The plagues are very interesting. There has been a lot of commentary throughout the years of Jewish and Christian believers about the plagues and their meanings.  10 plagues. One of the things I noticed in this reading was the constant attempt by Pharaoh to show that man could produce what God produces, and attempt to de-authenticate the divine in miracles. There are always challenges to God's sovereignty - other gods or humans trying to do what God does and be who God is. One way to look at the 10 plagues is that they are once again a polemic against other gods of the surrounding people. God is often demonstrating his power over the "sub-powers" that people have attributed to other so-called gods. Here's a way to look at the plagues as an Egyptian polemic:

• Khnum, Hapi, Orisis, Sepek, Neith, and Hathor were all dependent upon, or considered gods of the nile. The Nile, in fact, was considered a blood stream of the god Osiris. Moses and Aaron showing Yahweh's power over the bloodstream of the Nile would show his power over each of these gods.
• The Goddess Heqt, who was the wife of Khnum, was represented as a frog. The frog was, then, a sacred animal that was not to be killed intentionally. If you did so, you could be punished with death. So, imagine being over-run with frogs and not being able to kill them for fear the frog goddess might retaliate.
• The Sky goddess was named Nut, and hail came from Nut along with thunder. But in this case, Yahweh controls even Nut.
• Isis and Seth were responsible for the growth of crops and agricultural lives. Locusts over-ran the crops, rendering Isis and Seth helpless and weak.
• Several gods identified with the Sun including Re, but even Re could not overcome the deep darkness brought on by Yahweh.
• Sekhmet and Serapis were supposed to be able to bring epidemics and provide healing for them, but could do nothing against the boils.
• Many Gods were associated with livestock, and yet they were helpless against the curse on livestock.

Those are just a few, and there are more. This is one of the common aspects of the Bible - the One God, Yahweh, who will not stand alongside other gods and will not tolerate his people serving any other gods before him. Many of the acts of Scripture are demonstrations of the power of this God and the impotence of other gods to whom we humans attribute power. God alone is the one who has the ability to give life and take it away, which is shown in the power of the last plague in which the first born of all within Egypt are killed.

One last little note on this last plague. I find it interesting that God declares Israel to be his firstborn, but Pharaoh will not release God's firstborn to him. So, in an an of lex talionis (known as an eye for an eye) God takes away the firstborn of Egypt to save his own firstborn. However, when his own firstborn later turns away from him (Israel was always turning against their true God), Jesus comes as the firstborn of all creation, and it is his life given in a new Passover and his blood that truly covers all of our sin and turning toward other gods. So, God demonstrates his power in polemic against other gods, and demonstrates his love and commitment by keeping his covenant even when his own children turn against him.