{"id":5176,"date":"2022-08-22T15:11:03","date_gmt":"2022-08-22T15:11:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/?p=5176"},"modified":"2022-08-22T15:11:03","modified_gmt":"2022-08-22T15:11:03","slug":"there-will-be-blood","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/there-will-be-blood\/","title":{"rendered":"There Will Be Blood"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: center\"><span class=\"text Exod-7-14\">Then the\u00a0<span class=\"small-caps\">Lord<\/span>\u00a0said to Moses, \u201cPharaoh&#8217;s heart is hardened; he refuses to let the people go.<\/span>\u00a0<span id=\"en-ESV-1701\" class=\"text Exod-7-15\"><sup class=\"versenum\">15\u00a0<\/sup>Go to Pharaoh in the morning, as he is going out to the water. Stand on the bank of the Nile to meet him, and take in your hand\u00a0the staff that turned into a\u00a0serpent.<\/span>\u00a0<span id=\"en-ESV-1702\" class=\"text Exod-7-16\"><sup class=\"versenum\">16\u00a0<\/sup>And you shall say to him, \u2018The\u00a0<span class=\"small-caps\">Lord<\/span>, the God of the Hebrews, sent me to you, saying, \u201cLet my people go,\u00a0that they may serve me in the wilderness.\u201d But so far, you have not obeyed.<\/span>\u00a0<span id=\"en-ESV-1703\" class=\"text Exod-7-17\"><sup class=\"versenum\">17\u00a0<\/sup>Thus says the\u00a0<span class=\"small-caps\">Lord<\/span>, \u201cBy this\u00a0you shall know that I am the\u00a0<span class=\"small-caps\">Lord<\/span>: behold, with the staff that is in my hand I will strike the water that is in the Nile, and\u00a0it shall turn into blood.<\/span>\u00a0<span id=\"en-ESV-1704\" class=\"text Exod-7-18\"><sup class=\"versenum\">18\u00a0<\/sup>The fish in the Nile shall die, and the Nile will stink, and the Egyptians will\u00a0grow weary of drinking water from the Nile.\u201d\u2019\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<span id=\"en-ESV-1705\" class=\"text Exod-7-19\"><sup class=\"versenum\">19\u00a0<\/sup>And the\u00a0<span class=\"small-caps\">Lord<\/span>\u00a0said to Moses, \u201cSay to Aaron, \u2018Take your staff and\u00a0stretch out your hand over the waters of Egypt, over their rivers, their canals, and their ponds, and all their pools of water, so that they may become blood, and there shall be blood throughout all the land of Egypt, even in vessels of wood and in vessels of stone.\u2019\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center\"><span id=\"en-ESV-1706\" class=\"text Exod-7-20\"><sup class=\"versenum\">20\u00a0<\/sup>Moses and Aaron did as the\u00a0<span class=\"small-caps\">Lord<\/span>\u00a0commanded. In the sight of Pharaoh and in the sight of his servants he\u00a0lifted up the staff and struck the water in the Nile, and all the\u00a0water in the Nile turned into blood.<\/span>\u00a0<span id=\"en-ESV-1707\" class=\"text Exod-7-21\"><sup class=\"versenum\">21\u00a0<\/sup>And the fish in the Nile died, and the Nile stank, so that the Egyptians\u00a0could not drink water from the Nile. There was blood throughout all the land of Egypt.<\/span>\u00a0<span id=\"en-ESV-1708\" class=\"text Exod-7-22\"><sup class=\"versenum\">22\u00a0<\/sup>But\u00a0the magicians of Egypt did the same by their secret arts. So\u00a0Pharaoh&#8217;s heart remained hardened, and he would not listen to them, as\u00a0the\u00a0<span class=\"small-caps\">Lord<\/span>\u00a0had said.<\/span>\u00a0<span id=\"en-ESV-1709\" class=\"text Exod-7-23\"><sup class=\"versenum\">23\u00a0<\/sup>Pharaoh turned and went into his house, and he did not take even this to heart.<\/span>\u00a0<span id=\"en-ESV-1710\" class=\"text Exod-7-24\"><sup class=\"versenum\">24\u00a0<\/sup>And all the Egyptians dug along the Nile for water to drink, for they could not drink the water of the Nile.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center\"><span id=\"en-ESV-1711\" class=\"text Exod-7-25\"><sup class=\"versenum\">25\u00a0<\/sup>Seven full days passed after the\u00a0<span class=\"small-caps\">Lord<\/span> had struck the Nile. (Exodus 7:14-25)<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center\"><b>Introduction<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Today we enter into a passage of Scripture that details one of the most significant judgments of God that has taken place in history. There have been several judgments of God in history that have been so significant that they have changed the world. The 10 plagues, or the 10 judgments of God upon Egypt is one of those. The 10 plagues are a monumental moment in world history. Egypt was an extremely important world power of its day politically, economically, and religiously. The Egyptians were extremely advanced in many different areas. They displayed great power, I would argue, due in large part to their worship of false gods and the demonic power they received. So when Egypt is judged with these 10 plagues, not only are they judged for their own sin and wickedness, but these plagues were judgments on the gods of Egypt. Each judgment was the slaying of an Egyptian god, by Yahweh, the One True God. And it was Almighty God\u2019s name, glory, and power that was displayed to the world. And by the end, the Egyptian religion was defeated, economically they were desolated, and politically, their Pharaoh was buried in the bottom of the Red Sea as their slaves were freed.