I Will Not Obey but Don't Condemn Me

Verse 1 - 4: It can’t be credibly argued that Pharaoh did not receive grace and mercy. It can’t be credibly argued that God has extended grace and mercy to all men. A delay in judgment is an act of mercy. Warnings are acts of grace. There is sometimes a false dichotomy between how God is described in the OT and the NT. The God of the OT is full of grace and slow to wrath. The God of the OT shows mercy and forgives sin. The God of the OT will not clear the guilty unrepentant sinner. The same is truth of the God of the NT. They are the same God.

Pharaoh is given another opportunity to obey God. Yahweh is again extending another chance to bow down and worship, to repent and submit. Judgment doesn’t have to come. Wrath doesn’t have to be poured out. Destruction doesn’t have to be the end result. The judgment of God is the final and proper result of refusal to recognize and submit to the Lord of heaven and earth. Every lost man is justly in their state.

There are continued consequences to continued disobedience. If Pharaoh doesn’t submit, the great ‘I AM’ will again strike the land, this time with frogs. The frogs will be everywhere, coming out of ovens and bowls. Even the bedroom will not be safe. I like how Charles Spurgeon puts it: “From every reservoir and marsh they marched up in countless hordes, entering into his chamber and coming upon his bed and his kneading-trough. He could neither sleep nor eat, nor walk abroad, without encountering the loathsome reptiles. The Lord seemed by this to say, “Who are you that I should do great things to conquer you? I will even vanquish you by frogs.””[1] The Egyptians believed frogs to symbolize fertility. The Egyptian goddess Heqet was portrayed with a human body and a frog’s head and controlled both fertility and frogs. The power of life resided with her and she assisted in childbirth.[2] Specifically, she was believed to serve as midwife for human births. She also control the frog population. Then and now we you hear or see frogs, it is safe to assume life is present.[3]

The Egyptians believed frogs to symbolize fertility. The Egyptian goddess Heqet was portrayed with a human body and a frog’s head and controlled both fertility and frogs. The power of life resided with her and she assisted in childbirth.[1] Specifically, she was believed to serve as midwife for human births. She also control the frog population. Then and now we you hear or see frogs, it is safe to assume life is present.[2]

We must pay special attention to the fourth verse. The warning to Pharaoh states clearly he will feel the effects of the Lord’s strike. This implies that Pharaoh wasn’t personally impacted by the turning of the Nile to blood. His household was still able to get water.[4] Now Pharaoh his household would suffer along with the people. It is sometimes the case that we can be unaffected by hardship that we don’t personally experience. We can turn off the TV, browse to a different site, or access other content to focus on instead. We may be able to use money or influence to blunt the impact of a tragedy or hardship which affects others. This was not coming to be the case. Pharaoh was going to be just as inconvenienced and repulsed as everyone else. When God judges a nation, no one is safe.

Verses 5 - 7: Though not directly stated, Pharaoh likely ignored the warning of Moses and so the frogs came. All Egypt was hit just as the Lord said. Some commentators describe this sign as having humorous elements. Imagine an Egyptian mother reaching for her kneading bowl and finding a frog when she opens the lid. Imagine Pharaoh trying to go to bed and finding frogs in the bed. Its not like they could kill them either. The frog was sacred since it was the symbol of a god so Pharaoh and the Egyptians just had to deal with them. Again citing Charles Spurgeon: “These be thy gods, O Egypt! Thou shalt have enough of them! Pharaoh himself shall pay a new reverence to these reptiles. As the true God is everywhere present around us, in our bed-chambers and in our streets, so shall Pharaoh find every place filled with what he chooses to call divine. Is it not a just way of dealing with him?”[5] Once again, an Egyptian god(des) is humiliated. It is fitting that the next god(des) shown to be powerless is the one whom controlled life given the desire of the Egyptian to snuff out the lives of Hebrew boys. When the true God, the God of the Hebrews, acted Egypt’s gods should pat.

.” Once again, an Egyptian god(des) is humiliated. It is fitting that the next god(des) shown to be powerless is the one whom controlled life given the desire of the Egyptian to snuff out the lives of Hebrew boys. When the true God, the God of the Hebrews, acted Egypt’s gods should pat.

Again the magicians mustered a counterfeit and made the problem worse. Again we see their weaknesses. They have never been able to stop Yahweh, only offer cheap imitations. We should expect nothing less. No man or god created by man can thwart the hand of God.

Apologetic point: Those who would look for a natural explanation must explain why the frogs “covered” the land of Egypt? What explanation is there for frogs showing up in places they shouldn’t be? What stories is this borrowed from and why take it to such as ridiculous extreme? Only a divine act can explain this.

