Commentary - Exodus 7:14-25

Bird's-eye view

In this passage, the contest between Yahweh and Pharaoh begins in earnest. After the preliminary skirmish with the staves turning into serpents, God now launches the first of ten plagues. This is not simply a series of unfortunate events for the Egyptians; it is a systematic dismantling of their entire religious and political worldview. The plagues are a form of holy war, a divine judgment aimed squarely at the gods of Egypt, demonstrating their impotence before the God of the Hebrews. This first plague, turning the Nile to blood, is a direct assault on the very source of Egypt's life and a primary deity in their pantheon. God is showing that He is the Lord, not just of Israel, but of all creation, including the vaunted river of Egypt.

The central theme is God's sovereignty and Pharaoh's rebellion. God declares His intention: "By this you shall know that I am Yahweh." The plagues are revelatory. They are designed to reveal God's identity and power to a world that does not know Him. Pharaoh's heart is "hard," a condition that God both recognizes and utilizes for His own glory. The magicians' ability to replicate the sign on a small scale is significant. It shows that the conflict is not between the natural and the supernatural, but between two supernatural powers: the power of God and the derivative, limited power of darkness. God's power, however, is creative and total, while the demonic is merely mimetic and ultimately self-defeating.

Outline

Context In Exodus

This passage marks the formal beginning of the plague narrative, which runs from chapter 7 through chapter 12. These events are the fulfillment of God's promise to Moses at the burning bush, that He would strike Egypt with all His wonders (Exod 3:20). The plagues are not random acts of power but are structured as a covenant lawsuit. God, through his covenant messengers Moses and Aaron, presents His demand: "Let My people go." When the demand is refused, sanctions follow. Each plague escalates the pressure on Pharaoh and demonstrates God's authority over a different aspect of the created order that the Egyptians worshiped. This first plague is foundational, targeting the Nile, the symbol of Egyptian life and divinity. It sets the pattern for the confrontations to come: divine command, miraculous sign, Egyptian imitation, and Pharaoh's hardened heart.

Key Issues

Clause-by-Clause Commentary

v. 14 Then Yahweh said to Moses, “Pharaoh’s heart is hard with firmness; he refuses to let the people go.

God begins with a divine diagnosis. The word for "hard" here is kaved, which means heavy or dull. Pharaoh's heart is not responding to stimuli. It is unresponsive, weighed down by his own pride and rebellion. This is not just a passive state; it is an active refusal. He "refuses" to let the people go. God is not surprised by this. He has already told Moses this would be the case (Exod 4:21). God's sovereignty is such that He works with and through the sinful choices of men to accomplish His purposes. Pharaoh thinks he is asserting his own will, but he is actually playing his part in a script written by God for the redemption of His people and the display of His own glory.

v. 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.

The setting is crucial. Pharaoh is going out to the Nile in the morning, likely for a ritual act of worship. The Nile was considered a god, the source of all life and fertility in Egypt. Pharaoh, as a divine king, would have had a special relationship with this river god. So Moses is to confront him at his place of worship, at the very source of his supposed power. And Moses is to bring the staff. This is the staff of God's authority, the one that had already bested the magicians' serpents. It is a reminder of the previous encounter and a symbol of the power that is about to be unleashed.

v. 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.”’

The message is a formal declaration of a covenant lawsuit. Yahweh identifies Himself as the "God of the Hebrews," the God of a slave people. This is a deliberate contrast to the mighty gods of the Egyptian empire. The demand is clear and consistent: "Let My people go." The purpose is also clear: "that they may serve Me." This is a battle over worship. Who is the true God, and who is to be served? Pharaoh has set himself up as a god, demanding service from Israel. Yahweh is reclaiming His people for His own service. The final clause, "you have not listened," is the formal charge against Pharaoh. He has been given the command and has refused to obey.

v. 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.

Here is the central purpose of the plague. It is not primarily punitive, though it is certainly that. It is primarily revelatory. "By this you shall know that I am Yahweh." Pharaoh had asked, "Who is Yahweh, that I should obey His voice?" (Exod 5:2). This is the beginning of God's answer. The sign will be unmistakable. The very water of the Nile, the lifeblood of Egypt, will be struck and turned to blood. Blood in Scripture is a symbol of both life and death. Here, the life-giving river becomes a river of death, a massive symbol of judgment. This is a de-creation event. God is undoing the created order in Egypt to show that He is the Creator.

v. 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.”’

