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Rather than an event occurring thousands of years ago, the COVID pandemic, as of this writing, is happening now.
This strain originated in China, but it has quickly spread throughout the world with almost , confirmed cases as of this writing. Though the number of deaths, so far, from COVID is relatively small compared to that of other infectious diseases at around 20,, concern over COVID stems from its rapid spread, infectious nature, and lack of a vaccine.
The panic, then, is not due to the current situation, but due to forecasts of exponential growth in cases and the potential to overwhelm medical staff, supplies, and facilities. First, God specifically announced the plagues before they occurred and allowed Pharaoh a chance to repent.
Today, COVID seems to be taking the typical course of a pandemic — out of nowhere and unpredictable. Second, the 10 Plagues only hit the Egyptians. Even the Israelites, their close neighbors, were kept safe which is celebrated at Passover.
COVID, on the other hand, has so far hit almost every country around the globe. Third, the 10 Plagues came in a series of progressively worsening plagues. COVID is a singular event, which, though occurring in tandem with other natural disasters, as is usually the case, has not yet been accompanied by any other maladies of more than the usual magnitude.
The heart of comparing COVID to the 10 Plagues probably does not lie so much in the outward similarities but in the spiritual and emotional connotations. They were announced, they occurred, and they only affected the guilty party, the Egyptians.
Furthermore, the disease has hit believer and nonbeliever alike. And if it is indeed a judgment upon us, what does God demand? Of course, there is always something of which sinful man can repent. However, in biblical times, such as during the 10 Plagues or when God threatened to destroy Nineveh see the book of Jonah , He gave the people a warning of what He was going to do if they did not repent in a such-and-such way.
Frogs: Heket goddess of fertility, was depicted with the head of a frog. Flies: Khepri , the god of creation, was depicted as having the head of a fly. Livestock: Hathor, the goddess of love and protection, was depicted with the head of a cow.
Boils: Isis was the goddess of medicine, so God sent unyielding boils to affect the people. Hail: Nut, the goddess of the sky, is what inspired God to send hail and fire from above. Locusts: Seth was the god of storms and disorder. God sent a storm cloud of locusts that destroyed their food supply.
Darkness: Ra is the famous Egyptian god of the sun which God darkened for three days while sustaining light in the land of Goshen where the Israelites dwelled. God is God and there is no other. In the Bible, the number ten indicates completion. God is clear that He is our Creator and He designed us to be in relationship with Him, to worship Him alone. He repeats this message throughout the Bible and makes the dangers of idolatry evident. Idolatry deceives us into wandering from the One True God.
What could be more dangerous than walking away from life toward death? There are other mentions of plagues in the Bible. When the Israelites complained about manna in the wilderness and agitators stirred the people up with a craving for quail, God sent them quail. Then Pharaoh offered to set the Israelites free, on condition that they let their sheep and cattle remain.
But the Israelites needed their animals to sacrifice to god, so they rejected Pharaoh's condition. Enslavement of the Israelites. The ten plagues of Egypt. The Escape from Egypt. By using this site, you agree we can set and use cookies. For more details of these cookies and how to disable them, see our cookie policy.
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