I’m reading in my Women of Faith Study Bible, (NIV) this year. I am currently in the book of Exodus, where Moses is pleading with Pharaoh to let his people go.
We have heard of the plagues of Egypt all our lives; we are even prone to correlate earthly epidemics, destruction, and disasters to the plagues of Egypt. “God must be mad at the world today!” We’ve heard it; we’ve probably said it.
I learned today that the plagues were not only signs of the power of Moses, God, and the determination of Moses, God, for his people, but God was also undermining the gods the Egyptians worshipped.
Hapi-Egyptian god of the Nile; his symbol was a water bearer. The plague–water turned into blood. There was not a glass of freshwater to be found in Egypt.
Heket-Egyptian, the goddess of fertility, water, and renewal. The goddess bore the head of a frog. In the second plague, frogs came upon the land and covered every space, beds, palaces, kneading bowls, ovens, and troughs.
Geb-Egyptian god of the earth. Geb was over the dust of the earth. The third plague was the dust of the ground thrown into the air and the air returning as gnats. Exodus 8:18 NIV “But when the magicians tried to produce gnats by their secret arts, they could not. And the gnats were on men and animals.”
Khepri-Egyptian God of creation, movement of the sun, rebirth. This God had the head of a fly. Yep, the fourth plague was the plague of flies. Exodus 8:22-23 NIV “But on that day I will deal differently with the land of Goshen, where my people live; no swarm of flies will be there so that you will know that I am the Lord of this land. I will make a distinction between my people and your people. The miraculous sign will occur tomorrow.”
Hathor-Egyptian goddess of love and protection. This goddess was depicted with the head of a cow. The fifth plague was the death of cattle and livestock. Note, no animals died in the land of Goshen.
Isis-Egyptian goddess of medicine and peace. The sixth plague was the first to attack the Egyptian people physically. God instructed Moses to take ashes from the furnace of affliction and throw it into the air. The plague of boils covering every Egyptian from head to toe. Again, the Hebrews were not afflicted.
Nut-Egyptian goddess of the sky. The seventh plague the plague of hail, God told Moses to warn the Egyptians to bring in their slaves and livestock. Scripture tells us some Egyptians believed, and brought in their slaves and animals. Exodus 9:23-24 “When Moses stretched out his staff toward the sky, the Lord sent thunder and hail, and lightening flashed down to the ground. So the Lord rained hail on the land of Egypt; hail fell and lightening flashed back and forth. It was the worst storm in all the land of Egypt since it had become a nation.” Again, no hail fell in Goshen.
Seth-Egyptian god of storms and disorder. The eighth plague Locust sent from the sky. Exodus 10:5 NIV “They will cover the face of the ground so that it cannot be seen. They will devour what little you have left after the hail, including every tree that is growing in your fields.”
Ra-The Sun God. The ninth plague was complete darkness for three days. Besides Pharaoh himself, Ra-The Sun was the most worshipped god in Egypt. By the God of Israel exhibiting his power over the sun, he is also showing he has control over life and death as well. The sun is vital for survival.
Pharaoh-The Ultimate Power of Egypt. The Egyptians worshipped Pharaoh. Pharaohs were believed to have been born a god, that the pharaohs were actually born of Ra, the god of Sun. The final plague, The Death of the Firstborn. The First Passover! The Hebrews were given specific instructions (read chapter 12 in the book of Exodus), one being to take the blood of the lamb you are to prepare and put some of its blood on the top and sides of the door frame. The blood will be a sign, and the angel of death will Passover your home.
I found the side note referencing a few of the Egyptian gods and Gods wrath so impressive that I did a further study this morning and thought you might enjoy a more in-depth look into the fact that our God has a reason for all he does or doesn’t do. We just need to know He is the God of All, and He works everything out for the good of those who believe in him and his word. He heard the oppressive prayers of the Hebrews in Egypt hundreds of years ago, and He still hears ours today.
Be Blessed, Be a Blessing, and Thank you for joining me. 🥰
Sunshine On My Shoulder 