This morning in my devotions I was in Exodus 8. For the past few days, I've been reading the familiar story of how the Lord freed the Israelites when they were enslaved to the Egyptians. Today I got to the plagues. Even when I think about them, I shiver a little. Flowing blood, slimy frogs, gnats thick as the dust, endless darkness, and death. After I had read them, I thought what a great idea it would be to do a blog series on them and look at them a little more in depth. Today I want to cover a bit of the background and the first plague, blood.
Let's start at the beginning. Before the Lord told Moses to approach Pharaoh for the first time, He gave him a bit of a warning. He explained,
So what did our guys do next? (Side Note: In between their warning from the Lord and their command to turn the water into blood, Moses met Pharaoh and had a little confrontation with his magicians. You can read about it here). Well, simply enough, they waited to find out their next move. In this story, they're the tools, not the Designer. Sure enough, it isn't long before the Designer returns with some instructions:
Do you remember what happened next? Pharaoh wanted to see whether this was a real trick or not. So he called the magicians. By his standards, if his magicians could do it, anybody could do it. So he tested them. Could they turn water into blood too?
Let's start at the beginning. Before the Lord told Moses to approach Pharaoh for the first time, He gave him a bit of a warning. He explained,
"You shall speak all that I command you, and your brother Aaron shall tell Pharaoh to let the people of Israel go out of his land. But I will harden Pharaoh's heart, and though I multiply my signs and wonders in the land of Egypt, Pharaoh will not listen to you. Then I will lay my hand on Egypt and bring my hosts, my people the children of Israel, out of the land of Egypt by great acts of judgment. The Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord, when I stretch out my hand against Egypt and bring out the people of Israel from among them." Exodus 7:2-5Okay. I just have to say - kudos to Moses and Aaron! I mean, how willing would I be to approach Pharaoh if I knew no matter what I said, no matter what signs the Lord performed through me, and what happened, Pharaoh wouldn't listen to me? I don't know, but I just hope I would be as faithful as Moses and Aaron were.
So what did our guys do next? (Side Note: In between their warning from the Lord and their command to turn the water into blood, Moses met Pharaoh and had a little confrontation with his magicians. You can read about it here). Well, simply enough, they waited to find out their next move. In this story, they're the tools, not the Designer. Sure enough, it isn't long before the Designer returns with some instructions:
"Then the Lord said to Moses, “Pharaoh's heart is hardened; he refuses to let the people go. Go to Pharaoh in the morning, as he is going out to the water. Stand on the bank of the Nile to meet him, and take in your hand the staff that turned into a serpent. And you shall say to him, ‘The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, sent me to you, saying, “Thus says the Lord, “By this you shall know that I am the Lord: behold ... I will strike the water that is in the Nile, and it shall turn into blood ...”’” 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.’” Moses and Aaron did as the Lord had commanded." Exodus 7:14-20Enter plague one - blood. I have one word when it comes to describing this plague - ewww! Imagine with me: the stench of blood hangs over everything, as the dark red liquid flows. It flows in the water pots, it flows in the baths, it flows in the jars, and it flows in the Nile River. Dripping blood is everywhere, in everything. Wherever there was a drop of water, there's now a drop of blood. My stomach flip-flops just thinking about this.
Do you remember what happened next? Pharaoh wanted to see whether this was a real trick or not. So he called the magicians. By his standards, if his magicians could do it, anybody could do it. So he tested them. Could they turn water into blood too?
"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." Exodus 7:22Aw, rats. The magicians passed. So Pharaoh refused to let the Israelites go. When Moses and Aaron heard that "Pharaoh turned and went into his house, and he did not take even this to heart," (Exodus 7:23) they knew that more action had to be taken. But before stepping up to the plate alone, they waited patiently for their Designer's next instructions. And when we pick up part two of Plagues, Power, and One Perturbed Pharaoh, we'll see that what the Lord had in mind next was just as crazy, just as powerful and just as glorious as turning water into blood!