Series Life of Moses

This Message The God of Power versus the Gods of Egypt

Scripture Exodus 7:25 – 10:29

Last week, we thought about the second encounter between Moses and Pharaoh. Pharaoh responded to the demands of YAHWEH delivered through Moses and Aaron with an arrogant and stubborn attitude. He did not yet realize that YAHWEH was “way out-of-his-league” in matters of sovereign power. The stage was set for an epic contest of wills between YAHWEH, the God of the Israelites, and Pharaoh and the gods of the Egyptian people.

Last week we also thought about the first plague, which contaminated the river Nile, changing its water to blood. This was a devastating blow to the Egyptian people, both emotionally and practically. The Nile was the most obvious symbol of Egypt and the most important component of physical life. YAHWEH really got everyone’s attention by His first public miracle.

Today I plan to talk briefly about the first nine plagues. The last plague is important enough to warrant an entire separate message so we’ll consider it next week. I want to begin today by making several general comments about the plague judgments. The Bible does not leave us in doubt about the purposes for them. These purposes are indicated in several verses:

In Exodus chapter 12, verse 12, YAHWEH said, “Against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment; I am the Lord.” The Egyptians, like the people of all pagan cultures, worshipped many different gods. Each of their gods was associated with and presumed to be in control of specific areas of nature and human life. There was a god of the sun, of the river, of childbirth, of crops, etc. All events, such as the annual flooding of the Nile, were, to them, evidences of their gods’ powers and good will.

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The powerlessness of the Egyptian gods became evident during the plagues and proved that Israel’s God alone was the LORD. YAHWEH announced this in advance to Moses when He said, “The Egyptians will know that I am the Lord, when I stretch out my hand against Egypt and bring the Israelites out of it” (Exodus. 7:5; see also 8:10, 22; 9:14; 10:2).

A second reason for the plagues was to prove that Pharaoh was not one of the gods, although he thought he was and the Egyptian people considered him so. When Moses first approached Pharaoh with YAHWEH’s demand that the Israelites be released, Pharaoh responded, “Who is the Lord, that I should obey him and let Israel go? I do not know the Lord and I will not let Israel go” (Exodus 5:2). Thus began the contest to substantiate which God was more powerful.

YAHWEH judged the Egyptian people for another important reason: it was payback for the years of cruelty and oppression of His chosen people. When the LORD established His covenant with Abraham, He explained what would happen in the future to Abraham’s descendants: “Know for certain that your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own, and they will be enslaved and mistreated four hundred years. But I will punish the nation they serve as slaves, and afterward they will come out with great possessions” (Genesis 15:13-14). The plagues were YAHWEH’s method of forcing Pharaoh to release the Israelites from Egypt.

There was also an educational purpose for the plagues. YAHWEH wanted His great power to be declared among the nations — for people to discuss it for generations afterward. By triumphing over the gods of Egypt, which was a world power at that time, all the surrounding nations would come to understand the sovereignty and authority of the God of the Israelites. In one of the confrontations with Pharaoh, YAHWEH said to him through Moses, “I could have stretched out my hand and struck you and your people with a plague that would have wiped you off the earth. But I raised you up for this very purpose, that I might show you my power and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth” (Exodus 9:14-15).

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Finally, the people of YAHWEH needed to be renewed and strengthened in their faith. Their observation of the devastation inflicted on the Egyptians, followed by the remarkable journey out of Egypt, impressed on them in a dramatic way the greatness of their God and their privilege to be His people. What YAHWEH did in Egypt was a lesson in the dangers of idolatry and of His hatred toward those who would not worship and serve Him. “I have hardened the heart of Pharaoh and the hearts of his officials so that I may perform these miraculous signs of mine among them that you may tell your children and grandchildren how I dealt harshly with the Egyptians and how I performed my signs among them, and that you may know that I am the LORD” (Exodus 10:1-2).

Before we have a quick look at the individual plagues, I want you to be aware that they occur in a distinct pattern. The nine plagues we will think about today can be divided into groups of three. The first three plagues produced personal discomfort; the next three brought about physical pain and the destruction of personal property; the last three plagues caused starvation and brought about an intense emotional state of hopelessness and dread.

