October 20, 2006
“THAT YOU MAY KNOW THAT I AM YAHWEH!”
Exodus 7-10
We are in Exodus, chapter 7. We left the story two weeks ago at the end of round one of what will turn out to be a 12 round heavyweight championship boxing match. In one corner is Pharaoh, ruler of all Egypt, lord of all he surveys, reputed to be descended from and representing all the gods of Egypt. In the other corner is Yahweh, the God of Israel.
In the first round, Moses presented God’s demands We watched Pharaoh respond in fury. And with vicious, raw power he struck against the helpless Israelite slaves, increasing their labor and punishing them when they fail to meet the increased demands. At the end of round one, both Israel and Moses are ready to quit. Pharaoh’s power seems unassailable. Score round one for Pharaoh.
But between rounds, God says to Moses, “Now we have Pharaoh right where we want him. Now watch and see what I will do with my powerful hand!”
The bell rings for the start of round two which is where we pick up the story today in the middle of Exodus 7. There is a preliminary flurry of blows in the center of the ring. Aaron throws down his staff. It becomes a hissing snake! Pharaoh counters with his magicians. They throw down their staffs, and they become snakes! We are not sure if they do it by some kind of sleight of hand or conjuring trick, or if they actually possess supernatural, occult powers. But before their eyes, a very strange and, for those sensitive to omens, a hugely significant thing happens. Aaron’s snake/staff promptly strikes and then swallows the snakes/staffs of the Egyptians.
Then the fight gets serious. At God’s command, Aaron lifts his rod and in Pharaoh’s presence, he strikes the waters of the Nile, and instantaneously, the water turns to blood. Not only does the river water turn to blood, but so does the water in all the canals and ponds and even the containers in their homes and palaces. The water stinks! The fish die! Pharaoh makes a feeble attempt at a counter blow. Once again, he turns to his magicians. By their magic power they also are able to turn water into blood. But it is a weak response. What Pharaoh needed was someone who could change the blood back to water! There is nothing to drink. The people are reduced to digging around the river for water that is palatable only because it has been filtered by the sand. For seven days the people suffer. Score round two for Yahweh. The score is now: Yahweh – 1, Pharaoh – 1.
But Pharaoh does not give up. His heart is hard, his chin is set with determination. Round three begins when God, through Moses, announces a plague of frogs. Out of the river they come! There are thousands upon thousands of them, hopping up onto the land and into the houses and palaces, the kitchens, the tables, the beds of the Egyptians. This one is almost funny if you can use your imaginations. It isn’t life threatening, but it is rather creepy. There are frogs everywhere you look! Once again, Pharaoh counters with his magicians. Once again they are up to the challenge and they are also able to summon up frogs. But Pharaoh doesn’t need more frogs! He needs someone who can make the frogs go away! For some reason, these frogs get through to Pharaoh. He calls for Moses and begs him to ask Yahweh to remove the frogs and he will let the Israelites go. The score is now: Yahweh – 2, Pharaoh – 1.
But when the frogs have died and been piled in smelly heaps, Pharaoh hardens his heart and changes his mind. He will not let the Israelites go! So the stage is set for round four. At God’s instructions, Aaron strikes the ground with his rod, and the dust becomes a numberless horde of annoying insects. We are not exactly sure of the identity of these insects, as the Hebrew word only occurs in this passage and its meaning is uncertain. Various suggestions have been made from mosquitoes to ticks to fleas to lice to gnats. Whatever they are, they are very annoying and they are everywhere. Pharaoh summons his magicians. They try, but this time, they are unable to reproduce any of the annoying insects. They certainly have no power to take them away. The score is now Yahweh – 3, Pharaoh – 1.
But Pharaoh’s heart is still hard. He is not about to quit. He comes back for round 5. This time, Pharaoh is again given full warning and a chance to let the Israelites go. When he refuses, swarms of flies infest the land. Actually, once again we are at a bit of a loss to identify the precise nature of this plague. In this case, the text does not even identify the insect by a Hebrew word. It simply states that the land was full of swarms. We are left to imagine what kind of swarms these are. But we know that they are everywhere, in their homes and in the air and on the ground. There is no place to go to find relief. Pharaoh’s magicians have admitted defeat. They no long even try to duplicate God’s power. In distress, Pharaoh calls for Moses and offers to let the Israelites go to offer sacrifices if the swarms are taken away. After warning him not to go back on his word again, Moses prays and the swarms are removed. The score is now: Yahweh – 4, Pharaoh – 1.
