When Yahweh arranged for the people of Israel to be released from slavery in Egypt, there was found a great adversary in the person of Pharaoh, the country’s monarch. When the deliverer Moses went to him with the command of our Lord, it was written of him: “And Pharaoh hardened his heart at this time also, neither would he let the people go.” (Exo 8:32) But Yahweh had said unto Moses, “But Pharaoh shall not hearken unto you, that I may lay my hand upon Egypt, and bring forth mine armies, and my people the children of Israel, out of the land of Egypt by great judgments. And the Egyptians shall know that I am Yahweh, when I stretch forth mine hand upon Egypt, and bring out the children of Israel from among them.” (Exo 7:4,5)

These “judgments” took the form of 10 plagues, and we are told that by these “the Egyptians may know that I am Yahweh.” (Exo 14:4) But how is it that these plagues should demonstrate this to the pagan society? We are told in some commentaries on Exodus that each of the 10 plagues was indeed a judgment – but not on the Egyptians themselves so much as the various gods and forces that they worshipped. By performing His wonders this way, the Most High demonstrated that His power was above that of any idol, and that He alone was worthy of worship. Here then is the list of the judgments, and what they may have represented to the Egyptian mind.

Plague 1: The Nile’s waters turning to blood, and the fishes dying. The first plague is recorded in the following verses, “And Moses and Aaron did so, as Yahweh commanded; and he lifted up the rod, and smote the waters that were in the river, in the sight of Pharaoh, and in the sight of his servants; and all the waters that were in the river were turned to blood. And the fish that was in the river died; and the river stank, and the Egyptians could not drink of the water of the river; and there was blood throughout all the land of Egypt.” (Exo 7:20,21)

This was a judgment against the deity Hapi, who is also known as the “father of the gods,” and like Osiris, was associated with the Nile itself. This river was one of the major factors influencing the Egyptians’ ability to survive in that region, and so even this first of Yahweh’s wonders was a dramatic demonstration of His power as the true Father, and that “Yahweh killeth, and maketh alive: He bringeth down to the grave, and bringeth up.” (1Sam 2:6)

This was the Egyptians’ reaction: “And the magicians of Egypt did so with their enchantments: and Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, neither did he hearken unto them; as Yahweh had said. And Pharaoh turned and went into his house, neither did he set his heart to this also.” (Exo 7:22,23) Now, the magicians of Egypt could not have replicated the miracle exactly. Not only did they have no power to do so, but there was only one Nile, and it is written that “there was blood throughout all the land of Egypt.” (Exo 7:21b) The Pharaoh simply did not want to acknowledge the power made manifest in this judgment, and therefore chose to accept the magicians’ assertions that it was merely a routine display of some spiritual being’s power. We find the reaction to the truth has not changed in hundreds of years – if someone is unwilling to accept the plain information as shown to them because it would encroach upon their comfort zone, they will accept any statement, any weak evidence, as proof that what they have been shown is wrong.

Plague 2: A multitude of frogs. The second plague is described thus: “And Yahweh spake unto Moses, ‘Say unto Aaron, Stretch forth thine hand with thy rod over the streams, over the rivers, and over the ponds, and cause frogs to come up upon the land of Egypt.’ And Aaron stretched out his hand over the waters of Egypt; and the frogs came up, and covered the land of Egypt.” (Exo 8:5,6)

Toads in Egypt seemed to represent fertility, much as the hare or rabbit did in European countries in later centuries. The rapid rate at which they reproduce may be at the root of both of these beliefs. The miraculously rapid increase in the number of these animals in Egypt was a judgment against the goddess Heka or Heqt, who was not only the deity of procreation, but resurrection also. The symbolism of this should be easy to see for a Christian; a toad, being an amphibian, has two phases of life – first as a tadpole in the water, and then coming out of the water as a new creature.

Once again we read, “And the magicians did so with their enchantments, and brought up frogs upon the land of Egypt.” (Exo 8:7) But we know that the true miracle was superior to the counterfeit, for “Then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron, and said, ‘Intreat Yahweh, that He may take away the frogs from me, and from my people; and I will let the people go, that they may do sacrifice unto Yahweh.” (Exo 8:8) Unfortunately, in verse 15 we read that as soon as the plague was removed, Pharaoh’s heart was hardened once again. So it is with many, who only pray and only promise obedience to our Father’s will when things are not going their way, but as soon as He provides them with that which they desire, their hearts return to their natural place – far away from His love.

