Exodus 7:25-8:15 - The Second Mighty Sign – Frogs Galore!
Notes
Transcript
The Word Read
The Word Read
Please remain standing for the reading of the Holy Scripture. Hear the Word of the Lord from Exodus 8:8-15:
8 Then Pharaoh called Moses and Aaron and said, “Plead with the Lord to take away the frogs from me and from my people, and I will let the people go to sacrifice to the Lord.” 9 Moses said to Pharaoh, “Be pleased to command me when I am to plead for you and for your servants and for your people, that the frogs be cut off from you and your houses and be left only in the Nile.” 10 And he said, “Tomorrow.” Moses said, “Be it as you say, so that you may know that there is no one like the Lord our God. 11 The frogs shall go away from you and your houses and your servants and your people. They shall be left only in the Nile.” 12 So Moses and Aaron went out from Pharaoh, and Moses cried to the Lord about the frogs, as he had agreed with Pharaoh. 13 And the Lord did according to the word of Moses. The frogs died out in the houses, the courtyards, and the fields. 14 And they gathered them together in heaps, and the land stank. 15 But when Pharaoh saw that there was a respite, he hardened his heart and would not listen to them, as the Lord had said.
Behold, brothers and sisters, this is the Word of the Lord. Please be seated.
Exordium
Exordium
Dear Church,
I invite you to open Holy Scripture to Exodus 7:25-8:15. I think we can at times make assumptions when we read the Bible that are incorrect assumptions. We impose our own thoughts into the text. I know I’ve done this before and I’m always thankful for the times the Lord reveals my incorrect assumptions. For example, I think we would look at the people of Israel in this situation and feel bad for them. They sit under the oppressive hand of Pharaoh. They desire to worship Yahweh, and free themselves.
In one sense our burden for them is accurate. The people of Israel do in fact sit under horrific oppression. They have been made slaves and their baby boys killed in the Nile River. However, I do think we make a grave assumption when we believe the people of Israel only worshipped Yahweh. They didn’t. They were guilty of worshipping the same gods of the Egyptians. I want to prove this to you by reciting a very familiar passage of Scripture with you. Joshua is about to die at the end of the book of Joshua. Here we find great words, which some of us may even have on a plaque in our home. Joshua says, “Choose today whom you will service, but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”
If you have your Bibles with you turn with me to Joshua 24:14-15. I want you to see what God’s Word actually says in these two verses.
14 “Now therefore fear the Lord and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness. Put away the gods that your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. 15 And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”
What do we see here? The people of Israel in the Exodus generation worshipped the gods of Egypt. Shocking, right? The very descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob worshipped the same gods these Egyptians worship. Furthermore, idolatry is still a problem for the Israelites as they enter the Promised Land. This is why Joshua commands them to put those gods away. Idolatry was still in the midst of the congregation. As we look at our passage today, and really the rest of the 10 plagues, let’s keep in mind the Lord is also proving to the people of Israel that He is the true Lord of lords and God of gods. The Exodus is not simply the people of Israel being freed from physical persecution. It is also about being freed from spiritual idolatry so that they might worship Yahweh alone in true freedom.
In our passage this morning, God will strike the goddess Heqet revealing He is more powerful that she. The sermon title is “The Second Mighty Sign - Frogs Galore!” There will be two sections, 1) Exodus 7:25-8:7 - The Second Strike, and Exodus 8:8-15 - Pharaoh’s Plea and Hard Heart.
Exodus 7:25-8:7 - The Second Strike
Exodus 7:25-8:7 - The Second Strike
25 Seven full days passed after the Lord had struck the Nile.
1 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go in to Pharaoh and say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord, “Let my people go, that they may serve me. 2 But if you refuse to let them go, behold, I will plague all your country with frogs. 3 The Nile shall swarm with frogs that shall come up into your house and into your bedroom and on your bed and into the houses of your servants and your people, and into your ovens and your kneading bowls. 4 The frogs shall come up on you and on your people and on all your servants.” ’ ” 5 And the Lord said to Moses, “Say to Aaron, ‘Stretch out your hand with your staff over the rivers, over the canals and over the pools, and make frogs come up on the land of Egypt!’ ” 6 So Aaron stretched out his hand over the waters of Egypt, and the frogs came up and covered the land of Egypt. 7 But the magicians did the same by their secret arts and made frogs come up on the land of Egypt.
We are given a note on the timeline - seven days have passed since the waters of the Nile River turned to blood. It’s an interesting note. Several scholars believe the first plague lasted seven days. Most likely, the 10 plagues occurred over the period of a few months.
Moses is commanded once again by Yahweh to go to Pharaoh and tell him to let Yahweh’s people go so they might serve or worship Him. If Pharaoh does not listen, which we know he won’t, a second plague or “strike” will occur. This time the strike will be that the country will be full of frogs.
