Sermon - AudioEx 7-9 - Audio
Ex 7-9 - Daily Reading
Daily Insights - Please Comment
1. Nile River turns into blood (Ex 7:14-24)
The Egyptian “god” – Hapi – Father of all the gods, and god of the NileThe Nile represented life to the Egyptians. All their economy and their livelihood depended on the Nile – they worshipped the river. The plague also represented the sins of the Egyptians coming back to haunt them, the blood of the Israelite children who were thrown into the Nile by Pharaoh.
2. Frogs (Ex. 7:25-29, 8:1-11)
The Egyptian “god” – Heka – the toad goddess, the god of resurrection and procreative powersFrogs were sacred, and killing one was punishable by death. It’s like God saying, “You like frogs, I’ll give you frogs!” You couldn’t even walk without stepping on one. But the only way to get rid of them was to kill them, which God did, shaming Heka.
3. Gnats (Ex 8:12-15)
The Egyptian “god” – Geb – the god of the earth, or vegetationThis was the first plague that Pharaoh’s magicians could not replicate with their powers, but Pharaoh’s heart remained hardened. The gnats represented came out of the ground, out of the dust, causing blame on Geb.
4. Flies (Ex 8:16-28)
The Egyptian “god” – Khepfi – the god of insectsInsects out of control, and Khepfi can’t stop them! The Egyptians think their god has been defeated, or is dead.
5. Livestock (Ex 9:1-7)
The Egyptian “god” – Apis or Menvis – the bull god, and Hathor the cow goddessThe Egyptians worshiped many animals, but especially the ram, the ox and the bull. The soul of their god Osiris was said to reside in the body of the bull. Having all these animals die was a defeat of these Egyptian gods.
6. Boils (Ex 9:8-12)
The Egyptian “god” – Thoth – the god of medicine, intelligence and wisdomThe Egyptians had several medical gods, and they sacrificed humans to these gods, burning them alive on a high altar and scattering their ashes into the air. It was believed that with every scattered ash a blessing would descend upon the people. So Moses took ashes from the furnace and scattered them into air, but now anyone the ashes touched broke out with boils
7. Hail (Ex 9:13-35)
The Egyptian “god” – Nut – the sky goddess and “Seth” – protector of cropsThe hail attacked the fields during the time of harvest, destroying all the crops. Nut was blamed, and Seth could not protect the crops like he was supposed to…
8. Locusts (Ex 10:1-20)
The Egyptian “god” – Anubis – the god of the fields and “Isis” – protector against locustsWhatever wasn’t destroyed by the hail, was finished off by the locusts. Locusts were so feared that the Egyptians actually had a god to protect them from the vile insects. Isis was shamed, and Anubis was overcome
9. Darkness (Ex 10:21-29)
The Egyptian “god” – Ra or Amon-Re – the sun godWith darkness so intense you could feel it, it seemed Ra, the sun god was dead
10. Death of the First-born (Ex 11:1-10, Ex 12)
The Egyptian “god” - Pharaoh himself, a god-king, and his first-born son, also a godPharaoh was considered a god, and his first-born son was too. In fact, first-born people and animals were often worshipped. Pharaoh was considered an incarnation of Ra, the sun god. Because Pharaoh’s son was considered a god, a god of Egypt actually died.
2 comments:
Some Thoughts:
1. The "Hardening" of Pharaoh's heart: God seems to be using Pharaoh much like He is using Moses and Aaron. At first glance we may not catch this, but look at all of the things that happened in the land of Egypt and still Pharaoh's heart remained hardened. I like how the WBC (Commentary) explains the situation: "Thus Yahweh is orchestrating, in a combination of opposing and unlikely forces, a deliverance that will above all be a proof of his active Presence. A reluctant Moses, an unbelieving Pharaoh, a crushed and dispirited Israel, a proud and ruling Egyptian people, a non-nation against the greatest of nations, are brought together, and the opposing sides are set still more firmly in their respective ways, so that the proof of Yahweh’s Presence, which is to turn everything upside down, may be established irrevocably."
9:16 - "But for this purpose I have raised you up, to show you my power, so that my name may be proclaimed in all the earth."
10:1b-2 - "I have hardened his heart and the heart of his servants, that I may show these signs of mine among them, and that you may tell in the hearing of your son and of your grandson how I have dealt harshly with the Egyptians and what signs I have done among them, that you may know that I am the LORD."
2. In plagues 1, 2, 4, 5, and 7 God says for Moses to say to Pharaoh, "Thus says the LORD, Let my people go, that they may serve me." This leads me to a couple thoughts:
a. God wanted Pharaoh to know that it is the LORD who is commanding this, not a human (Moses or Aaron). The judgements and miracles that were being done were of no human might, but truly divine. In addition, this is one God, the God who is identifying Himself with the nation of Israel.
b. "they may serve me." God calls a people to Himself and rescues them from bondage so that they will serve Him. Sometimes we don't see a purpose in what God is doing, but here we are given the exact reasoning for these events. However, the nation of Israel serves God in a lackluster fashion once they are delivered. The response to their rescue is at first full of joy and excitement, but it quickly fades...I wonder if this isn't a picture of how we sometimes respond to the grace that we have received?...but we're not there yet, so I'll stop.
It is amazing how the stories in the bible that we have been taught all our lives are coming to life. I am blessed to be apart of this journey. I never realized that the different plagues represented the different gods of the Egyptians. I am excited to share these new details with my kids as they grow up and I'm excited to learn more!
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