During a traditional Seder service, Jewish families list the ten plagues, dipping their finger into a cup of wine and pulling a drop out of the cup for each plague. This symbolizes the lost happiness associated with each plague, allowing participants to mourn the suffering of the Israelites’ captors, in accordance with this scripture:
Rejoice not when thine enemy falleth, and let not thine heart be glad when he stumbleth.
Proverbs 24:17
Here’s a list of the ten plagues experienced by the Egyptians before they consented to let the Israelites go:
| Plague | Who was affected? | How long? |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Water to blood (Exodus 7:19-25) | Everyone | Seven days |
| 2. Frogs (Exodus 8:1-15) | Everyone | Until Moses prayed |
| 3. Lice (Exodus 8:16-19) | Everyone | Not specified |
| 4. Flies (Exodus 8:20-32) | Egyptians | Until Moses prayed |
| 5. Death of livestock (Exodus 9:1-7) | Egyptians | N/A |
| 6. Boils (Exodus 9:8-12) | Egyptians | Not specified |
| 7. Hail (Exodus 9:13-35) | Egyptians | Until Moses prayed |
| 8. Locusts (Exodus 10:1-20) | Everyone | Until Moses prayed |
| 9. Thick darkness (Exodus 10:21-29) | Egyptians | Three days |
| 10. Death of the firstborn (Exodus 11; Exodus 12) | Unmarked homes | N/A |
Some of the plagues, particularly the early ones, affected everyone, while others affected only subgroups — the Egyptians, or those who had followed Moses’s instructions. There is a general progression from universal to specific.
From the perspective of duration, the plagues divide neatly into two groups of five. Each group contains:
- 1 plague that lasted an exact number of days (blood and darkness)
- 1 plague that lasted an unspecified period (lice and boils)
- 2 plagues that ended when Moses prayed (frogs, flies, hail, locusts)
- 1 plague which was permanent (death of livestock and of the firstborn)
The plagues were not arbitrary. They were divinely architected in a sequence intended to achieve God’s objective: the liberation of Israel. But the fact that they were carefully planned doesn’t minimize the pain people suffered as a result. As Mormon observed, it is human nature to harden our hearts like Pharaoh, even in the face of escalating challenges intended to motivate repentance:
Except the Lord doth chasten his people with many afflictions, yea, except he doth visit them with death and with terror, and with famine and with all manner of pestilence, they will not remember him.
Helaman 12:3
The challenges in our lives can accomplish divine purposes, and they can also be painful. When we see others passing through trials, we can be compassionate and hopeful at the same time — sympathetic to their sorrow and optimistic that these experiences are leading to better things.
Today, I will mourn with those that mourn and hope with those who have reason to hope. I will acknowledge the suffering borne by so many people around me while believing that God’s hand is in all of our lives, leading to unimaginable outcomes.
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