Transcript The Significance of the Plagues - theCommune-ity

The Significance of
the Plagues
That None of These Diseases May Come
Upon You
Part 1
The Purpose of the
Plagues
 The purpose was duo-fold:
 To convince the Egyptians to let the
Israelites go and to confirm the existence of
only one God
 To assure the Israelites that God was
fighting for them and well able to deliver
them
The Significance of the
Plagues
 The word for “disease” in Exodus 11:1 is used
to describe the plague on the firstborn
 Pharaoh's unwillingness to grant the Hebrews
freedom was the first time a nation challenged
the power of God
 Egypt would soon learn that the people they
enslaved had a mighty God as their advocate
The Purpose of the
Plagues
 Egypt was one of the most powerful
nations on earth
 Pomp attached to their heritage and
multiple religions
 Haughty, rebellious and ungodly
The Pattern of the
Plagues
 Most of the plagues begin with the request of
Moses and Aaron
 This is followed by the plague description and
the reaction of Pharaoh and his officials.
 Sometimes Pharaoh will ask Moses to make
the plagues stop
 In other instances he partially agrees to Moses’
commands.
 In plagues 1-5 and seven the Bible says
Pharaoh hardened his own heart in plagues 6
and 8-10 God hardened Pharaoh’s heart
The Pattern of the
Plagues
 Beginning with plague four, the text
explains that none of the plagues struck
Goshen where the Israelites lived.
 Exemption is also mentioned with
reference to the fifth, seventh, ninth and
tenth plagues
 It is likely that this pattern was not
excluded in plagues six and eight also
#1 The Plague of Blood
 The waters of the Nile were critical to the
Egyptians
 It was worshipped as the god Hopi
because the overflow of the Nile irrigated
all of Egypt’s crops
 Some commentators refute this plague
and deem it a natural disaster
#2 The Plague of Frogs
 The frog was the symbol of the Egyptian
goddess Heqt, who was depicted as a woman
with a frog’s head.
 Heqt was the goddess of fertility
 Exodus 8:3 may be an act of “sanctified
sarcasm” with the land being fertile with frogs!
 *Pharaoh asked for the removal of the frogs to
which Moses gave him a specific time and God
responded accordingly
#3 The Plague of Gnats
 God’s handiwork became more
pronounced when Aaron struck the
ground with his staff and it became gnats
(i.e. Lice)
 We’ll review how Egypt’s magicians did
some of the same miracles heretofore
but at this juncture they proclaim, “This is
the finger of God”
# 4 The Plague of Flies
 Hordes of flies covered Egypt except Goshen
 Devastation was so widespread that the “land
was ruined”
 These exact words are used in Genesis 6:11 to
describe the corruption of the Earth before the
Flood. As the Flood was used to judge the
Earth, the plague of flies was used to judge
Egypt
# 5 The Plague on
Livestock
 A number of animals were associated
with deities
 This was a powerful blow against Egypt’s
heathenistic religion
 Apis was a sacred bull and a god of
crafts
 Hathor, the goddess of joy was portrayed
with the ears of a cow
# 6 The Plagues of Boils
 These boils were extremely painful
making it difficult for the magicians to
“stand before Moses”…it affected the
knees and legs (Deut. 28:35)
# 7 The Plague of Hail
 The third trio of plagues began with a hailstorm
described as the worst Egypt had ever known.
 Normally Egypt receives very little rainfall,
especially upper Egypt and since hailstorms of
any kind are rare, this storm was all the more
powerful
 At this juncture, this is the first time we see
Pharaoh admitting that he sinned v 27
 In the aftermath of the storm, the flax and
barley harvest had been severely destroyed
and many of the livestock had perished dealing
Egypt’s economy a crippling blow
# 8 The Plague of Locusts
 Locusts came in unprecedented numbers
and devoured anything that survived the
hailstorm
 The severity of this plague found itself
woven into the fabric of the
Hebrews…they were instructed to tell
their children and grandchildren 10:2
# 9 The Plague of
Darkness
 Darkness is associated with the judgment
of God
 Ra was the sun-god and a prominent
deity to the Egyptians
 Darkness obviously contested the
Egyptian notion of their god
# 10 The Death of the
Firstborn
 According to Egyptian theology, Pharaoh
himself was a god but this final plague
showed his vulnerability
 Israel was God’s ‘firstborn son’ Ex. 4:22
 There is much significance about the
firstborn son in Near Ancient Eastern
culture