By Rick
Brunson
Nile
into Blood
Most of us are familiar with the story of the Exodus. However, what many of us are unaware of is that
each of the ten plagues associated with the exodus was a direct attack against
one of Egypt’s Gods. For example, one of
the most important Egyptian God’s was Osiris, who was the God of the Nile. It
is no surprise therefore, to learn that the first plague preformed by Moses was
the turning of the Nile into blood. This
was more than just a statement made by Moses.
Rather, this event signified the death of Osiris, one of Egypt’s most
important Gods.
Serpent
= God
As it turns out, this was not the first time the God
of Israel deliberately attacked the Egyptian God’s. As previously mentioned in The Serpents Role in the Fall, anciently
serpents represented deity.[1] Thus, when Aaron cast his rod down in front
of Pharaoh and it turned into a serpent, it symbolized that God was with Moses
and Aaron. Not impressed, Pharaoh had his sorcerers replicate
this miracle to suggest that they also had a God on their side. And they
did: Satan.[2] What occurred next was a battle to see whose God was more
powerful. After the sorcerer's rods became serpents, the scripture states
that “Aaron's rod swallowed up their rods” (Exo. 7:12). The message here is clear: the God of Israel
will always triumph over the god of this world.
The War Against Egypt’s Gods
However, still
believing that Egypt’s God’s were more powerful than the God of Israel, Pharaoh
refused to let the children of Israel go. This battle of God’s was therefore moved
from Pharaoh’s court to the battle field of Egypt. Here is the complete list of Egyptian Gods
who were symbolically killed or challenged by the God of Israel during the ten
plagues:
Plague
1:
Nile turned to blood. [3] Egyptian
God killed: Orsis, the God of the Nile.
Plague
2: Frogs covered the land.[4] When dead, these frogs left an awful stench found
all throughout Egypt.[5] Egyptian
God killed: Hekt, the Egyptian God always depicted with the head and body of a
frog.
Plague
3:
Lice.[6] Egyptian
God killed: None that we know of, although having lice would have excluded Egyptian priests from officiating in their temples.[7]
Plague
4:
Flies.[8] Egyptian
God killed: This was a judgment on Hatok, an Egyptian God depicted as
a fly.[9]
Plague
5:
Death of Cattle.[10] Egyptian
God killed: Hathor, the cow-headed goddess of the desert.
Plague
6:
Boils and blains on the skin of Egyptians.[11] Egyptian
God challenged: Thoth, the Egyptian “god of intelligence and medical
learning”[12]
was here directly attacked and unable to provide a cure for this terrible skin
disease.
Plague
7:
Fire mingled with hail.[13] Egyptian
Gods challenged: “Where was Shu, the wind god? [Or] Nut, the
sky goddess?”[14]
Plague
8: Locusts.[15] Egyptian
God challenged: Serapia, the very
God meant to protect Egypt from locusts, was no where to be found when this
plague arrived in Egypt.
Plague
9: Darkness.[16] Egyptian
God killed: Ra, the God of the Sun was symbolically killed by the God of
Israel, as darkness reigned in Egypt.
Plague
10: The death of Egypt’s firstborn.[17] Egyptian
God challenged: This plague was a
direct challenge against Taweret, the goddess who presides over child-birth,
maternity, and the life of all members of the household.[18] In the end, she was unable to protect the
lives of the firstborns in Egypt.
The meaning is clear: the God of Israel will always triumph over the gods of this world.
Notes:
[1] Brunson, The Serpents Roll inthe Fall
[2]That Satan was the force behind this miracle was
alluded to by Elder Jedediah M. Grand who said, "I believe Lucifer has
just as much power to make lice now as ever he had, he has just as much ability
to display his power in making a serpent to oppose a Moses as ever" (Journal of Discourses, 2:12)
[3] Exodus 7:19
[3] Exodus 7:19
[4] Exodus 8: 2
[5] Exodus 8:14
[8] Exodus 8:21
[10] Exodus 9:2-3
[11] Exodus 9:9
[13] Exodus 9:23-24
[15] Exodus 10:14
[16] Exodus 10:22
[17] Exo. 12:29