Written by: Jason Gardner, Youth Culture Researcher - The London Institute For Contemporary Christianity
Exodus 8 v 1-4
Then the LORD told Moses, "Go to the king of Egypt and tell him, 'This is
what the LORD says: let my people go to worship me. If you refuse, I will punish
Egypt with frogs. The Nile River will be filled with frogs. They will come up
into your palace, into your bedroom, on your bed, into the houses of your officers,
and onto your people. They will come into your ovens and into your baking pans.
The frogs will jump all over you, your people and your officers.'"
Notes
At the end of Genesis, in chapter 50, Joseph on his death bed promised that
God would come to the aid of the Israelites and deliver them to the land
he promised to their forefathers. God fulfilled this promise through appointing
Moses to lead his people out of Egypt.
No easy feat, though. Pharaoh wasn't prepared to let them go without a fight. In Exodus chapter 1 we read that although the Egyptians were worried about the population explosion that happened amongst the Israelites, they didn't want to solve the problem by making them leave the country. Instead, they wanted to use them as a ready source of slave labour. No wonder Pharaoh really wasn't interested in letting them go.
So God sent a series of plagues in order to "persuade" Pharaoh that he really had no choice in the matter. In this passage, God threatened Pharaoh with a plague of frogs and was highly descriptive about just how serious an infestation this would be. Beds, ovens, kneading troughs - they would get everywhere. Not even Pharaoh and his high ranking officials would escape! In fact, the same Hebrew word used to describe the infestation of the frogs is the same word used in Exodus chapter 1 to describe the "infestation" caused by the population growth of the Israelites.
God was making a parallel here. It was almost as if he was stating: "The Israelites were an infestation that you sought to deal with harshly, but they're my people and I value them. Now I'll give you a problem you can't deal with!"
Prayer
Father, I thank you that you do all that is in your power to remain faithful
to the promises you have made. Help me to trust in you to come to my aid
whenever I face adversity or opposition. Amen
Exodus 8 v 5-7
Then the LORD said to Moses, "Tell Aaron to hold his walking stick in
his hand over the rivers, canals and ponds. Make frogs come up out of the water
onto the land of Egypt."
So Aaron held his hand over all the waters of Egypt, and the frogs came up
out of the water and covered the land of Egypt. The magicians used their tricks
to do the same thing, so even more frogs came up onto the land of Egypt.
Notes
God meant to show the Egyptians that it was not Pharaoh who was in charge over
the territory and land of Egypt but the great "I Am". God did this
in two ways. Firstly, by taking charge of the water systems of Egypt – in
Exodus chapter 7 blood appeared in the Nile; now the streams, canals and
ponds of Egypt produced frogs upon the demand of Aaron. And secondly, as
we read in the earlier verses of chapter 8, the frogs invaded every area
of Egypt - even Pharaoh's bedroom. God had complete control of the territory
of Egypt.
Although Pharaoh's magicians tried to undermine the impressiveness
of the miracle by duplicating it, all they did was add to the worries of Egypt
by increasing the amount of frogs. Their power would have best been proved
by getting rid of the plague - not aiding it!
Some theologians have suggested that by showing command over Egypt's slimiest
residents, Yahweh (another name for God) was taking a pop at the Egyptian frog-headed
god "Hekt". This isn't fully implied by the text, but we can be sure
that by showing mastery over different areas of nature through these plagues,
God was proving the uniqueness of his status as God over all creation. Unlike
the gods of pagans, Yahweh is not confined to controlling one area of nature
- wind, sea, star or tree! Yahweh is truly Lord over all.
Prayer
Father, although you are Lord over every area of creation, you do not choose
to use your power to assert your authority in my life. Instead, you invite
me to live with Christ as my Lord, master and king. Help me this day to truly
be your servant. Amen
Exodus 8 v 8-11
The king called for Moses and Aaron and said, "Pray to the LORD to take
the frogs away from me and my people. I will let your people go to offer sacrifices
to the LORD."
Moses said to the king, "Please set the time when I should pray for you,
your people and your officers. Then the frogs will leave you and your houses
and will remain only in the Nile."
The king answered, "Tomorrow."
Moses said, "What you want will happen. By this you will know that there
is no one like the LORD our God. The frogs will leave you, your houses, your
officers and your people. They will remain only in the Nile."
Notes
When Moses and Aaron pleaded with Pharaoh in chapter 5 of Exodus to let the
Israelites worship the Lord in the desert, Pharaoh responded by saying: "Who
is the Lord? Why should I obey him and let Israel go?" (Exodus 5 v 2).
