God’s creation is spectacular, from the tallest mountains to the smallest microbes. You could spend your entire life Immersing yourself in it and still not soak it all in. The nature God made is awe-Inspiring and we should enjoy it and care for it, but we should not worship it.
Before the exodus, that is exactly what the Egyptians did. They worshiped gods for every facet of the world God spoke into existence. But as much as the plagues were purposed to free the Israelites and punish the Egyptians for their cruel treatment of them, the plagues also seem to be carefully designed to prove to all that God, not nature, is the only One who should be worshiped.
Each of the plagues targeted the Egyptian nature gods:
-In the first plague the water turned to blood, challenging the Egyptian gods attached to the Nile River.
-In the second, the Plague of Frogs, God confronts the frog god and goddess.
-The third of lice— the earth God.
-The fourth of flies— the fly or beetle god.
-The fifth of diseased cattle— the gods associated with bulls and cows.
-The sixth of boils— the gods of healing.
-The seventh of hail— the gods of the sky and agriculture.
-The eight of locusts— the gods who protected against locusts and disease.
-The ninth of darkness— the sun god and moon god.
-The tenth of death— all of the Egyptian gods, including the Pharaoh.
From the beginning, the Bible disassociates God from nature, making it clear that He doesn’t merely belong to it or control it; He created it. Here in Exodus, the plagues are all directed against the nature gods of Egypt, demonstrating that the One True God who created nature is over it.
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