Feb 16 2019 - Exodus 6:28-7:24 – Water turned into blood

Moses and Aaron again went to see Pharaoh at God's bidding. Moses was 80 years old at the time and Aaron was 83; God does not do retirement.

Aaron threw his staff on the ground before Pharaoh and it became a snake. Pharaoh was not impressed. He summoned his wise men and sorcerers and told them to do the same. Somehow they managed to make their staffs turn into snakes, but Aaron's staff/snake swallowed up theirs. What Pharaoh had intended as a counter-demonstration of his power had become a demonstration that the Lord is mightier than the gods of Egypt.

But this is only the opening skirmish. The real battle now begins.

The following day Moses and Aaron are sent to meet Pharaoh as he goes out to the river. The Lord had told Moses the words Aaron is to say to Pharaoh: "The LORD, the God of the Hebrews, has sent me to say to you: Let my people go, so that they may worship me in the desert. But until now you have not listened. This is what the LORD says: By this you will know that I am the LORD: With the staff that is in my hand I will strike the water of the Nile, and it will be changed into blood. The fish in the Nile will die, and the river will stink; the Egyptians will not be able to drink its water" (7:16-18). Aaron raised his staff over the waters of the Nile and struck them. The water was changed into blood, the fish in the river died, the water stank and no-one could drink it.

The passage ends with a wonderful touch. The court sorcerers manage to find a little fresh water. Maybe they fetched it from the palace cisterns. Then they changed that also into blood by their own powers. That must really have impressed Pharaoh – they added to the plague rather than bringing relief. They had robbed Pharaoh of the remaining fresh water from which he and his family might have satisfied their thirst.

It should have been clear to Pharaoh from the outset that he is no match for the God of Moses and Aaron – Yahweh, the LORD, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God who acts to fulfil his promises. But Pharaoh hardens his heart against the demands of God. He would find some way to get by; he would send out slaves to dig for water.

It is dangerous to harden one's heart against God and resist his purposes. Nor are such dangers confined to those who, like Pharaoh, do not know God. Jonah the prophet was well aware of the character of the God he served and yet sought to resist God's will and run away from God's call upon his life. His disobedience resulted in trouble for him and for those around him, though God was gracious in rescuing both him and them from disaster.

Have we sometimes hardened our hearts against the call of God upon our own lives? How is God speaking to you now through his word and by his Spirit? How are you responding?

Today, if only you would hear his voice,
‘Do not harden your hearts as you did at Meribah [the place of quarrelling],
    as you did that day at Massah [the place of testing] in the wilderness,
where your ancestors tested me;
they tried me, though they had seen what I did. [Psalm 95:7b-9]

Almighty God, there is no power in all creation that can stand against your power, nor is anyone able to frustrate your purpose to bless those you have planned to save. Your power is gracious power and your grace is powerful grace. Keep me from having a heart that is hardened against you and your good purposes. Help me always to hear what you are saying to me and to respond quickly with a glad and willing heart.

Peter Misselbrook