Plagues begin

Though these plagues seem somewhat arbitrary, each one is directed at one of the Egyptian gods, as though to challenge one of these non-entities to prove their power. A later verse reads "Against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgements" (Ex. 12:12). These plagues were designed to show the Egyptians that their gods were not real, all the while authenticating the realness of the one true God to His people, the Israelites.

The first plague turned the Nile river into blood and was directed against Hapi, the god of the Nile.
The second plague of frogs was targeted at Heqt, the god of frogs, and Isis, a fertility god (somehow frogs were associated with fertility in that culture)
The third plague of gnats (sometimes translated "lice") fell to Kheper, the god of beetles and flies
The fourth plague of flies was another attack on Kheper
The fifth plague which killed all of the livestock, was meant for Apis, an image of a sacred bull
The sixth plague of boils challenged Imhotep, the physician god, and Thoth, the god of magic and healing

Notice that the first grouping of three plagues affected all of the people, while the next three spared the Israelites. Additionally, the first three plagues were initiated by Moses or Aaron raising their staff, while in the next three, they were simply messengers of what God would do. Once God had authenticated Moses and Aaron as his agents, He worked the remainder of the plagues without their participation, lest the people think that the power came from them instead of God. Notice also that Pharoah's magicians were able to replicate the first two plagues, though not able to reverse them, which would naturally have been preferable to creating more of the same malady! Though their powers were limited, and even they recognized that fact, we must acknowledge that they possessed supernatural abilities. We know that their power did not come from God, and we know that one of Satan's best tools is the counterfeiting of what God does. Many people have been fooled by false prophets and cult religions because of Satan's ability to mimic, (in a cheap unsatisfying kind of way), the one true God.

Tomorrow's reading: Exodus 10-12