Frog in Your Throat

Frog in your Throat? Exodus 8:1-15 Context • The 10 “Strikes” – God has multiple, simultaneous purposes: deliverance, theology, judgment, nation-building, leadership development, and, of course, worship. • The first plague targets Egypt’s national identity and economic vitality; it also alludes to God’s retributive vengeance. • The plagues are fundamentally theological, a truth that shines brightest in this second event. The text has four sections: Announcement, Action, Appeal, and Aftermath. Announcement – 8:1-4 • Chronology – 7 days after the Nile “turned to blood” (see 7:25), which rules out naturalistic explanations or excessive delays. • Location – Moses enters the court of Pharaoh • Plea – God’s demands becomes terse and direct. More literally, it reads “Send my people away and they shall worship me.” • Personal – The announcement is personal in two different ways: (1) It lays all the responsibility on Pharaoh and (2) Pharaoh will be affected first. Action – 8:5-7 • Frogs in Ancient Egypt: 1. Played a prominent role in the pantheon – Heqet (female fertility goddess); Khnum (god of the flood and source of the Nile) 2. Frog amulets worn as talismans for fertility 3. Frogs were a symbol of bodily resurrection in the afterlife; frog figures often buried with the deceased in their coffins. • Personification – 8:6, “When Aaron stretched out his hand over the waters of Egypt, THE FROG came up …” • Last deception of the magicians (8:7) Appeal – 8:8-11 • Pharaoh’s appeal is remarkable for its many confessions: 1. The frogs are a spiritual problem – the solution was prayer. 2. Yahweh alone can help – He is the superior God 3. Pharaoh was in rebellion – He needed to release Israel • Moses’s remarkable deference is yet another clear display of Yahweh’s omnipotence. • For Pharaoh’s reply “tomorrow,” most commentators take it to mean “at the earliest convenience.” I don’t buy that explanation because of 8:23, 8:29, 9:5, 10:4, 19:10, but most importantly 12:42. I think Pharaoh wanted time for a last-ditch effort to rid the frogs apart from God. Aftermath – 8:12-15 • Moses prayed and, amazingly, the LORD did exactly what Moses asked, which is another layer in the development of our story. • The frogs die in place – the Egyptians aren’t so worried about brick production because they’re too busy piling frog carcasses into large piles and dealing with the stench of death. • Pharaoh hardens his own heart. Applications • Repentance is a gift of grace that must not be taken for granted (2 Timothy 2:25). • When God addresses a spiritual deficiency in your life, don’t delay to follow through on the Spirit’s work (Hebrews 6:11-12).