EFFORTS HAVE SOMETIMES been made to explain away the plagues as natural phenomena in Egypt…

It is quite true that unusual quantities of frogs and lice, unexpected darkness and the other serious heightenings of natural phenomena have been known in Egypt. An examination of the plagues shows, however, that they were miraculous in at least five ways:

1) Intensification — frogs, insects, plagues on cattle, hail, and darkness were all known in Egypt, but now they are intensified far beyond the ordinary occurence.

2) Prediction — the time was set for the comings of the flies (“tomorrow,” 8:23), the death of cattle (9:5), the hail (9:18), and the locusts (10:4). The removal time was also set: e.g., frogs (8:10) and thunder (9:29). Modern science cannot accurately predict the cessation of natural phenomena such as hail.

3) Discrimination — in Goshen there were no flies (8:22), no death of cattle (9:4), no hail (9:26), and so forth.

4) Orderliness — the severity of the plagues increased until they ended with the death of Pharaoh’s firstborn.

5) Moral purpose — the plagues were not just freaks of nature, but carried a moral purpose in these ways:

a) The gods of Egypt were discredited, a purpose indicated in Exodus 12:12; the Nile-god, frog-god, and sun-god were all shown to be
powerless before God.
b) Pharaoh was made to know that the Lord is God, and to acknowledge Him (9:27; 10:16).
c) God was revealed as Savior, in rescuing Israel from the hands of the Egyptians (14:30). Joseph Free, Archaeology and Bible History

“For I will pass through the land of Egypt on that night, and will strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment: I am the LORD.” Exodus 12:12

Mike Benson