Have you ever wondered why in the world this is a plague? There are some people who love frogs. Maybe to them this would sound like a paradise. However, this was certainly not the case in Egypt. The source of life, the Nile, would once again be a source of judgment. Furthermore, no one escaped this plague. Remember the first plague, Pharaoh walks inside his home after the encounter with Moses and Aaron. He may have been inconvenienced by the plague, but it was the Nile River and he was safe inside. This time the frogs come into his own palace and they are everywhere.
So, we return to the question, “why frogs?” One of the oldest forms of cultic worship in Egypt centered on frogs. The goddess Heqet was depicted as a hybrid between a frog and woman. She was worshipped for the following reasons: 1) Creation, 2) Fertility, 3) Safety in pregnancy and child-birthing, and 4) Safe entrance into eternity. Heqet is the goddess that Yahweh has in His sights and He will prove the true power of these realities belong to Him, not to her.
We know that our God is the God of Creation - Genesis 1:1 “1 In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” We know that God is the God of fertility. Multiple times in Scripture we see the Lord opens and closes the womb. We think of Leah and Rachel. We know God is the one who brings safety in the child-birthing process. We know that it is the Lord who brings His people safely through death into paradise. Heqet is not the goddess of any of these. This alone belongs to the God revealed in Holy Scripture.
Yet, think of our world today. Creation of the universe is no longer universally attributed to God. Fertility and child-birthing is a hotly debated issue. A 2024 poll published by Gallup regarding American views of abortion revealed that 58% of 18-29 year olds are “pro-choice”, 54% of 30-49 year olds are “pro-choice,” 53% of 50+ are “pro-choice.” In America, fertility, pregnancy, and the child-birthing process are no longer viewed from a framework of the divine, but instead is put within a framework of rebellious human independence. In our current culture, procreation, sexual intimacy, and the pursuit of holiness in sexual union between husband and wife has been stripped of the good gift God has given to humanity. Heqet is very much alive and active in America. This is no surprise to us because 2 Timothy 3 states that in the last times people will be lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God. We see this constantly. People are preoccupied with obtaining temporary pleasures rather than loving and pursuing the Lord Jesus Christ.
Finally, many believe there is no afterlife or heaven is earned by good works. However, Scripture is clear a safe passage through death to the living God comes by the salvation of Jesus Christ.
America is not so different from Egypt in these respects. In fact, you could probably make the argument that American is eerily similar to Egypt. Like the people of Israel, we must be careful where we give our allegiance. We all gave ourselves to the idolatry of the world before we experienced the incredible work of salvation. We had our own gods that we we served. Some of us may have served the gods of career, wealth, prosperity, fame, or recognition. Some of us may have served the gods of gluttony, sexual immorality, or drunkeness. Maybe we served the gods of self-importance, gossip, division making.
As Christians, we serve the one true God. As culture around us serves a modern form of Heqet, we shall look counter-cultural. We will look odd and strange as we boldly, yet lovingly, stand on the Word of God. We proclaim there is a Creator of the universe whom we are all accountable to because He made us. There is a God who creates and sustains life in the womb. There is a God who brings us all the way home. He watches over your life in this earth, and when your days draw to an end, He will bring you home. So first, we understand we will be counter-cultural as we know the one true Lord hold these in His sovereign arms.
Second, we know the people of Israel worshipped these idols. We should also be aware that we give our hearts to idols as well. We live in the tension of being released from the power of sin, but the flesh still desires sin. We can find ourselves giving our own hearts to the demands of Heqet. In those moments as the flesh pulls us towards these demands, we cry out to Christ because we know we cannot win the battle on our own. We must seek Him knowing He graciously gives us the strength to withstand these sinful desires.
Aaron does as he is commanded and the frogs come up out of the Nile and fill the land by a Yahweh’s divine power. Once again, those pesky magicians duplicate the plague. Although there is actually some hysterical irony here. The magicians don’t help to remedy the situation, they only create a bigger problem - MORE FROGS!
Exodus 8:8-15 - Pharaoh’s Plea and Hard Heart
Exodus 8:8-15 - Pharaoh’s Plea and Hard Heart
8 Then Pharaoh called Moses and Aaron and said, “Plead with the Lord to take away the frogs from me and from my people, and I will let the people go to sacrifice to the Lord.” 9 Moses said to Pharaoh, “Be pleased to command me when I am to plead for you and for your servants and for your people, that the frogs be cut off from you and your houses and be left only in the Nile.” 10 And he said, “Tomorrow.” Moses said, “Be it as you say, so that you may know that there is no one like the Lord our God. 11 The frogs shall go away from you and your houses and your servants and your people. They shall be left only in the Nile.” 12 So Moses and Aaron went out from Pharaoh, and Moses cried to the Lord about the frogs, as he had agreed with Pharaoh. 13 And the Lord did according to the word of Moses. The frogs died out in the houses, the courtyards, and the fields. 14 And they gathered them together in heaps, and the land stank. 15 But when Pharaoh saw that there was a respite, he hardened his heart and would not listen to them, as the Lord had said.
