Before getting started with this post, I want to let you know this post was formatted for viewing on a desktop, not on a phone or mobile device. If you are viewing this on a device, that is absolutely fine, just a warning that it will look a little weird on your screen. At my church we are walking through the book of Exodus chapter by chapter. We are in the section of the plagues of Egypt. I remember talking to a foreign exchange student I was friends with about how the ten plagues of Egypt opposed a specific god (or in some cases, more than one god). I had sent a picture where I connected the plague with the god the plague opposed and told them I would do some research on how exactly the plague opposed that god. Here is that research.
year thereafter, the Nile flooded, overflowing after catching Isis' tears while she mourned the death of her husband. When the Nile flooded, Hapi would bring silt to the river's banks, causing fertile soil. Although we do not know exactly when the plague happened, the river turning to blood would not make Hapi or Sobek look good. "The fish in the Nile died, and the river smelled so bad that the Egyptians could not drink its water" (Exodus 7:21, NIV). This would show that neither Hapi nor Sobek had power over the river, nor could they protect the life around the river.
goddess. Because Geb was the god of the earth, it would not look good for him when the dust of the earth turns into gnats (or lice) and attacks the people of Egypt and their livestock. This would prove to the Egyptians that Geb did not have any real power over the earth.
the plague of hail would challenge his might and power as much as it challenged Nut's, the locusts being sent via a wind (close enough to a storm) from the desert, that would definitely have called his power into question. The text does not specify whether the Israelites were protected from either the hail or the locusts, but if they were subject to these plagues alongside the Egyptians, it would seem odd for the god of foreigners to attack foreigners living in Egypt. Then, after Pharaoh asks Moses to send the locusts away, God changes the direction of the wind, causing the locusts to leave. A god of disorder would most likely not do that, showing the Egyptians Set obviously had no hand in this plague, therefore showing them that this Hebrew God had more power than Set.
company or to assist him in his mission. Some of the more common assistants were Sia (Saa), the god of perception, Hu, the god of command, Heka, the goddess of magic, Mehen, the god of snakes and Set. Sia and Hu would be in a particularly tough spot, given their domains of rule.
the home. Bes was originally a protector of Pharaoh, but eventually moved on to watch over women and children. However, he must have been taking the night off when the angel of death visited the houses that did not mark their doorways with lamb's blood. Bes even failed his first job to protect Pharaoh and his family since even Pharaoh was not safe from the angel of death.
These plagues demonstrated to the Egyptians that Pharaoh was no god, and the "gods" of Egypt had no power and could not stand against the God of the Hebrews, Yahweh. The One who really created the world and actually rules and has power and authority over everything.
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