The Second Plague: Frogs

One week later…

Imagine being barefoot and never being able to take a frog free step.

Imagine lying in the bed, rolling over and crushing frogs in your slumber.

Imagine the constant croak of frogs in all areas of your home and life.

Just imagine, when you go to make a meal and all of your dishes are filled 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.” ’ ”

⁵ Then the LORD 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.’ ”

• Recall that this is not a plague on Israel but upon Egypt and all of their inhabitants.
• In a normal year, frogs would be abundant in the Nile and tributaries, but this would be an abundance beyond any explanation a magician could conjure.

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.

• Despite being able to conjure frogs from the river, they only made it worse as they could notsend them away once called.

⁸ Then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron, and said, “Entreat 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 sacrifice to the LORD.”

• Pharaoh appears penitent and willing to do what is right for the moment. He makes an agreement in the heat of desperate times.

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.”

• Moses gave Pharaoh the opportunity to say when the plague will lift. This was an effort to demonstrate God’s power. God can lift the burden at the time of his request.

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 the LORD 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.”

• Moses takes the request of Pharaoh and gives him reprieve from the frogs. This will be the end of the second plague against Pharaoh, the Egyptians, and their gods.

¹² Then Moses and Aaron went out from Pharaoh. And Moses cried out to the LORD concerning the frogs which He had brought against Pharaoh.

¹³ So the LORD did according to the word of Moses. And the frogs died out of the houses, out of the courtyards, and out of the fields.

• Pharaoh’s entreating of Moses was a sign that he recognized the God of Israel as being the creator of the plague.

¹⁴ They gathered them together in heaps, and the land stank.

• This supposed symbol of abundance and fertility was now a sign of death and decay that had to be dealt with by the very people that had worshiped them

¹⁵ But when Pharaoh saw that there was relief, he hardened his heart and did not heed them, as the LORD had said.

• But, alas, Pharaoh could not be held to his word. In short order he retreated back to his very hard heart and fell back on his word.

THIRD PLAGUE: LICE – COMING TUESDAY

• Guzik, David. “Study Guide for Exodus 8.” Blue Letter Bible. https://www.blueletterbible.org/comm/guzik_david/study-guide/exodus/exodus-8.cfm.

• “Exodus 8:1-15 Meaning.” TheBibleSays.com. https://thebiblesays.com/exodus-81-15-meaning/.

• “The Second Plague: Frogs.” Reformed Theological Seminary. https://rts.edu/resources/the-second-plague-frogs/.

• “Exodus 8 Commentary.” Precept Austin. https://www.preceptaustin.org/exodus-8-commentary.

• “Exodus 8:1 – Verse-by-Verse Bible Commentary.” StudyLight.org. https://www.studylight.org/commentary/exodus/8-1.html.

• “Commentary on Exodus 8 by Matthew Henry.” Blue Letter Bible. https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/mhc/Exd/Exd_008.cfm.

• “Exodus 8 – Dr. Constable’s Expository Notes.” StudyLight.org. https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/eng/dcc/exodus-8.html.

• “Bible Study: Exodus 8. The Plagues of Frogs, Lice, and Flies.” Medium. https://medium.com/@coulter.daniel/bible-study-exodus-8-dadf55c216fc.

• Padfield, David. Against All the Gods of Egypt. 2015, http://www.padfield.com/2015/gods-of-egypt.html