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">In looking at the ten plagues in Scripture, there have been various ways that theologians have categorized, organized, and grouped these plagues. Others have taken just each one on its own without any organization. But I believe that it is clear from the text that there is a structure to these plagues. And that is that these plagues are in cycles of three, or groups of three, culminating in the final judgment, the death of the firstborn.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">If you look at all the plagues, you will notice that plagues 1, 4, and 7, all begin with God telling Moses to go to Pharaoh in the morning. 1, 4, and 7 are the first of each cycle of 3. So that detail is showing us that there is a structure to how God sends the judgments. The morning comes, it\u2019s a new day, Pharaoh has a new opportunity to listen, he doesn\u2019t and so another cycle of judgments come.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">You will also notice that a warning precedes the first two plagues of each cycle, but the third plague of each cycle comes without warning.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Although the water turning to blood is pretty intense, it seems pretty evident that the intensity increases with each cycle. The first 3 plagues really just attack issues of comfort. The second set of 3 attacks property and person. And the third set of 3 bring desolation and destruction to the land. The progression in intensity certainly makes sense.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">You will also notice that the plague cycle are plagues that have a relation being judgments of water, land, and air. Water, land, and air. Water, land, and air. I will try and show those as we go. But what that cycle indicates is that God is judging the whole of the Egyptian world. The water, the land, and the sky. The whole of the Egyptian world is being judged.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Then you will notice that the first cycle, the first three plagues are performed through Aaron, and it\u2019s basically a showdown between Aaron and the magicians of Egypt, as they perform the first 2 as well, and then are unable to perform the third, being thoroughly defeated in the first cycle. After that, the judgments are performed through Moses, and the magicians of Egypt do not replicate them.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">So that is basically the structure that I see of the plagues, so the plan will be to look at them in these cycles of 3, and then the last one on its own, with one exception to this first plague because it is so huge in starting things off. So let us now consider this first plague of which we read, the great Nile River being turned to blood.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center\"><b>Nile to Blood<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Verse 20, \u201cMoses and Aaron did as the LORD commanded. In the sight of Pharaoh and in the sight of his servants he lifted up the staff and struck the water in the Nile, and all the water in the Nile turned into blood. And the fish in the Nile died, and the Nile stank, so that the Egyptians could not drink water from the Nile. There was blood throughout all the land of Egypt.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">There have been some people out there who have tried to explain away this plague by talking about how the Nile wasn\u2019t really turned to blood, it was just made to look red like blood because of certain red insects in the water at a certain time of year, or because of the red clay in the water that was washed up, or it would look red if you just squinted your eyes at it the right way. This of course is silliness which is nothing more than unbelief in the Word of God, or embarrassment at the supernatural therein. The text tells us it was turned to blood and nothing indicates that it was just made to appear like blood, but it actually was. Furthermore, all Nile theories are proven false by the fact that all the water in Egypt, including water that was in various vessels and containers in people\u2019s homes was also turned to blood. We don\u2019t know how this was done, other than by the power of God as Aaron struck the water with his staff, which showed this was done by the authority that Aaron represented and that the power that was delegated to him, that of Yahweh God. The Egyptians then by their secret arts also did this, which we will get to later.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">If you have ever seen the Nile, or seen pictures of it, you can imagine how severe and frightening this was. The Nile is not some backwoods creek. It is massive and it was vital to the livelihood of Egypt. The Nile was seen as a source of life for the Egyptians, and they took that created thing and worshiped it, and made all sorts of religious meaning from it that was ungodly. But even though they worshiped and served the creation rather than the Creator, the Nile was truly, naturally, the life-giving water source to that area, obviously from God. It was the source of water for their crops, for drinking, for all that they needed water for. And here in a moment, with the strike from Aaron\u2019s staff it is turned into blood. What was the source and symbol of life, is now, in a moment, become a sign of death.