Now his words had come back to haunt him. Pharaoh chose to ignore Yahweh
(another name for God) and his servants Moses and Aaron after the plague
of blood. Now he pleaded with Moses to pray to Yahweh on his behalf.
Moses was so confident that the Lord would answer this prayer that he asked Pharaoh to set the time that Moses would pray. Moses took the opportunity to rub it in by repeating the list of places and people that the frog invasion had affected: "you, your houses, your officers and your people". In fact, the only place in which the frogs would still be resident was their natural habitat: the river.
Although Moses was reluctant to take on this task initially, chapter 8 of Exodus proves that through the exercising of his faith Moses consistently grew in confidence. As for ourselves, we may not have seen anything miraculous recently, like a horde of frogs pouring out of the local canal, but it is important to pray in the confidence of knowing that our God is capable of anything. Also, we need to acknowledge the faithfulness of God when he does answer prayer. In this way we can grow, step by step, in faith.
Prayer
Lord, you are a good father who knows how to give good gifts to his children.
Through your spirit give me discernment to know what to ask for, and help
me also to be confident that when I pray you will answer. In Christ's name,
Amen
Exodus 8 v 12-15
After Moses and Aaron left the king, Moses asked the LORD about the frogs he
had sent to the king. And the LORD did as Moses asked. The frogs died in
the houses, in the yards and in the fields. The Egyptians put them in piles,
and the whole country began to stink. But when the king saw that they were
free of the frogs, he became stubborn again. He did not listen to Moses and
Aaron, just as the LORD had said.
Notes
I often walk past a French cheese shop on the way to work. On occasion my nose
is assaulted by the pungent "fragrance" of the cheese of the month,
although from the stench I'm sure it's been around long enough to be labelled
the cheese of the century. I'm not an expert but I'm pretty sure that's nothing
in comparison to the aroma of the decomposing amphibians littered throughout
Egypt. There was no escape from the frogs, and now there was no escape from
the smell.
As Pharaoh was quick to note, at least they'd stopped jumping all over the place. And as the nuisance desisted, so did Pharaoh's resolve to let Israel go. He made the classic mistake of only acknowledging God in a crisis. "There are no atheists in foxholes", as the saying goes.
Times of despondency can often drive us to prayer, but if that's the only time we pray we're missing out. If we acknowledge the goodness of Christ day by day - through highs and lows - then when troubled times come they're surely less likely to drive us to despair. We need to learn to lean on God day by day and involve him, however we spend our time, whatever choices we make, whatever conversations we have.
Prayer
Lord, you walk with me through the good times and the bad times. Help me to
seek you not just in times of anxiety but also when all is well. May I learn
that you concern yourself with every area of my life. Amen
Exodus 8 v 16-19
Then the LORD said to Moses, "Tell Aaron to raise his walking stick and
strike the dust on the ground. Then everywhere in Egypt the dust will change
into gnats." They did this, and when Aaron raised the walking stick that
was in his hand and struck the dust on the ground, everywhere in Egypt the
dust changed into gnats. The gnats got on the people and animals. Using their
tricks, the magicians tried to do the same thing, but they could not make the
dust change into gnats. The gnats remained on the people and animals. So the
magicians told the king that the power of God had done this. But the king was
stubborn and refused to listen to them, just as the LORD had said.
Notes
There's a strong pattern to the plagues in Exodus. God was intent on showing
mastery over creation, but also over the specific territory of Egypt. Earlier
in Exodus chapter 8 the frogs overran every aspect of Egyptian life; now
the very dust of the earth of Egypt became gnats. Pharaoh's magicians were
powerless - this time they could not mimic the miracle. Interestingly, they
now recognised that the plague had come about via "the power of God".
They acknowledged that this wasn't a series of random events but the specific
work of a powerful deity.
However, they don't say which deity was at work here. This wasn't important, though; the plagues weren't there to impress the Egyptians, only to persuade them. The real purpose of the miracles was to prove that there is no other God like Yahweh. Yahweh had acted within the "territory" of the Egyptian gods - gods that the Israelites would be so familiar with. As far as it appeared to them, he had effectively brought these deities to their knees. They were powerless to stop him. Yahweh was in control of Egypt.
In a world so often plagued by troubles, it can be hard to believe that God can act and change specific circumstances. Often we're tempted to look for signs that God is in control through big miracles. The truth is, though, that one of God's biggest miracles is the church - a radically transformed group of people willing to love each other no matter what the cost. If we truly want God to be in control of the world we live in, we need to commit ourselves wholeheartedly to the church. Doing this ensures that the influence of Christ may spread to our homes and communities, and also to the ends of the earth.
