Oct. 17, 2013
Exodus 7-Part 3
And the fish that was in the river died; and the river stank, and the Egyptians could not drink of the water of the river; and there was blood throughout all the land of Egypt. Exodus 7:21
LET IT GLOW
There have been times that we had no water for our house nor for the cattle to drink on our farm. Sometimes it was due to an electrical outage. Several times the electricity was off to the pump due to ice and snow storms, and a tornado. A couple of winters it was off for a week at a time, so we used a generator. Then there were a couple of times that our pump stopped working and we had to replace it or parts. That was when we quickly called the man who fixes pumps. He was so good to come as soon as possible. In the mean time, we either hauled water from our son's house or we just stayed with them in their upstairs. When I didn't have water, I seemed to be thirsty a lot. I couldn't bathe, wash clothes, nor flush. You don't miss it until it is gone. It is rough being out of water for 7 days. The Egyptians experienced it, too. Why?
After the staff and snake episode, Pharaoh did not let the Hebrews leave Egypt. He hardened his heart. God told Moses to take his staff and go down to the Nile River and wait for Pharaoh there.
Apparently Pharaoh habitually went to the river for washing or, more likely, for the performance of some religious rite. Three times Moses would meet him at this early morning rendezvous to warn of plagues, the first, fourth, and seventh. The Nile River was the sacred waterway of the land, whose annual ebb and flow contributed strategically and vitally to the agricultural richness of Egypt. Hymns of thanksgiving were often sung for the blessings brought by the Nile, the country's greatest, single economic resource. (John MacArthur)
So the warnings of the coming 1st, 4th, and 7th plagues occurred at the river bank. the Warnings for the 5th and 8th plagues happened at the palace. (An interesting tidbit)
Moses was to say the same thing to Pharaoh, the king of Egypt-God said for you to let His people, the Hebrews, go into the desert to worship Him. This time, it was added, "But until now you have not listened. By this you will know that I am the LORD." (verses 16c and 17a NIV)
In verses 17-18, Moses spoke God's warning of the water turning into blood and the fish dying.
Pharaoh said nothing.
Do we listen and know that God is the Supreme God, Elohim and Almighty God, El Shaddai?
If we listen to what He has to say to us, we might receive a warning of something to come.
LET IT GROW
Then Aaron struck the water of the Nile with his staff and it turned into blood in front of Pharaoh and his officials.
The Nile River was worshiped as a god since it was the source of life in Egypt (Deut. 11:10-12), and when Moses turned it into blood, God showed His power over the river. (Wiersbe)
It wasn't just the Nile River that was changed into blood; the streams and canals, ponds and reservoirs, wooden buckets and stone jars of water, also; even areas not touched by the natural flow of the river. The Egyptians could not drink the water for seven days. That's how long the plague lasted. It was virtually impossible for the people to find fresh water to drink (verses 18, 21, 24) during those seven days.
The word blood (dam in Hebrew pronounced dawm), refers to that which when shed causes death of man or an animal; it can also refer to the juice of the grape, fig. (Strong's Exhaustive Concordance)
In Liberty Bible Commentary, Jerry Falwell said:
The word blood occurs over 150 times in the Pentateuch, and is always used of real biological blood, except in two passages (Gen. 49:11 and Deut. 32:14) where it speaks figuratively for the "blood" of the grape. If Moses had simply meant that the Nile would turn "red," he could have used any of several words to signify that color.
The Egyptian magicians did the same thing and Pharaoh's heart became hard, then he went back to his palace. He did not even take it to heart. He didn't even contemplate what he saw happen.
Do we listen to what God's Word has to say to us and take it to heart? God means business. He cannot lie. His Word is true.
the Egyptian people even tried digging around the Nile River for drinking water. When the blood turned back into water, in a single day, it should have been a miraculous thing to Pharaoh, but his hard heart took no notice.
I hope we do not have such a hard heart that we can't see God's miracles around us.
Here is some new information which I found out and wanted to share.
John Phillips, in his book, 100 Old Testament Sermon Outlines, concludes:
Pharaoh hardened his own heart long before God hardened it for him. The hardening process is traced to Pharaoh up through the first five plagues. After the sixth, God hardened Pharaoh's heart for him. Space was given him for repentance after the seventh plague; thereafter, Pharaoh proving adamant, God hardened his heart until He met him in judgment at the Red Sea.
That is plague #1, water turned into blood. How many plagues or miracles does it take to turn our heart to God? It took 9 more for Pharaoh.
LET IT GO
Listen to God and know that He is LORD.
Look for warnings and heed them.
Maintain a soft heart.
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