The attacks on 9/11 hit the United States in symbolic ways. If terrorists really wanted to bring the US to its knees, they would hit our power grid or oil refineries.
This gives some idea what the Egyptians faced when their river turned to blood. The Nile meant everything to them: transportation, nourishment, even an object of worship.
GOD’S DEMAND:
When God performed his miracles along the Nile, God struck ten mighty blows against not only the Egyptians but also their gods (12:12; Num. 33:4).
The story of the first mighty blow begins with God’s demand: Exo. 7:14-16.
The way God dealt with Pharaoh shows that his demands are nonnegotiable. Every time Pharaoh encountered God, he was confronted with the same God making the same demand. God never changed his terms or issued a counteroffer.
The reason God required Pharaoh to let his people go was very simple. Ultimately it was the same reason for everything that God requires. It was for his own glory. The verb “to know” is used 45 times in the book of Exodus. God wanted Israel to know that He was their God; He wanted Egypt to know He was the God of Egypt as well.
God often used signs and wonders, especially in the life of Christ and the early days of the church in Acts, to prove that he is Lord. One of the reasons Jesus performed so many miracles was to prove his lordship: Matt. 11:4-5.
EGYPT’S DISTRESS
The result of Pharaoh’s failure to meet God’s demand was great suffering in Egypt: Exodus 7:20-21. Divine judgment is not an idle threat. God always makes sure that his enemies get what they deserve.
Ultimately, however, it was God’s power that turned the life-giving Nile into a blood-red river of death. There was blood everywhere.
Remember how important the Nile was to the Egyptians’ life and economy. Americans trust the NASDAQ as much as the Egyptians trusted the gods of the Nile. Some Americans worship nature almost as much as the Egyptians did. One day, God will humble this country as He did Egypt.
PHARAOH’S DISOBEDIENCE
When the Egyptians’ gods were taken away, they hardened their hearts and refused to worship the God of Israel: 7:22-24. But all the magicians could do was “replicate” the miracle of the blood; they could not take away the blood. In other words, they made the punishment worse, not better.
The supreme example of Satan’s self-defeating efforts is the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. At the time of the crucifixion, it must have seemed like Satan’s greatest triumph: the Son of God suffering, bleeding, and dying on a wooden cross. But putting Christ on the cross was actually Satan’s own suicide.
Exodus 7 closes with the pathetic picture of Pharaoh’s servants digging feverishly for ground water: 7:24. We do not know if they were successful. The text leads us to believe, in my opinion, that the judgment was thorough and they did not find any water. Not for a week (7:25).
As we study Revelation through the year, we’ll probably not study chapter 16, although I will summarize it. The book of Revelation describes the seven angels who will pour out the seven bowls of God’s wrath on the enemies of God’s people, who in Revelation are the Romans. In Revelation 16:3-7, John uses the “river of blood” to denote God’s judgment on Rome, as He had done against Egypt. Yet, as with Pharaoh and the Egyptians this action did not bring the Roman pagans to repentance (16:9).
If it teaches us nothing else, the book of Exodus teaches us not to trust in other gods because they will not save us.
A river of blood will either destroy us or the shed blood will save us. It depends on which G/god we serve.
Paul Holland
