Exodus 08

Updated
2001-05-26; 14:31:20utc

The eighth chapter gives us an account of three successive plagues which come in the form of pests: frogs, gnats, and flies.

These plagues did not involve death, but life; too much of it. God created frogs as one of the miracles of nature, not without a touch of humor. But through man's sin the devil seems to be able the manipulate the control, as God permits him to. It is hard to understand this. Too much of a living thing is as much a curse as death. In Revelation frogs are symbols of demons. We read: "Then I saw three evil spirits that looked like frogs; they came out of the mouth of the dragon, out of the mouth of the beast and out of the mouth of the false prophet."[ 1 ] The worship of the Nile, like all idol worship, is connected with demonism. Pharaoh's religion was catching up with him.

God ordered Moses to repeat the demand for the third time to let the people go. There was no longer question of asking to leave. Pharaoh knew by now who the LORD was and at the end of this plague we see him waver for the first time.

The Pulpit Commentary gives the following interesting comment: "Frogs were among the Egyptian sacred animals. One of their deities, Heka, was a frog-headed goddess; and they seem to have regarded the frog as a sacred emblem of creative power. The great multiplication of frogs, whereby they became an annoyance and a curse, was a trial and strain to the entire religious system." Then the commentary continues to describe in a vivid and graphic way the impact this plague must have had upon the nation.

We are further informed that the frog in this case was the Rana Mosaica, which resembles the toad, which crawls rather than leaps and croaks perpetually - exactly the kind of creature people would love to have in their houses! Thousands of them! It is one thing to call upon "Heka" for help, comfort, and protection, but the deity should leave when she is no longer needed. This she did not do. When we invite the devil in he comes to stay, whether we want to or not.

Adam Clarke correctly points out that the announcement of the plague was an act of mercy. It not only proved to Pharaoh that the coming of the frogs was no coincidence, but it also gave him a chance to repent and submit. The end of the plague proved the truth that God is in control of these events. Pharaoh requested that the plague would cease "tomorrow," and it did.

Announcement of judgment is always an act of mercy. Jonah understood that, when God sent him to Nineveh to announce the destruction of the city in forty days, the aim was the salvation of the people. That was why he refused to go. Hell should take nobody by surprise.

These verses record Pharaoh's first prayer to God, even though it is in an indirect form. We read in vs. 8 that 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." It was also the first time that Pharaoh changed his mind. He playd a very dangerous game. Having recognized the power of the Lord, instead of saying: "Who is the LORD, that I should obey him and let Israel go? I do not know the LORD and I will not let Israel go," (ch. 5:2) he wanted Moses to pray to God and he promised the people that they may go. But it is a double repentance. When Pharaoh broke his promise, he reached the point of no return.

Up to this point Pharaoh had treated Moses and Aaron without respect. The plague of the frogs changed this. Now he summoned Moses and Aaron to the palace to ask them for a prayer on his behalf. But the only thing he wanted was relief. He should have asked for deliverance from himself, instead of from the frogs. God is the only one who would have been able to deliver Pharaoh from himself. He could have had his stone heart replaced by a human heart. Pharaoh could have received what God promised in Ezekiel: "I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws."[ 2 ] But Pharaoh was interested only in relief of pressure, not in a change of heart. He had by then understood the superior power of the LORD. He did not want to submit to it; he wanted only to use it for his own purpose.

What Pharaoh did not understand was that YHWH is a serving God. Jesus makes this abundantly clear when He says: "Just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."[ 3 ] He washed the disciples' feet. He gave a piece of bread to Judas and He died for our sins. But receiving His service and not allowing Him to change us is the most dangerous thing we can do. Judas experiences this. John says: "As soon as Judas took the bread, Satan entered into him."[ 4 ]

The expression translated by the NIV with "I leave to you the honor ..." has puzzled Bible commentators. The literal translation, given by the KJV, "Glorify me," is probably the correct one, however difficult it may fit into the logic of the text. Pharaoh should have given God the glory. Instead, he took it to himself, as if the ceasing of the plague was, at least in part, his doing. To accept God's help for our own purposes can be disastrous. "As soon as Judas took the bread Satan entered into him." So the frogs entered into Pharaoh. He never got rid of them.

For the last time, Pharaoh's magicians were able to duplicate the plague. In other words, they made the situation worse. After all, who wanted more frogs? At the third plague of the gnats, we read that they were unable to perform the miracle (Ch. 8:18,19). The only thing they proved was that calling up frogs was not an exclusive miracle that only YHWH could perform. Supposedly, this would diminish the exclusiveness of the LORD. What they were not able to do was to make the plague cease, which was what Pharaoh desired. The king was more interested in the practical than in the theological aspect of the matter. Moses prayed and, exactly at the time the king had requested the frogs died.

