Exodus 8

God tells Moses to ask the pharaoh again to let the Jews go serve God in the woods. If he refuses, God will smite Egypt’s borders with frogs. So many that they will go into the houses, beds, and kitchens of masters and servants. God tells Moses to tell Aaron to stretch out the rod over all the bodies of water for the frogs to come out. Aaron does so and covers Egypt in frogs but the pharaoh’s magicians do the same.

Yet the pharaoh relents and calls for Moses and Aaron asking them to undo the frogs and he will let the Jews go to the woods. Moses says he will get rid of the frogs by tomorrow and the pharaoh will now know there is none like our God. Moses speaks to God and the Lord makes all the extra frogs die which made the land stink.

Now the pharaoh was angry and still stone-hearted. So he did not let the Jews go as he said. So God told Moses to tell Aaron to outstretch the rod and smite the dust so it becomes lice. Lice that affected both the men and animals all over Egypt. The pharaoh’s magicians tried to recreate this but couldn’t, so even they told the pharaoh that this plague was the “finger of God.” But the pharaoh still refused.

God tells Moses to ask the pharaoh once again. If he refuses, God will send swarms of flies into the houses of masters and servants. But no flies will touch his people, the Jews, homes so that the pharaoh will see a difference between his people and the Jews. This happened the next day! Very quick work.

Swarms are unleashed on Egypt and the pharaoh once again tells Moses and Aaron to take their people to serve God but to do it in Egypt. Moses reminds him this would be an abomination among the Egyptians and they will be stoned. The pharaoh relents and says they can go to the woods for 3 days but they can’t go too far.

Moses agrees and asks God to stop the flies, which he does. But yet again, the pharaoh got mad and did not let the Jews go.

Lessons Learned:

  1. God keeps his promises

  2. God gives multiple chances

  3. The plagues mock various Egyptian Gods

    1. Blood River

      1. Khnum

        1. God of fertility and water, regulating annual flood of the nile

    2. Frogs

      1. Heqet

        1. Frog Goddess of fertility

        2. Frogs were also not allowed to be killed in ancient Egypt which made the times harder for the citizens

    3. Lice

      1. Geb

        1. God of farming

    4. Flies

      1. Khepri

        1. God depicted as a scarab beetle