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Imagine the instant fear and panic an Egyptian might have realizing all the water is gone, you go home and check your jars of water and it\u2019s all blood. Imagine the panic in all of sudden having no idea how you are going to survive. Or maybe they didn\u2019t quite think that way like us western Christians who understand personal responsibility for our families, but you can imagine how you would feel. Or imagine the absolute jarring this would\u2019ve had on the religious worldview of the Egyptians. Their godlike Nile is bleeding. It\u2019s all blood. It absolutely reeks! How could you not see this as Aaron slaying the Nile god with the power of this Hebrew God named Yahweh? Indeed, their god has been slain.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">As one commentator says, \u201cMen are sure to be punished most and soonest in that which they make a co-rival with God.\u201d Or Matthew Henry puts it this way, \u201cNote, that creature which we idolize, God justly removes from us, or embitters to us; He makes that a scourge to us which we make a competitor with Him.\u201d What an important lesson this is for us to learn even as Christians. God will have no rivals. Psalm 86 as we sing it,<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u00a0<\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u201cSurely among the many gods,<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Lord, there is none to rival you;<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">deeds that the others may perform<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">never compare with works you do.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">As God\u2019s children, it is always for our good, that anything we make an idol out of, we can be sure that God will remove it from us, or as Matthew Henry says, embitter it to us. God will be glorified. He will be worshiped and He will take out all competitors in His time and His way. In the life of the Christian, God takes our idols away, that we may be left with only Christ, that we might know Him more deeply, and that we may be made more into His image.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">But, I think even more, or just as pertinent to the text than God conquering false gods is this: other than in God giving Moses this sign, where was the last time we saw the Nile mentioned in the text of Scripture? It was the beginning of Exodus when the Pharaoh decreed that all Hebrew boys were to be thrown into the Nile. So if we\u2019re following the strict narrative flow of the Bible, we read that the Nile was decreed by the King of Egypt to be filled with the bodies and the blood of the Hebrew boys, and then the next thing we see is that their precious Nile River has been completely turned to blood. It is as if all the blood of the Hebrew baby boys has come up from the River, it has come back upon the Egyptians. The Egyptians thought that the blood could be washed away by the river, but water cannot wash away the blood that is on their hands. What an important gospel lesson this is for us to stop and consider for a moment. The sins that we have committed are very great. The guilt that is upon us is very great. And there is no amount of water, or washing, or scrubbing, that can wash away the guilt that is upon us. There is nothing that we can do to clean and cleanse ourselves from our sin and guilt. There is nowhere we can hide our guilt. We can put out of sight and out of mind from men for a time, but we cannot hide it from God. Only the blood of Jesus can wash away our sin. Only through the forgiveness of sins through Christ can we be cleansed and have our conscience given peace. Even in our relationships with one another, sin must be dealt with, and the only way is through repentance, and then love and forgiveness.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">So God has brought back the blood of the Nile in the sight and the nostrils of the Egyptians, I believe as a reminder of the blood spilt there and as a sign of judgment coming upon them.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">There is another reason why I believe this was the first plague, and I think I mentioned this principle a few weeks ago. And that is that innocent blood that is spilled cries out to God for vengeance. We see this principle first in Genesis 4 when Cain kills Abel. Genesis 4:10-11, \u201cAnd the LORD said, \u201cWhat have you done? The voice of your brother\u2019s blood is crying to me from the ground. And now you are cursed from the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother\u2019s blood from your hand.\u201d So spilt blood cries out for justice, it cries out for an avenger of blood, it cries out to God. And God hears it. And so the bloody Nile is a very loud cry up to God for judgment. So the bloody Nile comes first, cries out to God for judgment, and so then God brings that judgment. Certainly it would\u2019ve been an obvious sign to all the people and to Pharaoh of judgment, and more to come. Indeed, as Matthew Henry says, \u201c&#8230;this red river proved a direful omen of the ruin of Pharaoh and all his forces in the Red Sea.