10 plagues.

Question:

What is the primary reason why God sent the plagues on Egypt?

Answer? :

To get Israel out of Egypt? No.

A direct assault on individual egyptian gods in the name of God's fame? YES!


Plague......................Egyptian god

Livestock.......................Hathor - Egyptian Cow goddess

Locusts.........................Osiris - god of vegetation

Nile to Blood...................Anuket - nile goddess

Frogs (getting stepped on)......Heket - frog goddess

Hail............................Min - sky god of rain for fertility of land

Flies/Beetles...................Kephri - beetle god

Boils...........................Anubis - healer god

Lice............................Bes - domestic god, protector against pests

Darkness........................Ra - sun god

Firstborn.......................Pharaoh, a god in human form

The last two plagues (darkness and firstborn) were direct attacks on the most important of the egyptian gods: ra (the chief god) and the pharaoh himself.

Egypt was seen by the rest of the world at that time as the greatest empire. The whole world was watching as God demonstrated his power.

Romans 9:17

For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, "For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I might show my power in you, and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth."

Exodus 7:14

"Thus says the LORD, "By this you shall know that I am the LORD: behold, with the staff that is in my hand I will strike the water that is in the Nile, and it shall turn into blood."

Exodus 8:10

"And he said, 'Tomorrow.' Moses said, 'Be it as you say, so that you may know that there is no one like the LORD our God.'"

Exodus 9:14-16

"For this time I will send all my plagues on you yourself, and on your servants and your people, so that you may know that there is none like me in all the earth. For by now I could have put out my hand and struck you and your people with pestilence, and you would have been cut off from the earth. But for this purpose I have raised you up, to show you my power, so that my name may be proclaimed in all the earth."

This was the primary purpose for the plagues. In fact, many egyptians were impacted so greatly that they decided to join the israelites on their exodus!

Exodus 12:37-38

"That night the people of Israel left Rameses and started for Succoth. There were about 600,000 men,[a] plus all the women and children. A rabble of non-Israelites went with them, along with great flocks and herds of livestock."