“Thus says the Lord, ‘By this you shall know that I am the Lord: behold, with the staff that is in my hand I will strike the water that is in the Nile, and it shall turn into blood.’”
Moses has a huge task ahead of him. He is to go to Pharaoh and tell him to let God’s people, a nation of slave-laborers, to go free. Moses knows this will not go over well with the sovereign of Egypt. Pharaoh will need a little convincing. The first of ten plagues on Egypt will be turning the waters of the Nile into blood.
That sounds disgusting, doesn’t it? No water to drink, no water to wash your clothes in, no water for bathing. All the water is now thick, red, blood. It clots. It stains. It turns your stomach. Some faint at the sight of blood. Some scream in horror. The thought of a thick red substance trickling from the tap would be enough to convince me to comply with whatever a prophet of God demanded!
We are so blessed to have access to fresh, clean water in our homes. There are too many places in the world where clean water is not readily available. The same rivers from which you draw water for drinking and bathing are used for laundry and toilets. The water you walk hours to obtain is laden with dirt and disease. But you have no choice. For better or worse, that is the only water available to you.
In scripture, paradise (Eden) was found near rivers. Life giving water flows through the city of God in Ezekiel and Revelation. Jesus invites the thirsty to come to him and drink. There is nothing quite like a tall cool drink of water when you are thirsty. There is nothing like the life-giving water of Jesus to quench your soul’s thirst for his grace, either.
Thank you, Lord, for the water that quenches my thirst. Amen.
Waite for it... 