The LORD gave Pharaoh an entire week to respond to His warning and release the Israelites from their bondage. Despite this opportunity to repent, Pharaoh’s heart remained hardened. After seven days, the LORD commanded Moses to warn Pharaoh of a coming plague of frogs that would invade homes, bedrooms, and kitchens, affecting the entire land. When Pharaoh still refused to let the people go, Aaron stretched out his staff over Egypt’s waters, and frogs swarmed the land as God had foretold. Even so, Pharaoh’s magicians replicated the miracle through their secret arts, further reinforcing Pharaoh’s defiance.
Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron and said, “Pray to the LORD to take the frogs away from me and my people, and I will let your people go to offer sacrifices to the LORD.” – Exodus 8:8 (NIV)
Pharaoh, faced with the infestation of frogs, might have initially turned to his magicians, but they could only replicate the miracle, not provide a solution to remove the frogs. Their inability to resolve the crisis highlighted their limitations. Pharaoh likely exhausted all other options, including home remedies and traps, yet nothing could alleviate the plague. This inability to rid the land of frogs emphasized the supremacy of God’s power over the futile efforts of human intervention.
Moses said to Pharaoh, “I leave to you the honor of setting the time for me to pray for you and your officials and your people that you and your houses may be rid of the frogs, except for those that remain in the Nile.” – Exodus 8:9 (NIV)
Moses gave Pharaoh the concession of specifying the exact time for the prayer to remove the frogs to provide yet another sign of God’s power. By doing this, Moses offered clear evidence to Pharaoh and his officials that the plagues were not random occurrences but acts controlled entirely by the LORD. This demonstration was intended to make them realize that everything, including the timing of relief, was under God’s sovereign authority.
Another Sign for Pharaoh
Pharaoh, eager to rid the land of frogs quickly, chose the very next day as the time for their removal. Moses agreed, explaining that this would prove there is no one like the LORD. After departing from Pharaoh, Moses prayed to the LORD, who responded by causing the frogs to die across the land—in houses, courtyards, and fields—leaving only those in the Nile. The frogs were piled into heaps, causing the land to be filled with a repulsive odour. This strong stench would have been a vivid reminder to Pharaoh and the Egyptians of the consequences of defying the LORD and the urgent need to release the Israelites.
But when Pharaoh saw that there was relief, he hardened his heart and would not listen to Moses and Aaron, just as the LORD had said. – Exodus 8:15 (NIV)
Often, after experiencing relief from our struggles, our hearts tend to harden almost instantly. This happens because, when we pray, we seek immediate relief and gratification. Once our prayers are answered, instead of making lasting changes, we quickly return to our old ways. When our hearts are no longer broken, we fall back into our self-centered patterns, forgetting the lessons learned during our trials. The verse from the book of Psalms (34:18), which says the Lord is close to the brokenhearted, highlights an important truth: it’s when we are broken that we are open to God. However, once the pain subsides, we often return to our sinful ways, which leads to a hardening of the heart.
The Finger of God
After the stench of the decaying frogs faded, Pharaoh reverted to his old ways, denying ever agreeing to let the Israelites go and worship the LORD. In response, the LORD instructed Moses to have Aaron strike the dust of the ground, turning it into gnats across Egypt. When Aaron obeyed, gnats swarmed over both people and animals throughout the land. The magicians, unable to replicate the miracle, confessed to Pharaoh that it was the “finger of God.” Yet, despite this recognition, Pharaoh’s heart remained hardened, and he refused to listen, just as the LORD had foretold.
The magicians finally acknowledged God when they could no longer replicate the miracles performed by Moses and Aaron, especially the eradication of the plagues. Although they had been able to replicate the signs, it was only because God allowed them to do so. For example, the frog infestation they reproduced might have simply been the remaining frogs from the river, which they presented as signs of their own power.
This is a tactic of the deceiver—blinding us to God’s provisions and claiming them as his own. However, the magicians could not reverse or remove any of the plagues, revealing their limitations. Similarly, the enemy can only imitate signs that drive a wedge between us and God, but he cannot perform actions that would bring us closer to Him.
