The 10 Plagues Of Egypt vs The False Gods of Egypt

The 10 Plagues Of Egypt vs The False Gods of Egypt

Why 10 Plagues?

Here is a brief recap of the story of the ten plagues of Egypt to refresh your memory before breaking down each of the ten plagues. In Exodus 7-12 we read about the 10 Plagues of Egypt that God sent to convince the Pharaoh to let the Israelite slaves free. The Israelites endured 400 years of torture and oppression while enslaved in Egypt. God appointed Moses to be the vessel in which God would free the Israelites and glorify himself through the supernatural display of the 10 plagues.

God did two significant things by sending the 10 plagues upon Egypt. God was putting the Egyptian false gods to an open shame, displaying his majesty over all. God was also reminding his people, the Israelites, that he was still able and willing to illustrate his eminent power for his people. Throughout the 400 years of bondage, the Israelites lost all their hope and faith in God. The Israelites believed God would never deliver them out of the hands of the Pharaoh.

Egypt’s Rebellion and Idol Worship

Like many cities of the bible, the people who lived there rebelled against God worshiping false gods and idols created by man. The Egyptians were no different; they worshiped and revered a variety of idols, each serving a purpose or representing something vital in their lives. The Egyptians served gods of fertility, crops, the sun and more. The Egyptians used their gods as reasoning to interpret the things that transpired around and to them. Every year the Nile river would flood and it would nourish and fertilize the crops, offering an abundant harvest. The Egyptians concluded that events like this were evidence of their god’s pleasure with their worship.

Calling Out False God’s

God sent Moses to Egypt to tell the Pharaoh to let the Israelites go. With tremendous pride Pharaoh questioned Moses saying, “Who is the Lord that I should obey his voice to let Israel go? I know not the Lord, neither will I let Israel go.” Exodus 5:2. This act of defiance by the Pharaoh began the releasing of the 10 plagues sent to challenge the Egyptians false gods.

1. Plague of Blood-The first plague Moses demonstrated was turning the Nile river, the Egyptian’s primary source of survival, into blood. This plague was a charge against the false god of the Nile, Hapi (god of the Nile). This plague devastated Egypt, as the fish died off and the water was unusable. While undoubtedly the Egyptians cried out to Hapi, it was evident his help was nowhere to be found.

2. Plague of Frogs– The second plague sent by God to Egypt was frogs pouring out of the Nile and into the towns. The Egyptians believed frogs were sacred because Heqet the frog headed Egyptian (goddess of fertility and childbirth). The frogs were everywhere and engulfed everything, but once the hordes of frogs died off their carcasses that filled the streets were gathered by the Egyptians and put into heaping piles throughout the city. The piles left to decompose in the scorching sun left an overwhelming putrid smell throughout the entire area.

3. Plague of Lice-The third plague was sent out as judgment on Geb (god of earth). This was the first plague the magicians of Egypt could not recreate with their demonic powers. This humbled the magicians, they proclaimed to the Pharaoh that this could only be the work of God.

4. Plague of Flies-The fourth plague exposed the obvious distinction between God’s people and the Egyptians who rebelled against him. God sent out a swarming plague of flies, which was a judgment against the fly god, Kheper (god of beetles and flies).Only the Egyptians were overtaken by the swarming flies. The flies didn’t bother the areas where the Israelites were.

5. Plague of Pestilence-The fifth plague was the killing off of all the Egyptian’s livestock. God aimed this plague towards Apis (sacred bull) and Hathor (goddess of love and protection). God once again revealed his ability to take down Pharaohs kingdom while simultaneously blessing his people. The suspicions of this led Pharaoh to send out investigators to see if the Israelites were also losing all of their livestock. Realizing that Gods people were not affected but protected from the plague enraged the Pharaoh, hardening his heart towards God’s people.

6. Plague of Boils-The sixth plague sent by God brought down several gods and goddess of Egypt who were responsible for health and healing. Isis being the goddess of medicine, Imhotep a physician god as well as Serapis and Thoth deities of magic and healing.God caused boils to cover the bodies of the Egyptians. This was another plague that the Pharaoh’s magicians could not duplicate. Once again proving the God of Israel was the one true God.

God being just and merciful warned Pharaoh before sending out the last 3 plagues upon Egypt. The warning issued to Pharaoh instructed him to gather any livestock and crops that have not been completely destroyed by the previous plagues. God informed the Pharaoh that the final 3 plagues would be more severe than all the others. God would use the last 3 plagues to reveal his power and glorify himself before all the Egyptians in the land.

7. Plague of Hail– The seventh plague and the first of the most severe was a hailstorm like no other. This plague of hail was a judgment against the goddess of the sky, Nut. The hail along with raging fire destroyed everything in sight. The impact of the hail demolished anything left unprotected, while the fire burned everything in its path. God showed his people once again how he would fight for them.  The Israelites were left unscathed, along with all of their land being left unaffected by the hail and fire.

8. Plague of Locust– The eighth plague was swarms of locusts sent out to devour any remaining crops in Egypt. This plague again focused a direct assault against the false god, Seth (god of crops). The locusts ate everything in sight, destroying all the Egyptian’s crops.

9. Plague of Darkness-The ninth plague was a direct judgment against the very popular sun god Ra. God sent darkness to cover the land for 3 days. The darkness that descended on Egypt was unlike nightfall experienced here on earth. This darkness was different, it was as if everything it touched had been swallowed up by the blackness. However, the Israelites did not suffer through the 3 days of darkness. God ensured that the homes of his people had light.

10. Death of Firstborn-The final plague, the tenth one, was the most severe of them all. The death of all firstborn males. This was a personalized judgment against Pharaoh and the Egyptians. Yet Pharaoh could not protect any of the Egyptian first-born sons from this plague. God instructed his people to take an unblemished male lamb and sacrifice it. Then they were to use the blood of the lamb to cover their doorways. This was so when the angel of death saw the blood, he would pass over their homes, leaving God’s people unharmed. This is where the term Passover derived from.

God told the Israelite’s to cook and eat the remaining lamb during the night. This was an act of faith for God’s people and all who obeyed were left untouched by the angel of death. But to any Israelite who did not obey, suffered the same fate as the Egyptians.

While God delivered His people out of bondage, he continued to reveal His ultimate power and divinity. The Israelites now had a clear picture of what God could do for them. The aftermath of the plagues left many Egyptians to deal with the fact that their gods couldn’t save them. Talk amongst the people told of the God of Israel and how he protected and fought for his people. Even with all God did, there were still people that didn’t believe, the ones who did, followed God’s way out of Egypt. 

Sources

Ten Egyptian Plagues For Ten Egyptian God and Goddesses