YAHWEH vs. the Egyptian gods

 Polytheistic Society – over 80 gods  Influenced its literature, government, art, and morality  Some sacred animals: lion, ox, ram, wolf, dog, cat, ibis, vulture, falcon, hippo, crocodile, cobra, dolphin, fish, frog, scarab, locust, etc.  Pharaoh was a god, the son of Amon-Ra

 God was going to reveal himself to the Egyptians by the plagues  The plagues were not just against Pharaoh and his people, but against “all the gods of Egypt”  Every one of the plagues was an insult to the gods of Egypt

 Nile was the heartbeat of Egypt -- trade, commerce, crops  All waters became like blood (even drinking water)  Direct attack on many of Egypt’s greatest gods:  1. Khnum – guardian of the Nile

 Nile was the heartbeat of Egypt -- trade, commerce, crops  All waters became like blood (even drinking water)  Direct attack on many of Egypt’s greatest gods:  1. Khnum – guardian of the Nile  2. Hapi – god of the annual flood

 Nile was the heartbeat of Egypt -- trade, commerce, crops  All waters became like blood (even drinking water)  Direct attack on many of Egypt’s greatest gods:  1. Khnum – guardian of the Nile  2. Hapi – god of the annual flood  3. Osiris – god of the underworld whose bloodstream was the Nile

 Nile was the heartbeat of Egypt -- trade, commerce, crops  All waters became like blood (even drinking water)  Direct attack on many of Egypt’s greatest gods:  1. Khnum – guardian of the Nile  2. Hapi – god of the annual flood  3. Osiris – god of the underworld whose bloodstream was the Nile  4. Tauret – goddess of the river

 Nile was the heartbeat of Egypt -- trade, commerce, crops  All waters became like blood (even drinking water)  Direct attack on many of Egypt’s greatest gods:  1. Khnum – guardian of the Nile  2. Hapi – god of the annual flood  3. Osiris – god of the underworld whose bloodstream was the Nile  4. Tauret – goddess of the river  5. Nu – god of the life in the Nile

 It is fitting that the 1 st plague directly attacks the Nile and its gods and goddesses because the Nile was the lifeline of Egypt.  Where were the gods/goddesses of the Nile to help the Egyptians during this first plague?

 The appearance of frogs would not have been unusual after the 1 st plague  Direct attack on the goddess Heqt (Heket) – creator of the world and the goddess of birth (head and body of a frog)

 The appearance of frogs would not have been unusual after the 1 st plague  Direct attack on the goddess Heqt (Heket)– creator of the world and the goddess of birth (head and body of a frog)  She assisted women during childbirth  Involuntary slaughter of a frog could be punished by death  What did the Egyptians have to do with the frogs?  Asked Moses for God to take them away  Where was Heqt?

 The word kinnim is translated as lice, sand fleas, or fleas  It comes from the word meaning “to dig”  This was an attack on Geb, god of the earth

 The word kinnim is translated as lice, sand fleas, or fleas  It comes from the word meaning “to dig”  This was an attack on Geb, god of the earth  It was also an attack on the priests of Egypt, because they had to shave their hair every day (bodies every other day) to keep off the lice  What could they do?

 Moses does not use the word “flies” but rather “swarms”  It may have been a plague of beetles (scarab beetles)  Amon-Ra had the head of a beetle

 Moses does not use the word “flies” but rather “swarms”  It may have been a plague of beetles (scarab beetles)  Amon-Ra had the head of a beetle  He was the creator and king of the gods  The scarab beetle was actually a dung beetle  This was the 1 st plague in which God makes a distinction between His people and the Egyptians  God puts redemption between His people and the Egyptians  Did Amon-Ra do that?

