God Cherishes You Blog

The Plagues / Miracles

After this presentation to Israel’s leaders, Moses and Aaron went and spoke to Pharaoh. They told him, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: Let my people go so they may hold a festival in my honor in the wilderness.” Ex. 5:1 NLT

            Moses is paraphrasing what God said. Moreover, he is making a demand of Pharaoh. This is exactly what Jehovah had previously told Moses:

“…go to the king of Egypt and you shall say to him, ‘The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, has met with us; so now, please, [we ask and plead with you,] let us go on a three days’ journey into the wilderness, so that we may sacrifice to the Lord our God.’” Ex. 3:18 AMP

            God had said that He was to be addressed as the ‘God of the Hebrews’, something Pharaoh would more readily understand. And Moses and Aaron were to make a polite request of Pharaoh, with a definable time frame.

            So, Pharaoh gets his dander up:

“Is that so?” retorted Pharaoh. “And who is the Lord? Why should I listen to him and let Israel go? I don’t know the Lord, and I will not let Israel go.” Ex. 5:2 NLT

            Aaron and Moses take a step back and speak as God willed:

“The God of the Hebrews has met with us,” they declared. “So let us take a three-day journey into the wilderness so we can offer sacrifices to the Lord our God. If we don’t, he will kill us with a plague or with the sword.” Ex. 5:3 NLT

            However, they did put in a comment that was not from God. The LORD did not say anything about divine retribution against the Hebrews, and Moses did not perform the miracle that God directed him to.[1]

            If anything, Pharaoh got angrier:

“Moses and Aaron, why are you causing the people to neglect their work? Get to your labor!” Pharaoh also said, “Look, the people of the land are so numerous, and you would stop them from their labor.” Ex. 5:4, 5. CSB

            That very day, Pharaoh issued an edict saying that no longer would the Egyptians supply the Hebrews straw to make bricks. Instead, the Hebrews would have to scavenge it for themselves. Yet, they would still have to produce the same quota of bricks as they did before in the same timeframe!

            What was Pharaoh’s motivation?

Let labor be heavier on the men, and let them work [hard] at it so that they will pay no attention to [their God’s] lying words.” Ex. 5:9 AMP

            Things did not go well. The Egyptian ‘taskmasters’ beat the Hebrew foremen when the people did not perform.

            The foremen pleaded with Pharaoh:

“Please don’t treat your servants like this,” they begged. “We are given no straw, but the slave drivers still demand, ‘Make bricks!’ We are being beaten, but it isn’t our fault! Your own people are to blame!” Ex. 5:15, 16. NLT

            Pharaoh calls them lazy and tells them to go back to work. As the foremen are returning, they come upon Aaron and Moses and confront them:

“May the Lord look upon you and judge you, because you have made us odious (something hated) in the sight of Pharaoh and his servants, and you have put a sword in their hand to kill us.” Ex. 5:21 AMP

            Of course, this was part of Pharaoh’s plan as well, to make Aaron and Moses the scapegoats. And Moses became disheartened and prayed to God:

“O Lord, why have You brought harm and oppression to this people? Why did You ever send me? [I cannot understand Your purpose!] Ever since I came to Pharaoh to speak in Your name, he has harmed and oppressed this people, and You have done nothing at all to rescue Your people.” Ex. 5:22, 23. AMP

            God answers Moses:

“Now you shall see what I will do to Pharaoh; for under compulsion he will [not only] let them go, but under compulsion he will drive them out of his land.” Ex. 6:1 AMP

 “I am the Lord.I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob (Israel) as God Almighty [El Shaddai], but by My name, Lord, I did not make Myself known to them [in acts and great miracles]. I also established My covenant with them, to give them the land of Canaan, the land in which they lived as strangers (temporary residents, foreigners). Ex. 6:2 – 4. AMP

“…say to the children of Israel, ‘I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will free you from their bondage. I will redeem and rescue you with an outstretched (vigorous, powerful) arm and with great acts of judgment [against Egypt]. Then I will take you for My people, and I will be your God…” Ex. 6:6, 7. AMP

            Moses relayed God’s promise to the Israelites, but the message was not received well because of the forced labor that they were enduring.

