Exodus Chapter 7
1 The LORD said to Moses, "Behold, I have made you as God to Pharaoh; and Aaron your brother shall be your prophet.
2 You shall speak all that I command you; and Aaron your brother shall speak to Pharaoh, that he let the children of Israel go out of his land.
3 I will harden Pharaoh's heart, and multiply my signs and my wonders in the land of Egypt.
4 But Pharaoh will not listen to you, so I will lay my hand on Egypt, and bring out my armies, my people the children of Israel, out of the land of Egypt by great judgements.
5 The Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD when I stretch out my hand on Egypt, and bring the children of Israel out from amongst them."
6 Moses and Aaron did so. As the LORD commanded them, so they did.
7 Moses was eighty years old, and Aaron eighty-three years old, when they spoke to Pharaoh.
8 The LORD spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying,
9 "When Pharaoh speaks to you, saying, 'Perform a miracle!' then you shall tell Aaron, 'Take your rod, and cast it down before Pharaoh, and it will become a serpent.' "
10 Moses and Aaron went in to Pharaoh, and they did so, as the LORD had commanded. Aaron cast down his rod before Pharaoh and before his servants, and it became a serpent.
11 Then Pharaoh also called for the wise men and the sorcerers. They also, the magicians of Egypt, did the same thing with their enchantments.
12 For they each cast down their rods, and they became serpents; but Aaron's rod swallowed up their rods.
13 Pharaoh's heart was hardened, and he didn't listen to them, as the LORD had spoken.
14 The LORD said to Moses, "Pharaoh's heart is stubborn. He refuses to let the people go.
15 Go to Pharaoh in the morning. Behold, he is going out to the water. You shall stand by the river's bank to meet him. You shall take the rod which was turned to a serpent in your hand.
16 You shall tell him, 'The LORD, the God of the Hebrews, has sent me to you, saying, "Let my people go, that they may serve me in the wilderness. Behold, until now you haven't listened."
17 The LORD says, "In this you shall know that I am the LORD. Behold: I will strike with the rod that is in my hand on the waters which are in the river, and they shall be turned to blood.
18 The fish that are in the river will die and the river will become foul. The Egyptians will loathe to drink water from the river." ' "
19 The LORD said to Moses, "Tell Aaron, 'Take your rod, and stretch out your hand over the waters of Egypt, over their rivers, over their streams, and over their pools, and over all their ponds of water, that they may become blood. There will be blood throughout all the land of Egypt, both in vessels of wood and in vessels of stone.' "
20 Moses and Aaron did so, as the LORD commanded; and he lifted up the rod, and struck the waters that were in the river, in the sight of Pharaoh, and in the sight of his servants; and all the waters that were in the river were turned to blood.
21 The fish that were in the river died. The river became foul. The Egyptians couldn't drink water from the river. The blood was throughout all the land of Egypt.
22 The magicians of Egypt did the same thing with their enchantments. So Pharaoh's heart was hardened, and he didn't listen to them, as the LORD had spoken.
23 Pharaoh turned and went into his house, and he didn't even take this to heart.
24 All the Egyptians dug around the river for water to drink; for they couldn't drink the river water.
25 Seven days were fulfilled, after the LORD had struck the river.
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Exodus Chapter 7 Guide
We have here the record of God's answer to Moses' difficulty. He reaffirmed Himself and charged His servant to speak to Pharaoh the things commanded. Moreover, He foretold the result of the delivery of the message.
Here begins the story of the conflict between Jehovah and Pharaoh. Throughout this entire story two different words are employed, the distinction between which has a vital bearing on the story itself. The first word suggests the idea of giving fixity, or, in the realm of the will, strength. 'The second indicates wilful stubbornness. The condition of Pharaoh on the first visit of Moses and Aaron is described by the first of these words. The Authorized renders it, "He hardened Pharaoh's heart." This should be rendered, He made strong the heart of Pharaoh. Immediately following, Pharaoh's attitude from his own standpoint is revealed. Then the word is "hardened," in the sense of calloused. This distinction must be maintained throughout.
