Exodus 7

1 And the Lorde saide vnto Moses: beholde, I haue made the Pharaos God, and Aaron thy brother shal be thy prophete.
2 Thou shalt speake all that I commaunde the and Aaron thy brother shall speake vnto Pharao: that he sende the childern of Israel out of his londe.
3 But I will harden Pharaos hert, that I may multiplie my myracles and my wondres in the land of Egipte.
4 And yet Pharao shall not herken vnto you, that I maye sett myne honde vpon Egipte and brynge out myne armyes, eue my people the childern of Israel out of the lade of Egipte, with great iudgementes.
5 And the Egiptians shall knowe that I am the Lorde when I haue stretched forth my hande vpo Egipte, and haue brought out the childern of Israel from amonge the.
6 Moses and Aaron dyd as the Lorde commaunded them.
7 And Moses was .lxxx. yere olde and Aaron .lxxxiij. when they spake vnto Pharao.
8 And the Lorde spake vnto Moses and Aaron saynge:
9 when Pharao speaketh vnto you and sayth: shewe a wondre, than shalt thou saye vnto Aaron, take the rodd and cast it before Pharao, and it shall turne to a serpent
10 Than went Moses and Aaro in vnto Pharao, and dyd euen as the Lorde had commaunded. And Aaron cast forth his rodd before Pharao and before his servauntes, and it turned to a serpente.
11 Than Pharao called for the wyse men and enchaunters of Egipte dyd yn lyke maner with there sorcery.
12 And they cast doune euery ma his rodd, ad they turned to serpetes: but Aarons rodd ate vp their roddes:
13 ad yet for all that Pharaos herte was hardened, so that he herkened not vnto the, euen as the Lorde had sayde.
14 Than sayde the Lorde vnto Moses. Pharaos herte is hardened, and he refuseth to let the people goo.
15 Get the vnto Pharao in the mornynge, for he will come vnto the water, and stode thou apon the ryuers brynke agenst he come, and the rodd whiche turned to a serpente take in thine hande.
16 And saye vnto him: the Lorde God of the Hebrues hath sente me vnto the saynge: let my people goo, that they maye serue me in the wildernes: but hither to thou woldest not heare.
17 wherfore thus sayth the Lorde: hereby thou shalt knowe that I am the Lord. Behold, I will smyte with the staffe that is in myne hand apon the waters that are in the ryuer, and they shall turne to bloude.
18 And the fishe that is in the riuer shall dye, and the riuer shall stinke: so that it shall greue the Egiptias to drinke of the water of the ryuer.
19 And the Lorde spake vnto Moses, saye vnto Aaron: take thy staffe and stretch out thyne hande ouer the waters of Egipte, ouer their streames, ryuers, pondes and all pooles off water, that they maye be bloude, and that there may be bloude in all the lande of Egipte: both in vessells of wodd and also of stone.
20 And Moses and Aaron dyd euen as the Lorde commaunded. And he lifte vp the staffe and smote the waters that were in the riuer, in the syghte of Pharao and in the syghte of his servauntes, and all the water that was in the ryuer, turned in to bloude.
21 And the fish that was in the riuer dyed, and the ryuer stanke: so that the Egiptians coude not drinke of the water of the ryuer. And there was bloude thorowe out all the lande of Egipte.
22 And the Enchaunters of Egipte dyd lyke wyse with their enchauntmentes, so that Pharaos herte was hardened and dyd not regarde them as the Lorde had sayde.
23 And Pharao turned him selfe and went in to his housse, and set not his herte there vnto.
24 And the Egiptians dygged round aboute the ryuer for water to drynke, for they coude not drynke of the water of the ryuer.
25 And it contynued a weke after that the Lorde had smote the ryuer.

