The Second Plague: Frogs
Exodus 8:1 And Yahweh spoke to Moses, “Go to Pharaoh and say to him, ‘Thus says Yahweh: “Let My people go, that they may serve Me. 2 But if you refuse to let them go, behold, I will smite all your territory with frogs. 3 So the river shall bring forth frogs abundantly, which shall go up and come into your house, into your bedroom, on your bed, into the houses of your servants, on your people, into your ovens, and into your kneading bowls. 4 And the frogs shall come up on you, on your people, and on all your servants.”’”
Yahweh— through Moses— gives Pharaoh "warning of the blow before he strikes, which shows his clemency and goodness, his patience and longsuffering; and this he did,… but that when it [the blow] came, he might be sensible it was not by chance, or owing to second causes, but was from the Lord himself…. To this plague there seems to be some reference at the pouring out of the sixth vial, Revelation 16:13.” (Gill's Exposition) "The sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river, the Euphrates; and its water was dried up, so that the way would be prepared for the kings from the east. And I saw coming out of the mouth of the dragon and out of the mouth of the beast and out of the mouth of the false prophet, three unclean spirits like frogs; for they are spirits of demons, performing signs, which go out to the kings of the whole world, to gather them together for the war of the great day of God, the Almighty.” (Rev16:12-14)
"At least one divinity was represented with a frog's head.” (Dummelow) It is no wonder for any religion that honors not Christ is from the antichrist. "By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God; and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God; this is the spirit of the antichrist, of which you have heard that it is coming, and now it is already in the world." (1 John 4:2-3)
The plague was actual frogs but it pointed to a greater truth— unclean spirits infect the homes of the unregenerate. Wrong ideas about God, if believed by a person, affect every area of their life. The frogs would plague their houses and their persons. "Bedchamber … bed—mats strewed on the floor as well as more sumptuous divans of the rich. Ovens—holes made in the ground and the sides of which are plastered with mortar. Kneading-troughs—Those used in Egypt were bowls of wicker or rush work. What must have been the state of the people when they could find no means of escape from the cold, damp touch and unsightly presence of the frogs, as they alighted on every article and vessel… ” (Jamieson-Fausset-Brown) "The frogs will not only swarm in the river, but fill every part of the houses in Egypt, and even climb up upon the person.” (Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges) BUT “NOT UPON THE ISRAELITES, whom God here exempts from the number of Pharaoh’s people and subjects, and owns for his peculiar people.” (Benson Commentary)
5 Then Yahweh spoke to Moses, “Say to Aaron, ‘Stretch out your hand with your rod over the streams, over the rivers, and over the ponds, and cause frogs to come up on the land of Egypt.’” 6 So 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 on the land of Egypt.
8 Then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron, and said, “Entreat Yahweh that He may take away the frogs from me and from my people; and I will let the people go, that they may sacrifice to Yahweh.”
"The magicians did so.—It cannot be concluded from this that the magicians had the power of creating frogs.” (Ellicott) "The Egyptian magicians were able to bring up frogs, too (Exodus 8:7), but they seem to have lacked the ability to make them go away since Pharaoh asked Moses to get rid of them (Exodus 8:8). Satanic power does not generally work for the welfare of humanity but is basically destructive.” (Dr. Thomas Constable) "It appears evident from this, that Pharaoh’s magicians had no power to remove the frogs which Moses had brought. So Aben Ezra observes: 'He called for Moses, because he saw the magicians had only added to the plague, but could not diminish it.’” (Benson Commentary)
9 And Moses said to Pharaoh, “Accept the honor of saying when I shall intercede for you, for your servants, and for your people, to destroy the frogs from you and your houses, that they may remain in the river only.” 10 So he said, “Tomorrow.” And he said, “Let it be according to your word, that you may know that there is no one like Yahweh our God. 11 And the frogs shall depart from you, from your houses, from your servants, and from your people. They shall remain in the river only.” 12 Then Moses and Aaron went out from Pharaoh. And Moses cried out to Yahweh concerning the frogs which He had brought against Pharaoh. 13 So Yahweh did according to the word of Moses. And the frogs died out of the houses, out of the courtyards, and out of the fields. 14 They gathered them together in heaps, and the land stank. 15 But when Pharaoh saw that there was relief, he hardened his heart and did not heed them, as Yahweh had said.
