The Plague of Blood

Turn with me in your Bible if you would to Exodus chapter 7. Exodus chapter 7. And we're going to begin with plague number one today.

We're going to begin reading Exodus 7, verse number 14. And the LORD said to Moses, Pharaoh's heart is stubborn. He refuses to let the people go. 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. And you will 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.

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 shall be turned to blood, and the fish that are in the Nile will die. The Nile will become foul, and the Egyptians will find difficulty in drinking water from the Nile. Then the LORD said to Moses, Say to Aaron, Take your staff and stretch out your hand over the waters of Egypt. over the rivers, over the streams, and over their pools, and over all their reservoirs of water, that they may become blood, and there shall be blood throughout all the land of Egypt, both in vessels of wood, And in vessels of stone.

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. The fish that were in the Nile died. The Nile became foul, so that the Egyptians could not drink water from the Nile. And the blood was through all the land of Egypt. But the magicians of Egypt did the same with their secret arts. And Pharaoh's heart was hardened, and he did not listen to them as the LORD had said.

Then Pharaoh turned and went into his house, with no concern even for this. So all the Egyptians dug around the Nile for water to drink. for they could not drink of the water of the Nile. And seven days passed after the Lord had struck the Nile. There is so much In this first plague, that we would be remiss in our responsibility if we just read it and hurried through it.

So, we want to note for you this morning several things are in your notes. The first is, we want you to understand the reproving before the plague.

The reproving before the plague. God tells Moses to go to Pharaoh. You need to tell him something. You didn't let my people go, Pharaoh. I told you, let my people go. You didn't do that. But now.

You will pay. This would be now the third time that Moses would go to Pharaoh. God is warning Pharaoh. Pharaoh could have said, okay, you're right, Moses. I need to let the people go. But that's not his response. But God is in the process of preparing Israel for their release. and at the same time dealing with Egypt and their rejection of his lordship. But is it not true? That our Lord warns over and over again of what we are not to do and what we are to do. And He gives us the ramifications of disobedience.

Let me give you an example. Hebrews 13:4 says that the marriage bed is undefiled, but fornicators and adulterers, God will what? Judge. God will judge them. God gives a warning. He says, in the realm of marriage, that bed is undefiled. Marriage is an institution that I designed. It's an honorable institution. But If you decide to act in a perverse way through adultery or fornication, you will face the judgment of God. God warns. It says over in the book of Proverbs these words, chapter 6, verse number 27.

Can a man take fire in his bosom, and his clothes not be burned? Or can a man walk on hot coals, that his feet not be scorched? So is the one who goes into his neighbor's wife. Whoever touches her will not go unpunished. Again. God gives a warning about doing something that is against His word. If you sin, and you're born with a sin nature You sin because you're a sinner, then what happens is that you are separated from God. And therefore, that needs to be remedied in this life. If not, you'll be separated from God forever.

See, the Bible is filled with warnings. And God says, before you're ever wounded, before you're ever judged, before you're ever punished, listen to what I have to say.

And we live in a society where people don't want to listen to what God has to say because it goes against their natural manner of life. It goes against the things they want to do. And if we learn anything from the plagues, we learn this: that God says, do this.

And if you don't, this will be the end result. Pharaoh wasn't about to listen to what God said. Number two, not only the reproving before the plague, but you need to see the revelation in the plague.

The revelation in the plague. The Lord God says in verse number 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 shall be turned to blood. The revelation in the plague. Why did God do the plagues? So that Pharaoh, so that Egypt, so that Israel, all of them would know that he is the Lord. Look back in chapter 7, verse number 5. And 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. You see, the whole reason behind the plagues is that so Pharaoh would come to know God.

So Egypt would come to know God. So, Israel would come to know God. You see, God doesn't do anything by accident. That's why Isaiah 45, verse number 7 says that God is the author of calamity. We don't like to read about that. We don't like to think that. But the Bible says that God is the author of calamity.

