Exodus 7:5 And the Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD, when I stretch forth my hand on Egypt… The diversity and various sorts of those plagues — each sorer than other. The first and second were upon the water, the third and fourth were upon the earth, the five next were upon the air, and the tenth falls upon the firstborn of men, insomuch that their punishment was absolute, not only as to the number of the plagues, which was a number of perfection, but more especially in respect of their nature, matter, and manner, all various and exquisite. For — I. THEY WERE PLAGUED BY ALL KIND OF CREATURES. 1. By all the elements; as water, earth, air and fire. 2. By sundry animals; as frogs, lice, caterpillars, flies, and locusts. 3. By men; as Moses and Aaron were instruments in God's hand. 4. By the angels who ministered those plagues, both the evil angels (Psalm 78:44), whom He sent among them, and the good that were employed in destroying their firstborn (Exodus 12:3, etc.), yea, by the very stars, who all combined against them — with the sun and moon — in suspending their light from that land — during the three days darkness — as all ashamed to look upon such sinful inhabitants thereof, etc. II. THEY WERE PLAGUED IN ALL THINGS WHEREIN THEY MOST DELIGHTED. 1. In all manner of their luscious and delicious fruit, by its being universally blasted or devoured, etc. 2. In their goodliest cattle — some of which they worshipped — all destroyed by murrain, etc. 3. In their River Nilus, which they adored, and for which end, it is supposed, Pharaoh was going down to pay his homage to that idol, when God bade Moses go meet him in the morning (ver. 15). This is intimated in Ezekiel 29:3, 9, where they are twitted twice for idolizing it, but God made it loathsome to them (ver. 18). 4. In the fish, which was their daily and delicate diet (Numbers 11:5), for the flesh of many beasts they, out of superstition, would not eat of, as abominable (Exodus 8:26). All the fish died when their water was turned into blood (ver. 21). 5. In their bodies, wherein they greatly prided themselves, but the boils God smote them which spoiled all their beauties in their wellbuilt bodies. 6. In their children, when in every house there was a dead corpse, and that not of a slave or servant, but of their firstborn. All these were the idols of Egypt (Exodus 12:12; Zephaniah 2:11). III. THEY WERE PLAGUED IN ALL THEIR SENSES. 1. In their seeing; for they lost all sight when the plague of darkness took away their light for three days, unless it were horrible sights mentioned in Apocrypha (Wisdom 17:6, 7). However, their comfort of seeing they lost. 2. In their hearing. Oh, what a consternation! Dread and terror seized upon them when God uttered His terrible voice in those frightful thunders in the plague of hail, when fire ran along upon the ground, yet did not melt the hailstones (Exodus 9:23). This must be supernatural, and therefore the more dreadful, which might make them think that God was come to rain hell-fire out of heaven upon them as He had done, before this, upon wicked Sodom (Genesis 19.). How did this voice of the Lord break the cedars, etc. (Psalm 29:5, 6, etc.), yea, every tree of the field (Exodus 9:25). 3. In their smelling, both by the stench of the frogs (Exodus 8:14), which might mind them of their sin that made them stink before God, and likewise by the stinking rotten matter that ran out of those ulcers wherewith they were smitten (Exodus 9:9-11). As they had oppressed God's people with furnace work in making brick, so the ashes of that furnace became burning boils that break forth into putrid running sores, etc. 4. In their tasting, both by the waters turned into blood, because in them they had shed the blood of the male Hebrew children. These bloody men had blood to drink, for they were worthy (Revelation 16:6). Their River Nilus they used to boast of to the Grecians, saying, in mockery to them, "If God should forget to rain, they might chance to perish for it." The rain, they thought, was of God, but not their river (Ezekiel 29:3, 9), therefore, to confute them in their confidence, as God threatens to dry it up (Isaiah 19:5, 6), so here to bereave them of all the comfortable use of it; they now loathed to drink of it (vers. 18-20). God cursed their blessings (Malachi 2:2), and also by their thirst thereby procured. Drinking such bloody water did rather torture their taste than please their palate, or quench their thirst. 5. In their touching or feeling, by their dolorous shooting pangs in their body, when the sin of their souls broke forth into sores of their bodies, which pained them so, that, as they could not now sleep in a whole skin, so they gnawed their own tongues for pain. This was superadded to the bitings of flies, wasps, flying-serpents, etc., whereby some might be stung to death (Psalm 78:45), and the magicians themselves, who had so insolently imitated Moses, the devil being God's ape, were branded with those boils to detect their contumacy. Besides, also, the frogs ravaging upon their bodies so irresistibly, etc., must needs be very offensive to their sense of touching. IV. Lastly, as if all this had been too little to fill up the measure of their plagues and punishments, Pharaoh and all his forces, that hitherto had escaped, were all drawn blindfold into the noose, by fair way, weather, etc., and then were drowned in the Red Sea (Exodus 14:8, 9, 21, 24, 28). (C. Ness.) Parallel Verses KJV: And the Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD, when I stretch forth mine hand upon Egypt, and bring out the children of Israel from among them. |
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