The first plague in each series began with the expression “in the morning” (see Exodus 7:15; 8:20; and 9:13). The last plague of each group was not announced ahead of time and came without warning.

Beginning with the fourth plague, the Israelites were exempted from the judgment. Only the Egyptians suffered. YAHWEH announced to Pharaoh, “I will deal differently … where my people live. I will make a distinction between my people and your people, so that you will know that I, the LORD, am in this land” (Exodus 8:22-23).

With each plague, Pharaoh’s heart became increasingly hardened. He made several bargains with Moses, but he always failed to keep his promises. Pharaoh’s magicians quickly realized that the afflictions were coming from God. After the third plague, they said, “This is the finger of God,” but Pharaoh did not listen to them. Even his court officials pleaded with him to release the Israelites before Egypt was completely ruined (Exodus 10:7), but he stubbornly refused to follow their advice.

Now let’s examine the plagues in turn.

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Read Exodus 7:19

The Nile was the life-sustaining resource of Egypt. When Moses’ staff “struck the water of the Nile, all the water was changed into blood.” For the next seven days the people were without fresh water to drink, all the fish died, and there was a stench from the river.

This plague was an affront to many of the gods of Egypt. Osiris was the most important of all the gods of the Nile. Osiris ordained the annual inundation of the Nile, but the god most associated with the river itself was Hapi. She watched over the prosperity of the water. The Egyptians worshiped these and numerous other gods associated with the Nile. The supernatural pollution of the waters was a humiliation to these important gods.

Read Exodus 7:25 – 8:4

This plague of frogs came out of the sacred Nile in such abundance that they infested all the houses of the Egyptians. The number of frogs was beyond all logical explanation. Ironically, frogs were the symbol of abundance and prosperity.

The principal goddess humiliated by this catastrophe was Heqt, who, in the pantheon of the deities, was acknowledged as the wife of the creator of the world. She was always depicted with the head and the body of a frog.

The Egyptians had such devotion to frogs that it was forbidden to kill or harm them. The people were helpless to know what to do, and when the frogs began to die, the land was filled with heaps of decaying carcasses which reeked with an unbearable odor.

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Read Exodus 8:16-17

The third of the judgments came out of the soil in Egypt. Our translation describes this as a plague of “gnats,” but the Hebrew word can refer to “lice,” “fleas,” “ticks,” and even “mosquitos.” The Hebrew word comes from the root meaning “to dig.” Commentators think the insect was one which “imbedded” or “dug” itself under the skin of people and animals.

The great Egyptian god of the earth was Geb, to whom was given offerings of thanksgiving for the produce of the soil.

Read Exodus 8:20-23

Old Testament scholars aren’t certain about the identity of the creature in this plague. The Hebrew text has only the word “swarms.” Most Bible translators insert the phrase, “of flies,” as a plausible explanation.

Many scholars believe the swarm to be the blood-sucking “stable fly,” sometimes referred to as the “dog-fly.” This fly is commonly found in tropical regions. It bites both men and animals, and is a transmitter of various diseases.

On the other hand, many other scholars are inclined to think the creature in this plague was the “scarab beetle.” The largest of these scarabs are 5 and 6 inches long. The smallest are like the lady beetles which we see in warm weather. In fact, the lady beetle is one kind of scarab.

The best known scarabs are the “dung beetles.” These beetles subsist on the undigested nutrients in the waste of sheep, cattle, elephants and other herbivores. In some areas of the world, dung beetles move so much waste underground, that they are considered essential to controlling disease and pests among livestock.

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In Egyptian lore, beetles became associated with creation. They were deified in ancient Egypt. Amon-Ra, who was the king of the Egyptian gods, had the head of a beetle. Some of the giant scarabs were mummified and entombed with the Pharaohs. Their images appeared in all kinds of jewelry and artifacts.

Scarabs have mandibles that can gnaw through wood. They can be more destructive than termites. Just imagine the consternation of the Egyptian people who so venerated the scarab that they could not take any action against the plague.

Read Exodus 9:1-4

The fifth plague affected the domestic animals of Egypt. Some translations of the Bible use the words, “pestilence” or “murrain.” Epidemics of animal deaths have been caused by highly contagious infectious diseases such as “hoof and mouth” disease, “anthrax,” or “rinderpest.” These epidemics have impacted the economies of nations in catastrophic ways.

