Thus saith Jehovah In this shalt thou know that I am Jehovah -- behold, I will smite with the staff that is in my hand upon the water which is in the river, and it shall be turned into blood.
Pharaoh had asked who the LORD was, and refused to obey Him. God replies at the river: one blow on the water Egypt lived on, and Egypt will know His name.
Egypt had known God once, through Joseph. Then a later king forgot him and sneered at the God of the Hebrews, and the way God made Himself known changed.
In one way or another He will and must make Himself known, for that is His glory. But He seeks to be known in goodness rather than in judgment, if men will hear... But Egypt forgot Joseph. A king arose there who persecuted Joseph's people, and said of his God, "Who is the LORD, that I should obey Him?" Then the Lord had to publish His name in that land in judgment, saying to the king, "By this you shall know that I am the LORD: behold, I will strike with the staff that is in my hand." He was now to be made known not in Joseph, but in plagues.
The first blow fell on the Nile, the water Egypt depended on and worshipped.
The Egyptians adored the river as a god, and yet could claim it as their own making (Ezek. 29:3). Its channels watered the land, and were the very sign that Egypt did not depend on heaven. The river was turned into blood, so that they could not drink of it. The support of life becomes the very symbol of death, and of death by violence, the infliction of the penalty. It is, in fact, not merely nature rising up against them, but penalty from the Creator of nature — death from the Life-giver.
One writer sets this act beside a miracle of the opposite kind:
He who, at Cana, turned the water into wine to cheer His creatures, turned the water of the Nile into blood in judicial dealing with the Egyptians.
God timed this blow for the morning, when Pharaoh went down to the water. Egypt worshipped the river he was heading toward.
Those who have studied the records of ancient Egypt tell us that the Nile was worshipped as one of the chief gods of that land of idols. Remember that when the river was struck under the first plague, Pharaoh was going in the same direction in the morning (Exodus 7:15). It gives us the impression that he was going out to worship the Nile-god, and just at that moment his god was struck... This shows us how these judgments affected the gods of Egypt, as indicated in Exodus 12:12.
Nothing here came as an ambush. God gave Pharaoh the details first, then did exactly what He had said.
The first plague God sent was announced beforehand to Pharaoh... Then he announced to Pharaoh that he would strike the waters of the river that they might become blood (v. 17)... The announcement evidently had no effect on Pharaoh, and the Lord commanded Moses to do just what he had warned (v. 19). When he did this, the result was just as he had said (v. 21).
Some explain the blood as the Nile's seasonal red tint. One writer weighs that against what the text reports.
Even rationalism does not in every case dare to deny that the events told in Ex. 7-12 were supernatural... Alongside the first plague (Ex. 7:15-25) they point to Ehrenberg, who in 1823 saw the inlet of the Red Sea, near Sinai, stained blood-red by tiny plants. Did this kill the fish in the sea or make the waters stink? Did it affect every pond and stream, indeed every vessel of wood and stone? They cannot deny that the two are worlds apart. The Nile takes on a reddish tint for some weeks in June, and none of these consequences follow. This blow fell in or about January, on the river of their pride and idolatry — the river that had seen the cruel death of Israel's male children.
A later command points back to this very stroke, and one writer asks why.
Here we have a picture of Christ struck for us, by the hand of God, in judgment. The reader will note the expression, "the staff with which you struck the Nile." Why the Nile?... It was the staff that turned the water into blood that was to strike the Rock — and "the Rock was Christ" — so that streams of life and refreshment might flow for us.
- Known, either way. God will make Himself known. He would rather do it in goodness, and turns to judgment only when people refuse to hear.
- Known by loss. He struck the Nile. What gave Egypt life became the sign of death — a penalty from the Life-giver Himself.
- Known above idols. The blow landed on the river Egypt worshipped, apparently as Pharaoh walked out to honour it.
- Known in advance. God announced every detail first, and it happened just as He said — and still Pharaoh would not listen.
- Known in mercy. The same staff that turned a river to blood later struck the Rock, so that streams of life could flow for us.
