After the scene-setting of the first six chapters, we now move into what is probably the most familiar aspect of the Exodus story - the plagues of Egypt and the repeated mind-changes of Pharaoh.  Such stories, with strong supernatural elements seem to divide opinion, and not always very graciously!  There are those who are adamant that such accounts are purely mythical, having no basis in fact, calling on external sources, such as they are, and their silence, to support the view that this never happened.  There are others who are equally adamant that such accounts are absolute historical truth, and who ignore or refute any external, scientific or alternative interpretation.  And there are some, like me, for whom such arguments are exercises in missing the point - whatever the historicity, and I am sure there is at least some factual basis for the stories, these stories have been retold and recorded because there is something to be deduced from reading them, something to learn about ourselves, about our faith, about God.  We might not like it very much, it might disturb our ease and make us long to exclude these texts from the canon, but we have to accept they were included by people who thought and prayed hard about siuch things.  The least we can do, in my view, is try to do some thinking and praying ourselves.

Overview

First, an overview of these two chapters, noting some of the details that are easily missed...

At the start of this section, Moses acts as the 'mouth of God' and instructs Aaron to perform the first signs.  Clearly, within the ancient worldview such things were not unheard of... When Aaron drops his staff and it turns into a snake, the court magicians are able to do the same thing, providing a tasty snack for the snake from Aaron's staff.  When Aaron stretches his staff over the Nile and turns it and all its tributaries to blood, the court magicians can do this too.  Whatever our view of these seeming conjuring tricks, pharaoh isn't impressed - this Hebrew God and his prophet don't seem to have any special powers over and above those of the Egyptian court magicians/magi.

A week passes - or a short period of time anyway.

Moses and Aaron bring forth a plague of frogs from the Nile... and the magicians too are able to conjure up frogs.  Even so, something changes, and Pharaoh asks Moses and Aaron to pray to God for the frogs to go away.  Humorously, Moses asks when this should be and Pharaoh says 'tomorrow'.  But after the frogs had all died and been cleared, Pharaoh's apparent softening of heart vanishes.

After the frogs, the gnats - or midges - nasty small bitey creatures!  Here is something the court magicians can't do, and they tell Pharaoh that this is surely "the finger of God"... this is now beyond their experience and their skills.  Pharaoh is not interested, his mind is made up, his heart is heard.  Even as he scratches another bite he refuses to budge.

After the gnats, the flies, and here for the first time an apparent distinction, an area where the flies are not found - Goshen, where the Hebrews reside.  And here, too, a change in Pharaoh's response... he makes an offer to the Hebrews that they can make their sacrifice, but only within the confines of Egypt.  Perhaps something is stirring in Pharaoh's heart/mind, perhaps a chink in armour of stubborness.  But this offer is rejected - the sacrifices the Hebrews would offer would be offensive to the Egyptians and could lead to reprisal, even stoning of those involved.  Pharaoh seems to relent a little further - they can go to the wilderness so long as they don't go too far - and again asks Moses to pray for him.  And in a now familiar pattern, as the prayer is answered, Pharaoh again hardens his heart.

Signs, Wonders and Rationalisation

For all I've said that I am not too fussed whether or not this account is historically accurate, I do recall very vividly a documentary that set out to explore whether there could be a factual basis for the plague stories.  And it deduced, quite convincingly, that there could.  Not that God smote anyone, but that the sequence of events was plausible, if improbable.  The Nile can appear to turn to blood, becoming undrinkable and poisonous due to sudden influxes of impurities.  With the water uninhabitable and the fish dying, the frogs will escape to dry land, potentially in huge numbers.  As the frogs, possibly poisoned, and certainly at risk of dehydration die off and start to rot, the arrival of gnats/midges and flies is pretty much inevitable.  If, by some quirk, the area of Goshen has managed to avoid becoming a frog graveyard, then the flies won't be very interested...

If you are curious to explore this further, then maybe look here or here .  These are not proofs, but they are interesting in their own right.  And they also prompt us to ponder how natural, albeit extremely rare, events, came to take on such religious significance for the Hebrews and not the Egyptians.

Miracles, Magicians and Mysteries...

Moses and Aaron are attributed with invoking signs by supernatural means.  The court magicians are able to emulate at least some of these by their own 'arts'.  If nothing else, this part of the account forces us to question our use of language of 'miracle' which, all too often is equated with 'something for which we have no scientific explanation', a so-called 'God of the gaps' approach.   But we must do say carefully, not dismissing as infantile or erroneous the firmly held beliefs of others.

Maybe it is a cop-out, but I continue to find the langauge of mystery helpful, holding a tension between extremes that risk dividing and/or polarising opinion.

Pharaoh's Attitude

It is easy either to dismiss Pharaoh as a terrible tyrant or to see him as a puppet in the hands of a cruel, manipulative deity.  But actually, I can't help wondering if there isn't a bit of pharaoh in a lot of us, certainly in me...

Pharaoh is a man of strong opinions, powerful and holding authority, what he says goes.  But he is also a man, capable of fear, possibly with his own insecurities and uncertainities.  There is something hugely poignant in his requests that Moses prays for him, and equally sad that, once the prayers have been answered, he again hardens his heart.  How easily we can fall into a similar trap - crying out to God when we want or need help, anything from a genuine personal tragedy to a bus/taxi/parking space, and then forgetting all about God once the crisis has passed... or I certainly can, anyway.  How easy it can be to try to bargain with God, if this, then that... when actually we really don't want to be held to 'that'...

Reading the start of the plague narrative slowly, and closely, I have discovered new insights into the actions of pharaoh, of how at times he seems to have wanted to find a middle course, for whatever reason - to save face, to lull the Hebrews into a false sense of security - and yet in the end he cannot follow through.  He has become some kind of monster, incapable of change.  This makes me wonder about the 'monsters' that we create or allow to be created in positions of authority, and how difficult it must be for them to extricate themsleves from seemingly intractable situations.  That doesn't mean it doesn't matter, that we simply let come to pass whatever it is they will, but it does remind me to remember that, behind it all, these are people for whom Christ died, and that it is God's will that none be lost. 

If God plays with pharaoh like a puppet, then God also draws all of that malice and cruelty into God's very self on the cross... I'm not saying that makes the former OK, because I don't think it does, but it does say something about redemption even with the heart of Godself... and that blows my mind!