Exodus 8:1-32
1 And the LORD spake unto Moses, Go unto Pharaoh, and say unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Let my people go, that they may serve me.
2 And if thou refuse to let them go, behold, I will smite all thy borders with frogs:
3 And the river shall bring forth frogs abundantly, which shall go up and come into thine house, and into thy bedchamber, and upon thy bed, and into the house of thy servants, and upon thy people, and into thine ovens, and into thy kneadingtroughs:a
4 And the frogs shall come up both on thee, and upon thy people, and upon all thy servants.
5 And the LORD spake unto Moses, Say unto Aaron, Stretch forth thine hand with thy rod over the streams, over the rivers, and over the ponds, and cause frogs to come up upon the land of Egypt.
6 And Aaron stretched out his hand over the waters of Egypt; and the frogs came up, and covered the land of Egypt.
7 And the magicians did so with their enchantments, and brought up frogs upon the land of Egypt.
8 Then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron, and said, Intreat the LORD, that he may take away the frogs from me, and from my people; and I will let the people go, that they may do sacrifice unto the LORD.
9 And Moses said unto Pharaoh, Gloryb over me: when shall I intreat for thee, and for thy servants, and for thy people, to destroy the frogs from thee and thy houses, that they may remain in the river only?
10 And he said, To morrow.c And he said, Be it according to thy word: that thou mayest know that there is none like unto the LORD our God.
11 And the frogs shall depart from thee, and from thy houses, and from thy servants, and from thy people; they shall remain in the river only.
12 And Moses and Aaron went out from Pharaoh: and Moses cried unto the LORD because of the frogs which he had brought against Pharaoh.
13 And the LORD did according to the word of Moses; and the frogs died out of the houses, out of the villages, and out of the fields.
14 And they gathered them together upon heaps: and the land stank.
15 But when Pharaoh saw that there was respite, he hardened his heart, and hearkened not unto them; as the LORD had said.
16 And the LORD said unto Moses, Say unto Aaron, Stretch out thy rod, and smite the dust of the land, that it may become lice throughout all the land of Egypt.
17 And they did so; for Aaron stretched out his hand with his rod, and smote the dust of the earth, and it became lice in man, and in beast; all the dust of the land became lice throughout all the land of Egypt.
18 And the magicians did so with their enchantments to bring forth lice, but they could not: so there were lice upon man, and upon beast.
19 Then the magicians said unto Pharaoh, This is the finger of God: and Pharaoh's heart was hardened, and he hearkened not unto them; as the LORD had said.
20 And the LORD said unto Moses, Rise up early in the morning, and stand before Pharaoh; lo, he cometh forth to the water; and say unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Let my people go, that they may serve me.
21 Else, if thou wilt not let my people go, behold, I will send swarmsd of flies upon thee, and upon thy servants, and upon thy people, and into thy houses: and the houses of the Egyptians shall be full of swarms of flies, and also the ground whereon they are.
22 And I will sever in that day the land of Goshen, in which my people dwell, that no swarms of flies shall be there; to the end thou mayest know that I am the LORD in the midst of the earth.
23 And I will put a divisione between my people and thy people: to morrow shall this sign be.
24 And the LORD did so; and there came a grievous swarm of flies into the house of Pharaoh, and into his servants' houses, and into all the land of Egypt: the land was corruptedf by reason of the swarm of flies.
25 And Pharaoh called for Moses and for Aaron, and said, Go ye, sacrifice to your God in the land.
26 And Moses said, It is not meet so to do; for we shall sacrifice the abomination of the Egyptians to the LORD our God: lo, shall we sacrifice the abomination of the Egyptians before their eyes, and will they not stone us?
27 We will go three days' journey into the wilderness, and sacrifice to the LORD our God, as he shall command us.
28 And Pharaoh said, I will let you go, that ye may sacrifice to the LORD your God in the wilderness; only ye shall not go very far away: intreat for me.
29 And Moses said, Behold, I go out from thee, and I will intreat the LORD that the swarms of flies may depart from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people, to morrow: but let not Pharaoh deal deceitfully any more in not letting the people go to sacrifice to the LORD.
30 And Moses went out from Pharaoh, and intreated the LORD.
31 And the LORD did according to the word of Moses; and he removed the swarms of flies from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people; there remained not one.
