The first nine plagues and the
Egyptians/Pharaoh’s response to each
(1) Water turned
to blood: But the magicians of
Egypt did the same by their secret arts; so Pharaoh’s heart remained hardened,
and he would not listen to them, as the Lord had said. Pharaoh turned and went into his house, and
he did not take even this to heart. And
all the Egyptians had to dig along the Nile for water to drink, for they could
not drink the water of the river. (Verses
7:22-23)
(2) Frogs: But the magicians did the same by their secret arts,
and brought frogs up on the land of Egypt.
Then Pharaoh called Moses and Aaron, and said, “Pray to the Lord to take
away the frogs from me and my people, and I will let the people go to sacrifice
to the Lord.”… But when Pharaoh saw that there was a respite, he hardened his
heart, and would not listen to them, just as the Lord had said. (Verses 8:7-8
and 8:15)
(3) Gnats: The magicians
tried to produce gnats by their secret arts, but they could not…. And the
magicians said to Pharaoh, “This is the finger of God!” But Pharaoh’s heart was
hardened, and he would not listen to them, just as the Lord had said. (verse 8:18-19)
(4) Flies: …The Lord said, “I will send swarms of flies on
you…But I will set apart the land of Goshen, where my people live, so that no
swarms of flies shall be there”…In all of Egypt the land was ruined because of
the flies. Then Pharaoh summoned Moses
and Aaron and said, “Go, sacrifice to your God within the land….The Lord
removed the swarms of flies… But Pharaoh hardened his heart this time also, and
would not let the people go. (verse
8:24-25; 8:32)
(5) Livestock
Disease: … all the livestock of the Egyptians died,
but of the livestock of the Israelites not one died. Pharaoh inquired and found that not one of
the livestock of the Israelites was dead.
But the heart of Pharaoh was hardened, and he would not let the people
go. (Verse 9:6-7)
(6) Boils: The magicians
could not stand before Moses because of the boils, for the boils afflicted the
magicians as well as all the Egyptians.
But the Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh, and he would not listen to
them, just as the Lord had spoken to Moses. (verse 9:11-12)
(7) Thunder and
Hail: Those officials of Pharaoh who feared the
word of the Lord hurried their slaves and livestock off to a secure place. Those who did not regard the word of the Lord
left their slaves and livestock in the open field….The hail struck down
everything that was in the open field through the land of Egypt…Only in the
land of Goshen there was no hail…Then Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron and said
to them, “This time I have sinned, the Lord is in the right, and I and my
people are in the wrong. Pray to the
Lord! Enough of God’s thunder and
hail! I will let you go; you need stay
no longer.”…But when Pharaoh saw that the rain and the hail and the thunder had
ceased, he sinned once more and hardened his heart, he and his officials. (verse 9:20-21; 9:25-27; 9:34)
(8) Locusts: Pharaoh’s
officials said to him, “How long shall this fellow be a snare to us? Let the people go, so that they may worship
the Lord their God; do you not yet understand that Egypt is ruined?...Pharaoh
said to Moses and Aaron, “No, never!
Your men may go and worship the Lord…”
Pharaoh hurriedly summoned Moses and Aaron and said, “I have sinned
against the Lord your God, and against you.
Do forgive my sin just this once, and pray to the Lord your God that at
the least he remove this deadly thing from me.”.. But the Lord hardened
Pharaoh’s heart, and he would not let the Israelites go. (verse 10:7, 10:11, 10:16-17, 10:20)
(9) Darkness: …there was
dense darkness in all the land of Egypt for three days. People could not see one another, and for
three days they could not move from where they were; but all the Israelites had
light where they lived. Then Pharaoh summoned Moses, and said, “Go, worship the
Lord. Only your flocks and your herds
shall remain behind. Even your children
may go with you.”…Moses said, “.. our livestock also must go with us…” … Then Pharaoh said to him, “Get away from
me! Take care that you do not see my
face again, for on the day you see my face you shall die.” (verses 10:24;
27-28)
(10) Plague of
the firstborn (we will cover this one next time)
