The Passover and the Festival of Unleavened Bread are all about the Messiah, whether you call him Yeshua or Jesus; He is the centerpiece of this Biblical festival. GOD ALMIGHTY aka YAHWEH or JEHOVAH (HE is called by many names), established the date and time and even the menu for this Appointed Time in scripture, (Exodus 12) with a command to observe it forever!
Passover illustrates a clear pattern of redemption for mankind, which begins with the Hebrew slaves in Egypt and comes to complete fulfillment with the death and resurrection of Yeshua (Jesus) the Messiah. There is lots of symbolism in Passover; in this blog post I’d like to look closely at the 10 miracles or plagues God performed in Egypt. I believe the plagues were more than just punishment for Pharaoh’s stubborn resistance. They provided an eye-opening, educational experience that demonstrated the awesome power of Yahweh, the One true God! It was a much needed lesson for the Egyptians and the Hebrew slaves who had been indoctrinated to worship the false gods of Egypt for nearly 430 years.
In these plagues, GOD ALMIGHTY demonstrates HIS omnipotent power and supremacy over the false deities of Egypt. Each of the ten plagues was directed toward the various gods of the Egyptian culture. The pagans had a collection of gods or deities for almost every need in life. The Egyptians and many of the Hebrews would soon learn that YAHWEH, whom the forefathers of the Hebrews had worshipped; was the One and Only true GOD. I believe the 10 plagues walks us through our own sins and false idols and brings us out in a glorious victory covered in the Blood of the Lamb.
Now, with that said, I am no bible scholar, but I believe the studies done by Dr. Gary Baker, an independent columnist for The Atascadero News and Paso Robles Press provides a clear example of the point I am trying to make here. The chart below was created from his studies and I have outlined the plagues and Egyptian deities that were judged by YAHWEH with the ten plagues.
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Ten Plagues or Miracles |
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Plagues |
Scripture |
Egyptian deities judged by YAHWEH |
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1. Blood
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Exodus 7:14-25. |
Hapi: god of annual flooding; |
All the water in the Nile River was turned into blood even in the water in wooden buckets and stone jars. The fish in the river died, and the river stank so badly that the Egyptians couldn’t drink its water. There was blood throughout all the land of Egypt. |
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Osirus: the Nile River was his bloodstream |
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2. Frogs |
Exodus 8:1-15 |
Hapi: had the head of a frog Hegt was Hapi goddess; they were related to fertility. |
Frogs came up from the rivers, canals and ponds and covered the land of Egypt including their dwelling places |
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3. Lice |
Exodus 8:16 -18 |
Seb: the earth god. |
These were tiny, stinging, blood sucking gnats. |
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4. Flies. |
Exodus 8:20-32 |
Vatchi: The fly god Hathor: goddess of protection |
Flies swarmed over all Egypt and covered Pharoah, his officials, his people and their houses. |
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5. Livestock
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Exodus 9:1-7 |
Apis: the bull god. |
A plague killed the livestock in the field: horses, donkeys camels bulls, cattle, sheep and goats. |
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Plagues |
Scripture |
Egyptian deities judged by YAHWEH |
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6. Boils |
Exodus 9:8-12 |
Sekhmet:goddess of epidemics |
Festering boils break out on people and animals throughout the land. |
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7. Hail
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Exodus 9:13-15
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Nut;the skygoddess Seth:god of storms Shu: god of the atmosphere |
Throughout Egypt hail struck everything in the fields—both people and animals; it beat down everything growing in the fields and stripped every tree. |
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8. Locusts |
Exodus 10:1-20 |
Siris:god of crops Serapia:protector of crops |
Locusts covered all the ground until it was black. Devoured all that was left after the hail—everything growing in the fields and the fruit on the trees. Nothing green remained on tree or plant in all the land of Egypt. |
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9. Darkness |
Exodus 10:21-29 |
Ra: the sun god who was the most worshipped god in Egypt. |
Total darkness covered all Egypt for three days. No one could see anyone else or move about for three days. |
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10. Death of the First Born |
Exodus 11:1-12:36. |
Heget: goddess of birth; Min the god of reproduction. |
Lord says: ‘About midnight I will go throughout Egypt. Every firstborn son in Egypt will die, from the firstborn son of Pharaoh, who sits on the throne, to the firstborn son of the female slave, who is at her hand mill, and all the firstborn of the cattle as well |
Exodus 12:1-13 - The Passover and the Festival of Unleavened Bread
ADONAI spoke to Moshe and Aharon in the land of Egypt; he said, 2 “You are to begin your calendar with this month; it will be the first month of the year for you. 3 Speak to all the assembly of Isra’el and say, ‘On the tenth day of this month, each man is to take a lamb or kid for his family, one per household — 4 except that if the household is too small for a whole lamb or kid, then he and his next-door neighbor should share one, dividing it in proportion to the number of people eating it. 5 Your animal must be without defect, a male in its first year, and you may choose it from either the sheep or the goats.
6 “‘You are to keep it until the fourteenth day of the month, and then the entire assembly of the community of Isra’el will slaughter it at dusk. 7 They are to take some of the blood and smear it on the two sides and top of the door-frame at the entrance of the house in which they eat it. 8 That night, they are to eat the meat, roasted in the fire; they are to eat it with matzah and maror. 9 Don’t eat it raw or boiled, but roasted in the fire, with its head, the lower parts of its legs and its inner organs. 10 Let nothing of it remain till morning; if any of it does remain, burn it up completely.
11 “‘Here is how you are to eat it: with your belt fastened, your shoes on your feet and your staff in your hand; and you are to eat it hurriedly. It is ADONAI’s Pesach [Passover]. 12 For that night, I will pass through the land of Egypt and kill all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both men and animals; and I will execute judgment against all the gods of Egypt; I am ADONAI. 13 The blood will serve you as a sign marking the houses where you are; when I see the blood, I will pass over [a] you — when I strike the land of Egypt, the death blow will not strike you.
Yahweh’s awesome display of power over the pagan gods of Egypt, left no doubt about who is the Creator and God of the earth! In addition to all this, Yahweh protected the Hebrews who lived in the land of Goshen, from all the plagues. On the night of the tenth plague, death of the firstborn, the Hebrews held the first Passover seder meal after placing the blood of a lamb over their doorposts -a blood sign that protected them from death!
The people continued to witness great miracles in the desert. Throughout their generations Hebrew slaves, later called Israel, called upon the “One God” for all their needs. It took some time to remove the pagan culture that was so deeply embedded in the Hebrew slaves. But Yahweh’s plan for Israel and humankind was just beginning at the first Passover!
It would take generations and the coming of the Messiah, for God’s Plan of redemption for mankind to come to fruition. And it did come, at Passover in the year 33 Common Era (CE), with the death and resurrection of Yeshua the Messiah. His arrival and ministry on earth ushered in the Messianic Age and proclaimed the good news of the Kingdom of God to the whole world.
Coming up in Part 2 of the Passover Series; learn how GOD chose the Appointed Time of the Passover as the backdrop to set us free again – giving us salvation from the slavery of sin and ushering in the Renewed Covenant.