As frogs jump all over the land, Pharaoh demands to meet with Moses. One can clearly see that Pharaoh knows he is not actually in control anymore. He commands Moses to plead with Yahweh to take away the frogs. Here is a stunningly admission, I, my magicians, or Heqet, can get rid of this problem. In a moment, Pharaoh goes from, “who is Yahweh the God of the Hebrews?” to “Please intercede for me to Yahweh.”
Moses states that he will, but he’d like to know when Pharaoh would desire to see the frogs removed. Pharaoh will know that Yahweh has authority over the plagues. He brought them and now they will be removed at a specific time. When tomorrow comes Pharaoh would know it was not his magicians or gods that stopped this plague, it was Yahweh the God of the Hebrews.
Moses and Aaron then leave the presence of Pharaoh. We see that Moses interceded on behalf of Pharaoh and Yahweh hears Moses’ prayer. Moses becomes the mediator for Pharaoh and all of Egypt in seeking the end of the plague. A mediator is someone who stands in between. Moses stood in-between holy Yahweh and hard-hearted Pharaoh and all of the people of Egypt. Now, Moses, as we have already seen, is not a perfect mediator. He has certainly had his moments of not having faith in Yahweh or Yahweh’s plan.
However, there is a Mediator who is perfect, Christ Jesus the Eternal Son of God. As 1 Timothy 2:5-6 states,
5 For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, 6 who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time.
Jesus gave Himself as a ransom, a payment necessary to release a captive. We, as broken, rebellious sinners were held captive under the power of sin. Right now, at this very moment we gather today to worship our Lord, Jesus is mediating for us. Hebrews 7:25
25 Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them.
Moses, mediating between Yahweh and Pharaoh, was in imperfect mediator. We do not trust in Moses for our salvation. We find refuge in Christ Jesus. Furthermore, as a significant point of application, let us not be like Pharaoh. Pharaoh did not want true reconciliation with the Lord. He did not want to bow the knee. Pharaoh wanted the consequences of his rebellion taken away. How do we know this for sure? Once the Lord killed off all the frogs, which as Scripture tells us was a gross event as the land stank, Pharaoh hardened his heart.
I fear many people will stand before God on the day of Judgment claiming they repented only to find there was never true repentance. They are like Pharaoh. To quote Martyn Lloyd-Jones, “Night and day are all one to a blind man. Truth and error are all one to an ignorant man.” The unbeliever doesn’t like the consequences of sin and rebelling against the Lord, but they’ve never repented of sin finding great refuge in the one Mediator between God and men, Christ Jesus. There has never been a submission to the Lord. Dear friend, do you find yourself in this situation today? You hate the consequences of your rebellion, but you’ve never cried out to Christ Jesus to save you from sin. You know in your heart you live a duplicitous life, living one way in front of Christians, and an entirely different way at other times. Would you consider the state of your soul and turn your gaze to the great, perfect, sinless Mediator Christ Jesus? He promises to save you from your sinful bondage if you repent and call out to Him! The promise is found in Romans 10:9
9 because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
Christ will save you if you cry out to Him with a humble heart. The door of salvation will swing open and the riches of Christ will be applied to your soul. There is no greater feeling on earth than knowing the love of God has been poured out on your heart through Jesus Christ. Now dear brothers and sisters this also applies to us. There is no greater feeling than knowing God loves us through Christ Jesus. The riches of this world pale in comparison to this undeniable truth. All the health in the universe doesn’t comfort our soul like this truth. Don’t we remember wandering earth looking for the weight of sin to be taken off our hearts, and now it has been!
Look at me real quick to the final words of this passage, “as the Lord had said.” There are no surprises in this story. Pharaoh has a hard heart towards Yahweh, and this will not change. The cosmic battle will rage, and Yahweh will gain the victory.
Conclusion
Conclusion
Yahweh’s war with Pharaoh, Egypt, and their gods is just getting started. He will issue more strikes and blows to them all. The goddess Heqet has proved to be of no match for Yahweh and His divine power. He has crushed her. Yet, her influence still occurs today. Yet, we view life with an eye towards heaven. We see King Jesus ruling and reigning. We know His victory is secure, and we follow Him home. One day 1 John 3:2 will be our reality. 1 John 3:2
2 Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is.
We shall be like him when He appears. We will obey Him perfectly. We will no longer sin against Him. We will no longer have to fight against the influences of Heqet in our hearts, or in our families, or in our world. The Kingdom will be consummated at this point, fully realized!