            However, God is on the move:

Then the Lord said to Moses, “Now hear this: I make you as God to Pharaoh [to declare My will and purpose to him]; and your brother Aaron shall be your prophet. You shall speak all that I command you, and your brother Aaron shall tell Pharaoh to let the children of Israel go out of his land. And I will make Pharaoh’s heart hard, and multiply My signs and My wonders (miracles) in the land of Egypt. Ex. 7:1 – 3. AMP

            Moses was 80 years old and Aaron 83 when they approached Pharaoh. As per Jehovah’s instructions, Aaron threw his staff to the ground, and it changed into a serpent. But Pharaoh called up his practitioners of dark arts, and they all produced serpents from their staffs as well.

            However, God shows His ultimate dominance over the dark arts by having Aaron’s serpent eat all the others.[2] But Pharaoh is unmoved. He does not free the Hebrews.

            God tells Moses and Aaron to approach Pharaoh by the Nile River and tell him that the God of the Hebrews says to let His people go into the wilderness to worship Him. Because Pharaoh has not done so, Jehovah will now demonstrate His divine power to change the river’s water into blood (first judgment):

So Moses and Aaron did just as the Lord commanded them. As Pharaoh and all of his officials watched, Aaron raised his staff and struck the water of the Nile. Suddenly, the whole river turned to blood!The fish in the river died, and the water became so foul that the Egyptians couldn’t drink it. There was blood everywhere throughout the land of Egypt. Ex. 7:20, 21. NLT

            This was a demonstration of God’s power over the Egyptian’s pagan god of the River, Hapi. However, the Egyptian ‘magicians’ were also able to use their witchcraft to do similarly, compounding the effect of God’s judgment. 7 days would pass…

            At that time, Jehovah sent Moses and Aaron back to Pharaoh to demand the freedom for His children to worship Him in the wilderness, threatening to plague Egypt with frogs. This time, to demonstrate God’s power over the pagan Egyptian frog god, Heqt:

So Aaron raised his hand over the waters of Egypt, and frogs came up and covered the whole land! Ex. 8:6 NLT

            Again, Pharaoh’s magicians were able to mimic this with their sorcery, which worsened  the (second plague) judgment’s effects.

It is at this juncture that Pharaoh appeals to Moses and Aaron, instead of his magicians, to ask their God (whom he now calls ‘YHWH’) to rid his nation of the frogs. Then he will allow the Hebrews to leave and worship Him. Moses, to further demonstrate Jehovah’s power, asks Pharaoh when he would like to be granted this relief. Pharaoh asked for it to come the next day.

And the Lord did just what Moses had predicted. The frogs in the houses, the courtyards, and the fields all died.The Egyptians piled them into great heaps, and a terrible stench filled the land. Ex. 8:13, 14. NLT

            Yet, just as God predicted, when Pharaoh got his relief, he hardened his heart and forbade the Hebrews their worship time in the wilderness.

Then the Lord said to Moses, “Say to Aaron, ‘Stretch out your staff and strike the dust of the ground, and it will become [biting] gnats (lice) throughout the land of Egypt.’” Ex. 8:16 AMP

            This third judgment was far more powerful. Pharaoh’s magicians could not replicate it. Pharaoh was again unmoved.

Now the Lord said to Moses, “Get up early in the morning and stand before Pharaoh as he is coming out to the water [of the Nile], and say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord, “Let My people go, so that they may serve Me. For if you do not let My people go, hear this: I will send swarms of [bloodsucking] insects on you and on your servants and on your people and into your houses; and the houses of the Egyptians will be full of swarms of insects, as well as the ground on which they stand. 

But on that day I will separate and set apart the land of Goshen, where My people are living, so that no swarms of insects will be there, so that you may know [without any doubt] and acknowledge that I, the Lord, am in the midst of the earth. I will ^[c]put a division (distinction) between My people and your people. By tomorrow this sign shall be in evidence.”’” Ex. 8:20 – 23. AMP

            This fourth plague was an attack against the Egyptian god of the land, Geb. Notice that the Hebrews are now separated from the Egyptians in God’s eyes and will be unaffected by this trial. God also tells Pharaoh (through Moses), when this judgment will take place.

