Chapter Summary
Core Passages from Exodus 7
Exodus 7:5The Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord, when I stretch out my hand against Egypt and bring out the people of Israel from among them.
This verse reveals the ultimate purpose behind the plagues: God wants the Egyptians and the Israelites to know that He is the one true Lord. His actions are a powerful self-revelation to the world.Exodus 7:12For each man cast down his staff, and they became serpents. But Aaron's staff swallowed up their staffs.
When Aaron's staff swallows the magicians' staffs, it's a clear and dramatic sign that God's power is different and overwhelmingly greater than the magic of Egypt. It's a visual preview of the entire conflict.Exodus 7:22-23But the magicians of Egypt did the same by their secret arts. So Pharaoh's heart remained hardened, and he would not listen to them, as the Lord had said. But Pharaoh turned and went into his house, and he did not take even this to heart.
Even after a devastating plague, Pharaoh's heart remains hard because his magicians could imitate the miracle on a small scale. This shows how easily we can find excuses to dismiss God's work when our hearts are set against Him.
Historical & Cultural Context
The Divine Commission and a Sobering Forecast
After renewing His promises to a discouraged Moses in the previous chapter, God now gives the final marching orders. He clarifies the roles Moses and Aaron will play, establishing Moses as His direct representative and Aaron as the spokesman. God also prepares them for the reality of their mission: Pharaoh will not listen. This isn't a sign of failure, but a necessary part of God's plan to display His power and bring judgment on Egypt.
A Battle of Staffs and Serpents
The first meeting with Pharaoh is not a negotiation but a power encounter. When Pharaoh demands a miracle, Aaron's staff transforms into a serpent, a symbol of divine power and authority in Egypt. Pharaoh, unimpressed, calls on his own wise men and sorcerers to match the feat. This moment establishes the central conflict of the coming chapters: a direct contest between the power of Yahweh and the magic of the Egyptian gods.
The First Plague: An Attack on the Heart of Egypt
When the initial sign fails to move Pharaoh, God escalates the confrontation from a symbolic act to a national crisis. He commands Moses and Aaron to strike the Nile River, the very source of Egypt's life and prosperity, which the Egyptians also worshipped as a god. This act, the first of the ten plagues, is a direct assault on the Egyptian pantheon and a demonstration that the God of the Hebrews has authority over the most vital elements of their existence.
The Showdown Begins: Signs and Plagues
Exodus 7 opens with God briefing Moses and Aaron for their daunting task. The scene quickly moves from this private strategy session to the public stage of Pharaoh's court. Here, a battle of wills and power unfolds, first through a miraculous sign and then through a devastating plague that strikes the entire nation of Egypt.
The Mission Briefing (Exodus 7:1-7)
1 And the Lord said to Moses, “See, I have made you like God to Pharaoh, and your brother Aaron shall be your prophet.
2 You shall speak all that I command you, and your brother Aaron shall tell Pharaoh to let the people of Israel go out of his land.
3 But I will harden Pharaoh's heart, and though I multiply my signs and wonders in the land of Egypt,
4 Pharaoh will not listen to you. Then I will lay my hand on Egypt and bring my hosts, my people the children of Israel, out of the land of Egypt by great acts of judgment.
5 The Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord, when I stretch out my hand against Egypt and bring out the people of Israel from among them.
6 Moses and Aaron did so; they did just as the Lord commanded them.
7 Now Moses was eighty years old, and Aaron eighty-three years old, when they spoke to Pharaoh.
Commentary:
God commissions Moses and Aaron, predicting Pharaoh's resistance as part of His plan to reveal His glory.
The Serpent Sign (Exodus 7:8-13)
8 Then the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, "When Pharaoh says to you, 'Prove yourselves by working a miracle,' then you shall say to Aaron, 'Take your staff and cast it down before Pharaoh, that it may become a serpent.'"
9 "When Pharaoh says to you, 'Prove yourselves by working a miracle,' then you shall say to Aaron, 'Take your staff and cast it down before Pharaoh, that it may become a serpent.'"
10 So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and did just as the Lord commanded. Aaron cast down his staff before Pharaoh and his servants, and it became a serpent.
11 Then Pharaoh summoned the wise men and the sorcerers, and they, the magicians of Egypt, also did the same by their secret arts.
12 For each man cast down his staff, and they became serpents. But Aaron's staff swallowed up their staffs.
13 Still Pharaoh's heart was hardened, and he would not listen to them, as the Lord had said.
Commentary:
Aaron's staff becomes a serpent and swallows the magicians' staffs, but Pharaoh refuses to listen.
The Nile Turns to Blood (Exodus 7:14-21)
14 Then the Lord said to Moses, "Pharaoh's heart is hardened; he refuses to let the people go.
15 Go to Pharaoh in the morning, as he is going out to the water. Stand on the bank of the Nile to meet him, and take in your hand the staff that turned into a serpent.
16 And you shall say to him, 'The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, sent me to you, saying, "Let my people go, that they may serve me in the wilderness." But so far, you have not obeyed.
17 Thus says the Lord, "By this you shall know that I am the Lord: behold, with the staff that is in my hand I will strike the water that is in the Nile, and it shall turn into blood.
18 The fish in the Nile shall die, and the Nile will stink, and the Egyptians will grow weary of drinking water from the Nile.”
19 And the Lord said to Moses, “Say to Aaron, ‘Take your staff and stretch out your hand over the waters of Egypt, over their rivers, their canals, and their ponds, and all their pools of water, so that they may become blood, and there shall be blood throughout all the land of Egypt, even in vessels of wood and in vessels of stone.’”