Plague 3: An outbreak of lice. We read this about Yahweh’s third attempt to humble the proud king: “And Yahweh said unto Moses, ‘Say unto Aaron, Stretch out thy rod, and smite the dust of the land, that it may become lice throughout all the land of Egypt.’ And they did so; for Aaron stretched out his hand with his rod, and smote the dust of the earth, and it became lice in man, and in beast; all the dust of the land became lice throughout all the land of Egypt.” (Exo 8:16,17)

The god Geb or Seb, also known as “The Cackler” is the Egyptian god of earth, and the father of Osiris (associated again with the Nile). As the dust of the earth itself became this plague upon them – both men and beasts – the majesty of the true Father Yahweh as the real Creator of both heaven and earth was set before them.

This time we find a different reaction: “And the magicians did so with their enchantments to bring forth lice, but they could not: so there were lice upon man, and upon beast. Then the magicians said unto Pharaoh, ‘This is the finger of God,’ and Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, and he hearkened not unto them; as Yahweh had said.” (Exo 8:18,19) At this point, even the idolatrous magicians realized that they were dealing with something entirely out of their experience. Even they acknowledged that the Elohim was greater in might than their enchantments. Nevertheless the Pharaoh had begun his descent, and while at first he accepted any evidence against the power set before his eyes, he now began to require NO evidence to maintain his stubborn rebellion. At this point, a real spiritual “danger zone” had been entered.

Plague 4: Swarms of flies. This time the warning came to Pharaoh, “Else, if thou wilt not let my people go, behold, I will send swarms of flies upon thee, and upon thy servants, and upon thy people, and into thy houses: and the houses of the Egyptians shall be full of swarms of flies, and also the ground whereon they are.” (Exo 8:21) But so far advanced was he in his pride that he would not listen to the warning, “And Yahweh did so; and there came a grievous swarm of flies into the house of Pharaoh, and into his servants’ houses, and into all the land of Egypt: the land was corrupted by reason of the swarm of flies.” (Exo 8:24)

During the “pyramid craze” of a few decades ago, when archaeology was busy unearthing the secrets of the pharaohs’ tombs in Egypt, much was heard of the Scarab – a beetle sacred to the nation. In this plague, we see a judgment against Khepfi, the god of these and other insects. The beetle was also an earthly symbol of the high-god Re, and this judgment demonstrated Yahweh’s power above even this, the most exalted of the Egyptian deities, and all of his sub-gods and their symbols.

We do not hear about the magicians this time, but we see that the Pharaoh quickly agreed to let the Israelites go. Hearing this, we find, “And Moses said, ‘Behold, I go out from thee, and I will entreat Yahweh that the swarms of flies may depart from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people, to morrow: but let not Pharaoh deal deceitfully any more in not letting the people go to sacrifice to Yahweh.’ And Moses went out from Pharaoh, and entreated Yahweh.” (Exo 8:29,30) Despite the warnings not to deal deceitfully, the king hardened his heart as soon as the judgment was lifted and returned to his false security. Israel remained in Egypt.

Plague 5: Death of the cattle. Mere inconveniences, no matter how annoying, did not seem to have the power to move Pharaoh’s heart, or even to frighten him sufficiently into obeying Yahweh’s command. More desperate measures were employed, for our Father will always speak with as little force as is necessary. “‘And Yahweh shall sever between the cattle of Israel and the cattle of Egypt: and there shall nothing die of all that is the children’s of Israel. And Yahweh appointed a set time, saying, To morrow Yahweh shall do this thing in the land.’ And Yahweh did that thing on the morrow, and all the cattle of Egypt died: but of the cattle of the children of Israel died not one.” (Exo 9:4-6)

Three deities seem to have been the target of this plague’s symbolism. Apis and Hathor are the god and goddess of the bull in ancient Egyptian theology. Also Mnevis is the god of the bull with a focus on fertility. As before, the Israelites were not affected by the plague, and so a difference was seen between those who are favored by the Most High, and those who are under His judgment.

This was not hidden from Pharaoh either, but “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.” (Exo 9:7) With this brief statement, we find the king of Egypt sliding still further into unbelief. The evidences become more dramatic, yet having made the decision to remain unmoved, what more can be done. It is written of these, “How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard Him?” (Heb 2:3)

Plague 6: An epidemic of boils. From their cattle, a source of their livelihood, Yahweh then turned to the bodies of the Egyptians themselves. As with lice, this judgment would affect the humans also, that they would understand that this God has power over even mankind. “And Yahweh said unto Moses and unto Aaron, ‘Take to you handfuls of ashes of the furnace, and let Moses sprinkle it toward the heaven in the sight of Pharaoh. And it shall become small dust in all the land of Egypt, and shall be a boil breaking forth with blains upon man, and upon beast, throughout all the land of Egypt.’ And they took ashes of the furnace, and stood before Pharaoh; and Moses sprinkled it up toward heaven; and it became a boil breaking forth with blains upon man, and upon beast.” (Exo 9:8-10)

In Egyptian healing magic, ashes of a sacrifice were cast into the air as an offering to Thoth or Imhotep, the god of medicine and wisdom. When Aaron cast dust into the air and it became a disease, this was seen as a direct attack upon their ideas of the power held by their various gods.

