I am going to do a series on the ten plagues in Exodus 7-12. My primary resources are Ryken’s, Enns’s and Currid’s commentaries on the book.
The first thing I want to talk about can be accessed by this question: “Why were there ten whole plagues?” It would seem that it would have been much simpler and more effective for God to simply annihilate the Egyptians with one swift stroke (to quote Star Wars, ep 4), rather than dragging it out, and having this agonizing back and forth with a wax-nosed Pharaoh. Well, the answer to this question is that the conflict (and it is nothing more nor less than a battle) is broader than simply between God and the Egyptian Pharaoh. God is also making war on the Egyptians gods. This will become much clearer as we get into the details of each plague. But for now, we recognize that the Egyptians worshiped many gods. God, the God of Israel, therefore shows the Egyptians that their gods have no power compared to Him.
We will start by noting the structure of the plagues. There are three triads of plagues that set up the ultimate finality of the tenth plague. Look, for instance, at plagues 1,4,7, which all start with the Lord telling Moses to rise up early to go to Pharaoh. Plagues 2,5,8 all have the Lord saying to Moses, “Go in to Pharaoh.” Plagues 3,6,9 all have no confrontation of Moses with Pharaoh: Moses simply does what God commands. So the first three, middle three, and last three plagues each form a triad. Within each triad, the action gets more and more shortened and decisive. The third plague in each triad is very short and to the point. It demonstrates, as it were, a shortening of Yahweh’s patience with Pharaoh’s stiff neck. Then, after the ninth plague, we have the institution of Passover, which prolongs the tension almost unbearably for the reader, until finally the hammer stroke falls in 12:29-32. But the description is chillingly short and laconic. In fact, by the description, you wouldn’t have guessed that this was the plague that would send Pharaoh to his knees. You wouldn’t have guessed it until you actually saw what it did to him. This also will be explained when we come to it.
Passover, of course, is intimately tied up with the plagues. Therefore, Christ, our Passover Lamb, will be the focus of our discussion. Christ took on Himself the powers of darkness and defeated them in His death and resurrection. That statement by no means exhausts the meaning of Christ’s work. Nevertheless, Christus Victor is a legitimate biblical theme. In Christ’s victory over our spiritual enemies, we have the antitype of God’s victory over the Egyptian gods. In redeeming us, God also defeats our enemies Satan and death. Therein lies the true significance of the ten plagues.
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Thomas Twitchell said,
January 11, 2007 at 10:59 pm
Since I am weird this does not sound strange to me but three and a half is ten. Follow me? Three periods of plagues, then the judgment. Now you may be thinking that 3 + 1/2=3 1/2, but if it is three threes and a midway between three then it is 10 since the middle point of three is also 1. So goes the eschatological numbers game. There are so many curiousities that demands the greates care to remain free from vain speculations.
But this has legs since the 3 1/2 formula is repeated in Scripture. Try this, there were three actors in the Garden who were all wrong and cursed three plagues each and one that was right upon whom the weight of the curse fell. Or, hows about there is the period of Noah, the Abrahamic Period, the Period of Captivity and Exodus, and then the Judicial Period that is cut off in the middle? May be, huh? What about this one. The establishing Church of the Resurrection (Apostolic Age), The Ecclesiastical Age (Post Apostolic-apologetic), The Age of Apostasy, then the Parousia. Any way, you get the picture.
In discussions of eschatologic significance of the plagues there is an interesting phenonmenon that there are seven trumpets, and three bowls of wrath. Where as with the Eqyptian experience there are three plagues that the Children of Israel endure before the Lord begins to make a distinction between the elect and the non.
Passover is intimately tied to the plagues of the tribulation, also, and there is more than just a casual relationship between the captivity period and the period of apostasy, as is found everywhere in the old testament types. We could mention the length of the Lord’s earthly ministry in relation to it (Passover). But eschatologically, the Supper of the Lamb comes at the end of the tribulation when his elect are taken to be with him into the house of true Irael while the judgement passes over.
Three threes every where and still no time to think! Three symbols for Satan, the false prophet, his image and the beast, the three creatures like frogs who have one voice, three allies who have one enemy who triumphs over them all. One city, three parts. Three gates but only one way to enter in. This is fun. There are three kinds that enter the house of Israel, the children of Jacob, Egyptians, and strangers in the land. They all must enter under the blood, but not all are what they appear and only one new man, ture Israel really exits the tomb. There are three elements of food, the lamb the herbs and the bread, but there is only one cup.
There are three plagues for the sanctification of Israel and seven more prepared for the wrath of Egypt. There are seven plagues for the sanctification of the Church, and three prepared for the judgement of the world.
I am sorry if I have wondered into too great a speculative eschatology, but the Scripture always points us backwards to show us the way ahead. Like the memorial stones or the altars of his children, God has told us to mark the way from where we came so that we will not go back, revealing to us that there is only one way, forward. As he hemmed the children of Israel in and took them by the desert road he leads us inexorably toward the final count down. One, two three….ten, nine, eight….one. From this we gain the greatest comfort that we who are called in His name all get out together even though in this life we will face tribulation.
Like all of Scripture the eschatological revelation of the final act of God’s redemption is layered between the other doctrinal revelations of our salvation. It is so rich symbolically and because of that it leaves so much to question, so many errors to be made and corrected. The mark of the true disciple is in asking the right question, the mark of a true son is his correction by the hand of a loving Father.