Mensa Otabil - Waters Turn Blood
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Exodus chapter 7, verse 20: «And Moses and Aaron did so, just as the Lord commanded. He lifted up the rod and struck the waters that were in the river in the sight of Pharaoh and the sight of his servants, and all the waters that were in the river were turned to blood.»
Many ancient cultures consider their rivers and bodies of water as sacred spaces of their land, and many of them regard those rivers as the abode of their gods. Therefore, when you attacked the river or touched it, you were touching the sacred place-the temple of the gods, so to speak-where they reside. The Nile River was seen as the place where the chief god of the Egyptians was supposed to dwell. This represents a direct spiritual confrontation taking place here.
The first sign, or the first plague, that God told Moses to bring over Egypt was a demonstration of God’s justice and jurisdiction-His justice over what they had done in the past and His jurisdiction over their land, His control over it. Why is that so? In the years past, the Egyptian Pharaohs had decreed that Israelite boys be killed when they were born. It is believed that the bodies of these boys were dumped into the rivers. Thus, these rivers were already polluted by the blood of the Israelites. Furthermore, Moses himself had been cast into a river, and fortunately, he was discovered. However, had Moses not been found, he would have perished in those waters, just as many boys did in the waters of Egypt. So, God is punishing them where the sin occurred: the death of the people resulted in the death of the Nile, the rivers, and the bodies of water. This demonstrates God’s justice, and His jurisdiction asserts that He has authority over their gods and deities that reside in these rivers.
This is the spiritual conflict taking place. If you read the passage, it states that Moses struck the waters; he didn’t merely stretch over them but struck them in a forceful manner, and that is when the waters turned to blood. Only the waters he touched turned to blood; waters he did not touch remained normal. So, do not imagine that every body of water everywhere became blood. It was specifically the waters Moses touched that were affected.
The passage states that this miracle of the plague occurred in the sight of Pharaoh and his magicians; thus, it was not a secret event. Pharaoh was present, just as he was during the first sign that God had given Moses-the turning of the rod into a serpent. Moses performed this miracle in the presence of Pharaoh, who witnessed the entire process. It was a public display of God’s power over the gods of Egypt. God was also saying, «I witnessed the killing of the boys; I saw the pain you inflicted, and I am touching the waters to show you my displeasure for what you did in the past.» This is the drama that is unfolding here.
Let us pray. Say with me: «Heavenly Father, You rule over the wicked and their works. Show forth Your power in the presence of the wicked. In Jesus' name, Amen.»