Prayer
Lord, help me to be committed to playing my part in the miracle that is the
church so that your transforming power can revolutionise the community I
live in. Amen
Exodus 8 v 20-23
The LORD told Moses, "Get up early in the morning, and meet the king of
Egypt as he goes out to the river. Tell him, 'This is what the LORD says: let
my people go so they can worship me. If you don't let them go, I will send
swarms of flies into your houses. The flies will be on you, your officers and
your people. The houses of Egypt will be full of flies, and they will be all
over the ground, too. But I will not treat the Israelites the same as the Egyptian
people. There will not be any flies in the land of Goshen, where my people
live. By this you will know that I, the LORD, am in this land. I will treat
my people differently from your people. This miracle will happen tomorrow.'"
Notes
The Lord was really driving the message home through the power of these recurring
plagues. Moses had to get up early to intercept Pharaoh as he headed to the
Nile, the scene of the first miracle when the river's waters were turned
to blood. God's command ensured that Pharaoh would be looking at the Nile
and thinking of how it had turned to blood and how frogs had spilled over
from its banks.
God made the purpose of the plagues clear. He stopped the swarm of flies from entering the land of Goshen - the territory of the Israelite slaves - to prove one thing: that the great "I Am" was now present and at work in the Land of Egypt ("I, the LORD, am in this land"). God was showing his favouritism for the Israelites. They were becoming a thorn in the side of the Egyptians, and it wouldn't be long before the Egyptians would be glad to get rid of them.
In one sense, this conflicts with God's long-term goal for Israel. They weren't supposed to be a burden to the countries they lived in or alongside. Ultimately they were destined to become a blessing to all they came in contact with. As God promised to Israel's patriarch Abram: "And all the people on earth will be blessed through you" (Genesis 12 v 3). As Christians, our duty is to carry out this promise today. We have to ask ourselves: are we a blessing to those around us, or do people welcome us like they'd welcome a swarm of flies?
Prayer
Lord, this day may I be a servant to those I meet; may I be a source of blessing
to my friends and family, strangers and work colleagues. Amen
Exodus 8 v 24-27
So the LORD did as he had said, and great swarms of flies came into the king's
palace and his officers' houses. All over Egypt flies were ruining the land.
The king called for Moses and Aaron and told them, "Offer sacrifices
to your God here in this country."
But Moses said, "It wouldn't be right to do that, because the Egyptians
hate the sacrifices we offer to the LORD our God. If they see us offering sacrifices
they hate, they will throw stones at us and kill us. Let us make a three-day
journey into the desert. We must offer sacrifices to the LORD our God there,
as the LORD told us to do."
Notes
After the devastation of a fourth plague, Pharaoh was finally prepared to make
some concessions. He would let the Israelites sacrifice to their God, but
only within the boundaries of the land. However, Moses made a wise suggestion.
He knew that the Egyptians weren't favourably disposed towards the Israelites – they
were very much a blot on the Egyptian landscape, good only for doing the
Egyptians' dirty work. Now if the Egyptians saw the Israelites sacrificing
to a god other than the gods accepted by Egypt, Pharaoh could have a full
scale riot on his hands. It would be the only incentive the Egyptians would
need to rise up against the Israelites.
Of course Moses had ulterior motives as well. Being allowed to go beyond the boundaries of Egypt would give the Israelites the head start they needed in order to make their getaway to the promised land.
Getting God's chosen people out of Egypt was no easy task for Moses. Getting them through the desert beyond Egypt was no picnic either! But God had his reasons for this being the case. Previously God had made promises to individuals and their families; those families had now grown into an entire nation. Through the plagues God showed his commitment to the nation of Israel. He used a "mighty hand" to bring Israel out of Egypt and used the Exodus to begin the nurturing of a relationship between a people and their God. Through this they learnt an important lesson: whatever the circumstances, their God would provide an answer - he always remains true to his promises. They also learnt that following Yahweh (another name for God) is not always easy - it demands sacrifice, obedience and wholehearted commitment. It still does.
Prayer
Father, I know that through all the circumstances of life, you are committed
to providing answers to each and every situation. May I learn to trust you
through hardship and happiness. Amen
word-on-the-web uses the Scripture text taken from the Youth Bible, New Century Version (Anglicised Edition) copyright 1993 by Word Publishing Milton Keynes