The Second Plague: Frogs
8:1 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go in to Pharaoh and say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord, “Let my people go, that they may serve me. 2 But if you refuse to let them go, behold, I will plague all your country with frogs. 3 The Nile shall swarm with frogs that shall come up into your house and into your bedroom and on your bed and into the houses of your servants and your people, and into your ovens and your kneading bowls. 4 The frogs shall come up on you and on your people and on all your servants.”’” 5 And the Lord said to Moses, “Say to Aaron, ‘Stretch out your hand with your staff over the rivers, over the canals and over the pools, and make frogs 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 But the magicians did the same by their secret arts and made frogs come up on the land of Egypt.
8 Then Pharaoh called Moses and Aaron and said, “Plead with the Lord to take away the frogs from me and from my people, and I will let the people go to sacrifice to the Lord.” 9 Moses said to Pharaoh, “Be pleased to command me when I am to plead for you and for your servants and for your people, that the frogs be cut off from you and your houses and be left only in the Nile.” 10 And he said, “Tomorrow.” Moses said, “Be it as you say, so that you may know that there is no one like the Lord our God. 11 The frogs shall go away from you and your houses and your servants and your people. They shall be left only in the Nile.” 12 So Moses and Aaron went out from Pharaoh, and Moses cried to the Lord about the frogs, as he had agreed with Pharaoh. 13 And the Lord did according to the word of Moses. The frogs died out in the houses, the courtyards, and the fields. 14 And they gathered them together in heaps, and the land stank. 15 But when Pharaoh saw that there was a respite, he hardened his heart and would not listen to them, as the Lord had said.
The Third Plague: Gnats
16 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Say to Aaron, ‘Stretch out your staff and strike the dust of the earth, so that it may become gnats in all the land of Egypt.’” 17 And they did so. Aaron stretched out his hand with his staff and struck the dust of the earth, and there were gnats on man and beast. All the dust of the earth became gnats in all the land of Egypt. 18 The magicians tried by their secret arts to produce gnats, but they could not. So there were gnats on man and beast. 19 Then the magicians said to Pharaoh, “This is the finger of God.” But Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, and he would not listen to them, as the Lord had said.
The Fourth Plague: Flies
20 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Rise up early in the morning and present yourself to Pharaoh, as he goes out to the water, and say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord, “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 and your people, and into your houses. And the houses of the Egyptians shall be filled with swarms of flies, and also the ground on which they stand. 22 But on that day I will set apart the land of Goshen, where my people dwell, so that no swarms of flies shall be there, that you may know that I am the Lord in the midst of the earth. 23 Thus I will put a division between my people and your people. Tomorrow this sign shall happen.”’” 24 And the Lord did so. There came great swarms of flies into the house of Pharaoh and into his servants’ houses. Throughout all the land of Egypt the land was ruined by the swarms of flies.
25 Then Pharaoh called Moses and Aaron and said, “Go, sacrifice to your God within the land.” 26 But Moses said, “It would not be right to do so, for the offerings we shall sacrifice to the Lord our God are an abomination to the Egyptians. If we sacrifice offerings abominable to the Egyptians before their eyes, will they not stone us? 27 We must go three days’ journey into the wilderness and sacrifice to the Lord our God as he tells us.” 28 So Pharaoh said, “I will let you go to sacrifice to the Lord your God in the wilderness; only you must not go very far away. Plead for me.” 29 Then Moses said, “Behold, I am going out from you and I will plead with the Lord that the swarms of flies may depart from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people, tomorrow. Only let not Pharaoh cheat again by not letting the people go to sacrifice to the Lord.” 30 So Moses went out from Pharaoh and prayed to the Lord. 31 And the Lord did as Moses asked, and removed the swarms of flies from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people; not one remained. 32 But Pharaoh hardened his heart this time also, and did not let the people go. (ESV)
15 But when Pharaoh saw that there was relief, he hardened his heart and would not listen to Moses and Aaron, just as the LORD had said.