We often only acknowledge God as the true source of our successes or failures when we have tried everything else and are humbled by our circumstances. It is when our hearts are humbled—either through our own realization or God’s intervention—that we recognize our weakness and understand that only God holds true power.
He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your ancestors had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD. – Deuteronomy 8:3 (NIV)
The Lord of the Flies
The blood-red Nile, the foul stench of the frogs, and the swarms of gnats all tormented the Egyptians, yet they chose to endure these plagues rather than release the Israelites, who provided free labour. Then the LORD told Moses to get up early and meet Pharaoh as he went to the river, saying, “This is what the LORD says: Let my people go so they may worship me. If you refuse, I will send swarms of flies upon you, your officials, your people, and into your homes. The houses of the Egyptians will be filled with flies, and the ground will be covered with them.”
“‘But on that day I will deal differently with the land of Goshen, where my people live; no swarms of flies will be there, so that you will know that I, the LORD, am in this land. I will make a distinction between my people and your people. This sign will occur tomorrow.’” – Exodus 8:22-23 (NIV)
The Israelites, like the Egyptians, likely experienced the earlier plagues, as it appears that the plagues before the swarms of flies affected the entire land. It is only at this point that a distinction is made, with the Israelites in Goshen being spared from the flies. This raises the question: Why would the LORD allow His own people to suffer? The answer is that when we stand for God, we too must face trials. There is no favouritism in God’s eyes, and His people are not immune to hardship. This lack of distinction may have also served to prevent the Israelites from becoming proud or feeling entitled because of their special status.
Ultimately, the LORD’s actions were not solely for the benefit of His people but also to reveal His power and mercy to the Egyptians, giving them an opportunity to recognize His sovereignty. By making this distinction, the LORD was further proving that the plagues were a result of Pharaoh’s stubbornness and his continued refusal to let God’s people leave Egypt.
The LORD responded by sending dense swarms of flies into Pharaoh’s palace and the houses of his officials, causing widespread destruction throughout Egypt. In desperation, Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron and told them, “Go, sacrifice to your God here in the land”. It appears that Pharaoh has finally agreed to allow the Israelites to worship the Lord, but he insists that they remain within Egypt rather than journeying into the wilderness as Moses had requested.
But Moses said, “That would not be right. The sacrifices we offer the LORD our God would be detestable to the Egyptians. And if we offer sacrifices that are detestable in their eyes, will they not stone us? – Exodus 8:26 (NIV)
Moses objected to Pharaoh’s request for the Israelites to sacrifice within Egypt, not because of fear, but as a strategic excuse. The sacrifices the Israelites made involved killing animals, which would be deeply offensive to the Egyptians, who viewed such practices, especially by ranchers, as detestable.
…Then you will be allowed to settle in the region of Goshen, for all shepherds are detestable to the Egyptians. ” – Genesis 46:34 (NIV)
Moses used this reasoning to explain why it would be impossible for the Israelites to sacrifice openly in Egypt. His response was a way of highlighting the cultural and religious differences that would prevent the Israelites from offering sacrifices in a land where such practices would provoke hostility.
Pharaoh agreed to let the Israelites offer sacrifices in the wilderness, but insisted they not go too far, asking Moses to pray for him. Moses promised to pray, and the LORD would remove the flies the next day, but warned Pharaoh not to deceive them again. However, no sooner had the LORD removed the flies from the houses of Pharaoh and his people than Pharaoh hardened his heart again and refused to let the Israelites go.
Like Pharaoh, we stubbornly refuse to learn from our mistakes, letting pride and arrogance blind us. This mindset inhibits our spiritual growth, causing repeated failures and missed chances for redemption. By clinging to our sins instead of seeking forgiveness, we not only harm ourselves but also others, fostering a negative environment that could easily be removed by the simple acceptance of our faults. Let us not engage in the same deceitful game that Pharaoh played with God; instead, let us approach Him immediately with a sincere and repentant heart.
Discussion Questions
- Why didn’t Pharaoh just ask his magicians to remove the frog infestation?
- Why do our hearts tend to harden after we experience relief?
- What led the magicians to finally recognize God’s power?
- When do we truly acknowledge God as the source of our successes and failures?
- Did the Israelites also experience the plagues?
The Jordan Valley 
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