4:1-9 (staff -> serpent -> staff; leprous -> cleansed hand; Nile water -> blood) to convince the Israelites he indeed was G-d’s emissary. Moses and Aaron did not perform these signs in their first visit to Pharaoh’s office (Exodus 5:1-5).
[2] This is the first time we see Pharaoh with a hardened heart. Though G-d had previously said He would harden the king’s heart (Exodus 4:21; 7:3), in this instance He is not stated to be the “hardening agent.” The “G-d’s sovereignty vs. man’s free will” debate has raged for millennia. See Romans 9:14-24 NASB for insight.
[3] “(Just) as the L-RD had said” is recurring reminder of G-d’s foreknowledge in Scripture.
[4] The Hebrew word kaved is most often translated “heavy,” but has a wide range of meanings, such as “thick.” In English we speak of people being “heavy hearted” when sad or “thick headed” when stubborn. Here “thick hearted” equals obstinate.
[5] “You” is in the singular form here.
[6] This is the first of six times G-d will say “that you may know” to Pharaoh; see also 8:22; 9:14,19; 10:2; 11:7. Moses also says it to him in 9:29.
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