Exodus 7:17-18 (NRSV)
Read Exodus 7:17-18 on biblegateway.com
Verse 17Thus says the Lord, "By this you shall know that I am the Lord." See, with the staff that is in my hand I will strike the water that is in the Nile, and it shall be turned to blood. Verse 18The fish in the river shall die, the river itself shall stink, and the Egyptians shall be unable to drink water from the Nile.'"
Devotion
Talking about the plagues God unleashed on Egypt presents us with a difficult moment. Our God is "merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness" (Exodus 34:6). How can such a God have sent these plagues? Pharaoh is the human embodiment of chaos. The violence of the plagues serves justice. What's more, this battle is fought to set the record straight. The Lord, and not Pharaoh, is the one true God.
Blood, like water, holds both death and life. Pharaoh wanted to fill the Nile with the blood of the Israelites. Be careful what you wish for, answers God. In the final plague—the death of the Egyptians' firstborns (Exodus 12:29-32)—the Israelites mark their doorposts with blood to ward off the angel of death. And the blood of the Egyptians fills the waters when God closes the sea after the Israelites safely pass. All of these point us to God's final victory over evil when the blood of God's own Son is spilled to save us.
Prayer
God of promise, help us as we struggle with violence in your word and world. Grant us peace and hope in your Son. Amen.