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Bible Study Online ArticleLocated at the Bottom of Page In the last article we discovered that God's first blow against the Egyptians and their false deities came possibly against "Wadjet the Snake goddesses" and her sister "Nekhbet the Lady of the Great House" :
"But Pharaoh also called the wise men and the sorcerers; so the magicians of Egypt, they also did in like manner with their enchantments. "For every man threw down his rod, and they became serpents. But Aaron's rod swallowed up their rods." -- Exodus 7:11,12 Now notice how at the end of that passage, the Sacred Record points out that "Aaron's rod [snake] swallowed up their [magicians] rods [snakes]". This is a true testament to the fact, that although the magicians were able to use their sleight of hand trickery and deception to imitate the One True God. But they still weren't able to match the "substance" and "true power" when it came to what the Lord had done through Moses and Aaron. And although this divine event is not counted amongst the "ten plagues" that the Lord had brought down on the Egyptians and their false deities, it stills counts as God's first blow against them, and so therefore, shouldn't be ignored. For we must keep in mind that the two snake deities held great importance to the Egyptians - being that the two goddesses were primarily seen not only as sisters, but as the "protectors" of the Egyptian royal family as well. This is why we see Pharaoh wearing what was known at the time - a "Royal Ureas" on the top of his head, which was a "royal crown" that depicted a "snake" and was made in Wadjet's honor. We also find that the Egyptian queen and the women of the royal family wore headdresses that had honored both Wadjet and her sister Nekhbet as well. However, let's move forward, for we now find that God is instructing Moses on the next divine phase to come: "So the Lord said to Moses: 'Pharaoh's heart is hard; he refuses to let the people go. Go to Pharaoh in the morning, when he goes out to the water, and you shall stand by the river's bank to meet him; and the rod which was turned to a serpent you shall take in your hand. And you shall say to him, "The Lord God of the Hebrews has sent me to you, saying, 'Let My people go, that they may serve Me in the wilderness'; but indeed, until now you would not hear!"'" -- Exodus 7:14-16 One would think that Pharaoh would have been elated to see that his magicians who'd represented the Egyptian false gods - hadn't been outdone by Moses and Aaron. But deep down Pharaoh knew that this wasn't the case. The mere fact that Moses and Aaron's rod [snake] had swallowed up the magicians rods [snakes] was proof that Pharaoh had lost the first round of this divine fight. Be that as it may, we now find Pharaoh doing his routine of daily morning worship on the "Nile River". Understand that the Egyptians had also worshiped the "Nile River" and it would be at this time that we find Pharaoh paying homage to it and the gods that are associated with it. Now when it comes to these so-called gods, there were basically four deities that were recognized when it came to the "Nile River". These four false deities were:
I know that's only three, but these three deities were looked at to be the guardians of the "Nile River" - but there was one other deity who out ranked the other three, and his name was "Hapi the god of Water and Fertility". This was the "god" that was credited with having full control of all things that concerned the "Nile". And although you could probably group the four deities together, for the sake of simplicity, we'll use "Hapi" as their main point of reference. Now let's pick up from where we left off earlier, for we find that God wasn't done when it came to Him giving instructions to Moses when it came to the next divine challenge phase: "Thus says the Lord: 'By this you shall know that I am the Lord. Behold, I will strike the waters which are in the river with the rod that is in my hand, and they shall be turned to blood. And the fish that are in the river shall die, the river shall stink, and the Egyptians will loathe to drink the water of the river.'" -- Exodus 7:17,18 As we can see from the passage, the Sacred Record is revealing that God had made the decision that He was going to turn the "Nile River" into blood. And because of this, the fish that are to be found from within the "Nile" will die. And not only that, the river will develop a horrible stench from the dead fish and the blood that the river was now to be made up with, which in turn would cause