Exodus 9: 1-7: “Then the LORD said unto Moses, Go in unto Pharaoh, and tell him, Thus saith the LORD God of the Hebrews, Let my people go, that they may serve me. For if thou refuse to let them go, and wilt hold them still, Behold, the hand of the LORD is upon thy cattle which is in the field, upon the horses, upon the asses, upon the camels, upon the oxen, and upon the sheep: there shall be a very grievous murrain. And the LORD shall sever between the cattle of Israel and the cattle of Egypt: and there shall nothing die of all that is the children’s of Israel. And the LORD appointed a set time, saying, To morrow the LORD shall do this thing in the land. And the LORD did that thing on the morrow, and all the cattle of Egypt died: but of the cattle of the children of Israel died not one. And Pharaoh sent, and, behold, there was not one of the cattle of the Israelites dead. And the heart of Pharaoh was hardened, and he did not let the people go.”
Pharaoh worshipped Hathor who was the cow headed love goddess and the bull was a symbol of Pharaoh himself. This plague was personal attack on Pharaoh as the plague killed his own personal symbols as well as taking away the stock from the Egyptians and removing a source of their food. The Lord had shown Pharaoh and the Egyptians that they were not safe in their own land as long as they defied the Lord but now the attack was specifically intended to show them that even Pharaoh could not save himself, or his personal symbols let alone anyone else in Egypt. However, the Lord kept Israel’s cattle from the plague so they could take confidence in the fact that they were safe when they trusted in the Lord. Earlier they complained when Pharaoh increased their work load but now they had a great reason to have more confidence in the Lord and His ability to care for His people.
(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)
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