Exodus: The Plagues

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Introduction

It has been a few months since we were in Exodus. The last time we talked about Exodus, we went through the genealogies and saw Aaron’s staff turn into a snake. This, of course, was countered by the sorcerers of Egypt who did the same. However, Aaron’s staff ended up eating the other snakes, displaying God’s power.
Now, this was only a taste of the mighty power of God because following that passage is the 10 plagues. Today we will be running through nine of them; next week we’ll talk about the last one.
Something very fascinating about these plagues is that each of them counters an Egyptian god. God is very intentional in His great acts. They are never senseless, but have deeper meaning than we can always pick up on. So that is what we will be doing over the next 30 minutes or so: examining each of the plagues and seeing what they were and why.

Plague One: Water to Blood

17 This is what the LORD says: Here is how you will know that I am the LORD. Watch. I am about to strike the water in the Nile with the staff in my hand, and it will turn to blood. 18 The fish in the Nile will die, the river will stink, and the Egyptians will be unable to drink water from it.”

The Lord’s first assault against Egypt is directed towards one of the most important parts of any thriving society: water. Namely, the Nile River. This river is essential to every Egyptian’s survival. They would do everything in this river! And so, God through Moses and Aaron transforms all of this water into blood.
It was not just the river water though; any water stored up elsewhere in Egypt was also turned into blood. Once again, this was detrimental to their society.
It is important I explain how they treated gods in polytheistic cultures. They would have a god for every aspect of their lives. Gods and goddesses over certain places, certain elements of nature; there were gods for everything. And in order to prosper in, let’s say agriculture, they had to worship a certain god for that.
Israel had been in Egypt for some 400 years at this point. It is very likely that many Hebrews had begun to mix in some worship of Egyptian gods. And so, note why God says He is doing these plagues we are going to talk about:
Then the LORD said to Moses, “Go to Pharaoh, for I have hardened his heart and the hearts of his officials so that I may do these miraculous signs of mine among them,, 2 and so that you may tell your son and grandson how severely I dealt with the Egyptians and performed miraculous signs among them, and you will know that I am the LORD.”
God hardens Pharaoh’s heart over and over and over so that you, the Hebrews, will know that He is the One True God. These plagues were to wake up the Hebrews as much as they were to wake up the Egyptians and decimate them.
Hapi
All that being said, this first god is the god of the Nile River: Hapi. Hapi was also known as the god of fertility. Egyptians would present him offerings annually in order to have a fertile year with their crops and their family.
As miraculous as this plague is, the occult magicians were able to mimic it, but it doesn’t say they could stop it. This emphasizes Satan’s power being only a poor shadow of the mighty power of God.
Water to Wine
The Lord Jesus Christ as His first miracle did something similar. Rather than it being a plague, though, He does this miracle to help a wedding. He turns water into wine in John 2:1-12. In complete contrast, Jesus, the same God who enacted these plagues, when He came in the flesh would perform a similar miracle but for the opposite effect. Rather than to decimate a nation, Jesus turned water to wine to celebrate the union of a couple.
This points to the wrath and grace of our God. He is not different between the Old and New Testaments; rather, He is the same, and we are seeing different attributes of Him.
Our God is Just and Wrathful.
This doesn’t mean He is constantly looking for someone to squash with His thumb. Rather, this is pointing to His justice. God hates evil. Being the source of light and all things good, God destroys all evil. We see this in His complete destruction of Egypt. The book of Hebrews notes that it is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of an angry God. We cannot have this childish, incomplete view of God. We cannot neglect the truth of His wrath.
Our God is Gracious and Kind
Even in the midst of God being just and wrathful, our God is also gracious and kind. Even throughout the Old Testament, where many spout God is only angry and wrathful, there is account after account of God’s grace and mercy and kindness being shown. He has never been lacking in these. He is them eternally and always.

