Exodus 8

CHAPTER 8

The Plague of Frogs (8:1–15)

1–7 The Egyptians believed in a goddess, pictured as a frog’s head, who assisted in childbirth. Therefore frogs were reverenced in Egypt. But the Egyptians were soon to think less of their frogs after this second plague! The ten plagues were in one sense an assault on the gods of Egypt. Egyptians worshiped the Nile River as the source of life; but the God of Israel turned it to blood. The chief god of Egypt was the sun, but the God of Israel would soon blot out the sun for three days (Exodus 10:21–23). Yet as long as Pharaoh’s magicians were able to duplicate Moses’ plagues (verse 7), the Egyptians remained unconvinced that Israel’s God was more powerful than theirs.²¹

8–11 Though Pharaoh’s magicians were able to make more frogs come up out of the water, they may have had less success at making them go away! Pharaoh realized that the frogs had appeared through the power of God, and so he was forced to ask Moses to remove the frogs. If Moses would do so, Pharaoh promised (insincerely) to let the Israelites go and worship God (verse 8).

12–15 Moses exhibited great faith when he promised Pharaoh that the frogs would be gone “tomorrow” (verse 10). So he cried out to the Lord that his promise to Pharaoh might be made good, and the Lord answered Moses prayer. Pharaoh was forced to acknowledge that Moses had been able to mediate with God concerning the removal of the frogs. But as soon as the frogs were gone, Pharaoh again hardened his heart and refused to fulfill his promise to let the Israelites go and worship (verse 15).

The Plague of Gnats (8:16–19)

16–17 No doubt angered by Pharaoh’s breaking his promise, God told Moses and Aaron to turn the dust of the ground into gnats. All the dust became gnats²² (verse 17).

18–19 But there was something different about this plague: the magicians could not reproduce it. And suddenly they realized that they were up against a greater power than their own. They told Pharaoh: “This is the finger of God”²³ (verse 19).

From this point on, Pharaoh’s officials began more and more to understand the power of the God of Israel. But Pharaoh himself, in his pride, determined to oppose God.

Throughout history, God’s servants have had the opportunity to demonstrate God’s power and to show people that “there is no one like the LORD our God” (verse 10). Even today many Christians, through prayer, are healing people’s illnesses and overcoming demonic powers; and as a result, people are choosing to believe in God and in His Son Jesus Christ. But some, like Pharaoh, harden their heart instead.

The Plague of Flies (8:20–32)

20–24 The next plague was the sending of swarms of flies over the land of Egypt. But in this plague also, there was a difference: the flies did not go to the part of Egypt where the Israelites lived—Goshen, in the northeastern part of the country.

This was important, because people in ancient times believed that gods occupied different territories, and that within a given territory the local god was preeminent. But the God of Israel was preeminent throughout Egypt, sending flies on the Egyptians but sparing the Israelites, and thereby demnstrating that He had the power to punish His enemies and at the same time save His own people.

25–27 Given the large number of dead fish and dead frogs lying around, these flies would have had plenty to feast on. Yet Pharaoh knew that the flies had come from Israel’s God. And so to appease God and encourage Him to remove the flies, Pharaoh said that the Israelites would be allowed to worship God—but in Egypt (verse 25). However, Moses rejected Pharaoh’s offer on the grounds that the Egyptians detested the Israelites and would interfere with their worship (Genesis 43:32; 46:34).

28–32 Pharaoh tried to bargain with Moses; he agreed to let the Israelites go outside Egypt if Moses would pray for him—that is, pray to have the flies removed (verse 28).

Again Moses prayed, and again the Lord answered; so effective was Moses’ prayer that not a fly remained (verse 30). And once again, as soon as the flies were gone, Pharaoh hardened his heart and broke his promise.

Notice that it’s impossible to soften a person’s heart by outside force or pressure; force may break a person’s heart but it won’t soften it. Outer circumstances may cause a person to be remorseful, but not truly repentant. Only God’s grace can soften a person’s heart and bring about true REPENTANCE.