When things happen, they happen for a reason. People need to know their God. And somehow, people have got to come to grips that there is a supreme ruler of the universe who controls everything in life. That nothing happens by accident. It's all a divine incident orchestrated by the sovereign God of the universe. And God says, Pharaoh needs to know who I am.

In Romans chapter 1, when God judges man, it says he judges them because they suppress the truth. And although they come to know him, they will not honor him. They will not glorify his name. That's a problem for God. Because when you finally come to realize that God's in control, if you don't submit to his authority, you don't honor his name, you'll be judged.

He wants to be honored and glorified. That's why the Bible says in 2 Thessalonians 1, verse 6, that when the Lord returns, He will deal out retribution on those who do not know God and to those who do not obey the gospel of God.

You see, God does things to enlighten man. God doesn't do things to entertain man. Everything he does is about him and coming to the knowledge of him. That's why we spend so much time teaching you the word of God, that you might be enlightened as to who God is. We all need to know our God. Pharaoh will know that God is holy, that God is just. That God is righteous, that God is merciful, that God is patient, that God is long-suffering. All those things about God are seen in all the plagues. God will enact His judgment and then He will release the judgment.

Looking for an opportunity for people to repent. When they don't repent, he enacts another judgment, then releases the judgment so that people have the opportunity to repent. That's the kindness of God, that's the goodness of God. He doesn't bring the death of the firstborn to the tenth plague. But they're all warnings as to what he's going to do. It's a revelation of God and who He is. He wants you to see him in everything. And this plague is about the revelation of God. All the plagues are about the revelation of God.

They got to know who he is. And all the attributes of God to some degree are shown and demonstrated throughout all the plagues. Because the plagues are about God. They're not about Egypt. They're not about Israel. They're about God. And so we see the revelation in the plague. We see the reproving before the plague. And next, we need to understand the ruin from the plague. The ruin from the plague. Now, can you imagine? Stick the staff over the waters of the Nile, they all turn into blood. That's going to affect several things, isn't it?

Well, all the fish die, but to be able to live, right? It says the fish became very foul. Could you imagine the stench in Egypt? What a smelly place. Blood smells as it is. But add to the death of all the fish in the Nile, it really now begins to smell. And so the economists would have a hard time on this day. Because the air pollutants would be so high and so dangerous for you to take in because of the foul stench of the death of all that was in the Nile River. This would also affect their eating, wouldn't it?

A lot of what they ate were fish and what they were able to retrieve from the Nile and their ability to cook and boil water and use water in their cooking. They couldn't do that. So it would affect what they ate. It also would affect their economy, wouldn't it? Because fishing had to be a big business for them. And the ability to go up and down the Nile River and to exchange goods and to. To sell and to buy goods and to do all that business transactions is going to all stop now.

It was a great ruin because of one man's rebellion against God. It shows the effects of one man's sin. It affected all of Egypt. Think about that for your life. Think about that in your family. Think about that in your marriage. Your whole family can be ruined because you, as a father, will not submit to the authority of God. A church can be ruined if elders in the church and leaders in the church don't submit to the authority of God. You see, we forget the effects of one man's sin. Ecclesiastes 9:18 says that one sinner destroys much good.

Paul said in 1 Corinthians that a little leaven leavens the whole lump. One sinner can destroy many good things. And this plague helps us understand that the rebellion of one man ruins many people. We need to take note of that, don't we? Because we tend to think that sin only affects me. Oh, it's just about me. It's my fault. I did it. It only affects me. No, no. No one ever sins sol. No one does because your sin will affect everyone that's close to you and around you. And the more leadership you have in the church, the greater the effects of that sin in the church.

The greater your responsibility, the greater the effects of iniquity. And we need to understand that. And so this plate talks to us about. The ruin that comes in the lives of people because of rebellion against the standards of Almighty God. Number four, note with me if you would. The reaping in the plague. The reaping in the plague. The Bible says, be not deceived.

