LOOK | WHAT DOES IT SAY?
THINK | WHAT DOES IT MEAN?
(A) Judgment on the gods of Egypt. At least part of God's intention through the ten plagues is to show that Pharaoh and the gods of Egypt, for all of their terrible prestige and willingness to afflict hardship on people, have no authority. God says in Exodus 12:12 that "on all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments: I am the LORD." Whether God is referring here to the gods of Egypt as symbols of Egyptian authority, or as real demonic powers behind Egyptian mythology, would be an interesting topic for further conversation. But one could just imagine the impression that the plagues left on those who had grown up steeped in Egyptian religion. The Life Application Study Bible note for Exodus 10:22 says "As each gloomy plague descended upon the land, the Egyptian people realized how powerless their own gods were to stop it. Hapi, the god of the Nile River, could not prevent the waters from turning to blood (7:20). Hathor, the crafty cow-goddess, was helpless as Egyptian livestock died in droves (9:6). Amon-Re, the sun-god and chief of the Egyptian gods, could not stop an eerie darkness from covering the land for three full days (10:21, 22). The Egyptian gods were (1) not personal, centering around images like the sun or the river; (2) numerous; (3) not exclusive (any and all could be worshiped). By contrast, the God of the Hebrews was (1) a living personal Being, (2) the only true God, and (3) the only God who should be worshiped. God was proving to both the Hebrews and the Egyptians that he alone is the living and all-powerful God."
(B) The Ipuwer Papyrus. There is a possible, though disputed, Egyptian recollection of the Exodus contained in something known as the Ipuwer Papyrus, written by a royal Egyptian scribe of the same name. Many of its statements are strikingly similar to plagues that we find in Exodus, from "Indeed, the river is blood, yet men drink from it," to "the land is without light," to "he who places his brother in the ground is everywhere" (this is a partial list). It even seems to have parallels to other events like the plundering of the Egyptians, and to Moses pouring out water on the ground as part of his initial signs given to him in Exodus 4. So we read: "gold and lapis lazuli, silver and turquoise, carnelian and amethyst, Ibhet-stone and […] are strung on the necks of maidservants" and "he who poured water on the ground has carried off the strong man in misery." If you have a little time, go and check out this link to the Armstong Institute's write-up on the possible connections between the Exodus and the Ipuwer Papyrus, and decide for yourself whether the connection seems compelling or not. They also include a link to the full translation of the Ipuwer Papyrus near the end.
(C) The Lord hardened Pharaoh's heart. There is some question throughout the plagues about whether God hardened Pharaoh's heart against letting Israel go. Some have asked whether Pharaoh hardened his own heart. Others have said that Pharaoh hardened his own heart initially, and then God merely solidified him in his stubbornness. What makes it more tricky is this section in Exodus 9:34-10:1 where we read: "But when Pharaoh saw that the rain and the hail and the thunder had ceased, he sinned yet again and hardened his heart, he and his servants. So the heart of Pharaoh was hardened, and he did not let the people of Israel go, just as the LORD had spoken through Moses. Then the LORD said to Moses, 'Go in to Pharaoh, for I have hardened his heart and the heart of his servants, that I may show these signs of mine among them.'" Even when Pharaoh hardens his own heart, God says immediately after that He was the cause of Pharaoh hardening his own heart. Then in Exodus 10:16-17 after Pharaoh repents and says "I have sinned against the LORD your God, and against you. Now therefore, forgive my sin... remove this death from me" we then read in Exodus 10:20 that afterwards "the LORD hardened Pharaoh's heart, and he did not let the people of Israel go." Whatever the explanation is, we need to remember that (1) God is just. Pharaoh was no saint even before the plagues began, and God is not unjust for hardening someone against having a temporary, false repentance out of self-preservation, in order to use them as an example to others. By solidifying a bad man into a consistent mode of behavior, God demonstrated through Pharaoh the disaster that sin and pride brings into a person's life and the lives of those around them. (2) Jesus consistently implored those around him not to harden their hearts. The danger is that if we allow ourselves to become set in a certain course of action or attitude or thought pattern, out of pride or resentment, there is a real danger that we may never get out of that pattern. The Puritans used to say that "the same sun that melts the ice hardens the clay," and hardening of heart is a real phenomenon. When we allow ourselves to get set on some idea about a person or the way that something should be, it might not matter how much light is shone on us after that, it might just increase our resentment and harden us further. That would be a terrible place to be. Here's the truth from a pastor: I have seen this tragically take place many, many times across 8 churches now. One more truth: I've never seen a case like that where most other people in the church weren't already aware of the unhealth. Often rather than confront the hardened person and receive the backlash, most tend to be one of the few who stay and put up with it, or they move on.
