I hope you had a wonderful Christmas! My family and I enjoyed visiting extended family, and some downhill skiing over Christmas break. I am thankful to report no blood on that front!

Moving on with my study in Exodus, we enter the plague section which God brings upon Pharaoh and his people. I admit, I’d rather not begin the New Year writing about God’s judgment, even though it’s specific to ancient Egypt. But ultimately all nations are under God’s watchful eye and judgment (Psalm 96:10; 110:6). So it’s a good reminder not only of God’s power, but that we should also be praying for our leaders and nation(s).

The plague tragedy is a unique judgment on the Egyptians for their oppression of the Israelites.

This first plague attacks their Nile god, Hapi, who represented fertility. The following narrative is my fictional rendering based on this passage. You may read Exodus 7:14-24 here: Bible Gateway.

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Pharaoh began his descent toward the banks of the mighty Nile. He would worship Hapi, the Nile god, this morning.

Pharaoh squinted into the early morning sun. Is that a man or a tall bird? The appearance of a man with a grizzled beard stood eerily still on the river’s bank. Moses! The crazed Hebrew nomad who spoke articulate Egyptian both intrigued and infuriated him at the same time. The man had guts. But how dare he challenge him—son of a god—to allow the Hebrews a desert leave. All in the name of worshiping some puny god he’s never even heard of!

Moses and his measly slave brother thought they could persuade him through trickery, turning a staff into a snake. Guess they underestimated my magi! They instantly replicated the same stunt, even though their snakes were swallowed by Moses’ snake.

Now within fifty feet—with Pharaoh enshrined in royalty—Moses still didn’t flinch. But his knuckles paled from grasping his staff in his right hand. Even from this distance, Pharaoh couldn’t miss the fiery intensity in Moses’ eyes.

With clenched jaw Moses boomed, “God, the God of the Hebrews, sent me to you with this message, ‘Release my people so that they can worship me in the wilderness.’ So far you haven’t listened. This is how you’ll know that I am God. I am going to take this staff that I’m holding and strike this Nile River water: The water will turn to blood; the fish in the Nile will die; the Nile will stink; and the Egyptians won’t be able to drink the Nile water,’” (Ex. 7:15-18 MSG).

Aaron struck the water with the rod. Splinters of red first reflect in a dazzling pattern. But then streams of crimson flowed together until all of Hapi’s water seeped a thickening blood red, threatening to strangle her life flow. It wasn’t long before bloated fish surfaced. The air permeated with the foul smell of death.

Pharaoh’s servants scurried to him from all directions. “Blood is everywhere! The rivers, canals, ponds, even in pots and pans—they’ve all turned to blood!”

“Nonsense!” Pharaoh bellowed while glaring at Moses. “Magi, replicate this trick at once!”

Reflect

When Moses’ snake had previously gobbled up the Egyptian snakes, one would think Pharaoh would have reconsidered his stance toward Moses and the Israelites since the serpent was considered sacred in Lower Egypt where that confrontation took place.

But true to God’s word, Pharaoh’s heart remained hardened.

Most of Egypt’s people lived along the banks of the Nile’s 3,000 mile waterway. Egypt couldn’t exist without this life source for farming, fishing, bathing, and drinking. Sandy soil near the river’s bank filtered the water. But literal blood would fail to filter by the sand. Now the Egyptians had to dig along the Nile to get drinking water (v. 24).

God later gave a prophecy in Ezekiel 29:2-6 that concludes all of Egypt would know He is the Lord by this miracle.