THE LIVES OF THE PATRIARCHS #87 | THE LIFE OF MOSES #69
Pastor Christopher Choo
Lesson 3770
THE LIVES OF THE PATRIARCHS #87
THE LIFE OF MOSES #69
THE TEN PLAGUES OF EGYPT ( PART 10 )
Some commentators have tried to debunk the Ten Plagues as a natural phenomenon to keep God out of the picture ( as if He is not in control of Nature ).
The most sophisticated attempt to relate the Egyptian plagues to natural phenomena does so in terms of Egypt’s ecosystem.
According to this interpretation, the first six plagues can even be explained in their sequential order:
The naturalistic account is connected initially with the violent rainstorms that occur in the mountains of Ethiopia.
The first plague, blood, is the red clay swept down into the Nile from the Ethiopian highlands.
The mud then choked the fish in the area inhabited by the Israelites. The fish clogged the swamps where the frogs lived; the fish, soon infected with anthrax, caused the frogs (the second plague) to leave the Nile for cool areas, taking refuge in people’s houses. But, since the frogs were already infected with the disease, they died in their new habitats.
As a consequence, lice, the third plague, and flies, the fourth plague, began to multiply, feeding off the dead frogs.
This gave rise to a pestilence that attacked animals, the fifth plague because the cattle were feeding on grass which by then had also become infected.
In man, the symptom of the same disease was boils, the sixth plague.
The second sequence of plagues, according to this explanation, is related to atmospheric and climatic conditions in Egypt.
Hailstorms, the seventh plague, came out of nowhere. Although not common, hailstorms do occur rarely in Upper Egypt and occasionally in Lower Egypt during late spring and early fall. In this reconstruction, the hailstorm was followed by the eighth plague, locusts, a more common occurrence. The ninth plague, darkness, was a Libyan dust storm.
The final plague, the death of the first-born, although not strictly commensurate with the other plagues, can be explained in ecological terms. It may be a reflection of the infant mortality rate in ancient Egypt.
But this explanation has flaws.
1. According to the biblical narrative, the tenth plague struck all first-born males of whatever age, not just new-born infants.
The death of the firstborn included the eldest sons of even three generations if all were alive at that time.
2. This ecological explanation may have some basis in reality.
As indicated, it also has many weaknesses.
The ecological chain is broken after the sixth plague, there is no causality between the plague of boils (the sixth plague) and the hail.
The chain is again broken between the ninth and tenth plagues.
In addition, there is no real link between the plagues in the seventh-eighth- ninth sequence (hail-locusts- darkness).
Nevertheless, this explanation is interesting as it anchors the first six plagues in the Egyptian ecosystem.
3. God is never really out of the picture. For He can use the natural ecosystem to His advantage e.g. when He employs hailstones to further the cause of His people in their battles against their enemies.
No matter how commentators try to devalue the Ten Plagues of Egypt - and hence the Bible - we know by faith that the hand of God's judgment against Egypt was irresistible. And the bible narrative remains as it is - something more than just a record of natural phenomena but a supernatural act of grace for His chosen people and a sign of His judgment against Egypt beyond our limited understanding and reasoning.
