Ex. 12:12; Numbers 33:3-4, God vs. god (2)

Here are a few thoughts on the Ten Plagues, with an emphasis on the message sent to the gods of Egypt.

EX.	PLAGUE	ATTACK ON gods OF EGYPT
7:14-25	Water to blood, starting at Nile	Nile sacred to Egyptians. "Atum", "the All", rose out of waters of chaos as new life rises out of flooding Nile each year.
8:1-7	Frogs over the land	Frog goddess "Hert," represented by head of frog.
8:16-19	Lice/Gnats over the land	Magicians, who represent gods, unable to copy.
8:20-24	Insects/flies ruin land	Attack on sacred land of Egypt but not in Goshen.
9:1-7	Livestock die fr. murrain	"Apis", the sacred bull, to goddess "Hathor."
9:8-12	Boils afflict people	Magicians unable to stand in Moses' presence.
9:13-35	Hail destroys crops, life	"Shu", god of air, "Tefnut", goddess of moisture.
10:1-20	Locusts destroy rest of plant life	Same as above.
10:21-29	Gnawing darkness three days	Direct attack on "Re", the Sun God.
12:29-42	Death of firstborn	Attack on Pharaoh who was considered a god.

Here is another chart of plagues #1-9, in three sets.

Plagues 1-3	Loathsome	Egyptians and Israel suffer	Magicians defeated
Plagues 4-6	Painful	Egyptians suffer alone	Magicians unable to stand before Moses
Plagues 7-9	Destructive	Egyptians offered immunity	Magicians plead with Pharaoh to let Israel go
Plague 10

·       Plagues #1,4,7,8 occurred in the morning, an attack on “Horus,” a supreme god who brought daylight and gladness.

·       Further, in each plague, the great god Pharaoh had to humble himself to ask Moses to call upon the LORD to remove the plagues.  His gods were powerless.

·       Each set of three plagues began with a command to warn Pharaoh in the morning (7:1; 8:20; 9:13).

·       The last plague of each set is introduced without warning.

God’s purpose was to bring honor to Himself, the God of Israel, in the context of all the gods of Egypt.  This display was a foundational event in Israel’s history, referred to at Mt. Sinai (Ex. 19:4; 20:2), repeatedly throughout the Old Testament, and also in the New Testament (e.g. Ac. 7:36).  It was the event that established Passover, Israel’s first feast on the yearly calendar, and the feast that depicted the atoning sacrifice of the Messiah, the Lamb of God.  There are similarities between the plagues of Exodus and the plagues of Revelation (Ch. 6,8-9,16).  The point is that there is no God like the God of Israel!  It was true in Egypt.  It is true today.  It will be true through the tumultuous days leading to the return of Christ.