(D) The theory that the plagues were natural occurrences. This comes from the CSB Apologetics Study Bible, from the notes on Exodus 7:20-21: "Were the ten plagues natural occurrences, not miracles? According to the Bible they were true miracles—signs and wonders performed by God (6:6; 7:3-4; 8:19). Theologically, a miracle can be defined as God’s working at just the right time, in just the right place, in just the right degree to produce a redemptive outcome. Miracles are acts of God, but God can make them happen in various ways. As Creator of the universe He can work miracles through nature, or outside the natural order when it suits His purposes. The events of Joshua 3:16 may be an example of a miracle occurring when God worked through natural forces. But God is not bound by nature; He is Spirit (John 4:24) and exists outside the material order. Thus He can act in ways that differ from the patterns we call 'scientific laws.' Christ’s resurrection from the dead is the greatest miracle of this type. The biblical description of the events associated with the ten plagues allows for the possibility that God used natural processes to bring judgments on Egypt’s gods (Exodus 12:12) and set His people free from Egyptian captivity. Some have suggested that bacteria turned the waters red, and the poisoned waters killed the fish and forced the frogs to seek cool, moist places away from the Nile. When the frogs died their corpses were a breeding ground for two types of small insects. These, in turn, spread communicable diseases among both animals and humans, resulting in death to the livestock and boils upon the people. A well-timed locust plague followed by a spring hailstorm devastated Egypt’s crops. Shortly thereafter a desert sandstorm or dust cloud darkened most of Egypt. Finally a devastating plague, perhaps one caused by the insects, killed both humans and beasts among the non-Israelites. God was at work in the entire sequence of events, making them occur in the appropriate location, at the designated time, and at the prescribed intensity level. If God chose to work outside the natural order, it is reasonable to assume that the waters of the Nile were transformed for a time into actual blood. No causal chain would be needed to link the events of the first plague with those that followed up through the sixth, and possibly the tenth, as described above. God could bring small insects into existence directly from the dust of the earth (8:16-17) without resorting to natural causes. He made these ten events take place in response to Pharaoh’s stubbornness. Though this second option may be less intellectually satisfying to Americans and Europeans, it is within God’s power to have brought about the plagues in this way. Which of these methods did God employ to create the ten plagues? Since both account for all the biblical facts, either is a viable possibility. It is enough to affirm that God did them and that they fully accomplished His purposes."
RESPOND | WHAT IS OUR PART?
There are a number of items in today's reading, and we've had a few insights from sources outside of the Bible as well. Now we have time to apply this to our attitudes, actions, and worship. (1) Do we fall in awe at the feet of God who has power over nature and over the human heart? (2) Do we look further into extra-biblical evidence for Scripture so that we can better share our faith with friends and neighbours? (And if you don't have any, an application might be to work on that--I promise, if you give up one non-Sunday morning church commitment to go and get to know your neighbours better, your pastor won't be upset.) (3) Do we search our own hearts for tendencies to harden ourselves into certain positions and attitudes, and resolve to take concrete steps to change that? These and many others could be possible responses to the reading today.
PRAY | HOW DOES THIS BRING US CLOSER TO GOD?
Here is a suggested prayer prompt: "God, I just want to love you; to learn, to grow, and to walk humbly with you. If there is anything in my heart that I need to work on -and I know there always will be- help me to see it. Do the work in my soul that I am not strong enough to do on my own. Show me how I can glorify and honour you in my life today. Help me to love you with all of my heart, mind, soul, and strength. And thank you that you have loved me first."
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