And the fish that is in the river shall die; and the river shall stink; and the Egyptians shall loathe to drink the water out of the river.
Moses meets Pharaoh at the Nile and tells him what is about to happen to the river. It is a warning given before the blow lands, and the blow falls on the one thing Egypt could not live without.
God fixed the place, the words and the outcome before anything happened.
The first plague God sent was announced beforehand to Pharaoh. God told Moses that Pharaoh would go out in the morning to the river. He was to stand there with the rod that had earlier become a serpent, and repeat God's message demanding that Pharaoh let Israel go. The announcement had no effect on Pharaoh, and the Lord commanded Moses to do just what he had warned. When he did this, the result was just as he had said.
But the warnings do not go on forever.
It seems to be part of God's ways to warn twice, and if no one takes notice, to strike the third time without giving any warning.
Some have said the river only took on the red colour it shows at certain seasons. The dying fish and the stench answer that.
Was that a miracle, or was it red colouring matter that at times appeared in the river? It was a miracle. All the water of the river had become blood. Proof of that was abundant. The fish in the Nile died, the river stank, and the Egyptians could not drink of the water of the river. What a change in the Nile! In a moment the pleasant water became disgusting. One important source of food, within reach of even the ordinary person, was cut off, because the fish — clearly plentiful (Numbers 11:5) — died at once. Hapi, the Nile god, could not prevent it.
The blow also hit everyday food and drink.
This was a real punishment; because this was the water they all drank, and they valued it highly. The fish too was plentiful: the Israelites in the wilderness could not forget the fish of which they had eaten freely, or "for nothing."
The whole country lived off this one river. That is exactly why it was struck.
The first plague turned the Nile and its branches into blood. The river was the very life of Egypt. The food, and the wealth, and the beauty of the land were all derived from it. Upon Hapi, or Nilus, the first judgment of God fell. All Egypt owes its existence to this generous river. Egypt did not admit that God made the fruitful Nile. It treated the river as the work of the Sun and of Creative Power, a stream produced, as it were, by nature out of nature. Now it was to be a River of Death in the middle of the land.
Blood means death. The question is whose hand put it there.
The support of life becomes the very symbol of death, and of death by violence, the infliction of the penalty. This is not just nature rising in revolt. It is a penalty from the Creator of nature — death from the Life-giver.
Egypt did not see the Nile as just water. Turning it red sent a message every Egyptian could read.
The Egyptians "regarded the Nile as divine in the strictest sense, and worshipped it under many names. As the bountiful Osiris, and under many other divine names, the Nile was the beneficent god of Egypt — the representative of all that was good. Evil had, however, also its god, the deadly enemy of Osiris — the hated Typhon — the source of all that was cruel, violent, and wicked. The Egyptians linked the touch or sight of blood with this hated being… So turning the Nile waters into blood defiled the sacred river. It made Typhon triumph over Osiris, and it dishonoured the religion of the land in one of its highest expressions."
The dying fish carried the point further. Egyptians worshipped certain fish too.
One blow brought down both Hapi and the sacred fish — the fertilizer, and the emblems of rich fertility, which they worshipped. Egyptian and Hebrew alike came to know the power of Jehovah all over Egypt.
Egypt needed no rain. It drew its water from a river it could manage itself.
The river, as we see in Scripture itself, was the very symbol of independence. Egypt drank no rain water from heaven. Its supply did not come from above. This is the world in its independence of God. But this independence of God, the Giver of life, is only death, and turns to death. The judgment here as elsewhere reveals the actual spiritual condition. A thing that serves as God's creature and His minister is only a means of multiplied blessing. Cut off from Him, it produces nothing but a deeper and more complete separation.
- Warned — God told Pharaoh the outcome before it happened, and Pharaoh still refused.
- Struck — this was no seasonal colouring of the water. Dead fish, a stinking river and undrinkable water proved a real miracle.
- Stench — Egypt's daily drink and food became the one thing it could not stomach. The support of life turned into the symbol of death.
