The Ten Plagues of Egypt

Moses and Aaron stood before Pharaoh with God's command: 'Let my people go, so that they may worship me.' But Pharaoh arrogantly responded, 'Who is the Lord, that I should obey him and let Israel go? I do not know the Lord and I will not let Israel go.' This defiance set the stage for a confrontation that would demonstrate the Lord's supremacy over all the gods of Egypt and the most powerful ruler in the ancient world.

God sent ten plagues, each one escalating in severity and targeting specific Egyptian deities. The first plague turned the Nile—Egypt's lifeline and the river god Hapi—into blood, killing all the fish and making the water undrinkable. But Pharaoh's heart remained hard. The second plague brought hordes of frogs from the Nile, covering every surface in Egypt. When Pharaoh begged for relief, Moses prayed and the frogs died, but Pharaoh hardened his heart again as soon as he had respite.

The third plague turned all the dust of Egypt into gnats that covered people and animals. Pharaoh's magicians, who had replicated the first two signs, failed to duplicate this and admitted, 'This is the finger of God.' But still Pharaoh refused. The fourth plague sent swarms of flies throughout Egypt—but not in Goshen where the Israelites lived, demonstrating God's distinction between His people and the Egyptians. Pharaoh promised to let Israel go but changed his mind once the flies were removed.

The fifth plague struck all Egyptian livestock with a deadly pestilence, yet not one animal belonging to the Israelites died. The sixth plague caused painful boils to break out on people and animals throughout Egypt. The magicians couldn't even stand before Moses because of the boils on their bodies. The seventh plague brought devastating hail mixed with fire, destroying crops and killing anyone caught outside—yet Pharaoh's heart remained hard, fulfilling God's prediction that He would harden Pharaoh's heart to multiply His signs.

The eighth plague sent locusts that devoured everything green that the hail had left. Pharaoh's officials pleaded with him, 'How long will this man be a snare to us? Let the people go!' Pharaoh tried to negotiate, offering to let only the men go, but Moses insisted all must go. The ninth plague brought total darkness over all Egypt for three days—so thick it could be felt—while the Israelites had light in their dwellings. Still Pharaoh refused, though he tried another negotiation.

Finally, God announced the tenth and most devastating plague: at midnight, the Lord would pass through Egypt and every firstborn son would die, from Pharaoh's son to the son of the lowliest servant, and all the firstborn of the cattle as well. There would be loud wailing throughout Egypt such as there had never been before. But among the Israelites, not even a dog would bark at any person or animal. God instructed the Israelites to mark their doorposts with the blood of a lamb, and the destroyer would pass over those homes.

At midnight, the Lord struck down all the firstborn in Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sat on the throne to the firstborn of the prisoner in the dungeon, and all the firstborn of the livestock. Pharaoh rose in the night, and there was loud wailing in Egypt, for there was not a house without someone dead. Finally broken, Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron in the night and said, 'Up! Leave my people, you and the Israelites! Go, worship the Lord as you have requested. Take your flocks and herds and go.' The Egyptians urged the people to hurry and leave, fearing they would all die.

The ten plagues accomplished multiple purposes: they judged the gods of Egypt, demonstrated the Lord's supreme power, brought about Israel's release from slavery, and became a testimony to all nations of God's might. The plagues also foreshadowed God's final judgment and the redemption accomplished through Christ, our Passover Lamb, whose blood protects believers from divine wrath.