Heart of a Psalmist - Worshipping Christ Through The Psalms

There is not a more perfect picture of Christ in the Bible than Joseph. He was rejected by his fam- ily and sold by Judah for 20 pieces of silver. He went into Egypt as Christ did. He married a Gentile bride just as Christ has received his bride from among Gentile nations. He was ‘resurrected’ from the lowest prison to the highest place of honor under Pharaoh just as Jesus rules all things under his Fa- ther’s authority. Joseph was placed there to advance the fulfillment of God’s promise to Abraham. “Then Israel arrived in Egypt; Jacob lived as a foreigner in the land of Ham. And the Lord multiplied the people of Israel until they became too mighty for their enemies. Then he turned the Egyptians against the Israelites, and they plotted against the Lord’s servants.” (23) The Lord used the suffering of his servant Joseph to bring his people to Egypt and multiply. Pharaoh told Joseph; “Give them the best of the land of Egypt…”(Gen. 47:6) It was also the Lord that turned the Egyptians against his people so he might fulfill his covenant to Abraham by inheriting the land of Canaan. They did not understand that the oppression was actually God’s way of moving them on in his purposes. The terrible judgments that God performed through Moses and Aaron were direct punishments upon the gods of Egypt. The plagues presented in this psalm are in a different order than the Exodus account and the 5th (pestilence) and 6th (boils) are not mentioned. • The Plague of Darkness- (9th plague) “The Lord blanketed Egypt in darkness, for they had de- fied his commands to let his people go.” (28) This plague was probably mentioned first as it was a di- rect judgment upon the most powerful of Egyptian gods; the Sun god, ‘Ra’. • The Plague of Blood- (1st plague) “He turned the nation’s water into blood, poisoning all the fish.” (29) Egypt worshiped the god of the Nile, ‘Osiris’ as well as many fish gods. • The Plague of Frogs- (2nd plague) “Then frogs overran the land; they were found even in the king’s private rooms.” (30) Egypt worshiped ‘Hekt’, the female goddess with the head and sometimes body of a frog. • The Plague of Flies- (4th plague) “When he spoke, flies descended on the Egyptians,…”(31) This was in judgment on the fly god; ‘Uatchit’. • The Plague of Gnats- (3d plague) “…and gnats swarmed across Egypt.” (31) This was a judg- ment against ‘Geb’, the god of the earth as Moses had picked up dust and threw it into the air, which turned into gnats. • The Plague of Hail, Lightning- (7th plague) “Instead of rain, he sent murderous hail, and flashes of lightning overwhelmed the land. He ruined their grapevines and fig trees and shattered all the trees.” (32) The god of the atmosphere was ‘Shu’, and ‘Nut’ was the goddess of the sky. They were powerless against the God of Israel! • The Plague of Locusts- (8th plague) “He spoke and hordes of locusts came-locusts beyond number. They ate up everything green in the land, destroying all the crops.” (34,35) ‘Nepri; the goddess of grain, ‘Anubis’ guardian of the fields and ‘Min’ deity of the harvest were all of no effect against the mir- acles done by Moses. • The Death of the 1st Born- (10th plague) “Then he killed the oldest child in each Egyptian home, the pride and joy of each family.” (36) Perhaps this was in response to the command by Pharaoh to kill all the male children of the Hebrews 80 years before: “…kill all the boys as soon as they are born.” (Ex. 1:16) The first-born sons of Egypt were often chosen to become priests of the various gods. Pharaoh’s first born was called ‘the Son of God’ and was worshiped as a deity. His death at the command of Moses was the greatest spiritual insult. IV MOSES…WITH AARON - 26-36 “But the Lord sent Moses his servant, along with Aaron, whom he had chosen. They performed mirac- ulous signs among the Egyptians, and miracles in the land of Ham.” (26, 27)

V SACRED PROMISE TO ABRAHAM - 37-45

“But he brought his people safely out of Egypt, loaded with silver and gold; there were no sick or feeble people among them. Egypt was glad when they were gone, for the dread of them was great.” (37,38)

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