A statue of Pharaoh
The children of Israel were enslaved to Egypt for a period of 400 years and God had warned Abraham about it (Gen 15 v 13). After 400 years, God instructed Pharaoh through Moses to “Let my people go” but Pharaoh was a stubborn king and he refused to let the Israelites go.
There are those who accuse God of having violated Pharaoh’s free will by hardening his heart. They say it was immoral and cruel of God to harden Pharaoh’s heart and then punish him for it. Is this a proper way of reading the scriptures or is it too simplistic an interpretation? A simple rule of thumb for getting to understand difficult portions of scripture is to always allow the bible to interpret the bible. It is problematic to try to ascribe to the bible a subjective interpretation of it. If the Holy Spirit does not give you a clear revelation of a complex passage, be patient, enough diligent studying of the word of God will bring you to other passages of scripture that will make the difficult portion plain and understandable.
Why Ten Plagues And Not One
Why were they ten plagues instead of one. The tenth plague was the one that finally got Pharaoh’s attention, so why didn’t God cut to the chase and apply that very one and dispense with the other nine? Was God just torturing the Egyptians and showing off His power? Each plague lasted roughly a month, therefore the entire saga lasted about ten months. The truth is that God was not having fun at the expense of the Egyptians.
The real reason for God using 10 plagues to put pressure on the Pharaoh to release the Israelites had to do with Egypt’s worshipping of many gods. God wanted to prove that their idols were not gods. He also wanted to show His power over nature because He is the one who created everything. It was through the judgement of the plagues that the false gods of Egypt were destroyed one by one. I am going to go through each plague and explain its purpose and how we can apply the lessons God was teaching Pharaoh and the Egyptians to our own lives today.
Plague No. One – Nile turning into blood
There were about 3 gods associated with the Nile. The main god was Hapi or Apis the bull god, then there was Isis the goddess of the Nile and Khnum known as the guardian of the Nile. Since the Nile was to Egypt the ‘source of life’, the Egyptians worshipped Apis because he was believed to be a provider of ‘fulness of life’. Rains rarely fall in Egypt which is why they depend on the irrigation that comes from the river’s tides. As the tides come in, they irrigate their fields. After Aaron, Moses' brother struck the Nile according to God’s instruction, the Nile started to “bleed”. The entire river turned into blood. One way of looking at this is to say the god of the Egyptians, the Nile itself began to bleed. God sought to prove that the gods of the Nile were lifeless in front of the living God of the Hebrews. This demonstrated that the God of the Hebrews had power of the Nile as He is the one who created it. But Pharaoh was not impressed with this sign because his magicians were able to replicate it, hence he hardened his heart stubbornly asking;
Exodus 5 v 2 “Who is the Lord, that I should obey His voice to let Israel go? I do not know the Lord, nor will I let Israel go.”
It should be remembered that Pharaoh was regarded as a god in his own right. According to some bible scholars, the title Pharaoh means “son of god”. This is because it was believed that he was the incarnation of the son of Re, the sun god. Thus, Pharaoh believed that by acceding to the God of the Hebrews, he would be renouncing his own identity. But the 10 plagues became, in a manner of speaking, God’s de-creation of Egypt. This was God’s way of showing Pharaoh and the rest of Egypt what rebellion against the true God of creation leads to. The turning of the river into blood has many meanings. blood can represent life but it can also symbolize death. In this context it represented death. Rejection and rebellion against our creator leads to death.
Plague No. 2 – Frogs
With this plague, God was targeting the goddess of birth, Heqet (Hecket), who had a frog head. Frogs were not to be killed in Egypt. To kill a frog was like killing a god. They were sacred. If you wanted to be fruitful in any area of life, be it business, childbearing, finances or what have you, you would make sacrifices to Heqet and she in return would make you fruitful. Despite this miracle, Pharaoh continued to defy the Lord and hardened his heart. In our own lives it often takes life changing events like a tragedy, pain and suffering for us to come to our senses and begin to listen to God. Can you identify the frogs that you worship that have caused you to be stiff-necked so that you don’t take heed of what God is instructing you to let go of?
Plague No 3 – Gnats or Lice
This plague was aimed at Seth the god of the desert. Pharaoh’s magicians were able to replicate the first two plagues but this one they failed hence they said in Exodus 8 v 19 ““This is the finger of God.” This was a judgment on the pride of the Egyptians and their ability to live lives of comfort and ease. God was destroying the god of comfort. No amount of wealth or might can bring comfort to the soul. It is only the Creator of the soul who can comfort the soul. How can you be a billionaire and be miserable? Because there is a vacuum in your heart that only Jesus can fill.