            Overwhelmed by insects, Pharaoh sends for Moses and Aaron and tells them that the Hebrews may worship their God, but only within the confines of Egypt. Moses negotiates with Pharaoh:

“It is not right [or even possible] to do that, for we will sacrifice to the Lord our God what is repulsive and unacceptable to the Egyptians [that is, animals that the Egyptians consider sacred]. If we sacrifice what is repulsive and unacceptable to the Egyptians, will they not riot and stone us? We must go a three days’ journey into the wilderness and sacrifice to the Lord our God as He commands us.” So Pharaoh said, “I will let you go…” Ex. 8:26 – 28. AMP

            However, when God removes the insect swarms, Pharaoh reneges again.

 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go to Pharaoh and tell him, ‘Thus says the Lord, the God of the Hebrews: “Let My people go, so that they may serve Me. But if you refuse to let them go and continue to hold them, now hear this: the hand of the Lord will fall on your livestock which are out in the field, on the horses, the donkeys, the camels, the herds, and the flocks—a horrible plague shall come. But the Lord will make a distinction between the livestock of Israel and the livestock of Egypt, so that nothing that belongs to the Israelites will die.”’” Ex. 9:1 – 4. AMP

            This fifth plague decimates the Egyptian livestock, but Pharaoh digs in his heels. This was an attack against an Egyptian male fertility god, Apis, represented as a bull, and / or Hathor, a goddess of the sky, symbolized as a cow.

God answers with a sixth judgment that only affects Egyptians and their animals – striking them with festering boils. Even Pharaoh’s magicians could not ward them off. This was an attack on Qadshu, goddess of sex, clearly suggesting the foci of these lesions.

But the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and just as the Lord had predicted to Moses, Pharaoh refused to listen. Ex. 9:12 NLT

            Notice that this is the first time that God has hardened Pharaoh’s heart – strengthening his resolve to exercise his free will. And God Himself tells us why:

Then the Lord said to Moses, “Get up early in the morning and stand before Pharaoh. Tell him, ‘This is what the Lord, the God of the Hebrews, says: Let my people go, so they can worship me. If you don’t, I will send more plagues on you and your officials and your people. Then you will know that there is no one like me in all the earth. 

By now I could have lifted my hand and struck you and your people with a plague to wipe you off the face of the earth. But I have spared you for a purpose—to show you my power and to spread my fame throughout the earth. 

But you still lord it over my people and refuse to let them go. So tomorrow at this time I will send a hailstorm more devastating than any in all the history of Egypt. Quick! Order your livestock and servants to come in from the fields to find shelter. Any person or animal left outside will die when the hail falls.’” Ex. 9:13 – 19. NLT

            God is telling Pharaoh that He could have sent him and his subjects into oblivion at any time, but instead preserved them to wield His mighty miracles upon for the world to see and hear about. This is obviously strengthening the faith of the Israelites as well.

            We also see the grace of God as He gives the Egyptians and any of their animals a forewarning about the coming destruction, so that they could seek shelter and remain unharmed from the seventh judgment. God is making a large-scale demonstration of His power over everything. However the Pharaoh had this warning spread to his people, he had to be humbled at having to kowtow to serving God’s purposes.

            This was also an attack against the Egyptian god Seth of wind and storms.

…the Lord sent thunder and hail, and lightning flashed toward the earth. The Lord sent a tremendous hailstorm against all the land of Egypt. Never in all the history of Egypt had there been a storm like that, with such devastating hail and continuous lightning. It left all of Egypt in ruins. The hail struck down everything in the open field—people, animals, and plants alike. Even the trees were destroyed. The only place without hail was the region of Goshen, where the people of Israel lived. Ex. 9:23 – 26. NLT

            Pharaoh hastily sends for Aaron and Moses and admits that he and his people are in the wrong and that God is in the right. He pleads with them to speak with God to call off this plague, saying that he will let the Hebrews go.

            As soon as the hailstorm ends, Pharaoh returns to his rigid stance.

