71 Then the Lord said to Moses , " See , I make you as 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 speak to Pharaoh that he let the sons of Israel go out of his land . 3 "But I will harden Pharaoh's heart that I may multiply My signs and My wonders in the land of Egypt . 4 "When Pharaoh does not listen to you, then I will lay My hand on Egypt and bring out My hosts , My people the sons of Israel , from the land of Egypt by great judgments . 5 " The Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord , when I stretch out My hand on Egypt and bring out the sons of Israel from their midst ." 6 So Moses and Aaron did it; as the Lord commanded them, thus they did . 7 Moses was eighty years old and Aaron eighty-three , when they spoke to Pharaoh .
8 Now the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron , saying , 9 "When Pharaoh speaks to you, saying , ' Work a miracle ,' then you shall say to Aaron , ' Take your staff and throw it down before Pharaoh , that it may become a serpent .' " 10 So Moses and Aaron came to Pharaoh , and thus they did just as the Lord had commanded ; and Aaron threw his staff down before Pharaoh and his servants , and it became a serpent . 11 Then Pharaoh also called for the wise men and the sorcerers , and they also , the magicians of Egypt , did the same with their secret arts . 12 For each one threw down his staff and they turned into serpents . But Aaron's staff swallowed up their staffs . 13 Yet Pharaoh's heart was hardened , and he did not listen to them, as the Lord had said .
14 Then the Lord said to Moses , "Pharaoh's heart is stubborn ; he refuses to let the people go . 15 "Go to Pharaoh in the morning as he is going out to the water , and station yourself to meet him on the bank of the Nile ; and you shall take in your hand the staff that was turned into a serpent . 16 " 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 behold , you have not listened until now ." 17 'Thus says the Lord , " By this you shall know that I am the Lord : behold , I will strike the water that is in the Nile with the staff that is in my hand , and it will be turned to blood . 18 " The fish that are in the Nile will die , and the Nile will become foul , and the Egyptians will find difficulty in drinking water from the Nile .""' 19 Then the Lord said to Moses , "Say to Aaron , 'Take your staff and stretch out your hand over the waters of Egypt , over their rivers , over their streams , and over their pools , and over all their reservoirs of water , that they may become blood ; and there will be blood throughout all the land of Egypt , both in vessels of wood and in vessels of stone .' " 20 So Moses and Aaron did even as the Lord had commanded . And he lifted up the staff and struck the water that was in the Nile , in the sight of Pharaoh and in the sight of his servants , and all the water that was in the Nile was turned to blood .
Matthew Henry's Commentary on Exodus 7:1-20
Commentary on Exodus 7:1-7
(Read Exodus 7:1-7)
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.
Commentary on Exodus 7:8-13
(Read Exodus 7:8-13)
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.
Commentary on Exodus 7:14-25
(Read Exodus 7:14-25)
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.