Plague No 4 – Flies
Flies were a slap in the face of Uatchit the fly god and Ra the sun god. With this plague God showed His power by ensuring that none of the areas where the Jews lived were bothered by the swarms of flies. All of us can choose to harden our hearts like Pharaoh. If you go to church with no intention to do God’s will, you put yourself in harm’s way. Every time you hear the word of God and do nothing with what you’ve heard you play the role of Pharaoh and actively harden your own heart towards the Lord. I Timothy 4 v 2 “ speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their own conscience seared with a hot iron,”. A seared conscience means a cauterized heart.
Plague No 5 – Livestock
The 5th plague, the death of livestock was a judgment on the goddess Hathor and the god Apis who were both depicted as having cow heads. As with the previous plague God protected His people from the plague while the cattle of the Egyptians died. God was steadily destroying the economy of Egypt while showing His ability to protect and provide for those who obeyed Him. Pharaoh even sent investigators to find out if the Israelites were suffering along with the Egyptians. Included in the term livestock were camels, horses, donkeys and sheep. This dealt the Egyptians a double whammy as camels were used for transportation and horses were used for military purposes. This weakened Egypt on many levels. Rejection of the Creator’s instructions brings about disruptions in every aspect of our daily lives. We get affected spiritually, emotionally, physically, socially, economically etcetera.
Plague No 6 – Boils
The goddess of power over disease was Sekhmet, the god of pestilence was Sunu and Isis was the goddess of healing. By striking Egypt with boils all these gods were being undermined by the living God of the Hebrews. With most of the miracles that Moses and Aaron performed in front of Pharaoh, the latter’s magicians would also be present to try to replicate the miracles. But when they were smitten with boils, the magicians could not be present themselves before Pharaoh because they were infected like almost all the Egyptians.
Plague No. 7 – Hail
The main god being aimed at here was Nut the sky god. Secondary gods were Seth the storm god and Osiris the crop fertility god. This hail was unlike any that had been seen before and it was accompanied by a fire which ran along the ground and everything left out in the open was devastated by the hail and fire. Astonishingly again, the land occupied by the Israelites was unaffected by the elements. Not a single thing was damaged and neither was any death suffered by the Israelites. Hail symbolized frozen love. The kind of love that is icy based entirely on self-seeking motives and self-centered considerations
Plague No. 8 – Locusts
This plague was targeted at the previous trio of gods Set, Osiris and Nut. Whatever vegetation, plant or crop that had survived the hail was now facing the doom of destruction as it was set to be devoured by swarms of locusts. There would be no harvest in Egypt that year.
Plague No. 9 – Darkness
This plague was aimed at the sun god Ra. And for 3 days the land of Egypt was enveloped by a darkness never before seen or experienced anywhere on earth. The bible describes it as a darkness that was so thick it was tangible. Yet again miraculously God’s own people the Israelites were spared the consequences of this judgement. The homes of the Israelites were bathed in magnificent light. God demonstrated to both the Egyptians and Israelites that He had ultimate power over all of creation. The sun which was venerated and worshiped by all of Egypt would not give its light until God allowed it to resume its duties. This show of power by the God of the Hebrews would have profound psychological, emotional and religious effect on the Egyptians.(Pride comes before destruction Proverbs 16 v 18) Arrogance, pride and smugness cause a person to deny his mind the ability to experience illumination. Humility is the quality or attribute that affords us the ability to open ourselves up to being taught and wherein we expose ourselves up to higher learnings by letting in higher light.
Plague No. 10 – The death of the 1st born male of every household
This was the straw that broke the camel’s back in Pharaoh. When Pharaoh’s own son died, he couldn’t handle the situation anymore and he finally gave in and let the Israelites go. The targets of this plague were; Min the god of reproduction, Hecqet who attended women at child birth and Isis the goddess who protected children and of course Pharaoh’s own son who was considered a god.
Unlike the other plagues where the Israelites were exempt from the judgements, this judgement required the Jews to exercise their faith or else they too would suffer the same fate as everyone else. The reason for this was the fact that this judgement was pointing to the coming of Jesus who would atone for the sins of all of mankind. God commanded each family to take an unblemished male lamb and kill it. The blood of the lamb was to be smeared on the top and side of the doorways. The lamb was to be roasted and eaten on the same night. God would send the destroyer, an angel, who would fly over the land with orders to slay every first-born male of the households whose gates or doors were not marked with the blood of the lamb. When the destroyer saw the blood, he would pass over that house. This is where the term Passover comes from. This grievous event caused Pharaoh to finally release the Israelites. By the time the Israelites left Egypt they had a clear picture of God’s power, protection and plan for them. Because Jesus would come to earth as the lamb of God whose aim was to take away the sins of the world, every family that had stained its door posts with the blood of the lamb was spared from being struck by the destroyer. The result of this event for the Egyptians and other ancient people in the region was a dread and respect of the God of Israel.
