Exodus 7:1-25
1 And the LORD said unto Moses, See, I have made thee a god to Pharaoh: and Aaron thy brother shall be thy prophet.
2 Thou shalt speak all that I command thee: and Aaron thy brother shall speak unto Pharaoh, that he send the children of Israel out of his land.
3 And I will harden Pharaoh's heart, and multiply my signs and my wonders in the land of Egypt.
4 But Pharaoh shall not hearken unto you, that I may lay my hand upon Egypt, and bring forth mine armies, and my people the children of Israel, out of the land of Egypt by great judgments.
5 And the Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD, when I stretch forth mine hand upon Egypt, and bring out the children of Israel from among them.
6 And Moses and Aaron did as the LORD commanded them, so did they.
7 And Moses was fourscore years old, and Aaron fourscore and three years old, when they spake unto Pharaoh.
8 And the LORD spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying,
9 When Pharaoh shall speak unto you, saying, Shew a miracle for you: then thou shalt say unto Aaron, Take thy rod, and cast it before Pharaoh, and it shall become a serpent.
10 And Moses and Aaron went in unto Pharaoh, and they did so as the LORD had commanded: and Aaron cast down his rod before Pharaoh, and before his servants, and it became a serpent.
11 Then Pharaoh also called the wise men and the sorcerers: now the magicians of Egypt, they also did in like manner with their enchantments.
12 For they cast down every man his rod, and they became serpents: but Aaron's rod swallowed up their rods.
13 And he hardened Pharaoh's heart, that he hearkened not unto them; as the LORD had said.
14 And the LORD said unto Moses, Pharaoh's heart is hardened, he refuseth to let the people go.
15 Get thee unto Pharaoh in the morning; lo, he goeth out unto the water; and thou shalt stand by the river's brink against he come; and the rod which was turned to a serpent shalt thou take in thine hand.
16 And thou shalt say unto him, The LORD God of the Hebrews hath sent me unto thee, saying, Let my people go, that they may serve me in the wilderness: and, behold, hitherto thou wouldest not hear.
17 Thus saith the LORD, In this thou shalt know that I am the LORD: behold, I will smite with the rod that is in mine hand upon the waters which are in the river, and they shall be turned to blood.
18 And the fish that is in the river shall die, and the river shall stink; and the Egyptians shall lothe to drink of the water of the river.
19 And the LORD spake unto Moses, Say unto Aaron, Take thy rod, and stretch out thine hand upon the waters of Egypt, upon their streams, upon their rivers, and upon their ponds, and upon all their poolsa of water, that they may become blood; and that there may be blood throughout all the land of Egypt, both in vessels of wood, and in vessels of stone.
20 And Moses and Aaron did so, as the LORD commanded; and he lifted up the rod, and smote 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 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.
22 And the magicians of Egypt did so with their enchantments: and Pharaoh's heart was hardened, neither did he hearken unto them; as the LORD had said.
23 And Pharaoh turned and went into his house, neither did he set his heart to this also.
24 And all the Egyptians digged round about the river for water to drink; for they could not drink of the water of the river.
25 And seven days were fulfilled, after that the LORD had smitten the river.
Exodus: Israel becomes a nation
The *Israelites leave Egypt
Exodus Chapter s 1 to 18
Hilda Bright and Kitty Pride
Chapter 7
v1 Then the *LORD replied to Moses. ‘Listen! Your brother, Aaron, will speak on your behalf. He will speak exactly as a *prophet speaks to the people on my behalf. You *represent me in front of *Pharaoh and Aaron will speak on your behalf. v2 You must say everything to Aaron that I order you to say. Then your brother, Aaron, must tell my message to *Pharaoh. *Pharaoh must let the *Israelites go away from his country. v3 But I will make *Pharaoh continue to refuse this request. I will increase my wonderful acts and my terrible *signs in Egypt. v4 But *Pharaoh will not listen to you. So I will use my great power against him. I will do terrible acts as judgement against his nation. Then I will bring all my people away from Egypt. Every *Israelite family will leave. v5 Then the *Egyptians will know that I am the *LORD. They will see me use my great power against them. They will see the *LORD bring the *Israelites away from their country.’
v6 Moses and Aaron did what the *LORD had ordered them. v7 Moses was 80 years old when they spoke to *Pharaoh. And his brother, Aaron, was 83 years old.
