INTERVARSITY PRESS DAILY BIBLE STUDY
Exodus 7:8-10:29: God's Power on the Line – Lesson 5
Sorry for the inconvenience of not posting the IVP questions. Intervarsity Press asked that I not repost their study so that it will drive traffic to their site. Use the link above to access the core questions for this study.
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2016-2017 Tulsa Bible Church Men’s Bible Study – tulsabible.org
For further consideration:
As you read through the ten plagues, here are a few things to look for.
- 1. Look for mentions of Pharaoh’s heart hardening.
- 2. Look for the responses of the Magicians.
- 3. While Pharaoh’s continues to harden, note the responses of his servants (not mentioned in every plague).
- 4. Look for mentions of distinction being made between Goshen and the rest Egypt.
- 5. Look for mentions of pharaoh, etc. knowing the Lord.
- 6. Most commentators see a connection between the plagues and the gods of Egypt. Use your knowledge of Egyptians gods or a commentary like the IVP Bible Background Commentary or Thomas Constable’s Notes on Exodus. (Which are available for free in the notes section of the NETBible.org) to see how they correspond.
7. Sometimes making a chart can help track the characteristics of each plague.
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What was the meaning and purpose of the ten plagues of Egypt?
Question: "What was the meaning and purpose of the ten plagues of Egypt?"
Answer: The Ten Plagues of Egypt—also known as the Ten Plagues, the Plagues of Egypt, or the Biblical Plagues—are described in Exodus 7—12. The plagues were ten disasters sent upon Egypt by God to convince Pharaoh to free the Israelite slaves from the bondage and oppression they had endured in Egypt for 400 years. When God sent Moses to deliver the children of Israel from bondage in Egypt, He promised to show His wonders as confirmation of Moses’ authority (Exodus 3:20). This confirmation was to serve at least two purposes: to show the Israelites that the God of their fathers was alive and worthy of their worship and to show the Egyptians that their gods were nothing. … Finish the article at GotQuestions.org /ten-plagues-Egypt.html
EXODUS 9:19–21—IF ALL THE CATTLE DIED, THEN HOW DID SOME SURVIVE?
PROBLEM: Exodus 9:6 asserts that “all the livestock of Egypt died” in the fifth plague. Yet only a few verses later it instructs them to “gather your livestock and all that you have in the field” into their houses (v. 19). But if all livestock died, then how could there be any left?
SOLUTION: First of all, the term “all” is often used in a general sense to mean “the vast majority.” Further, the plague was apparently limited to the cattle “in the field” (v. 3). The animals in stalls would not have been affected. Finally, the word “cattle” does not generally denote horses, donkeys, and camels which could have been part of the “livestock” that were spared.
In view of these factors, there is no contradiction between the passages. Nor would any reasonable person assume one by the same author within the same chapter who gave such a vivid, firsthand account of the events.
This excerpt is from When Critics Ask: A Popular Handbook on Bible Difficulties (Wheaton, Ill.: Victor Books, 1992). © 2014 Norman Geisler and Thomas Howe. All rights reserved. Used by permission. Click here to purchase this book.
