Then I will lay my hand on Egypt and with mighty acts of judgment I will bring out my divisions, my people the Israelites. And the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord when I stretch out my hand against Egypt and bring the Israelites out of it.

- from Exodus 7:4-5

Over the course of the next several chapters of Exodus, we’ll hear about a series of plagues the Lord sends against the Egyptians.

God was doing three things with these plagues.

First, God dismantled the Egyptian economy. Enriched by over 400 years of slave labor, Egypt was one of the wealthiest nations in the world. They had a strong economic motive to keep the Israelites enslaved. Egypt wouldn’t face the economic pain of doing the right thing until the economic pain of continuing to do the wrong thing became worse.

Second, God dismantled the Egyptian gods. The ancient Egyptians worshipped dozens of gods that we hardly ever hear about nowadays: Osiris and Isis, Heket and Ra … even the Pharaoh himself was considered a god. Each of these gods was responsible for something: the sun, the sky, cattle, frogs, the Nile, etc … The plagues displayed God’s power over all of these areas. One after another the Egyptian gods toppled, humbling the Egyptian people.

Lastly, God showed that he was the Lord. Ancient battles were often understood as a battle not only between two peoples but between their gods. Whoever had the greatest gods were the victors. The LORD was establishing his authority and dominance over all the gods of Egypt, the reigning superpower that he was unraveling.

Ultimately, God was calling all who would witness these acts—Hebrews and Egyptians—to leave behind empty gods and worship the one true God.

We all have things that we rely on in our lives. And, at times, we need these things deconstructed so that we stop relying on these things for safety and instead experience the freedom to know the Lord.

In America, our affluence is something we can be tempted to lean on to function as our god. We also lean on relationships, applause, autonomy, approval and respect.

What gods has God deconstructed for you lately? What gods do you need him to deconstruct?