Exodus 7:14–24 (ESV) —
14 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Pharaoh’s heart is hardened; he refuses to let the people go. 15 Go to Pharaoh in the morning, as he is going out to the water, and stand on the bank of the Nile to meet him. Take in your hand the staff that turned into a serpent. 16 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. 17 Thus says the Lord, “By this you shall know that I am the Lord: behold, with the staff that is in my hand I will strike the water that is in the Nile, and it shall turn into blood. 18 The fish in the Nile shall die, and the Nile will stink, and the Egyptians will grow weary of drinking water from the Nile.” ’ ” 19 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.’ ”
20 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. 21 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. 22 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. 23 Pharaoh turned and went into his house, and he did not take even this to heart. 24 And all the Egyptians dug along the Nile for water to drink, for they could not drink the water of the Nile.
NOTE: There are a number of ironies. Moses was cast into the Nile to die as many male babies of his time were. Now the Nile, the life blood of Egypt, is turned into blood and casts dead fish to Egypt. I am surprised by Pharaoh's lack of alarm. While it was apparently possible to dig along the Nile for fresh water, this would not have been good for the fishing industry, probably a major source of food. On the other hand, the blood was probably great for the irrigation industry and agriculture. Although, that would be a short reprieve. The turning of the Nile into blood is the first plague. The Nile was considered sacred and life-giving. It may not have affected Pharaoh (at least on the surface) but it would have caused near panic among the people.
How does this apply to us? Sometimes we are not even phased by the miraculous because our eyes are blinded by our own sin. Pharaoh could not see what should have been obvious, because he saw things with worldly eyes, opposed to God.
PONDER:
Do I miss the minor miracles of life because I am so jaded by life itself?
PRAYER: Father, help me to see your hand in even the small things. I give you praise for the answer to so many prayers. I know you are working for my good and the good of other believers.
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