What was the meaning and purpose of the ten plagues of Egypt?

Response

The Ten Plagues of Egypt—also referred to as the Ten Plagues, the Plagues of Egypt, or the Biblical Plagues—are detailed in Exodus 7—12. These plagues were ten calamities inflicted upon Egypt by God to persuade Pharaoh to release the Israelite slaves who had suffered in Egypt for 400 years. When God sent Moses to free the Israelites from slavery in Egypt, He pledged to display His miracles as proof of Moses’ authority “And I will stretch out my hand, and strike Egypt with all my wonders which I will do in its midst: and after that he will let you go.”, (Exodus 3:20). This proof served at least two purposes: to demonstrate to the Israelites that the God of their ancestors was alive and deserving of their worship (Exodus 6:6–8;12:25–27) and to show the Egyptians that their gods were powerless (Exodus 7:5;Exodus 12:12;Numbers 33:4).

The Israelites had been in bondage in Egypt for approximately 400 years and during that period had lost faith in the God of their ancestors. They acknowledged His existence and worshiped Him, but they questioned whether He could, or would, free them from their enslavement. The Egyptians, similar to many pagan societies, worshiped various nature-gods and credited them with the natural events they observed in the world. They had a god for the sun, the river, childbirth, crops, and so on. Occurrences like the annual flooding of the Nile, which fertilized

ized their croplands, were evidences of their gods’ powers and goodwill. When Moses approached Pharaoh, demanding that he let the people go, Pharaoh responded by 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” «And Pharaoh said, 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). Thus began the challenge to show whose God was more powerful.

The first plague, turning the Nile to blood, was a judgment against Apis, the god of the Nile, Isis, the goddess of the Nile, and Khnum, the guardian of the Nile. The Nile was also believed to be the bloodstream of Osiris, who was reborn each year when the river flooded. The river, which formed the basis of daily life and the national economy, was devastated, as millions of fish died in the river and the water was unusable. Pharaoh was told, “By this you will know that I am the LORD” «Thus saith the LORD, In this thou shalt know that I am the LORD: behold, I will smite with the rod that is in mine hand upon the waters which are in the river, and they shall be turned to blood. », (Exodus 7:17).

The second plague, bringing frogs from the Nile, was a judgment against Heqet, the frog-headed goddess of birth. Frogs were thought to be sacred and not to be killed. God had the frogs invade every part of the homes of the Egyptians, and when the frogs died, their stinking bodies were heaped up in offensive piles all through the land (Exodus 8:13-14).

The third plague, gnats, was a judgment on Set, the god of the desert. Unlike the previous plagues, the magicians were unable to duplicate this one and declared to Pharaoh, “This is the finger of God” «Then the magic

Ians said unto Pharaoh, “This is the finger of God,” and Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, and he hearkened not unto them, as the LORD had said.” (Exodus 8:19).

The fourth plague, flies, was a judgment on Uatchit, the fly god. In this plague, God clearly distinguished between the Israelites and the Egyptians, as no swarms of flies bothered the areas where the Israelites lived. (Exodus 8:21-24).

The fifth plague, the death of livestock, was a judgment on the goddess Hathor and the god Apis, who were both depicted as cattle. As with the previous plague, God protected His people from the plague, while the cattle of the Egyptians died. God was steadily destroying the economy of Egypt, while showing His ability to protect and provide for those who obeyed Him. Pharaoh even sent investigators, “And Pharaoh sent, and, behold, there was not one of the cattle of the Israelites dead. And the heart of Pharaoh was hardened, and he did not let the people go.” (Exodus 9:7) to find out if the Israelites were suffering along with the Egyptians, but the result was a hardening of his heart against the Israelites.

The sixth plague, boils, was a judgment against several gods over health and disease (Sekhmet, Sunu, and Isis). This time, the Bible says that the magicians “could not stand before Moses because of the boils.” Clearly, these religious leaders were powerless against the God of Israel.

