So How I Started This Whole Thing
Alright, so this idea about the ten plagues kinda hit me after a rough weekend. I was stuck in traffic, horns blaring, feeling like I was losing the plot. Remembered some Sunday school stuff from way back – Moses, Pharaoh, those creepy plagues. Thought maybe digging into that ancient drama could shine a light on my own modern chaos. Crazy, right? But I figured, why not?
Monday morning rolled around. Grabbed my battered old Bible – the spine’s held together with duct tape now – and some sticky notes. Coffee brewing, I flopped onto the couch and flipped straight to Exodus, somewhere around chapter 7. Didn’t plan a grand study; just started reading, trying to see past the frogs and locusts everyone talks about. My gut feeling? These weren’t just old-timey punishments; there had to be something bigger screaming at me through the dust.
My Messy Note-Taking Phase
Started scribbling down each plague like I was making some bizarre grocery list:
- Water turns to blood.
- Frogs. Everywhere.
- Lice or gnats? Just bugs, lots of them.
- Flies swarming.
- Animals dropping dead.
- Blisters on people.
- Hail smashing everything.
- Locusts devouring crops.
- Thick darkness for days.
- Firstborn sons dying.
Didn’t go scholarly; just jotted what jumped out. Pharaoh kept saying no, disaster piled up. It felt too familiar – like how I sometimes stubbornly cling to bad habits even when life’s screaming “STOP!” My notebook looked chaotic, coffee stains included. Couldn’t wrap my head around why these specific plagues? What was the point?
Connecting the Dots (Sloppily)
Started talking to myself about it – yeah, feels weird saying that. “Okay,” I mumbled, “this water-to-blood thing… water’s life, right? Blood is… life spilling out, maybe death?” Felt like God was showing Pharaoh exactly what happens when you mess with life itself. Then frogs? Egypt worshipped Heket, the frog goddess. Oof. Was this like mocking their own gods? Made notes: “Plague 1 targets their essential survival? Plague 2 targets their false gods?” This pattern started blinking at me.
Kept poking at it. The hail wrecked crops, Isis was supposed to protect agriculture. Total failure. The darkness? That felt personal. Ra, the sun god, their big kahuna? Utterly defeated, couldn’t even cast a shadow. Chills. This wasn’t random chaos; it felt surgical. Each plague picked off another pillar of Egyptian power and their so-called divine protection. It was like a demolition derby aimed at their entire worldview.
The Ugly But Real Lightbulb Moment
Leaned back on my lumpy sofa cushions. Felt the “OH CRAP” moment coming. It wasn’t just “obey or get zapped.” This felt like God systematically proving, “Your sources of security, your strength, the gods you trust? Worthless sand against the tide.” Pharaoh thought he was untouchable, backed by divine power. But plague after plague showed the hollowness of that lie. The final plague? Death took the heir, the ultimate symbol of Pharaoh’s future power. His whole system crumbled.
The real punch in the gut? How often I do the same thing. I cling to my false gods – control, my plans, my independence – ignoring the chaos warnings screaming in my face. My Egypt isn’t out there; it’s in here. Job stress, relationship messes, anxieties like swarms of locusts… maybe they’re mirrors, reflecting where I put my trust.
How I’m Trying (Emphasis on Trying) to Apply This
So, what does this mean today? It’s messy still. But here’s what I’m trying to do:
- Spotting My Egypt: When things spin sideways, asking myself: “What ‘god’ is getting exposed here? Am I trusting my job security over my health? My savings account over people?” Trying to be brutally honest, which sucks.
- Listening to the Warnings: Instead of seeing setbacks as pure bad luck, asking: “Is this a mirror? Am I being stubborn like Pharaoh? What needs to shift here?” Easier said than done; my default is usually blame.
- Trusting Beyond Sand: Actively reminding myself the stuff I build my life on – achievements, possessions, plans – is ultimately like Egyptian sand castles. Choosing, moment by moment, to trust something deeper, even when it feels dumb or scary.
It’s not perfect. Some days I forget and slam right back into Pharaoh-mode. But slowly, this old story about bugs and darkness is becoming a weirdly relevant lens for my own heart. Who saw that coming?