Pharaoh would come to Moses and plead for him to pray to God to stop the plagues. But as soon as a there was a relief, Pharaoh would go back to his old ways.
This kinda reminds me of our sins…we confess our sins to God but sometimes we have a tendency to do those same exacts sins even though we do our best to avoid them. We are sinful people and will never be perfect like our Lord and Savior. I’m so thankful to have such a forgiving redeemer.
Hey Leah – that’s keen insight… How often do we deny the LORD’s commands and cry out to Him to fix our circumstances?
LORD, please forgive me for not following You yesterday. Open my heart to make Your plans my plans and to do what You say today. Like Leah, I’m grateful to You for being a forgiving Savior and have joy in all circumstances becaase of who You are! Show me discernment today as I respond to Your Word in obedience!
And so the plagues begin….
18 But when the magicians tried to produce gnats by their secret arts, they could not. And the gnats were on men and animals.
19 The magicians said to Pharaoh, “This is the finger of God.” But Pharaoh’s heart was hard and he would not listen, just as the LORD had said.
Wow. I’m getting the impression that Pharoah wasn’t the smartest guy. His magicians couldn’t make gnats appear out of the dust. And then his magicians go and tell him that it MUST be God at work. But of course Pharoah ignores them, and he doesn’t let the Isrealites go. These verses reminded me of my Biology class. In that class, we’re taught about all this awesome stuff, and you can clearly see that it’s God’s work. But unfortunatley, not many people believe that truth. Instead of accepting the SUPER OBVIOUS fact that there is a God who made evrything, they believe that it was all random chance, and a mutations that occured over billions of years. It’s just stupid. Scientists today have found so much complex things that can only be exlpained by saying that there is a Creator. But, like Pharaoh, many people harden their hearts and don’t listen. It’s really sad beacause in the end the will be punished, and taking an example from Pharaoh, it won’t be pretty. The Egyptians ended up at the bottom of the Red Sea, and all those who don’t trust and believe in God will end up in hell.
I agree with the comments above. We act like Pharaoh a lot of times in the fact that we ask God to “fix” something in our life because of the result of sin or not and then after He responds we go back to our old ways of living for ourselves and sinning and dishonoring Him!! Lets not harden our hearts like Pharaoh did and strive to live holy lives for Him.
NEW BLOG ON SANCTIFICATION :)
8 Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron and said, “Pray to the LORD to take the frogs away from me and my people, and I will let your people go to offer sacrifices to the LORD.”
30 Then Moses left Pharaoh and prayed to the LORD,
31 and the LORD did what Moses asked: The flies left Pharaoh and his officials and his people; not a fly remained.
32 But this time also Pharaoh hardened his heart and would not let the people go.
Hmmm, Pharaoh said, in verse eight, that he would let God’s people go to offer sacrifices to our Lord, that is if Moses prays to God for the plague to leave. So, which doesn’t come to a surprise, Pharaoh hardens his heart and won’t let them go. Wow. Pharaoh is only doing this to himself. Even the magicians say its from a God and yet Pharaoh ignores them. Well, soon enough, Pharaoh will regret it.
28 Pharaoh said, “I will let you go to offer sacrifices to the LORD your God in the desert, but you must not go very far. Now pray for me.”
…I love this whole stroy it reminds me bcak when i was in the days of sunday school.
But this verse stood out becasue pharaoh asks moses to pray for him continually, but only in a time of destress and when he is in NEED of it. It reminded me of Bobbys sermons and how our attitude toward prayer should be. We should not just pray to God when we need somethin or when something goes wrong, but pray to God always, thank him for everything that he has done and give him the prasie for all of the blessings that we have recieved.