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Indeed the bloody Nile was a sign of judgment and judgment to come not just for the Egyptians, but it was a sign of greater judgments of God to come in other times on other people who also have hardened their heart against God\u2019s Word. And I would argue it was a symbol judgment come upon the Jews themselves in their rejection of Christ, the blood that they shed, and the hardening of their hearts to God. In Revelation 16, the seven bowls of God\u2019s wrath are poured out.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center\"><em><span id=\"en-ESV-30942\" class=\"text Rev-16-3\">The second angel poured out his bowl into the sea, and\u00a0it became like the blood of a corpse, and\u00a0every living thing died that was in the sea.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center\"><em><span id=\"en-ESV-30943\" class=\"text Rev-16-4\"><sup class=\"versenum\">4\u00a0<\/sup>The third angel poured out his bowl into\u00a0the rivers and the springs of water, and\u00a0they became blood.<\/span>\u00a0<span id=\"en-ESV-30944\" class=\"text Rev-16-5\"><sup class=\"versenum\">5\u00a0<\/sup>And I heard the angel in charge of the waters<sup class=\"footnote\" style=\"font-size: 0.625em;line-height: normal;vertical-align: text-top\" data-fn=\"#fen-ESV-30944a\" data-link=\"[&lt;a href=&quot;#fen-ESV-30944a&quot; title=&quot;See footnote a&quot;&gt;a&lt;\/a&gt;]\">[<a title=\"See footnote a\" href=\"https:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/passage\/?search=revelation+16&amp;version=ESV#fen-ESV-30944a\">a<\/a>]<\/sup>\u00a0say,<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<div class=\"poetry top-1\" style=\"text-align: center\">\n<p class=\"line\"><em><span class=\"text Rev-16-5\">\u201cJust are you,\u00a0O Holy One,\u00a0who is and who was,<\/span><\/em><br \/>\n<em><span class=\"indent-1\"><span class=\"indent-1-breaks\">\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><span class=\"text Rev-16-5\">for you brought these judgments.<\/span><\/span><\/em><br \/>\n<em><span id=\"en-ESV-30945\" class=\"text Rev-16-6\"><sup class=\"versenum\">6\u00a0<\/sup>For\u00a0they have shed the blood of\u00a0saints and prophets,<\/span><\/em><br \/>\n<em><span class=\"indent-1\"><span class=\"indent-1-breaks\">\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><span class=\"text Rev-16-6\">and\u00a0you have given them blood to drink.<\/span><\/span><\/em><br \/>\n<em><span class=\"text Rev-16-6\">It is what they deserve!\u201d<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"first-line-none top-1\" style=\"text-align: center\"><em><span id=\"en-ESV-30946\" class=\"text Rev-16-7\"><sup class=\"versenum\">7\u00a0<\/sup>And I heard\u00a0the altar saying,<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<div class=\"poetry top-1\">\n<p class=\"line\" style=\"text-align: center\"><em><span class=\"text Rev-16-7\">\u201cYes, Lord God the Almighty,<\/span><\/em><br \/>\n<em><span class=\"indent-1\"><span class=\"indent-1-breaks\">\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><span class=\"text Rev-16-7\">true and just are your judgments!\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The water became blood, as it says, \u201cbecause they have shed the blood of saints and prophets\u2026\u201d As with Abel, as with the Hebrew boys in Egypt, as with the prophets and saints, the blood of God\u2019s people cries out to God, and He hears and judges. And also, the blood of God\u2019s Son, Jesus Christ. Recall how the Jews during the trial of Jesus called out, \u201cLet his blood be upon us and our children!\u201d It was, and those who did not repent were judged. But the blood of Jesus still cries out to God. In fact, it speaks to God. It is a great reversal in the story of Redemption that innocent blood shed cries out to God for judgment, but then Jesus comes and sheds His blood and the cross, and it cries out to God: \u201cforgive them.\u201d His is the blood that purifies the ground, that redeems creation, and that speaks to God on our behalf, as Hebrews 12:24 says, \u201cand to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.\u201d Abel was righteous and His blood cried out for vengeance for the wrong done to Him. Jesus Christ is THE righteous, and His blood speaks a better word, it speaks on behalf of those who have done Him wrong, and speaks to their forgiveness, that they are covered, they are atoned for, they are forgiven. It speaks mercy and grace &#8211; a better word than vengeance.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">In Exodus, our text tells us that God made the Nile to stink. Can you imagine that smell, all that blood? This had to be such an awful stench. But I think this also ought to bring our minds back to Exodus 5, where the Hebrews exclaim to Moses that he has made them stink in the sight of Pharaoh. The Hebrews were made to stink in the sight of Pharaoh, so Pharaoh lays heavier burdens upon them. But now, God has made the Nile stink, it has become a stench throughout all the land. God often likes turning the tables.