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Since Pharaoh’s heart was unyielding at the words of Moses and Aaron, the Lord carried out the first plague of judgment against Egypt. Moses stretched out the staff that represented the Lord’s authority and all the water in the Nile turned to blood.
The Nile River was the source of life for Egypt. Besides making it difficult for the people to obtain water, the blood served as a reminder of Egypt’s guilt in killing the Hebrew children. The clear message was that Pharaoh should repent and let the Israelites go. But Pharaoh had his own magicians imitate the miracle, and he continued to harden his heart, even though his own people were suffering (22-24).
God calls people to repent by showing them how they are guilty of sin. The blood of Jesus shows us both the result of our own sin as well as God’s powerful grace that makes atonement. We may not be able to change water into blood to make people repent, but we can do something even better—we can show them Jesus.
Jan 13, 2026
THE PLAGUE OF BLOOD
Passage: Exodus 7:14-25
Key verse: 20
NIV
chapter 7
14. Then the LORD said to Moses, "Pharaoh’s heart is unyielding; he refuses to let the people go.
15. Go to Pharaoh in the morning as he goes out to the river. Confront him on the bank of the Nile, and take in your hand the staff that was changed into a snake.
16. Then say to him, ’The LORD, the God of the Hebrews, has sent me to say to you: Let my people go, so that they may worship me in the wilderness. But until now you have not listened.
17. This is what the LORD says: By this you will know that I am the LORD: With the staff that is in my hand I will strike the water of the Nile, and it will be changed into blood.
18. The fish in the Nile will die, and the river will stink; the Egyptians will not be able to drink its water.’"
19. The LORD said to Moses, "Tell Aaron, ’Take your staff and stretch out your hand over the waters of Egypt - over the streams and canals, over the ponds and all the reservoirs - and they will turn to blood.’ Blood will be everywhere in Egypt, even in vessels of wood and stone."
20. Moses and Aaron did just as the LORD had commanded. He raised his staff in the presence of Pharaoh and his officials and struck the water of the Nile, and all the water was changed into blood.
21. The fish in the Nile died, and the river smelled so bad that the Egyptians could not drink its water. Blood was everywhere in Egypt.
22. But the Egyptian magicians did the same things by their secret arts, and Pharaoh’s heart became hard; he would not listen to Moses and Aaron, just as the LORD had said.
23. Instead, he turned and went into his palace, and did not take even this to heart.
24. And all the Egyptians dug along the Nile to get drinking water , because they could not drink the water of the river.
25. Seven days passed after the LORD struck the Nile.
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Prayer: Father, thank you for showing us the guilt of our sin, because we need to understand it. Thank you most of all for the power of Jesus’ blood to wash away sin. Help us not to harden our hearts.
One Word: Sin brings blood-guilt