God will not be mocked. For whatsoever a man sows, that shall he also re. Listen, forgiveness never negates consequences. It never does. It's important to receive forgiveness. But if you sin, there are consequences to that sin, some more severe than others, right? If someone gets drunk and they go out in their car and they hit someone and kill someone, there are consequences to that. That person can ask for forgiveness, receive forgiveness, but it doesn't bring the dead body back to life. It doesn't bring the loss of a family any fulfillment.

Because there's still consequences for that, right? Sure, there is. And so we need to remember that. But in this situation, God was not going to be mocked. Why? Because in Exodus chapter 1, there was blood in the Nile. There was blood in the Nile because the Egyptians made the Israelites take their firstborn babies baby males and throw them in the Nile. And when they threw them in the Nile, don't you think the crocodiles would feast on those babies? Sure they would. Don't you think the Nile would be filled with blood because of the babies that were eaten alive?

Sure. So, what does God do? God turns the Nile into blood. The Egyptians weren too concerned when they caused. Blood to be in the Nile, but they were of great concern when God caused blood to be in the Nile. You see, it's important to note that God will not be mocked. Don't think you can sin and get away with it. Don't think you can sin and nobody else know. It doesn't happen that way. It doesn't happen. God knows. God knows. Don't get caught up in sowing seeds of the flesh. The next thing I want you to see is the religion in the plague.

The religion of the plague. We told you last week that God is going to strike at the gods of the Egyptians. They would worship these gods, whether it's the god Is or As. Is being the goddess of the Nile, and As being the god of the Nile. See, they would have rejoiced in the fact that they had water. You got to have water to survive. They're in a desert wasteland. And they rejoiced in the fact that water was provided, and they had this great source of water that they could use day in and day out. And they would worship this God.

They would worship this goddess because they believe that somehow this God and goddess would give to them life, would give to them the water of life. And God would attack. That idolaters worship to prove to them that He was the true God, that no one could override His power, that He was superior over all of their faults. God. It 's a reminder to all of us, isn't it? That when we begin to set up in our hearts gods. Idolatrous worship. When we begin to worship those things that mean more to us than our God, that the problem with that is that Those idols will one day become a plague to us, just like they became a plague in Egypt.

God will not give his throne to anything or anyone else. And he wants to be supreme in your life and in mine. And he wasn going to stand by and see his name blasphemed. He was going to make sure his name was going to be honored. And he would do everything he needed to do to make sure that was to take place. The next thing I want you to see is the repeating of the plague. The repeating of the plague. You will note that the Bible says that the magicians, the magicians, Reenacted or did the same thing.

It says, verse 22: But the magicians of Egypt Did the same with their secret arts. Now, how does that happen? The Bible says that all the water turned to blood: the water in the springs, the water in the vessels.

The water in the Nile. So, where would they retrieve water in order to reenact or to repeat this plague in front of Pharaoh? Well, you have to note down in verse number 24 that the Egyptians dug around the Nile for water to drink. They had to get water someplace, they would die without water. And so they would dig around the Nile to somehow retrieve some kind of water. And note that the magicians would turn that water blood red. But it was on a very, very small scale compared to what God did. But no, if they were truly Magicians.

If they were truly godly magicians, would they not turn the Nile back into water? Think about it. I mean, if you really want to prove that the God of Israel is not that powerful, just turn the Nile back into water. Turn it from blood to water. He turned it from water to blood. Turn it from blood to water. But they can't do that, can they? Oh, through their magical arts, through their art of deception, they can bring across some semblance of a miracle. But it wasn't true. It was all of the devil. See, you know why?

Because the devil can't stop the judgment of God. Can't do that. But what the devil can do is deceive you about the judgment of God. And that's what he did with Pharaoh, right? See, Pharaoh had just the loophole he needed. Just a little teens-weens loop. That's all he needed to realize that what was happening here was not going to change. His life. And that leads us to the rejection of the plague. It says these words, and Pharaoh's heart was hardened, and he did not listen to them, as the Lord had said.

Th Pharaoh turned and went into his house. Listen, with no concern even for this. Can you imagine that? Here we go. This is no big deal. Look at my magicians did.

