Ten Plagues

 

In Exodus 7:20-12:30, we can read the details of the woes that plagued Egypt. 

 

In chronilogical order they were:

1) Blood

2) Frogs

3) Lice

4) Flies

5) Cattle

6) Boils

7) Hail

8) Locusts

9) Darkness

10) Death

 

Before these began, there was first a change in leadership. Then a petition was brought before that new leader. When the leader denied the petition, he also punished the people. A demonstration was given, proving that God isn't just equal to the priests of the day, but more powerful. Then, because the leader still refused to allow God's people to worship him the way He wanted them to, the first plague began. 

 

With some of these plagues, the leader tried to compromise, only allowing a portion of the worship to take place. God would not compromise. He continued the plagues until not just the leader, but the entire nation thrust out the Children of Israel, even giving them gold, silver, jewels and the bones of one of their entombed leaders to get them going. 

 

Reading this account carefully, we can know that these plagues took some time to occur, with weeks and months between them. We know the last one took place in the spring as that was at the Passover. But the locusts ate the fruit on the trees. Fruit is on trees in the fall. The hail destroyed the flax and the barley, but not the wheat and the rye because they were still green and flexible (Exodus 9:31-32). So we know this was also in spring. That's one full year. We know the frogs weren't in the spring as that's the time they're in the water mating, laying eggs, or swimming around as tadpoles. They're not out and about on the land getting into everything. With how much time is spent between the last plagues, and how many plagues there were between this one and the next one that had a time of year specified, it is difficult to believe that less than a year had passed.

 

Speculating, if Moses warned Pharaoh about the next coming plague only when they needed to go worship for one of God's appointed festivals (spring and fall), it makes for an interesting study. 

 

Going backwards:

10) Death of the first born - Passover, spring

8) Locusts - Fall (Trumpets, Atonement, Sukkot) 

7) Hail - Spring (Passover, First Fruits, Unleavened bread)

5) Cattle - Fall 

4) Flies - Spring

2) Frogs - Fall

1) Blood - spring

 

This study is not necessarily accurate as it does not account for any of the plagues that may have happened on Pentacost, but it does lay out a visual timeline displaying how these plagues could have been spread out. It also raises some interesting questions. Did the plague of darkness take place during the time the Jews in the future would be celebrating the Festival of Light? Was it the season of this future Festival every time Moses did not warn Pharaoh? 

 

How would this play out in modern times? The Nile river was the 'life-blood' of the country until God turned it to actual blood for seven days. What would be America's 'life-blood'? Oil? Electricity? Our many river systems and waterways? What form would the other plagues take? Would they be an exact repeat? Or would they be the symbolic equivilent? It has been speculated that God 'killed' the religious icons and symbols of the Egyptian worship. Would He also 'kill' what America holds in worship today?