Natural Catastrophe or Miracle? Why Not Both!

Exodus 8-9:  http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Exodus%208-9&version=NIV1984

            Today’s readings contain six of the ten plagues with which the Lord afflicted the Egyptians.  On those plagues, it’s interesting that many—nine out of ten—of them can be explained as natural phenomena.  The reddening of the Nile evidently can happen when a certain alga blooms.  This natural phenomenon explains why Pharaoh’s court wizards were able to replicate it.  However, even if there’s a natural root, we shouldn’t lose sight of the really miraculous aspects:  it’s not just the river; it’s all the water sources in Egypt.  It might look ‘natural,’ but the timing and the intensity are all the Lord’s!

            The same thing is true with the plagues recorded in chapters 8-9.  If the Nile was so polluted with algae, no wonder the frogs came out.  Loss of frogs would mean the growth of insect populations (gnats) and dead frogs everywhere would mean the birth of flies.  Certain biting flies could transmit a disease like anthrax—deadly to cattle (plague 5) and causing painful boils on humans (plague 6).  Again, though, natural explanations only get us part way.  They might grant an insight into why Pharaoh was so resistant; he may have been looking at the evidence and thinking, “This is unfortunate to have this happen so intensely and in such quick succession, but it’s nothing we haven’t seen before.”  Still, Pharaoh had Moses’ word that these things were happening with a timing and intensity set by the God of Israel, and we ought not deny the miraculous in them.

            Identifying the hand of God can be challenging in our day.  I find myself most reluctant to ascribe events to the work of God, not because I don’t think God can do incredible things but because I’m scared of the way that we attach reasons to those works of God.  (As a pastor, I’ve had the conversation that begins, “Why would God . . .” many times, and I’m always wary of it.  Too often it ends with a sort of “God is punishing me for . . .” and my question is, “On what word from God are you basing that?”)  So, I’d suggest that the plagues offer this warning for a man with my dispositions:  be careful that you don’t miss the hand of God, directing and causing events, both good and bad, in the world.  And, they offer this warning when we try to find meaning in those events: be careful that you have a clear word from God that allows you to identify cause and effect in the world.  Without that word, leave room for God’s purposes to be more complex than you might think.

            There is lots more that could be said about the plagues and the ways that they undermined Egyptian confidence in their gods and in their Pharaoh, who claimed to reign divinely over the nation.  I’d invite members of Divine Savior to Bible class on Sunday for that discussion.