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">But certainly there is a gospel lesson here in that just as the Nile stunk and everyone knew it, so our sin stinks. In ourselves, we are a stench in the nostrils of God. We offend Him with our sin. But through Jesus Christ that stench is dealt with. He is our sacrifice which is a pleasing aroma to God. And so we no longer stink before Him. Our sin is a stench before God, but also when we live in sin among our brothers and sisters it too, becomes a stench to everyone. Our sin stinks and everyone knows it. Unrepentant sin becomes obvious and God\u2019s people can\u2019t stand the smell and sight of it, and so it is dealt with, it is purged in repentance or excommunication.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center\"><b>The Magicians do the Same<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">But notice in our text, that just as the Magicians and sorcerers of Egypt also made their staffs turn into serpents, so also they turn water into blood by their secret arts. Again I believe this is something they genuinely did by demonic power or insight. So I imagine this probably done with containers of water that were yet to be turned to blood by Aaron, so a much smaller scale. But notice how self-refuting this is. It\u2019s really rather comical. They think it is so impressive that they too can turn water to blood, and in doing so they are a judgment unto themselves. I imagine the Egyptian people saying, \u201cGee, thanks a lot.\u201d The demonic power of secret arts is no rival to the power of God so much so that it is a judgment unto itself, it is itself a judgment, that only brings destruction upon those who use it, and does not give them the power they seek by it. So also with any sin we may commit. It never helps us as it tempts us to believe. This is what hardness of heart does, it continues in rebellion and sin to one\u2019s own detriment. Sin keeps hurting sinners, but they continue to do it because they are in moral rebellion against God. And so sometimes God judges people by simply giving them over to their sin, by simply allowing them to continue gratifying the desires of the flesh.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center\"><b>God\u2019s Judgments are Thorough<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Notice as well that God\u2019s judgments are thorough. Even the water that was kept in vessels and containers of wood and stone was turned to blood. There was no escape from the judgment of God. When God judges a people there is nowhere anyone can go to hide from His judgments, other than His own mercy in Jesus Christ. The judgments of God are total and complete and none are left lacking.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Every single sin, from the smallest to the greatest is not left undone. Every single one is properly judged by God\u2019s justice &#8211; either in Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins, or upon the sinner in hell forever. There is no drop of water from the tip of Abraham\u2019s finger that will bring relief to the sinner in hell for even a moment, for there is no relief from God\u2019s judgments other than in God Himself, in His mercy, in Jesus Christ.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center\"><b>Christ\u2019s Redemption is Thorough<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">But just as God\u2019s judgments are thorough, so also Christ\u2019s redemption is thorough. Just as there is no sin that will not be righteously judged by God, so there is no sin in the one who has received Jesus Christ that will not be totally dealt with and forgiven by Jesus Christ. For God\u2019s elect, for His bride, His Church, every single sin, from the smallest to the greatest is atoned for and forgiven in death of Jesus Christ. There is not one single sin that will slip by, or will be too great &#8211; there is not one single sin that God will not forgive in Christ for His people. If you are in Christ, you do not have to worry that there might be something lacking. Just as God\u2019s judgments are thorough, so Christ\u2019s redemption is thorough that we will not be judged in hell forever, but will instead have pleasures forevermore in the presence of God. If Christ has redeemed you then there is not a single sin that you could possibly hide from Him that He won\u2019t bring out in order to forgive. Just as God\u2019s judgments are thorough, so Christ\u2019s redemption is thorough.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">As I think about the Nile being turned to blood, there are couple things about Christ that I cannot help thinking about. I think of our Lord as He hung upon the cross. After He gave up the ghost, the Roman soldier comes and instead of breaking the legs of our Lord, he takes his spear and pierces the side of Christ, and in so doing, out begins to flow a river of water and blood. There flowing from His side, the great sign of judgment and salvation. Not only blood as a sign of judgment and death, but water as a sign of life and purification. The God-man, the only One who could handle all such weights upon Himself &#8211; total judgment, and total redemption. The Nile which was once a source of life brought death. The God-man who hung dead upon the cross was made salvation, the source of eternal life. Both His blood and water flows for us. His is the cleansing blood sprinkled upon the altar that speaks a better Word and He is the River, the water of life.