23 I will make a distinction between my people and your people. This miraculous sign will occur tomorrow.’ ”
Our God is so gracious! This verse is a great example of the fact that God generously shelters His children from the wrath that is reserved for those who do not know Him. It reminded me that even though Christians are sinners, just like non-Christians, we have been forgiven through Christ and therefore get to avoid God’s wrath. Isn’t it comforting to know that God makes the choice to preserve His own people despite their wandering ways because He is good?! This motivates me to thank God in prayer for His mercy and not giving me the wrath that I deserve.
15 But when Pharaoh saw that there was relief, he hardened his heart and would not listen to Moses and Aaron, just as the LORD had said.
Pharoah told Moses that if he made the frogs go away like they did, then the Israelites would be let free. Pharoah however harden his heart and would not let the Israelites go.
24 And the LORD did this. Dense swarms of flies poured into Pharaoh’s palace and into the houses of his officials, and throughout Egypt the land was ruined by the flies.
I like this everytime Moses said that this plague happens to Pharoah and to the Egyptians it happens! It’s not like they skip one or two plagues that Moses and Aaron said it was going to happen.
1 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Go to Pharaoh and say to him, ‘This is what the LORD says: Let my people go, so that they may worship me.
26 But Moses said, “That would not be right. The sacrifices we offer the LORD our God would be detestable to the Egyptians. And if we offer sacrifices that are detestable in their eyes, will they not stone us?
I was thinking of this throughout the whole chapter, why couldn’t they not worship the Lord in Egypt still? Well that is because as it says in verse 26 that the Egyptians would stone the Israelites who worshipped the true God.
32 But this time also Pharaoh hardened his heart and would not let the people go.
Just like God said that Pharoah is going to harden his heart and this always happen to Pharoah until this one plague that will hurt him emotionally.
19 The magicians said to Pharaoh, “This is the finger of God.” But Pharaoh’s heart was hard and he would not listen, just as the LORD had said.
It’s hard for me not to think Pharaoh was an idiot. But I know that sometimes I do the same things and harden my heart against God. And we know that it was part of God’s plan to harden Pharaoh’s heart in order to show his power. That didn’t make him any less responsible for his actions. I love reading Exodus because it makes me want to ask God for a responsive heart, so I won’t make him angry at me. I know I have been forgiven through Christ, but I still need to fear and obey him because someday I will have to give him an account of my life.
Reading about frogs jumping all over people and gnats and flies swarming the land sounds like a horror film! What stands out to me from the chapter though is prayer. Moses is constantly going to the Lord and Pharaoh keeps asking him to, knowing that he will be heard, even though he didn’t fear God himself. How amazing to consider that today I have the privilege of praying to this same God!
10 …Moses replied, “It will be as you say, so that you may know there is no one like the LORD our God.
I like how Moses simply states that Pharaoh will “know there is no one like the Lord our God.” This is such a powerful and confident statement that Moses makes. His confidence and faith is an example to us when we are witnessing to other people! Lets have some of Moses’ boldness and courage!!!
15 But when Pharaoh saw that there was relief, he hardened his heart and would not listen to Moses and Aaron, just as the LORD had said.
Like Leah, this verse stood out to me. So often when times are tough we cry out to God and express our need and utter dependence on Him. But after we get help, and relief comes and things start to get better, we start acting as though we don’t even need God and go back to living a life of self-reliance. However, our need for God is the same regardless of our circumstances and thus we should live accordingly. Acts 17:25 …”he himself gives all men life and breath and everything else.”
Then Moses left Pharaoh and prayed to the LORD,
31 and the LORD did what Moses asked: The flies left Pharaoh and his officials and his people; not a fly remained.
I like this verse because it tell us that Moses prayed to the Lord and the Lord did what Moses asked. How cool would that be if we prayed to God and he did what we asked? Well we can have the same confidence Moses had.
John 15:16
You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit—fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. 17This is my command: Love each other
19 The magicians said to Pharaoh, “This is the finger of God.” But Pharaoh’s heart was hard and he would not listen, just as the LORD had said.
