Here we read of the second punishment God sent on Pharaoh and his people, because the children of Israel were not set free. Frogs were part of the religion of the Egyptians, who had many things they thought sacred, and so it must have been a greater trial to them than it would have been to other people, when the plague of frogs happened. Frogs in their houses, on their beds, in their baking! How disgusting it must have been to have those clammy things hopping around in such numbers, the like of which was never seen before.
The magicians could cause the frogs to come out of the river too, though they could not make them to go back again, and Pharaoh was moved a little, for he sent for Moses and Aaron and asked them to plead with God to take the frogs away. “Then,” said he, “I will let the people go, that they may sacrifice to the Lord.” God made the frogs die, and they were gathered in heaps, but Pharaoh hardened his heart and would not let the people of Israel go.
Next, Moses was told by God to have Aaron stretch out his rod and strike the dust of the ground which then became lice, or some other disgusting insects, on the people and on the animals. All over the land of Egypt the dust in a moment became these loathsome little creatures from which there was no getting away. All of us, no doubt, wish to be clean but the Egyptians made cleanliness part of their religion, and in this plague again, as in most, if not all of them, we can see that the only true God was making war on the false gods of Egypt.
The magicians tried to make lice out of dust too, but, they could not. The reason was that only God can create life, and this the magicians seemed to realize when they said to Pharaoh “This is the finger of God.” After this we hear little more of the magicians. They were beaten.
Still another plague we read of in this chapter, the last being swarms of flies, but whether just ordinary house flies or something worse, we do not know. Whichever way it was, they made a lot of trouble for the people of Egypt, going into their houses and everywhere, but not in the land of Goshen. where the children of Israel lived, for God’ made an exception of those who were His own people. Nov Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron, and said to them. “Go and sacrifice to your God in the land.”
This would never do. The people of God must meet with God in a place which He should choose, and so Moses said to Pharaoh that there must be a three day’s journey into the wilderness. They must get entirely away from Egypt. Pharaoh then said that the people could ko, only that they should not go very far away. All this makes us think of our wily Satan who wants to hold God’s children so close to the world, both in having a good time and in other ways, in order that they know nothing about God, and His Word, and will not be happy Christians, as God would have them to be.
The swarm of flies went away so that there remained not one, but once more Pharaoh hardened his heart, and would not let the people of Israel go.