The Nation of Israel was inhumanly enslaved in Egypt, and God called Moses and his brother Aaron to appear before Pharaoh and demand that he let God’s people go. But God knew it would take more than that to convince the stubborn Egyptian King. He used Moses and Aaron to manifest his power and to warn them about a series of plagues to come. This is how he sends the ten plagues of Egypt.
The 10 Plagues of Egypt:
Plagues of Egypt: the first plague was the, water turned into blood In, Exodus 7:17; “Thus says the Eternal: By this you will know that I am the eternalBehold, I will strike the water that is in the river with the rod that I have in my hand, and it will turn into blood. Moses struck first with blood, so to speak, piercing the heart of one of the most revered pagan gods in Egypt, khnum, god of “the waters” (the Nile).
The other plagues were also against the Egyptian gods, directly or indirectly. Miraculously God turned the waters of the Nile River into blood, killing the fish, making the waters stink and the Egyptians could not drink from it. This miracle was done through Moses and Aaron.
Exodus 7:19: “And the Eternal said to Moses: – Say to Aaron: Take your rod, and stretch out your hand over the waters of Egypt, over its rivers, over its streams and over its pools, and over all its reservoirs. waters, so that they become blood, and there is blood throughout the whole region of Egypt, both in the wooden vessels and in the stone ones.” God used Aaron’s rod to turn the waters outside the Nile River into blood. also. Apparently, the Egyptian sorcerers did the same by means of a game with their hands (v. 22). Therefore Pharaoh’s heart was hardened.
Plagues of Egypt: The second plague: frogs. In Exodus 8:2-4 “and if you do not want to let him go, behold, I will punish all your territories with frogs. and the river will breed frogs, which will climb up and enter your house, the chamber where you sleep, and on your bed, and in the houses of your servants, in your town, in your ovens and in your troughs. and the frogs will climb on you, on your town, and on all your servants ”This frog epidemic attacked the pride of the Egyptians for the ancient god heket, who was represented by a frog-headed woman. She was a fertility goddess.
The Egyptians appear to have been the target of this plague. “The order of the words in the Hebrew text is important because it shows how this plague was intentionally directed at Pharaoh: “and the frogs will come up on you, on your people, and on all your servants” Let’s look again at Aaron’s intervention: “ and the eternal said to moses: say a Aaron: extend your hand with your rod over the rivers and streams and pools, to cause frogs to come up over the land of Egypt” (Exodus 8:5).
And again the tricks done by the sorcerers seemed to be equivalent to this miracle—but they could not kill the frogs. After this Pharaoh gave the first hint of softening his heart (v. 8). Their repentance It was temporary, and his heart hardened as soon as God removed the frogs…
Plagues of Egypt; the third was Lice. In the book of Exodus 8:16, God directed Moses. “Then the Eternal said to Moses: Say to Aaron: Stretch out your rod and strike the dust of the earth, so that it becomes lice throughout the land of Egypt. And so they did as they had been commanded, and Aaron stretched out his hand with his rod, and struck the dust of the ground, which became lice, both on man and beast; all the dust of the earth became lice throughout the land of Egypt” (Exodus 8:16-17). This was done again, through Aaron’s rod.
On this occasion “and the sorcerers did like this too, to remove lice with their incantations; but they could not” (v. 18). From this moment on, the efforts made by sorcerers to imitate the plagues were unsuccessful. Regarding Pharaoh’s heart, he “was hardened, and did not listen to them, as the Eternal had said” (v. 19).
The Plagues of Egypt; the fourth: Flies, God warned Pharaoh, “because if you do not let my people go, behold, I will send upon you, upon your servants, upon your people, and upon your houses all kinds of flies; and the houses of the Egyptians shall be filled with all kinds of flies, and likewise the land where they are” (Exodus 8:21). The Hebrew word for “all kinds” (‘ârôb, Hebrew lexicon for brown-driver and briggs) can refer to a “mixture” of insects, which is one of its definitions. Or they may have been “all kinds” of a particular insect, perhaps one that the Egyptians worshiped. “khepri…was associated with the beetle, being one of the most famous insect gods.”
This was the first plague sent directly by god, neither Moses nor Aaron intervened with their rods. God also protected the Israelites, “and on that day I will separate the land of Goshen, where my people live, so that no class of flies be in it, so that you may know that I am eternal in the midst of the earth. And I will put redemption between my people and yours. Tomorrow will be this sign” (Exodus 8:22-23). Pharaoh’s heart softened momentarily. “Pharaoh said: I will let you go so that you may offer sacrifices to your eternal god in the desert, provided you go no further; pray for me” (Exodus 8:28). Of course, Moses refused this offer and Pharaoh’s stubbornness returned as soon as the flies were eliminated.