There was only so much the magicians could do before giving up. They realized that God is the only one in control here and they tell Pharaoh that “This is the finger of God.” Pharaoh still doesn’t want to acknowledge the power of God. His stubbornness will only lead to more plagues. And still we are thinking why doesn’t he just give in?! We need to remember that God is the one hardening his heart. It’s all happening so that He can accomplish his mission in the end.
18 But when the magicians tried to produce gnats by their secret arts, they could not. And the gnats were on men and animals.
So far, when God was making plagues in Egypt, the magicians always made them too, to laugh at God and to devalue His awesome power and control. But who’s laughing now?? How could could you duplicate this one anyway! Yes, the other plagues God did were amazing too, but how can you really make something living out of something that is unliving like dust! And especially something disgusting and annoying like gnats! This really shows you how clever, amazing and powerful God is!
10 “Tomorrow,” Pharaoh said. Moses replied, “It will be as you say, so that you may know there is no one like the LORD our God.
I wish we all had the guts to say stuff like this and have the faith to back it up. This is amazing. Moses is totally standing up to Pharaoh because he believes in God and what God has said he will do. What if we were like this in evangelism? That would be amazing! God has said that he will help us know what to say and to just trust in him yet we dont.
19 The magicians said to Pharaoh, “This is the finger of God.” But Pharaoh’s heart was hard and he would not listen, just as the LORD had said.
We see this and our reaction is, “Wow, how could he be so stupid?” but in reality we are often just as stupid as he was. God is doing miracles every day, we just ignore it of=r look over it. Or he gives us amazing blessings and shows us his miraclulous mercy everyday yet we continue to overlook it or pass it off as nothing, or even worse, take credit for it! like pastor bobby’s sermon on how we often take some of the credit for our salvation. How can we? we never did ANYThING! it amazes me how everyone, including me can do this. We need to recognize God’s miraculous mercy and worship him for it.
I love love love this chapter. Like Missy said, I was reading this chapter and was all “wow Pharaoh is a biggg dummy.. why can’t he just see that its God without such a hard heart!” but then I think to myself.. wow I totally do that too.. sometimes I do have a hardened heart towards God like Pharaoh did. I realize that I need to work on being more obedient like Moses and Aaron are!!
9 “Moses said to Pharaoh, “I leave to you the honor of setting the time for me to pray for you and your officials and your people that you and your houses may be rid of the frogs, except for those that remain in the Nile.”
10 “Tomorrow,” Pharaoh said. Moses replied, “It will be as you say, so that you may know there is no one like the LORD our God.”
This shows God at work. He is doing all in his power to show Pharaoh that he is the one true God, and to let all the people go. What was said he will do and anything else to show all!
I can’t even comment on a specific verse…I LOVE IT ALL! I was reading this in tutorial and I was literally on the edge of seat! AND at the same time Mr. Cox was playing this weird music that had frogs croaking in the background! It was sooo perfect! I imaged all of it in my mind so well! Thanks Mr. Cox! anyways. I just thought that it was incredible that God could harden someone sooo much! How do you not believe after the first miracle? EVEN THE MAGICIANS KNEW IT WAS GOD’S WORK! and then it made me think of what Alex said yesterday. How many kids at my school have a hardened heart like that? I already know a couple! But it made me think of how powerful God is and how powerful prayer is. PRAYER IS SOOOOOOOOOOOOOO AMAZING! God works through prayers so lets not forget to talk to God everyday and remember…GOD IS HOLY! :D
32 But this time also Pharaoh hardened his heart and would not let the people go.
Even after all the plagues had happened, pharaoh still hardened his heart. Because of it all, the plagues only get worse. Despite it all Moses stayed faithful in trying to convince pharaoh of letting the Lord’s people go.
The thing that keeps on standing out to me is how clearly God reveals himself through mighty wonders showing that there is no one like him, but Pharaoh keeps on hardening his heart!
How often do I do this? I’ve been convicted that even though God clearly shows his wonders through creation, his word, and his church, I often am hardened, bitter, or unthankful. I should be in awe and totally giving him glory for being the great God that he is!
