Commentary - Psalm 105:26-36

Bird's-eye view

Psalm 105 is a glorious retelling of God's covenant faithfulness to Israel, beginning with Abraham and culminating in their possession of the Promised Land. This particular section, verses 26-36, zooms in on the central event of their deliverance: the plagues God visited upon Egypt. This is not just a history lesson. This is a theological declaration of God's absolute sovereignty over creation, over nations, and over the false gods of this world. The psalmist recounts these events to stir up gratitude and worship among God's people. He is reminding them of the character of the God they serve. He is a God who chooses, who sends, who speaks, and who acts decisively to save His people and to judge His enemies. The plagues were not random acts of divine petulance; they were a systematic dismantling of the Egyptian pantheon and a de-creation of their proud civilization, all orchestrated for the glory of God and the redemption of His chosen.

Outline

Verse-by-Verse Commentary

Verse 26

He sent Moses His servant, And Aaron, whom He had chosen.

The action begins with God. It is always so. History is not a series of fortunate accidents or the result of great men seizing their moment. History is what God does. He is the one who sends. Moses and Aaron did not volunteer for this assignment; they were drafted. Moses was God's servant, His ebed, His bondslave. Aaron was the one God had chosen. There is no room here for human self-congratulation. God sovereignly selects His instruments. He does not look for the qualified, but rather qualifies the called. Moses was a murderer hiding out in the desert, and Aaron was the man who would later buckle and build a golden calf. God's choice is not based on their resume, but on His unsearchable wisdom and grace. This is how God always works, choosing the foolish things of the world to shame the wise.

Verse 27

They set forth the words of His signs among them, And miracles in the land of Ham.

Moses and Aaron were emissaries. They were not performing their own magic; they were setting forth the words of His signs. The power was in the word of God, which they were commanded to speak. The miracles were simply the exclamation points. Notice also where this happens: "in the land of Ham." This is not an incidental detail. Ham was the son of Noah who sinned against his father, and whose son Canaan was cursed (Gen. 9:20-27). Egypt is here identified with the line of Ham, a civilization built in rebellion against the true God. The plagues are therefore not just a rescue mission for Israel, but a direct judgment upon a culture founded on contempt for God's order.

Verse 28

He sent darkness and made it dark; And they did not rebel against His words.

Again, God is the subject: "He sent darkness." This was a direct assault on Ra, the sun god, one of the chief deities of Egypt. God simply turned out the lights. He demonstrated His authority over the most basic functions of creation. The phrase "they did not rebel against His words" most likely refers to Moses and Aaron, who faithfully carried out every command, no matter how strange. In the face of Pharaoh's constant rebellion, the obedience of God's servants stands in stark contrast. God's word finds either rebellion or obedience, and the outcome for each is vastly different.

Verse 29

He turned their waters into blood And caused their fish to die.

The Nile was the lifeblood of Egypt, and they worshiped it as a god, Hapi. God turns their source of life into a river of death. The thing they trusted in becomes a stinking horror. This is what God does with all idols. He exposes them as impotent and turns them into a curse for those who worship them. The fish dying is a crucial detail. This was an ecological and economic catastrophe. God's judgment is never abstract; it has real, tangible consequences in the created world.

Verse 30

Their land swarmed with frogs Even in the chambers of their kings.

The goddess of fertility and childbirth, Heqet, had the head of a frog. So God gives them frogs. He gives them so many frogs that they become a plague. The judgment is tailored to the idolatry. And these frogs have no respect for worldly authority; they invade the private chambers of their kings. No one is exempt from the judgment of God. Your security systems, your high walls, your political power, none of it can keep out a plague of frogs when God has sent them.

Verse 31

He spoke, and there came a swarm of flies And gnats in all their territory.

Here the psalmist emphasizes the creative power of God's word, but in reverse. Just as God spoke in Genesis 1 and brought forth life, here "He spoke" and brought forth swarms of flies and gnats. This is a de-creation. He is unmaking their world. The Egyptian magicians could replicate the first couple of plagues, but with the gnats, they had to confess, "This is the finger of God" (Ex. 8:19). The power of paganism has its limits, and those limits are quickly reached when confronted by the living God.

Verses 32-33

He gave them hail for rain, And flaming fire in their land. He also struck down their vines and their fig trees, And He shattered the trees of their territory.

God controls the weather. What should have been life-giving rain becomes destructive hail, mingled with fire. This is not a natural storm; it is a supernatural assault. The judgment targets their livelihood and their future. Vines and fig trees were symbols of prosperity and peace. By striking them down, God was striking at the very foundation of their security and comfort. He shattered the trees, demonstrating that nothing in all creation can stand against Him when He rises to judge.

Verses 34-35

He spoke, and locusts came, And creeping locusts, without number, And they ate up all vegetation in their land, And they ate up the fruit of their ground.

What the hail left, the locusts took. Again, "He spoke," and the judgment came. This is the final blow to their agriculture. The land is stripped bare. The locusts are described as "without number," a terrifying, crawling carpet of divine wrath. Egypt, a nation that prided itself on its abundance and its control over the grain supply of the ancient world, is reduced to a barren wasteland by the spoken word of God.

Verse 36

He also struck down all the firstborn in their land, The first of all their vigor.

This is the climax of the plagues, the final, devastating stroke. After dismantling their religion, their economy, and their environment, God strikes at the heart of their families and the future of their nation. The firstborn represented the strength, the inheritance, and the hope of every household, from Pharaoh's palace to the dungeon. By taking the "first of all their vigor," God demonstrated His ultimate authority over life and death. This was the judgment that finally broke Pharaoh's will, because it was a direct and undeniable assault that no one could escape, except those who were covered by the blood of the lamb. This final plague is the dark backdrop against which the glory of the Passover shines so brightly.

Application

The story of the plagues is not just a fascinating piece of ancient history. It is a paradigm for how God deals with proud and rebellious humanity. First, God's power is absolute. He is not one god among many; He is the Creator of heaven and earth, and all the "gods" of the nations are nothing but idols. Any system, whether it is the paganism of ancient Egypt or the secular humanism of our own day, that sets itself up against the Lord and His Christ will be systematically dismantled and brought to ruin. Second, God's judgments are purposeful. They are designed to expose the foolishness of idolatry and to call men to repentance. Third, God is a covenant-keeping God. While He was de-creating Egypt, He was preserving and protecting His own people. The same judgments that brought death and destruction to the Egyptians were the means of deliverance for the Israelites. For the believer, this is a profound comfort. The God who turned the Nile to blood and struck down the firstborn is the same God who has saved us through the blood of His own firstborn Son. We are to remember these works, not so we can gloat over the destruction of the wicked, but so that we can give thanks to the Lord, call upon His name, and make known His deeds among the peoples. His judgments are as much a part of His glory as His mercy, and we are to praise Him for both.