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SERIES C --- EXODUS FROM BONDAGE --- LESSON 05

A TEST OF POWER

WHEN WATER BECAME BLOOD

From Exodus 6:1-13, 28-30; 7

[Now you will see what I plan to do with Pharaoh,] Adonai said to Moses. [He will not only want to see the Israelites leave, he will want so much to have them go that he will drive them out.] Adonai said also to Moses, [I am the Almighty YHVH who appeared to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob even though they did not know Me by My Name, YAHVEH. I made My Covenant with them with a promise that they and their descendants would have the land of Canaan, where they lived. I have listened to My people groan because of their bondage to the Egyptians and I have remembered My Covenant with them. [Tell the descendants of Jacob, whose other name was Israel, that through My great Power, I will bring them out of their bondage. With My arm stretched forth, sending severe judgments upon Egypt, I will free them from slavery and redeem them. I will make them My people and I will be their YHVH. Tell My people that they will know that I am Adonai, their YHVH Elohiym, YHVH Elohiym Who will free them from Egypt’s bondage and will bring them to the land I promised to give to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob for a possession.] Moses reported to the people what Adonai had said. But the people were so downhearted because of their slavery that they would not listen to him. [Return to Pharaoh,] Adonai told Moses. [Tell him to let My people go from Egypt.] [I am such a poor speaker that even my own people have not listened to me,] Moses protested. [How can I expect Pharaoh to listen?] But Adonai ordered Moses to go back to his people and to Pharaoh and insist that the people go free from Egypt. [I am YAHVEH,] Adonai said. [Tell Pharaoh what I have told you. You will be like a god to Pharaoh and your brother Aaron will be like a prophet. What I Command, you will speak and Aaron will relay the message to Pharaoh. You will insist that My people go free. But I will let Pharaoh have his stubborn way, refusing to let them go, so that I may show My mighty miracles. But even with mighty miracles, Pharaoh will cling stubbornly to your people. Then I will lay My hand of judgment on Egypt and bring out My people with great power. The Egyptians will learn that I am YHVH when they see what I will do to them.] Moses was eighty years old at this time and Aaron was eighty-three. Whatever commands Adonai gave them, they obeyed. Adonai reminded Moses and Aaron that Pharaoh would demand a miracle when they went to see him. [When he does, Aaron will throw his shepherd’s rod before Pharaoh and it will become a snake. Through this miracle you will prove that YHVH has sent you.] Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and did what Adonai had told them. When Aaron threw his rod to the floor, it became a snake. But Pharaoh brought in his magicians and they did the same with their magic. The rods of the magicians also became snakes, but Aaron’s snake swallowed theirs. Pharaoh still stubbornly refused to listen, just as Adonai had said. [Pharaoh’s heart is hard; he refuses to let My people go,] Adonai told Moses. [Return to meet him in the morning as he stands by the river. Take your rod with you and tell him that I have sent you. Tell him that I demanded that My people go to serve Me in the wilderness but that he has not obeyed. You will then tell Pharaoh that I am Adonai. Strike the water of the Nile River with your rod and it will turn to blood. The fish in the river will die and the water will smell so bad that the Egyptians will refuse to drink it. Then you will instruct Aaron to reach out his rod toward all the waters of Egypt; the rivers, canals, ponds and pools and even the water stored in wood and stone vessels. When he does, all of the water of Egypt will turn to blood.] Moses and Aaron obeyed Adonai completely. While Pharaoh watched, Aaron struck the water of the Nile River with his rod and the entire river turned to blood. The fish died and the water became so foul that the people could not drink it. Throughout the land of Egypt, the water turned to blood. But Pharaoh’s magicians also used their magic to turn water to blood. And Pharaoh stubbornly refused to listen to Moses and Aaron, as Adonai had said he would and returned to his palace. The Egyptians dug wells along the Nile for water to drink, for they could not drink the water of the Nile. But Adonai kept the water as blood for seven days.

COMMENTARY

THE NILE RIVER

When Moses came again to Pharaoh to restate YHVH’s Command, the Egyptian demanded a miracle. Moses told his brother, Aaron, to throw down his rod and it became a serpent. The Egyptian magicians seemed to duplicate the feat! This passage tells how YHVH won that first test of power. And it contains YHVH’s promise of such great acts of judgment that the Egyptians would know that He is Adonai. Bathtub and swimming pool, washing machine and cow wash, animal trough and watering can; the ancient Egyptians used the Nile River for almost everything. It was the centre of their lives. The land around the Nile was dry; very little rain ever fell; and the river was just about the only source of water. That made it the source of life. Without it, food could not be grown or man and animals kept alive. So, the people lived near the river and almost nowhere else. Even today, most Egyptians live on a tiny part of the land; all along the banks of the Nile. The land to the east of the river holds the barren lonely hills of the Red Sea. To the west, only the flat windswept wasteland of the desert stretches as far as the eye can see. No trees grow anywhere. But the river overflows each summer and leaves silt behind that makes the soil rich and black. Vivid green fields spread out on nearby land, with huge yellow clusters of dates and fluffy cotton and sugar cane stalks dancing in the hot wind. Wonderful sights follow the path of the Nile. To the south, water cuts through deep, narrow canyons. Their towering walls are so high, the sun’s rays cannot get through and the river below lies in dim shadow. Giant waterfalls and wild foaming water fade into huge, quiet bays. Surrounding these bays grow thick, lush grass taller than a man. The Nile begins in the south and flows toward the north. Lake Victoria, the giant body of water that is its source, is the second largest fresh-water lake in the world. Only Lake Superior is larger. From where it begins in the south to where it empties into the Mediterranean Sea in the north, the Nile travels over three thousand miles; farther than the trip from New York to California. The ancient Egyptians thanked the river through their god Hapi, [pronounced HAY- pee]. This god of the Nile was fat just as the land was [fat] with crops and happy as the people were happy with prosperity. He even changed colours along with the river. The Nile became green at low tide and so did Hapi. When the river was red with silt as it overflowed, he just as easily turned red. Hapi was a favourite god of the Egyptians. No temples were erected to him and no taxes collected for his benefit. It was very easy for the people to show their gratitude and believe he stayed happy. And the Nile River kept flowing, making it possible for the Egyptians to live.

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