#145 Nice place to visit, but don't drink the water Exodus 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. Exodus 7: 14-24

Moses and Aaron are sent by God to where Pharaoh shall be, and they are here instructed to confront him once again. This time, as the instruments of God, Moses will tell Aaron to stretch his staff over the waters of Egypt, the waters will be turned to blood. The Nile is the life blood of the region, and it is in the hearts of the Egyptians, a deity of its own. It provides drink, which no man can live without, fish, in great sustenance, and a road by which to travel. As mighty as the river is, or how great the Nile Perch and Crocodiles that swim it's length, it did not bring itself to be. I appreciate many things in nature, if not all, and I am at times overwhelmed by what I see. In these moments, with these wonders, I am directed by all of creation to worship the One they glorify. If I cannot see God, then I can most certainly see His finger print, and read the words of His mouth. The Nile belongs to God, and so he made the Egyptians god stink to them. Pharaoh's magicians are able to apparently gain a sample of freshwater, and then duplicate the miracle. Wanting something to be true will not make it so, but it is enough for men to invent a substitute by which they are satisfied. Pharaoh's heart is hardened once again. 

Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshiped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen. Romans 1:25 KJV