Exodus 7:7

The Bible says in Exodus 7:7-13, “And Moses was fourscore years old, and Aaron fourscore and three years old, when they spake unto Pharaoh. And the LORD spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying, 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. 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. Then Pharaoh also called the wise men and the sorcerers: now the magicians of Egypt, they also did in like manner with their enchantments. For they cast down every man his rod, and they became serpents: but Aaron's rod swallowed up their rods. And he hardened Pharaoh's heart, that he hearkened not unto them; as the LORD had said.” It seems obvious that the miracle of Moses’ rod turning into a serpent and then the serpent swallowing the serpents of the Egyptian wise men, was meant to reveal to Pharaoh that God was the God and that there is none else. God reveals Himself to people. God wants to wake people up so that they will see the truth. That is true for every person on this earth. God wants to reveal Himself to every single person on this earth.

The Bible says about Jesus in John 1:9, “That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.” Jesus enlightens every person that comes into the world. That means that in some way Jesus speaks to every person on this earth. The question then becomes: how does that person respond to Jesus’ attempts to reveal Himself to them? One of the wrong ways of responding to Jesus is recoded in Romans 1:20-25 that says, “For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse: Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things. Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves: Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.” The right way of responding to Jesus is found in Luke 18:13 that says, “And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner.”

Pharaoh responded the wrong way after the first miracle, and so God gave Pharaoh another miracle. The Bible says in Exodus 7:14-25, “And the LORD said unto Moses, Pharaoh's heart is hardened, he refuseth to let the people go. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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 pools 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. 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. 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. 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. And Pharaoh turned and went into his house, neither did he set his heart to this also. And all the Egyptians digged round about the river for water to drink; for they could not drink of the water of the river. And seven days were fulfilled, after that the LORD had smitten the river.”

The second miracle that God performed to show Pharaoh who was really in charge was the turning of the river water into “blood.” The word that is translated “blood” is a word that is most often translated to mean ‘literal’ blood, but the word can also be used to refer to a substance that is red-like in color. Since blood is of course known for its red color, any liquid that is red has at least that one similarity to blood. For example, the Bible says in Deuteronomy 32:14, “…and thou didst drink the pure blood of the grape.” This verse is talking about grape juice, and because the grape juice has a red-like color, it is called the “blood of the grape.” That seems to be most likely what was meant by saying that the river was turned to “blood.” In other words the river water became polluted in some way by a miracle from God so that the fish died and the people could not drink from the river. The reason that God chose the Nile River for this judgment against Pharaoh and against Egypt is obvious: the Nile River and its life-giving water was absolutely essential for civilization to exist the way that it did in Egypt. When God polluted the Nile River, He showed His power over nature and over the basic resources needed for life. The Lord is God, and there is none else. That is the lesson that Pharaoh needed to learn, and that is the lesson that everyone needs to learn.

The Bible says in Exodus 8:1-5, “And the LORD spake unto Moses, Go unto Pharaoh, and say unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Let my people go, that they may serve me. And if thou refuse to let them go, behold, I will smite all thy borders with frogs: And the river shall bring forth frogs abundantly, which shall go up and come into thine house, and into thy bedchamber, and upon thy bed, and into the house of thy servants, and upon thy people, and into thine ovens, and into thy kneadingtroughs: And the frogs shall come up both on thee, and upon thy people, and upon all thy servants. And the LORD spake unto Moses, Say unto Aaron, Stretch forth thine hand with thy rod over the streams, over the rivers, and over the ponds, and cause frogs to come up upon the land of Egypt.”

The Bible says in Exodus 8:6-15, “And Aaron stretched out his hand over the waters of Egypt; and the frogs came up, and covered the land of Egypt. And the magicians did so with their enchantments, and brought up frogs upon the land of Egypt. Then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron, and said, Intreat the LORD, that he may take away the frogs from me, and from my people; and I will let the people go, that they may do sacrifice unto the LORD. And Moses said unto Pharaoh, Glory over me: when shall I intreat for thee, and for thy servants, and for thy people, to destroy the frogs from thee and thy houses, that they may remain in the river only? And he said, To morrow. And he said, Be it according to thy word: that thou mayest know that there is none like unto the LORD our God. And the frogs shall depart from thee, and from thy houses, and from thy servants, and from thy people; they shall remain in the river only. And Moses and Aaron went out from Pharaoh: and Moses cried unto the LORD because of the frogs which he had brought against Pharaoh. And the LORD did according to the word of Moses; and the frogs died out of the houses, out of the villages, and out of the fields. And they gathered them together upon heaps: and the land stank. But when Pharaoh saw that there was respite, he hardened his heart, and hearkened not unto them; as the LORD had said.”

Another point to be made about these plagues is that they all involved gods that the Egyptians worshipped. Ancient Egypt was involved in widespread polytheism. They made a god out of almost everything around them. The god of fertility was modeled after the frog because each year when baby frogs were born, the Egyptians would see them in large numbers along the banks of the river. Therefore, in each of the plagues the Lord God was teaching the Egyptians and Pharaoh that their gods were no gods at all, but that the Lord God was God over all the earth and of all the creatures in it, and He is God of everything that happens in the earth. Jesus is Lord, and there is none else. The leaders of the countries in every generation are taught the same lesson, and they will all bow before Christ at the judgment and bear witness to His wisdom and His power.

Another detail to notice about the plague concerning the frogs is that once again the Egyptian magicians partly duplicated what Moses had done. Notice that it says in Exodus 8:7, “And the magicians did so with their enchantments, and brought up frogs upon the land of Egypt.” One of the lessons to learn from this is that false teachers sometimes closely resemble the true teachers. The false teachers sometimes try to copy the true teachers, and therefore the false teachers attempt to deceive by looking and sounding a lot as if they are telling the truth. That is why a believer must be very careful. How many false teachers are pastors of churches or are leaders or officials in so-called Christian organizations. We may be surprised at the judgment when we find out how many there really are. Jesus warned greatly against false teachers. Jesus said in Matthew 24:23-28, “Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not. For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect. Behold, I have told you before. Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth: behold, he is in the secret chambers; believe it not. For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. For wheresoever the carcase is, there will the eagles be gathered together.” Jesus also said in Matthew 7:15, “Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.” The Bible says about false teachers in Romans 16:17-18, “Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them. For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple.” And so we see as the centuries go by, the primary spiritual truths remain the same. False teachers copy the appearance, the words, and the deeds of the true teachers. If you do not know the Word of God very, very well, you will be deceived. Billions of people have listened to the wrong teachers. Jesus is the One to listen to. Jesus said in John 6:63, “the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.”

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