Ex. 7:1 And the LORD said unto Moses, See, I have made thee a god to Pharaoh: and Aaron thy brother shall be thy prophet.
Ex. 7:2 Thou shalt speak all that I command thee: and Aaron thy brother shall speak unto Pharaoh, that he send the children of Israel out of his land.
Ex. 7:3 And I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and multiply my signs and my wonders in the land of Egypt.
Ex. 7:4 But Pharaoh shall not hearken unto you, that I may lay my hand upon Egypt, and bring forth mine armies, and my people the children of Israel, out of the land of Egypt by great judgments.
Ex. 7:5 And the Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD, when I stretch forth mine hand upon Egypt, and bring out the children of Israel from among them.
Ex. 7:6 And Moses and Aaron did as the LORD commanded them, so did they.
Ex. 7:7 And Moses was fourscore years old, and Aaron fourscore and three years old, when they spake unto Pharaoh.
The LORD tells Moses that he will become like a god to Pharaoh and Aaron will function as his prophet, his spokesman. Moses is to speak all that God has commanded him to say, and Aaron will tell it to Pharaoh. He again warns Moses that Pharaoh’s heart will be hardened and he will not listen, even though he is shown miraculous signs. So God will place His hand of judgment on Egypt to make him eventually free the Israelites. When He does, the Egyptians will “know that I am the LORD.”
Moses and Aaron did just as they were commanded by God. Moses was 80 and Aaron was 83 when they went in to speak to Pharaoh. I think this is the first mention of Moses’ age since he was a baby. He has lived a full life from our current perspective and is just now beginning the work that God had planned for him.
Principle: There is no age limit to one’s usefulness to God, to one’s ability to serve God.
Wiersbe: “God was hardening Pharaoh’s heart. Does this mean that God was unfair and that Pharaoh shouldn’t be held responsible for what he did? No, for the same sun that melts the ice also hardens the clay. It all depends on the nature of the material. To the very end of the contest, Pharaoh was a proud, unrepentant sinner who refused to hear God’s Word, do God’s will, or even keep his own promises to the Israelite people. The Lord gave him more than enough evidence to convince him that the gods of Egypt were false and the God of the Hebrews was the true and living God.”
Ex. 7:8 And the LORD spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying,
Ex. 7:9 When Pharaoh shall speak unto you, saying, Shew a miracle for you: then thou shalt say unto Aaron, Take thy rod, and cast it before Pharaoh, and it shall become a serpent.
Ex. 7:10 And Moses and Aaron went in unto Pharaoh, and they did so as the LORD had commanded: and Aaron cast down his rod before Pharaoh, and before his servants, and it became a serpent.
Ex. 7:11 Then Pharaoh also called the wise men and the sorcerers: now the magicians of Egypt, they also did in like manner with their enchantments.
Ex. 7:12 For they cast down every man his rod, and they became serpents: but Aaron’s rod swallowed up their rods.
Ex. 7:13 And he hardened Pharaoh’s heart, that he hearkened not unto them; as the LORD had said.
The LORD gives Moses a cue for Aaron when they meet with Pharaoh; he is going to tell them to perform a miracle. Then Aaron is to throw down Moses’ rod before Pharaoh, and it will become a snake. Events unfolded as God had foretold, and they obeyed God’s commands. When the rod became a snake, Pharaoh summoned his own wise men and sorcerers. The Egyptian magicians were able to do the same thing. BUT, when their rods became snakes, Aaron’s rod swallowed up their rods. Pharaoh wasn’t impressed. His heart was hard, and he would not listen—just as God had said.
The scary thing is that the magicians were able to perform the same miracle. It tells me that Satan must have some pretty special powers at his disposal and doesn’t hesitate to empower some humans if it helps keep them and others “unimpressed” with the things of God. I know that God has ultimate control so that His plan is not thwarted, but He chose to “allow” Satan great latitude and limited power as prince of this world.
Also, we see emphasized over and over again in the scripture—What God says will happen, happens!
I can’t help but wonder what Moses and Aaron thought when the magicians performed their magic. We aren’t told whether God had warned them it would happen. Whatever, they are ready to obey at God’s next command.
Ex. 7:14 And the LORD said unto Moses, Pharaoh’s heart is hardened, he refuseth to let the people go.
Ex. 7:15 Get thee unto Pharaoh in the morning; lo, he goeth out unto the water; and thou shalt stand by the river’s brink against he come; and the rod which was turned to a serpent shalt thou take in thine hand.
Ex. 7:16 And thou shalt say unto him, The LORD God of the Hebrews hath sent me unto thee, saying, Let my people go, that they may serve me in the wilderness: and, behold, hitherto thou wouldest not hear.