But again, when the swarms are removed, Pharaoh hardens his heart and changes his mind. The people are not allowed to go. Are you starting to see a pattern of repetition here? The rounds begin to tick off with almost monotonous regularity. The next round is a terrible plague that wipes out the livestock of the Egyptians. The next is a plague of boils that break out on both animals and people. The next is a hail storm more severe than has ever struck the land of Egypt before or since. The next is a plague of locusts so numerous that they literally cover the ground and devour every living plant that was not destroyed by the hail. The next is three days of total darkness; a darkness that can be felt as well as seen. It is so total that no one can even leave their homes for three days. As the rounds pass, the score mounts: Yahweh - 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and still, Pharaoh – 1.
But incredibly, in spite of intermittent calls for mercy, at the end of each round, Pharaoh gets up, hardens his heart and comes back for more. His nation is on its knees. Its economy is shattered. His counselors and people are begging for it to end. They are pleading with Pharaoh to throw in the towel. But still he refuses. Instead of letting the Israelites go, Exodus 10 ends with Pharaoh ordering Moses out of his sight and threatening to kill him if he ever comes into his presence again. Ten rounds of the fight are now over. The score is Yahweh – 9, Pharaoh – 1. But Pharaoh is still on his throne and the Israelites are still slaves. The fight isn’t over yet. The climactic, last two rounds are still to come. But you will have to come back next week and the week after for those last two rounds.
What I want to do in the rest of this message is to step back and address some questions which may come into our minds as we read these chapters and try to make sense of what is happening. The first question is one of primarily intellectual interest. What were the plagues? Specifically, were the plagues natural or supernatural phenomena? This is a very old question and many scholars seem to be in a great rush to offer natural explanations for these events, explaining the plagues as a cycle of natural disasters. One sample of such an effort goes something like this. The Nile River turning to blood is a description of either the run off of a great flood upstream or an infestation of a red colored algae that looked like blood. The contaminated water then drove the frogs up on land. The piles of decomposing frogs bred the swarms of insects, the insects then spread a plague, possible anthrax, to the cattle, and the boils were a skin disease, again, possibly a form of anthrax, caught from the livestock. Hail and locusts are naturally occurring phenomena. The three days of darkness can be explained as an intense dust/sand storm aggravated by the stripped landscape.
Such explanations may be intriguing, and I certainly do not rule out all natural explanations for some of the individual plagues. But I do object to any recreation of these events that limits them to purely natural causes. I would simply highlight certain features in the account that point directly and clearly to the supernatural power of God at work. First is the instantaneous beginning point of each of the plagues, always at the word of God through Moses. Second is that the overwhelming extent and severity of these plagues point to a cause beyond that which is naturally occurring in nature. Third is the instantaneous ending of the various plagues, once again in response to God’s word or in answer to prayer to God. Fourth is the miraculous protection of the Israelites. From the fourth plague onward, we are clearly told that the land in which the Israelites dwelt was spared: be it the swarms of flies, the plague on the livestock, the hail. Even on the days of total darkness in Egypt, the text clearly states, Yet all the Israelites had light in the places where they lived. Such a clear and, by nature, purely arbitrary division between one part of Egypt and another can only be explained by God’s own supernatural power. Clearly, the only explanation of these events that does justice to the text itself is that given by God himself in Exodus 6:1: Now you will see what I will do to Pharaoh: Because of my mighty hand he will let them go; because of my mighty hand he will drive them out of his country. By whatever combination of natural and supernatural forces, this is God’s mighty hand that is on display.
The second question I want us to consider together is Why did God send the plagues? What was his purpose in pouring out these particular judgments and miraculous displays against the Egyptians? To answer this question, we will consider only the words of Scripture itself. In the Bible, we actually find that God was fulfilling three purposes in these chapters.