The Plagues of Egypt; the fifth: cattle; “Behold, the hand of the Eternal will be on your cattle that are in the field, horses, donkeys, camels, cows and sheep, with a very serious plague” (Exodus 9:3). The Egyptians worshiped many of these animals. (This is probably where the Israelites got the idea of the golden calf from.) So they must have seen the sacrifices of these animals as an abomination on the part of the Israelites (Exodus 8:26).
This was the second miracle in a row that God performed alone. And, again, God said: “And the Eternal will make a separation between the cattle of Israel and those of Egypt, so that nothing perishes of all the children of Israel” (Exodus 9:4). Despite everything, none of this made Pharaoh change his attitude. “more him heart Pharaoh was hardened, and he did not let the people go” (v. 7).
The Plagues of Egypt; Ulcers “And the Eternal One said to Moses and Aaron: Take handfuls of ashes from a furnace, and Moses will scatter it toward heaven before Pharaoh; and it will become dust on all the land of Egypt, and it will cause a rash with ulcers on man and beast, throughout the land of Egypt” (Exodus 9:8-9). Let’s see how God performed this miracle—the two took ashes from a furnace.
But Moses was the only one who scattered them in the air. God worked again through Moses and Aaron. Unlike the two previous plagues, God’s personal protection for the Israelites is not explicitly announced in the first person. However, it is safe to say that they were still under his protection.
Paul explains that in the long run, God expects everyone to repent (1 Timothy 2:4)—even those he has chosen to harden for a greater, long-term purpose. Pharaoh’s stubbornness is described in a different way: “but the Eternal hardened Pharaoh’s heart” (verse 12). God promised that he was going to do that, according to the plan that he had (more on this later).
The Plagues of Egypt: Hail,“And the Eternal said to Moses: Stretch out your hand toward heaven, so that there may be hail in all the land of Egypt, on man, and on beast, and on all the grass of the field in the land of Egypt” (Exodus 9 :22). This is the first miracle to take place solely through the rod of Moses (v. 23). Israel’s protection is mentioned as a historical fact, rather than an enthusiastic statement from God (v. 26).
The Egyptians had greater control to protect themselves from this plague. God warned them “send, therefore, to collect your cattle, and all that you have in the field; for every man or animal that is found in the field, and is not brought home, the hail will fall on it, and it will die” (v. 19). Despite everything, incredible as it may seem, after having suffered the six previous plagues, some did not pay attention to this warning.
Similarly, in the end times the rebellion of man against God will be incomprehensible (Revelation 9:18-21). God was using Pharaoh to teach an important lesson. “And indeed I have appointed you to show my power in you, and that my name may be proclaimed in all the earth” (Exodus 9:16). Paul quotes this passage in Romans 9:17. Paul also explains that in the long run, God’s desire is for everyone to repent (1 Timothy 2:4)—even those he has chosen to harden for a greater, long-term purpose.
The Plagues of Egypt: Locust “And if you still refuse to let him go, behold, tomorrow I will bring the locusts upon your territory” (Exodus 10:4). There is no mention of protecting the Israelites in this plague. However, once again the Egyptians were the target: “and it will fill your houses, and the houses of all your servants, and the houses of all the Egyptians” (v. 6). The protection of the Israelites did not have to be repeated or mentioned on every occasion for them to receive it.
This was the second miracle that was performed solely through Moses’ rod (vv. 12-13). And although Pharaoh was still stubborn, at the same time his efforts towards repentance seemed to increase, “I have sinned against the eternal your God, and against you. But now I beg you to forgive my sin just this once” (vv. 16-17).
The Plagues of Egypt: darknesss “the eternal said to moses: extend your hand toward heaven, so that there is darkness over the land of Egypt, so much that anyone feels it” (Exodus 10:21). Blocking sunlight directly attacked one of Egypt’s most cherished gods—era, the sun god. This was the third plague that was directed solely by Moses. God told him to stretch out “his hand from him” (it is not clear if the rod was in his hand). Again, the protection of Israel is mentioned in the past tense.
Pharaoh manifested temporary repentance again, but asked the Israelites to leave their sheep and herds behind. Moses of course refused this request and God again hardened Pharaoh’s heart (vv. 24-27). “and Pharaoh said to him: withdraw from me; take care that you do not see my face anymore, because on any day that you see my face, you will die. and Moses answered: You have said well; I will see your face no more” (Exodus 10:28-29). And Moses never saw Pharaoh again.
The Plagues of Egypt: firstborn “So Moses said: The Eternal has said thus: At midnight I will go out into the midst of Egypt, and all the firstborn in the land of Egypt shall die, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sits on his throne, even to the firstborn of the maid that is behind the mill, and all the firstborn of beasts” (Exodus 11:4-5). This was the third plague in which…