“And the magicians could not stand before Moses because of the boils; for the boil was upon the magicians, and upon all the Egyptians. And Yahweh hardened the heart of Pharaoh, and he hearkened not unto them; as the LORD had spoken unto Moses.” (Exo 9:11,12) Although the magicians had earlier acknowledged the superiority of the God of Heaven, nevertheless they would not join with the people that were being called out. To stand aside and watch as the Messiah’s servants are being singled out for persecution is no better than being directly responsible. For this cause, the plague fell upon the sorcerers also, so much that they could not even stand before the messenger. Pharaoh, of course, remained unchanged by even this assault on his people and their divinities.

Plague 7: A storm of hail. Although Pharaoh and his court remained stubbornly opposed to letting the Hebrew slaves go, many of the common people, and the king’s servants were realizing what was going on. We find this said of the 7th judgment, “And Moses stretched forth his rod toward heaven: and Yahweh sent thunder and hail, and the fire ran along upon the ground; and Yahweh rained hail upon the land of Egypt. So there was hail, and fire mingled with the hail, very grievous, such as there was none like it in all the land of Egypt since it became a nation. And the hail smote throughout all the land of Egypt all that was in the field, both man and beast; and the hail smote every herb of the field, and brake every tree of the field. Only in the land of Goshen, where the children of Israel were, was there no hail. “ (Exo 9:23-26) Each of the Egyptians who were beginning to fear Yahweh “made his servants and his cattle flee into the houses.” (Exo 9:20)

Not only hail, but we also find fire along the ground and thunder in the sky. Nature itself was beginning to show some unnatural tendencies. This was a sign against the power of Nut the goddess of the sky. As the hail also struck down people and trees, it was also a judgment on Isis the female deity who preserves life, and Set who was not only the serpent god, but also the god of crops.

We have already seen how the people reacted to this plague. Some, who feared the judgment, brought their workers and cattle out of the fields when they heard the threat. Still others, in their continued contempt, made no changes, and these suffered great loss. Even Pharaoh appeared to repent this time, saying, “I have sinned this time: Yahweh is righteous, and I and my people are wicked.” (Exo 9:27) But once more, after promising to let the Israelites go if Moses would ask Yah to cease smiting the people and land, he changed his mind when the servant of the Lord fulfilled his part of the bargain; “And when Pharaoh saw that the rain and the hail and the thunders were ceased, he sinned yet more, and hardened his heart, he and his servants.” (Exo 9:34)

Plague 8: A swarm of locusts. “And Moses stretched forth his rod over the land of Egypt, and Yahweh brought an east wind upon the land all that day, and all that night; and when it was morning, the east wind brought the locusts. And the locusts went up over all the land of Egypt, and rested in all the coasts of Egypt: very grievous were they; before them there were no such locusts as they, neither after them shall be such. For they covered the face of the whole earth, so that the land was darkened; and they did eat every herb of the land, and all the fruit of the trees which the hail had left: and there remained not any green thing in the trees, or in the herbs of the field, through all the land of Egypt.” (Exo 10:13-15)

The god Anubis was the deity concerning the dead, cemeteries and also the fields. This attack of locusts on the fields and all the plants therein showed an open superiority of the Hebrews’ God over this much revered being. Also Set and Isis, the spirits of crops and life that I mentioned in the last plague, were once again brought to mind by this fearful plague. Isis in particular was often prayed to as a protection from locusts, and we see that in this case those prayers went unheard.

The Pharaoh by this time seems to have had the Almighty figured out, he believed, for again he quickly repented and said, “Now therefore forgive, I pray thee, my sin only this once, and entreat Yahweh your God, that he may take away from me this death only.” (Exo 10:17) Again, our Father gave him an opportunity to truly repent; again He gave him the chance to turn from his ways... but the monarch’s heart remained hard, and with every rejection, with every false promise, he sealed his fate that more surely against hearing the voice of the Spirit, and submitting to the lessons being shown him by these miraculous signs.

