Tuesday: The First Three Plagues
Daily Lesson for Tuesday 22nd of July 2025
The ten plagues in Egypt were aimed not at the Egyptian people but at their gods. Each plague hit at least one of them.
Read Exodus 7:14-25; Exodus 8:1-19. What happened in these plagues?
God instructed Moses that the dialogue with Pharaoh would be difficult and almost impossible (Exodus 7:14). However, God wanted to reveal Himself to Pharaoh and to the Egyptians. Thus, He decided to communicate with them in a way that they could understand. Also, the Hebrews would benefit from this confrontation because they would learn more about their God.
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The first plague was aimed against Hapi, the god of the Nile (Exodus 7:17-25). Life in Egypt was totally dependent on water from the Nile. Where there was water, there was life. Water was the source of life, so they invented their god Hapi and worshiped him as the provider of life.
Of course, only the living God is the Source of life, the Creator of everything, including water and food (Genesis 1:1-2,20-22; Psalms 104:27-28; Psalms 136:25; John 11:25; John 14:6). Changing water into blood symbolizes transforming life into death. Hapi was not able to provide and protect life. These are possible only through the power of the Lord.
God then gives Pharaoh another chance. This time the frog goddess, Heqet, is directly confronted (Exodus 8:1-15). Instead of life, the Nile produces frogs, which the Egyptians fear, detest, and abhor. They want to get rid of them. The precise time when this plague was taken away demonstrated that God’s power was also behind this plague.
The third plague has the shortest description (Exodus 8:16-19). The type of insect here (Heb. kinnim) is not clear (gnats, mosquitoes, ticks, lice?). It was directed against the god Geb, the Egyptian god of the earth. Out of the dust of the earth (echoes of the biblical Creation story) God brought forth gnats, which spread throughout the land. Unable to duplicate this miracle (only God can create life), the magicians declared, “This is the finger of God” (Exodus 8:19). Pharaoh, however, still refused to budge.
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Think how hard Pharaoh’s heart was. Repeated rejection of God’s prompting only made it worse. What lessons are here for each of us about the constant rejection of the Lord’s prompting? |
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To be clear before I begin this comment, I know all of these plagues were supernatural events orchestrated by God to send specific messages and that they are not to be explained away as simply naturally occurring events. Having said this, however, something interesting about the first three plagues is that they seem to follow a cause and effect order similar to the cycles we see naturally occurring.
A polluted Nile River would have killed off much or all of the life it supported. Then, when the frogs came, they multiplied quickly, probably helped along by the fact that frog-eating predators like the Nile monitor, crocodiles, snakes, herons and fish had suffocated in the ill waters. The burgeoning population of frogs next moved away from their normal habitat beside the river….perhaps they had begun to hop away while the river was polluted…and now as they were rapidly multiplying with nowhere to go they were getting into people’s homes (Ex. 8:3). When the frogs died, the people raked them into great stinking heaps (Ex. 8:14), attracting the flesh flies that were brought forth in the 3rd plague. The flesh flies bit humans, and probably also fed and multiplied upon the frogs’ putrid rotting carcasses. So to recap, the polluted river was followed by food web imbalances which was followed by infestations of hungry insects. Will this pattern continue? Will the dog-fly 4th plague epidemic be made worse because the animals are sick and weakened from the previous three plagues? Will end-time plagues follow a cause-effect pattern traceable to ecological imbalances?
Why I think it is interesting that each plague seems to follow a natural sequence is that I tend to think of miracles as something outside of natural phenomenon. Something unseen and unheard of before. However, I am reminded that God is working miracles in the everyday. All of nature is a miracle. Every moment of my beating heart is a moment of awe in the presence of God's sustaining power (Heb.1:3). And God can take natural phenomenon to an extreme level and often, I think, works within His laws of nature, which He originally established, for His purposes.
Not strange. God's common modus operandi is to use natural disasters to humiliate false gods. He did that to Baal and Asherah as well by causing drought and famine. Since Baal and Asherah are both fertility deities, God figuratively struck low blows on them.
