A wonder before the Gospels
The Ten Plagues
Ten times the God of Israel struck Egypt, and each blow fell on a god Egypt trusted. The last plague passed over every home marked by the blood of a lamb, and there Scripture itself sees Christ our passover.
“And it came to pass, that at midnight the LORD smote all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh that sat on his throne unto the firstborn of the captive that was in the dungeon; and all the firstborn of cattle.”Exodus 12:29
What happened
What happened. Pharaoh had hardened his heart and refused to let Israel go, so through Moses and Aaron the LORD sent judgment upon Egypt in Exodus 7 through 12. The waters of the Nile turned to blood. Then came frogs, lice, and swarms of flies. A grievous murrain killed the livestock, boils broke out on man and beast, and hail mingled with fire beat down the crops. Locusts devoured what remained, and a thick darkness that could be felt covered the land three days. Through it all the LORD made a difference between Egypt and the land of Goshen where His people dwelt. The final plague was the death of the firstborn. God instructed each Israelite household to take a lamb without blemish, to kill it, and to strike the blood on the two side posts and on the upper door post. And the blood shall be to you for a token, He said, and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you. That night the LORD smote all the firstborn of Egypt, and there was a great cry, but the houses covered by the blood were spared, and Pharaoh at last let Israel go.
What it revealed
What it revealed. The plagues were not random disasters but targeted judgments. The LORD said He would execute judgment against all the gods of Egypt (Exodus 12:12), and each plague humbled a power Egypt worshipped, from the Nile to the sun. They revealed that the God of the Hebrew slaves is the only true God, sovereign over nature, over Egypt's deities, and over the proudest king on earth. They revealed His patience, for again and again Pharaoh was given the chance to relent, and his hardening was his own. They revealed His covenant faithfulness, for He remembered His promise and came down to deliver. And in the Passover they revealed the terms of that deliverance. Salvation was by substitution and by blood. Israel was not spared because they were better than Egypt but because a lamb died in the place of the firstborn and its blood stood between them and the destroyer.
How it points to Christ
How it points to Christ. The New Testament draws this line directly. Paul writes, For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us (1 Corinthians 5:7). This is not a suggested parallel but a plain identification. The lamb had to be without blemish, and Peter says we were redeemed with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot (1 Peter 1:19). John the Baptist announced Him as the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world (John 1:29). Just as no household was saved by knowing about the lamb but only by the blood applied to the door, so no one is saved by knowing about Christ, but by His blood covering them. The destroyer passed over the marked homes. Judgment passes over all who are sheltered under the shed blood of Jesus, the true and final Passover.
Questions people ask
Why did God harden Pharaoh's heart?
Scripture says both that Pharaoh hardened his own heart and that God hardened it (Exodus 8:15, 9:12). Pharaoh set himself against God repeatedly, and in judgment God confirmed him in the choice he kept making. The narrative holds both his real responsibility and God's sovereign purpose together.
Is the Passover connection to Christ explicit or symbolic?
It is explicit. Paul states directly, Christ our passover is sacrificed for us (1 Corinthians 5:7), and the New Testament repeatedly calls Jesus the Lamb. This is one of the clearest cases where the New Testament itself names the Old Testament miracle as pointing to Christ.
Were the plagues natural events?
The text presents them as acts of God announced in advance, timed by Moses, and falling on Egypt while sparing Goshen. Whatever means God used, the point Scripture makes is the LORD's power and His judgment on false gods, not a natural explanation, and inventing one would miss the story's own claim.