The Ten Plagues

The first plague. Aaron “lifted up the rod and struck the waters that were in the river… And all the waters that were in the river were turned to blood” (7:20). The Nile gave Egypt water, food and farms. Now the river itself was ruined. Frogs everywhere. Next “the frogs came up and covered the land of Egypt” (8:6). Pharaoh begged, “Entreat the Lord that He may take away the frogs” (8:8). Moses said it would happen “that you may know that there is no one like the Lord our God” (8:10). A broken promise. When the frogs died, Pharaoh “hardened his heart and did not heed them” (8:15). He had promised to let Israel go, but he did not keep his word. The magicians give up. Then Aaron struck the dust, “and it became lice on man and beast” (8:17). The magicians tried and failed. They told Pharaoh, “This is the finger of God” (8:19). Even Egypt's wise men could see who was at work.

The Nile struck (7:20-21). The Nile was the life of Egypt. Its yearly flood watered every farm. Turning it to blood struck the center of Egypt's wealth and pride. Many Christians also see the plagues as judgments on Egypt's gods, such as the god of the Nile. Exodus itself says only, “against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment” (12:12). Warning after warning. Again and again the same thing happens: God sends a warning or a sign, the plague comes, Pharaoh responds, and his heart grows hard. Each round shows how patient God was and how stubborn Pharaoh became. “That you may know” (8:10). Moses let Pharaoh choose the time the frogs would leave. When they left right on time, no one could call it chance. Moses told him why: “that you may know that there is no one like the Lord our God.” God sent the plagues to judge sin, but also so that Egypt would know who He is. “The finger of God” (8:19). With the third plague the magicians reached their limit. Egypt's own experts admitted that the God of Israel was at work. Jesus later used the same phrase: “if I cast out demons with the finger of God, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you” (Luke 11:20). The God who humbled Egypt's magicians was at work in Jesus, setting people free.

God sent ten plagues on Egypt. A plague is a big trouble. First the Nile River turned to blood. The Egyptians needed that river for everything. They used it for drinking, cooking and farming. Then frogs covered the land. They hopped into beds and kitchens! The king begged Moses to pray. He promised to let the people go. But when the frogs died, he changed his mind. He did not keep his promise. Then God turned the dust into gnats. The magicians could not copy that one. They told the king, “God did this!” Even they could see God's power.

The river turned to blood. Then came frogs and gnats. God showed He is stronger than anyone. The magicians could not stop Him.

A difference. Before the flies, God said, “I will make a difference between My people and your people” (8:23). “Thick swarms of flies came into the house of Pharaoh… and into all the land of Egypt” (8:24), but not into Goshen. Animals and sores. “All the livestock of Egypt died; but of the livestock of the children of Israel, not one died” (9:6). Then Moses threw ashes toward heaven, “and they caused boils that break out in sores on man and beast” (9:10). The magicians “could not stand before Moses because of the boils” (9:11). Some Egyptians listened. Before the hail, God warned everyone to bring their animals inside. “He who feared the word of the Lord among the servants of Pharaoh made his servants and his livestock flee to the houses” (9:20). Not every Egyptian was against God. The great storm. “The Lord sent thunder and hail, and fire darted to the ground” (9:23). It was the worst storm in Egypt's history. “Only in the land of Goshen, where the children of Israel were, there was no hail” (9:26).

“A difference” (8:23). The Hebrew word here, pedut (say: peh-DOOT), comes from the word family for ransom or redemption. God was setting His people apart as His own. From the fourth plague on, Goshen was spared. Long before the cross, God was already showing that He redeems His people. Why so many? God told Pharaoh, “For this purpose I have raised you up, that I may show My power in you, and that My name may be declared in all the earth” (9:16). The plagues were a message to the whole world, so that nations far beyond Egypt would hear of the Lord. A door left open. The hail warning (9:19) gave every Egyptian a chance to respond. Some servants “feared the word of the Lord” (9:20) and acted on it. Even in judgment God made room for mercy. Later, “a mixed multitude” left Egypt with Israel (12:38). “The earth is the Lord's” (9:29). Moses tells Pharaoh he will pray and the hail will stop, “that you may know that the earth is the Lord's.” Psalm 24:1 says the same: “The earth is the Lord's, and all its fullness.” Egypt's king did not own the land, the river or the weather. God did.

Next God sent swarms of flies. But something was different this time. There were no flies in Goshen. Goshen was where God's people lived. God was keeping His people safe. Then the Egyptians' animals got sick and died. But the animals of God's people were fine. Then painful sores came on the Egyptians. Then God sent a terrible hailstorm. Some Egyptians believed God's warning. They brought their animals inside to be safe. But no hail fell in Goshen at all. God was showing that He cares for His people.