Its crazy! There are so many plauges yet Pharoh’s heart is still just as hard (just as God said it would) God want to show some yet more amazing things! Pharoh will get to taste God’s wrath and see just how powerful he is. These chapters are really intense and I cant wait to read what other plauges come!
10 “Tomorrow,” Pharaoh said. Moses replied, “It will be as you say, so that you may know there is no one like the LORD our God.
I love this verse because it shows us how Moses did not give up on God. He had such great faith in the Lord. There is no one like our Father just as Moses said.
P.S. KATIE BAXTER if u see this u need to post!! haha (:
Oh my goodnesss come on Pharaoh!!!
19 The magicians said to Pharaoh, “This is the finger of God.” But Pharaoh’s heart was hard and he would not listen, just as the LORD had said.
10 “Tomorrow,” Pharaoh said. Moses replied, “It will be as you say, so that you may know there is no one like the LORD our God.
Im doing partners and I was going through chapter two today. And their are attributes that only God has. And some that He is calling us to share with Him. God is omnipotent, therefore He can do anything and everything besides what is not of His nature. It wasn’t moses and aaron performing these miraculous signs but rather God through them, and God too show there is no one like Him shows things that can only be from Him. As the magicians eventually realized!
Throughout this whole chapter the magnificent power of God is revelealed. He brought the frogs into Egypt by the mere stretch of Moses staff and had them all die in an instant. (He did the same with the gnats and flies). This is the God that we serve! That we worship! Dwelling on God’s power makes me realize that I oftentimes worry about things that are so insignificant in light of his power! He has the absolute authority over the earth including all the circumstances of my life that I attempt to control. How could I doubt the plans of my powerful God?
frogs…gnats…flies…you’d think Pharaoh would get it by now – but it’s only the beginning. That is one hard heart, yet Moses still prays. He has full confidence in the Lord’s power. We need to pray for the people in our lives who have those hard hearts. Pray with confidence that God can soften their hearts and enlighten them to His truth!
*laughs* I agree Julia, you’d think that after so many things that happened to Pharoh, his heart might be more soft? wow…
well, thats people for you; their hearts are so hard they wont listen. we gotta pray!
pray and obey!
9 Moses said to Pharaoh, “I leave to you the honor of setting the time for me to pray for you and your officials and your people that you and your houses may be rid of the frogs, except for those that remain in the Nile.”
10 “Tomorrow,” Pharaoh said. Moses replied, “It will be as you say, so that you may know there is no one like the LORD our God.
I loved these verses! It seemed to me like a game of truth of dare! haha Like what Jacob said, i LOVED Moses’ confidence in the Lord!! See how it has changed in just a few chapters?! Not that long ago, Moses was telling God he couldn’t speak to the people and now he is unashamed!! It reminded me of our spiritual walk with Christ, and how it is always (at least supposed to be) growing! As a christian, it is amazing to see the changes God has made in my life, and i praise God for this sanctification! :D
2 If you refuse to let them go, I will plague your whole country with frogs
My study bible said that the Egyptians viewed the frog as a sacred animal. I wonder how sacred they became when the Egyptians found them in their ovens! If that is not bad enough in verse 8:7 the magicians increase the frog infestation, crazy! Pharaoh must have been thinking…thanks a lot guys that’s just what I needed, more frogs. The best part of this whole chapter for me is in verse 8:8; Pharaoh asks Moses and Aaron to pray to the LORD to take the frogs away. The mighty pharaoh needs prayer, he might have been in control over Egypt but he has absolutely no control over our God!!! God is the King of kings and the Lord of lords forever…AMEN!
Way to go Angela, Alyssa, and Julia!!
Janiel you snuck past me…way to go on SOTD!!
all these bad things are happening but pharaoh still did not let them go if it was me i would have let them go after the first time.God has a plan for us all even all the non-christians.
I found this chapter so encouraging!