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">But in thinking upon the Nile turning to blood, I also can\u2019t help but think of the first miracle of our Lord when He turned water into wine. One of things this first miracle of Christ symbolized was the newness of the New Covenant that Christ was bringing. The best was saved for last. All the blood of bulls and goats in the past could not atone for sin. But the blood of the final sacrifice, Jesus Christ, was a blood that was potent to actually be sufficient to save and atone for sin. It was actually potent like a fine aged wine.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Or, you can think of it like Matthew Henry, who says this, \u201cOne of the first miracles Moses wrought was turning water into blood, but one of the first miracles our Lord Jesus wrought was turning water into wine; for the law was given by Moses, and it was a dispensation of death and terror; but grace and truth, which, like wine, makes glad the heart, came by Jesus Christ.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">If Moses represents the law, then the law shows us our sin, it shows us the bloodguilt that is on our hands, it shows us we are deserving of God\u2019s judgment. And the law is good, we are the ones that are not. The law proves that to us, holding up the standard of God\u2019s righteousness, and in view of that we are nothing but a stench. But the insufficiency of the law is that it only brings a knowledge of sin and condemnation, by it we cannot attain forgiveness and salvation. And so the Lord Jesus comes and he takes water and turns it into wine. Jesus comes and in Him we are shown His perfections, His righteousness, and the forgiveness of sins that His blood has wrought. We are given this forgiveness and we are made righteous by Him and we are granted salvation and eternal life by the freeness of His grace, without merit and without price. And His forgiveness is sweet and strong and lasts forever. So come to Jesus Christ and receive from the Lord today.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sermonaudio.com\/sermoninfo.asp?SID=822221446142368\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Click HERE for sermon audio<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Then the\u00a0Lord\u00a0said to Moses, \u201cPharaoh&#8217;s heart is hardened; he refuses to let the people go.\u00a015\u00a0Go to Pharaoh in the morning, as he is going out to the water. Stand on the bank of the Nile to meet him, and take in your hand\u00a0the staff that turned into a\u00a0serpent.\u00a016\u00a0And you shall say to him, \u2018The\u00a0Lord, the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":685,"featured_media":5186,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"wds_primary_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1582],"tags":[1744,181,214,274,424,461,557,664,678,679,699,1758,765,1759,836,1718,934,1757,1719,1238,1321,1348,1375],"class_list":{"0":"post-5176","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sermon","8":"tag-aaron","9":"tag-be","10":"tag-blood","11":"tag-christ","12":"tag-egypt","13":"tag-exodus","14":"tag-god","15":"tag-israel","16":"tag-jenkins","17":"tag-jesus","18":"tag-joshua","19":"tag-judgments","20":"tag-lord","21":"tag-magicians","22":"tag-moses","23":"tag-nile","24":"tag-pharaoh","25":"tag-plagues","26":"tag-river","27":"tag-there","28":"tag-water","29":"tag-will","30":"tag-yahweh","31":"entry"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2022\/08\/BSBR060301600L.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":5098,"url":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/grabbing-a-snake-by-the-tail\/","url_meta":{"origin":5176,"position":0},"title":"Grabbing a Snake by the Tail","author":"Joshua Jenkins","date":"July 18, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Then Moses answered, \u201cBut behold, they will not believe me or listen to my voice, for they will say, \u2018The\u00a0Lord\u00a0did not appear to you.\u2019\u201d\u00a02\u00a0The\u00a0Lord\u00a0said to him, \u201cWhat is that in your hand?\u201d He said,\u00a0\u201cA staff.\u201d\u00a03\u00a0And he said, \u201cThrow it on the ground.\u201d So he threw it on the ground, and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Sermon&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Sermon","link":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/category\/sermon\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2022\/07\/MOSHED-2022-7-18-11-33-28.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2022\/07\/MOSHED-2022-7-18-11-33-28.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2022\/07\/MOSHED-2022-7-18-11-33-28.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2022\/07\/MOSHED-2022-7-18-11-33-28.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2022\/07\/MOSHED-2022-7-18-11-33-28.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2022\/07\/MOSHED-2022-7-18-11-33-28.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":5193,"url":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/frogs-in-the-oven\/","url_meta":{"origin":5176,"position":1},"title":"Frogs in the Oven","author":"Joshua Jenkins","date":"August 29, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Then the\u00a0Lord\u00a0said to Moses, \u201cGo in to Pharaoh and say to him, \u2018Thus says the\u00a0Lord, \u201cLet my people go, that\u00a0they may serve me.\u00a02\u00a0But if you\u00a0refuse to let them go, behold, I will plague all your country with\u00a0frogs.