According to Legends of the Jews, no way! It was also a carefully orchestrated demonstration of God's absolute power, a power that extended far beyond the borders of Goshen.
The text points out a fascinating detail. If only the Israelite slaves and captured enemies of Egypt had been affected by the plagues, what would people have said? "Our gods are mighty! They helped us in this crisis!" Not exactly the message God was trying to send. (Ginzberg, Legends of the Jews, Vol. 2)
So, what did God do? He went after the Egyptian idols themselves. Not in a subtle way, either. We're talking total annihilation. Stone idols ground to dust, wooden ones rotting, metal ones melting. Poof! Gone! This wasn't just about punishing the Egyptians; it was about dismantling their entire belief system. As the text emphasizes, this ensured that the Egyptians couldn't attribute their suffering to the wrath of their own deities. God was making it crystal clear: He was the only power at play here.
And it wasn't just about statues and temples. The Egyptians, as we know, also worshipped animals. So, what happened to the firstborn of the cattle? They perished right alongside the firstborn of the humans. Talk about sending a message! Again, according to Legends of the Jews, this act removed any doubt. The Egyptians couldn't point to their animal deities and say, "They're angry with us!"
The entire sequence of events, the plagues themselves, were designed to expose the utter vanity of the Egyptian gods. They were powerless. They were nothing. God, on the other hand, was everything. It's more than just a story of physical freedom; it's a story of spiritual liberation, a declaration that there is only one true power in the universe. Food for thought, isn't it?