This is nothing. Do you think this is going to cause me to submit to your God? It's not going to happen. And he rejected the plague. He hardened his heart against the truth. You see, isn't it interesting that error needs no proof? But the Bible is constantly scrutinized, isn't it? The truth is always scrutinized. Error is never scrutinized, is it? It doesn't have to be. Because we want to believe that which is false. We have a hard time believing that which is true. But that which is false, we just look for one little scape root.

And it satisfies us in our own iniquity, in our own sin. And we go on and say, you know what? It's not a big deal. Not a big deal. That was Pharaoh. Now think about that. Now, you will notice that as we go through these plagues, they grow with increasing intensity until ultimately God causes the death of the firstborn.

So they grow with increasing intensity. But you will notice there is continual rejection of the truth.

How did that happen? And Pharaoh is that classic example of the unbeliever. who continues to reject the truth in spite of overwhelming evidence. It's going to happen again, except on a greater scale. Last week, a lot of you were surprised. I shouldn say use the word surprise, but had never noticed that the plagues in Egypt paralleled the plagues or the bull judgments and trumpet judgments and sealed judg in the book of Revelation. So throughout our study of the plagues, I will show you how they will be multiplied over and over again, and that rejection will be multiplied over and over again.

There is blood in the seals that are broken. There is blood in the trumpets that are blown. And there is blood in the bowls that are poured. Those are the. Judgment plagues in the book of Revelation. And I heard the angel of the waters saying, Righteous art thou. who art and who was, O Holy One, because Thou didst judge these things, for they poured out The blood of saints and prophets, and thou hast given them bl to drink. They deserve it. Now, listen, this is an angel. This is a sinless angel who's speaking.

See that? It's amazing. It says in verse number 7, and I heard the altar saying, Yes, O Lord God, the Almighty, true, and righteous are thy judgments. And listen.

And men were scorched with fierce heat, and they blasphemed the name of God. And they blasphemed. the God of heaven, because of their pains and their sores, and they did not repent of their deeds. And huge hailstones, about one hundred pounds each, came down from heaven upon men And men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail, because its plague was extremely, extremely severe. You see the copying of the rejection of Pharaoh? They would not repent. They would not turn. They continued to blaspheme the name of God.

You see, the plagues warn us. They tell us about God's impending judgment. That's why Acts 17 says that God is declaring that all men everywhere need to repent. Because God has fixed a time by which He will judge the world through this one man that He raised from the dead. It's coming today, Payday Sunday, for those who refuse to submit to the Lordship of Jesus Christ. And for us, we need to understand the ramifications of that. Listen to what the book of Hebrews says. It says this, For if we go on sinning will, after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins.

but a certain terrifying expectation of judgment, and the fury of a fire which will consume the adversaries. Any one who has set aside the law of Moses dies without mercy, on the testimony of two or three witnesses. How much severe a punishment do you think He will deserve who has trampled underfoot the Son of God and has regarded as unclean the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified and has insulted the spirit of grace. For we know him who said, Vengeance is mine. I will repay, and again the Lord will judge his people.

It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God. Say, wow, not a real comfortable message, is it? But it's truth. It's a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God. If we go on sinning willfully in spite of knowing the truth, which Phar did, which those in the book of Revelation will do, We escape all that. We won't be here when the trumpets are blown. We won't be here when the bowls are poured. We won't be here when the seals are broken. Why? Because the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us from all sin.

And we are able to be freed, as Revelation 3:10 says, from that hour, that hour of tribulation that comes upon the whole world. Why? Because we are the people of God. Just like Israel was spared from the terrifying plagues that came upon Egypt, because they were the people of God. And today, we need to understand, as Paul said, knowing the terror of the Lord, we persuade men so they can escape the judgment of God. That God is declaring that men everywhere should repent of their sins. Be right before God.

Follow Him, serve Him, honor Him, glorify His name. Give glory to your God. And turn from your sin. Beg for His mercy. And you will receive it. Let's pray.