- Shamed — one blow fell on Hapi, on Osiris and on the sacred fish, and all Egypt saw the power of the Lord.
- Searched — a river managed without heaven pictures a life managed without God. That independence ends in death from the Giver of life.
And Jehovah said to Moses, Say unto Aaron, Take thy staff, and stretch out thy hand upon the waters of the Egyptians -- upon their streams, upon their rivers, and upon their ponds, and upon all their reservoirs of water, that they may become blood; and there shall be blood throughout the land of Egypt, both in [vessels of] wood and in [vessels of] stone.
God's command here covers every drop of water in Egypt — rivers, canals, ponds, pools, even water already stored indoors. Why did God aim His first blow at the water? And what did that mean for a nation that treated the Nile as a god?
The verse names one water source after another. Egypt's drink, its food and its river god were all struck at once.
All the water of the river had become blood, and the proof was everywhere. The fish in the Nile died, the river stank, and the Egyptians could not drink the water. Water that had been pleasant to drink turned foul in a moment. One important source of food, within reach of the ordinary person, was cut off, for the fish were plentiful (Numbers 11:5) and died at once. Hapi, the Nile god, could not prevent it. The Creator gave the command, the waters were struck, and blood was the result. All the water in the ponds and pools, and in vessels of wood and of stone, became blood. Where Moses was not seen the plague was felt; and the Egyptians dug around the river for water.
The staff in Aaron's hand already had a history in front of Pharaoh's court.
The demand for the release of the people was to be made again. If Pharaoh refused, the rod was to be stretched out over the river, and its waters turned to blood. That rod had been turned into a serpent, and it had swallowed the rods of the magicians. The river that was the very life of Egypt was turned into a river of death and stinking.
Egypt did not depend on rain. One writer sees in that a picture of the world living without God.
The river, as we see in Scripture itself, was the very symbol of independence. Egypt drank no water from the rain of heaven. Its supply did not come from above. This is the world living in independence of God. But this independence of God, the Giver of life, is only death, and turns to death. The judgment here as elsewhere reveals the actual spiritual condition. What God made to serve Him is only a means of rich blessing. Cut off from Him, it produces only a deeper and more complete separation.
The plagues were not random misery. Each one struck something Egypt trusted and honoured.
They were particularly suited, in the wisdom of God, to humble Egypt. It was not only an affliction on the land. It was not only deep pain and anguish to the people, growing worse each time. It was a solemn contest between the LORD and the gods of Egypt. The plagues were designed to strike them hardest in what made up their religion. Take the Nile: Egypt boasted in that river, which they thought of as the great emblem of God on earth… In these repeated blows we find God dealing with the gods as well as with the men and habits of Egypt.
Some explain the plague as the reddish tint the Nile takes on each year. One writer tests that against the details of this verse.
Alongside the first plague (Ex. 7:15-25) they set a blood-red stain that plant growth made in an inlet of the Red Sea in 1823. Did that kill the fish in the sea, or make the waters stink? Did it affect every pond and stream — indeed every vessel of wood and stone? The Nile takes a reddish tint for some weeks in June, and none of these things follow. They cannot deny the difference from so heavy a blow, in or about January, on the river of their pride and idolatry — the river that had seen the cruel death of Israel's male children.
The prophets return to Egypt's waters, and the story does not end in ruin.
God stepped in for His people to punish Pharaoh and his people for their treatment of Israel. The river, the source of their prosperity, was not forgotten, for the rivers and waters of Egypt were turned into blood. In a coming day God steps in again to punish the Egyptians, before the day of blessing comes to them: "the waters of the sea will be dried up, and the river will be dry and parched" (Isa. 19:5). In the end, Egypt and Assyria will be blessed along with Israel (Isa. 19:23-25).
- Source. The Nile was Egypt's life and Egypt's god. God struck the country where it felt strongest.
- Strike. The rod that had become a serpent, and had swallowed the magicians' rods, was now stretched over the water. The river of life became a river of death.