20 Moses and Aaron did as the Lord commanded. In the sight of Pharaoh and in the sight of his servants, he lifted up the staff and struck the water in the Nile, and all the water in the Nile turned into blood.
21 And the fish in the Nile died, and the Nile stank, so that the Egyptians could not drink water from the Nile. There was blood throughout all the land of Egypt.
Commentary:
God turns all the water in Egypt to blood, attacking the nation's source of life and worship.
Related Verse Analysis
A Hardened Heart and a Desperate People (Exodus 7:22-25)
22 But the magicians of Egypt did the same by their secret arts. So Pharaoh's heart remained hardened, and he would not listen to them, as the Lord had said.
23 But Pharaoh turned and went into his house, and he did not take even this to heart.
24 And all the Egyptians dug along the Nile for water to drink, for they could not drink the water of the Nile.
25 Seven full days passed after the Lord had struck the Nile.
Commentary:
The magicians replicate the plague, so Pharaoh ignores the crisis, and the Egyptians suffer for a week.
Related Verse Analysis
Unveiling God's Power and Purpose
The Sovereignty of God
This chapter powerfully demonstrates that God is in complete control. He isn't reacting to Pharaoh. He predicts and even uses Pharaoh's stubbornness to accomplish His own goals, showing that no human authority can thwart His ultimate plan.
The Revelation of God's Name
A central theme is God making Himself known. He explicitly states the purpose of the plague is so that Pharaoh and the Egyptians will 'know that I am the Lord' (Exodus 7:17). The plagues are a form of divine self-revelation, defining God's character and power in contrast to the powerless gods of Egypt.
The Battle of Powers
The story is framed as a cosmic contest. It is Moses versus Pharaoh, and Yahweh versus the entire Egyptian pantheon. The miracles performed by God, starting with the staff and the Nile, are direct challenges to the powers Egypt trusted in, proving them to be nothing in the face of the one true God.
The Hardening of the Heart
Pharaoh's resistance is a key theme. While God states He will harden Pharaoh's heart, the narrative shows Pharaoh actively hardening it himself. This reveals a sobering truth: a heart that repeatedly says 'no' to God can become incapable of saying 'yes'.
Lessons from the Nile
Exodus 7 shows that God's power works through human weakness. Moses was eighty and insecure about his speech, yet God made him His representative to a king (Exodus 7:1, 7). This encourages you to trust that God doesn't need your perfection to work through you. He needs your obedience and will provide the strength and authority required for the task He gives you.
Pharaoh focused on the fact that his magicians could replicate the sign, ignoring the superior power shown when Aaron's staff swallowed theirs (Exodus 7:12). You can avoid this by looking beyond surface-level similarities and asking where true, life-changing power lies. It's a call to develop discernment, recognizing that not all power comes from God, and to focus on the ultimate source of goodness and truth.
The Egyptians worshipped and depended on the Nile, and God showed He had complete authority over it (Exodus 7:20-21). This prompts you to examine the 'Nile rivers' in your own life - the things you rely on for security, identity, or sustenance, such as a career, finances, or relationships. The chapter serves as a reminder that true security is found only in God, who is the source of all life.
God's Power Demands a Response
Exodus 7 launches the dramatic revelation of God's authority over a defiant world power. Through the signs and the first plague, God is not negotiating for His people's release. He is making a statement about who is truly in charge. The message is that God's power is absolute, His judgments are purposeful, and His identity will be known. Every display of power is an invitation to acknowledge Him, forcing a choice between a humble heart that yields and a proud heart that hardens.
What This Means for Us Today
The turning of the Nile into blood was an undeniable sign of God's power, an invitation for Pharaoh to recognize the Lord. He refused. This chapter challenges us to examine our own hearts, asking if we, like Pharaoh, ever dismiss God's clear work in our lives because of pride or stubbornness.
- In what areas of my life am I hardening my heart to God's commands?
- When faced with opposition, how can I act with the faith of Moses and Aaron, trusting in God's superior power?
- Who does God want me to reveal His character to, not with plagues, but with love and truth?
Further Reading
Immediate Context
Connections Across Scripture
The Apostle Paul quotes the story of Pharaoh to explain the doctrine of God's sovereignty in showing mercy and in hardening hearts.
This passage describes God's final judgments, which include turning the sea and rivers into blood, directly echoing the first plague in Exodus.
Paul names the Egyptian magicians, Jannes and Jambres, as examples of people who oppose the truth, showing their ultimate failure.
Discussion Questions
- God says, 'I will harden Pharaoh's heart' (Exodus 7:3), yet the story also says Pharaoh's heart 'was hardened' (Exodus 7:13, 22). How do you reconcile God's sovereignty with human responsibility in this story and in life?
- The Egyptian magicians were able to replicate God's first two signs. What does this teach us about counterfeit power, and how can we learn to distinguish God's true work from impressive imitations?
- The first plague was a direct attack on the Nile, a source of life and an object of worship for Egypt. What are the modern-day 'Niles' - things our culture depends on or worships - that God might challenge to get our attention?
Glossary
places
figures
Moses
A prophet of God chosen to lead the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt.
Aaron
Moses' older brother, who served as his spokesman before Pharaoh.
Pharaoh
The title for the king of Egypt, who was considered a god by his people and opposed the Israelites' freedom.
Magicians of Egypt
Wise men and sorcerers in Pharaoh's court who used 'secret arts' to oppose Moses and Aaron.