It appears that it would not have been sufficient for Moses to utter a simple prayer. We read in vs. 12 that Moses cried out to the LORD. The word is emphatic. Moses realized that he was facing the powers of darkness who would be deferred only by the fullness of God's power. His own feeling of inadequacy made him cry loudly. The devil may have attacked him on his rashness in letting Pharaoh set the time. When he got home, he realized that his faith was not big enough. This may have made him cry loudly. Faith simplifies prayer. Moses had said to Pharaoh, "Glorify me." Did this backfire now? Moses had to get used to the fact that he was "like God to Pharaoh." (Ch. 7:1). God had endowed him with the authority to make decisions. This is a New Testament principle also. Jesus gives us in the Holy Spirit the authority to speak and act in His Name. It is good, though, not to take this authority lightly.

Moses' downfall came when he used God's authority to speak and act in His Name, when he struck the rock.[ 5 ] As a result of Moses' prayer, all the frogs died. Their death was almost as bad as their being alive. Vs. 14 says "the land reeked of them." It must have taken the better part of one day for the decomposition to manifest itself - just long enough for Pharaoh to feel relieved and to change his mind about letting Israel go free. Pharaoh was the greatest fool on earth at that time.

The Third Plague. The Gnats 8:16-19.

In the third plague the country of Egypt was covered with gnats; tiny insects that buzz around people's ears and in front of their eyes. Gnats are always present in hot countries. They are not dangerous, but they are bothersome. They tend to make people jittery and nervous. This plague had a psychologically unsettling effect.

The KJV uses the word "lice" for the animals that cause the plague. The Pulpit Commentary says: "It is disputed among the best critics, whether the plague was really one of 'lice' (as given in the Authorized Version) or of mosquitoes. To the present writer the arguments in favor of mosquitoes seems to preponderate; and he believes the 'kinnim' to represent those subtle pests."

Adam Clarke believes that the insect was a tick, based on vs. 18 in the KJV, which says: "so there were lice upon man, and upon beast." Evidently the Hebrew text says, "in man and in beast."

Most of the plagues were not miracles in the sense that they were supernatural events. No law of nature was broken or suspended. The miraculous aspect was the timing. Their beginning and end were announced beforehand with meticulous precision. The third plague was the first one the magicians were unable to duplicate. They said to Pharaoh, "This is the finger of God." So Pharaoh had no longer an excuse to ignore the exclusiveness of YHWH, but it did not matter anymore. He had now come to the point where proofs and facts were no longer important. This is Escape from Reason to borrow the title of Francis Schaeffer's book.

We do not read that Pharaoh was informed beforehand about this third plague. There must have been another confrontation, though; otherwise, how would it be known that Pharaoh hardened his heart. It sounds like the confrontation was more between Pharaoh and his magicians than with Moses. Friction started to build between the king and his advisors, which must have isolated Pharaoh into a position of stubbornness and increased hardness. The magicians issued a serious warning in vs. 19. They concede and acknowledge defeat, but not the king. We read "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.' The answer to Pharaoh's question, "Who is the LORD?" becomes clearer and clearer.

The Fourth Plague 8:20-32

The plague of flies was probably a natural result of the massive dying off of the frogs. The flies bred in this fertile decomposition and covered the land. The Philistines knew Beelzebub, "the Lord of the Flies." Egypt may have know him too.

There is some question, however, as to whether a gnat in the sense we know the insect, was meant. The Hebrew word is arob. The Pulpit Commentary says: "The exact character of the fourth plague depends on the proper translation of the word 'arob.' The Jewish commentators connected this word with 'Ereb' and 'Arab,' words meaning 'mingled' or 'mixed'; and supposed a mixed multitude of animals - beast, reptiles, and insects - to be meant. But the expression used throughout, which is 'ha-arob, 'the arob,' marks very clearly a single definite species. So much was clear to the LXX., who rendered the word by 'kunomuia,' 'the dog-fly,' which is not the common house-fly (Musca domestica), but a distinct species (Musca canina). Flies of this kind are said to constitute a terrible affliction in Egypt. ... but they attack men chiefly, and do no harm to houses or to the fruits of the field, whereas the 'arob' is spoken of as a pest in the houses, and as 'destroying the land' (verse 24). It has been, therefore, suggested that the 'Blatta orientalis,' or kakerlaque,' a kind of beetle, is really intended. These creatures suddenly appear upon the Nile in great numbers; they 'inflict very painful bites with their jaws; gnaw and destroy clothes, household furniture, leather articles of every kind, and either consume or render unavailable all eatables.' They sometimes drive persons out of their houses; and they also devastate the fields." And the comment on vs. 24 says: "As with the frogs, so with the beetles, it aggravated the infliction, that, being sacred animals, they might not be destroyed or injured. Beetles were sacred to Ra, the sun-god; and one form of Ra, Chepra, was ordinarily represented under the form of a beetle, or as a man with a beetle for his head."