Plague Two: Frogs

Let my people go, so that they may worship me. 2 But if you refuse to let them go, then I will plague all your territory with frogs. 3 The Nile will swarm with frogs; they will come up and go into your palace, into your bedroom and on your bed, into the houses of your officials and your people, and into your ovens and kneading bowls. 4 The frogs will come up on you, your people, and all your officials.”

This seems like a strange discomfort, but it would certainly be obnoxious. Frogs are loud and annoying. And this isn’t just a few frogs, this is heaps and heaps of frogs. We know this because after the Lord ceases the plague and the frogs died, the bible says:

13 The LORD did as Moses had said: the frogs in the houses, courtyards, and fields died. 14 They piled them in countless heaps, and there was a terrible odor in the land. 15 But when Pharaoh saw there was relief, he hardened his heart and would not listen to them, as the LORD had said.

Nonetheless, Pharaoh hardens his heart again towards Israel. Despite God graciously providing him relief, he still says no. We also see the occult magicians mimic this plague; however, once again, they are unable to stop it, only replicate.
Heqet
The god that this attacks is Heqet, the goddess of the frogs. The worship of frogs actually one of the oldest cults of Egypt. They believed frog gods and goddesses to have a major role in the creation of the world.
There was an annual flooding of the Nile River which led to a great increase in frogs— many saw this as a sign of blessing for fertility as well. However, the Egyptians do not have that reaction here. God almost twisted what they saw as a blessing of their false gods to be a curse.
And in the end, God kills all the frogs, further attacking their worship of frogs.

Plague Three: Gnats

16 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Tell Aaron: Stretch out your staff and strike the dust of the land, and it will become gnats throughout the land of Egypt.” 17 And they did this. Aaron stretched out his hand with his staff, and when he struck the dust of the land, gnats were on people and animals. All the dust of the land became gnats throughout the land of Egypt. 18 The magicians tried to produce gnats using their occult practices, but they could not. The gnats remained on people and animals.

Now we see the Plague of Gnats which comes from dust. Gnats are very annoying already in small swarms. One of this size would be sheer torture.
This is when we see the magicians fail to even replicate the plague. They can’t even mimic it. In fact, in their failing, the sorcerers confess

19 “This is the finger of God,” the magicians said to Pharaoh. But Pharaoh’s heart was hard, and he would not listen to them, as the LORD had said.

The enemy’s power only goes so far. Even the pagans, at some point when facing off against God, will confess God’s great power. They cannot help it. Even though his own occult practitioners were convinced, Pharaoh still was not.
Geb
The god that is attacked through this plague is Geb the god of earth. This is an attack at Geb because the Lord uses dust of the earth to bring about the gnats who torture the Egyptian people. Once again, this is a twisting of what they know about their false gods.

Plague Four: Flies

Let my people go, so that they may worship me. 21 But if you will not let my people go, then I will send swarms of flies against you, your officials, your people, and your houses. The Egyptians’ houses will swarm with flies, and so will the land where they live. 22 But on that day I will give special treatment to the land of Goshen, where my people are living; no flies will be there. This way you will know that I, the LORD, am in the land. 23 I will make a distinction between my people and your people. This sign will take place tomorrow.”

Similar to the last, but certainly different—the Lord sends flies to Egypt. This is the first plague we don’t see the magicians at all. It seems they have completely given up on trying. This is also the first time we see the Hebrews exempt from the plague.
The purpose of exempting Israel, from here on through the rest of the plagues, is to show further this is God doing these plagues. It is important to the Lord that Egypt understand the difference in being an enemy to God and a man or woman of God.
Now gnats are very annoying, but flies are just bigger gnats. Even more invasive. More enveloping.
This is the first time we see Pharaoh almost let Israel go, but changes his mind. He takes the grace of God and takes advantage of it.

28 Pharaoh responded, “I will let you go and sacrifice to the LORD your God in the wilderness, but don’t go very far. Make an appeal for me.”

