The Second Plague: Frogs
The second plague was the plague of frogs...
The second plague was the plague of frogs (8:2). The Egyptians gave special reverence to amphibians because of their ability to live in two different worlds; Egyptians were deeply concerned with survival in the next world, after death. God showed that frogs have no special hold on life. This plague is sometimes said to have been a natural result of whatever happened to make the Nile River uninhabitable. However, the extent of the plague was more than a natural result.
1Then the LORD said to Moses, “Go to Pharaoh and tell him that this is what the LORD says: ‘Let My people go, so that they may worship Me. 2But if you refuse to let them go, I will plague your whole country with frogs. 3The Nile will teem with frogs, and they will come into your palace and up to your bedroom and onto your bed, into the houses of your officials and your people, and into your ovens and kneading bowls. 4The frogs will come up on you and your people and all your officials.’”
5And the LORD said to Moses, “Tell Aaron, ‘Stretch out your hand with your staff over the rivers and canals and ponds, and cause the frogs to come up onto the land of Egypt.’”
6So Aaron stretched out his hand over the waters of Egypt, and the frogs came up and covered the land of Egypt.
The magicians were able to duplicate the plague...
The magicians were able to duplicate the plague in some sense, but Pharaoh did not ask them to rid the land of the frogs. Instead, he begged Moses to ask God to take them away. He already knew where the real power was.
7But the magicians did the same thing by their magic arts, and they also brought frogs up onto the land of Egypt.
8Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron and said, “Pray to the LORD to take the frogs away from me and my people. Then I will let your people go, that they may sacrifice to the LORD.”
9Moses said to Pharaoh, “You may have the honor over me. When shall I pray for you and your officials and your people that the frogs (except for those in the Nile) may be taken away from you and your houses?”
10“Tomorrow,” Pharaoh answered.
“May it be as you say,” Moses replied, “so that you may know that there is no one like the LORD our God. 11The frogs will depart from you and your houses and your officials and your people; they will remain only in the Nile.”
12After Moses and Aaron had left Pharaoh, Moses cried out to the LORD for help with the frogs that He had brought against Pharaoh. 13And the LORD did as Moses requested, and the frogs in the houses, the courtyards, and the fields died. 14They were piled into countless heaps, and there was a terrible stench in the land.
15When Pharaoh saw that there was relief, however, he hardened† his heart and would not listen to Moses and Aaron, just as the LORD had said.
The Third Plague: Gnats
The third plague was the plague of gnats....
The third plague was the plague of gnats. The word translated “gnats” is very general. Technical Old Testament dictionaries often translate it as “vermin.” The English term “bugs” would come close. The whole land was infested with insects of one sort or another.
16Then the LORD said to Moses, “Tell Aaron, ‘Stretch out your staff and strike the dust of the earth, that it may turn into swarms of gnats throughout the land of Egypt.’”
17This they did, and when Aaron stretched out his hand with his staff and struck the dust of the earth, gnats came upon man and beast. All the dust of the earth turned into gnats throughout the land of Egypt.
18The magicians tried to produce gnats using their magic arts, but they could not. And the gnats remained on man and beast.
19“This is the finger of God,” the magicians said to Pharaoh. But Pharaoh’s heart was hardened,† and he would not listen to them, just as the LORD had said.
The Fourth Plague: Flies
The fourth plague was the plague of flies....
The fourth plague was the plague of flies. The Egyptians worshiped insects such as flies that seemed to be able to turn death into life, as their young seemed to emerge from decaying matter. If the Egyptians thought that insects had the secret of life, God would let them have all the insects they wanted. Some say that this infestation was the natural result of all the dead frogs, but there were no flies in Goshen (8:22), the northeastern delta area where the Hebrews lived. God’s miraculous power was clearly seen in his ability to infest one area while sparing another at will.
20Then the LORD said to Moses, “Get up early in the morning, and when Pharaoh goes out to the water, stand before him and tell him that this is what the LORD says: ‘Let My people go, so that they may worship Me. 21But if you will not let My people go, I will send swarms of flies† upon you and your officials and your people and your houses. The houses of the Egyptians and even the ground where they stand will be full of flies.
22But on that day I will give special treatment to the land of Goshen, where My people live; no swarms of flies will be found there. In this way you will know that I, the LORD, am in the land. 23I will make a distinction† between My people and your people. This sign will take place tomorrow.’”
24And the LORD did so. Thick swarms of flies poured into Pharaoh’s palace and into the houses of his officials. Throughout Egypt the land was ruined by swarms of flies.
25Then Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron and said, “Go, sacrifice to your God within this land.”
Moses pointed out the impossibility of what Pharaoh...
- Moses pointed out the impossibility of what Pharaoh was asking on the grounds of the Egyptians’ own prejudice: They considered all Semites to be uncultured and uncouth (see Gen 43:32).
- The Hebrews were leaving Egypt in order to worship God (see, e.g., Exod 5:1; 7:16; 8:1, 20). God’s purpose for the Exodus was to lead his people into a proper relationship with him.
26But Moses replied, “It would not be right to do that, because the sacrifices we offer to the LORD our God would be detestable to the Egyptians. If we offer sacrifices that are detestable before the Egyptians, will they not stone us? 27We must make a three-day journey into the wilderness and sacrifice to the LORD our God as He commands us.”
28Pharaoh answered, “I will let you go and sacrifice to the LORD your God in the wilderness, but you must not go very far. Now pray for me.”
I will pray: Moses was learning the role...
I will pray: Moses was learning the role of intercessor that would be so much a part of his life in future years (see, e.g., 32:11–13, 30–32; Num 14:13–19). It must have been increasingly tempting to let the Egyptians continue to experience the results of their king’s stubbornness, but Moses was willing to plead with God not to leave them in a permanent state of grief and distress.
29“As soon as I leave you,” Moses said, “I will pray to the LORD, so that tomorrow the swarms of flies will depart from Pharaoh and his officials and his people. But Pharaoh must not act deceitfully again by refusing to let the people go and sacrifice to the LORD.”
30Then Moses left Pharaoh and prayed to the LORD, 31and the LORD did as Moses requested. He removed the swarms of flies from Pharaoh and his officials and his people; not one fly remained. 32But Pharaoh hardened his heart this time as well, and he would not let the people go.