Interesting point Esther, I hadn't picked up on the natural sequence of the plagues. It also is like a reverse of creation, leading to death, caused by worship of false gods. This is one of the things I love about this forum; we can all learn from each other and our minds can be opened to new understanding.
The plagues were not random “punishment” upon the Egyptian gods and their worshippers but were God’s deliberate actions to cause pain to draw Pharaoh’s attention. As pain grew in intensity so did Pharaoh grew in stubbornness. Pharaoh's heart reflects humans’ heart without God's transforming grace. How “tough” was Pharaoh’s heart? Am I any different? Only one prayer I can say, “God please rescue me from my stubborn heart”.
“Create in me a clean heart, O God. Renew a loyal spirit within me.”- Psalm 51:10 (NLT)
The first 3 plagues were not arbitrary acts of divine wrath; they were deliberate and revelatory. With each plague confronting and dismantling the false security of Egypt’s pantheon, exposing the impotence of its gods and the futility of its magicians. Pharaoh’s magicians attempted to imitate the signs wrought through Moses and Aaron, summoning their gods in vain attempts to match the miracles. But by the time the dust became gnats, they could only conceded in awe and dread: “This is the finger of God” (Exodus 8:19). Their confession was not one of faith, but of helpless recognition that the Lord had no rival.
As the psalmist declares, “For the LORD is a great God, a great King above all gods” (Psalm 95:3); and again, “Lord, there is no one like you among the gods, and there are no works like yours” (Psalm 86:8). The plagues are thus more than judgments; they are revelations—divine proclamations of God’s absolute dominion.
The broader meta-narrative of Exodus, in which God reveals His character to His people. In Exodus 34:6–7, He declares Himself to be “compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in faithful love and truth.” These are not abstract attributes—they are truths revealed in history. Through both mercy and might, through deliverance and discipline, God shows Himself as both Redeemer and Sovereign. The plagues draw back the veil: they show a God who is not only above nature, but who commands it; not only patient, but just; not only loving, but holy. He rules over the earth, over the creatures, over nations, and over the hearts of men.
Once again, the bible study authors direct a relatable question to us the readers - very profound.
"Think how hard Pharaoh’s heart was. Repeated rejection of God’s prompting only made it worse. What lessons are here for each of us about the constant rejection of the Lord’s prompting?"
From outside looking into Pharaoh's hard heart, we pass judgement about his level of evil and, disobedience. However, Pharaoh's level of hardness was reducing. From him of "Who is the Lord? (Exodus 5:2) to one of compromise "Go, sacrifice to your God in the land" (Exodus 8:25); Pharaoh's hardening was softening. I want us to look deeper into Pharoah's rationale. We begun from a rise of a Pharaoh who never knew Joseph; a fearful Pharaoh who had analyzed how a group of 70 shepherds multiplied into the largest population; A Pharaoh who opted engage these foreigners in order to stop them from realizing how many and mighty they are. As the Pharaoh pushed the foreigners (Israel) into hard labour as an oppressive strategy, Egypt became very productive, but also totally dependent on the workforce of the people of Israel.
Then, Moses and Aaron walk in to spoil the party. We've seen this before; Laban and Jacob; America's Civil War; the emancipation of slave trade. Resistance resulting from being dependent.
I am not trying justify, the hardness of heart of Pharaoh, but looking at this and comparing to our obstinate hardenned hearts today, can we even try to justify? Many today chose evil for popularity and fame. Today, we resist God like King Saul for the sake of our name. Our hearts are hardened and take God as a bother. Unfortunately, our hardened hearts may not be softening; infact using excuses we may be hardenning us even more.
God's prompting is ongoing, but we may have developed full resistance. Let us pray more and ask for God's intervention now more than ever.
Today we get the answer to the question of Mondays lesson, through the question of Tuesdays lesson. "Who hardened the heart of Pharaoh?" "Repeated rejection of God’s prompting only made it worse."