- Reach. No water escaped — rivers, canals, ponds, pools, even water already stored in jars of wood and stone. The plague was felt where Moses was never seen.
- Exposure. Independence from God, the Giver of life, only ends in death. The judgment made Egypt's real spiritual condition visible.
- End. God's blow fell on Egypt's gods as much as on its people. Yet Scripture points to a day when Egypt is blessed, not destroyed.
And Moses and Aaron did so, as Jehovah had commanded; and he lifted up the staff, and smote the waters that were in the river before the eyes of Pharaoh, and before the eyes of his bondmen; and all the waters that were in the river were turned into blood.
Egypt's whole life ran through one river, and it was the river God struck first. Moses lifted the rod in full view of Pharaoh and his servants, and the water turned to blood — a blow against Israel's oppressor and against the god Egypt trusted.
The Nile was not one resource among many. Egypt watered its fields from it and worshipped it — and that is where the first blow fell.
The river watered the land through its many channels. It was the very sign that Egypt did not need heaven. They worshipped it as a god, and yet could claim it as their own making (Ezekiel 29:3) — two things that always go well together in idolatry. God turned that river into blood, so that they could not drink of it. What supports life becomes the very symbol of death — death by violence, the penalty carried out. This is not just nature rising up against them. It is penalty from the Creator of nature — death from the Life-giver.
Some say the water only looked red, as the Nile sometimes did on its own. The account answers that.
Was that a miracle, or was it red colouring matter that at times appeared in the river? It was a miracle. All the water of the river had become blood. The proof of that was abundant. The fish in the Nile died, the river stank, and the Egyptians could not drink the water of the river. The water was pleasant to drink, and in a moment it became disgusting. One important source of food, within reach of the poorest person, was cut off. The fish were clearly plentiful (Numbers 11:5), and they all died at once. Hapi, the Nile god, could not prevent it.
Moses struck the water in front of Pharaoh and his servants. Pharaoh had come down to the river that morning, and the timing matters.
Those who have studied the records of ancient Egypt tell us that the Egyptians worshipped the Nile as one of the chief gods of that land of idols. Remember that when the first plague struck the river, Pharaoh was going in the same direction that morning (Exodus 7:15). It gives us the impression that he was going out to worship the Nile-god, and at that very moment his god was struck.
Behind Pharaoh stood a greater enemy.
He dealt this way with Pharaoh because Pharaoh oppressed His people, and because Pharaoh pictured the god of this world. So His conflict was with Pharaoh and with everything Pharaoh trusted in. We therefore read that He executed judgment upon the gods of Egypt (Exodus 12:12; Numbers 33:4). It was the brilliant display of God's victorious power in the stronghold of Satan.
The court magicians copied the sign. Look at what their copy proved.
In a small way the magicians did what Moses had done. By their enchantments — that is, by calling on their gods — they turned water into blood wherever they could find it. Their actions say, "By the power of our gods we can turn life into death. We can add to the misery that comes from the judgment of God." But their power stopped there. They could not turn death into life. They could not pass from death into life. God does this work, and God alone.
God later sent Moses to bring water from a rock, and named the rod by what it had done here.
Here we have a picture of Christ struck for us, by the hand of God, in judgment. The reader will notice the expression, "the staff with which you struck the Nile." Why the Nile? Why mention this particular stroke of the rod? Exodus 7:20 gives the answer... The same rod that turned the water into blood would later strike the Rock — and that Rock was Christ — so that streams of life and refreshment might flow for us.
One river's fate previews a wider judgment still ahead.
All this points to a terrible second acting out of these things. The second angel pours out his bowl of the wrath of God on the sea, and it becomes like the blood of a corpse. The third angel pours his bowl on the rivers and the springs of water, and they become blood. Death marked everything — not only the masses of nations and of men, but the springs and outflows of all human things in that day.
- River — Egypt's source of life became its symbol of death, struck by the same God who gave it.