Verses 28-30 Moses repeated his excuse that he was not a good speaker. He did not believe that *Pharaoh would listen to him. So he thought that he could not deliver God’s message.
Chapter 7 verse 1 A ‘*prophet’ was someone who declared God’s message to the people. So Aaron would be like a *prophet and he would speak on behalf of Moses. Moses would give God’s message to Aaron, and Aaron would tell that message to *Pharaoh.
Verses 2-5 God warned Moses and Aaron that *Pharaoh would oppose their request. *Pharaoh did not want the *Israelites to leave his country. So God would do many wonderful acts because he is powerful. But *Pharaoh would not change his decision. God’s power would rescue the *Israelites. God would be the judge of the *Egyptians and he would punish them. Then they would recognise that the *Israelite’s God is the *LORD. And they would know that he had acted on behalf of his people.
Verse 6 Moses was 40 years old when he ran away to Midian (Acts 7:23). He spent 40 years in Midian (Acts 7:30). So he was 80 years old when God called him to speak to *Pharaoh. Both 40 and 80 can be a way to describe an ideal length of time. After 40 years with the *Israelites in the *desert, Moses was 120 years old (Deuteronomy 34:7). People considered that 120 years was the ideal time for a complete life (Genesis 6:3).
Aaron’s stick becomes a snake – verses 8-13
v8 The *LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron again. v9 ‘*Pharaoh will demand that you do a wonderful *sign. When *Pharaoh says that to you, Moses must speak to Aaron. “Take your stick and throw it down in front of *Pharaoh.” Aaron’s stick will become a snake.’
v10 Then Moses and Aaron went to see *Pharaoh. And they did exactly as the *LORD had ordered them. Aaron threw his stick down in front of *Pharaoh and his officials. And the stick became a snake. v11 Then *Pharaoh sent for his wise men and the men who used magic. And they did the same thing by means of their own secret and skilful ways. They made people believe lies. v12 Each of the men threw down his stick and it became a snake. But Aaron’s stick swallowed all their sticks. v13 However, *Pharaoh continued to behave as the *LORD had said. And he refused to listen to Moses and Aaron.
Verses 8-12 That is only one of the three *signs that God gave to Moses (Exodus 4:2-7). Now Aaron did it in front of *Pharaoh. In these verses, the word ‘snake’ does not refer to an ordinary snake. Here, it means something much bigger and more terrible than an ordinary snake. A large snake was the royal *sign of power in Egypt. But Aaron’s stick showed that God’s power was greater. His snake was bigger and more powerful than the other snakes. *Pharaoh’s men, who used magic, managed to imitate Aaron’s action. But God was in control. *Jewish history names two of the men who used magic here. They were Johannes and Jambres (2 Timothy 3:8).
Verse 13 *Pharaoh had decided that he would refuse. Nobody would cause him to change his decision. But God knows people’s secret thoughts. And he had warned Moses that would happen.
The 10 *plagues in Egypt 7:14 to 11:10
A ‘*plague’ is a bad disease or an extraordinary event that affects very many people. Usually it causes people or animals to suffer very much. And sometimes there are many deaths.
*Plague number 1: The River Nile becomes blood – verses 14-24
The *LORD tells Moses to warn *Pharaoh – verses 14-18
v14 Then the *LORD spoke to Moses again. ‘*Pharaoh will not give in. He refuses to let the people go. v15 Tomorrow morning *Pharaoh will be going to the River Nile. Go to the river’s edge and wait for him. Take with you your stick, which became a snake. v16 Then speak to him on my behalf. You must say this *Pharaoh. “The *LORD, the *Hebrews’ God, has sent me to you. The *LORD says to you: Let my people go. They must *worship me in the *desert. But until now, you have not listened to me. v17 So this is what the *LORD says now. You will certainly know that I am the *LORD. I will hit the water in the River Nile with the stick that is in my hand. And the water will become blood. v18 All the fish in the River Nile will die, and the river will have a terrible smell. Then the *Egyptians will not be able to drink the water.” ’
Verses 17-18 The *Egyptians *worshipped the River Nile as a false god. The annual flood from the river caused the earth to produce excellent crops. The river provided water to drink and fish to eat. The river was very important for the *Egyptians. Anything that affected the River Nile affected everyone in Egypt.
