Sunday School: Moses, Pharaoh and the Plagues

Encore Post: The Pharaohs of Egypt thought of themselves as gods, the sons of Osiris. They were thought to be the intermediaries between the gods and people. The people would turn to them for the rains and the floods that caused crops to grow, for fertility and other good things. They would, in turn, approach the gods for these things. To free the people of Israel from slavery in Egypt, the true God would do battle with the gods of the superpower of the ancient world.

Having been raised in Pharaoh’s household, Moses was familiar with this. Moses and Aaron would function like a pharaoh of the God of Israel in the view of the Egyptians. Moses confronted Pharaoh and demand that Pharaoh release the Israelites to worship him. When Pharaoh did not comply, God used disasters or plagues, to demonstrate that He is more powerful as the gods of Egypt.

The serpent represented the god of wisdom, fertility, and healing to the Egyptians. When Moses’ snake swallowed those of the magicians, God showed himself superior to them. The Nile River fed Egypt and the ancient world. The Lord showed power over the god that controlled it when He turned it into blood. The Egyptians saw frogs as symbols of the goddess of childbirth. They also worshipped flies and beetles. The earlier plagues showed Yahweh’s power over them.

The rest of the plagues attacked the food supply the gods were supposed to supply through Pharaoh. While they convinced many of the Egyptian people that the God of the Hebrews was almighty, Pharaoh did not, since it did not touch him personally. He was trying to haggle with God to get the best deal possible for him and his people. When God took the pressure off, he backed down. Eventually, the plagues got to the place where even the advisors of Pharaoh advised he relent. Pharaoh did not let them go. This lead to God unleashing the Angel of Death, the last and greatest plague of all.

Rev. Robert E. Smith
Pastor Emeritus
Fort Wayne, Indiana