Ex. 7:17 Thus saith the LORD, In this thou shalt know that I am the LORD: behold, I will smite with the rod that is in mine hand upon the waters which are in the river, and they shall be turned to blood.
Ex. 7:18 And the fish that is in the river shall die, and the river shall stink; and the Egyptians shall lothe to drink of the water of the river.
Ex. 7:19 And the LORD spake unto Moses, Say unto Aaron, Take thy rod, and stretch out thine hand upon the waters of Egypt, upon their streams, upon their rivers, and upon their ponds, and upon all their pools of water, that they may become blood; and that there may be blood throughout all the land of Egypt, both in vessels of wood, and in vessels of stone.
In verse 14, God reiterates to Moses that Pharaoh’s heart is unyielding; he refuses to let the people go. Evidently, Pharaoh had a morning ritual of going to the Nile. God tells Moses to meet him at the bank of the river the next morning. He is to take his special rod and again tell Pharaoh that “The LORD God of the Hebrews” says to “Let my people go” so that they can worship Him in the wilderness. He basically says, “Since you haven’t listened to my command, I am going to turn the water of the Nile into blood; and all the fish in the river will die, and it will stink.” (The Creator of life will strike at the source of life in Egypt; the Living Water will take away their life-sustaining water.) Aaron is to take the rod and stretch out his hands over the other water supplies in Egypt, and they will all turn to blood. Blood will be everywhere there is water.
Ex. 7:20 And Moses and Aaron did so, as the LORD commanded; and he lifted up the rod, and smote the waters that were in the river, in the sight of Pharaoh, and in the sight of his servants; and all the waters that were in the river were turned to blood.
Ex. 7:21 And the fish that was in the river died; and the river stank, and the Egyptians could not drink of the water of the river; and there was blood throughout all the land of Egypt.
Ex. 7:22 And the magicians of Egypt did so with their enchantments: and Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, neither did he hearken unto them; as the LORD had said.
Ex. 7:23 And Pharaoh turned and went into his house, neither did he set his heart to this also.
Ex. 7:24 And all the Egyptians digged round about the river for water to drink; for they could not drink of the water of the river.
Moses and Aaron obeyed God, and it all came down just as He had said. Again, the magicians were able to do the same thing. Why didn’t they show they could reverse what Moses and Aaron had done? Because they couldn’t!
Pharaoh’s heart hardened, and he continued to refuse to listen to Moses and Aaron.
This is a bit perplexing since it was said that Moses and Aaron had already affected ALL the water in Egypt. We are told that the Egyptians were able to dig along the Nile to get drinking water because they could not drink the water of the river. Maybe this infers that only the water that was visible was affected and underground water sources were not. This would explain how the magicians found water to show their power and what made the people think they could dig and find possible drinking water. It would seem that the underground water sources were not affected.
Guzik: “The Nile itself was virtually worshipped as a god by the Egyptians, and the LORD God shows that He has complete power over the Nile, not some river god….The Egyptian god Khnum was said to be the guardian of the Nile, and this showed he was unable to protect his territory. The god Hapi was said to be the spirit of the Nile and was brought low by this plague. The great god Osiris was thought to have the Nile as his bloodstream; in this plague he truly bled.”
Courson: “Satan never does anything, demons never do a single thing which make things better. They do not have that within them. Yes, they can make more snakes, more blood, more frogs—but all they do is multiply the difficulty.”
(I am putting the last verse of this chapter with the beginning of the next.)
Ex. 7:25 And seven days were fulfilled, after that the LORD had smitten the river.
Ex. 8:1 And the LORD spake unto Moses, Go unto Pharaoh, and say unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Let my people go, that they may serve me.
Ex. 8:2 And if thou refuse to let them go, behold, I will smite all thy borders with frogs:
Ex. 8:3 And the river shall bring forth frogs abundantly, which shall go up and come into thine house, and into thy bedchamber, and upon thy bed, and into the house of thy servants, and upon thy people, and into thine ovens, and into thy kneadingtroughs:
Ex. 8:4 And the frogs shall come up both on thee, and upon thy people, and upon all thy servants.
Ex. 8:5 And the LORD spake unto Moses, Say unto Aaron, Stretch forth thine hand with thy rod over the streams, over the rivers, and over the ponds, and cause frogs to come up upon the land of Egypt.
Ex. 8:6 And Aaron stretched out his hand over the waters of Egypt; and the frogs came up, and covered the land of Egypt.
Ex. 8:7 And the magicians did so with their enchantments, and brought up frogs upon the land of Egypt.