After the Israelites had left Egypt, Pharaoh hardened his heart again and gave chase with his armies in chariots. Then God opened the Red Sea for the Israelites to cross on dry ground. They did. But it wasn’t to be so for the Egyptians in hot pursuit. Their chase ended in disaster as they were all drowned halfway through their pursuit.
PLAGUES ARE A FORESHADOWING OF THE GREAT TRIBULATION IN REVELATION
Nothing is new under the sun and everything that has been shall be. Much of what we see in the old testament comes up again in Revelation. The plagues narrative in Exodus is reflected in the judgments in Revelation, especially the Seal, Trumpet and Bowl judgments. 1st Trumpet (Rev 8:7): In this judgment, hail and fire, mixed with blood, are thrown upon the earth and burn up a third of the vegetation. Though the seventh plague in Exodus does not mention a third of the vegetation being burned, it clearly has fiery hail falling to the earth. Several times in Exodus, God is clear that one of the purposes of the plagues is for God to make a distinction between His people and His enemies in the eyes of the world. The first of the bowl judgments sees harmful and painful sores that come upon people who worship “the beast” (the antichrist). This judgment has particularly strong connections with Exodus for two reasons. First, it most clearly connects with the plague of boils (6th plague). But in addition to this more obvious connection, we also note that there is a clear distinction between the people who suffer it (the unbelievers) and God’s people. It is only those who worship the beast’s image that suffer the boils. 2nd and 3rd Bowls (Rev 16:3-7): The next two bowl judgments are similar to the very first plague of Exodus (the Nile turning to blood). In Revelation, the second bowl judgment changes the water of the sea to blood, with the result that every living thing in the sea dies. The third bowl judgment does the same for the freshwater on the earth. I should also point out that there is a very clear theology of just retribution in Revelation: the people are getting what they deserve.
5th Bowl (Rev 16:10-11): The fifth bowl judgment plunges the beast’s kingdom into darkness. Specifically, the text says that it is the beast’s kingdom that experiences this, implying that darkness is not worldwide, but limited to the area in which the enemy rules. There are more limited plagues of darkness in the 6th Seal and the 4th Trumpet, but this plague in particular most closely matches up with the penultimate plague in Exodus, where Egypt experiences a very “thick darkness” which can practically be felt. Again, we see in this plague a distinction between God’s people and His enemies. The sixth bowl judgment unleashes three demonic spirits that look like frogs. Of course, the second plague of Exodus was a plague of frogs. The frogs of Revelation are not a plague of frogs, but spirits who look like frogs. My key point is, a close examination of Exodus and Revelation reveals a clear connection. The plagues of Exodus were God’s wrath upon the Egyptians, a way of demonstrating His supremacy and making a distinction between His people and His enemies. The plagues of Revelation are no different. The Tribulation is a time of God’s wrath on earth, poured out primarily on God’s enemies. Many of these judgments are “shaped” like the plagues in Exodus to further the connection that those who continue to stubbornly resist God (harden their hearts) will surely suffer what they deserve.
HOW DOES THIS APPLY TO US IN OUR MODERN CULTURE?
In our world today we may not possess physical idols or statuettes of gods as in ancient times but there are plenty who worship idols of comfort or power or of control or idols of posh neighborhoods that only a few can afford. Others idolize the vehicles they drive while for some the glitz and glamour of celebrity life means the world . The common denominator in all these situations is that complete surrender to the Almighty becomes almost impossible. Why? Because we feel we have total control of our lives. When we see God’s justice and anger being poured out on the Egyptians we tend to distance ourselves as if to say we are immune to Pharaohs obstinacy. It hardly crosses our minds that there are many instances in our lives when we are just as inflexible as Pharaoh was. The outpouring of judgement upon the Egyptians shows us how God felt when those whom He loved were being subjected to cruelty. As He watched and saw his children being subjugated, repressed and inhumanly dominated by the Egyptians He was compelled to fight on their behalf. When what God has designed to flourish is being torn apart and desecrated God will jump into action on its behalf. Thus He stepped in to execute Justice. We can still look back on these events today to confirm our faith in and fear of this true and living God, the Judge of all the earth.
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