Flies are not just bothersome as gnats; they were more dangerous as carriers of diseases. The fifth and sixth plague were probably a result of this massive invasion of flies. As with the first plague, this one also began with a confrontation with Pharaoh at the time he was going to take his bath in the river. There is a specific mention in vs. 22 and 23 that Goshen would be exempt from this plague. Beelzebub would be allowed no entrance in Goshen. Whether this means that the Israelites were subjected to suffer the first three plagues themselves also is not clear; it is not specifically stated, but it could very well be that the Lord allowed them a measure of identification with the rest of the world. They would be more aware of the distinction that was being made from this point on.

Flies are Satan's inventions. We do not know how this fitted into the original pattern of creation. Of course, Satan did not create the original fly, just as he did not create the carnivorous animals. He probably corrupted existing species and made them into pests. There exists an Ekagi [ 6 ] myth that goes back to the story of the fall. A woman ate a certain sweet potato at the advise of a large lizard, after which flies made their appearance and people started to get sick and die.

The Egyptians probably feared flies, knowing that, where flies appeared, sickness followed not far behind. Flies and death go together. Flies thrive on decomposition. They are the emissaries of "the Lord of the Flies."

Again, Moses and Aaron are summoned to the palace. Pharaoh proposed a compromise. The Israelites would be allowed time off to sacrifice, but they should not leave the country. Moses' objection was that the Israelites would sacrifice animals that were considered sacred by the Egyptians. Their worship would cause a public outcry and probably murder. Whether Pharaoh was just naive, or whether he had not thought the matter through, or whether this was a deliberate ploy to have the religious leaders of Israel murdered by the populace, we do not know. Of course, it was not up to Pharaoh to decide where and how God should be worshipped.

In the announcement of the plague, God wanted Moses to say specifically to Pharaoh, "I will send swarms of flies on you and your officials ...." and then He proceeded by saying that the plague would not touch the Israelites. So we can picture the scene when Moses and Aaron are summoned to the palace. The slaves surrounded Pharaoh and the ministers with their fans and fly swaters, trying to keep the flies away from his majesty and their excellencies. But even as Pharaoh was talking to Moses and Aaron, flies settled on his eyes, in his ears, and they got into his mouth. Those flies that were bred in the decomposing frogs dominated the audience. But there are no flies on Moses and Aaron! I wonder if the expression "no flies on me" comes from this scene. It should have been the other way around. Moses and Aaron were not being fanned, but the flies did not land on them and here was the king, looking worse than an Egyptian cow. The contrast must have been impressive.

We read in Revelation that a seal of protection is put on God's people before the plagues are released over the earth. "Do not harm the land or the sea or the trees until we put a seal on the foreheads of the servants of our God."[ 7 ]

In vs. 28 Pharaoh gave in. It sounds pathetic and we would almost pity the monarch. "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.' "

For the second time in his life, Pharaoh asked for prayer. In vs. 8 we read: "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." But here, in vs. 20, he became more personal as he said, "Now pray for me." This sounded too good to be true. If Pharaoh had really asked for prayer for himself, there would have been hope. We understand, however, that this was not an honest request. Even as he promised to let the people go into the desert, he did not have the intention to let them go. It was an empty promise. Moses must have sensed this and therefore he gave this severe warning in vs. 29, "Only be sure that Pharaoh does not act deceitfully again by not letting the people go to offer sacrifices to the LORD."

All of these plagues were initiated by God. Unlike the experience of Elijah who took the initiative in prayer to bring about the drought.[ 8 ] James says about that plague: "Elijah was a man just like us. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years."[ 9 ] But in the case of the Egyptian plagues, we find that Moses prayed for the plagues to cease, at least in most cases. Without Moses' prayer the country of Egypt would have been ruined much earlier.

The fact that Pharaoh kept on hardening his heart indicates that he acted against what he knew. His spiritual condition was such that he allowed himself to be led to destruction knowingly.

[ 1 ] Rev. 16:13

[ 2 ] Ezek. 36:26,27

[ 3 ] Matt. 20:28

[ 4 ] John 13:27

[ 5 ] Num. 20:10

[ 6 ] Name of a mountain tribe in Irian Jaya, Indonesia

[ 7 ] Rev. 7:3

[ 8 ] I Kings 17 and 18

[ 9 ] James 5:17