God sent flies, sickness and hail. But God's people were safe. God takes care of His people. He kept their animals safe too.

“I have sinned.” After the hail Pharaoh said, “I have sinned this time. The Lord is righteous, and my people and I are wicked” (9:27). Those sound like the right words. But when the storm stopped, “he sinned yet more; and he hardened his heart” (9:34). Locusts. “There remained nothing green on the trees or on the plants of the field throughout all the land of Egypt” (10:15). Pharaoh said again, “I have sinned against the Lord your God and against you. Now therefore, please forgive my sin only this once” (10:16-17). He wanted the trouble gone, not his sin gone. Darkness. “There was thick darkness in all the land of Egypt three days… But all the children of Israel had light in their dwellings” (10:22-23). “Get away from me!” Pharaoh told Moses, “See my face no more!” (10:28). Moses answered, “You have spoken well. I will never see your face again” (10:29). Pharaoh had turned away from God's messenger for the last time.

Confession without repentance. Pharaoh's words in 9:27 and 10:16 sound like a real confession. He named his sin and called the Lord righteous. But his actions show what was missing. He wanted relief from punishment, not a changed relationship with God. Paul names the difference: “godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation… but the sorrow of the world produces death” (2 Corinthians 7:10). Bargaining. Throughout these chapters Pharaoh tries to negotiate: worship in the land (8:25), not too far away (8:28), only the men (10:11), leave the flocks (10:24). Each offer keeps some control for himself. Real repentance gives up control; Pharaoh never does. Darkness that could be felt (10:21). God sent “darkness which may even be felt,” yet “all the children of Israel had light in their dwellings” (10:23). Egypt sat in darkness while God's people had light. Scripture often uses light and darkness this way. Jesus said, “I am the light of the world” (John 8:12). The final break (10:28-29). Pharaoh threatens Moses with death. Moses' answer closes the conversation. Pharaoh had been warned again and again, and he had pushed away every opportunity God gave him. God's patience is great, but it can be refused.

After the hail, the king called for Moses. He said, “This time I have sinned.” He promised to let the people go. But when the hail stopped, he changed his mind again. Then God sent locusts. Locusts are big bugs that eat plants. They ate everything the hail had left. The king said sorry again. But again he did not change. Then God sent darkness for three days. But God's people had light. The king got angry at Moses. He said, “Get out! Never come back!” Saying sorry is not enough if we do not change.

The king said, “I am sorry.” But he did not change. Real sorry means we stop doing wrong.

The warning. God told Moses, “I will bring one more plague on Pharaoh and on Egypt. Afterward he will let you go from here” (11:1). Moses warned Pharaoh that “all the firstborn in the land of Egypt shall die” (11:5). The firstborn is the oldest child. God's people protected. “But against none of the children of Israel shall a dog move its tongue… that you may know that the Lord does make a difference between the Egyptians and Israel” (11:7). In the next lesson we will see how God told His people to be safe that night. Midnight. “And it came to pass at midnight that the Lord struck all the firstborn in the land of Egypt” (12:29). “There was a great cry in Egypt, for there was not a house where there was not one dead” (12:30). A hard ending. This is one of the saddest parts of the Bible. Pharaoh had been warned many times. God had shown His power nine times. Pharaoh's refusal brought sorrow on his whole nation. It reminds us how serious it is to say no to God.

Announced long before. At the very start, God had told Moses to say, “Israel is My son, My firstborn. So I say to you, let My son go that he may serve Me. But if you refuse to let him go, indeed I will kill your son, your firstborn” (4:22-23). The last plague was not sudden. It was the outcome God had warned of before the first sign. Justice remembered. Years earlier, Egypt had ordered Israel's baby boys thrown into the Nile (1:22). Many Christians see God's justice in the way this judgment fell on the firstborn of the nation that tried to destroy God's children. God sees every wrong done to the helpless. From throne to dungeon (12:29). The judgment reached “from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sat on his throne to the firstborn of the captive who was in the dungeon.” No one in Egypt was above it, and no one was beneath God's notice. It was a night of real grief. Scripture never treats death lightly. A God of mercy and justice. God is “longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9). Nine plagues came first, each one a warning. Exodus shows both God's patience and the reality of His judgment. The next lesson shows the way of escape He provided.

God told Moses about one last plague. Moses warned the king. He told him exactly what would happen. At midnight the oldest son in each Egyptian family would die. But God would keep His people safe. The king still would not listen. Then it happened just as God had said. It was a very sad night in Egypt. Everyone was crying. God does not enjoy sadness. He had warned the king many times. But the king had said no to God again and again. Now he finally let God's people go. God had kept His promise to rescue them.

The last plague was very sad. Then the king let God's people go. God always keeps His word.

🎉 All Matched!