\u00a03\u00a0The Nile shall swarm with frogs that shall come up into your house and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Sermon&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Sermon","link":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/category\/sermon\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2022\/08\/07EXODUS3-jumbo-v2.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2022\/08\/07EXODUS3-jumbo-v2.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2022\/08\/07EXODUS3-jumbo-v2.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2022\/08\/07EXODUS3-jumbo-v2.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":5105,"url":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/a-bridegroom-of-blood\/","url_meta":{"origin":5176,"position":2},"title":"A Bridegroom of Blood","author":"Joshua Jenkins","date":"July 25, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"18\u00a0Moses went back to\u00a0Jethro his father-in-law and said to him, \u201cPlease let me go back to my brothers in Egypt to see whether they are still alive.\u201d And Jethro said to Moses, \u201cGo in peace.\u201d\u00a019\u00a0And the\u00a0Lord\u00a0said to Moses in Midian, \u201cGo back to Egypt, for\u00a0all the men who were seeking\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Sermon&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Sermon","link":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/category\/sermon\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2022\/07\/MOSHED-2022-7-25-9-6-7.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2022\/07\/MOSHED-2022-7-25-9-6-7.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2022\/07\/MOSHED-2022-7-25-9-6-7.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":5108,"url":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/making-bricks-without-straw\/","url_meta":{"origin":5176,"position":3},"title":"Making Bricks Without Straw","author":"Joshua Jenkins","date":"August 1, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"\u00a0Afterward Moses and Aaron went and said to Pharaoh, \u201cThus says the\u00a0Lord, the God of Israel, \u2018Let my people go, that they may hold\u00a0a feast to me in the wilderness.\u2019\u201d\u00a02\u00a0But Pharaoh said,\u00a0\u201cWho is the\u00a0Lord, that I should obey his voice and let Israel go? I do not know the\u00a0Lord, and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Sermon&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Sermon","link":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/category\/sermon\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2022\/08\/MOSHED-2022-8-1-11-22-54.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2022\/08\/MOSHED-2022-8-1-11-22-54.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2022\/08\/MOSHED-2022-8-1-11-22-54.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":5122,"url":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/with-a-strong-hand\/","url_meta":{"origin":5176,"position":4},"title":"With a Strong Hand","author":"Joshua Jenkins","date":"August 8, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"But the\u00a0Lord\u00a0said to Moses, \u201cNow you shall see what I will do to Pharaoh; for with a strong hand he will send them out, and with\u00a0a strong hand he will\u00a0drive them out of his land.\u201d 2\u00a0God spoke to Moses and said to him,\u00a0\u201cI am the\u00a0Lord.\u00a03\u00a0I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Sermon&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Sermon","link":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/category\/sermon\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2022\/08\/MOSHED-2022-8-8-15-2-5.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2022\/08\/MOSHED-2022-8-8-15-2-5.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2022\/08\/MOSHED-2022-8-8-15-2-5.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":5235,"url":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/hail-locusts-and-darkness\/","url_meta":{"origin":5176,"position":5},"title":"Hail, Locusts, and Darkness","author":"Joshua Jenkins","date":"September 19, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Click HERE for sermon audio \u00a0Then the\u00a0Lord\u00a0said to Moses,\u00a0\u201cRise up early in the morning and present yourself before Pharaoh and say to him, \u2018Thus says the\u00a0Lord, the God of the Hebrews, \u201cLet my people go, that they may serve me.\u00a014\u00a0For this time I will send all my plagues on you\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Sermon&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Sermon","link":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/category\/sermon\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2022\/09\/istockphoto-1223343075-170667a.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5176","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/685"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5176"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5176\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5186"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5176"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5176"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5176"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}