As we continue...from Noah to the Exodus is a huge leap forward in time, but a revelation to ponder. If you have ever read the Book of Exodus in the Bible, you’ll see that God is completely trustworthy. He does what He promises to do. Hundreds of years before, God told His covenant partner, Abraham, that Abraham’s offspring would be “strangers” in a foreign land and would be oppressed as slaves for 400 years, but then God would punish the nation that had enslaved them and they would come out and away from that nation with great wealth. (Genesis 15:14-16)

Imagine being enslaved in a pagan culture for 400+ years as slaves. You’d develop a “slave mentality”. The Israelites were enslaved longer than the USA has existed. They were accustomed to hearing about and even being influenced by the gods of Egypt. Please understand, there was spiritual power at work here. The power behind the Egyptian gods was demonic but it was real. The 10 judgements, or 10 plagues that fell upon Egypt, were judgements to show that the gods of Egypt were not worthy of consideration let alone worship. God alone is omnipotent, omnipresent and omniscient. There is no other God but Him alone.

The 10 plagues judged the 10 most worshipped demon-gods of Egypt:

Hapi, the god of the Nile…water turned to undrinkable blood

Heket, the god of fertility who was portrayed with the head of a frog…frogs everywhere

Geb, the god of the earth/dust…dust turned into gnats/lice

(God makes a distinction between the Israelites here & NONE of the following plagues affected them)

Khepri, the god of creation/rebirth who was portrayed with the head of a fly…flies everywhere

Hathor, the goddess of love and protection who was portrayed with the head of a cow…livestock struck dead

Isis, the goddess of medicine and peace…festering boils on everyone, making even the Egyptian priests ceremonially unclean

Nut, the goddess of the sky…burning hail stones from the sky destroying the barley & flax and trees

Seth, the god of storms and disorder…locusts devouring the wheat crop and the rest of the green vegetation in Egypt

Ra, the sun god…the most worshipped god in Egypt…darkness so profound it was palpable for three days

Pharoah…he was worshipped as a god, as the incarnate son of Ra. His firstborn was his heritage and hope. Pharoah articulated this judgement. The first-born of man and beast died that night as God passed over Egypt…all except those who took God at His Word, believed and acted on that Word.

The Lord God, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, is the only true God. He alone can satisfy the deepest needs of humanity. God will dismantle anything in our lives that has, in essence, become an idol, anything other than Him that we try to derive worth, identity, purpose and meaning from for daily living. No one else and nothing else can take His place in our lives if we ever expect to, once again, become fully human. Only God can save, redeem, rescue, restore and heal. More about this tomorrow as we look at God’s rescue of His covenant people.