Pharoah Let My People go! Part 2.

GOD’S JUDGMENT ON EGYPT BEGINS

Whenever God wants to declare His will and purpose He does it with a mighty strong hand. He is the Lord, the One and only Sovereign God; Yahweh the redemptive God. Beloved, God began His judgment over Egypt because of the recalcitrant mind-set and hardness of Pharaoh’s heart. Since Pharaoh refused to let the children of Israel go, God made up His mind to teach him and the whole of Egypt a lesson. God told Moshe (Moses) I am going to begin my judgment on Pharaoh and Egypt by turning their waters into blood. God told Moshe His servant go and meet Pharaoh as he goes to the Nile to do his rituals and incantations in the morning to deliver my judgment.

Plague 1:Water turned into blood - Exodus 7:14-25 (NKJV)

14 “So the Lord said to Moses: “Pharaoh’s heart is hard; he refuses to let the people go. 15 Go to Pharaoh in the morning, when he goes out to the water, and you shall stand by the river’s bank to meet him; and the rod which was turned to a serpent you shall take in your hand. 16 And you shall say to him, ‘The Lord God of the Hebrews has sent me to you, saying, “Let My people go, that they may serve Me in the wilderness”; but indeed, until now you would not hear! 17 Thus says the Lord: “By this you shall know that I am the Lord. Behold, I will strike the waters which are in the river with the rod that is in my hand, and they shall be turned to blood. 18 And the fish that are in the river shall die, the river shall stink, and the Egyptians will loathe to drink the water of the river” (Exodus 7:14-18 NKJV).

Striking the waters

And Aaron stretched out his hand and struck the waters of Egypt with his rod. And all the waters in the land of Egypt turned into blood. The fish and other living organisms died. The reason the Lord judged the Nile first was because it was the central point of contact between Pharaoh and all the gods of Egypt. The Nile was the epicentre of its religious and civic structures. The Nile was judged for 7 days by God. Seven represents completeness and perfection and thus the judgement against the Nile was so. Furthermore, Pharaoh was seen as a god in Egypt and God was destroying is stronghold. God is a strategic Intelligence.

19 “Then the Lord spoke to Moses, “Say to Aaron, ‘Take your rod and stretch out your hand over the waters of Egypt, over their streams, over their rivers, over their ponds, and over all their pools of water, that they may become blood. And there shall be blood throughout all the land of Egypt, both in buckets of wood and pitchers of stone.’” 20 And Moses and Aaron did so, just as the Lord commanded. So he lifted up the rod and struck the waters that were in the river, in the sight of Pharaoh and in the sight of his servants. And all the waters that were in the river were turned to blood. 21 The fish that were in the river died, the river stank, and the Egyptians could not drink the water of the river. So there was blood throughout all the land of Egypt”, (Exodus 7:19-21 NKJV).

 God judges the Nile

Water turns into blood

Pharaoh consulted his magicians who through their magical arts and occult practices replicated the miracles performed by Moses and Aaron by turning water into blood.

“22 Then the magicians of Egypt did so with their enchantments; and Pharaoh’s heart grew hard, and he did not heed them, as the Lord had said. 23 And Pharaoh turned and went into his house. Neither was his heart moved by this. 24 So all the Egyptians dug all around the river for water to drink, because they could not drink the water of the river. 25 And seven days passed after the Lord had struck the river” (Exodus 7:22-25 NKJV).

 Lessons

1.   The first lesson to learn here is that a miracle is not the only yardstick or index of knowing who a man of God is. Satan and his cohorts also perform ‘miracles’. So relying on signs and miracles alone might be deceptive.

2.   Secondly, Pharaoh’s magicians made matters worse. They created more problems, more troubles, hardship, etc for themselves and the Egyptians by duplicating the miracles of Moses and Aaron. Thus this has always been the case of all those seeking a solution from the devil and other dark places of this World. Their problems are rather multiplied instead of being solved. 

Significance of turning Water into Blood

Blood is life and also speaks says the scripture (Genesis 4:10). Water is a sustainer of life to both mankind and other living organisms. When the waters turned into blood all the living organisms in it died and as a result the water stank and threatened the existence of the life depending on it. This served as an ominous threat to Pharaoh, his throne and the whole of Egypt. This omen pointed to the impending danger and doom that would befall Pharaoh and Egypt. It signalled that God had already determined and sealed the fate of Pharaoh and Egypt. It signified that Pharaoh and Egypt were going to drink from the sins and evils they had committed against the children of Israel. They were to account for the destinies they maimed, the young lives they aborted and killed prematurely. It is an omen of death, difficulties, hardship, despondency, deprivation, despair that would fall upon Pharaoh and the whole of Egypt. It portends a cheerless picture of anguish, lack, depression and gloom that lay ahead for the land of Egypt. 

For example if you are always dreaming of seeing blood in your dreams it is a bad signal that danger is looming. If a pregnant woman is frequently dreaming of seeing blood it means abortion, miscarriage and still-birth is what the enemy is plotting and scheming for. Water turned into blood has deeper spiritual implications. It signifies that no sin ever committed without repentance will be forgiven. Thus when people are spilling and shedding blood with impunity it means they will soon be requited and paid in their own coin.

“5 And surely your blood of your lives will I require; at the hand of every beast will I require it, and at the hand of man; at the hand of every man's brother will I require the life of man. 6 Whoso sheddeth man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed: for in the image of God made he man.”  (Genesis 9:5-6 KJV). 

It was also made clear when God showing his glory to Moses said,

“7 Keeping mercy and loving-kindness for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but Who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and the children’s children, to the third and fourth generation” (Exodus 34:7).

Finally, I proclaim to every Pharaoh out there to let the children of God they are holding captive go; otherwise God will begin judgment against them with a plague of blood. Amen! And this judgment will not only descend on you but it will be visited on all your kingdoms, your kindred, your children and your children’ children.