The Ten Plagues were the judgments the Lord sent on Egypt when Pharaoh refused to let Israel go.
They struck the river, the land, the beasts, the sky, and at last the firstborn.
By them God made His name known, judged the gods of Egypt, and brought His people out by a mighty hand.
The last plague opened the way for Passover: when He saw the blood, He passed over.
Israel cried under bondage, and the Lord sent Moses to Pharaoh with a simple word: Let My people go, that they may serve Me. Pharaoh hardened his heart.
Then the Lord multiplied signs and wonders in the land of Egypt.
- Water became blood.
- Frogs, gnats, and flies covered the land.
- Livestock died.
- Boils broke out.
- Hail and fire fell.
- Locusts ate what the hail had left.
- Darkness that could be felt covered Egypt for three days.
- At midnight the Lord struck all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh to the firstborn of the captive, and all the firstborn of the cattle.
- Israel was spared under the blood of the lamb.
Pharaoh sent them out. Scripture says the Lord executed judgments on the gods of Egypt. The plagues were not random disasters. They were the Lord’s arm stretched out so that Israel would know He is the Lord, and so that Egypt and the earth would know it too.
The church reads them as history and as a warning: the God who judged Egypt still saves by the blood of the Lamb and still will not leave rebellion unanswered.
- The plagues were the Lord’s answer to a king who would not let God’s people go.
- They judged Egypt’s gods as well as Egypt’s pride.
- Pharaoh hardened his heart, and the Lord also hardened Pharaoh’s heart, so that His name would be proclaimed.
- Israel was set apart; Goshen was spared in several of the strokes.
- The tenth plague is bound to Passover and to the blood on the door.
- Later Scripture remembers the plagues as the mighty acts that brought Israel out.
- The greater exodus is in Christ, who delivers from a worse bondage than Egypt.
- Blood – The Nile and the waters of Egypt were turned to blood.
- Frogs – The river teemed with frogs that came into houses and beds.
- Gnats – The dust of the earth became gnats on man and beast.
- Flies – Swarms filled Egypt; the land of Goshen was set apart.
- Livestock – A deadly plague on the Egyptian herds.
- Boils – Sores on man and beast, and the magicians could not stand.
- Hail – Hail and fire, the worst storm in Egypt since it became a nation.
- Locusts – What the hail left, the locusts ate.
- Darkness – A darkness that could be felt for three days; Israel had light.
- Death of the Firstborn – The Lord struck at midnight; the blood of the lamb marked the spared houses.
- Exodus 7:3-5 – “But I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and though I multiply my signs and wonders in the land of Egypt, Pharaoh will not listen to you. Then I will lay my hand on Egypt and bring my hosts, my people the children of Israel, out of the land of Egypt by great acts of judgment. The Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord, when I stretch out my hand against Egypt and bring out the people of Israel from among them.”
- Exodus 7:17-20 – The first plague: water turned to blood.
- Exodus 8:1-6 – The second plague: frogs.
- Exodus 8:16-17 – The third plague: gnats from the dust.
- Exodus 8:21-23 – The fourth plague: flies; “I will set apart the land of Goshen… that you may know that I am the Lord in the midst of the earth.”
- Exodus 9:3-6 – The fifth plague: the death of Egyptian livestock.
- Exodus 9:8-11 – The sixth plague: boils.
- Exodus 9:23-26 – The seventh plague: hail; only in the land of Goshen there was no hail.
- Exodus 10:12-15 – The eighth plague: locusts.
- Exodus 10:21-23 – The ninth plague: darkness; “but all the people of Israel had light where they lived.”
- Exodus 11:4-7 – The warning of the tenth plague: “About midnight I will go out in the midst of Egypt, and every firstborn in the land of Egypt shall die…”
- Exodus 12:12-13, 29-31 – “For I will pass through the land of Egypt that night, and I will strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and on all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments: I am the Lord. The blood shall be a sign for you… And when I see the blood, I will pass over you.” At midnight the Lord struck the firstborn; Pharaoh sent Israel out.
- Exodus 9:16 – “But for this purpose I have raised you up, to show you my power, so that my name may be proclaimed in all the earth.”
- Exodus 12:12 – Judgments on all the gods of Egypt.
- Psalm 78:43-51 – A retelling of the signs in Egypt and the striking of the firstborn.
- Psalm 105:26-36 – Moses and Aaron sent; the plagues remembered in order as the Lord’s deeds.
- Psalm 135:8-9 – “He it was who struck down the firstborn of Egypt, both of man and of beast; who in your midst, O Egypt, sent signs and wonders against Pharaoh and all his servants.”
- Jeremiah 32:20-21 – “You have shown signs and wonders in the land of Egypt, and to this day in Israel and among all mankind, and have made a name for yourself, as at this day. You brought your people Israel out of the land of Egypt with signs and wonders…”
- Romans 9:17 – “For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, ‘For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I might show my power in you, and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.’”
- Hebrews 11:28 – “By faith he kept the Passover and sprinkled the blood, so that the Destroyer of the firstborn might not touch them.”
- Revelation 16:2-4, 10, 13, 21 – Bowl judgments that echo blood, sores, darkness, frogs, and hail—the Lord’s last plagues on a defiant world.
- 1 Corinthians 10:1-2, 11 – Israel under the cloud and through the sea; these things were written for our instruction.
Let My people go, that they may serve Me.
Pharaoh would not. Then the Lord stretched out His hand.
The river turned. The land teemed. The sky went dark. At midnight the firstborn died, and the houses under the blood were passed over.
These were not accidents of nature. They were great acts of judgment, so that Egypt would know that He is the Lord, and so that His name would be proclaimed in all the earth.
The last plague still preaches: there is no shelter except the blood God has appointed.
Christ our Passover has been sacrificed. Come under that covering. Do not harden your heart as Pharaoh did.
The God who judged Egypt still saves by the blood of the Lamb, and His name is still to be proclaimed in all the earth.
Entry compiled for the JESUSaves.com Bible Glossary. Optimized for wiki.js Visual Editor.