The wonderful *sign – verses 19-21
v19 The *LORD continued to speak to Moses. ‘Tell Aaron this. “Take your stick in your hand. And reach out this hand over all the water in Egypt.” All the water in Egypt will become blood. This includes the streams and canals, and all the ponds and pools. There will be blood everywhere in Egypt. Even in the wooden buckets and in the jars there will be blood.’
v20 Moses and Aaron did exactly what the *LORD had ordered them. Aaron raised his stick in front of *Pharaoh and his officials. Then he hit the water in the River Nile and all the water became blood. v21 The fish in the river died. And the smell from the river was so bad that the *Egyptians could not drink its water. Blood was everywhere in Egypt.
Verses 19-21 Moses told Aaron to raise the stick. That act showed God’s authority. Now the River Nile was not pure water. So the fish died and the water had a terrible smell. It was so bad that nobody could drink it. Some people say that there is a natural cause. A great amount of algae could have grown very quickly. Algae are very tiny plants. They can prevent the movement of air in the water. Also they can make the water look red like blood. However, these verses say that Moses and Aaron obeyed God. So God changed all the water in Egypt. God chose the time for his purpose.
That terrible thing affected all the available water. It even affected the water in buckets and jars in the houses. They made buckets out of wood and they made jars out of stone. They also made images of their *idols out of wood and stone. Perhaps God was showing the *Egyptians that their images of wood and of stone were no use. Such false gods could not protect them (Deuteronomy 29:16-17).
The results – verses 22-24
v22 But the *Egyptians who used magic, did the same things by means of their secret magic. So *Pharaoh would not give in to God. The *LORD had warned Moses and Aaron that *Pharaoh would not listen to them. v23 *Pharaoh turned round and went back to his palace. Even this wonderful act did not change *Pharaoh’s attitude. v24 Then all the *Egyptians had to dig holes near the River Nile to get their water. They could not drink the bad water in the river.
v25 7 days passed after the *LORD made the River Nile to become blood.
Verse 22 The men who used magic could not improve the situation. They convinced the people that they could do the same thing. But that made the situation worse.
Verse 24 People often dig holes in the sand at the side of a river. That is how they get clean water. But it is hard work. And the *Egyptians had to dig fresh holes each time they wanted water.
Israelite ~ a person from the nation called Israel. Israelite is another name for the Jews. Anything that has a relationship with Israel.Israel ~ the nation of people from the family of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; the name of the country that God gave to that nation.
Jew ~ a person who is from the family of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their children.
LORD ~ God gave this special name to himself. It translates the word ‘Yahweh’ in the Hebrew language. It links to the words ‘I am’; it means that God has been here always.
Lord ~ a name for God. It translates the Hebrew word ‘Adonai’, which means ‘my ruler’. The word ‘lord’ (without a capital letter) means an ordinary ruler.
Hebrew ~ the language that the Israelites spoke. A Hebrew is a Jewish person or an Israelite
Israelite ~ a person from the nation called Israel. Israelite is another name for the Jews. Anything that has a relationship with Israel.
Jewish ~ a word that describes a Jew or anything that belongs to the Jews.
Israel ~ the nation of people from the family of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; the name of the country that God gave to that nation.
Jew ~ a person who is from the family of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their children.
prophet ~ a person who hears God’s words and tells them to other people. But there were sometimes false prophets.
represent ~ when a person acts on behalf of someone else; or you put something in place of something else.
Pharaoh ~ the Egyptian ruler or king.
Egyptian ~ someone from the country called Egypt; anything with a relationship with Egypt.
sign ~ a signal; a mark to show that something is special; a powerful act.
Egyptian ~ someone from the country called Egypt; anything with a relationship with Egypt.
desert ~ a wild place where there are small bushes and not much water. It has poor soil and people cannot grow crops there. So, not many people live there.
Jewish ~ a word that describes a Jew or anything that belongs to the Jews.
Jew ~ a person who is from the family of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their children.
plague ~ a terrible disease or trouble.
plague ~ a terrible disease or trouble.
Hebrew ~ the language that the Israelites spoke. A Hebrew is a Jewish person or an Israelite
Israelite ~ a person from the nation called Israel. Israelite is another name for the Jews. Anything that has a relationship with Israel.
Jewish ~ a word that describes a Jew or anything that belongs to the Jews.
Israel ~ the nation of people from the family of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; the name of the country that God gave to that nation.
Jew ~ a person who is from the family of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their children.
worship ~ when people show honour to God, or to a false god. People may sing or pray. Or they may kneel down or give a gift to God.