Moses let Pharoah chose the timing of removal of the frogs from the land. The multiplied frogs died… and only those in the rivers lived. "Though Jehovah had thus manifested Himself as the Almighty God and Lord of the creation, Pharaoh did not keep his promise; but when he saw that there was breathing-time (רוחה, ἀνάψυξις , relief from an overpowering pressure), literally, as soon as he 'got air,' he hardened his heart, so that he did not hearken to Moses and Aaron... as in Genesis 41:43." (Keil & Delitzsch Commentary) Though the plague was removed, the land still stank. "The killing of the frogs was a mitigation of the punishment; but the leaving them to rot in the land was a continual proof that such a plague had taken place, and that the displeasure of the Lord still continued.” (Clarke)
The Third Plague: Lice... or Mosquitos
This is reflection from my walk. We had a wonderful day of Christian fellowship and Worship at TRUMC, yesterday. At the center of it all was Jesus. In a powerful sermon, Mike Smith, explained the theological sandwich to the congregation. He explained that many of the Bible writers interrupt a story with what appears to be an unrelated story… and then return to main story. I think this is what has happened in today’s text. I will not do it justice… and I am not telling you what he taught, but rather I am seeing one of these sandwiches on my own.
Exodus 8:16 So Yahweh said to Moses, “Say to Aaron, ‘Stretch out your rod, and strike the dust of the land, so 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 struck the dust of the earth, and it became lice on man and beast. All the dust of the land became lice throughout all the land of Egypt.
18 Now the magicians so worked with their enchantments to bring forth lice, but they could not. So there were lice on man and beast. 19 Then the magicians said to Pharaoh, “This is the finger of God.” But Pharaoh’s heart grew hard, and he did not heed them, just as the Lord had said.
None of the commentaries that I have seen have been able to find the plague of lice in the book of Revelation. But perhaps it is God as Creator of life that should be the focus here— the meat. And this is found in the book of Revelation in the re-creation— the resurrection of the body and the new heavens ad new earth in which righteousness dwell.
Try this Jannes and Jambres.
One piece of bread of this sandwich was the miracles of Yahweh which Jannes and Jambres were able to reproduce, but they did them for the end of the confusion and destruction of Egyptians. We saw this in first miracle of the staff turned to serpent, as well as in the next three plagues or strikes. But here we find the meat of the plagues today, the Creator of the world- the Lord Jesus; He alone creates life. After speaking the world into existence and setting the stars on their orbit… creating light and vegetation…. and making all of the animals from the dust of the ground, He formed man of the dust of the ground and breathed into His nostrils the breathe of life— and he became a living soul.
I think that this is a unique plague because hitherto the plagues were announced beforehand with a repetition of the command to let God’s people go. But here the strike is inflicted with no warning. It is debated as to whether the actual plague was flies, gnats mosquitoes, or lice. "To the present writer the arguments in favour of mosquitoes seem to preponderate; and he believes the kinnim to represent those subtle pests. Such is the view of the LXX. translators, of Philo, Artapanus, Origen, Rosenmuller, Gesenins, Geddes, Boothroyd, Keil, and Kalisch...That Aaron was ordered to produce them out of 'the dust of the land,' whereas mosquitoes come from larvae deposited in stagnant waters (Cook), is only a proof that God can transform any kind of matter into any other. He who made man of the dust of the ground (Genesis 2:7) could with still greater ease have transformed that dust into gnats.” (Pulpit Commentary)
So, the contrast here is between the Creator and His servants, who bring life... and the Satan and his servants, who tend to destruction: "Now as Jannes and Jambres resisted Moses, so do these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, disapproved concerning the faith; but they will progress no further, for their folly will be manifest to all, as theirs also was.” (2 Timothy 3:8-9) "There were only three things in which the magicians of Egypt were able to imitate the servants of the true and living God, namely, in turning their rods into serpents, (Exodus 7:12) turning the water into blood, (Exodus 7:20) and bringing up the frogs; (Exodus 8:7) but, in the fourth, which involved the exhibition of life, in connection with the display of nature's humiliation, they were totally confounded, and obliged to own, 'this is the finger of God.’ (Exodus 8:16-19) Thus it is also with the latter-day resisters of the truth. All that they do is by the direct energy of Satan, and lies within the range of his power. Moreover, its specific object is to 'resist the truth.’ (2 Timothy 3:8)… bear in mind that it is Satan's imitation of God's reality, produced, not by the wand of an openly-wicked magician, but by the actings of false professors, who have 'a form of godliness, hut deny the power thereof,' (2 Timothy 3:5) who do things apparently right and good, but who have neither the life of Christ in their souls, the love of God in their hearts, nor the power of the word in their consciences.
