God gave the plagues to give Israel confidence to rely on Him, as well as to weaken Egypt economically and militarily, systematically 'dethroning' all the gods of Egypt. The Egyptians were an extremely superstitious people, much like the Hindus of today, having gods for practically everything, seeing cosmic meaning in the most mundane and absurd things. The ancient Egyptians revered Hapi, the god of the Nile, as their chief god, believing Egypt was the gift of the Nile. By turning the waters of the Nile into a stench -filled bringer of death God decommissioned their main god. Many of the fish that had perished in the Nile were also worshipped as sacred. Because the Egyptians had a fetish about cleanliness, being deprived of water to bathe got their attention. In Egypt, the frog was the symbol of the goddess Hecate, the goddess of procreation and childbirth. The various kinds of livestock, upon which God sent pestilence, were also considered sacred in Egypt. The cow, for example, was sacred to six separate gods. For New Testament Christians, these plagues are admonitory, warning us to keep coming out of Egypt ; God wants nothing of the old way of doing things to remain. The trials we have are designed to show us our gods, in order that we get rid of them. God tolerates nothing we place before Him, whether it consist of a job, a car, pride, wealth, etc. Our gods are foolish and impotent; only God can help us, liberating us from their bondage. Slavery to God paradoxically produces liberty and freedom.