15 But when Pharaoh saw that there was relief, he hardened his heart and would not listen to Moses and Aaron, just as the LORD had said.
Like the first people who commented on this chapter, we are like Pharaoh sometimes. We’ll ask God to forgive us of our sins, but then we are tempted to go back to doing them. What a comfort and peace for us to know that when we fall short and sin, our Lord is always there willing to forgive us! This is the difference between Christianity and the other worldly religions. Those religions are all about us doing it on our own to get right with God, and make everything ok. But Christianity is totally opposite. It’s admitting that we CAN’T do it on our own, but it’s by the grace of God we are forgiven and can be made right with God through His son, Jesus! That’s some good news right there!
19 The magicians said to Pharaoh, “This is the finger of God.” But Pharaoh’s heart was hard and he would not listen, just as the LORD had said.
This is a bummer. Pharaoh is being told by his wisest men that God is trying to get to him, but he still wont listen. He wants to fight God. We need to realize that fighting God is plain stupid. We can never win, as Pharaoh eventually learned.
Wow this was an exciting chaoter! Frogs, gnats and flies! And yet Pharaoh still continued to hearden his heart. This was a good chapter!
30Then Moses left Pharaoh and prayed to the LORD, 31and the LORD did what Moses asked: The flies left Pharaoh and his officials and his people; not a fly remained.
this verse is so encouraging to be reminded how God answers our prayers
Have you ever said something and then taken it back right away? Pharoah is the king of this! Let’s be sure that what we say is what we mean and not resort to deceitful ways like he did.
This just shows yet another reason to be on God’s good side. He is all powerful and can make any thing that seems impossible, possible. Water into blood, unlimited flies and frogs, and the death of every first born son in one night just to name a few. He is a loving and passionate God but if you don’t head His warning you will be punished. He promised He would free His people and nothing was gonna make Him break His promise.
Praise the Lord for his sovereignty! He has control over all the earth and we should realize that always and fear that. God is the one who will judge the world and the plagues of frogs and gnats cannot even completely compare to his wrath on sin.
10 “Tomorrow,” Pharaoh said. Moses replied, “It will be as you say, so that you may know there is no one like the LORD our God.
There is truly no one like the LORD our God. We worship and serve a holy God, strong with power over this whole earth. Just as Moses didn’t fear Pharaoh we don’t either because God is more powerful and like no one in this universe. He is not like sinful people; He is holy and able to do all things beyond our imagination. The miracles shown in Exodus display God’s infinite power to do all things. Praise be to the LORD our God!
Okay, those first couple of plagues must have been REALLY bad. To have any land completely occupied by frogs, then gnats, then flies would be enough to drive you crazy! But there’s also the issue of all the dead animals AFTER the plagues- they wre suffering the consequences for more than a little while!
It’s amazing to see how stubborn Pharaoh was – again, just like the people today who refuse to accept that the Lord is God. He can prove Himself time and again, but people continue to harden their hearts the way Pharaoh did.
18 But when the magicians tried to produce gnats by their secret arts, they could not. And the gnats were on men and animals.
Booya! No man can mess with God. Even men with the power of Satan. God controlls everything. Period. So it’s actually impossible to go against the Lord unless he allowed them.
The main thing that i saw in this chapter and that I thought was so cool was that it kept repeating that the Lord did this and the Lord did that. In this chapter there was no finger pointing to Moses and what he was doing. but all the attention and glory was towards God. I thought that that was really cool and a good example for us. No matter what we do or how great it is none of it could be done without God!!!!!!
What is it going to take for Pharoah to give uo and let God’s people go so they can worship Him. We will see in chapters to come. Pharoah is amazingly stubborn and a follower of Satin. For GOD always beats Satin and we all know it.
when i first read this chapter i thought those plagues can’t be to bad frogs, gnats, and flies those are harmless creatures…. but then i thought about it and having them everywhere all at once would be so gross. i get annoyed having one fly around, and having tons and tons around would not be any fun at all!