            God is getting ready to send Moses back to Pharaoh, but first tells him to remember why He sent the judgments, and to be sure to teach it to others:

“…tell your children and grandchildren about how I made a mockery of the Egyptians and about the signs I displayed among them—and so you will know that I am the Lord.” Ex. 10:2 NLT

            Then Moses and Aaron go to Pharaoh to warn him of the impending eighth plague:

“This is what the Lord, the God of the Hebrews, says: How long will you refuse to submit to me? Let my people go, so they can worship me. If you refuse, watch out! For tomorrow I will bring a swarm of locusts on your country. They will cover the land so that you won’t be able to see the ground. They will devour what little is left of your crops after the hailstorm, including all the trees growing in the fields.They will overrun your palaces and the homes of your officials and all the houses in Egypt. Never in the history of Egypt have your ancestors seen a plague like this one!” And with that, Moses turned and left Pharaoh. Ex. 10:3 – 6. NLT

            This can be God’s attack on the Egyptian gods Serapis (god of land protection), Isis (goddess of life), or Min (god of fertility and vegetation).

            Pharaoh’s advisors counseled him to not thwart the Hebrew God, feeling Egypt was about to be destroyed. Pharaoh demands that Moses and Aaron be brought back to him and angrily tells them that they could go worship, but he infers that some of the Hebrews must stay behind, so as not to flee Egypt for good.

            Moses retorts:

“We will all go—young and old, our sons and daughters, and our flocks and herds. We must all join together in celebrating a festival to the Lord.” Ex. 10:9 NLT

            Pharaoh has a fit and says only the Hebrew men can go, and he has Moses and Aaron expelled from the palace. The locusts strike:

…the locusts swarmed over the whole land of Egypt, settling in dense swarms from one end of the country to the other. It was the worst locust plague in Egyptian history, and there has never been another one like it. For the locusts covered the whole country and darkened the land. They devoured every plant in the fields and all the fruit on the trees that had survived the hailstorm. Not a single leaf was left on the trees and plants throughout the land of Egypt. Ex. 10:14, 15. NLT

            Pharaoh summons Moses and Aaron and fakes a little contrition, for a little forgiveness, just this once. God delivered. The locusts were cleared, and He hardens Pharaoh’s heart again.

            God works through Moses to bring the ninth plague upon Pharaoh and his people:

Then the Lord said to Moses, “Lift your hand toward heaven, and the land of Egypt will be covered with a darkness so thick you can feel it.” So Moses lifted his hand to the sky, and a deep darkness covered the entire land of Egypt for three days. During all that time the people could not see each other, and no one moved. But there was light as usual where the people of Israel lived. Ex. 10:21 – 23. NLT

            This would be an attack on the sun gods: Re, Ra, Amon-Re, Atem, Atum, and Horus.

            Pharaoh summons Moses and tells him that if he gets rid of the darkness, his people can worship God, but they cannot take their flocks and herds with them. Moses answers back that they need their flocks and herds present with them to determine which ones Jehovah would choose to sacrifice.

            Pharaoh rescinds the offer angrily:

But the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he was not willing to let them go. Then Pharaoh said to Moses, “Get away from me! See that you never enter my presence again, for on the day that you see my face again you will die!”

Then Moses said, “You are correct; I will never see your face again!” Ex. 10:27 – 29. AMP

            God tells Moses that His delivery of His children will soon be complete:

Then the Lord said to Moses, “I will bring yet one more plague on Pharaoh and on Egypt; after that he will let you go. When he lets you go, he will most certainly drive you out of here completely.Speak so that all of the people [of Israel] may hear, and tell every man to ask from his neighbor, and every woman to ask from her neighbor, articles of silver, and articles of gold.”

The LORD gave the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians. Ex. 11:1 – 3. AMP

            The Hebrews were slaves. They could not possess anything of great value. So, the ‘neighbors’ in question must be Egyptians, whom God has divinely convinced to be generous to His children.

            God then expounds upon His tenth and final judgment, which Moses relays to Pharaoh:

“This is what the Lord says: About midnight I will go throughout Egypt, and every firstborn male in the land of Egypt will die, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sits on his throne to the firstborn of the servant girl who is at the grindstones, as well as every firstborn of the livestock.Then there will be a great cry of anguish through all the land of Egypt such as never was before or ever will be again. But against all the Israelites, whether people or animals, not even a dog will snarl, so that you may know that the Lord makes a distinction between Egypt and Israel. All these officials of yours will come down to me and bow before me, saying: Get out, you and all the people who follow you. After that, I will get out.” And he went out from Pharaoh’s presence fiercely angry. Ex. 11:4 – 8. CSB

---

[1] Ex. 4:21

[2] Ex. 7:10 – 12.