The Egyptian culture grew out of the ability to accurately predict the rise and fall of the Nile River in it's annual flood cycle. Based on their ability to tell when the river would flood it's banks and then recede there grew a class of individuals who were entrusted with this knowledge and formed the powerful class of priests, political and religious figures who could sway the course of the nation. Over the centuries their ability to predict these things provided the basis for a wealthy and powerful people. Their wealth and power was only matched by their pride which ascribed their success to the pagan gods that filled their imagination and populated the land with temples and landmarks which still remain wonders to the modern world. It was this culture which, fearful of the Hebrews who had saved them from famine, enslaved and then sought destroy them. It was under these conditions that God eventually sent Moses to deliver the children of Abraham from bondage.
Moses was uncomfortable with the task that God had set before him (Ex 3.2-10) but eventually went to do that which the Lord had commanded him to do. God would deliver the people through whom the Messiah would be brought into the world by means of deeds that would bring the Egyptians to their knees and defeat their pride. Moses had escaped the fate of many other male children who had been murdered in the Nile river by the order of Pharaoh (Ex 2.9-22). The source of life to so many in the nation of Egypt had become the instrument of death for the innocent. In the beginning of the struggle between God and the pride of an arrogant nation the Egyptians would soon see that their arrogance and trust in their pagan gods and material power were meaningless in the face of God. Moses set out for the land of Egypt and confronted Pharaoh with the demand that God had made. Moses brother Aaron met him in the wilderness and together they informed the children of Israel that God had heard their cries and had sent them to lead them out of their bondage (Ex 4.27-31).
The arrogance of the leader of Egypt becomes clear as Moses and Aaron let him know why they have come. "And Pharaoh said, Who is the LORD, that I should obey his voice to let Israel go? I know not the LORD, neither will I let Israel go." (Ex 5.2)." Entrenched in his own power, the power and wealth of the nation and the mysticism of the priests, Pharaoh was not inclined to allow this request to be granted. Instead he listened to the pride of his own mind and made the tasks of the Hebrews harder by denying them straw for the bricks that they were to make (Ex 5.4-10). God used the hardness of Pharaoh's heart to show his power and to deliver His people. As the Egyptians had brought affliction on the Hebrews, so God would afflict Egypt. God brought a series of great plagues on the Egyptians and the first of those plagues affected the very water that had given birth to their culture and remained the center of their religious lives. Similar to other great civilizations that have arisen in the world, Egypt became powerful and prosperous on the banks of a great waterway. Situated thus, they were able to grow food and engage in commerce. The river was central to every aspect of life and many of their myths and mystical beliefs were founded on the Nile and the creatures that lived there.
To be continued
TLC