The Ten Plagues in the Book of Exodus

The Book of Exodus records that in order to compel the Pharaoh of Egypt to agree to let the Hebrew people leave, God sent ten successive plagues through Moses: the Nile turning to blood, frogs, gnats and flies, livestock pestilence, boils, hail, locusts, darkness, and finally, the death of the firstborn. What can we learn from these ten plagues?

First, we see that God has absolute control over the insect world. The greatest miracle in the Book of Jonah was not the great fish but the worm. God commanded the worm to do something. It’s easy to train a whale, but it’s much harder to train a worm. But God can do it. God can command flies, locusts, and frogs where to go and what to do; God has absolute authority over the creatures He has made.

Second, the ten plagues were progressive and became increasingly severe. They began with discomfort, then moved to disease, danger, and finally, death. This was because Pharaoh and the Egyptians completely ignored the warnings. Some historians theorize that this was actually a religious competition, a contest between the gods. Each of the ten plagues was an attack on a specific deity worshipped by the Egyptians, so these plagues had a substantive meaning.

Egypt was a polytheistic nation, and various animals, celestial bodies, and natural phenomena were worshipped as deities. “Khnum” was the guardian god of the Nile, “Hapi” was the spirit of the Nile, and the Egyptians believed that the blood of “Osiris” was the Nile. “Heqet” was the frog goddess, a symbol of resurrection. “Hathor” was the cow goddess. There were also several bull-like gods: “Apis,” “Mnevis,” and “Heliopolis.” There were also gods of medicine, goddesses of the sky and life, “Set,” the god who protected crops, and four sun gods. Finally, the most revered was the Pharaoh himself, whom they considered a god. Therefore, each of the ten plagues was aimed at one or more specific Egyptian deities. The message was simple—to make the Israelites understand that their God alone was the true God. The Lord said to Moses, “I will do this so that you may tell your children and grandchildren how I dealt with the Egyptians and how I performed my signs among them, and that you may know that I am the Lord” (Exodus 10:2).

As Christians, we will have an experience similar to the Exodus. When we read the Book of Revelation, we will find that the calamities of the end times are very similar to the plagues of Pharaoh. Those who faithfully follow Jesus will endure and overcome these calamities. Revelation says that the martyrs and those who overcome external persecution and internal temptation will sing the Song of Moses. When all the troubles of this world have passed and we safely reach glory, we will also sing the Song of Moses.

(Compiled and edited based on the Chinese Union Version, a comprehensive biblical interpretation, and recordings from David Pawson’s “Unlocking the Old Testament” series.)