The plagues that fell on Pharaoh came in three sections of three each, followed by a fourth, with only one plague, which was final. The first of the first three is recorded here. Before it fell, Pharaoh was warned in the morning. In this and the two following, terrible discomfort was produced but neither pain nor death.
From "An Exposition of the Whole Bible" by G. Campbell Morgan.
Exodus Chapter 7 Commentary
Chapter Outline
- Moses and Aaron encouraged. -- (1-7)
- The rods turned into serpents, Pharaoh's heart is hardened. -- (8-13)
- The river is turned into blood, The distress of the Egyptians. -- (14-25)
Verses 1-7
God glorifies himself. He makes people know that he is Jehovah. Israel is made to know it by the performance of his promises to them, and the Egyptians by the pouring out of his wrath upon them. Moses, as the ambassador of Jehovah, speaking in his name, laid commands upon Pharaoh, denounced threatenings against him, and called for judgments upon him. Pharaoh, proud and great as he was, could not resist. Moses stood not in awe of Pharaoh, but made him tremble. This seems to be meant in the words, Thou shalt be a god unto Pharaoh. At length Moses is delivered from his fears. He makes no more objections, but, being strengthened in faith, goes about his work with courage, and proceeds in it with perseverance.
Verses 8-13
What men dislike, because it opposes their pride and lusts, they will not be convinced of; but it is easy to cause them to believe things they wish to be true. God always sends with his word full proofs of its Divine authority; but when men are bent to disobey, and willing to object, he often permits a snare to be laid wherein they are entangled. The magicians were cheats, trying to copy the real miracles of Moses by secret sleights or jugglings, which to a small extent they succeeded in doing, so as to deceive the bystanders, but they were at length obliged to confess they could not any longer imitate the effects of Divine power. None assist more in the destruction of sinners, than such as resist the truth by amusing men with a counterfeit resemblance of it. Satan is most to be dreaded when transformed into an angel of light.
Verses 14-25
Here is the first of the ten plagues, the turning of the water into blood. It was a dreadful plague. The sight of such vast rolling streams of blood could not but strike horror. Nothing is more common than water: so wisely has Providence ordered it, and so kindly, that what is so needful and serviceable to the comfort of human life, should be cheap and almost every where to be had; but now the Egyptians must either drink blood, or die for thirst. Egypt was a pleasant land, but the dead fish and blood now rendered it very unpleasant. It was a righteous plague, and justly sent upon the Egyptians; for Nile, the river of Egypt, was their idol. That creature which we idolize, God justly takes from us, or makes bitter to us. They had stained the river with the blood of the Hebrews' children, and now God made that river all blood. Never any thirsted after blood, but sooner or later they had enough of it. It was a significant plague; Egypt had great dependence upon their river, Zec 14:18; so that in smiting the river, they were warned of the destruction of all the produce of their country. The love of Christ to his disciples changes all their common mercies into spiritual blessings; the anger of God towards his enemies, renders their most valued advantages a curse and a misery to them. Aaron is to summon the plague by smiting the river with his rod. It was done in the sight of Pharaoh and his attendants, for God's true miracles were not performed as Satan's lying wonders; truth seeks no corners. See the almighty power of God. Every creature is that to us which he makes it to be water or blood. See what changes we may meet with in the things of this world; what is always vain, may soon become vexatious. See what mischievous work sin makes. If the things that have been our comforts prove our crosses, we must thank ourselves. It is sin that turns our waters into blood. The plague continued seven days; and in all that time Pharaoh's proud heart would not let him desire Moses to pray for the removal of it. Thus the hypocrites in heart heap up wrath. No wonder that God's anger is not turned away, but that his hand is stretched out still.
From the "Concise Commentary on the Bible" by Matthew Henry.