Before God sent the last three plagues, Pharaoh was given a special message from God. These plagues would be more severe than the others, and they were designed to convince Pharaoh and all the people “that there is none like me in all the earth,” “For I will at this time send all my plagues upon thine heart, and upon thy servants, and upon thy people; that thou may” (Exodus 9:14).

It is known that there is none like me in all the earth., (Exodus 9:14). Pharaoh was even told that he was placed in his position by God, so that God could show His power and declare His name throughout all the earth “And in very deed for this cause have I raised thee up, to show in thee my power; and that my name may be declared throughout all the earth.”, (Exodus 9:16). As an example of His grace, God warned Pharaoh to gather whatever cattle and crops remained from the previous plagues and shelter them from the coming storm. Some of Pharaoh’s servants heeded the warning “He that feared the word of the LORD among the servants of Pharaoh made his servants and his cattle flee into the houses:”, (Exodus 9:20), while others did not. The seventh plague, hail, attacked Nut, the sky goddess; Osiris, the crop fertility god; and Set, the storm god. This hail was unlike any that had been seen before. It was accompanied by fire which ran along the ground, and everything left out in the open was devastated by the hail and fire. Again, the children of Israel were miraculously protected, and no hail damaged anything in their lands.

Before God brought the next plague, He told Moses that the Israelites would be able to tell their children of the things they had seen God do in Egypt and how it showed them God’s power. The eighth plague, locusts, again focused on Nut, Osiris, and Set. The later crops, wheat and rye, which had survived the hail, were now devoured by the swarms of locusts. There would be no harvest in Egypt that year.

The ninth plague, darkness, was aimed at the sun god, Re, who was symbolized by Pharaoh himself. For three days, the land of Egypt was smothered with an unearthly darkness, but the homes of the Israelites had light.

The tenth and final plague, the death of the firstborn males, was a judgment on Isis, the protector of children. In this plague, God was teaching the Israelites a profound spiritual lesson that pointed to Christ. Unlike the other plagues, which the Israelites survived by virtue of their identity as God’s people, this plague required an act of faith from them. God commanded each family to take an unblemished male lamb and sacrifice it. The lamb’s blood was to be spread on the top and sides of their doorframes, and the lamb was to be roasted and consumed that night. Any family that did not obey God’s instructions would suffer in the final plague. God explained how He would send the destroyer through the land of Egypt, with instructions to kill the firstborn male in every household, whether human or animal. The only protection was the lamb’s blood on the door. When the destroyer saw the blood, he would pass over that house and spare it “For the LORD will pass through to smite the Egyptians; and when he seeth the blood upon the lintel, and on the two side posts, the LORD will pass over the door, and will not suffer the destroyer to come in unto your houses to smite you.”, (Exodus 12:23). This is the origin of the term Passover. Passover commemorates that night in ancient Egypt when God rescued His people from slavery. First Corinthians 5:7 teaches that Jesus became our Passover when He died to free us from the slavery of sin. While the Israelites found God’s protection in their homes, every other home in Egypt experienced God’s wrath as their family members died. This tragic event led Pharaoh to finally release the Israelites.

By the time the Israelites departed Egypt, they had a clear understanding of God’s power, protection, and purpose for them. For those who were willing to believe, they had compelling evidence that they served the true and living God. Unfortunately, many still refused to believe,

Which led to other trials and lessons by God. The outcome for the Egyptians and the other ancient people of the region was a fear of the God of Israel. Even after the tenth plague, Pharaoh once again hardened his heart and sent his chariots after the Israelites. When God opened a way through the Red Sea for the Israelites, then drowned all of Pharaoh’s armies there, the power of Egypt was crushed, and the fear of God spread through the surrounding nations (Joshua 2:9-11). This was the very purpose that God had declared at the beginning. We can still look back on these events today to confirm our faith in, and our fear of, this true and living God, the Judge of all the earth.