The Law · Chapter 7 of 40
Exodus 7
God tells Moses He has made him a god to Pharaoh, with Aaron as his prophet, and warns He will harden Pharaoh's heart to multiply His signs. Aaron's rod becomes a serpent and swallows the magicians' serpents, yet Pharaoh's heart stays hard. Then comes the first plague: Aaron strikes the Nile and its waters turn to blood, killing the fish. The magicians imitate it, and Pharaoh again refuses. Seven days pass.
What happens in Exodus 7
God commissions Moses again, making him as a god to Pharaoh and Aaron his prophet who will speak. He forewarns that He will harden Pharaoh's heart and multiply signs and wonders, so that Egypt will know He is the LORD when He brings out His people by great judgments. Moses is eighty and Aaron eighty three. Before Pharaoh, Aaron casts down his rod and it becomes a serpent; Pharaoh's magicians do likewise with their rods, but Aaron's rod swallows theirs.
Still Pharaoh's heart is hardened. God then sends Moses to meet Pharaoh at the river in the morning. Aaron stretches the rod over Egypt's waters and strikes the Nile, and it turns to blood throughout the land. The fish die, the river stinks, and the Egyptians cannot drink. The magicians reproduce the sign by their enchantments, so Pharaoh's heart remains hard, and he turns back to his house unmoved. Seven days pass while the Egyptians dig for water.
Exodus 7 in context
This chapter launches the plagues, the series of divine judgments by which God will break Pharaoh's grip on Israel. The contest is framed as a revelation: Egypt and Israel alike will come to know the LORD.
The Nile, honored as a source of life and divinity in Egypt, is the first target, showing God's power over the very things Egypt trusted. The hardening of Pharaoh's heart runs through the whole account.
Main themes of Exodus 7
Exodus 7 (KJV)
1And the LORD said unto Moses, See, I have made thee a god to Pharaoh: and Aaron thy brother shall be thy prophet. 2Thou shalt speak all that I command thee: and Aaron thy brother shall speak unto Pharaoh, that he send the children of Israel out of his land. 3And I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and multiply my signs and my wonders in the land of Egypt. 4But Pharaoh shall not hearken unto you, that I may lay my hand upon Egypt, and bring forth mine armies, and my people the children of Israel, out of the land of Egypt by great judgments. 5And the Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD, when I stretch forth mine hand upon Egypt, and bring out the children of Israel from among them. 6And Moses and Aaron did as the LORD commanded them, so did they. 7And Moses was fourscore years old, and Aaron fourscore and three years old, when they spake unto Pharaoh. 8And the LORD spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying, 9When Pharaoh shall speak unto you, saying, Shew a miracle for you: then thou shalt say unto Aaron, Take thy rod, and cast it before Pharaoh, and it shall become a serpent. 10And Moses and Aaron went in unto Pharaoh, and they did so as the LORD had commanded: and Aaron cast down his rod before Pharaoh, and before his servants, and it became a serpent. 11Then Pharaoh also called the wise men and the sorcerers: now the magicians of Egypt, they also did in like manner with their enchantments. 12For they cast down every man his rod, and they became serpents: but Aaron’s rod swallowed up their rods. 13And he hardened Pharaoh’s heart, that he hearkened not unto them; as the LORD had said. 14And the LORD said unto Moses, Pharaoh’s heart is hardened, he refuseth to let the people go. 15Get thee unto Pharaoh in the morning; lo, he goeth out unto the water; and thou shalt stand by the river’s brink against he come; and the rod which was turned to a serpent shalt thou take in thine hand. 16And thou shalt say unto him, The LORD God of the Hebrews hath sent me unto thee, saying, Let my people go, that they may serve me in the wilderness: and, behold, hitherto thou wouldest not hear. 17Thus saith the LORD, In this thou shalt know that I am the LORD: behold, I will smite with the rod that is in mine hand upon the waters which are in the river, and they shall be turned to blood. 18And the fish that is in the river shall die, and the river shall stink; and the Egyptians shall lothe to drink of the water of the river. 19And the LORD spake unto Moses, Say unto Aaron, Take thy rod, and stretch out thine hand upon the waters of Egypt, upon their streams, upon their rivers, and upon their ponds, and upon all their pools of water, that they may become blood; and that there may be blood throughout all the land of Egypt, both in vessels of wood, and in vessels of stone. 20And Moses and Aaron did so, as the LORD commanded; and he lifted up the rod, and smote 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. 21And the fish that was in the river died; and the river stank, and the Egyptians could not drink of the water of the river; and there was blood throughout all the land of Egypt. 22And the magicians of Egypt did so with their enchantments: and Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, neither did he hearken unto them; as the LORD had said. 23And Pharaoh turned and went into his house, neither did he set his heart to this also. 24And all the Egyptians digged round about the river for water to drink; for they could not drink of the water of the river. 25And seven days were fulfilled, after that the LORD had smitten the river.
Verses to carry from Exodus 7
“And the Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD, when I stretch forth mine hand upon Egypt, and bring out the children of Israel from among them.”Exodus 7:5
“For they cast down every man his rod, and they became serpents: but Aaron’s rod swallowed up their rods.”Exodus 7:12
“And Moses and Aaron did so, as the LORD commanded; and he lifted up the rod, and smote 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.”Exodus 7:20
Thematic connection
How Exodus 7 points to Jesus
The plagues aim to make God known, that all may confess I am the LORD, a knowledge the New Testament says comes to its fullness in Jesus, through whom God is finally revealed. The first plague turns the Nile, Egypt's source of life, to blood and death, a reversal that contrasts with Christ's first sign, turning water into wine at Cana, bringing joy and life. Where Moses brings water to blood in judgment, Jesus brings life out of death.
Aaron's rod swallowing the magicians' serpents pictures God's power consuming every counterfeit, which the gospel completes as Christ disarms the powers. These are thematic connections and contrasts rather than direct prophecies, yet they set God's judgment against the backdrop of the greater salvation in Christ.
Questions about Exodus 7
Does God hardening Pharaoh's heart mean Pharaoh was not responsible?
No. The narrative says both that God hardened Pharaoh's heart and that Pharaoh hardened his own. Pharaoh's pride and cruelty are genuinely his, and he is accountable. God's hardening confirms and gives over a heart already set against Him, using even that rebellion to display His power. Human responsibility and divine sovereignty stand together without cancelling each other.
Why did God begin with the Nile turning to blood?
The Nile was Egypt's lifeline and was honored as divine. By striking it first, God confronted Egypt's trust and its gods at the very source. Turning the river of life into death showed that the LORD, not the Nile, holds power over life. It was a targeted judgment, exposing the emptiness of what Egypt worshiped.
Reflection
The plagues were meant to make God known, to Egypt and to Israel alike. God still reveals Himself, sometimes by dismantling the false securities we trust. What have you leaned on as your Nile, your source of life, that God may be inviting you to release so that you might know Him as Lord?
A prayer from Exodus 7
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