Exodus 7 Commentary

Chapter 7

Moses and Aaron encouraged. (1-7) The rods turned into serpents, Pharaoh's heart is hardened. (8-13) The river is turned into blood, The distress of the Egyptians. (14-25)

Verses 1-7 God glorifies himself. He makes people know that he is Jehovah. Israel is made to know it by the performance of his promises to them, and the Egyptians by the pouring out of his wrath upon them. Moses, as the ambassador of Jehovah, speaking in his name, laid commands upon Pharaoh, denounced threatenings against him, and called for judgments upon him. Pharaoh, proud and great as he was, could not resist. Moses stood not in awe of Pharaoh, but made him tremble. This seems to be meant in the words, Thou shalt be a god unto Pharaoh. At length Moses is delivered from his fears. He makes no more objections, but, being strengthened in faith, goes about his work with courage, and proceeds in it with perseverance.

Verses 8-13 What men dislike, because it opposes their pride and lusts, they will not be convinced of; but it is easy to cause them to believe things they wish to be true. God always sends with his word full proofs of its Divine authority; but when men are bent to disobey, and willing to object, he often permits a snare to be laid wherein they are entangled. The magicians were cheats, trying to copy the real miracles of Moses by secret sleights or jugglings, which to a small extent they succeeded in doing, so as to deceive the bystanders, but they were at length obliged to confess they could not any longer imitate the effects of Divine power. None assist more in the destruction of sinners, than such as resist the truth by amusing men with a counterfeit resemblance of it. Satan is most to be dreaded when transformed into an angel of light.

Verses 14-25 Here is the first of the ten plagues, the turning of the water into blood. It was a dreadful plague. The sight of such vast rolling streams of blood could not but strike horror. Nothing is more common than water: so wisely has Providence ordered it, and so kindly, that what is so needful and serviceable to the comfort of human life, should be cheap and almost every where to be had; but now the Egyptians must either drink blood, or die for thirst. Egypt was a pleasant land, but the dead fish and blood now rendered it very unpleasant. It was a righteous plague, and justly sent upon the Egyptians; for Nile, the river of Egypt, was their idol. That creature which we idolize, God justly takes from us, or makes bitter to us. They had stained the river with the blood of the Hebrews' children, and now God made that river all blood. Never any thirsted after blood, but sooner or later they had enough of it. It was a significant plague; Egypt had great dependence upon their river, ( Zechariah 14:18 ) ; so that in smiting the river, they were warned of the destruction of all the produce of their country. The love of Christ to his disciples changes all their common mercies into spiritual blessings; the anger of God towards his enemies, renders their most valued advantages a curse and a misery to them. Aaron is to summon the plague by smiting the river with his rod. It was done in the sight of Pharaoh and his attendants, for God's true miracles were not performed as Satan's lying wonders; truth seeks no corners. See the almighty power of God. Every creature is that to us which he makes it to be water or blood. See what changes we may meet with in the things of this world; what is always vain, may soon become vexatious. See what mischievous work sin makes. If the things that have been our comforts prove our crosses, we must thank ourselves. It is sin that turns our waters into blood. The plague continued seven days; and in all that time Pharaoh's proud heart would not let him desire Moses to pray for the removal of it. Thus the hypocrites in heart heap up wrath. No wonder that God's anger is not turned away, but that his hand is stretched out still.

Chapter Summary

INTRODUCTION TO EXODUS 7

Moses and Aaron are ordered to go to Pharaoh, and require the dismission of the people of Israel, but they are told before hand that Pharaoh's heart would be hardened, and would refuse to let them go, until the hand of the Lord was stretched out, and great judgments were brought down upon, Egypt, and then they should come forth, Ex 7:1-5, which orders Moses and Aaron obeyed, and their age is observed, when this was done, Ex 7:6,7 and they are bid to work a miracle, when Pharaoh should demand one, by turning a rod into a serpent, which they did; but Pharaoh's magicians doing the same in appearance, his heart was hardened, Ex 7:8-14 and then they are directed to meet him at the river, and require the same as before; and if he refused, to smite the waters of the river with the rod, and turn them into blood, which they did, Ex 7:15-21, but Pharaoh's magicians doing the same by enchantments, he did not regard it, though the plague lasted seven days, Ex 7:22-25.

Exodus 7 Commentaries

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