Episode 360 - "Swarms of flies (But not upon the Hebrews)" Exodus 8:20-32

Ex. 8:20 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.

Ex. 8:25 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.

As discussed in our previous episode, the first plague of each group of three begins with the LORD telling Moses where to go and what to say to Pharaoh, followed by a warning of what would happen if he doesn’t obey the LORD. In this plague, there would be swarms of flies. This time, the LORD announced through Moses that the Israelites would not experience this plague. It makes me wonder whether Pharaoh kept thinking that he and his people could endure the plague if the Hebrews could. Maybe he thought that, by his obstinacy, he could wear down the LORD and his people.

Pharaoh initially seems to be the one being worn down. He tries to bargain with God and then relents when Moses rejects his condition. Once again, Moses tells Pharaoh when the plague will be lifted, but this time he instructs Pharaoh not to renege on his promise. But Pharaoh hardened his heart again and did not follow through on his word.

I am struck by the seriousness of this kind of rebellion. What Pharaoh reveals is not simply pride or lack of faith. He manifests disdain for the LORD and the Hebrews. One might even observe that he has no concern for his own people in allowing, even inviting, these plagues to come upon his people. This is a far cry from the Pharaoh in power when Joseph was alive. The LORD had revealed himself by using Joseph to interpret Pharaoh’s dreams. Pharaoh not only trusted the interpretations. He recognized the wisdom the LORD had given to Joseph and blessed him with authority to preserve his family and all of Egypt. What a contrast between these two leaders of Egypt. Surely, Moses wrote this history to remind the Israelites that they must also respond appropriately to the LORD’s revelation and obey his word. Rejection and disdain for the LORD will result in judgment. This is a sobering thought for us today. Is it not?

Episode360-Exodus8v20-32

David Largent

Episode 358 - "Frogs everywhere" Exodus 8:1-15

Ex. 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.

Ex. 8:8 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.

As we will see going forward, the LORD will bring ten plagues upon Egypt that will ultimately cause Pharaoh to let the Israelites go. This will be in accordance with what the LORD told Moses and Aaron would happen. It’s an odd variety of plagues. Some scholars argue that each plague corresponds to a specific god worshipped by the Egyptians, and that each plague reveals the LORD is greater than those gods. Others point to the lack of evidence for those claims. The text itself does not name any particular gods the Egyptians worshipped. Yet, later in Exodus, during the final plague, the LORD says, “and on all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments.” (Ex. 12:12). I think the purpose of each plague is to reveal to all that the LORD is the supreme God of all. According to the LORD, he is one God with no equal.

The second plague begins with the LORD’s instructions to Moses to deliver the same mandate to let the Israelites go, with the consequences of failing to obey the LORD’s command being an overwhelming infestation of frogs. I find it interesting that the text seems to skip the part where Moses delivers this message and Pharaoh's response. Instead, immediately after the LORD gives Moses the instructions, the LORD told Moses to have Aaron stretch out his staff over the waters, and the frogs started coming from everywhere. While Moses’ interaction with Pharaoh is not recorded here, I think Moses did everything the LORD commanded him. But Pharaoh didn’t give him the time of day.

It seems to me the LORD is turning up the heat, so to speak, with this plague. The water turned to blood would have been terrible. But frogs coming from everywhere and going everywhere would have been a nightmare. It was an unrelenting attack on the people. I suspect they had a difficult time sleeping, eating, or doing anything with so many frogs around.

Once again, the magicians were able to duplicate the miracle in some measure. It’s important to note, however, that Pharaoh pleaded with Moses to have the LORD stop the plague. If the magicians were able to produce frogs themselves, why didn’t Pharaoh ask them to make the frogs disappear? I would guess that Pharaoh recognized that what the LORD had done was greater than what the magicians had done. At least, this was the first time he seemed to consider letting the people go if the LORD had stopped the plague.

Moses clearly wanted to capitalize on Pharaoh’s apparent softening and told Pharaoh to give him a specific time for the LORD to stop the onslaught of frogs. This should not only have revealed the LORD’s power to Pharaoh, but also point out that the LORD would listen to and grant Pharaoh’s request. Yet, when the LORD stopped the frogs, Pharaoh refused to honor his promise. This narrative reveals a sharp contrast: the Israelites did not trust the LORD to fulfill the covenant promises made to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and the Israelites. But the LORD was demonstrating himself as faithful while Pharaoh was untrustworthy and faithless himself.

One last observation about this plague is that while the LORD stopped the onslaught of frogs, he did not completely remove their impact. The frogs that had entered their homes died where they were, and the effects of Pharaoh’s rebellion lingered on. It seems to me that this reminds us that while the LORD forgives sin and shows people mercy, he doesn’t make the negative consequences disappear. The good thing is that it can remind us of the consequences of our sin.

Episode358-Exodus8v1-15

David Largent