32 And Pharaoh hardened his heart at this time also, neither would he let the people go.
LAGUE NO.2 -- FROGS
(vs.1-15)
Again God gives the opportunity to Pharaoh to respond to His demand to let Israel go (v.1). But Moses was to accompany this with the warnings that, if Pharaoh refused, their land would be inundated with a plague of frogs which would not remain outside, but would come into their homes, into their bedrooms and beds, into their food and kitchen utensils (vs.2-3).
Since Pharaoh did not heed the warning, the Lord gave the order to Moses that Aaron was to stretch out his hand with his rod over the streams, rivers and ponds, with the result that frogs came up to cover the land of Egypt. The first plague taught the serious lesson of death, now the second signifies uncleanness (Revelation 16:13). It is a picture of the far more revolting moral and spiritual pollution that infects all levels of society when the Word of God is refused. Unclean spirits take advantage of this refusal, and God allows them to work their evil designs, just as today every area of life is badly affected and corrupted by the uncleanness that people choose in preference to the Word of God. The magicians too could introduce such uncleanness, but could not reverse it. God had done this in discipline toward Egypt, to expose to them the actual condition of moral uncleanness that permeated their nation. The magicians did it to show off their magic skills, but they only increased the scourge, just as cunning impostors, trying to imitate spiritual power, only add their own uncleanness to the wickedness in the world. Pharaoh may have seen through this, for he did not appeal to the magicians to take the frogs away.
He did call for Moses and Aaron and asked them to entreat the Lord that the frogs should be taken away, and promised to let the Israelites go in return for this favor. Moses responded by asking Pharaoh to decide for him what time he should ask that the frogs should be banished (v.9). Pharaoh told him, "Tomorrow." (Perhaps he thought that God could not be expected to do it so quickly as "today"!) Moses let him know immediately that his prayer will be answered at the precise time so that Pharaoh may have the clear evidence that there is no other like the Lord God of Israel (v.10).
As it was declared, in answer to Moses' prayer, the Lord reduced the frogs to nothing. They died and were gathered in heaps so that their stench only remained, a reminder of the bad odor of Egypt's uncleanness. But when Pharaoh was relieved of this scourge, he only hardened his heart in determination to keep Israel in captivity (v.15).
PLAGUE NO.3 -- DUST TURNED TO LICE
(vs.16-19)
Aaron was told by Moses to stretch out his rod and strike the dust of the land, so that it might become lice throughout all the land of Egypt. The lice however did not remain on the ground, but in accordance with the character of dust, it settled on people and animals. This was a personal contamination that would be virtually intolerable. The magicians attempted to imitate this with their enchantments, but could not do so. They had to admit that "this is the finger of God" (v.19). They had before brought up frogs, but the frogs were already there to bring up. Now when dust was actually turned to lice, they recognize that this was bringing life from a lifeless source. They could not do this, even in the case of the lowest form of life. But in spite of this, Pharaoh blindly hardened his heart, as so many do today in spite of being faced with God's clear testimony to the gospel of His Son.
PLAGUE NO.4 -- FLIES
(vs.20-32)
On this occasion Moses is to again give warning to Pharaoh. He repeats God's previous command to let His people go, and warns that otherwise God will send swarms of flies to fill the houses of the Egyptians and to plague the people themselves, as well as covering the ground. The word "swarms" is evidently properly translated "a mixture," indicating a mixture of small insects. In this case it is announced that the Israelites would be entirely free from the plague: only Egypt would suffer (vs.22-23).
The warning again meant nothing to Pharaoh, so the land was devastated by the swarms of insects. Then Pharaoh was worried enough to call Moses and Aaron, telling them they could go and sacrifice to God, but within Egypt (v.25). But Moses could not accept this. God's order was that they should go three days' journey before sacrificing. More than that, the Egyptians considered the sacrifice of sheep and oxen as an abomination, and would respond violently if done in Egypt (v.26). The world does not understand the true worship of the people of God, and it is not to be mixed with worldly principles. The three days' journey is typical of the fact that true Christian worship is on the ground of the death and resurrection of Christ.
Pharaoh agrees that he will let them go, but with some reservation, saying they should not go very far, and asking that they supplicate the Lord to take away this scourge. Moses was plainly skeptical of Pharaoh's sincerity, but told him nevertheless that he would pray for this release, which he did (vs.29-30). The answer was given immediately, but Pharaoh deceitfully returned to his state of stubborn resistance (vs.31-32).