Seven days later the LORD tells Moses to go to Pharaoh again and tell him that the LORD says, “Let my people go, that they may serve me.” He basically says, If you don’t, I’m going to cover the land with frogs. They will be everywhere—your palace, your bed, the people’s houses, your ovens, etc. (In other words, they won’t be able to eat, sleep, bathe, or relax in their homes without the presence of frogs.) Evidently, Pharaoh refused because Moses told Aaron to stretch out his hand to hold Moses’ rod over the streams, canals and ponds, causing frogs to invade Egypt. The frogs came – and again the magicians did the same.
Note that again, the magicians added to the problem; they didn’t even try to get rid of the frogs.
Clarke: “How easy is it, both to the justice and mercy of God, to destroy or save by means of the most despicable and insignificant of instruments! Though he is the Lord of hosts he has no need of powerful armies, the ministry of angels, or the thunderbolts of justice, to punish a sinner or a sinful nation; the frog or the fly in his hands is a sufficient instrument of vengeance.”
Courson: “The Egyptians considered frogs to be sacred….One of their goddesses was Heqt, a fertility goddess whose face was frog-like. Not only did frogs speak of fertility to the Egyptians, but also of productivity, for it was frogs that kept the insect population from destroying the crops in the Nile River region.”
Ex. 8:8 Then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron, and said, Intreat the LORD, that he may take away the frogs from me, and from my people; and I will let the people go, that they may do sacrifice unto the LORD.
Ex. 8:9 And Moses said unto Pharaoh, Glory over me: when shall I intreat for thee, and for thy servants, and for thy people, to destroy the frogs from thee and thy houses, that they may remain in the river only?
Ex. 8:10 And he said, To morrow. And he said, Be it according to thy word: that thou mayest know that there is none like unto the LORD our God.
Ex. 8:11 And the frogs shall depart from thee, and from thy houses, and from thy servants, and from thy people; they shall remain in the river only.
Finally, Pharaoh showed a reaction. He summoned Moses and Aaron and asked them to pray to the LORD to take away the frogs, and he would let the people go and offer sacrifices to the LORD.
Again, it’s interesting to me that he didn’t ask his own magicians to get rid of the frogs. Satan’s power is limited. He is a good counterfeiter, but he is powerless to clean up his own messes. He is a good troublemaker, but not a good peacemaker. His best attempt at being a peacemaker will be in the tribulation when he makes a covenant with Israel through the antichrist; but even that won’t last very long. He is incapable of anything good.
Moses basically tells Pharaoh that he has the power to choose when he wants the frogs to disappear from everywhere except the river. Then Pharaoh shows a bit of stupidity—he chooses tomorrow! Why not today? Pharaoh may have been given great power, but he certainly wasn’t blessed with great intelligence. Moses tells him it will be as he asks—so that he will “know that there is none like unto the LORD our God.”
Courson made an appropriate application to this section (my paraphrase): “We are often so much like Pharaoh—‘Give me just one more night with the frogs.’ (with my sin)”
Ex. 8:12 And Moses and Aaron went out from Pharaoh: and Moses cried unto the LORD because of the frogs which he had brought against Pharaoh.
Ex. 8:13 And the LORD did according to the word of Moses; and the frogs died out of the houses, out of the villages, and out of the fields.
Ex. 8:14 And they gathered them together upon heaps: and the land stank.
Ex. 8:15 But when Pharaoh saw that there was respite, he hardened his heart, and hearkened not unto them; as the LORD had said.
Moses went to the LORD in prayer, and the LORD did as he asked. The land reeked of dead frogs. As soon as Pharaoh saw that the frogs were dead, he hardened his heart again and refused to let the people go—just “as the LORD had said.”
Ex. 8:16 And the LORD said unto Moses, Say unto Aaron, Stretch out thy rod, and smite the dust of the land, that it may become lice throughout all the land of Egypt.
Ex. 8:17 And they did so; for Aaron stretched out his hand with his rod, and smote the dust of the earth, and it became lice in man, and in beast; all the dust of the land became lice throughout all the land of Egypt.
Ex. 8:18 And the magicians did so with their enchantments to bring forth lice, but they could not: so there were lice upon man, and upon beast.
Ex. 8:19 Then the magicians said unto Pharaoh, This is the finger of God: and Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, and he hearkened not unto them; as the LORD had said.
Now the LORD decides to act without sending Moses and Aaron to Pharaoh. He tells Moses to have Aaron stretch out his rod and strike the dust of the land, and the dust would become lice (the Hebrew indicates gnats). They obeyed, and the lice were everywhere. This time the magicians couldn’t duplicate the miracle. They told Pharaoh that it was “the finger of God.” Satan is not all-powerful like God; he has limits. Pharaoh wasn’t phased; his heart was hard and his ears closed—just as the Lord had said!