Verse 8: For the first of what will be many times, Pharaoh entreats Moses to help. He makes an urgent request that Moses goes to his God and asks for Him to turn back these frogs. They’re everywhere and are a sacred animal so they just can’t be killed off. The magicians are powerless. Pharaoh apparently recognizes only the God who brought these frogs can turn them around. He has no choice. He must approach Moses and ask for help. Remember Pharaoh himself was deity, or so it was believed. Now this ‘god’ must plead with the messenger of the God of his slaves for help. This is a humiliation. This is the point. Pharaoh is not a god and this is a clear demonstration of this. None can stop the hand of God. Only God can lift His hand of judgment. Lest we think Pharaoh has a change of heart, his promise to let Israel go will quickly be shown to a lie. There is another thing we must consider.

Pharaoh does not himself entreat God. Pharaoh doesn’t want to deal with God directly. He doesn’t want to bow down and submit. He does not want to give proper reverence and worship. He is happy to have Moses go to the God of heaven. It means he doesn’t have to face the fulness of what he is and isn’t. We will return to this point later but this is the problem of man. The sinner doesn’t want to get off the throne that God may reign.

Verses 9 - 10: Moses makes a comment that we must pay attention to: ‘The honor is yours to tell me’ (v. 9a). In other words, you can impact the nature of this judgment. You can do something about it. This is why Paul speaks of all men everywhere being commanded to repent. This must be confession and repentance on our part and then God forgives. Also it must be noted that this is a tacit admission that this plague was not a natural thing, nor a thing his gods could control. If this nuisance was to be ended at a certain time, only a powerful God could do so. It is a albeit begrudged admission of the superiority of the God of the Hebrews. Lastly, we note what Moses says when Pharaoh says tomorrow: that you may know there is no one like the LORD our God. We return to God’s purpose for Egypt: ‘that MY Name may be known on the earth’.

Verses 11 - 14: Moses entreats the LORD who responds to the request of Moses. This is a clear indication of both a deep relationship between the LORD and His servant and that Moses is a true ambassador / representative of this true God. Also notice that the frogs just don’t leave the land and return to the Nile. They die where they are. Pharaoh and Egypt don’t get away Scott free. They are left a reminder of what just happened so that they can consider WHO they are dealing with and what they must do.

Verse 15: This verse is very important. It confirms what we said earlier: Pharaoh’s repentance was false and he is worthy of judgment. His response to the mercy of God is to strengthen his resolve not to submit. He responses to the LORD’s kindness with an obstinate heart. He is determined not to free Israel and not even the LORD’s power, judgment, and mercy will get in his way. He is a sinner man indeed.

Practical Application

The request of Pharaoh to go to Moses shows that reality of Yahweh can’t be ignored. All men must come to grips with this truth. God will be glorified by the willing and unwilling alike. It shows that things we hold in high regard can become a snare to us, used by God for judgment, or to get our attention. Perhaps most importantly it shows the reality of our inability to control what happens in our world. Everything that happens is under the superintending hand of God and comes for a purpose. Whatever comes, it is incumbent on the people of God to seek the face of God that we may act according to the will of God for His glory. It also shows that God hears the cry of His saints. When the people of God plead with the LORD, He hears from heaven and answers the prayers of the people.

Gospel Application

The problem with Pharaoh is the problem of all sinners apart from Christ: he wants to have his cake and eat it too. He wants to keep doing what he wants to do but doesn’t want to suffer for it. He wants to benefit of the saints prayers to God but is content to keep God at a distance. I am here to tell you this can’t be. This can’t last. It won’t last for Pharaoh nor will it last for us. There will come a time when we all stand before God and must give account. On the day we will answer concerning our submission and obedience. At that time there will be no Moses to intercede, no saints to act as go-between, and no Christ to ask for forgiveness. The status quo is the path of death and separation from God. It doesn’t have to be this way. Jesus Christ came to save sinners. He will save all those that put their trust in Him. He is the only way. Our works apart from Him aren’t enough. Our status is not enough. It is only by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone that we can have hope. If you have been listening and the Spirit of God have revealed to you your status as a Pharaoh, I call you to repent and believe the gospel. Cry out to the Father and confess your sin. Ask for forgiveness and to be received into His kingdom. Put your trust in Christ Jesus and you will be saved. Now more than ever we should understand that tomorrow is not promised and we don’t know what the future is going to bring. God is faithful, true, and trustworthy. Don’t delay but repent and believe the gospel today.

1. Spurgeon, C. H. (1913). “Take Away the Frogs.” In The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit Sermons (Vol. 59, p. 62). London: Passmore & Alabaster.

2. Philip Graham Ryken, Exodus: Saved for God's Glory, (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 2005), WORDsearch CROSS e-book, 228.

1. Philip Graham Ryken, Exodus: Saved for God's Glory, (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 2005), WORDsearch CROSS e-book, 228.

3. Tony Merida, Exalting Jesus in Exodus, ed. David Platt, Daniel L. Akin, Tony Merida, (Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman, 2014), WORDsearch CROSS e-book, 58.

4. Stuart, D. K. (2006). Exodus (Vol. 2, p. 206). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.

5. Spurgeon, C. H. (1913). “Take Away the Frogs.” In The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit Sermons (Vol. 59, p. 62). London: Passmore & Alabaster