UNROLL
The Nile at dawn, broad, calm and silver-brown, with papyrus and date palms along the near bank and a small reed boat far out on the water.

The Book of

Exodus 7

Two old men with a shepherd’s staff stand before the king of Egypt. The first blow falls on the river all Egypt lives by.

25 verses≈ 5 min3 peopleBSB

Images are artistic interpretations.

Tap any post to go deeper

In this chapter

Where we are

  1. 1–6Slaves in EgyptOppression and a deliverer
  2. 7–13The plaguesThe LORD against PharaohChapter 7
  3. 14–18Through the seaRescued and led
  4. 19–24At SinaiThe covenant and the law
  5. 25–31A place to dwellThe tabernacle planned
  6. 32–40Broken and renewedThe calf, mercy, the glory

God Commands Moses and Aaron

The LORD answered Moses, “See, I have made you like God to Pharaoh, and your brother Aaron will be your prophet. You are to speak all that I command you, and your brother Aaron is to tell Pharaoh to let the Israelites go out of his land.

Tap to go deeper: meaning, history and related Scripture

But I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and though I will multiply My signs and wonders in the land of Egypt, Pharaoh will not listen to you. Then I will lay My hand on Egypt, and by mighty acts of judgment I will bring the divisions of My people the Israelites out of the land of Egypt.

And the Egyptians will know that I am the LORD, when I stretch out My hand against Egypt and bring the Israelites out from among them.”

So Moses and Aaron did just as the LORD had commanded them. Moses was eighty years old and Aaron was eighty-three when they spoke to Pharaoh.

So Moses and Aaron did just as the LORD had commanded them.

Exodus 7:6

Reflect

Old, and sent

Moses was eighty and Aaron eighty-three when they walked into Pharaoh’s court. Forty years earlier Moses had tried to rescue his people his own way and had to run. At the bush he made excuse after excuse. Now the text says simply, “So Moses and Aaron did just as the LORD had commanded them.” It is not too late to obey. What has God been asking of you that you have put off, thinking your time has passed? Write it down, with one small first step.

Nine plagues in three rounds, then the last

thenRound oneBlood, frogs, gnatsRound twoFlies, livestock,boilsRound threeHail, locusts,darknessThe lastThe firstbornIn every roundWarned, warned, thenno warning

Whiteboard

God had promised “mighty acts of judgment,” and here they begin. The first nine plagues come in three rounds of three. The first plague of each round is announced to Pharaoh early in the morning (the first as he goes “out to the water”), the second is announced when Moses goes in to Pharaoh, and the third falls with no warning at all. Then comes the last: the death of the firstborn.

Aaron’s Staff

The LORD said to Moses and Aaron, “When Pharaoh tells you, ‘Perform a miracle,’ you are to say to Aaron, ‘Take your staff and throw it down before Pharaoh,’ and it will become a serpent.”

So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and did just as the LORD had commanded. Aaron threw his staff down before Pharaoh and his officials, and it became a serpent.

But Pharaoh called the wise men and sorcerers and magicians of Egypt, and they also did the same things by their magic arts. Each one threw down his staff, and it became a serpent. But Aaron’s staff swallowed up the other staffs.

Still, Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, and he would not listen to them, just as the LORD had said.

Question

Quick question

Pharaoh’s magicians copied the sign with staffs of their own. Then something happened that they could not copy.

What happened to the magicians’ staffs?

The First Plague: Blood

Early morning on the bank of the Nile: two old men with staffs wait by the reeds, seen from behind, as a royal procession with tall fans comes down to the water.

Then the LORD said to Moses, “Pharaoh’s heart is unyielding; he refuses to let the people go. Go to Pharaoh in the morning as you see him walking out to the water. Wait on the bank of the Nile to meet him, and take in your hand the staff that was changed into a snake. Then say to him, ‘The LORD, the God of the Hebrews, has sent me to tell you: Let My people go, so that they may worship Me in the wilderness. But until now you have not listened. This is what the LORD says: By this you will know that I am the LORD. Behold, with the staff in my hand I will strike the water of the Nile, and it will turn to blood. The fish in the Nile will die, the river will stink, and the Egyptians will be unable to drink its water.’”

0:44

Narrated by Bob Souer · BSB audio, public domain

And the LORD said to Moses, “Tell Aaron, ‘Take your staff and stretch out your hand over the waters of Egypt—over their rivers and canals and ponds and all the reservoirs—that they may become blood.’ There will be blood throughout the land of Egypt, even in the vessels of wood and stone.”

But the magicians of Egypt did the same things by their magic arts. So Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, and he would not listen to Moses and Aaron, just as the LORD had said. Instead, Pharaoh turned around, went into his palace, and did not take any of this to heart.

So all the Egyptians dug around the Nile for water to drink, because they could not drink the water from the river.

And seven full days passed after the LORD had struck the Nile.

Pray

Not to heart

Pharaoh watched the river turn to blood. Then he “went into his palace, and did not take any of this to heart.” It is possible to see God at work and simply walk away. Ask God for a soft heart: to notice what He is doing, to listen when He speaks, and to turn to Him quickly. Pray, too, for someone you love who seems to be walking away.

You’ve experienced

Exodus 7

0 of 40 chapters read

A verse to carry with you

And the Egyptians will know that I am the LORD, when I stretch out My hand against Egypt and bring the Israelites out from among them.

Exodus 7:5

or swipe left