If you spent any significant amount of time in Sunday School growing up or you’ve watched the classic DreamWorks animated film, The Prince of Egypt, you are probably familiar with the biblical story of the Ten Plagues. But if it’s been a while since you’ve brushed up on your early biblical history, let me refresh you:
After Joseph, son of Jacob (Israel), rose to power following his enslavement and false imprisonment and became the second-in-command in Egypt, his entire family moved to Egypt to escape the famine ravaging the land (Genesis 45:16-28). The family settled into their appointed portion of Egyptian land, and they stayed there for many generations. Over the centuries, the number of Israelites residing in Egyptian territory grew and grew, and the Pharaoh who came to power felt threatened by them and their strength as a people (Genesis 1:8-10). So, he oppressed Israel and enslaved them, even going so far as to command their infant sons to be cast into the Nile River (Exodus 1:13-14, 22).
Israel cried out for help, and God heard them, remembering the covenant He had made with their ancestor, Abraham (Exodus 2:23-24). And He sent a man named Moses to speak to Pharoah and plead for Israel’s release from their slavery (Exodus 3:1-10). Pharoah, of course, refused, and thus began the Ten Plagues (Exodus 5:1-2). God unleashed ten horrifying plagues upon the land of Egypt—from the Nile River turning to blood and the nation being infested with frogs and flies to the people being covered in boils and the land being submerged into complete darkness. After every plague, Moses would demand Pharoah free the Israelites, and he continued to refuse until the very last plague—the death of every firstborn. Then, Pharoah finally relented and let Israel escape into the wilderness.
If you’re like me, you’ve probably heard this story and thought the Ten Plagues were just ten random punishments doled out onto Egypt for their abuse of the Israelites. But if we take a closer look at the cultural context, we’ll discover that these ten plagues were not random at all and that God had a bigger purpose in mind than just disciplining the Egyptians.
Though the United States is roughly 7,000 miles away from Egypt, we’ve been exposed to Egyptian culture often through our books, movies, and television—like the popular mystery novel Death on the Nile by Agatha Christie, which was recently adapted into a film directed by Kenneth Branagh; The Mummy, the 1999 film starring Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weisz; and Moon Knight, the 2022 Marvel Studios TV show with Oscar Isaac playing the titular character.
Due to this exposure, you’re probably aware that ancient Egypt was a polytheistic society, meaning that they served and worshipped a multitude of gods. It is believed by many sources that Egyptians had over two-thousand deities in their pantheon, and they practically had a god for every situation, from storms, cattle, and farmland to healing and fertility. They believed they had to please the gods to live a good life, and if something was going wrong, like they lost all of their crops or they were unable to bear a child, that meant the gods were displeased with them.
Now, we know that there is not a pantheon of capricious gods who bless and curse humans for their own amusement. There is only one God who rules over all and is sovereign over everything that takes place on this earth. But Egypt didn’t know this. And according to Scripture, it’s something Israel may have forgotten, as well. Joshua 24:14 suggests that Israel worshipped the Egyptian gods before they entered the Promised Land. As He made a way for Israel to return to Him and the land He had promised them, God not only needed to show Egypt that He was the only true God, but He also needed to show this to Israel. So, His Ten Plagues—His ten judgments—were not only executed on Egypt; they were executed on Egypt’s gods (Exodus 12:12).
The first plague, which is perhaps one of the more well-known plagues, was the turning of the Nile River to blood (Exodus 7:17). Not only did this prevent Egyptians from drinking water from the river (or any other water source, according to Exodus 7:19), the plague also killed all the fish living in the river (Exodus 7:21). If you’ve ever smelled a bunch of dead fish, you can imagine how much Egypt reeked after this was done. But like I mentioned above, the plagues were not just meant to punish Egypt but also their gods. Some believe that this plague was directed toward Hapi or Isis, the god and goddess of the Nile, respectively. But others think it was directed toward Osiris because it was believed that the Nile was his bloodstream, and by executing this plague, God essentially spilled the blood of Osiris for all of Egypt to see.
The second plague involved an invasion of frogs. The frogs swarmed the Nile River and covered nearly every area and surface in Egypt, including beds, ovens, and kneading bowls (Exodus 8:2-3). Scholars believe that this plague was directed toward Heqet, a goddess of fertility who was depicted as taking the form of a frog or a frog-headed woman. Because of Egypt’s reverence for this goddess, the Egyptians viewed frogs as sacred and not to be killed. You can imagine Egypt’s horror not only when they became infested by creatures they couldn’t kill but also when they discovered their sacred goddess had no real control over the frogs they held so dear.
These indictments of Egypt’s gods continued as God unleashed new plagues upon the people. With the fourth plague came swarms a flies and a judgment against Uatchit, Egypt’s goddess of flies and insects (Exodus 8:21). The fifth plague killed all of Egypt cattle and is believed to have judged Apis, a bull god, or Hathor, a goddess with a cow’s head (Exodus 9:6). During the sixth plague, boils broke out on both man and animal and could not be healed by Sekhmet, Egypt’s goddess of healing (Exodus 9:9-10). And the ninth plague brought complete and utter darkness across all of Egypt for three straight days and the subsequent defeat of Ra, Egypt’s great sun god (Exodus 10:22).
The tenth and final plague was, of course, the slaying of the firstborns. The only way to escape this plague was to paint the blood of sacrificial lambs on the doorpost of your home, but in the homes of those who did not do this, all firstborn children and animals were killed (Exodus 12:23, 29). In the Bible, the number ten is often associated with completion or perfection and God’s divine authority. With this tenth plague, God completely defeated and destroyed Pharaoh (who was viewed as a god incarnate) and the entire Egyptian pantheon. He established Himself as the One True God who has authority over life and death.
The Pharoah finally let Israel go after this last plague, and they fled into the wilderness, though it unfortunately didn’t take long for Israel to forget the God who saved them and turn back to a deity much like the ones they left behind in Egypt (Exodus 32:1-4). God had to remind them again of who He was and that He was the only God worthy of their worship (Exodus 32:35). As Jen Wilkin wrote in her book, Ten Words to Live By,
“If the God who topped all rivals in Egypt has brought you out of Egypt by his mighty outstretched arm, the only logical response is to obey the first word: ‘You shall have no other gods before me.”[1]
In today’s culture, we may not recognize a pantheon that includes gods like Ra, Isis, or Osiris, but we do still venerate and worship a variety of gods—the god of wealth and riches, the god of gender and sexuality, the god of power and influence. The God of the Israelites, the God of the Bible is the only true God, the only Deity who truly deserves to sit on the throne of our hearts. He is sovereign over all, and He demands our worship. We shall have no other gods before Him.
Choose today whom you will serve. The gods of the culture, who will not bring you true joy or satisfaction in this life, or the One True God, who promises to give you abundant and everlasting life if you submit your life to Him (John 10:10).
“But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” Joshua 24:15b
[1] Jen Wilkin, Ten Words to Live By: Delighting in and Doing What God Commands (Wheaton: Crossway, 2021), 23.
