“This is the finger of God.”
Exodus 8:19
Ah, Moses and the ten plagues of
Egypt. Many are familiar with Exodus 7-12 and love the account of God’s
wondrous power. But often our knowledge of the passage stops there. Well, never
fear! I have for you an article to expand your understanding of the ten
plagues, to expound on God’s purpose and power in everything, and to express
the significance of each affliction which targeted individual Egyptian gods to prove
Who is the greatest God.
Plague 1: River of Blood—This first plague abased the Egyptian gods
Khnum, creator-god of the Nile, and Hapi, god of the Nile and the life-source
it brings. When the Nile River—and all other water sources—turned into foul blood
for seven days, God was showing the Egyptians that their puny gods could do
nothing to save them.
The Egyptian magicians mimicked
Moses’s act with their own spells by Satan’s power, yet notice how they did not
change the blood back to water. Satan’s power is limited; they could not go
against God’s will.
Plague 2: Smitten with Frogs—As a second sign, God sent an army of
frogs to invade Egypt, directly affronting the goddess of fertility and
renewal: Heket (one of the many spellings), who had the head of a frog. Chapter
8:3 informs the Egyptians, “So the
river shall bring forth frogs abundantly, which shall go up and come into your
house, into your bedroom, on your bed, into the houses of your servants, on
your people, into your ovens, and into your kneading bowls” and they were
stepping on frogs everywhere they walked. What an insult to the false goddess.
Again the magicians copied the
plague, but if you were Pharaoh, would you want your magicians to summon even more frogs or send them all away? But
the satanic sorcerers could not undo what God had done.
Plague 3: A Dusting of Lice—During the third plague, God turned the
dust of the earth (and there’s a lot of dust in Egypt) into lice (or gnats). Imagine
those pesky fruit flies in your kitchen times a bazillion, crawling in your
hair and eyes and nose, everywhere. This belittled Geb, god of the earth, since
the earth morphed into vile pests.
Also, Pharaoh’s magicians “worked
with their enchantments to bring forth lice, but they could not” (8:18, NKJV).
Then they confessed to Pharaoh that “‘this is
the finger of God’” (8:19, NKJV). This also tore down Thoth and Isis, deities of
magic.
Plague 4: Flurry of Flies—The fourth plague brought swarms and
swarms of flies (also has been translated to beetles) which corrupted the land.
Khepri, god of rebirth and sunrise, was mocked, since he had the head of a
beetle. The fourth plague was the first of the many to bring destruction along
with discomfort, and also the beginning of when the Lord set apart His people
from the plagued Egyptians.
Plague 5: LiveDeadstock—When God struck down all the
livestock with pestilence—all the
livestock of the Egyptians!—Khnum (creator-god of the Nile with the head of a
ram), Hather (cow-headed goddess of protection), and Ptah/Apis (god of strength
resembling a bull) meant nothing to THE mighty God.
Plague 6: Blistering Boil Outbreak—The Lord commanded Moses and
Aaron to toss ashes in the air, and the ashes spread over Egypt, causing boils
and sores to break out on every living Egyptian thing. And this isn’t just the
chickenpox. This is a sooty, inflamed, pus-filled swelling on the skin. The
magicians couldn’t even stand before Moses because of the boils. God was
mocking the pathetic deities of medicine and healing, particularly Isis, the
biggest goddess of medicine and peace.
Plague 7: Hailfire—“So
there was hail, and fire mingled with the hail, so very heavy that there was
none like it in all the land of Egypt” (9:24,
NKJV). Some of Pharaoh’s servants now began to fear the Lord by now along with
the Israelites and ran indoors after Moses’ warning. But every crop, every
beast, and everyone outside was struck by the largest storm in Egyptian
history. And where was Nut, goddess of the sky? Or Osiris, god of crops? Or Seth,
god of storms and disorder?
Plague
8: Loads of Locusts—The
eighth plague nullified Osiris and Seth again, Nephi, god of grain, and Shu,
god of wind. On the east wind, a storm of locust—so thick the land was blinded—consumed
anything that had grown or survived after the hail. Joel 1 describes the utter,
crunchy chaos of a locust invasion. And after Pharaoh pleaded, God blew a west
wind which swept all the locusts away into the Red Sea.
Note that these plagues weren’t over a
short period of time. The hail struck every beast in the field as well, which means
there must have been some time for the Egyptians to raise more animals after
the livestock pestilence. The locusts ate everything that grew after the hail,
and it takes more than a weekend to grow crops. Plagues aren’t a walk in the
park; they’re a devastating, drawn-out deal.
Plague
9: Tangible Darkness—“Darkness which may even be felt” for three
days: a literal black plague (10:21, NKJV). This is darkness so thick you could
cut it with a knife, not that it would help any. Yet the Israelites had light
in their dwellings. The sun-god and one of the chief gods, Ra, could do nothing
for the Egyptians.
Plague 10: Firstborn Fatality—The final
plague, which instituted the Passover, killed all the firstborns of unbelieving
Egyptians, “and there was a great cry in Egypt” (12:30, NKJV). The most
dreadful plague overcame the most worshiped god: Pharaoh himself. Pharaoh could
do nothing against the hand of the sovereign God.
I could’ve
written twice as much as I already have. But hopefully this summary encourages
you to grasp the gravity and impact of these plagues and the infinite power of
the one, true God the next time you read Exodus 7-12.
Klipsie
Sources:
Tapestry of Grace Curriculum
0 comments:
Post a Comment