First, God was punishing the Egyptians for enslaving and oppressing the Israelites. We find this answer given in a prophetic passage, way back in Genesis 15 when God was talking to Abraham. This is what he says in Genesis 15:13-14. Then the LORD said to him, ‘Know for certain that your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own, and they will be enslaved and mistreated four hundred years. But I will punish the nation they serve as slaves and afterward they will come out with great possessions. In the plagues, God is punishing the Egyptians for their mistreatment of the Israelites.
Second, the plagues demonstrate that Yahweh, the God of Israel is supreme in power over all the gods of Egypt. We catch a hint of this in Exodus 12:12. This verse, which contains the prophecy of the tenth and final plague against the Egyptians, also tells us the purpose of all the plagues: And I will bring judgment on all the gods of Egypt. Bible scholars and Egyptologists have made many interesting connections between the plagues and the gods of Egypt. Some of their connections are more convincing than others. Let me just highlight the stronger links. First of all, the Nile River turning to blood: the Egyptians worshiped the Nile as the creator and sustainer of their nation. They actually had three gods that represented the Nile in its different phases or aspects: Osiris, Nu and Hapi. With one mighty strike of Aaron’s staff, the power of God nullified the life-giving force of the Nile, turning its precious water to blood which stank and destroyed life, rather than gave life. What about the second plague of frogs? The Egyptians also had a goddess called Hekt (or Heqet) which they portrayed as having the head of a frog. Thus the frog was viewed as sacred in Egypt, and could not be killed, leaving the Egyptians particularly vulnerable to this plague. One can only imagine the symbolic effect of the piles of dead and stinking frogs that remained after this plague. The fifth plague against the livestock, especially the cattle, struck at another of the Egyptians’ gods. Cults dedicated to the worship of bulls were common in Egypt, and the goddess Isis was generally depicted with cow horns on her head. The devastation this plague caused to their beloved cattle was not only an economic loss. It was a blow against their gods. The connection between some of the other plagues and specific gods of Egypt are a little harder to demonstrate, until we recognize that that the Egyptians worshipped a wide array of gods whose primary function was to protect them from natural, physical disasters. The plagues against Egypt clearly portrayed that their divine protectors were helpless against the power of the God of Israel. The plague of darkness struck at the heart of the Egyptians’ worship of the god they called Amon-Re or Ra, whom they identified with the sun. This god was closely identified with Pharaoh. In fact Pharaoh was thought to be the son of Amon-Re. When the sun ceased to shine at the word of Yahweh, God was once again demonstrating his power over the gods of Egypt.
You see, in the plagues God was doing more than simply demonstrating the power of his mighty hand. The plagues, taken individually and together, were hammer blows against the false gods and false worship of the Egyptians. I will bring judgment on all the gods of Egypt. Yahweh is supreme in power not only over Pharaoh, but over all the gods of Egypt.
Third, through the plagues, God declared his identity and glory to Pharaoh, to Egypt, to Israel and to all nations. Do you remember what Pharaoh said when Moses first went to him and said, Thus says Yahweh, the God of Israel, ‘Let my people go!’ He roared his disdain! Who is Yahweh? I don’t know Yahweh and I will not let Israel go!
I think it is very significant that when I analyzed the text, I found that five times God said specifically to Pharaoh “I am doing this so that you will know that I am Yahweh. Let’s look at those verses. Exodus 7:17: By this you will know that I am Yahweh. In Exodus 8:10: It will be as you say so that you may know there is no one like Yahweh our God. In Exodus 8:22: So that you will know that I, Yahweh, am in this land. In Exodus 9:14: So that you may know that there is no one like me in all the earth. And finally in Exodus 9:29: So you may know that the earth is Yahweh’s. Pharaoh had issued a direct challenge: Who is Yahweh? Over and over again, Yahweh says to him, I am doing this so that you will know that I am Yahweh.
But it didn’t stop with Pharaoh. God was declaring his power and glory to all Egypt. In Exodus 7:5, we read, And the Egyptians will know that I am Yahweh when I stretch out my hand against Egypt. The plagues also had a purpose as a testimony to the people of Israel.. God also wanted to be sure that the Israelites, would have this demonstration of God’s power to remember and to tell their children. We see this in Exodus 10:1-2: Go to Pharaoh, for I have hardened his heart and the hearts of his officials so that I may perform these miraculous signs of mine among them that you may tell your children and grandchildren how I dealt harshly with the Egyptians and how I performed my signs among them and that you may know that I am Yahweh.
