Exodus 8:1-151And 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. 2And if thou refuse to let them go, behold, I will smite all thy borders with frogs: 3And 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: 4And the frogs shall come up both on thee, and upon thy people, and upon all thy servants. 5And 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. 6And Aaron stretched out his hand over the waters of Egypt; and the frogs came up, and covered the land of Egypt. 7And the magicians did so with their enchantments, and brought up frogs upon the land of Egypt. 8Then 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 do sacrifice unto the Lord. 9And Moses said unto Pharaoh, Glory over me: when shall I entreat 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? 10And he said, To morrow. And he said, Be it according to thy word: that thou mayest know that there is none like unto the Lord our God. 11And 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. 12And Moses and Aaron went out from Pharaoh: and Moses cried unto the Lord because of the frogs which he had brought against Pharaoh. 13And 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. 14And they gathered them together upon heaps: and the land stank. 15But when Pharaoh saw that there was respite, he hardened his heart, and hearkened not unto them; as the Lord had said. (Exodus 8:1‑15)
After the plague of blood had run its course for seven days, Pharaoh was again informed that if he would not let the people go his country would be visited by a further severe plague. “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. And if thou refuse to let them go, behold, I will smite all thy borders with frogs.” vv. 1,2.
Pharaoh gave scant attention to these warnings, with the result that Moses was instructed to say to 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.” Aaron did so, and a vast horde of frogs emerged; the land was covered with these actively disgusting objects, as the waters of blood had shocked and sickened the Egyptians before. The magicians of Egypt were again able to imitate the performance and they too brought up frogs.
The frog was included among the sacred animals by the Egyptians, and now these objects of their sacred admiration were turned into pests: they beheld them with horror and detested them.
What a repulsive scene this was! Frogs intruded everywhere — into the houses, even into the beds of the Egyptians, hopping into their ovens and into the very kneading troughs. Thy cry of the people and the presence of the frogs throughout the royal palace was finally too much even for the haughty king, and he pleaded with Moses and Aaron; “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 do sacrifice unto the LORD.” verse 8.
No doubt this was welcome news to the two servants of God, and Moses promptly cried to the Lord to remove the awful plague from the land. “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. And they gathered them together upon heaps; and the land stank.” vv.13,14.
But when Pharaoh saw the respite he had a change of heart; “He hardened his heart, and hearkened not unto them.” Such was the callous treachery of this ruler, who counted a pledge to his slaves of so little value that he immediately broke it when he considered he had achieved his purpose. Satan, our great enemy often turns things to his advantage through false hopes and expectations. The Lord Jesus said of him: “He is a liar, and the father of it.”
The invasion of frogs may be compared to the inroads of corruption in this world. “They covered the land of Egypt,” just as the ugliness of sin covers the world now. When men, unreconciled and godless, who themselves have been a tool in Satan’s hand, see the threatening effects of evil which they themselves have helped to bring about, they are often amazed and fearful of the forces that run unchecked. Then, like Pharaoh, they seek some means of removing the evil, often through an outward show of religion. Yet, when granted relief from the terror, they quickly forget the promises they made, and they return to their evil ways. In spite of repeated deliverances, the heart of man, left to itself, will continue in rebellion, and revert to former ways, like “the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire.”
ML 10/13/1968