‘But,' adds the inspired apostle, 'they shall proceed no further, for their folly shall be manifested unto all, as theirs also was.’ (2 Timothy 3:9) Truly the ‘folly' of 'Jannes and Jambres' was manifest unto all, when they not only failed to imitate the further actings of Moses and Aaron, but actually became involved in the judgements of God. This is a solemn point. The folly of all who are merely possessed of the form will, in like manner, be made manifest. They will not only be quite unable to imitate the full and proper effects of divine life and power, but they will themselves become the subjects of those judgements which will result from the rejection of that truth which they have resisted.” (C. H. Mackintosh's Notes on the Pentateuch)
Join me tomorrow for the other slice of bread for this sandwich. There is always a good chance with me that the meat is bologna- not the precept of Jesus as Creator, but the theological construct of my thoughts.
The Fourth Plague: Flies… or Scorpions
Exodus 8:20 And Yahweh said to Moses, “Rise early in the morning and stand before Pharaoh as he comes out to the water. Then say to him, ‘Thus says Yahweh: “Let My people go, that they may serve Me. 21 Or else, if you will not let My people go, behold, I will send swarms of flies on you and your servants, on your people and into your houses. The houses of the Egyptians shall be full of swarms of flies, and also the ground on which they stand.
"Pharaoh was early at his false devotions to the river; and shall we be for more sleep and more slumber, when any service to the Lord is to be done?” (Matthew Henry) This might not be the other piece of bread of the theological sandwich but rather more meat!
Again Yahweh warns before he strikes. I will send… A mixture of venomous insects-- "Swarms of flies is an unfortunate translation of a single substantive in the singular number, accompanied by the article. A mixture, etc., is nearly as bad. The writer must mean some one definite species of animal, which he called 'the arob.’…The 'arob, like the frogs, was to plague them both inside their houses and outside, but especially inside...” (Pulpit Commentary) but these…. "according to Jarchi, all sorts of evil beasts are meant, as serpents and scorpions, mixed together;..” (Gill's Exposition) And here I believe exists the threat of temporal death.
22 And in that day I will set apart the land of Goshen, in which My people dwell, that no swarms of flies shall be there, in order that you may know that I am the Lord in the midst of the land. 23 I will make a difference between My people and your people. Tomorrow this sign shall be.”’” 24 And Yahweh did so. Thick swarms of flies came into the house of Pharaoh, into his servants’ houses, and into all the land of Egypt. The land was corrupted because of the swarms of flies.
"I looked, and behold, an ashen horse; and he who sat on it had the name Death; and Hades was following with him. Authority was given to them over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword and with famine and with pestilence and by the wild beasts of the earth.” (Revelation 6:8) The physical plagues of the exodus from physical bondage in Egypt were actual, but they also pointed to the release from the spiritual slavery to sin and death caused by the scarcity of the Word of God among the people of the land. And "My people," says Yahweh, "die for lack of knowledge." They, therefore, are not standing on the Rock of Ages but rather on the scorpions or lies of Satan.
"The land was corrupted - Every thing was spoiled, and many of the inhabitants destroyed, being probably stung to death by these venomous insects. This seems to be intimated by the psalmist, 'He sent divers sorts of flies among them, which Devoured them,' Psalm 78:45.” (Adam Clarke)
So, we discover that the Creator is also the Destroyer.
But thanks be to God that He makes a distinction between His people and the other people of the land. “The Lord knows them that are his, and will make it appear, perhaps in this world, certainly in the other, that he has set them apart for himself.” (Matthew Henry)
25 Then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron, and said, “Go, sacrifice to your God in the land.” 26 And Moses said, “It is not right to do so, for we would be sacrificing the abomination of the Egyptians to Yahweh our God. If we sacrifice the abomination of the Egyptians before their eyes, then will they not stone us? 27 We will go three days’ journey into the wilderness and sacrifice to Yahweh our God as He will command us.”
Sacrifice of clean animals in the appointed Mount of God is the only atonement for the sins of Israel. To sacrifice in the land of Egypt would be an abomination to Yahweh their God. He distinguishes between us and the Egyptians only if we come to Him in the prescribed way at the prescribed time. “Jesus therefore answered and said to them, 'Do not murmur among yourselves. No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day. It is written in the prophets, 'And they shall all be taught by God.'[Isaiah 54:13] Therefore everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to Me." (John 6:43-45)
28 So Pharaoh said, “I will let you go, that you may sacrifice to Yahweh your God in the wilderness; only you shall not go very far away. Intercede for me.” 29 Then Moses said, “Indeed I am going out from you, and I will entreat Yahweh, that the swarms of flies may depart tomorrow from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people. But let Pharaoh not deal deceitfully anymore in not letting the people go to sacrifice to Yahweh.” 30 So Moses went out from Pharaoh and entreated Yahweh. 31 And Yahweh did according to the word of Moses; He removed the swarms of flies from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people. Not one remained. 32 But Pharaoh hardened his heart at this time also; neither would he let the people go.
Indeed Pharaoh had heard of Yahweh, but he had no so learned of Him.