By David M. Renfro

It is probably the most famous story in the Old Testament. It involves God’s miraculous and gracious deliverance of His people from slavery in Egypt.

Yahwehⁱ had spoken of the plagues earlier in the book of Exodus. When He commissioned Moses to be His spokesman before Pharaoh Amenhotep II (1450-1425 B.C.), He told him that He would “strike Egypt with all My wonders…” (Exod 3:20).

PURPOSE OF THE PLAGUES

There are two groups of people directly involved in the story of the plagues—the Egyptians and the Israelites. There were likely several other enslaved peoples that also witnessed them.

The reasons for the plagues were to:

• Convince Pharaoh to let the Israelites leave Egypt.
• Teach all people (especially the Egyptians and the Israelites) about the sovereignty of the God of Israel and the incompetence of Egypt’s pagan deities.

Each group discussed below needed to learn some important things about the Person and work of Yahweh.

THE EGYPTIANS

The plagues’ main purpose for the Egyptians is clearly stated in Exod 7:5: “And the Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD.” The Egyptians, like almost all the other peoples in the Ancient Near East (ANE), worshipped many gods and goddesses derived from natural forces surrounding them (the sun, the moon, etc.). Because these elements were more powerful than humans, to the peoples’ minds they were sovereign forces worthy of worship.

The plagues demonstrated that these Egyptian deities were nothing compared to the omnipotence and absolute sovereignty of Yahweh. They were so powerless that it was as if they did not exist. Of course, in fact, they did not (and do not) exist.

What the plagues were not designed to be was to be a kind of punishment. Yahweh was not “paying them back” for the way they treated the Israelites. The plagues’ purpose was to show the Egyptians that He, not Egypt’s deities, was the God who controlled nature.

THE ISRAELITES

Likewise, the Israelites needed to learn that their God who was going to deliver them was the Sovereign LORD of the entire universe. No natural force was superior to Yahweh.

It is also interesting to notice that the pagan gods were sovereign only within the boundaries of the nations that worshipped them. The Egyptian gods had power only within the borders of the Egyptian Empire. It is possible that the Israelites thought the same about their God, Yahweh. They needed to learn that His sovereignty knows no bounds or limits.

Because they had lived in Egypt for over 400 years, the surrounding paganism had polluted their faith in the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Furthermore, all the surrounding civilizations with which they were going to have contact during the exodus were pagan. The idea that there was one invisible God was unheard-of in the ANE, especially if He had the power to deliver Israel from the most powerful kingdom in the world at that time.

Unfortunately, this lesson needed to be impressed upon Israel time and time again. They repeatedly slid back into paganism, as can be seen in the golden calf episode (Exodus 32). There were numerous lapses in the books of Numbers, Judges, and even until the Babylonian captivity (2 Chron 36:17-21).

THE CHURCH

Though not involved in the story itself, there is a third group—New Testament Christians—that needs to learn what the account of the plagues is meant to teach! This story is inspired Scripture and thus is valuable for us to learn as well (2 Tim 3:16).

We are as prone to lose our way spiritually as the Israelites were. One need only read the many NT passages relating to Christians who fall away from the faith (see Heb 6:4-6 for one example). New Testament believers need to be constantly reminded about the Person and work of our Lord Jesus Christ, His sovereign power over the universe (physical and spiritual), and how important it is to remain faithful to His Word (2 Pet 1:12-15).

PRELUDE TO THE PLAGUES

Planned Failure (Exodus 5)

Instead of freeing the Israelites, Pharoah made their lives even more miserable by increasing their workload (vv 6-9). He wanted to discourage the Israelites from thinking about freedom and to make them see Moses as incompetent and ineffective. Moses then complained to Yahweh about His apparent failure with Pharoah (vv 22-23).

Planned Deliverance (Exodus 6)

Ignoring his complaint, Yahweh told Moses that He had the Egyptians where He wanted them. What Moses saw as failure, Yahweh viewed as part of His plan.

Yahweh then declared His intention to deliver the Israelites from Egyptian slavery and take them to the Promised Land (vv 6-8).

Moses, still thinking that he failed to communicate effectively with Pharaoh, wanted Yahweh to replace him. Moses needed to learn that if Yahweh could make Balaam’s donkey speak (Num 22:28ff), He could overcome Moses’ supposed speech impediment.

The rest of the chapter (vv 14-30) describes Yahweh’s preparation of Moses and Aaron for the task at hand.

Planned Leadership (Chapter 7)

Verses 1-13 describe Yahweh’s commissioning of Moses and Aaron to be His representatives. They would be His mouthpiece to a stubborn and unresponsive Pharoah.

Pharoah asked for a miracle, so Aaron threw down his staff and it became a serpent (v 10). Yahweh allowed the Egyptian sorcerers to perform the same miracle (v 11). This made Pharoah even more stubborn concerning the superiority of Israel’s God, even when he saw Aaron’s staff consume the sorcerers’ staffs (v 12).

All of this was done to assure Moses and Aaron that Yahweh was in control and that He would accomplish what He promised. This act of grace allowed His servants to rest and have confidence in Yahweh’s sovereignty.

PATTERN OF THE PLAGUES

The plagues occurred in the following order:

At first glance, it might appear that there is no apparent logic or plan to the order of the plagues. However, it has also been suggested that the first nine plagues be organized as three cycles of three plagues each, culminating in the single last plague—the death of the firstborn (Exod 12:29).ⁱⁱ

Each cycle has the following characteristics:

• In the first plague of each cycle, Yahweh commands Moses to warn Pharaoh “in the morning” (Exod 7:14-25; 8:20-32; 9:13-35).
• The second plague in each cycle has Moses warning Pharaoh at an unspecified time (Exod 8:1-15; 9:1-7; 10:1-20).
• The third plague in each cycle strikes without any warning (Exod 8:16-19; 9:8-12; 10:21-29).

The plagues in each cycle get harsher and more destructive than those of the previous cycle(s).

That they were done in a particular order emphasizes the fact that the plagues were not a random, disorganized series of natural phenomena. They were controlled by Yahweh Himself, which was what the Egyptians, the Israelites, and all people need to learn––He is the sovereign LORD of all.

Where did the plagues occur? According to Psalm 78:43, they happened in a place called Zoan. The map below (provided by Tom Constable’s notes on Exodus) shows that Zoan was located in northern Egypt.

CONCLUSION

The account of the plagues on Egypt relates a watershed event in the history of Israel. Over 400 years earlier, God had made a promise to Abraham: He would give a specific land to his descendants (Gen 12:5-7). It was Yahweh’s timing to bring His people to this Promised Land during Moses’ time.

In future articles, we will study each plague to see what our LORD wants us to learn from it. We will see His matchless grace in His deliverance of the Israelites from slavery.

There is much to learn about Him in this account of His dealings with Egypt. It is my hope and prayer that we “grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 Pet 3:18).

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David Renfro and his wife Linda live in Highland Village, TX. He is a native Dallasite and has a Th. M. degree from D.T.S. in Old Testament Semitics. He is currently busy with writing projects as well as occasionally filling the pulpit in the Dallas area.

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ⁱ This article will use the covenant name of God, Yahweh (“I AM”, Exod 3:14). The NKJV translates this as ‘LORD.’

ⁱⁱ One example is G. Henton Davies, Exodus, Torch Bible Commentaries (London: SCM Press, Ltd., 1967), p. 90.