The Structure of the Ten Plagues

Scripture reading: Exodus 4:21

Exodus 4:21 ESV

21 And the Lord said to Moses, “When you go back to Egypt, see that you do before Pharaoh all the miracles that I have put in your power. But I will harden his heart, so that he will not let the people go.

Intro: The meaning of structure.

Before we talk about the structure’s meaning, we need to first talk about the meaning of structure. What does it mean for something to have a structure?

*SHOW SLIDE*

Let’s say you’re walking in the desert, and you come across a huge structure like the Eiffel tower. What are some conclusions you can make?

First, you might ask yourself. Did this tower come about through evolution? Did it evolve naturally from the sand and rocks? And your answer would be no. Someone built this, and that person must be two things. Smart and strong. Smart enough to design a tower. Strong enough to build it.

And after that, you think to yourself. Who would invest the time, effort, and resources to build this tower? There must have been a purpose.

Now, the same thing applies to the Ten Plagues.

*SHOW SLIDE*

Some people look at the Ten Plagues, and they say it was a bunch of natural disasters and unfortunate coincidences. Is that true? If so, then it would most definitely lack one thing: structure.

And as we will see, the structure of the ten plagues shows us the plan, power, and purpose of God.

Exodus 9:15–16 ESV

15 For by now I could have put out my hand and struck you and your people with pestilence, and you would have been cut off from the earth. 16 But for this purpose I have raised you up, to show you my power, so that my name may be proclaimed in all the earth.

Egypt was the most powerful nation at the time. But God doesn’t just destroy Egypt in one shot. He dismantles Egypt, piece by piece. Like those movie scenes where the guy dismantles the gun of the bad guy.

When we get angry, we often do things that embarrass us, things we later come to regret.

But with God, His anger results in His glory. Even in His judgement upon Egypt, God’s wrath isn’t chaotic like ours. His anger doesn’t get the better of Him.

And we know this because of the structure of the ten plagues.

Do you remember the ten plagues?

Blood

Frogs

Gnats

Flies

Pestilence

Boils

Hail

Locusts

Darkness

Firstborn

Rev. Abraham Park saw three ways to understand the structure of the ten plagues.

Structure according to indirect and direct plagues

Indirect and direct plagues 9-1

First 9 plagues can be divided into three groups.

First and second plagues of each group came with a prior warning.

First plague of each group (blood, flies, hail) were foretold early in the morning.

Blood (Ex. 7:15)

Flies (Ex. 8:20)

Hail (Ex. 9:13)

Second plague of each group (frogs, pestilence, locusts) demonstrated the perfect timing of the Lord.

Frogs (Ex. 8:9-10)

Pestilence (Ex. 9:5-6)

Locusts (Ex. 10:4)

From this we see God’s power to carry out His plan at His exact timing. He’s never out of breath or in a rush. He’s in perfect control.

Third plagues of each group (gnats, boils, darkness) occurred without any warning.

Gnats (Ex. 8:16-17)

Boils (Ex. 9:8-10)

Darkness (Ex. 10:21-22)

God Himself directly executed the tenth plague. And it is only on the tenth plague that human beings were directly put to death.

The first nine plagues were chances given by God to repent. But the final judgement was delivered by God Himself.

Structure according to type of plague

If we group the plagues into pairs, we see similar characteristics in each group.

Plagues on the river (1-2)

Plagues of living creatures (3-4)

Plagues of disease (5-6)

Plagues of natural disasters (7-8)

Plagues of death (9-10)

The first and fifth groups are related to the firstborn. The plague of blood and frogs was God’s judgement on the river, where the Egyptians drowned countless Hebrew boys (Ex. 1:22). The stench from the plague of frogs foreshadowed the stench of death that would spread throughout Egypt as a result of the tenth plague, which took place in the darkness of night (Ex. 8:14).

Structure according to affected areas

If we see things from the perspective of the affected areas, we see another structure in a 1-4-4-1 pattern.

Nile river (1)

Land (2-5)

Sky (6-9)

Sky and land (10).

Pharaoh was perceived as a god. And so from the Egyptian’s perspective, God’s judgement upon Pharaoh’s household was like a judgement upon heaven. And from Pharaoh’s firstborn to the firstborn of the captive in the dungeon, even the firstborn of their animals. All died by the angel of death.

Conclusion

In conclusion, what can we learn from this structure?

First, we learn about the character of God.

God doesn’t do things spontaneously. To be spontaneous means to change your mind about what you planned to do originally. It means to change the plan.

And that’s good news to us.

Because if God was spontaneous, He might save you at first, but change His mind at the last minute and decide to condemn you. He might talk about His plan in the Bible, but His actions may not match. Is that our God? No. He doesn’t lose His temper and suddenly change the plan.

Where’s this in the Bible?

Malachi 3:6 ESV

6 “For I the Lord do not change; therefore you, O children of Jacob, are not consumed.

So we can trust the Bible because God isn’t spontaneous. He always acts according to plan, and His plan doesn’t change, nor does it fail. And the proof of all this is in the structure of His redemptive work, which includes the ten plagues.

Second, we learn about our sanctification.

These plagues were God’s judgements upon the false idols of Egypt. Things that they considered more important than God. From a spiritual perspective, that is the wrong structure. It goes against the original design that God had for humankind. The Bible calls this unrighteousness or corruption.

And when the ten plagues came upon Egypt, only the land of Goshen was not affected. Why? Because it was the land of God’s people. Those people were the ones holding on to God’s covenant, and through those people came the Messiah.

Now, in our hearts, we may have idols. But we also have the seed of God’s Word. And like how the Egyptians sought to kill off the Israelites, these idols want to kill the seed.

Ezekiel 14:3 ESV

3 “Son of man, these men have taken their idols into their hearts, and set the stumbling block of their iniquity before their faces. Should I indeed let myself be consulted by them?

Mark 4:19 ESV

19 but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it proves unfruitful.

So in order to preserve the godly seed, God brings us through trials and tribulations, to tear down our idols and make us hold on to His Word.

Sometimes, like the first and second group, the plague comes with a warning. Somebody warns you to stop doing that sin, stop living that way. You don’t listen. And then the plague comes and you suffer a lot.

Other times, there’s no warning. All of a sudden, that thing you treasured so much is taken away. Whether it’s comfort or money, business or family.

Whatever it is, please know that God does this with a structure, an order, and a plan. It is His own history of redemption for you. And although it hurts a lot, He will do what needs to be done in order to save us.

Third, we learn about our victory.

Finally, the first nine plagues were carried out by God’s representatives, who were Aaron and Moses.

Aaron carried out the first three plagues, and Moses carried out the fourth to ninth plagues. And God Himself executed the tenth plague, which brought the final victory to the Israelites.

So in this, we can see the victory of the one who represents God. Who is that today? That’s us. As the representatives of God in this fallen world, we are also fighting the battle against the forces of darkness that seek to enslave us to idols. And just as Aaron and Moses triumphed by God’s power, we also will have the final victory. Not by our might or our strength, but by following God’s Word through faith.

So let us persevere in faith and obedience, knowing that we will have victory in the end, according to the Lord’s perfect timing. Amen?