This plague dishonored the bull god, Apis, the protector of animals, and also Hathor, the goddess of the deserts.

Here is a side-note of interest: The worship of animals was so widespread in Egypt that many of the Israelite slaves became tainted by their practices. Later in Exodus we will read that the Israelites made and worshiped a golden calf. That calf was in the image of the Egyptian god Apis.

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Read Exodus 9:8-9

The sixth calamity was against both men and animals. The word “boils” appears in the text of most translations. The root meaning is “burning,” and refers to several types of painful afflictions, some of which were incurable. Another reference describes “tumors, with scabs, and with the itch” which accompanied the “boils” (Deuteronomy 28:27).

The Egyptians trusted several gods to provide cures for their diseases, for examples, Thoth, the god of intelligence and medical learning, and Imhotep, the god of medicine.

Read Exodus 9:13, 17-18, 19b

The seventh remarkable judgment was a tempest of hail and fire. The tempest originated in the sky, which was the realm of the wind god Shu, the sky god Horus, and the sky goddess Nut. They and other deities were powerless to protect the Egyptians, their animals, and their crops from the devastating weather conditions. The text specifically mentions that the flax and barley crops were destroyed.

Read Exodus 10:3-6

In this plague, every twig and leaf that had somehow escaped the hail and fire was eaten by the locusts. The texts states that “the locusts settled down in every area of the country in great numbers. … They covered all the ground until it was black. … They devoured all that was left after the hail. … Nothing green remained on tree or plant in all the land.”

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Nepri, the grain god; Ermutet, goddess of fertility and crops; Anubis, the guardian of the fields were discredited.

Read Exodus 10:21-23

The next to last plague was a darkness that could be felt! It was of smothering intensity, and it was an insult to the entire religion and culture of Egypt since the sun was venerated by everyone. Ra, the god of the sun, had no ability to counter the darkness inflicted by YAHWEH.

Ra was the possessor of Aten, the sun's disc, and carried with him the symbol of life from the sun. This plague was a direct challenge to Pharaoh since he was considered to be a son of Ra.

Horus, the god of the sunrise, likewise had no influence, nor did Tem, the god of the sunset, nor Shu , the god of light, nor the deities of the moon and planets.

There are a couple of other aspects of the plagues that I want you to be aware of. The plagues were spread out over a period of months. We know that the last plague was associated with Passover, and the Jewish Passover always occurs in March or April according to our western calendar. Backing up from that festival, scholars have suggested that the first plague, the turning of the Nile into blood, occurred the preceding June. The frogs would appear after the inundation of the Nile, probably in July. The hot summer months would bring on the bugs and flies. January was the month when barley and flax would bud and flower, which the rain and hail destroyed. The wheat would be green in early spring; that’s when the locusts appeared. The plague of darkness would have occurred shortly before Passover.

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Numerous liberal commentators have been reluctant to acknowledge the miraculous nature of the various judgments. These commentators have concluded that each plague was the result of purely natural occurrences. However, there is strong evidence that the plagues were truly miraculous events. First, if each calamity was a naturally occurring phenomenon, then the impact of each one had to be supernaturally intensified in order to achieve the results which are described in the text. For example, the flooding of the Nile was an annual event, and the river would annually carry reddish looking silt and algae from its upstream sources, but normally the fish would not die from the silt and people could still use the water for personal needs. Yes, the people were familiar with the occasional pandemics of frogs, insects, and locusts, but not to the extent experienced during the plagues.

Secondly, Moses was guided by YAHWEH to set the time for the beginning and ending of some of the plagues. The predictions were more than coincidental. Thirdly, some of the plagues afflicted only the Egyptians and did not afflict the areas where the Israelites were living. This was a supernatural distinction. Fourthly, the way in which the plagues targeted the groups of gods was intentional and systematic. Fifthly, the plagues steadily increased in severity.

Each plague sent by YAHWEH was designed to show the Egyptians that the gods they worshipped were false gods who had no influence or control over nature. Only the true God had, and still has, the sovereign power to control life here on earth.

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