the Egyptians to be disgusted and ashamed by the very thing they use to idolize and adore. Who would have thought that the "Nile River" - that source, in which the Egyptians had held in high regard, was no longer something that could be bragged about, for it was now seen as a curse, and as a scourge that had been inflicted upon them. With that being stated, know that although God is getting ready to use Moses to turn the river into blood, we must not make the mistake of limiting this event to what we are seeing on the surface. Know that although this divine event was very significant, the ramification that had occurred behind this event - goes far beyond the obvious. Keep in mind that the mere fact that all the fish will be destroyed behind this event sends a clear message to Pharaoh and the Egyptian nation of who's actually in charge. Let us not forget that the "God of Israel" is only reason why the Egyptians were found to be in the powerful position that they were now in - in the first place. If God had not wanted to use the Egyptian nation when it came to His overall plans for the Israelites - Egypt would have continued the deteriorating decline that they had found themselves in after their "twelfth family dynasty" had ended. They were able to prosper, because the Almighty had blessed them so, for the sake of Israel. But now, Egypt has come to a place where they no longer knew, or respected the One True God and His followers. They punished and persecuted the Israelites for who they were, and for what they believed. And because of this, the Egyptian nation will pay a heavy price, starting with their food and water supply: "Then the Lord spoke to Moses, 'Say to Aaron, "Take your rod and stretch out your hand over the waters of Egypt, over their streams, over their rivers, over their ponds, and over all their pools of water, that they may become blood. And there shall be blood throughout all the land of Egypt, both in buckets of wood and pitchers of stone."' "And Moses and Aaron did so, just as the Lord commanded. So he lifted up the rod and struck the waters that were in the river, in the sight of Pharaoh and in the sight of his servants. And all the waters that were in the river were turned to blood. The fish that were in the river died, the river stank, and the Egyptians could not drink the water of the river. So there was blood throughout all the land of Egypt." -- Exodus 7:19-21 And of course Pharaoh would summon his magicians, in order to see if they had a response to what God had just done through Moses and Aaron: "Then the magicians of Egypt did so with their enchantments; and Pharaoh's heart grew hard, and he did not heed them, as the Lord had said." -- Egypt 7:22 Now the reason why I find this passage so interesting - deals with the fact that although the magicians were able to once again, but on a much smaller scale, mimic what God had just done. Pharaoh knew that their efforts, when compared to God's - had failed miserably. Now perhaps, if somehow, the magicians were able to reverse what God had just done, that would be different, but they weren't able to do so. And of course the "false deity" that they gave credit and paid homage to - "Hapi the god of Water and Fertility" proved to be, so far, at best - a "paper tiger". In the next article we will find out how long this "water to blood plague" was set to last. And what about Pharaoh - what will he do now? The "false gods" that he serves has been bested for the last couple of days. We know that his pride and frustration had grown even more so, but how will he respond overall?
**YOUR CURRENT BIBLE STUDY ONLINE SERIES WOULD BE HERE**
156) Pharaoh Makes the First Move Against God 157) The Egyptian Deities that Reaped the Wrath of God 158) Pharaoh the Unjust & Unreasonable 159) Moses Has a Talk with God 160) What's Going On God 161) Moses Know that I Am Jehovah 162) Moses And The Desolate Souls 163) Moses Do You Know Who You Are? 164) Moses the God amongst the Egyptians 165) The Battle for the Souls of Humanity 166) Moses & the Egyptian Magicians 167) <-CURRENT BIBLE STUDY ONLINE PAGE-> 168) For Seven Days the Nile River Bleeds 169) God vs. Heket the goddess of Fertility 170) God vs. Geb the Earth god 171) God Releases the Swarms of Flies 172) Israel Set Apart 173) How Far Are You Willing to Go 175) Although Exempted - The Israelites Still Had to Endure 176) Go & Serve Your God - Wait A Minute... 177) The God of Israel vs The Egyptian Bull Cults 179) The Plague of Boils 181) God tells Pharaoh - You Owe Me Everything! 
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