Exo 7:14-24 | TNotes | STEP | Summary for Exod 7:14-25: 7:14-25 The first plague was the plague on the Nile, when the whole river turned to blood (7:20 ). The Egyptians correctly understood that without the Nile there would be no life in Egypt. They worshiped the Nile as the Mother of Egypt, but God showed that life is his to give or withhold. 7:14 See thematic note for Hardened Hearts at end of chapter.

Summary for Exod 7:14-25: 7:14-25 ^a The first plague was the plague on the Nile, when the whole river turned to blood (7:20 ^b). The Egyptians correctly understood that without the Nile there would be no life in Egypt. They worshiped the Nile as the Mother of Egypt, but God showed that life is his to give or withhold. 7:14 ^c See thematic note for Hardened Hearts at end of chapter.
7:22 ^d The Egyptian priests did not do anything as extensive as Moses and Aaron had done, but Pharaoh did not want to believe, so it took only the smallest thing to justify his unbelief.

Thematic note: Hardened Hearts
Exodus repeatedly states that the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart (Exod 4:21 ^e; 9:12 ^f; 10:1 ^g, 20 ^h; 11:10 ⁱ; 14:4 ^j, 8 ^k). These statements can be troubling. Was Pharaoh forced to sin against God?
Other factors need to be taken into account: (1) The Lord knew ahead of time that Pharaoh would harden his heart (3:19 ^l); (2) Pharaoh himself became stubborn (8:15 ^m, 32 ⁿ); and (3) Pharaoh remained stubborn despite clear warnings (8:19 ^o). Pharaoh was not a well-meaning, misguided individual who was not allowed to repent. Although God was ultimately in control of Pharaoh, Pharaoh himself was accountable for his actions.
This interplay between human choice and divine sovereignty is found in other places in Scripture. The Israelites hardened their hearts and refused to believe God in the wilderness (Ps 95:8-10 ^p). God hardened the hearts of the Canaanites so that they did not seek to make peace with the Hebrews (Josh 11:20 ^q). The message God gave to Isaiah hardened the hearts of his hearers (Isa 6:9-10 ^r); similarly in the New Testament, many people hardened their hearts in response to the message of the gospel (Matt 13:15 ^s; John 12:40 ^t; Acts 28:27 ^u). People are responsible for their choices, but no one makes choices in a vacuum. Rather, they make them in the context of how God has made his world and providentially directs it.
The emphasis in Exodus on God’s control of Pharaoh puts the conflict between two belief systems into stark contrast. Pharaoh believed that he was sovereign and divine, able to do whatever he pleased. God demonstrated that this was not the case: Pharaoh was dependent, as much the prisoner of his choices as any other creature on the planet. There is only one absolutely independent “I Am,” and that is Yahweh, the Lord (see 3:6-14 ^v; 6:2-8 ^w; 20:2 ^x; 34:6-7 ^y; Isa 45:3-7 ^z; 48:17 ^aa; Mark 14:62 ^ab; John 8:23-28 ^ac).

Passages for Further Study
Gen 8:21 ^ad; Exod 3:19 ^ae; 4:21 ^af; 8:15 ^ag, 19 ^ah, 32 ^ai; 9:12 ^aj; 10:1 ^ak, 20 ^al; 11:10 ^am; 14:4 ^an, 8 ^ao; Josh 11:19-20 ^ap; 2 Chr 36:11-13 ^aq; Ps 95:8-11 ^ar; Isa 6:9-10 ^as; Ezek 11:18-21 ^at; 36:22-27 ^au; Matt 12:34-35 ^av; 13:10-17 ^aw; Luke 8:4-15 ^ax; John 12:37-40 ^ay; Acts 28:23-28 ^az; Rom 2:14-16 ^ba; 11:7-12 ^bb; 2 Cor 3:13-18 ^bc; Eph 4:17-24 ^bd; Heb 3:6-19 ^be; 6:4-8 ^bf