The Ten Plagues God brought on Egypt are vividly described in Exodus Skeptics have claimed they were only intensified natural phenomena, denying any miracles were involved Yet the humanistic viewpoint of the plagues provides no rational explanation for how natural events could have convinced Pharaoh’s magicians that they had witnessed “the finger of God” (8 19) As the plagues intensified, some Egyptians (9 20), and finally Pharaoh himself, realized God was at work m their midst (10 16,17).
Revealed to Abraham
Scriptures plainly say the wisdom of God was behind these mighty acts In fact, His plan to rescue Israel from Egypt was m His mind even before Abraham fathered Isaac While Abraham was m a deep sleep, God revealed that his seed would one day be m bondage Then, only after God had judged their captors, would Israel be released and be given great substance (Gen 15 13-16) These judgments on Egypt were clearly miraculous acts in which God used natural forces to fit His purpose.
To prove Yahweh is God
God used the plagues to prove to Israel that Yahweh was their God (6 7) After being rescued from bondage, God wanted these former slaves to leave Egypt and begin serving Him m the promised land (7 16,8 1, Gen 15 16) Yet a greater purpose even than this was connected with God’s actions He desired that the Egyptians, indeed all the inhabitants of the earth, would recognize Him as God over all (7 5, 9 16, II Peter 3 9)
When the plagues were over, some Egyptians did leave Egypt with the Israelites (12 38) Tales of God’s mighty acts spread to the surrounding nations and were remembered centuries later (Jos 2 10,I Sam 4 8) For Rahab, faith in Israel’s God brought salvation to her and her household (Heb 11 31) By display-mg a similar faith, we, too, can share m God’s salvation, for God has promised “some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect” (Heb 11 40)
Heathen gods exposed as impotent
Besides providing the Israelites and Egyptians with a reason to believe, the plagues were given in judgment on the gods of Egypt We read “Against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment I am the LORD” (12 12) And again, “Upon their gods (the Egyptian gods) also the LORD executed judgments” (Num 33 4)
The land of Egypt was home to many gods, over 2,000 by some estimates Every aspect of life or death was associated with one god or another Each city had its assortment of deities worshipped by its citizens In the tomb of Ramses VI, a mural has been found depicting about 100 of the “heavenly” family, beneath the arched body of Nut, the sky goddess.
Religion was a significant part of the life of every Egyptian Not a thing transpired anywhere that could not be resolved by one god or another.
With so many gods, their responsibilities for this or that aspect of life tended to overlap Even in Moses’ time it would have been difficult to decide which specific area was ruled by each god Some legends suggest the god Khnum (represented by a human with a ram’s head) had responsibility for the Nile Other sources suggest Hapi was in charge Regardless of which god was “responsible,” the first plague, turning water to blood, was an affront to one or more Egyptian idols.
In spite of this plague, Pharaoh remained unconvinced Moses’ God had meant what He said Pharaoh sought reassurance from his magicians that turning water into blood was not very difficult In today’s world of pleasures, it is easy for us to adopt Pharaoh’s attitude of unbelief Yet m our own lives, we have been warned of the dangers of hardening our hearts (Heb 3 7-13) Let us adopt the attitude to learn from our experiences Let us not wear out God’s patience as did Pharaoh
Many gods exposed
In each of the remaining plagues, it is possible to see another of Egypt’s gods exposed Some candidates for the powerless gods are 2) Haket (Heqt), the frog god, 3) Geb, the earth god, 4) Khepri (Khepera), a sacred beetle, 5) Heather (a cow), goddess of love, dance and music, 6) Imhotep, god of healing, or Sekhmet, goddess of war and epidemics, 7) Seth, god of chaos, desert and storm, 8) Serapis, a god that protected from locust attacks
Re (Ra), the sun god was an important Egyptian deity A hymn used in the worship to Re reads “How beautiful it is when thouanseth on the horizon and lightenest the Two Lands with thy rays” Some traditions called him the creator of men, Egyptians called themselves the cattle of Re Thoth, another Egyptian deity, the god of wisdom, was associated with the moon As the sun vanished from the sky, Thoth was considered to have banished the darkness with his light.
The ninth plague, darkness, was designed to show the Egyptians the powerlessness of these two deities When Moses stretched forth his hand, there was “thick darkness m all the land of Egypt three days” (10 22) After this plague was removed we read “Moreover the man Moses was very great m the land of Egypt, m the sight of Pharaoh’s servants, and m the sight of the people” (11:3)
The death of the firstborn
The final plague presented the greatest challenge to Egyptian mythology Images of Horus, the falcon-headed god, often depicted him with an ankh (a cross with a loop at the top), the Egyptian symbol of life, in his right hand This god was personally identified with the King, since each pharaoh ruled on earth as Horus When a pharaoh died he became Osiris and ruled the underworld while his son became the new Horus.
So while it was a personal tragedy for Pharaoh to lose his son in the last plague, he must have also lost faith m his gods How could death claim the next giver of life, his firstborn son? And would not any intelligent Egyptian lose faith m a Pharaoh (Horus) who could allow this to happen to all their firstborn?
At his final meeting with Moses, Pharaoh admits defeat “Rise up, and get you forth from among my people, both ye and the children of Israel, and go, serve the Lord, as ye have said. Also take your flocks and your herds, as ye have said, and be gone, and bless me also” (12 31,32) His gods had lost the battle with Yahweh and Egypt lay in ruins.
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