29 “As soon as I leave you,” Moses said, “I will appeal to the LORD, and tomorrow the swarms of flies will depart from Pharaoh, his officials, and his people. But Pharaoh must not act deceptively again by refusing to let the people go and sacrifice to the LORD.” 30 Then Moses left Pharaoh’s presence and appealed to the LORD. 31 The LORD did as Moses had said: He removed the swarms of flies from Pharaoh, his officials, and his people; not one was left. 32 But Pharaoh hardened his heart this time also and did not let the people go.

Quick Application
We are going to see Pharaoh take advantage of God’s grace several times. I think it is important to stop and point this out—we do this too still. We see that God relents from our condemnation and destruction and we go and sin again. This cannot be. We cannot be people who take advantage of God’s grace, nor the grace of our brothers and sisters in Christ.
Everyday we are alive is by the grace of God. We are quite literally breathing in and out God’s grace. Don’t, then, use your breath and time to sin against the Lord. And when you do, be quick to seek forgiveness and repent.
Uachit
The god under attack is Uachit, the Fly god. This is seen as a god of protection. Once again, flipping the god’s role on Egypt to be what attacks them.

Plague Five: Death of Livestock

Let my people go, so that they may worship me. 2 But if you refuse to let them go and keep holding them, 3 then the LORD’s hand will bring a severe plague against your livestock in the field—the horses, donkeys, camels, herds, and flocks. 4 But the LORD will make a distinction between the livestock of Israel and the livestock of Egypt, so that nothing of all that the Israelites own will die.” 5 And the LORD set a time, saying, “Tomorrow the LORD will do this thing in the land.” 6 The LORD did this the next day. All the Egyptian livestock died, but none among the Israelite livestock died.

Yet another detrimental plague to Egypt. Livestock (horses, donkeys, camels, herds, and flocks) were used for labor and food. For them to all drop dead would lead to a famine in the land, especially after plague eight.
We see God exempt Israel again, but we also see the Pharaoh still doesn’t care.
Hathor
This would be a direct attack on the goddess of love, Hathor. Hathor had the head of a cow.

Plague Six: Boils

“Take handfuls of furnace soot, and Moses is to throw it toward heaven in the sight of Pharaoh. 9 It will become fine dust over the entire land of Egypt. It will become festering boils on people and animals throughout the land of Egypt.”

The plagues have all indirectly hurt the Egyptian people, but this plague is directly on the people of Egypt. All of them had these disgusting boils. They were without water, their land smelled horrible, much of their meat was gone, and now they could barely move around.
The magicians show back up only to fail again because the boils were too much. Pharaoh did not care. Despite these great attacks on his people, Pharaoh was not willing to relent. The following plagues grow in their severity.
Isis
Isis was the goddess of medicine and healing. She was one of the most powerful goddesses in the Egyptian faith. She was essentially a queen. Yet, God rendered this false goddess powerless as He inflicted disease on Isis’s people.

Plague Seven: Hail

Let my people go, so that they may worship me. 14 For this time I am about to send all my plagues against you, your officials, and your people. Then you will know there is no one like me on the whole earth. 15 By now I could have stretched out my hand and struck you and your people with a plague, and you would have been obliterated from the earth. 16 However, I have let you live for this purpose: to show you my power and to make my name known on the whole earth. 17 You are still acting arrogantly against my people by not letting them go. 18 Tomorrow at this time I will rain down the worst hail that has ever occurred in Egypt from the day it was founded until now. 19 Therefore give orders to bring your livestock and all that you have in the field into shelters. Every person and animal that is in the field and not brought inside will die when the hail falls on them.”

Hail in certain sizes can kill and destroy. This hail would have truly destroyed everything. Yet, we see immense grace from God. He warns them ahead of time and gives the people a chance to hide their servants inside and any leftover animals. Some were wise to listen, but many were not so wise.
This plague was so bad that it led Pharaoh to try to repent.

27 Pharaoh sent for Moses and Aaron. “I have sinned this time,” he said to them. “The LORD is the righteous one, and I and my people are the guilty ones. 28 Make an appeal to the LORD. There has been enough of God’s thunder and hail. I will let you go; you don’t need to stay any longer.”

