Exodus 7:25 Seven days passed from the time the Lord struck the Nile.
Exodus 8: 8 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go back to Pharaoh and announce to him, ‘This is what the Lord says: Let my people go, so they can worship me. 2 If you refuse to let them go, I will send a plague of frogs across your entire land. 3 The Nile River will swarm with frogs. They will come up out of the river and into your palace, even into your bedroom and onto your bed! They will enter the houses of your officials and your people. They will even jump into your ovens and your kneading bowls. 4 Frogs will jump on you, your people, and all your officials.’”
5 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Tell Aaron, ‘Raise the staff in your hand over all the rivers, canals, and ponds of Egypt, and bring up frogs over all the land.’” 6 So Aaron raised his hand over the waters of Egypt, and frogs came up and covered the whole land! 7 But the magicians were able to do the same thing with their magic. They, too, caused frogs to come up on the land of Egypt.
8 Then Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron and begged, “Plead with the Lord to take the frogs away from me and my people. I will let your people go, so they can offer sacrifices to the Lord.”
9 “You set the time!” Moses replied. “Tell me when you want me to pray for you, your officials, and your people. Then you and your houses will be rid of the frogs. They will remain only in the Nile River.”
10 “Do it tomorrow,” Pharaoh said.
“All right,” Moses replied, “it will be as you have said. Then you will know that there is no one like the Lord our God. 11 The frogs will leave you and your houses, your officials, and your people. They will remain only in the Nile River.”
12 So Moses and Aaron left Pharaoh’s palace, and Moses cried out to the Lord about the frogs he had inflicted on Pharaoh. 13 And the Lord did just what Moses had predicted. The frogs in the houses, the courtyards, and the fields all died. 14 The Egyptians piled them into great heaps, and a terrible stench filled the land. 15 But when Pharaoh saw that relief had come, he became stubborn. He refused to listen to Moses and Aaron, just as the Lord had predicted.
God has already begun a concentrated attack on Egypt, systematically dismantling Egyptian objects of worship. First, God has attacked the River Nile, which the Egyptian believe is the source of all life and creation. Next, God floods Egypt with frogs, completing two attacks on the water of Egypt. Why frogs? Again, an internet summary yields the following information:
Divine Judgment
The plague is part of God’s judgment against Egypt, specifically targeting their idolatry. Frogs were considered sacred in Egyptian culture, worshipped as symbols of fertility and life. By sending a plague of frogs, God demonstrated His power over the Egyptian gods and highlighted the futility of their worship. David Guzak tells us “God threatened a plague of frogs for a specific reason. The Egyptian goddess Heqet (or, Heket) was always pictured with the head of a frog. Among the ancient Egyptians, frogs were considered sacred and could not be killed. Egyptians worshipped the frog as a female goddess because frogs were common around the Nile, because they reproduced rapidly, and because being amphibians they are part of two worlds, creatures of both land and water.”
Cultural Challenge
The invasion of frogs into every aspect of Egyptian life—homes, beds, and kitchens—served to disrupt daily routines and challenge the Egyptians’ sense of order. This was not merely a physical affliction but a direct affront to their religious beliefs.
Theological Message
Theologically, the plague underscores God’s sovereignty and His desire to free the Israelites from oppression. It marks a pivotal moment in the narrative of liberation, illustrating the lengths to which God will go to fulfill His covenant promises.
Progression of Plagues
The plague of frogs is the second in a series of ten plagues, each escalating in severity and purpose. It sets the stage for subsequent plagues, reinforcing the message of divine authority and the consequences of disobedience.
“The frogs could not be killed because of their sacredness, and yet such large numbers of them would be revolting in their loathsomeness, especially because cleanliness was a particular mark of the Egyptians.” (Thomas as quoted by David Guzak in Enduring Word Commentary) God has a sense of humor! How many Egyptians who formerly worshiped frogs may have changed their minds as they shoveled huge piles of dead frogs? After dealing with all those rotting frog bodies, how willing would the Egyptians be to continue worshiping them? And what would the Egyptians do with all those dead frogs? Should they bury them? Burn them? God must be sitting in heaven chuckling.
While the Egyptian magicians can make frogs appear, indicating evil occultic power, they have no power to make the frogs disappear. But Pharaoh neglects to notice this fact. On the other hand, Moses and Aaron are noting everything. Even though God first spoke to Moses through a burning bush that miraculously was not consumed, neither Moses nor Aaron had any notion of God’s real power. Now as the plagues continue to multiply, the two brothers marvel and revise their concepts of God’s power. As the plagues continue, God’s peace and certainty continue to settle deeper and deeper into Moses’ and Aaron’s spirits. And now God is about to attack Egyptian deities having to do with the earth.
Where is God’s peace in the middle of these plagues? Certainly, there’s no peace for the Egyptians, and very little peace for the Israelites because they are suffering along with the Egyptians. Why is God allowing the Israelites to suffer as well? God knows His people and He knows that if things are the least bit comfortable, they will do everything they can to stay in Egypt. So for now, God is not demonstrating His peace to His people, although those people of faith might continue to trust Him privately.
We are foolish when we demand that God must give us His peace in situations from which He wants to deliver us. Newton’s First Law of Motion, the Law of Inertia, states that an object at rest stays at rest, and an object in motion continues in motion with the same speed and in the same direction unless acted upon by a net external force. This law emphasizes the concept of inertia, which is the tendency of objects to resist changes in their state of motion. At present, the Israelites are at rest and they would just as soon remain at rest, thank you very much! Or if someone is going to deliver the Israelites, they would like their personal lives to be torn up as little as possible.
God always has several more goals He is accomplishing than we understand. We view everything from our perspective, assuming God is most interested in us. But remember something: Centuries later, Jesus will die for the sins of the whole world. Even now, even in Egypt, God wants those Egyptians to know Him and to worship Him rather than worshiping a river or creatures of darkness and death. While we frequently read the stories of Moses and Aaron and the Israelites only from their perspective, surprise! The Egyptians are just as much God’s children as are the Israelites. God’s heart of love is reaching out to His Egyptians, longing for them to worship Him. How else can God reach the Egyptians if He does not demonstrate His almighty power over the most cherished Egyptian deities?
As we endure difficult times, may God help us to remember that His purposes are always greater than ours.
PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and caring for us. Lord, help us to realize that Your purposes are the redemption of the whole world and that only when we join with You will we find true peace. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.
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