Exodus

7.1-25

Yahweh has already declared that He will display His strong hand and His outstretched arm (3:19-20; 6:1,6). He tells Moses the purpose for hardening Pharaoh's heart here, "that I may multiply My wonders in the land of Egypt." (v3). And then, in exerting His hand "upon Egypt," and in "bringing out the sons of Israel from among their midst," the Egyptians will know that He is Yahweh (vv4-5). God has intended all along to display His glory and majesty! 1 Samuel 1:3 is the first reference in Scripture to Yahweh as the "Lord of Hosts." It is used interchangeably in English translations with the "Lord of Armies" 284 times in the Old Testament. The same word for "hosts/armies" is used by Yahweh to describe the sons of Israel here, "I will...bring out My hosts (צָבָא saba), My people..." (v4). This is how God describes His force organized for war, the term used for all the hosts of heaven, the term used for God's army. Out of context, Israel later anticipated this role when the Messiah came - as the "hosts" of Yahweh, as the army for a King who would conquer with signs and wonders. Such is the danger and error of taking portions of Scripture in isolation from the entirety of God's Word. God does not need an Army to accomplish His will. But He will display His signs and His wonders. The audience He most desires are those He loves. Today, as the church, we are still His hosts, whom He dearly loves.

CHAPTER 7

1 Then Yahweh said to Moses, “See, I set you as God to Pharaoh, and your brother Aaron shall be your prophet.
2 “You shall speak all that I command you, and your brother Aaron shall speak to Pharaoh that he let the sons of Israel go out of his land.
3 “But I will harden Pharaoh’s heart with stiffness that I may multiply My signs and My wonders in the land of Egypt.
4 “But Pharaoh will not listen to you. And I will set My hand upon Egypt and bring out My hosts, My people the sons of Israel, from the land of Egypt by great judgments.
5 “Then the Egyptians shall know that I am Yahweh, when I stretch out My hand against Egypt and bring out the sons of Israel from their midst.”
6 So Moses and Aaron did it; as Yahweh commanded them, thus they did.
7 Now Moses was eighty years old and Aaron eighty-three years old, when they spoke to Pharaoh.

Aaron’s Staff Becomes a Serpent

8 And Yahweh spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying,
9 “When Pharaoh speaks to you, saying, ‘Work a miraculous wonder,’ then you shall say to Aaron, ‘Take your staff and throw it down before Pharaoh, that it may become a serpent.’”
10 So Moses and Aaron came to Pharaoh, and thus they did just as Yahweh had commanded; and Aaron threw his staff down before Pharaoh and his servants, and it became a serpent.
11 Then Pharaoh also called for the wise men and the sorcerers, and they also, the magicians of Egypt, did the same with their secret arts.
12 And each one threw down his staff, and they became serpents. But Aaron’s staff swallowed up their staffs.
13 Yet Pharaoh’s heart was hardened with strength, and he did not listen to them, as Yahweh had spoken.

The Plague of Water Turning to Blood

14 Then Yahweh said to Moses, “Pharaoh’s heart is hard with firmness; he refuses to let the people go.
15 “Go to Pharaoh in the morning as he is going out to the water, and station yourself to meet him on the bank of the Nile; and you shall take in your hand the staff that was turned into a serpent.
16 “And you shall say to him, ‘Yahweh, the God of the Hebrews, sent me to you, saying, “Let My people go, that they may serve Me in the wilderness. But behold, you have not listened until now.”
17 ‘Thus says Yahweh, “By this you shall know that I am Yahweh: behold, I am about to strike the water that is in the Nile with the staff that is in my hand, and it will be turned to blood.
18 “And the fish that are in the Nile will die, and the Nile will become foul, and the Egyptians will be weary of drinking water from the Nile.”’”
19 Then Yahweh said to Moses, “Say to Aaron, ‘Take your staff and stretch out your hand over the waters of Egypt, over their rivers, over their streams, and over their pools and over all their reservoirs of water, that they may become blood; and there will be blood throughout all the land of Egypt, both in vessels of wood and in vessels of stone.’”
20 So Moses and Aaron did thus, as Yahweh had commanded. And he raised up the staff and struck the water that was in the Nile, in the sight of Pharaoh and in the sight of his servants, and all the water that was in the Nile was turned to blood.
21 And the fish that were in the Nile died, and the Nile became foul, so that the Egyptians could not drink water from the Nile. And the blood was through all the land of Egypt.
22 Yet the magicians of Egypt did the same with their secret arts; and Pharaoh’s heart was hardened with strength, and he did not listen to them, as Yahweh had spoken.
23 Then Pharaoh turned and went into his house, and he did not set his heart even on this.
24 So all the Egyptians dug around the Nile for water to drink, for they could not drink of the water of the Nile.
25 And seven full days passed after Yahweh had struck the Nile.