Thus 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.
Water turned to blood strikes horror into the soul, but the justice runs deeper: Egypt made an idol of the Nile, and God justly turned their god into a curse. Whatever creature we worship instead of the Creator, the Lord will either remove from us or make bitter to our taste.
AI summary
Commenting on Exodus 7:14-25
Moses holds the rod, but it is the Lord's hand that wields it; by this stroke upon the river, God makes Himself known as Jehovah, supreme over all gods and above Egypt's idol.
AI summary
The plague reached everywhere: the streams, the canals, the ponds, the very vessels in their homes. Nothing could humble Egypt's pride like this dishonor done to their national god, and the thirst that followed must have been severe.
AI summary