January 21, 2010 - Nine Plagues

Meditation on Exodus 7-10

God punished Pharaoh and the Egyptians with plagues because Pharaoh refused to let God's people go to worship Him. These were terrible plagues with devastating consequences. Each of the plagues was aim to destroy not only the land of Egypt but also the gods of Egypt. The Life Walk devotional magazine published by Life Way Press is the guide that we encourage our readers to follow in their daily Bible reading. In its current issue, it listed the plagues that correspond to the many gods of the Egyptians as follows.

1. The River Nile turned to blood. (Exodus 7:14-25) Nile itself was their god. (Khnum, Hapi, and Osiris)

2. Frogs came upon the land. (Exodus 8:1-15) (Hapi and Heqt - frog god and goddess)

3. Dust and gnats. (Exodus 8:16-19) (Seb- earth god)

4. Swarms of flies. (Exodus 8:20-32) (Uatchit- fly god)

5. Death of Domestic animals. (Exodus 9:1-7) (Ptah, Hathor, Mnevis, Amon- gods associated with bulls and cows)

6. Boils (Exodus 9:8-12) (Sekhmet- goddess of epidemics; Serapis and Imhotep- gods of healing)

7. Hail (Exodus 9:18-26) (Nut- sky goddess; Isis and Seth- agricultural deities; Shu- atmosphere)

8. Locusts (Exodus 10:1-20) (Serapia- protector from locusts)

9. Darkness (Exodus 10:21-29) (Re, Amon-Re, Aten, Atum, Horus, Harakte- sun gods; Thoth- moon god)

God's specific judgment upon the false gods proved that He was the only true God.

By the way, after Pharaoh hardened his heart so many times, finally the Lord hardened Pharaoh's heart. (Exodus 10:20) When a person hardens his own heart again and again and again, it may come to the point that there is no repentance possible. May God help us!