The story of the ten plagues the Lord sent on Pharaoh and his people is familiar to most of us. I’ve read it many times but not until lately had I realized that each plague pointed to a certain Egyptian deity.
We all know the story of how Moses was to lead the people of Israel out of captivity in Egypt but the Pharaoh would not let them leave.
Moses and Aaron went in to talk to the Pharaoh. God wants you to let the children of Israel leave Egypt, they told him, but the Pharaoh would not agree.
“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)
The results of the Egyptian king’s stubbornness were disastrous. If I had been sitting on the throne, I believe I would gladly have let the Israelites leave after the first plague, never mind the next nine.
The first plague was turning all the water, rivers, streams, everything to blood. The Nile River was the blood stream of the Egyptian god Hapi. What a shock to go for a drink of water or take a bath and find blood.
The next plague was millions of frogs. These little hopping amphibians were everywhere, in the food, on the ground, in the beds. The people couldn’t walk without stepping on the croaking, hopping, bug-eyed frogs. I can only imagine the noise. The frogs were related to fertility and the Egyptian goddess Heqt.
Next came lice. Seb was the Egyptian’s earth god but Seb could not stop the lice from infesting everyone and everything.
Flies were the fourth plague. Can you imagine? Uatchit was Egypt’s fly god, but he could not stop the millions of flies from invading the land.
Still, Pharaoh would not yield. He refused to allow Moses to lead his people to freedom.
Fifthly, the livestock were affected with disease and died. Four Egyptian gods including Mnevis and Amon were considered to be the gods of the livestock.
The sixth plague was boils. Sekhmet was the goddess of epidemics while Serapis and Imhotep were the gods of healing. The Egyptian magicians were so ill they could not even appear in court.
Next came a deluge of hail, smiting everything beneath the deadly rain. Several gods and goddesses were supposedly in charge of the atmosphere including Isis, Nut, and Shu but they had no power at all against the God of Israel.
Swarms of locusts darkened the sky, settling on trees, grass, flowers, crops, anything that could be eaten by the devastating insects. Serapia was to protect the Egyptians from this menace but could not.
During all these plagues, Pharaoh would nearly relent. His conscience must have been working overtime and he would confess his sin but then, his heart would harden, and he would refuse to let God’s people go. I wonder what was going on in the mind of Pharaoh? Did he think these were all just natural occurrences and were not sent from God? Did he talk to a friend or a relative or a sorcerer who gave him bad advice?
Next came the plague of darkness. Not just as we know the darkness of night, but a thick darkness, a horrifying thing. The only light in all the land of Egypt was in the houses of the Israelites. This plague lasted three days. I’m sure the Egyptians appealed to their sun god, Re and the moon god, Thoth, but these false gods couldn’t do a thing.
The last plague was the death of the firstborn. This was God’s judgment over all Egypt’s gods, including Pharaoh. We remember the story of the angel of death passing through Egypt, the blood on the doors of the Israelites to keep them safe, the first Passover. Finally, Pharaoh relented and let Moses lead the people out of bondage.
Why, on this Sunday morning, am I thinking about an ancient Bible story? I recently read more about this biblical record and thought it fascinating that in sending the plagues, God demonstrated his power and the uselessness of worshiping false gods. Only one God can save–the God of Israel. And also I am writing about it because I believe it is true.
And I believe it to be true too!
As indeed it is! Thanks for writing, Sharon.