But even this is not the full extent of God’s purpose in the plagues. He was declaring his glory to all nations. We find this in Exodus 9:16 when God says to Pharaoh: But I have raised you up for this very purpose, that I might show you my power, and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth. Wherever the Israelites went, the story of what God had done for them in Egypt went before them. This was the nation with a powerful God, whose God had delivered them from Egypt.
So this was God’s purpose behind the plagues: to punish Egypt for oppressing Israel, to demonstrate Yahweh’s supremacy over the gods of Egypt and to declare his identity and glory to Pharaoh, to Egypt to Israel and to all nations. You will know that I am Yahweh.
What lessons should we take away from these chapters? This isn’t the sort of passage that lends itself to a nice tidy conclusion, and three easy steps to a better life. But there are some important lessons here. They are lessons in theology; lessons to shape our minds and our view of the world around us, to help us think Biblically. What do we learn about God from these chapters? Let me highlight four truths to ponder and meditate on.
God says, “I will punish the Egyptians for oppressing my people.” God’s ways are not our ways. God’s timing is not our timing. But he is a God of justice. He will call all men and all nations to account. He is the judge of all the earth, and he will do right. This is a truth for us to consider seriously, whether we are the victim of others’ injustice and oppression, or whether we are tempted to act wrongly or unfairly toward others.
The story of the plagues and God’s deliverance of his people is one of the clearest manifestations of God’s power that we have in the Bible. God demonstrated what he can do. He has all power to act, both supernaturally and naturally to accomplish his purposes. “Our God is so big, so strong and so mighty, there’s nothing our God cannot do!”
We see this in God’s battle against with Pharaoh. Pharaoh thought that he was acting independently to oppose the purposes of God. And he was. Yet each time he hardened his heart, there is a telling phrase in the text, occurring six times: As Yahweh had said. (example, 7:22) There is a theological mystery here. Sometimes the text says that Pharaoh hardened his heart. Sometimes it simply says that his heart was hardened. But on at least 10 occasions the text specifically says that God “hardened Pharaoh’s heart.” Paul picks up on this truth in Romans 9:17-18: For the Scripture says to Pharaoh: “I raised you up for this very purpose, that I might display my power in you and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.” Therefore God has mercy on whom he wants to have mercy, and he hardens whom he wants to harden. This mystery of the interaction between the sovereign choice of God and the free will of man has consumed endless pages and hours of theological debate. We shall not resolve it today. I simply declare this Biblically revealed truth, illustrated in the story of the epic battle between God ahd Pharaoh. Yahweh is a sovereign God. Such a truth is strong meat for our minds and our souls. Ponder that truth.
I gleaned this truth in part from silence. The people of Israel are almost totally missing from the story in Exodus 7-10. Back in Exodus 6:9, we read that Moses repeated this to the Israelites, but they did not listen to him because of their discouragement and cruel bondage. In other words, they have given up. They have no more hope, no more faith. Yet God, on his own and without their help, proceeds to his work of deliverance. In fact, the only time the people of Israel are mentioned in chapters 7-10 is to call attention to the fact that God is protecting them from the effects of the plagues in the rest of Egypt. Exodus 7-10 is not a story of a mighty nation. It is a story of a mighty God of grace, working to redeem his people from slavery. The other source for this application is found in the words of Scripture: Deuteronomy 7:7-9 speaks to this truth: Yahweh did not set his affection on you and choose you because you were more numerous than other peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples. But it was because Yahweh loved you and kept the oath he swore to your forefathers that he brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the land of slavery, from the power of Pharaoh king of Egypt. Know therefore that Yahweh your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commands. In other words, I didn’t choose you, Israel, because you deserve to be chosen. I chose you because of my grace, my unmerited favor.
Yahweh is a God of justice, a God of power, a sovereign God, a God of grace. I will do these things so that you will know that I am Yahweh, and there is none like me in all the earth.