 Plague against domesticated animals of Egypt  Bulls and bull-calves were sacred and used for sacrifices (heifers not sacrificed because they were sacred to Isis)  The flies would have become carriers of infectious diseases (anthrax bacteria) and this would have infected the livestock.  Apis – Apis Bull was a living image of the god Ptah; had the power of prophecy

 Plague against domesticated animals of Egypt  Bulls and bull-calves were sacred and used for sacrifices (heifers not sacrificed because they were sacred to Isis)  The flies would have become carriers of infectious diseases (anthrax bacteria) and this would have infected the livestock.  Apis – Apis Bull was a living image of the god Ptah – had the power of prophecy  Hathor – cow-headed goddess of the desert; symbolic mother of pharaoh

 Skin anthrax?  Boils on the knees, legs, and soles of the feet  This explains why pharaoh’s magicians couldn’t stand before Moses  Attack on Serapis – god of healing

 Skin anthrax?  Boils on the knees, legs, and soles of the feet  This explains why pharaoh’s magicians couldn’t stand before Moses  Attack on Serapis – god of healing  Attack on Imhotep – god of medicine who was a real man during Zozer’s reign

 Skin anthrax?  Boils on the knees, legs, and soles of the feet  This explains why pharaoh’s magicians couldn’t stand before Moses  Attack on Serapis – god of healing  Attack on Imhotep – god of medicine who was a real man during Zozer’s reign  Attack on Thoth – god of intelligence and medical learning

 Cairo receives about 2 inches of rain per year  Attack on Nut – sky goddess

 Cairo receives about 2 inches of rain per year  Attack on Nut – sky goddess  Where was Shu – the wind god?  Where were Isis and Seth – protectors of the crops?

 Locusts could destroy entire village food supplies in minutes  Described as an army (Joel 1:6)  The Egyptian gods were silent:  Nepri – god of grain

 Locusts could destroy entire village food supplies in minutes  Described as an army (Joel 1:6)  The Egyptian gods were silent:  Nepri – god of grain  Isis  Thermuthis – goddess of fertility and the harvest

 Locusts could destroy entire village food supplies in minutes  Described as an army (Joel 1:6)  The Egyptian gods were silent:  Nepri – god of grain  Isis  Thermuthis – goddess of fertility and the harvest  Seth – god of crops

 “But when Moses said that what he [Pharaoh] desired was unjust, since they were obliged to offer sacrifices to God of those cattle, and the time being prolonged on this account, a thick darkness, without the least light, spread itself over the Egyptians, whereby their sigh being obstructed, and the breathing hindered by the thickness of the air, they were under terror lest they be swallowed up by the thick cloud. This darkness, after three days and as many nights was dissipated.”  Josephus, Book II, XIV, 5)

 The plague was insult to Egypt’s entire religion and entire culture  Amon-Ra – sun god

 The plague was insult to Egypt’s entire religion and entire culture  Amon-Ra – sun god  Horus – god of light

 The plague was insult to Egypt’s entire religion and entire culture  Amon-Ra – sun god  Horus – god of light  Ptah – created the moon, sun, and earth

 The plague was insult to Egypt’s entire religion and entire culture  Amon-Ra – sun god  Horus – god of light  Ptah – created the moon, sun, and earth  Tem – god of the sunset  Shu – god of sunlight and air

 The first born was not only an heir of a double portion of his father’s inheritance, but represented special qualities of life  The death of a firstborn son would cripple a family legally and emotionally.  This plague was more devastating than all others combined  This plague is the most memorable (Hebrews 11:28)

 Directed against ALL the gods of Egypt  Exodus 12:12

 “Of what value is an idol, since a man has carved it? Or an image that teaches lies? For he makes it trust in his own creation; he makes idols that cannot speak. Woe to him who says to wood, ‘Come to life!’ Or to lifeless stone, ‘Wake up!’ Can it give guidance? It is covered with gold and silver; there is not breath in it. But the Lord is in his holy temple; let all the earth be silent before him.”

 “What profit was there in worshiping all your man-made idols? What a foolish lie that they could help? What fools you were to trust what you yourselves had made Woe to those who command their lifeless wooden idols to arise and save them, who call out to the speechless stone to tell them what to do. Can images speak for God? They are overlaid with gold and silver, but there is not breath at all inside! But the Lord is in his holy Temple; let all the earth be silent before him.”