The Righter Report

The Ten Plagues of Egypt

Exodus chapters seven through twelve document the ten plagues the Lord put Egypt through in order to secure the release of the Israelites from their bondage.  It had been some four-hundred years since Joseph and his family had first sought refuge in Egypt from the famine.  But now, with Moses as “The Deliverer,” the Jews were to be set free.

Reasons for the plagues:

The sins of the Egyptians are well documented.  Not only had they placed the Israelites in slavery, but they had also engaged in idolatry (the worship of false gods), and had even ordered the murder of the Israelite’s male babies.

The king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives, whose names were Shiphrah and Puah, ¹⁶ “When you are helping the Hebrew women during childbirth on the delivery stool, if you see that the baby is a boy, kill him; but if it is a girl, let her live.” ¹⁷ The midwives, however, feared God and did not do what the king of Egypt had told them to do; they let the boys live. ¹⁸ Then the king of Egypt summoned the midwives and asked them, “Why have you done this? Why have you let the boys live?”

¹⁹ The midwives answered Pharaoh, “Hebrew women are not like Egyptian women; they are vigorous and give birth before the midwives arrive.”

²⁰ So God was kind to the midwives and the people increased and became even more numerous. ²¹ And because the midwives feared God, he gave them families of their own.

²² Then Pharaoh gave this order to all his people: “Every Hebrew boy that is born you must throw into the Nile, but let every girl live.”  –  Exodus chapter 1, NIV

It is unknown how many sons of the Israelites were ultimately killed, but undoubtedly it was many.

Interestingly, when another deliverer (Jesus) was promised to Israel, the enemies of the Israelites also killed their babies.

One other thing – we can logically conclude from scripture that, like the Amorites, there would come a time of judgment from God when the sins of the Egyptians would reach their full measure.

Then the Lord said to him, “Know for certain that for four hundred years your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own and that they will be enslaved and mistreated there. ¹⁴ But I will punish the nation they serve as slaves, and afterward they will come out with great possessions. ¹⁵ You, however, will go to your ancestors in peace and be buried at a good old age. ¹⁶ In the fourth generation your descendants will come back here, for the sin of the Amorites has not yet reached its full measure.” – Genesis 15:13-16

The Ten Plagues

The ten plagues on Egypt weren’t just happenstance.  Not only were they punishment against the Egyptians for their sins but each of the ten plagues were directed against one or more of the Egyptian “gods,” to show the people of Egypt (and Israel) that those ‘gods’ were impotent.  For instance, the first plague turned the Nile River into blood.  The Egyptian ‘god’ of the Nile was Hapi, and it soon became clear that Hapi could not stop the plague of blood.  The God of Israel was showing beyond a doubt that He was the one who ruled over the universe.

So, here are the ten plagues, and the Egyptian ‘gods” that were judged impotent:

Plague #1: Water into Blood                                            

Egyptian god attacked: Hapi  – The god of the Nile

Plague #2:  Frogs

Egyptian god attacked: Heka (Heqt or Heket) –  The god of fertility

Plague #3: Lice

Egyptian god(s) attacked: Geb /Horus – The god of the earth

Plague #4: Flies

Egyptian god attacked: Kheper (or Khepri)

Plague #5: Death of Livestock

Egyptian gods attacked:  Apis: (Sacred Bull);  Hathor: goddess of protection

Plague #6: Boils

Egyptian gods attacked:   Imhotep (physician god); Thoth (Magic and healing); Isis, goddess of medicine

Plague #7: Hail  

Egyptian god attacked: Nut – The sky goddess

Plague #8: Locusts

Egyptian god attacked: Seth – The god of crops

Plague #9: Darkness

Egyptian god attacked: Ra – The sun god, their primary god

Plague #10: First Born Killed  

Egyptian gods attacked: Pharaoh (He was considered a  god and his first born son would become a god after him); Bes – Protector of Children; Aten – Symbol of life.

Concluding remarks:

Like many things in the Bible, it pays to do one’s due-diligence and research a particular story to gain a fuller understanding of what was going on.  In Egypt, God not only delivered the Israelites from bondage, but also punished the Egyptians for their centuries of sin, and showed them that each of their so-called ‘gods’ were impotent against the Almighty God of Israel.

One other note of interest:

Evidence of the Exodus from Egypt:  http://www.bibleandscience.com/archaeology/exodus.htm

Blessings,

– The Righter Report

 

March 25, 2014 - Posted by Pete Righter | Evangelical, God, Human Interest, Theology, Theology Articles