The consequences are spelled out in graphic detail. This is not just a change in color. The entire ecosystem of the river will collapse. The fish will die, the river will stink, and the water will be undrinkable. This is a total assault on the physical well-being of Egypt. Their primary source of food, water, and transportation is being rendered useless and toxic. God's judgments are never abstract; they have real, tangible, and devastating effects in the world.

v. 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.’ ”

The scope of the judgment is comprehensive. It is not just the Nile, but all the waters of Egypt. The language is sweeping, covering every possible source of water. This demonstrates the totality of God's authority. There is no corner of Egypt that can escape His decree. Even water already drawn and stored in vessels will be turned to blood. This detail makes it impossible to explain the event away as a natural phenomenon, like red sediment or algae bloom. This is a direct, supernatural act of God, penetrating even into the homes of the Egyptians.

v. 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.

Obedience is immediate and precise. Moses and Aaron do exactly as they were told. The act is public, performed in the sight of Pharaoh and his court. This is a public showdown. Aaron strikes the Nile, and the transformation is instantaneous and complete. "All the water...was turned to blood." The power is in God's command, and the staff is merely the instrument through which that power is executed.

v. 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.

The fulfillment of the predicted consequences is stated plainly. What God said would happen, happened. The fish died, the river stank, and the water was undrinkable. The final sentence reiterates the comprehensive nature of the plague. The judgment was not localized to the riverbank where Pharaoh stood; it was universal throughout Egypt.

v. 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.

This is a key verse for understanding the nature of the conflict. The magicians are able to replicate the miracle. The Bible does not present this as sleight of hand. They actually did it, through their "secret arts," which is to say, through demonic power. But notice what they do. They don't turn the bloody water back into fresh water. They can't reverse the plague. They can only make more bloody water. This is the nature of evil. It is parasitic and destructive, not creative or redemptive. Their "success" is actually a failure, as it only contributes to the problem. But for Pharaoh, it is enough. It gives him a pretext to dismiss Moses and Aaron. He sees a contest of equals and hardens his heart, becoming strong in his rebellion, just as God had said he would.

v. 23 Then Pharaoh turned and went into his house, and he did not set his heart even on this.

Pharaoh's response is one of supreme arrogance and indifference. He simply turns his back on the catastrophic event unfolding in his kingdom and goes home. He refuses to "set his heart" on it, meaning he refuses to consider its significance. He will not contemplate the possibility that a power greater than himself is at work. This is the essence of a hard heart: a willful refusal to process evidence that contradicts one's own autonomy.

v. 24 So all the Egyptians dug around the Nile for water to drink, for they could not drink of the water of the Nile.

While Pharaoh retreats into his palace, his people suffer. They are forced to dig for groundwater, a desperate and labor-intensive measure. This highlights the contrast between the callous indifference of the ruler and the real-world misery his rebellion is causing for his subjects. The judgment of God on a nation's leadership always flows downhill to the people.

v. 25 And seven full days passed after Yahweh had struck the Nile.

The plague was not a fleeting event. It lasted for a full week. This gave everyone in Egypt ample time to contemplate what had happened. It was a sustained, week-long demonstration of Yahweh's power and Egypt's helplessness. The number seven, often a number of completion or perfection in Scripture, may signify here the completeness of this initial judgment. God gave Pharaoh a full week to repent, but his heart remained hard.

Application

The story of the first plague is not just ancient history; it is a perennial illustration of the conflict between the kingdom of God and the kingdoms of men. Every culture has its own "Nile," a source of life and power that it deifies and trusts in, whether it be technology, the economy, military might, or the state itself. The message of Exodus is that Yahweh is Lord over all these pretended gods. He can and will strike our idols at their source to demonstrate His own supremacy.

Pharaoh's hard heart is a warning to us all. It is possible to witness the mighty acts of God, to see clear evidence of His power and authority, and yet refuse to submit. The magicians' counterfeit miracles show us that the world has its own power, its own dark spirituality, that can mimic the works of God and provide an excuse for unbelief. But this power is always destructive, never restorative. It can make more bloody water, but it cannot provide a cup of clean water to the thirsty.

Finally, we see the pattern of salvation. God's judgment on Egypt is the means of Israel's deliverance. In the same way, the ultimate judgment of God fell upon His own Son at the cross, turning the life of the world into blood, so that we might be set free from our bondage to sin and death. Christ is our Passover Lamb, and His blood, unlike the blood in the Nile, is the source of our life and redemption. The call is the same today as it was to Pharaoh: "Let my people go, that they may serve Me." The question is whether we will listen, or whether we, like Pharaoh, will harden our hearts.