Let me say: as I studied the throwing down of the Rod... and Moses' hesitancy to approach Pharaoh again... (deepen his belief) (Oh and deepen his belief of worth to represent God) (Oh and isn't that us? listening to God's word and feeling unworthy and incapable to present God to unbelievers?) SEE how God does not need our ability. He demands our YES.

So anyway back to the rod. This rod when thrown down became a serpent. Then the devil magicians did the same. They cannot create. They cannot "do" good work.
When the rod was cast down again the word for "serpent" this time is more like Crocodile. Which, by the way, was revered in Ancient Egypt. God's Mocking them. Some people are bound in the power of satan: The great news of Jesus is that the power of Jesus can swallow up any rod!

So Aaron's Crocodile rod ate the other serpents.

19 The LORD also told Moses, “Tell Aaron, ‘Take your staff and stretch out your hand over the waters of Egypt, over their rivers, over their Nile River, over their ponds, and over their reservoirs, and they’ll become blood. There will be blood throughout the land of Egypt, even in their wood and stone containers.’”

20 Moses and Aaron did just what the LORD had commanded. Aaron raised his staff and struck the water in the Nile River in front of Pharaoh and his officials, and all the water in the Nile River turned to blood. 

21 The fish in the Nile River died and the river stank. The Egyptians were not able to drink water from the Nile River, and blood was throughout the land of Egypt. 

22 But the Egyptian magicians did the same thing with their secret arts. Pharaoh’s heart was stubborn, and he did not listen to them, just as the LORD had said. 

23 Then Pharaoh turned away, went to his palace, and paid no attention to any of this. 

24  All the Egyptians dug around the Nile River for water to drink because they could not drink from the water in the Nile River.

Okay, so cool this is: every man threw down rods and Aaron's rod (with Moses) dominated/ate/consumed the others. The "dark arts" cannot compete.
What turned my head inside out today was how I understood God is Mocking the enchanters in this story. Rebuking Jannes and Jambres..... Educated men and intelligent, but not wise after the things of God. Satanic Power.... Apparent Miracles.
Trusting too much in the merely miracles. (Thessalonians 2:9)

 9 The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with how Satan works. He will use all sorts of displays of power through signs and wonders that serve the lie

Miracles prove things are supernatural but do not prove it is true (Oh my new age days shiver.)

Let my People go!
Thus says the Lord - by THIS you shall know I am God. Wow, so the Lord God turned the Nile red with blood. Plague number 1. This struck me: GOD REBUKED DIRECTLY THE GODS OF EGYPT WITH HIS PLAGUES.

The Nile:
There was a warning given. FINE! Nile is blood, fish die, people cannot drink. Some people have argued that it was the Red Tide, because during the flood time the red earth around the Nile can turn it reddish. But that does not explain why all the fish died, why all the waters in Egypt turned red (blood), it does not explain why it was undrinkable.

EACH PLAGUE ANSWERS: WHO AM I?

Egyptian god  of the Nile ->Knnum..... where was he?
Egyptian spirit of the Nile -> Hapi  ..... where was he?
Egyptian god of the people ->Osiris, who it was believed got his blood from the Nile.. where was he?

GOD REBUKING THE IDOLS. Could have been a huge wake up call if Pharaoh had only decided to look at it. What are we looking at today that the unbelievers or the lazy Christians are not noting, watching, and not allowing a change in them and deepening their faith?

The magicians could not bring clean and pure water because satan cannot cannot cannot do good, redeem, or set free. This is in God's Hands alone. Satan is a liar - only.

Satan's arms are too short to box with God!
I loved this time with my teacher David Guzik and Exodus today!

We can be stunned at Pharaoh, we can disdain his hard heart.
How much of him is in us, every day? Sigh. I pray to walk more holy everyday. Lord, help me.

On to the FROGS. YIKES.

IPUWER PAPYRUS: is seemingly an important secular mention of this
chapter 2, portion 10

The Nile was Blood and un-drinkable
AND
Servants left their masters

Ipuwer has often been put forward in popular literature as confirmation of the biblical account of the Exodus, most notably because of its statement that "the river is blood" and its frequent references to servants running away. This assertion has not gained acceptance among the majority of scholars. There are disparities between Ipuwer and the narrative in the Book of Exodus, such as that the papyrus describes the Asiatics as arriving in Egypt rather than leaving. The papyrus' statement that the "river is blood" phrase may refer to the red sediment colouring the Nile during disastrous floods, or simply be a poetic image of turmoil.^[11]