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his trial! There is, as we have already indicated, a terrible irony about "theplagues" of
Egypt, since in the things in which Egypt exalted itself it was laid low.
We seem to hear it throughout,
"He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh. The Lord shall have them in derision."
(Psalm 2:4) This will appear more clearly as we briefly consider each of the
"strokes."
The first "stroke," or "Plague." Early in the morning, during the rise of the Nile,
Pharaoh went downto the river to offer unto its waters the customary Divine worship.
Probably, he was accompanied byhis wise men and magicians. Here he was
confronted by Moses with the message of God. On hisrefusal to listen, Moses smote,
as he had threatened the waters with the rod of God, and the Nile, inall its branches,
canals, cisterns, and reservoirs, becomes red, like blood. Such a change of color inthe
Nile was by no means uncommon, or Pharaoh would scarcely have quite hardened his
heartagainst the miracle. In ordinary times this appearance of the river arises partly
from the red earth,which the swollen waters carry with them, and partly from the
presence of small cryptogamic plantsand animalcules (infusoria).
The supernaturalness of the event lay in its suddenness, in its appearance at the
command of Moses,and in the now altered qualities of the water. "The fish that was in
the river died" - thus depriving thepeople of one of the main staples of their food; -
"and the river stank, and the Egyptians could notdrink of the water of the river," thus
cutting off the main supply of their drink. Somehow themagicians, however, contrived
to imitate this miracle, probably on some of the water that had beendrawn before "the
rod" had smitten the river. And so for seven days, throughout the whole land ofEgypt,
the blood-like, un-drinkable water in every household "vessel of wood" or of
earthenware,and in the large stone troughs which stood for general use in the corners
of streets and onvillage-roads, bore testimony for Jehovah. And the Egyptians had to
dig round about the river, thattheir drinking-water might be filtered for use. But
"Pharaoh turned and went into his house, neitherdid he set his heart to this also." The
second "stroke" or "plague" - that of the frogs - was also inconnection with the river
Nile. At the same time it must be remembered that the frog was alsoconnected with
the most ancient forms of idolatry in Egypt, so that what was the object of
theirworship once more became their curse. Here also a natural occurrence, not
uncommon in Egypt,rendered Pharaoh's unbelief not impossible. After the annual
inundation of the Nile the mud notuncommonly produces thousands of frogs - called
by the Arabs to this day by the namecorresponding to the term used in the Bible.
These frogs "are small, do not leap much, are much liketoads, and fill the whole
country with their croaking. They are rapidly consumed by the, ibis, whichthus
preserves the land from the stench described in Exodus 8:14. The supernaturalness of
(^)