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Exodus 7:20–25
“The fish in the Nile died, and the Nile stank, so that the Egyptians could not drink water from the Nile. There was blood throughout all the land of Egypt” (v. 21).
Yahweh, the God of Israel, entered into battle against Pharaoh and the gods of Egypt when He sent Moses and Aaron to bring plagues on the Egyptians, and He did this for the purpose of revealing Himself to the residents of the land of the Nile. After all, Pharaoh asked for the Lord to identify Himself, and God said that the Egyptians would know that He is the Lord when He judged Egypt through the plagues (Ex. 5:2; 7:5). Furthermore, Exodus 12:12 speaks of God’s striking the gods of Egypt in the last plague, the death of the firstborn. The plagues were not merely wonderful signs of the Lord’s power but tangible evidence of His defeat of Egypt’s false gods.
Thus, it was entirely fitting that the first plague was the changing of the waters of the Nile River to blood (7:14–19). The Egyptians worshiped the Nile as the source of life, but the Lord would show His power over the river by making it a source of death. In today’s passage, we read of the actual plague. Moses and Aaron follow God’s instructions. As they stretch out the staff of the Lord over the river, its waters become blood and the fish in it die (vv. 20–21).
At this point, we should note that some scholars have argued that the water did not actually turn to blood; rather, the Nile was polluted by red soil from Ethiopia that sometimes fills its water during its seasonal flooding. This is possible, since the Hebrew word for “red” is the same as the Hebrew word for “blood,” and it may be that the text refers only to the reddening of the Nile’s waters. But it seems more likely that the text of Exodus refers to an actual transformation of water into blood, since the fish in the Nile die, something that would not necessarily happen if the waters were turned red by Ethiopian soil.
As in the case of the staffs’ turning to serpents (vv. 1–13), Pharaoh’s court magicians are able to replicate the miracle, and they turn some water to blood as well (v. 22), most likely through some kind of sleight-of-hand tricks. Pharaoh hardens his heart and does not let the people go, and the Egyptians have to dig for water, looking for underground water sources that are uncontaminated by blood (vv. 23–25). Matthew Henry comments, “Probably they found some, with much ado, God remembering mercy in the midst of wrath; for he is full of compassion, and would not let the subjects smart too much for the obstinacy of their prince.”
Coram Deo Living before the face of God
One commentator points out the mercy in the first plague in that man and livestock are not killed in Egypt, but the waters become blood only for a time (Ex. 7:25). The Lord was not out to utterly destroy Egypt but to show them that He is God. In the midst of His discipline and judgment, the Lord often shows mercy so that people will know that they can turn to Him for forgiveness. He is free to show mercy in the midst of judgment.
For Further Study
- Psalm 105:29
- Isaiah 19
- Habakkuk 3:2
- James 2:13