Wiersbe: “What does it mean to harden your heart? It means to see clear evidence of the hand of God at work and still refuse to accept His Word and submit to His will. It means to resist Him by showing ingratitude and disobedience and not to to have any fear of the Lord or of His judgments.”
Ex. 8:20 And the LORD said unto Moses, Rise up early in the morning, and stand before Pharaoh; lo, he cometh forth to the water; and say unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Let my people go, that they may serve me.
Ex. 8:21 Else, if thou wilt not let my people go, behold, I will send swarms of flies upon thee, and upon thy servants, and upon thy people, and into thy houses: and the houses of the Egyptians shall be full of swarms of flies, and also the ground whereon they are.
Ex. 8:22 And I will sever in that day the land of Goshen, in which my people dwell, that no swarms of flies shall be there; to the end thou mayest know that I am the LORD in the midst of the earth.
Ex. 8:23 And I will put a division between my people and thy people: to morrow shall this sign be.
Ex. 8:24 And the LORD did so; and there came a grievous swarm of flies into the house of Pharaoh, and into his servants’ houses, and into all the land of Egypt: the land was corrupted by reason of the swarm of flies.
The LORD next sends Moses back to meet Pharaoh at the Nile in the morning. Again, he is to tell him that the LORD says to let his people go or He will send swarms of flies all throughout Egypt. However, the land of Goshen where the Israelites lived would not be bothered with the swarms of flies. The LORD wants Pharaoh to understand His power to deliver His people. He doesn’t really need Pharaoh’s permission; He is allowing the people of Egypt to know and understand who He is. This miraculous sign would happen the next day—and it did. No human hand or rod used here—just God doing what He said He would do.
GOD IS FAITHFUL TO HIS WORD. When God says something will happen, it happens!
I hadn’t really thought about it before, but evidently the Israelites had not been spared the effects of the previous plagues. Because they had been living in this land of false gods for so long, they needed to experience the power and authority of the God of Israel in comparison. They needed the experience to increase their faith in the one true God.
Ex. 8:25 And Pharaoh called for Moses and for Aaron, and said, Go ye, sacrifice to your God in the land.
Ex. 8:26 And Moses said, It is not meet so to do; for we shall sacrifice the abomination of the Egyptians to the LORD our God: lo, shall we sacrifice the abomination of the Egyptians before their eyes, and will they not stone us?
Ex. 8:27 We will go three days’ journey into the wilderness, and sacrifice to the LORD our God, as he shall command us.
Ex. 8:28 And Pharaoh said, I will let you go, that ye may sacrifice to the LORD your God in the wilderness; only ye shall not go very far away: intreat for me.
Ex. 8:29 And Moses said, Behold, I go out from thee, and I will intreat the LORD that the swarms of flies may depart from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people, to morrow: but let not Pharaoh deal deceitfully any more in not letting the people go to sacrifice to the LORD
Pharaoh again calls for Moses and Aaron; he tells them to have the people sacrifice to God in the land of Egypt. Moses informed Pharaoh that they couldn’t do that. The sacrifices they offered would be detestable to the Egyptians and would make them want to stone the Israelites. Why would they be detestable? Because they would be sacrificing animals that were sacred to the Egyptians. They needed to go a three-day journey into the desert to offer the sacrifices commanded by “the LORD our God.” Pharaoh finally agreed they could go, but not very far—then he immediately commands them to pray for him (to get rid of the flies). Moses agreed to pray as soon as he left him; he said the flies would be gone the next day. Moses kept with the precedent that Pharaoh had set—they would be gone “tomorrow.” He then warned Pharaoh not to be deceitful again and refuse to let the people go after the flies were gone.
Ex. 8:30 And Moses went out from Pharaoh, and intreated the LORD.
Ex. 8:31 And the LORD did according to the word of Moses; and he removed the swarms of flies from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people; there remained not one.
Ex. 8:32 And Pharaoh hardened his heart at this time also, neither would he let the people go.
Moses prayed - the flies left - and again Pharaoh hardened his heart. It seems like Pharaoh would have realized by now that he was no match for the God of Israel. It is interesting to note how often throughout history that men of great power are usually conquered because of their pride and blindness to their own weaknesses. On another level, it is not just men of power. It is amazing how much pain and injury one can inflict upon himself by refusing to learn from past experiences.
Intriguing—Pharaoh recognized the power of the LORD by asking Moses to intercede and pray for the flies to be taken away, but he didn’t fear the LORD enough to keep his end of the bargain.