- Real — the dead fish, the stench and the undrinkable water show a true miracle, not a seasonal discolouring.
- Rivals — the plague fell on the Nile-god as Pharaoh approached to worship, and the magicians could imitate death but never reverse it.
- Rock — the rod that turned water to blood later struck the rock, a picture of Christ struck in judgment so that life could flow out to us.
- Reckoning — commentators read the plague as a preview of a coming day when the springs of human life turn to blood again.
And the fish that was in the river died; and the river stank, and the Egyptians could not drink the water of the river; and the blood was throughout the land of Egypt.
Egypt's whole life ran along one river, and the first blow God struck fell there. Why did God aim His opening judgment at the very thing Egypt trusted most?
Nothing here took Pharaoh by surprise. God had told him every detail beforehand, and it came just as He said.
Then he announced to Pharaoh that he would strike the waters of the river so that they might become blood (v. 17). The fish would die, the river would stink, and the people would find it disgusting to try to drink from the river. The announcement apparently had no effect on Pharaoh, and the Lord commanded Moses to do just what he had warned (v. 19). When he did this, the result was just as he had said (v. 21).
Some would rather explain the change by natural causes. The facts in this verse rule that out — dead fish, a stinking river, water no one could drink, and blood beyond the riverbank.
Was that a miracle, or was it red colouring matter that at times appeared in the river? It was a miracle. All the water of the river had become blood. Proof of that was abundant. The fish in the Nile died, the river stank, and the Egyptians could not drink of the water of the river. What a change in the Nile! The waters were pleasant to drink, and in a moment they became disgusting. One important source of support, within reach of the ordinary person, was cut off, for the fish — clearly plentiful (Numbers 11:5) — died at once. Further, all the water in the ponds and pools, and in containers of wood as well as of stone, became blood. Where Moses was not seen the plague was felt, and the Egyptians dug around the river for water.
Egypt's water supply was also Egypt's boast, and the same stream now carried the penalty.
The river ran in many channels and watered the land. It was the very sign that Egypt needed nothing from heaven. They worshipped it as a god, and yet they could claim it as their own making (Ezekiel 29:3) — two things that fit well together in all idolatry. That river was turned into blood, so that they could not drink of it. The support of life becomes the very symbol of death, and of death by violence, the infliction of the penalty. What we see here is not just nature rebelling. It is penalty from the Creator of nature — death from the Life-giver.
The colour of the plague carried a message Egypt's own religion could read.
The Nile was Egypt's god: they gave it the name "Osiris," which represented all that was good. Another god, "Typhon," represented all that was evil, and was regarded as blood-red. All Egypt would recognise that to turn water to blood was to make evil triumph over good.
The moment of the blow may have been pointed too.
It is also likely that when the first plague fell, Pharaoh was walking toward the river to worship the god that the Nile was thought to represent.
Pharaoh's advisers matched the sign, and his heart stayed hard. Copying a plague is not the same as ending one.
But again the magicians proved that they too could produce death and stink, so Pharaoh's heart stayed hard. It is no surprise that Satan could produce death, or something that stands for death. He is the author of sin, and death came in through sin. Pharaoh made light of this first plague, but the common people felt the weight of it, and it lasted seven days.
What happened to one river shows what happens to anything a person prizes apart from God.
The river is turned to blood; the means of life and refreshment becomes a witness of judgment (Exodus 7:14 etc.)... [These plagues show] how all that the world values, if separated from God, will in the end turn into plagues.
- Announced — God told Pharaoh the ruin in advance, detail for detail. It came just as He said. He warns before He strikes.
- Aimed — the blow fell on the Nile, the supply Egypt lived by and called divine. The support of life became the symbol of death.
- Exposed — in Egypt's own religion, blood-red water meant evil beating good. God struck their river-god as Pharaoh walked toward it to worship.
- Imitated — the magicians could add death but could not remove it. Pharaoh used their trick as an excuse to stay hard, and his people suffered seven days.
- Applied — whatever the world values, held apart from God, turns at last into a plague.