Once again, Pharaoh takes advantage of God’s grace and still doesn’t let His people go, even after God stops the storm.
Seth
Surprising enough, there was a god of storms and chaos named Seth. Once again, this would be a direct attack on this god.

Plague Eight: Locusts

How long will you refuse to humble yourself before me? Let my people go, that they may worship me. 4 But if you refuse to let my people go, then tomorrow I will bring locusts into your territory. 5 They will cover the surface of the land so that no one will be able to see the land. They will eat the remainder left to you that escaped the hail; they will eat every tree you have growing in the fields. 6 They will fill your houses, all your officials’ houses, and the houses of all the Egyptians—something your fathers and grandfathers never saw since the time they occupied the land until today.” Then he turned and left Pharaoh’s presence.

Locusts are these bugs that pretty much eat every single plant that is in their sight. They eat and destroy. Many of their crops have already been destroyed from the hail, but this will guarantee them a famine.
We now see Pharaoh willing to let the able-bodied men go, but not their families. Why do you think that is? He is worried they will never come back. He doesn’t trust God to hold to His Word. This doesn’t go well for Pharaoh. After going back and forth, the Lord still sends the locusts and it says they

covered the surface of the whole land so that the land was black, and they consumed all the plants on the ground and all the fruit on the trees that the hail had left. Nothing green was left on the trees or the plants in the field throughout the land of Egypt.

Osiris
The god Osiris is the god of the underworld—he is accredited with growth and vegetation. So the destruction of the rest of their vegetation and crops would be a direct attack on him. Once again, they are now in a famine.

Plague Nine: Darkness

“Stretch out your hand toward heaven, and there will be darkness over the land of Egypt, a darkness that can be felt.” 22 So Moses stretched out his hand toward heaven, and there was thick darkness throughout the land of Egypt for three days. 23 One person could not see another, and for three days they did not move from where they were. Yet all the Israelites had light where they lived.

Down to tonight’s final plague, but the second to last plague—darkness. The darkness is heavy. This reminds of a time I was in a cave deep and they turned off the lights. We got to experience absolute darkness. It was so heavy, you couldn’t see your hand in front of you.
Pharaoh was almost convinced, but this time wouldn’t let them take their livestock. He wanted to keep Israel’s livestock, likely, to help recover from the famine. But Moses rejects this offer because they need to livestock for food and sacrifices. And so, one last time, Pharaoh hardens his heart and forces them to stay. This will be the last conversation Moses and Pharaoh have. Pharaoh is enraged with Moses and God and they argue. But the next plague will silence Pharaoh; that is, until his pride puffs up and leads him to his death.
Ra
This is clearly an attack on one of the most well-known Egyptian gods, Ra. He is the god of the sun. He was known as the most powerful of all Egyptian gods. Yet again, the One True God makes Ra known to be an impotent fake god. One of nothing. God has proved each and every god and goddess of Egypt to be futile and nothing at all. He is shown them all to be false.
Resurrection
This plague is so obviously reminiscent of another moment in Scripture much much later.
Luke 23:44–46 CSB
It was now about noon, and darkness came over the whole land until three, because the sun’s light failed. The curtain of the sanctuary was split down the middle. And Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Father, into your hands I entrust my spirit.” Saying this, he breathed his last.
When Jesus Christ breathed His last breath, darkness came over the land. While the darkness passed later this day, the true spiritual darkness of the lack of Christ did not pass for three days. But, in the end, the darkness did pass. Jesus Christ, Sunday morning, rose from the dead.
Here in Exodus, this darkness took place before something horrible—the death of the firstborns throughout Egypt. The next time such a darkness would happen, would be during the death of the firstborn Son of God. God doing these 10 plagues against Egypt certainly demonstrate His power well; but nothing demonstrates God’s power more than when Jesus Christ resurrected from the grave.

Application

What can we learn from all these plagues?
Our God is the same Mighty, Powerful God as He was then
Our God reigns over all false gods we worship
Our God’s grace must not be taken advantage of
Our God never leaves us in darkness
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