Todays question.
"What lessons is here for each of us about the constant rejection of the Lord’s prompting?"
The answer and solution is as follows:
"If I could only know that the Christian religion is true, how glad I would be," says many a soul who is struggling in the quagmire of sin and unbelief. But we may know this. Jesus gives an infallible, yet simple test, which all may put to the proof. It is this: "My doctrine is not mine, but his that sent me. If any man will do his will, he shall know the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself." John 7:16, 17. Try it. Submit yourselves wholly to God, repent of your sins, believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and by faith obey all his requirements, without reserve. This is doing God's will. Be faithful in the trials, and the religion of Christ will be to you a pleasant reality." Signs of the Times February 11, 1889, page 88.41
I hope you all are blessed with my observation and opinion, seems to me to be true. Have a good day you all.
The plight of Pharoah is the plight of many with a hardened heart. It sometimes takes extreme measures to get their attention to attempt to turn them from their stubbornness.
Proverbs 13:15 is indeed true. The way of sinners is hard. When our lives are out of harmony with God we are out of sync with the design laws of the universe. When that happens we will eventually suffer the consequences.
Pharoah was extremely hard headed is spite of the evidences that he was caight up in a spiritual battle. You would think that he would have wisened up sooner rather than later. It's been said; "if you're going to be dumb, you better be tough." Pharoah must have been both. Unfortunately for us humans, we often choose to learn life lessons the hard way, if we learn them at all. It doesn't have to be this way. We can learn from the mistakes of others, but often don't. We have to make our own. 1 Cor. 10:11
There is time for everything in life: time to smile and time to cry. The best we can do is to trust so completely in God that a sense of pure trust may accompany acceptance. Things may look foggy, but standing in fear of the Lord is where we need to be.
1st Plague
The Nile represented LIFE to the Egyptians. The "gods" representing the Nile were highly revered by the Egyptians as bringing life, and economic stability. A river of blood is symbolic of spilled blood, end of life, a reminder of the cost of sin.
In Revelation, we see a river of Life flowing from the throne of God.
It is God who created the rivers of earth to bring life to earth to remind us that it is from HIM that we receive life.
The call to the inhabitants of earth in the last days is
Revelation 14:7 Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters.
When the law goes forth to acknowledge a different god in disobedience to the God of heaven Who is the Creator of heaven and earth and all the fountains of waters, passing laws to disregard the day the Creator God says is a sign that He is our God, and honor a day another "god" honors, the earthly waters will also be turned to blood. (see Rev. 16:3)
2. FROGS
Frogs were seen as symbols of fertility in ancient Egypt, but frogs everywhere was unbearable.
Frogs are also symbolic of "unclean spirits". (Rev 16:13)
When people give way to worshipping "gods" that are not God, the evil spirits multiply! Pharaoh, in distress calls for Moses and Aaron to "Entreat the LORD, that he may take away the frogs from me".
It is only the power of the God of heaven and earth, that can get rid of the "frogs". In the last days -- unclean spirits like frogs fill the world as the "unholy trinity" of false "gods," the dragon, beast and false prophet are honored and obeyed. (see Rev. 16:13)
Let us not be like Pharaoh, who was willing to ask the LORD for help, but, when the distress was no longer so noticeable, retreated into his stubborn resistance against God's will, a condition that only brings more distress.
Welcome back brother Unrue, I do enjoy your posts.
It's amazing!
We all know the plagues story from Cradle Roll to Adult but studying today's lesson was quite enlightening. It challenges me to wean from milk to solid food. I always wondered why the magicians/Satan were able to reproduce the first 2 plagues but not the 3rd. He CANNOT create life! I am amazed to know that whatever God does has a rhythm and reason and always in order ... nothing haphazard or whilly nilly..nothing takes Him off guard.
Lord, I take delight to read and study your word. It brings light to my life
Satan cannot create life--yet frogs were duplicated. What is the connection here?