Reading for August 5th

 Read Exodus 7.14-25. In 7.14-25: The first plague: The Nile turns to blood. The Nile River was the primary source of water and life for Egypt. However, the Egyptians had earlier used the Nile as an instrument of death when Pharaoh ordered every Hebrew baby boy to be thrown into the river (1.22). This first plague, the river's turning to blood, recalls that previous atrocity. The plague also recalls one of the first miraculous signs God gave to Moses to convince the Israelites of God's power (4.9). In verse 14:  Pharaoh's heart is hardened. See comment on 4.21. See also 7.22. In verse 19: The same phrase, pools of water, appears in the creation story in Gen 1.10 translated, "waters that were gathered together." Pharaoh's unjust enslavement of Israel prompts this series of ecological disasters. In effect, the plagues undo the life-giving order and structure of creation in Gen 1. In verses 22: A progression is evident in the experience of the magicians or Egypt throughout the ten plagues. They were able to  duplicate the first and second plagues (7.14; 8.7). However, they cannot duplicate the third plague (8.18-19). In the fifth plague, not only do the magicians fail to duplicate the plague of boils, they themselves suffer its effects (9.11). The Egyptian magicians disappear entirely during the last five plagues. Comments or Questions..