Exodus Part 2: Little Gods

Previously, on “I love Jesus and Oreos”…

We found out why God hardened Pharaohs heart and why God seemed to orchestrate some evil deeds. As promised, I wanted to dive into the concept of the plagues and the deeper meaning behind it. Plus, I found that it is very applicable to our life… strictly inspiration, not meaning to pass it off as doctrine. Without further adieu, lets look at the different plagues…

Turning the Nile to Blood- Anyone that knows anything about Egypt is that the country is a ginormous desert. The main source of life is through the Nile. Hence, like a lot of primitive religions, they worshipped the source of their life. So what does God do? Takes the very thing that gives them their sense of existence and makes it untenable.

The Plague of Frogs- The frog was a symbol of fertility to the Egyptians, and it was worshipped. Like many cultures, having children is really important and the Egyptians are no different. God had a unique way of defeating this “god”, by amassing enough of this “god” that it stunk up the entire nation.

Plague of Gnats- Moses struck the ground and stirred up a swarm of gnats that harassed the men and animals. It becomes a nuisance to themselves.

Plague of Flies- God tells Moses to give Pharaoh the option of letting the Israelites go or he will further the plague. Pharaoh opts for the plague, and this time a swarm of flies attacks the Egyptians only, and subsequently destroys the land. It does not attack the Israelites.

Plague on the Livestock- Since Pharaoh continued to be obstinate, God decided to start attacking the wealth of the nation. Since livestock was a key indicator of wealth, God sent a plague on the livestock that eventually killed all of the horses, donkeys, sheep, goats, camels, and cattle.

Plague of Boils- The Lord told Moses to throw soot in the air and spread this disease. The sickness was so strong that the magicians could not even stand in the presence of Moses and the Pharaoh. This is a direct attack on the health of the people and remainder of animals, and for practical applications sake (don’t take this as gospel), vanity.

Plague of Hail- To start with, hail is a very rare occurrence in Egypt, but when it does occur it is very violent. So God decides to send a hail storm that will ruin the remainder of the livestock (the plagues did not happen in a week, they probably happened over months… which is why the livestock repopulated) and kill the slaves. Hail also destroys crops, so these types of storms do considerable amount of damage to the finances of the country.

Plague of Locusts- Locusts were feared among ancient civilizations, due to the fact that they have the ability to decimate crops. The migration of locusts was normal, but not always detrimental. But this was the biggest storm or locusts ever, and nothing that was green was left. Yet again, God is attacking their food and resources.

Plague of Darkness- Like many primitive tribes, the sun was worshipped. The Egyptians believed that the Pharaohs were descendants of Ra, the Sun God. So by creating darkness, this was a direct attack at their God and demonstrated that both their God and their king were impotent.

Plague on the Firstborn- The first born child is significant in most cultures, even today. So what better way for God to get his point across than to wipe out the first descendants of an entire nation?

Now that we look at everything that happened… what does that say to us today?

The first thing that comes to mind is that whenever I have had “gods” in my life, it ruined my life. That thing that gave me a sense of identity got taken away (like the Nile turning red), and it no longer gave me life. Or hobby that I never had enough of eventually became an obsession and it started hindering functionality of life (the frogs). These are just some examples, but lets think about it…

The Nile- Have I become dependent upon a job, title, relationship, etc. to keep me living? What will happen when it is taken away from me? Will I go crazy or know that God is good and will provide something else?

The Frogs- Is there an addiction or a negative presence in my life that is hindering my finances, my friendships, my family, etc? Is something stinking up my life because there is just too much of it?

The Gnats- Is the very thing that should be giving me life (with the Egyptians, the earth) the same thing that has become a nuisance and frustrating my existence?

The Flies- Am I allowing someone or something (a “god”)into my life that is destroying it systematically?

The Livestock- Am I putting too much emphasis on my money? Is the love of my money outweighing the love of people? Am I hoarding rather than sharing within my means?

The Boils- Am I obsessing over my health and worshipping my appearance? This is something that a balance must be struck, but obsession leads to dangerous results.

The Hail- How much do I emphasize my “stuff” that I own. Slaves, livestock, crops were all “stuff” to the Egyptians, and God took them away by means of a natural disaster. How will I react if my “stuff” gets taken from me?

The Darkness- The Lord overcame the Sun God and exposed him and the Pharaoh as weak. What will happen when I am overcome, am I humble enough to admit that I am not perfect and that I am not able to do everything?

The Firstborn- Since I never married and never had kids, I can’t speak in first person. But what I have seen is that when parents elevate their child past their spouse and past God, bad things happen. As with anything in life, yes there is a mourning period if someone is lost (death, ending friendship, disowning, etc), but it should never define who you are. The Egyptians let the first born define who they are, and when they were gone, it was the breaking point.


So that is some food for thought! Thank you for reading this, and hopefully I will have some new posts very soon. God is definitely teaching me a lot lately that I want to share. Hope you all are doing well!