Ten Plagues of Egypt

Moses stood forward against Pharaoh as the representative of God’s will—specifically, that Hebrew people should be released from slavery and allowed to leave Egypt—and God kept Pharaoh from believing. God hardened Pharaoh’s heart, because it was necessary that the full gamut of plagues be played out. Why? because the ten plagues were not randomly selected, but represented a deeper, theological reality. Each plague displayed the triumph of God over specific Egyptian gods. 

1. Hapi was the Egyptian god of the Nile. The first plague saw the water of the Nile turned to blood. The Lord defeats Hapi. 
2. Heket was the Egyptian goddess of fertility, water, and renewal. She had the head of a frog. The second plague was frogs coming out of the Nile. The Lord defeats Hecket.
3. Geb was the Egyptian god over the dust of the earth. The third plague was lice emerging from the dust of the earth. The Lord defeats Geb.
4. Khepri was the Egyptian god of creation, movement of the sun, and rebirth. Khepri had the head of a fly. The fourth plague was one of flies. God defeats Khepri.
5. Hathor was the Egyptian goddess of love and protection. She had the head of a cow. The fifth plague was the death of cattle and livestock. God defeats Hathor.
6. Isis was the Egyptian goddess of medicine and peace. The sixth plague was of ashes, boils, and sores. The Lord defeats Isis.
7. Nut was the Egyptian goddess of the sky. The seventh plague was of hail and fire that rained down from the sky. God defeats Nut.
8. Seth was the Egyptian god of storms and disorder. The eighth plague was a storm and disorder of locusts. God defeats Seth. 
9. Ra was the Sun god. The ninth plague was three days of darkness. God defeats Ra. 
10. Finally, Pharaoh himself was the ultimate power of Egypt. As king of Egypt, he was worshipped by the Egyptians because it was believed that he was the son of Ra, manifest in the flesh. The tenth plague was against the firstborn. God finally and decisively defeats Pharaoh, just as He revealed himself to be far above and beyond all the false gods of Egypt.

So there’s more to the plagues than just physical mischief. God used the plagues to reveal Himself through Moses to be the one, true, almighty Lord of all. 

The Black Death

Between 1346 and 1671, the Bubonic Plague killed up to 60% of the European population. People wondered why it was happening and what they had done for God to reckon such merciless wrath upon them. People prayed, confessed their sins, and tried to live more honest, holy lives. The plague persisted.  Religious fanaticism bloomed from fear and desperation. Heresies and rotten theologies rose up in attempts to wrest from God forgiveness and release from the plague. People soon sought scapegoats, including Jews, foreigners, beggars, gypsies, lepers, and various other groups.  

Fear and desperation drove many to violence. As 14^th century doctors and governments proved themselves utterly impotent, the people took matters into their own hands.  In February of  1349, The Strasbourg massacre saw over 2,000 Jews killed . That August, the Jewish communities in Mainz and Cologne were annihilated. In two more years, 60 major and 150 smaller Jewish communities had been destroyed. 

When murdering Jews failed to produce the desired outcome, people turned to magic, astrology, and about any wacky thing you might imagine to provide them with a key out of the crisis. So yes, the “cure” can be far worse than the disease. 

Wuhan Coronavirus

Unlike the Spanish Flu (which had nothing to do with Spain or Spaniards), we know the source of Covid-19. It came from Wuhan, China—either from the wet market or the nearby Wuhan Institute of Virology, the communist regime’s only BSL-4 (Biosafety Level 4) or P4 (Pathogen Level 4) facility. Getting more information is challenging, and Chinese medical professionals who seek to notify the public tend to disappear. In China, disseminating important information to the public seems to score a higher mortality rate than the virus itself.  Though the whole world now suffers under the Chinese virus, information as to its origin remains scant. Be clear: this non-information is another form of propaganda. In a most perverse turn, China has heightened its persecution of Christians. 

But perhaps there is something of the plague myth at work here as well. As the plagues of Egypt were but a means for God’s self-revelation, perhaps God is revealing something of Himself amidst this coronavirus. And while the Black Death caused fearful and desperate people to seek out and kill enemies who bore no responsibility for the plague, today we know without a doubt precisely who is responsible, but we must refuse to act on fear and desperation. We may have enemies, but we are commanded to love them. 

Plagues have a purpose. We know this because we know The Lord defeats every false god of this world, as He did in Egypt. What we failed to learn during the Bubonic Plague is that God is still in charge, even if we do not have an immediate answer. Violence issues from people failing to trust in God and demanding action by their own hands instead. Though rife with religiosity, the Medieval world forgot God. 

We must make neither mistake today. God is with us. God is in control. Good will be revealed in and after this present plague, but we must trust God and wait on Him alone. The Lord will defeat Covid-19, and we should be daily in prayer for God to reveal Himself to individuals who suffer its ravages, to researchers seeking His inspiration, and for new inroads to bless the people of China and break the perverse controls of the communist regime. †