Today’s flashback post is a topic that always amazes me – every time I study Exodus it makes me marvel at the amazing sovereignty of our God over everything. Everything. EVERYTHING!

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As we continue on through the book of Exodus, we will be skipping a lot of events in order to focus on some major lessons. Make sure you read Exodus in your own Bible! (again, www.biblegateway.com is a great resource).

In Exodus 4:31, we have the people’s response to the message that God indeed was still working. “And when they realized that the Lord had seen their misery and was deeply concerned for them, they all bowed their heads and worshiped.” (NLT)

He had not forgotten. He had not lost control. He had heard their cries. He is the I Am, the powerful promisekeeper.

Now, after this Moses goes in to see Pharaoh for the first time. His response was not quite as enthusiastic as the Israelites’.

“Is that so?” retorted Pharaoh. “And who is the Lord that I should listen to him and let Israel go? I don’t know the Lord, and I will not let Israel go.” (5:2, NLT)

“I do not know the Lord!” Indeed he did not. So, God will introduce Himself.

These plagues were not random acts of terrorism that God was inflicting on a people He didn’t like. There is a bigger picture going on here – a theological one. Think back to your 9th grade world history class, and as you sort through the cobwebs in your mind, try to remember everything you learned about ancient Egypt. Obviously, mummies, pyramids, and a sphinx probably come to mind. All of those things were very religious – Egypt was, in fact, a very “religious” place. They were devoted to a whole pantheon of gods from Ra (the sun god) down to the god of the Nile who brought fertility to the land. As God begins the series of plagues on Egypt, each seems to answer a god that Egypt worshipped. He uses what their “god” was supposedly in control of and used to bless them in order to destroy them. The message: There is only one God worthy of worship. He is the I Am. He is the King of kings and Lord of lords.

There is also a repetition throughout the account of the plagues that must be noticed. A continual refrain of “you shall know that I am the LORD” (or variations) beats throughout this story. Again, these plagues were not random – they are theological statements. Below I have highlighted a few plagues, the statements about God’s supremacy, and noted the Egyptian god probably being addressed. (the information about Egyptian gods was taken from “The Plagues and the Exodus” by Dr. David Livingston).

Nile turning to blood: 7:17-18 Now the Lord says, “You are going to find out that I am the Lord.” Look! I will hit the water of the Nile with this staff, and the river will turn to blood. The fish in it will die, and the river will stink. The Egyptians will not be able to drink any water from the Nile.’ ”

**Hapi, spirit of the Nile in flood and “giver of life to all men.”

Plague of frogs: 8:9-10 “You set the time!” Moses replied. “Tell me when you want me to pray for you, your officials, and your people. I will pray that you and your houses will be rid of the frogs. Then only the frogs in the Nile River will remain alive.” “Do it tomorrow,” Pharaoh said. “All right,” Moses replied, “it will be as you have said. Then you will know that no one is as powerful as the Lord our God…”

**The frog-headed goddess, Hekt, played a part in “creation.” Hers was one of the oldest fertility cults in Egypt. But she could not control the fertility of a these frogs!

Plague of hail: 9:14 I will send a plague that will really speak to you and your officials and all the Egyptian people. I will prove to you that there is no other God like me in all the earth. 9:16 But I have let you live for this reason—that you might see my power and that my fame might spread throughout the earth.

**The sky goddess Nut was the mother of the sun-god Ra. She was especially culpable in this plague in that she was supposed to protect the land from destructions which came down from heaven.

Death of the firstborn: 12:12 I will execute judgment against all the gods of Egypt, for I am the Lord!

**The last plague was not only against the supreme god of Egypt, Pharaoh himself, but also against the future pharaoh, his son, the very next god (Horus) of Egypt.

The last plague, the death of the firstborn, was obviously the most painful for the Egyptians. It also is one of the most powerful illustrations of salvation in the Old Testament for the Hebrews. If you have ever been to a large museum that houses Egyptian artifacts, you probably have seen the stone doorframes which were common in Egypt. Around the sides and top, hieroglyphs would be carved. These are basically the names of Egyptian gods that the people of the house were claiming as their gods and asking for protection. Anyone who believed God at this point was instructed to kill a lamb, smear the blood across the doorframes of their houses, putting their trust in God alone to save them.

In other words:

1. On their own they were facing death (Romans 3:23: For all have sinned; all fall short of God’s glorious standard.)
2. No other god could save them – the only marking visible on that door would be the blood (John 14:6: Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.)
3. They had to have a lamb die in their place (Romans 3:25: For God sent Jesus to take the punishment for our sins and to satisfy God’s anger against us. We are made right with God when we believe that Jesus shed his blood, sacrificing his life for us.)

It is the only way. We are marked for death by our own sin and rebellion against God. The Lamb of God, Jesus Christ, has died in our place and shed His blood for us. Our own efforts, the “gods” that we worship cannot save us: good works, humanitarianism, intelligence, the faith of our families, material wealth, etc. We must cover those things up with the blood of Christ, knowing that nothing else will save us. Only Him.

Because the Lamb died, I live.