Read Exodus 7:14-11:10.
The 10 plagues that God sends on Pharoah and Egypt are one of the most famous parts of the
storyline in Exodus. Take note of the way our reading began and ended today, with the
hardening of Pharoah’s heart. Remembering this helps us to understand God’s purpose in
sending these plagues. Whether Pharoah acknowledges it or not, our God is more powerful
than anyone else and He is in control over all. Pharoah’s hardened heart prevents him from
recognizing that. So God’s judgement comes toward Pharoah in the form of these 10 plagues
with a clear motive, for Pharoah to acknowledge God is Lord.

Exodus 7:17
“This is what the LORD says: By this you will know that I am the LORD: With the staff that is in my
hand I will strike the water of the Nile, and it will be changed into blood. “

These 10 plagues may seem random and unrelated…water turning to blood, frogs, hail and flies.
But when you begin to study Egyptian history and culture, you see that each one of these
plagues had a very specific purpose.

Plague Correlating Egyptian God
Water turns to blood. Hapi- Egyptian god of the Nile River.

Frogs from the Nile. Heket- Egyptian goddess of Fertility, Water and Renewal (had the
head of a frog).

Gnats from the dust of the earth. Geb- Egyptian god of the earth.

Swarms of flies. Kherpi- Egyptian god of creation, movement of the sun and rebirth (had the head of a fly).

Death of cattle and livestock. Hathor- Egyptian goddess of love and protection (often depicted with the head of a cow.

Ashes turned to boils and sores. Isis- Egyptian goddess of medicine and peace.

Hail rained down in the form of fire. Nut- Egyptian goddess of the sky.

Locusts sent from the sky. Seth- Egyptian god of storms and disorder.

Complete darkness for three days. Ra- The Egyptian god of the sun.

Death of all firstborn males. Pharaoh- The king of Egypt, he was worshipped by the Egyptians
because he was considered to be the greatest Egyptian God of all. It
was believed that he was the son of Ra himself, manifest in the flesh.

Make no mistake, with all of these plagues God is making a statement. There is one God that is
over all, the same God that spoke creation into existence. Through the plagues, God is
demonstrating His authority over everything with the goal of softening Pharoah’s heart and
showing him that He is the one true God. However, after the first nine plagues, Pharoah’s heart
is still hardened and he is unwilling to surrender to God, let the Israelite people go and allow
them to worship God in the wilderness. Because of this, God’s judgement and justice towards
them brings death to all of the firstborn sons in Egypt as a final plague to change Pharoah’s
heart.

When we read about Pharoah’s heart and the plagues, we learn an important lesson about our
hearts. The longer we reject God and His way, the more hardened our heart becomes towards
Him. With each plague, Pharoah has an opportunity to turn to God and repent, but he refuses.
Because of that, his pride grows larger, and his heart becomes harder. The same is true for us,
God is leading you to repentance and the longer you reject that calling, the more your pride will
grow and the more your heart will become hardened to God. Ultimately, we know there is a day
where if you choose to reject God, you will face eternal justice and judgement for that decision.
We can walk away from this story with an urgency to repent and a warning of what happens to
our hearts if we choose not to repent. As well as a reminder that God’s judgement is real for
those who reject His way, life, and fulfillment through our Savior Jesus Christ.

Questions to consider.
1. Where in your life are you tempted to trust in other things rather than God? How can
this story serve as a reminder that God is ultimately in control over everything?

2. Have there been moments in your life that your heart has become hardened because of
your unrepentance?

3. Take some time and pray that God would reveal where your heart is hardened, ask Him
to soften it and repent of any sins in your life.