<< Previous Note(s)

Exodus Main Page

Next Note(s) >>

Third Millennium Study Bible
Notes on Exodus 8:1-15

Sign and Wonder 2: The Plague of Frogs - Exodus 8:1-15

Once again God demands that Pharaoh let his people go so that they could worship him (Exod 8:1). Stuart says:

The demand of Yahweh ("Let my people go, so that they may worship me") will be repeated verbatim again in Exod 8:1, 20; 9:1, 13; 10:3. It is the standard expression of God's demand to Pharaoh through Moses, and a slight but significant variation on the previous wordings (Exod 5:1, "Let my people go, so that they may hold a festival to me in the desert,") and Exodus 7:16, "Let my people go, so that they may worship me in the desert."

God warned Pharaoh that if he did comply with this demand that the whole country of Egypt would be plagues by frogs (Exod 8:2); "The Nile will teem with frogs. They will come up into your palace and your bedroom and onto your bed, into the houses of your officials and on your people, and into your ovens and kneading troughs. The frogs will go up on you and your people and all your officials" (Exod 8:3-4; cf. Psa. 78:45; 105:30).

Frogs were deified in the form of the goddess Heqt (also spelled Heqet, Hekt, Heket, or Heqat), who assisted women at childbirth. So the plague of frogs may be understood as an attack on the Egyptian fertility goddess for the Egyptians' previous attempt at eradicating the Israelites' male infant population (Exod 1).

Furthermore, frogs are part of the animal kingdom. As such man is suppose to have dominion over them (Gen 1:29). So in this plague we observe a reversal of the creation. Enns says:

Turning the animal kingdom against humanity is, as we have seen with the first plague, a reversal of creation. In the ideal pattern of creation, humanity is to have dominion over the animals (Gen. 1:28). The "chaotic" behavior of animals in these plagues is God's measured unleashing of "anti-creation" forces on the helpless Egyptians. In this respect, the use of the Hebrew term araṣ, to teem, also calls to mind creation in Genesis. The teeming of God's creatures was originally something good, something that exhibited God's creative work (Gen 1:20-21). But now this chaotic, teeming mass of frogs (Exod. 8:3) is a destructive abundance.

God told Moses to instruct Aaron to stretch for his rod (the rod of Moses) to begin the plague of frogs throughout the land (Exod 8:5-6). The frogs came and devastated Egypt. The magicians mimicked the miracle and could only add to the distress of the Egyptians (Exod 8:7).

Pharaoh asked that the frogs be taken away and if this was done he would let Israel go to worship in the desert (Exod 8:8). Moses did as Pharaoh asked ("Tomorrow" Pharaoh said) so that Pharaoh may know that there is no one like the LORD God (Exod 8:10). The plagues were not intended to soften his resistance (Exod 7:3), but to magnify Yahweh's power. Moses prayed and the frogs left (Exod 9:12-14).

Pharaoh hardened his heart all the more (Exod 8:15). Yahweh's hand was in the plagues so that Israel might believe, not so that Pharaoh might be moved. Pharaoh, being personally affected, made his first concession. See WCF 5.6. Ryken says:

Pharaoh's poor example shows the danger of making a temporary commitment to God that falls short of saving faith. One is reminded of Jesus parable about two sons whose father asked them to work in the fields (Matt. 21:28-31). One of the sons told his father that he wouldn't go but ended up doing the job after all. The other son promised to do his chores but never went out to the fields. It was the first son who actually did his father's will. Pharaoh was like the second son, the one who went back on his promise. Jesus ended his parable with a warning that salvation is only for those who follow through by repenting and believing [which is by grace alone, Eph 2:8-10; 2 Tim 2:24-26]. A false promise of obedience will not lead to eternal life. It is not enough simply to say that we are Christians or that perhaps someday we will get saved. If we want God to save us, we must really and truly come to Jesus Christ.

Anyone who is still trying to decide whether to come to Christ or not should know that the plagues are coming again. In his revelation of the coming judgment, the Apostle John wrote, "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. They are spirits of demons performing miraculous signs, and they go out to the kings of the whole world, to gather them for the battle on the great day of God Almighty" (Rev. 16:13, 14). The only people who will be safe on that dreadful day are those who belong to Jesus Christ - not those who need to borrow a prayer from someone else, but those who have prayed for their own salvation.

Related Resources

• Miracles: Do miracles happen today?
• What is Reprobation?
• Clay vs. Potter
• Divine Sovereignty: Is God Sovereign or Am I Free?
• Providence: Who is in Control of the World?
• The Covenants of Works and Grace: What Is Covenant Theology?
• Covenants in General
• Conditional and Unconditional Covenants

<< Previous Note(s)

Exodus Main Page

Next Note(s) >>