In our reading this week we see the mighty hand of God working signs and wonders for the redemption of His people from slavery in Egypt. One consideration for us this week is that in sending the plagues God established himself as the one true God by defeating the gods of the Egyptians. Let’s walk through the plagues and the gods defeated.
The First Plague: Water turned to blood (Ex. 7:14-25)
Exodus 7:17–18 “Thus says the Lord, “By this you shall know that I am the Lord: behold, with the staff that is in my hand I will strike the water that is in the Nile, and it shall turn into blood. The fish in the Nile shall die, and the Nile will stink, and the Egyptians will grow weary of drinking water from the Nile.”
Egyptian god defeated:
The Egyptians had a god for the Nile Hapi the Egyptian god of the Nile. This Egyptian God was a water bearer.
The Second Plague: Frogs (Exodus 8:1-15)
Exodus 8:1–4 “Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go in to Pharaoh and say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord, “Let my people go, that they may serve me. But if you refuse to let them go, behold, I will plague all your country with frogs. The Nile shall swarm with frogs that shall come up into your house and into your bedroom and on your bed and into the houses of your servants and your people, and into your ovens and your kneading bowls. The frogs shall come up on you and on your people and on all your servants.”
Egyptian goddess defeated:
Heket- Egyptian Goddess of Fertility, Water, Renewal
Heket the Egyptian Goddess, had the head of a frog.
The Third Plague: Gnats (Exodus 8:16-20)
Exodus 8:16 “Then the Lord said to Moses, “Say to Aaron, ‘Stretch out your staff and strike the dust of the earth, so that it may become gnats in all the land of Egypt.’”
Egyptian god defeated:
Geb- Egyptian God of the Earth
The Egyptian God Geb, was over the dust of the earth.
The Fourth Plague: Flies (Exodus 8:20–32)
Exodus 8:20–23
“Then the Lord said to Moses, “Rise up early in the morning and present yourself to Pharaoh, as he goes out to the water, and say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord, “Let my people go, that they may serve me. 21 Or else, if you will not let my people go, behold, I will send swarms of flies on you and your servants and your people, and into your houses. And the houses of the Egyptians shall be filled with swarms of flies, and also the ground on which they stand. 22 But on that day I will set apart the land of Goshen, where my people dwell, so that no swarms of flies shall be there, that you may know that I am the Lord in the midst of the earth. 23 Thus I will put a division between my people and your people. Tomorrow this sign shall happen.”
Egyptian god defeated:
Khepri- Egyptian God of creation, movement of the Sun, rebirth.
Khepri, the Egyptian god had the head of a fly.
The Fifth Plague: Egyptian Livestock Die (Exodus 9:1-7)
Exodus 9:1–4
“Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go in to Pharaoh and say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord, the God of the Hebrews, “Let my people go, that they may serve me. For if you refuse to let them go and still hold them, behold, the hand of the Lord will fall with a very severe plague upon your livestock that are in the field, the horses, the donkeys, the camels, the herds, and the flocks. But the Lord will make a distinction between the livestock of Israel and the livestock of Egypt, so that nothing of all that belongs to the people of Israel shall die.”
Egyptian goddess defeated:
Hathor-Egyptian Goddess of Love and Protection
Usually this Egyptian Goddess was depicted with the head of a cow.
The Sixth Plague: Boils (Exodus 9:8-12)
Exodus 9:8–9
“And the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “Take handfuls of soot from the kiln, and let Moses throw them in the air in the sight of Pharaoh. 9 It shall become fine dust over all the land of Egypt, and become boils breaking out in sores on man and beast throughout all the land of Egypt.”
Egyptian goddess defeated:
Isis- Egyptian Goddess of Medicine and Peace
The Seventh Plague: Hail (Exodus 9:13-35)
Exodus 9:13–19
“Then the Lord said to Moses, “Rise up early in the morning and present yourself before Pharaoh and say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord, the God of the Hebrews, “Let my people go, that they may serve me. For this time I will send all my plagues on you yourself, and on your servants and your people, so that you may know that there is none like me in all the earth. 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. 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. You are still exalting yourself against my people and will not let them go. Behold, about this time tomorrow I will cause very heavy hail to fall, such as never has been in Egypt from the day it was founded until now. Now therefore send, get your livestock and all that you have in the field into safe shelter, for every man and beast that is in the field and is not brought home will die when the hail falls on them.”
Egyptian goddess defeated:
Nut- Egyptian Goddess of the Sky
The Eighth Plague: Locusts (Exodus 10:1-20)
Exodus 10:3–6
“So Moses and Aaron went in to Pharaoh and said to him, “Thus says the Lord, the God of the Hebrews, ‘How long will you refuse to humble yourself before me? Let my people go, that they may serve me. For if you refuse to let my people go, behold, tomorrow I will bring locusts into your country, and they shall cover the face of the land, so that no one can see the land. And they shall eat what is left to you after the hail, and they shall eat every tree of yours that grows in the field, and they shall fill your houses and the houses of all your servants and of all the Egyptians, as neither your fathers nor your grandfathers have seen, from the day they came on earth to this day.’ ” Then he turned and went out from Pharaoh
Egyptian god defeated:
Seth-Egyptian God of Storms and Disorder
Again, as with the preceding plagues, the gods of Egypt were silent. You have to wonder what their worshippers thought as they saw the devastation.
Where was the jackal-headed guardian of the fields, Anubis? Again, what about the chief agricultural god Osiris? Once more he, Isis, Seth and Neper are all defied—as are Shu, god of the air, and Amun, god of the wind.
The Ninth Plague: Darkness (Exodus 10:21-29)
Exodus 10:21–22
“Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand toward heaven, that there may be darkness over the land of Egypt, a darkness to be felt.” So Moses stretched out his hand toward heaven, and there was pitch darkness in all the land of Egypt three days.”
Egyptian god defeated:
Ra- The Sun God
The sun god variously known as Re, Ra, Atum or Aten (and sometimes Horus) had become identified with the supreme god Amun, Amon or Amen. Amon-Ra was thus considered the greatest of the gods of Egypt. He was viewed as the creator, the giver of life, who flooded the land with his energizing rays.
The Tenth Plague: Death of the firstborn (Exodus 11:1-10)
Exodus 11:4–8
“Thus says the Lord: ‘About midnight I will go out in the midst of Egypt, and every firstborn in the land of Egypt shall die, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sits on his throne, even to the firstborn of the slave girl who is behind the handmill, and all the firstborn of the cattle. There shall be a great cry throughout all the land of Egypt, such as there has never been, nor ever will be again. But not a dog shall growl against any of the people of Israel, either man or beast, that you may know that the Lord makes a distinction between Egypt and Israel.’ And all these your servants shall come down to me and bow down to me, saying, ‘Get out, you and all the people who follow you.’ And after that I will go out.” And he went out from Pharaoh in hot anger.
Egyptian god defeated:
Pharaoh
Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, was worshipped by the Egyptians because he was considered to be the greatest Egyptian God of all. It was believed that he was actually the son of Ra himself, manifest in the flesh.
Truly we serve a mighty God, worthy of all praise, the one true and loving God. May God bless your ongoing scripture reading this coming week.