Plague 9: Thick darkness. Two plagues remained, and they would be the most dramatic, the most fearful. Not only did nature itself cease to continue in its appointed way, but the events that took place under these final two were to be an attack on the most revered symbol of the Egyptian religious world. “And Yahweh said unto Moses, ‘Stretch out thine hand toward heaven, that there may be darkness over the land of Egypt, even darkness which may be felt.’ And Moses stretched forth his hand toward heaven; and there was a thick darkness in all the land of Egypt three days: They saw not one another, neither rose any from his place for three days: but all the children of Israel had light in their dwellings.” (Exo 10:21-23)

Darkness covering the land for three days could be nothing short of an attack upon the reverence of the people for the sun god Re. This, the most well known of the Egyptian gods, was represented as the high-god of their pantheon. The kings would often take names that did honor to him, such as Remeses (Born of Re), Akhenre (Beautiful for Re) and so on. As such, the miraculous symbol was not only against the god himself, but also the person of the Pharaoh, who was seen as the human incarnation of the divinity.

This time, Pharaoh actually agreed to let the Israelites go. However, desiring to ensure that they didn’t remain away permanently, he gave the condition that all their flocks should remain in Egypt as surety. Moses retorted, “Our cattle also shall go with us; there shall not an hoof be left behind; for thereof must we take to serve Yahweh our God; and we know not with what we must serve Yahweh, until we come thither.” (Exo 10:26) This only angered the monarch, however, and he uttered his most direct rejection yet: “Get thee from me, take heed to thyself, see my face no more; for in that day thou seest my face thou shalt die.” (Exo 10:28)

“And Moses said, ‘Thou hast spoken well, I will see thy face again no more.’” (Exo 10:29)

Plague 10: Death of the firstborn. True to the words Moses had spoken, he did not go again before Pharaoh with a request for Israel’s freedom. Having come to this dark place, the king of Egypt sealed his rejection of the Almighty One, and no further examples of power, no further pleas for intelligent service would have done any good. As it is written, “For if we sin willfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries.” (Heb 10:26,27) The Pharaoh had, in many and various ways, received the knowledge of the power of Yahweh. Nevertheless, he rejected it, and only the final judgment remained: “And it came to pass, that at midnight Yahweh smote all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh that sat on his throne unto the firstborn of the captive that was in the dungeon; and all the firstborn of cattle. And Pharaoh rose up in the night, he, and all his servants, and all the Egyptians; and there was a great cry in Egypt; for there was not a house where there was not one dead.” (Exo 12:29,30)

Once again, this struck directly at the most sacred connection known to Egyptian religion. The image of the Pharaoh as a manifestation of the great god Re was the foundation of much of their theology. By showing that Yahweh had power over the firstborns, even that of the “divine family,” His absolute might was demonstrated in a most forceful way. No longer was this a call for repentance, but a pronouncement of destruction.

This time, there was no quick plea for forgiveness. There were no broken promises. The Pharaoh was finally moved, but not by the merciful displays of the Almighty. Only in impotent rage and great sorrow did he finally consent to the will of Yahweh. “And he called for Moses and Aaron by night, and said, ‘Rise up, and get you forth from among my people, both ye and the children of Israel; and go, serve Yahweh, as ye have said. Also take your flocks and your herds, as ye have said, and be gone; and bless me also.” (Exo 12:31,32) In spite of this, however, his heart was not changed, for a short while later, “And it was told the king of Egypt that the people fled: and the heart of Pharaoh and of his servants was turned against the people, and they said, ‘Why have we done this, that we have let Israel go from serving us?’ And he made ready his chariot, and took his people with him.” (Exo 14:5,6) As it is written of Satan, even after being bound a thousand years, a truly hardened heart will never again be soft to mercy, or justice, or love. (Rev 20:7,8) When this point is reached, only death will release the captive from his slavery to sin, “And the waters [of the Red Sea] returned, and covered the chariots, and the horsemen, and all the host of Pharaoh that came into the sea after them; there remained not so much as one of them.” (Exo 12:28)

Here we see a heart that persisted in its unbelief. The stages laid out before us are clear, and are written for our edification, that we ourselves may never make such mistakes as the Pharaoh did. Yahweh will bear long with His erring children, and show them evidence after evidence of His love: both His power and His mercy. Even so, although He is longsuffering, He will force none to accept, and if we, by accepting the weakest of supposed evidence against him, persist to the point where we truly harden our hearts against His message, what hope remains for us?

He will, if we let Him, tear down all our false gods, all the false images we have in our head, and reveal Himself to us as we are able to bear it. May we in these last days keep looking for His Face, and accept the judgments He gives, for it is written that “The ear that heareth the reproof of life abideth among the wise.” (Pro 15:31) May we ever be counted among the wise, and be found softhearted and pure in the Day of our Lord’s appearing.

David.

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